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thought I hadn't heard Coral come up behind me.
    “Sorry.” She put her hand on my arm. “I didn't mean to scare you.”
    “It's okay.” I turned away.
    “I don't think it is. I can see you're upset.”
    There was no point in denying it, so I said nothing.
    “I don't blame you. I'd probably feel the same way too. I just wanted you to know that nothing happened between me and Craven.”
    I turned to face her. If I looked her in the eye, I'd know if she was lying.
    “Nothing happened—nothing at all.” She didn't flinch under my gaze. “That doesn't mean I didn't want it to, but his only thoughts were for you. Nothing I could have said or done would have stopped him searching for you.”
    “I saw how you looked at him.”
    “I was just so relieved to see him alive—I'd thought he was dead. Look, I'd be lying if I said I didn't have feelings for him. But it's never been more than friendship for Craven. You have my word on that. And now you two are back together, I can see you are a fated pairing. You have nothing to fear from me.” She held out a hand. “Can we be friends?
    I knew she was telling the truth. I also knew that if it hadn't been for her, Craven might have died in the stream.
    “I'd like that.” I took her hand.
     
    “Have you two been talking about me?” Craven said when we returned to the cave.
    “Of course.” Coral smiled. “Louise has been telling me all of your guilty secrets.”
     
    From that point on, the atmosphere improved markedly. Of course Coral had been attracted to Craven. Practically every female shifter who saw him was attracted to him. But he'd proven time and time again that I was his only mate—his fated mate. How could I have doubted the love of someone who had given up everything for me? When everyone else had been convinced of the futility of his quest, Craven had continued his search.
    “I didn't really expect to find you here,” Craven said to Coral. “When they took you that day, I feared the worst.”
    “They held me for several weeks. I don't think they knew what to do with me. In the end, they kicked my arse out, and told me to get out of the territory.”
    “And yet you're still here?” I said.
    “I did move on, but after a few weeks I figured I'd sneak back in and take my chances. I'd grown attached to this place.” Coral hesitated. “To be honest, that wasn't the only reason.”
    She glanced at me as though unsure if to continue, but I already knew what she was about to say.
    “I heard you'd escaped,” she said to Craven. “I figured you might find your way back here one day.”
    “If he found out that I was dead, you mean?” I said, as gently as I could.
    Coral averted her gaze. “Sorry. I wasn't thinking.”
    “It's okay.” I took her hand. “I owe you everything. If it wasn't for you, Craven would be dead, and I'd still be Jackie Coleman.”
    “Who?”
    I laughed. “It's a long story, and I won't bore you with all of the details, but I ended up living as a human. I had amnesia—I still do to an extent. I woke up in a hospital bed, and had no idea who I was. When no one came forward to claim me, I took the name Jackie Coleman.”
    “Louise didn't even know she was a shifter,” Craven said.
    Coral looked at me with something bordering on astonishment. “You actually thought you were human?”
    “I know it sounds crazy, but yes. I lived as a human for several years until—”
    “Until I turned up and began to stalk her.” Craven grinned.
    “So you had no idea who he was?” Coral said. “Didn't seeing him jog your memory?”
    “No. I thought he was some kind of crazy man. When he started talking about shifters and vampires that only confirmed it for me. It was only when—” I hesitated.
    Craven squeezed my hand. He already knew what I was about to say.
    “My flatmate was murdered. Those who did it had been after me. Even then I still had a hard time believing all of the stories about vampires and shifters. It was only while we