Once she reached town, she pulled into a shopping mall and quickly found a store to purchase clothes to change her appearance. Casual clothes—jeans, a white T-shirt, and a nondescript black jacket. She donned them and packed the more formal clothes into her daypack.
After arranging her hair into a tight knot and placing a hat on her head, she also slipped on dark glasses. Hopefully, enough to avoid recognition.
Allegra left her car in the shopping mall car park and walked several blocks before hailing a cab. She passed dozens of people, werewolves and humans, and no one paid her attention. Allegra jumped at every sound during the cab ride and the wait in line to purchase airline tickets.
By the time she’d gone through security, she was noticeably jittery. Calm. Otherwise, the officials would notice and remember her passing through immigration.
When she finally stepped onto the aircraft and found her seat, she released a deep sigh of relief. She was safe. With a shaky hand, she fastened her seatbelt, exhaustion catching up with her. The plane took off, and Allegra’s tense muscles relaxed, her eyes closing. The past few days’ events had taken their toll, and the road ahead would be difficult. But for now, she allowed herself a moment of respite, grateful for the plane’s temporary safety and the engines’ comforting hum.
2
Dunedin Airport heaved with passenger arrivals. Allegra dodged a young blond boy still learning to drive his wheely suitcase and stepped through a door leading to the public area. Loud chatter battered her ears, and welcoming cries echoed in the enormous terminal. A crowd of men, women, and children waited for their loved ones. Some held aloft signs while others clutched flowers and balloons, gazes full of excited expectation. She checked each face, searching for Esther.
For a moment, fear swamped her, but no, her friend had promised to meet her during their hurried phone call from Sydney. Sensing the weight of a stare, she turned to the right and spotted Esther waving and calling her name. Allegra broke into a huge grin and ran. Their arms came around each other, and they hugged tightly.
“It’s so good to see you.” Allegra’s throat thickened with emotion.
Esther pulled back an arm’s length and offered a warm smile, her long chestnut hair cascading down her back in loose waves. “It’s been too long. I was so excited to hear from you, and when you told me you were coming to visit, I was beside myself.”
Lush lashes framed her bright hazel eyes, and her high cheekbones and pointed chin gave her an elegant appearance. Allegra noticed a man hovering behind her friend. A friend or someone more important to Esther? He was tall and muscular, with broad shoulders and chiseled features. He wore jeans and a navy-blue T-shirt that got a workout from his pectoral muscles and biceps. Her gaze roved onward to inspect his short, tousled brown hair and strong jawline covered in a hint of stubble. Rugged and alluring. Nice.
The man coughed. Busted! Allegra started, heat crawling into her cheeks as she met intense hazel eyes. Her breath hissed out because that stare of his pierced right through her.
Esther chortled, and Allegra blushed, wanting to hide from the embarrassment.
“Allegra, this is my brother, Dylan Stewart.”
“Nice to meet you, Allegra,” Dylan said, his voice deep and smooth. Amusement crept into his tone. “Esther has told me a lot about you.”
A shiver ran down Allegra’s spine. Esther hadn’t mentioned her brother was a hunk. She nodded in response, suddenly shy and unsure of herself. Good grief. She’d studied him like a plate of her favorite hazelnut gelato.
“How was your flight?” Esther asked, breaking Allegra’s reverie.
“Long.” Allegra focused on the conversation instead of dwelling on her mortification. “I’m exhausted.”
“Well, I’m thrilled you’re here. How long are you staying? You’ll love Middlemarch. Moving here with our pack was the best decision Dylan and I have ever made.” Esther chattered non-stop, not giving Allegra a chance to reply. “What have you been up to? I thought you were too busy doing princess things to fit in a visit to a mere commoner.”
“Pffff.” Allegra hated to discuss her current dilemma now. She wanted one evening to decompress without the weight of her kingdom bearing down on her shoulders. “I’m sure the kingdom will get along fine without me—at least in the short term. I’m here for five days.” Any longer, and she risked the council blocking her return. They were so full of themselves that they’d consider a coup.
Dylan took possession of her daypack, his dark brows arching when she informed him she was traveling light and didn’t have a suitcase.
“Tell me more about Middlemarch,” Allegra said as they left the airport.
Esther’s face lit up as she prattled. “We live a short drive from the town. Unlike your kingdom’s principal town, Middlemarch is tiny, but we have a pub, a superette, a lovely cafe, a police station, and a motor vehicle repair place. It’s mainly a farming community, but our pack has a woodworking business. We’re close to Dunedin if we want to shop for clothes or bigger ticket items.”
“But you’re in the country and can shift and run?” Allegra asked.
“We have to watch for humans, but there’s a large shifter community,” Dylan said. “We go on evening runs and have social functions together.”
“Allegra, I’m sorry about your parents and brother. It must’ve been difficult taking over without the necessary training,” Esther said, her tone full of compassion. “This is a lousy way to fulfill your wish for more than charity work.”
Allegra swallowed hard. “It’s a challenge, that’s for sure.”
She met Dylan’s gaze in the rear-vision mirror and glanced away. His musky, masculine scent called her, and she silently railed at her instant attraction. She had no time for romance. When she finally searched for a partner, she needed a man willing to stand at her side and act as a consort, a man to play her backup. Her instincts screamed that Dylan was a take-charge wolf, not one to remain in the background.
She tried to concentrate on Esther’s bright chitchat but sneaked glances at Dylan instead. Finally, she forced herself to study the scenery. It differed from the lush pine-clad mountains of Val-des-Loups. The ground here was open, with rolling green hills and flat fields. When they neared Middlemarch, she spotted more hills of tussock grass and gray boulders stacked one atop the other. The rocks reminded her of a child’s building blocks.
Dylan veered onto a gravel side road and traveled about two kilometers before turning into a driveway.
