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didn’t like anyone else having the upper hand when it came to connecting her cat guise to her human guise. It didn’t bode well for her. Whenever men had her at their mercy, she danced close to the fires of death. She’d already been burned by one man who betrayed her to save his own skin, she couldn’t take being hurt by another.
    He was the reason she now lived in exile. He was the reason she constantly feared being hunted down and murdered in her sleep.
    He was the reason she could never live in peace—and he was the reason that men like Lord Ulwyn made her out of her mind mad.
    No, she’d never let her guard down like that to another man. She would never ever put herself in that kind of a vulnerable position again.
    She’d vowed to never open her heart to another man when she’d arrived on Elaine’s doorstep, near death and not even caring if she did die because her life was so shattered.
    Elaine had given her hope—Elaine had encouraged her to never stop fighting and Elaine had told her to never allow anyone dominion over her again. She’d told her she was free—but deep down, Neri knew better.
    She had Hunter and Changeling blood running through her veins—free was something she’d never be.
    For one brief moment, while he held her in his arms, sheltered from the world, she did believe that she was safe.
    But all good things have to come to an end.
    She knew he would be headed for the place where he was born, once he’d returned the shovel, and she had to get away from him before he came into spitting distance of the Tavern.
    Neri summoned all of her strength, and let out a hell of a scream, which spooked the horse, and allowed her the ability to jump out of his arms. She went flying through the air and landed gracefully on all fours in all of things, a puddle. Water splashed up around her, and she coughed as the muddy stuff hit her nose.
    She could hear his laughter—he must have thought her a very entertaining sight. Shaking the water off herself, she dashed toward the Tavern, going so fast that she would be a blur to most eyes.
    Just as she neared the back door into the Tavern, she changed back into her human form. Her silky black camisole that was enchanted to work with her changings was not sufficient cover against the damp that the rain had brought.
    Shivering, her teeth chattering together, she slipped into the Tavern and made her way up the back staircase to the living quarters above the bar. The storm continued to shake the building, as wind buffeted against it, the howling like a Banshee from Avonry.
    A deep ache resonated inside of her, an ache that would not leave her until she could couple with Lucan.
    Why he had to be the only man in over a hundred years to arouse her so completely, she didn’t know. Fate was playing a hell of a prank on her!
    She filled up the claw foot bathtub with what precious little hot water was in the tank and threw some lavender oil into the water.
    She slipped off her smock, and removed the black onyx and white sapphire bracelets she wore and placed them on the counter next to the sink. Sighing blissfully, she stepped into the warm bath, and sank down to a sitting position. Reaching for her lavender scented soap, she scrubbed it over her body and sighed contentedly.
    She leaned back, closed her eyes and had a most wonderful day dream about Lucan.
    She snapped out of her hazy daydream when he shifted into his wolf skin and lunged at her with his wicked looking teeth showing, while he snarled like a crazed hound from the Dark Underworld. 
    Neri’s eyes snapped wide open. Her heart almost pounded straight out of her chest. Shaken, and breathing heavily, she splashed water around as it sloshed over the top of the tub and hit the floor.
    Gulping in a breath of air, she sank beneath the water, and opened her eyes to look up at the ceiling above. She couldn’t hide from him forever. She’d have to confront him at some point in her human form and hope that they would