What the fuck was Basil the Grey doing near the doctor? Ansel was cursing again, but dammit, fear gripped him by the throat as he watched the old wolf get comfy with her. Clearly, there was nothing accidental about their encounter. Why, he thought, why would the Grey show himself on purpose? There was still plenty of daylight for the shifter to go unnoticed if he wanted to.

Ansel had been near her this whole time and she didn't have a clue.

It had cost him some self-control though.

Before the accident, Ansel had always delighted in the fact that in the light of day, humans saw right through faerie creatures, too blinded by the light to see what was right in front of them. As long as the sun was out, their realms could co-exist peacefully. Often enough, this had made his job a whole lot easier, but today, when the doctor had stepped into the forest and hadn't recognized him, he couldn't deny the disappointment sinking in his stomach. He would never admit it out loud but part of him wanted her to notice him, to look at him again like she had that night.

There were tricks of course to make himself noticed but they would go against everything Ansel was taught, everything he had always worked for. Contact between the realms caused fear, then violence ... disruption and destruction before you know it. Ansel shuddered. Basil the Grey tampering with this fragile balance between the realms couldn't mean anything good.

Had the Grey learned about the doctor's collision with their realm? Was he here at the Prince's request? To eliminate her? If the Prince wanted to take the trouble of making her forget, he would've sent one of the High Fae who possessed such powers, not a shifter and most certainly not a wolf. Ansel fought the urge to snort.

Wolves were good for dirty work, nothing else.

Either way, Ansel should walk away. If he returned to his duties now, the Prince might forget about his involvement, but how could he do that?

He watched her linger in the doorway, so stunningly beautiful in her red raincoat, her long, auburn hair laced with sparkling beads of rain, and in his mind her silky voice on repeat: "Are you okay?"

Not 'Get away, you monster!' but 'I've got a medical kit in the back.'

Yes, she was out of her damn mind, but she was also caring and decent and she didn't deserve to die because she unknowingly drove her car over the wrong road at the wrong time. It was called an accident for a reason. With these thoughts, his blood started pumping and his hooves stomping, his stag body preparing to charge.

He had to calm the fuck down. Anger wouldn't help him make a good decision but who knew how much time she had left? Every second could be her last. He had to act quickly.

No, he didn't.

He had to walk away, that's what.

She was a human. A mere human.

Not worth breaking his loyalty to the Fae Prince.

Not worth jeopardizing their realm.

Definitely not worth risking his own neck.

The doctor stepped out further in the rain, the umbrella closed at her side and rain pouring down both sides of her face. "I know you're out there. Please, show yourself!" The desperation in her voice tugged at his heartstrings. How did she know he was out there? She couldn't. She had to be speaking to someone else.

With her next step into the meadow, her subtle perfume brushed his wet nose. Jasmine and honey ... but it was the faint hint of sweat that stirred the beast inside him, made him puff up his chest and stretch his antlers. "Listen," she said, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry I ran into you that night and that I broke your rules. I'm sorry."

She wás talking to him. He was so screwed.

"I don't want to break your rules again. I don't want to anger you. I just want to see you. Please?"

She wanted to see him, to look at him the way she had that night. He remembered what that was like, how she lavishly stroked his ego with her gaze, hmm ... he wanted that too. It was a shallow and selfish thing to want, not to mention stupid, but there it was.

"Close the door behind you, Michelle? That draft is highly unpleasant." The wolf's voice calling her from inside made her head swivel back.

"In a minute," she called out.

No! She shouldn't go in there. Not in a minute, not in two, not as long as that wolf was there.

"Please, stag. Please show yourself," she whispered to the rain, her shoulders sagging in the middle of her plea. She was about to give up. He should let her. What was it to him if she didn't survive the Grey?

Ansel licked his nose to cleanse his palate and scan the surroundings, wanting to know if the old wolf had brought henchmen, not that he would need to. The Grey was perfectly lethal on his own, dammit.

His heart rate spiked with the thought. It was futile trying to convince himself otherwise. He couldn't allow the doctor to follow him into the house. He had to get her out of there.

He would never forgive himself if he didn't, but he had to be smart about it. There were smart ways to guide humans where deer sentinels wanted them to go and none of them required to shift to his Fae form.

A charging stag with antlers the size of his was usually very effective to drive humans out of the forest, but in this case, that would drive her right into the wolf's arms.

The other trick at Ansel's disposal was to bring out his light and make her follow him. There wasn't a human alive who resisted the call of a magical deer.

He had no idea where he was going to lead her. He would figure that out once they were out of the Grey's reach.

It wasn't a smart plan.

It wasn't a smart plan by far.

He anchored his gaze to the blossom on the doctor's cheeks while he focused on the feel of the earth underneath his hooves, all its layers of leaves and soil, withering and growing, always renewing, withering, and growing.

His mind travelled past tree roots into the deep earth that carried him, all the way to where the Mother kindled her fire, the fire that fed and powered all beings, and when his mind had reached her, he asked her to light his soul.

A spark, then heat, then the all-compassing truth of being blessed.

Basking in the glow of the Mother's blessing, Ansel stepped out of the forest and called for the doctor.