After seven years of being on the move, Arlo Barman wants nothing more than a place to call home. But unbeknownst to him, Arlo is a caladrius healer, so staying in one place has never been an option. The compulsion to separate himself from those he's healed is all-consuming and leaves him little choice but to pack up yet again. Nash Silver is the only werewolf in his small coastal town. Living undetected in a human world is imperative for his kind, and he and his small circle of friends -- a vampire and a psychic -- have done so for decades. But Nash's anonymous existence is jeopardized when a man with an enticing scent moves into town. From the moment Nash lays eyes on the stranger, nothing is more important than being close to him. Not even guarding his secret. Arlo isn't interested in a relationship or even a date, his past has taught him nothing good comes from it, but the rather pushy local popping up everywhere he goes has his heart somersaulting. If he's heart is somersaulting or not doesn't matter, because when Nash gets injured, Arlo is the only one who can save him. Having used his powers, Arlo has to leave Nash and the cozy town he wanted to make his home, but can Nash survive being separated from his mate?

Black Bird

“What do you think you’re doing?” Arlo pushed at him, but it got him nowhere. Nash was as strong as a…werewolf, he guessed. A shiver shot through him. He had a monster in his bed!


“Fear, really?” Nash hoarse voice held a note of annoyance. “I’ll never hurt you.”


Arlo knew that…sort of. “You can smell fear?”


“And lies?” He’d said he could, hadn’t he? Said he could smell a lie on Arlo?


Nash was quiet for a little while, his body relaxing underneath Arlo once he stopped fighting his hold. “I can hear increased heartbeats, smell subtle changes in the scent that can be evidence of a lie, but it could also be of something else.”


Arlo’s heart was drumming in his ears. He couldn’t take much more of this, he needed space, needed to sleep, needed to think—needed to run. Why didn’t his body scream for him to run?


“Get some rest, babe.” Nash gently guided Arlo’s head to his shoulder. Thankfully he was still wearing his clothes. “I’ll watch over you.”


Chapter 35