Parker took uneven breaths when Daniel left, and focused on keeping her pulse in check. It allowed her a reprieve from having to acknowledge what had happened between them. Her stomach twisted. How could her defenses have crumbled so quickly and without reservation? She was mortified—just the memory of how she had reacted to that kiss had her mind reeling.

If you could call it a kiss.

She had been kissed before, and what she had experienced with Daniel was on an entirely different plane. The skills that this one man possessed had made the others seem like mere boys. Goosebumps erupted across her skin. She had lost all self-control, all ability to think beyond that moment. His touch. His mouth. Her desire.

Heat flooded through her as she relived those brief moments. How his body pressed up against hers felt and his powerful arms as they skillfully played with each and every nerve ending along her back.

She closed her eyes and absently touched her lips. The taste of him still lingered on her tongue.

Parker groaned. Oh God, how can I face him again? We don't even like each other. He is an overbearing, critical tyrant who doesn't trust Humans—especially me.

She would take the coward's approach and made sure she did not bump into him when she returned to her room. For now, avoidance was the best policy.

In the morning, Parker skulked down to Tech House and breathed a sigh of relief when she made it out the door without running into Daniel. He had either already left, or was not yet up. Either way, she wasn't sticking around to find out.

By the time she arrived at Tech House she had convinced herself to ignore the fact she was acting like a child and only putting off the inevitable.

Zeke and Jay were already at work, talking to Alice and Gail.

She caught the tail end of the conversation. "What's romantic?"

Gail let out a wistful sigh.

Jay threw the teenager a look of despair. "After our run last night, a few of us went into Boulder, and Kyle recognized his mate—a Human. Long story short, we had a bit of a problem keeping him from leaping across the bar to claim her. In the end, it took all of us to get him out of there before they called the police. It fucked up our night."

"Is that normal?" Parker said. "Do Werewolves normally get that aggressive when they find their mate?"

Alice tilted her head, and her lips pursed as she thought about the question. "Depends. Some Werewolves become over-protective, but eventually calm down. Others try and fight the pull, which never turns out well for either of them. And there are the rare occasions when a mate is rejected."

"What's going to happen to Kyle?" Parker said.

Jay shrugged. "Considering she'll probably have him arrested if he steps foot back in her bar, it ought to be interesting." He snorted, then turned back to his monitor. "What a clusterfuck."

"Alpha Locke has commanded him to not say anything to the woman until we can work out what to do. Human mates don't occur very often, but when they do, it's always a bit complicated," Alice said.

Parker was already aware of the panic that set in each time a Human was turned without their permission, or it was discovered they were someone's mate. With each interaction, the Werewolves increased their chances of exposure to the world.

"When did a Werewolf last take a Human mate in this pack?" she said.

Alice bit her lip and stared at a blank space on the nearest wall. "About twenty years ago. Some of the other packs have a higher rate, others less."

Once her acceptance into the Brandenburg Pack was sealed, she had been fortunate that both Morgan and Clara were willing to share information on the history of Werewolves, and their race in general. According to Werewolf lore, Human mates were an extreme rarity. That had all changed after the 1600's with the religious wars that spread across Europe. The Thirty-Years' War in Germany affected many of the Alliance packs.

The Werewolf race, as with the Humans at the time, lost nearly half their population through brutal cavalry attacks from both sides of the religious divide. The packs, while physically stronger, were no match for battalions of well-armed soldiers. If that weren't enough, they lost many more in the witch persecutions that followed. The packs across Europe were devastated. The race itself was looking down the barrel of extinction. Many became insular to protect those who remained, and, of course, nature always finds a way. Over time, Werewolves found their mates in Humans and were given a reprieve from annihilation.

"We only discovered forty years ago how mating with a Human is possible," Alice said. "The Human mates have the required dormant wolf gene. They are descendants of, or the result of, a Werewolf having a child with a Human."

"That's how Bobby was turned after being bitten. He had a recessive wolf gene within his DNA," Parker said. She reached for her laptop and hooked it up to her monitor. "When Bobby turned, Morgan and Clara wanted to know where the connection was. I think Clara was a bit disappointed when they traced the gene and found it wasn't in me."

"Oh?" Alice said.

She lifted a shoulder in a half shrug. "I think they were hoping that I could someday be turned, or that I would find a mate in one of the packs."

The corners of Alice's mouth tugged upwards. "You need to realize mating is a big thing for Werewolves. They can only recognize their mates once they, and their wolf, reach physical maturity and stop aging in the same manner as Humans. They can spend years searching for their other half."

Parker heard another wistful sigh from Gail as she threw herself down on the Tech House couch. "I still have four more years. I wish I were already there." The teenager pulled a face. "Then I'd be able to find my mate. It sucks big time that my wolf needs to reach full maturity before I can recognize him, or before he can recognize me."

Alice's eyes opened wide, and her jaw dropped open. "Holy frack in a handbasket." She turned and raced out the door. "I need to check on something."

The others, startled at Alice's sudden change, glanced at each other bug-eyed.

Alice would let them know what was going on when she was ready. Parker broke the silence. "Okay guys, that's enough excitement for today. Back to work you two. We need to get into that encrypted database." She turned to Gail. "Weren't you supposed to meet with Simon this morning?"

Gail's eyes flew wide, and she jumped up from her sitting position. All they heard was "Nuts!" as she raced out the door.

Like a well-oiled machine, Zeke, Jay, and Parker resumed their attack on the German bank's databases. At first, it looked as if they were making no headway. The bank's defenses used some of the best security measures they had seen in a while. With each failed attempt, her worry they would lose the trail escalated.

Zeke groaned after another unsuccessful attempt. "Nothing's working. I've tried everything."

Parker threw one of her pens at the wall. "I'm having no luck either."

She got up and studied the whiteboard. Key systems they had discovered within the bank's network were scrawled over the board. Her eyes narrowed as she scanned the board to see if there were any gaps.

"We're missing something."

Zeke let out a frustrated sigh and rubbed his jaw. "No, we have all their major systems mapped out."

A light went on in her brain, and she spun around and smacked her head. "That's it!" She raced back to her computer. "We'll get in through a support system—there's bound to be communication between it and the main network."

After two intense hours mired in frustration, they finally unencrypted and accessed the account transactions.

Zeke and Jay, unable to contain their glee at their accomplishment, broke into their happy dance and chanted, "We are legends."

Her chest ached, and she didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Instead, she sat staring at the screen. Zeke and Jay's voices faded into the background. She dared not move, or even blink in case this was a figment of her imagination.

We're there.

They had reached the end of the money trail. A mixture of emotions overwhelmed her, each fighting for dominance. She was allowed to feel a little elated, wasn't she?

Parker extracted the information that would identify the account holder, and brought up another window to perform a company search. Her shoulders slumped when the results scrolled on the screen.

And there it was, the reason she never allowed herself to get excited.

It was one thing to get to the end of the money trail, but quite another to actually track down the owner of the account. She had seen this more times than she cared to admit—the account holder was a shell corporation. She rested her forehead on the desk and closed her eyes. Her job had only just begun.

Parker cursed. These bastards aren't making it easy for me.

With a resigned sigh, she sat up straight and took a deep, calming breath. She placed her fingers on the keyboard. Time to begin the new leg of her search.

She had only just startedwhen Alice burst through the door, brandishing a bunch of papers in her handsand breathing hard. "I've worked out who Wildfire is targeting. Let's go. Weneed to tell Daniel."