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knew he couldn’t hide the truth any longer.
    “This has something to do with Michelle, doesn’t it?” she asked. “What happened between you two?”
    He stared at her, trying to find the words, but she was too quick.
    “Oh my god. She’s your mate, isn’t she? Is that the reason she quit? What did you do to her?”
    “I didn’t do anything to her…well nothing she didn’t ask for…but yes, she’s my mate.”
    “So what’s the problem?” Izzy asked. “And by the way, ewww!”
    “The problem is,” he said, “it was more powerful than I expected and I couldn’t bear to watch her walk away, so I left. When I got back, I found her note. I never thought she’d quit. I guess I just hoped that after we…you know… I thought she’d change her mind about me.”
    “So you thought sex would make her hate you?” Isabelle asked, deadpan.
    “What? No, of course not,” Gabe said, warily. “I know she hates shifters, but I stupidly hoped she would see how combustible we are together and give me a chance.”
    “What do you mean, she hates shifters ?”
    “I know she hates us,” he said. “You don’t have to cover for her.”
    “You’re crazy,” Isabelle said, shaking her head. “What gave you the idea she hates shifters?”
    “I overheard her telling a table of guys a couple weeks after I hired her.”
    “Have you also heard her tell them she has a boyfriend? Or that her mate won’t let her dance with anyone, or allow her talk casually to the men she serves drinks to? She lies all the time,” Isabelle said, shrugging. “It’s part of the job.”
    “Do you do it?” Gabe asked.
    “Rarely, but I’ve got Lucky, and I’m not on the floor serving drinks. I can’t even believe you would fall for that,” Izzy chastised. “She’s lived in this town her whole life, and her boss and most of her friends are shifters. If she’d wanted to get away, she could have left after her parent’s died.”
    “But that means…,”
    He drifted off, unsure what to say as Isabelle’s words seeped in.
    He’d heard all the examples of lies Izzy rattled off come out of Michelle’s mouth at least once at one point or another, and the boyfriend one had been the most recent. Why hadn’t he questioned her about it when she’d said she didn’t have a boyfriend?
    Because your mind had temporarily stopped working.
    No, even though he’d heard her say it to one of her customers, he’d believed her. Why hadn’t he done the same when he’d heard her say she hated shifters?
    Shortly after that terrible night, she’d asked him out to coffee and he’d rudely declined. Had she felt drawn to him all this time? Did her feelings for him explain her anger with the Easter basket, and the fact that he’d dressed in a bunny costume for another woman?
    “Oh, my god,” he said out loud. “I’m an idiot.”
    “Yes, you are,” Isabelle agreed.
    “I have to talk to her. Now,” he said. He handed Izzy the keys on his way to the door. “Will you and Lucky lock up?”
    “Of course,” she said. “Good luck!”
    The last part she’d called as he’d opened the door and stepped out into the loud, crowded hallway. He smiled as her words reached his ears over the din. She’d known he would hear her.
    Later, he would apologize to his entire staff, but right now his only mission was to convince his mate he was worth a second chance.

Chapter Five
     
    Michelle pulled her car into the last vacant space in the tiny lot provided by her apartment building and shut off the engine. The darkness of the night called to her, and she wished she had the ability to shift so she could run into the woods and disappear. She closed her eyes, leaned her forehead on the steering wheel, and sighed.
    Her life sucked, and she didn’t think it could get any worse.
    After she quit her job at the Wild Bear , she’d contacted the last two places she’d submitted applications, only to find out Gabe had gotten to them first. No one in Liberty would