For the rest of Sawyer's shift, Caleb sat at a small table in the corner by the bar. He ate and drank slowly, purchasing something every hour to Harvey's satisfaction when the merman made his rounds shortly after ten. If Harvey was curious as to why an alpha-descended werewolf was in his bar reading a science fiction novel, he didn't remark on it—for which Sawyer was grateful. The less she had to explain about her past to her employer, the better.

After the bar closed at one-thirty, Sawyer tiredly went around cleaning tables, stacking chairs, and counting money for the night. To her surprise, she'd made more than three hundred dollars in tips—most of which came from the three brothers. It had been a very long time since she'd seen that kind of money. Maybe she could spring for a treat—like fresh vegetables instead of cheap microwavable meals.

Caleb slipped up to the bar, tucking the novel into his back pocket. "All set?"

Sawyer looked up, suddenly remembering why he was there in the first place. They were going up to her apartment. The butterflies returned, but not in a lovey-dovey way. Suddenly, she felt quite shy, which was not something she'd ever felt around Caleb Stillwater. "Yes," she replied, slipping the folded bills into her purse.

"You live above the bar?" he asked as she led him out the back door.

"Yeah."

Caleb paused and studied the soundness of the stairs. "Is this going to hold me?"

"I try not to think about it," she told him and began to climb. If they could withstand Gogo's considerable bulk, one adult werewolf shouldn't cause a collapse.

"So ... do you get an employee discount?" he asked, stairs creaking as he followed.

Sawyer chuckled wryly and shook her head. "No."

"Huh."

She used to get a discount on food, but Harvey did away with that once they started losing customers to the new bar. They weren't even allowed to use the tap, so Sawyer kept her own water bottles in the tiny employee fridge.

"Here's ... me," she said, digging out her key. A quick glance over her shoulder revealed that Caleb's mouth was creased with a frown, no doubt making a tally of how unsafe this place was to live in. Hunching her shoulders, Sawyer bit her lip, opened the door, and walked into the apartment.

She turned to the left, dropped her purse on the floor, kicked off her shoes, and flicked on the light. The lone recessed ceiling light illuminated the bareness of her studio apartment: the ratty brown couch she'd bought off of one of the previous rounds of college students, a dollar store lamp and folding table, the mattress she got at a flea market down the street. Her shirts and jeans hung on a rack next to the bed; underwear and bras were tucked into the tiny nightstand—nearly all purchased from the Salvation Army.

On the right was her tiny kitchen with its scratch-and-dent refrigerator, two-burner stove, and microwave. A couple of flowers she had scooped up from the back alley and repotted in chipped pottery sat atop the fridge. There were two cabinets above the sink, which held her small collection of cups and plates; the utensils lay drying on a towel. The only closed-off space in the whole place was the bathroom, which crammed a sink, toilet, and bathtub into the room like Tetris pieces.

It was hilarious, really. Her bedroom back home was larger than this piece of shit—en suite bathroom included.

"Savvy ..." Caleb choked out, closing the door behind him.

Tears pricked Sawyer's eyes and a lump filled her throat. "It's all I can afford," she whispered, not facing him. She wrapped her arms around herself, shame and despair flooding in. She'd left with whatever money she had lying around—which didn't last very long.

Not having enough money was a reoccurring theme in her life these days—along with sleep and energy.

Caleb's large hands closed on her shoulders and turned her around. "I can't have you living like this," he told her firmly.

Her chin jerked up. "And what would you have me do?" she demanded, voice rising slightly. "Go home?"

"Yes!" Caleb exclaimed, as if it were obvious.

Sadly, it was. She turned her head away. "It's not that simple."

Caleb rumbled deep in his throat and let go of her shoulders. "Simple? Of course it's simple, Savvy. This place is a shithole." He gestured wildly to the pitifully small contents of her apartment.

"I know that," she replied, voice trembling with a mixture of emotions. She took a deep, shuddering breath, willing herself not to cry. But it was a losing battle. "I'm falling, Caleb. Every day, I fall a little further. But you know what? It's better than being around your grandfather." Tears streaming down her cheeks, Sawyer grabbed her right sleeve and pulled it upwards, revealing the wide scars from Alpha Owen's claws. She stared at Caleb, daring him to keep arguing.

Instead, Caleb's face crumpled. "Savvy, I'm sorry," he gasped, hands clenching into fists. "I'm—so—sorry."

The anguish in his voice cut through Sawyer's anger. Deep down, she knew that it wasn't his fault, nor his parents or Naomi. Her own family had tried their best to shield her from the prejudicial propaganda Alpha Owen spewed and his sycophants followed.

She could go home, but she wasn't sure she was strong enough to withstand the abuse. The last five years had nearly beaten her to the ground.

Looking at the floor, Sawyer felt Caleb take a step toward her. Like magnets, they met in the middle, Caleb's arms wrapping around her thin frame. Crying quietly, Sawyer pressed her face into his T-shirt, fingers knotting in the material as his solid presence and scent of cologne enveloped her.

"I didn't protect you then, but I swear to you, I'll protect you now," Caleb murmured into her lavender hair, rubbing her back.

Swallowing her tears, Sawyer pulled back slightly and looked up into his eyes. He was taller than she remembered by a good two inches—broader, more muscular. But the same heart beat in his chest—the one that he'd given to her so long ago. It loved and protected fiercely.

It had been easy to deny her feelings when they were separated; but now that they were together, Sawyer couldn't continue lying to herself. The love for him she'd tucked away broke free, tearing down all the barriers she had erected around her heart.

"Caleb," she whispered, reaching up to cup his cheek with one hand.

He tilted his head to one side, leaning into her touch. "Savvy," he breathed. "Please, don't leave me again."

"I'm right here," she murmured, drawing his face down.

Their lips met tentatively at first, neither one quite certain how to proceed. But as the seconds passed, their kisses became more confident, deeper, and longer. Caleb's hands slid down and hooked beneath the hem of Sawyer's shirt, gently pulling it off and letting the worn fabric fall to the floor. Cool air kissed Sawyer's bare skin and she moaned as Caleb pressed his lips against her neck, fingertips drawing patterns up and down her spine.

"Savvy."

Sawyer opened her eyes and tilted her chin up; a full-grown male werewolf stared back at her, his irises lit up by a warm ring of orange fire.

"Don't stop," she whispered as a delicious thrill ran through her slight frame.

"I don't plan to."

Grunting softly, Caleb lifted Sawyer off the floor and hooked her legs around his waist. Kicking off his shoes, the werewolf hit the lights with an elbow, plunging the apartment into darkness. A sliver of moonlight streamed through one narrow window, illuminating the path to Sawyer's mattress.

Sawyer's breath quickened as Caleb leaned forward, easing her onto the bed. He loomed over her, eyes glowing like two embers as he slowly ground his pelvis against her core. Sawyer's head tipped back, nails clawing at his back as the friction created by their jeans made her shiver.

Rumbling low, Caleb kissed his way along her shoulder, across her sunken collarbone, and over to the hollow in her throat where her pulse beat strongly. Sawyer's moan of need was silenced as Caleb captured her mouth in a searing kiss, tongue darting between her lips in a move that nearly took her breath away.

"Caleb," she groaned, pressing her hips against his with small, urgent thrusts.

Caleb exhaled sharply, pulling away just enough to look down at her, eyes almost fully consumed by orange. "Goddess, I missed you," he murmured, shifting his hands so that they wrapped around her ribcage. His thumbs slid beneath Sawyer's bra, brushing the undersides of her breasts.

Sawyer wriggled beneath Caleb's bulk, tugging at his shirt. "Off!" she commanded.

Grinning in that lop-sided way of his, Caleb reared back and pulled the shirt over his head, dropping it behind him.

Dear goddess. Sawyer raised herself up on her elbows, staring at his naked torso. Caleb had been a muscular twenty-year-old, but the intervening five years had added definition and bulk to his frame. Every line on his tanned body appeared to be chiseled from Greek marble—from the powerful shoulders and biceps, down to his broad chest and six-pack abs.

"When did this happen?" Sawyer wondered, reaching out her right hand to touch the dusting of dark curls on Caleb's chest. He'd never grown hair there for as long as she'd known him.

"When I turned twenty-one," he replied, eyes half-closed as she ran her fingers over his chest. "Got taller ..."

"Second puberty"—that's what werewolves called the additional changes alpha- and beta-descended males went through. It was a physical marker that set them above gammas and omegas in the pack hierarchy.

"Mm," she murmured appreciatively, tilting her head slightly to study the change.

"Do you like it? I can shave it if you want."

"No, I like it," she replied, rising up on her knees and looping her arms around his neck. "Are there any other changes I should know about?"

Deftly, Caleb reached behind Sawyer and unclasped her bra, sliding it over her shoulders. "I'm a little bigger."

"I can see that," she said, arching her back as his hands slid around to cup her breasts.

"No, you haven't," he replied, flicking the pads of his thumbs over her taut nipples, causing Sawyer to moan. Heat blossomed in her belly and spread downward as she realized what he meant by "bigger".

"Show me," she demanded, pressing her breasts against his large hands, and threading her fingers through his hair.

Orange eyes gleaming, Caleb stood up and removed his jeans and boxers, allowing Sawyer a good look at his larger anatomy. Instinctively, she licked her lips and crooked a finger at him. "Come here."

Caleb wasted no time in rejoining her on the mattress. Although they had been apart for five years, he had no trouble swiftly divesting her of her jeans and underwear before climbing atop her. Sawyer wriggled beneath his bulk as his lips molded around one nipple. Caleb sucked on it gently while his hand cupped her other breast. She cried out and dug her fingers into his arm and shoulder, arching her back as pleasure threaded from nipple to groin.

"Goddess, Savvy," he growled, hot breath rolling over her skin. Laving her right nipple with his tongue, Caleb switched to the other and began again, gently pinching and rolling her nipple between his fingers.

Sawyer moaned, threading her hands through the short hair at the back of his neck. Caleb's right hand slid down between her legs and slipped between that shadowy valley. Gripping him tightly, Sawyer parted her thighs and tilted her hips up. His fingers danced maddeningly between her legs, finding her wet and swollen with desire.

"Goddess," she cried.

Carefully, Caleb probed at the source of her heat, sliding two fingers between her folds. Sawyer writhed, head thrown back, nails clawing at his skin. But the teasing didn't end—alternately licking and sucking her breast, Caleb brought his fingers up and swirled around her bud very slowly. Her hips bucked and she strained towards him.

"Please," Sawyer whispered, growing desperate with need, "please."

Caleb's fingers stilled and he lifted his head to look down at her. "Not yet, baby," he murmured with a little smile.

Sawyer grumbled and darted a hand between their bodies, but that damned new height of his kept her prize out of reach.

"Use your—"

Her eyes snapped into focus, zeroing in on his face. "If you tell me to 'use my words', I'm going to punch you in your new package."

Caleb grinned and wriggled his eyebrows at her.

A little snort left Sawyer's nose and she clapped both hands over her face; little giggles quickly spilled over into shoulder-shaking laughter. Goddess! Caleb always had a knack for making her laugh—even during lovemaking.

And she hadn't laughed in a very long time.

"I love you, Caleb," she whispered as the laughter subsided, pulling his head back down.

He quickly sobered and captured her mouth, easing himself between her legs. "I love you too, Savvy." Carefully, he positioned himself at her entrance, letting her adjust to the feel of his larger anatomy.

Finally, she breathed, arching her back, urging him further as her nails dug into his arms.

"I'm not hurting you, am I?" he asked heavily, sliding forward another inch or two.

"No."

Breathing a sigh of relief, Caleb thrust all of himself inside, filling her with his hard, hot length. Sawyer moaned, lifting her legs to legs wrap around him, urging him deeper. Caleb bent his head to kiss the side of her neck, whispering her name in her ear.

A jolt of desire threaded through Sawyer's belly and pulsed between her thighs. Caleb shifted, pulling out slightly, then sliding back in.

"Are you all right?" he asked, pausing to stare into her eyes.

Sawyer's thoughts spiraled from pleasure into coherency. "Yes," she replied—and meant it. This moment—the two of them, locked together in the dark—was the happiest she had felt in a very long time.

Ducking his head, Caleb started moving again, each stroke sending her thoughts spinning into the ether. Sawyer clenched around him, moving subtly with his thrusts. "Harder," she urged, running her nails across his back.

He shifted, elongating his strokes. His pelvis ground against her bud, building a sweet pressure in her core. Her pleasure spiraled higher and higher until it burst, spilling out in long, undulating waves. Sawyer cried out, lifting herself off the bed with the force of her release. As she rode the waves rippling inside her, she felt Caleb pause; he ducked his head against her shoulder, back arching. His shaft trembled, then he stiffened, spending himself with a long, low groan.

Sawyer wrapped her arms around him as he slowly came back down, lowering himself onto the flats of his forearms. She kissed his cheek, damp with sweat.

"Savvy," Caleb breathed, lifting himself up and pressing his forehead against hers.

She muttered something unintelligible, heart beating solidly in her chest. She felt lighter, as if all the stress and crushing weight of simply existing had been swept away.

"Come home, baby."

Sawyer opened her eyes. The orange fire in Caleb's irises was dimming, but she could still make out his expression in the moonlight. He was desperate for her to relent and return home.

Did she want to face his grandfather again? Hell no, but living on the edge of society was destroying her—far worse than what Alpha Owen had ever done.

Tears pricked the corners of her eyes, and Sawyer reached up and stroked his cheek.

"Yes."