"Do you think that was wise?" Kelsi asked as Lee climbed back into the truck.

Her mate took a deep breath, hands flexing around the steering wheel as his eyes slowly lost their blazing orange color. "No," he grumbled, defeated. "I fucked up, didn't I?"

An entire lecture about how he treated humans like omegas sat on the tip of her tongue, but she swallowed the rebuke. Lee's shame at unleashing his Authority flowed through the bond. He was a good man, she reminded herself. Alphas had to keep order in their packs somehow. That was the nature of things.

Still ... "Yeah."

His eyebrows rose, then he lowered his chin and chuckled ruefully. "I knew you wouldn't let me get off easy."

Kelsi's lips twisted in a small smile. "You thought correctly."

"So, Luna," he said as he started the truck and put it in drive, "what should I do to fix it?"

She rested her head against the seat as they turned onto the dirt road. Deep ruts and holes littered the driveway, making for an uncomfortable, bouncy trek to the manufactured home. "Well, Omega Kelsi would tell you to apologize to them, because even though they're humans, they deserve respect."

Lee glanced at her, then swore and cut the steering wheel sharply to the right to avoid a large hole. Kelsi squeaked and automatically reached up to grab the handle above the door.

"We're fixing those ASAP," he muttered.

"Definitely," she replied, unclenching her jaw.

"Anyway," he said, straightening out the truck. "What else would Omega Kelsi tell me to do?"

Kelsi snorted softly, eyes scanning the flat landscape. "She'd remind you of all the times she had to submit to betas and gammas, and how that made her feel." She licked her lips, old memories flashing behind her eyes.

"Go on," Lee encouraged quietly.

"But I'm not Omega Kelsi anymore, am I?" She let go of the handle and straightened the hem of her shirt. "I'm Luna Kelsi." She paused. It was the first time she'd referred to herself by the title.

"Yes, you are," Lee said, pride flowing through the bond.

She looked over at him, smiling. Luna Kelsi. Her expression quickly slipped into contemplation. "So," she continued, shifting as they rode over another deep rut, "Luna Kelsi would suggest that you apologize to the humans, but at the same time remind them that you control this territory. Those who help will be rewarded while those who continue to object won't reap the benefits."

Lee was quiet as he maneuvered the truck around a bend. Kelsi glanced behind them, watching the flatbed with their pod bounce perilously up and down. She shuddered to think of what was happening to their cars—especially hers.

"Do you think that's fair?" Lee asked.

She bit her lip. "It gives them a choice," she replied. "Which is more than I can say for most humans." Or omegas. "But, you have to stress that there won't be any punishment for those who don't join us. They just ... they just won't get ice cream." She laughed and tossed up her hands. It was such a mom thing to say.

Lee chuckled and leaned over to kiss her cheek. "Alpha Lee appreciates and takes to heart Luna Kelsi's counsel. Ah, here we are."

Kelsi looked up and found them facing the white siding of the manufactured home. It was larger than her childhood home at fifty feet long and thirty feet wide but looked smaller sitting in a desert with nothing but scrub brush and tough grass for miles. Not far from the house were the crumbling remains of the former resident's foundation and the dilapidated carcass of a red barn.

"It's so ... barren," she breathed, eyes widening as they swept the landscape. They may as well have been dropped onto Mars.

"I know," he replied apologetically. "But once things get settled, I figured we could ask my sister to come out and work some of her magic."

Sawyer was a green faerie, Kelsi recalled. "Do you think she could get trees to grow? Like real, proper trees?"

Lee laughed. "She can make anything grow. Just ask my folks about the time she turned half the backyard into a tomato field."

Having a few trees wouldn't magically transform Nevada into Oregon, but it was a start. Kelsi flashed Lee a small smile and nodded. He winked, shut off the truck, and climbed down. Kelsi followed.

Warm desert air kissed her skin, bringing a touch of sweat to her brow. After hours in the air-conditioned truck, she forgot what the temperature was supposed to be. Oh, boy, she thought, reaching up and tying her thick hair into a ponytail. Hundreds of new scents assailed her superior olfactory senses: earthy minerals, dry air, and sunbaked sand; the slight, camphor-like aroma of sagebrush and dried vegetation smell of grass. The heat from rocks tossed up by some long-ago upheaval baked in the sun. Kelsi tilted her head up and shaded her eyes; that singular yellow sphere beat down on them from a pale blue, cloudless sky. The relentless heat would take some getting used to. She was a wolf, not a coyote or jackal after all.

Taking a deep breath, Kelsi tucked an errant strand of hair behind her ear. She was an adult, a luna; she could deal with change.

While Lee was busy directing the men from the moving company and the car carrier driver, Kelsi walked up to the house and climbed the stairs of a small deck stained cherry red. A small grey piece of paper about the size of a receipt with a series of strange, black symbols on it was taped to the front door.

Kelsi bit her lip and leaned forward so her nose nearly touched the ward. This was her first time seeing one in person. (Lee had some stone ones for the property, but they were in a bag in the trailer.) I wonder what would happen if ... she mused, lifting a finger to touch the edge of the paper; a warning tingle shot across her skin. Kelsi's eyebrows lifted and she snatched her hand back.

Amazing. That thin sheet was the only thing standing between them and the denizens of Silver Rush destroying the place.

Heavy footsteps echoed on the stairs behind her. Lee reached out and grabbed the bottom edge of the ward. With a quick tug, the ward came free with a small shower of sparks only to dissolve into ash a few seconds later. Lee grunted in surprise and dusted his hand off on his pants.

Kelsi eyed him. That didn't seem quite fair. "I hope I can use those other wards?" she asked pointedly.

"Why'd you think I asked for a sample of yours and Riley's hair?" Lee replied, wiggling his eyebrows. He reached into a back pocket and produced a simple brass-colored house key. "Lunas first." He held it out to her.

Somewhat mollified, Kelsi took the key and unlocked the door.

The first room they stepped into was the living room. On instinct, Kelsi turned and kicked off her shoes, walking across the warm brown, polished hardwood floors on her bare feet. Slowly, she advanced into the house, head on a swivel. The kitchen was on the opposite side: a stove to the left, a double sink in front, and a fridge on the far right—all stainless steel.

"Oh, my goddess," she murmured, reaching out to run the tips of her fingers along the surface of the stove. So shiny, so new.

Lee followed her like a silent shadow as she went from room to room. First, there was the laundry right off the kitchen, with a state-of-the-art front-loader washer and dryer. Next, she crossed back to the living room and into the master bedroom with its walk-in closet and en-suite bathroom. On the opposite end of the house were two bedrooms, each with their own closet, and a separate bathroom. The hardwood floors continued throughout, with the kitchen and both bathrooms having floors of white and black tile.

"What do you think?" he asked as she stood in the kitchen, looking out the curtainless window to the vast desert.

What do I think? she repeated privately. Well, for starters, everything was new. Kelsi couldn't remember a time when anything in her home wasn't used or bought from a scratch and dent store. Just one of those appliances probably cost more than all of their utilities combined. It was a new life, a different life.

"It's not home," Kelsi said slowly, turning around. "But I think we can turn it into one."

Lee smiled softly and crossed the room to take her in his arms. She let him fold her into his embrace and rested her head on his strong, solid shoulder. Turning her head slightly, she breathed deeply, taking in the vanilla body wash he used this morning and beneath that, his underlying alpha scent. Goddess, she'd only known this man for two weeks, but now, he was her comfort and joy, her solace and world.

Everything was going to be all right.