I cannot believe he is here.

Him.

Branson Tucker.

Of all the goddamn luck.

I sniff the air—full of his sultry feline scent—and move to the cover of a low arched bridge that spans north to south in Central Park. I’ll wait in the shadows for him to move on.

He’s in his panther form. I’d recognize him anywhere. He’s huge with wide muscular shoulders, great big silent pads, and a tail with the cutest kink at the end. The moonlight catches on his velvety black fur, shimmering as though touched by silver. He pauses and also sniffs the air.

I hold my breath, but there is nothing I can do about my wolf scent. As an ex-alpha, it’s strong and dominant.

He’s got me. I can tell by the flash of his deep yellow eyes, the pupils thin vertical slits, as he turns my way.

I sink deeper, glad of my own dark fur, but I have no chance of avoiding him, not now.

As he comes closer, he shifts, stretching upward, elongating, his dark fur turning to acres of perfect black skin. His face is angular, his features strong, and as always confidence flashes in his human eyes.

I walk from the shadows, shifting as I go.

It’s impossible not to look at his cock and I see his attention dip to mine.

Once upon a time we knew each other so intimately I could almost have believed he was part of me.

But that couldn’t last. We are so different we may as well be from different galaxies.

“Elias,” he says, tipping his head and giving me one of his cocky-as-fuck grins. “You’ve got more gray hair than when I last saw you.”

Cheeky fucker.

“What are you doing here?” I ask and run my hand through my overly long hair. It falls almost to my shoulders.

“Probably same as you.”

I nod. There have been two killings in the park recently. Not your average serial murders or psychotic stabbings, but mauling. Nasty business.

“Smell anything?” I ask and nod east, where the second murder took place.

“Only you.” He steps closer. “So damn strong.”

His muscles ripple beneath the surface of his skin and it makes me want to lick him again. All over.

“I caught your scent first.” I frown. “When you were way back there.”

“Maybe I wanted you to.” He shrugs in that maddening way of his. “Maybe I miss you and wanted you to smell me and remember that you miss me too.”

I grit my teeth. We can’t go over this again. It broke my heart the first time, and I refuse to be a sucker for more pain. It would ruin me. There are only so many times a guy can put the shattered pieces of his soul back together.

“Elias.” He steps closer still, his grin dropping and his face becoming serious. “I miss you so much it hurts.”

“And I fucking miss you too, all right, but there’s nothing we can do about it. It’s the way of the ancient world, the traditions of our clans must be respected.”

“But we’re a new generation. We could change all of that.”

I huff. “You might be, I’m fifteen years your senior, remember.”

“And so good at teaching me everything I needed to learn. You recall when you taught me how to deep throat you and—”

I growl low in my chest and it vibrates around my body.

“Fuck, you’re sexy when you do that.” He takes my hand and it’s like an electric shock has gone through me.

My body reacts to his with a jolt, my heart skips a beat, and heat goes to my cock. “What are you doing?” I don’t move my hand.

“We kept us a secret for three years, we still could.” He frowns. “We’ll be careful. No one will find out, I promise.”

I swallow, my throat tight. He’s so young and handsome but he doesn’t understand—or refuses to try. Wolves and panthers don’t mix, the way cats and dogs don’t. It’s nature’s way. It’s how shifters evolved.

“You can’t make that promise, Branson.”

“I would do anything to have you back.” He touches my cheek, his fingertips gentle and warm. “To have things the way they were.”

“That can’t happen.”

“You’re not alpha anymore, it will be easier.”

I grimace and close my eyes. Giving up my alpha spot had been a gut-wrenchingly difficult decision. But my heart wasn’t in it, how could it be when it had so many scars? The best thing had been to willingly relinquish to my top beta, Fraser, before we ended up fighting to the death.

“Branson,” I whisper as I stare into his eyes. “You will have to be content with memories. I have nothing more to offer you.” I tug my hand free and turn back to the tunnel. I have to escape before he dissolves my willpower because right now he’s the hardest thing I’ve ever had to resist.

“Don’t walk away from me.” His voice is sharp and he grabs my biceps and spins me to face him. Our bodies come into alignment, his chest brushing mine and his semi-hard cock nudging my hip. “Don’t you think it was fate that we met here tonight like this, Elias? Alone in the dark. Just you and me. The darkness hiding our secrets once more.”

“Not fate.” I grip his shoulder. “We are both out hunting for a killer, not even a coincidence, it was inevitable our paths would cross.”

“Exactly, we are inevitable, so stop fighting it.” He curls his hand around the back of my neck and pulls my face to his. He’s not rough but he’s not gentle either.

We are exactly the same height, and my cock, now hardening rapidly, taps against his body. “Branson, what are you doing?” I stare into his eyes, their ethereal depths flash with desire.

“Reminding you of what you’re denying yourself, Elias.”