“Please don’t tell anyone,” he whispered.
“I won’t. How long have you known?”
He sent another pebble winging into the water. “I dunno. Forever, I guess. My uncle’s always encouraged me to listen to my dragon. But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t. There just… wasn’t anything there.”
“Have you talked to anyone about it? Your mom?”
Ignatius shook his head. “I think she might suspect, though. She’s never tried to push me to shift. No matter how much my uncle yells at her for being too soft on me.”
“I’m glad you didn’t tell him today.” Honey could only imagine how Golden would have reacted tothatbombshell. “Promise me you’ll only do that when you’re ready, okay?”
Ignatius pitched a pebble into the lake, with force. “In that case, I’ll never tell him.”
“Maybe. Maybe not.” She took his hand, squeezing it. “If you do, it should be because youwantto tell him. Not any other reason. Ignatius, I know you’re not ready to talk about this with your uncle. But maybe you could talk to someone else.”
“Not my mom,” Ignatius said instantly. “My uncle is clan alpha. He could use his dominance power to force her to tell him everything.”
“What about some of the kids here? They aren’t in your clan, and they’re unlikely to ever meet your uncle. You could talk to them.”
Ignatius stiffened, pulling away. “They’re shifters.”
“They’re your friends,” Honey said gently. She got to her feet, dusting herself off. “And they care about you. Think about it, okay?”
Just as she started to walk away, Ignatius spoke again. “Honey?”
She paused, turning.
“Thanks,” he said softly. “For making sure I could stay.”
“You belong here,” she told him. “As much as anyone. Whether you’re a shifter or not.”
* * *
Buck intercepted her on her way back to the party. He pulled her away from the circle of firelight, into the privacy of the dark, capturing her lips for a long kiss.
“Kid okay?” he murmured against her mouth.
“I think so. We had a talk.” With reluctance, Honey broke away. “It’s getting late. We should get everyone into their cabins.”
“No need.” Buck’s eyes gleamed in the moonlight. “Already sorted it out with Leonie. Ragvald volunteered to oversee the boys tonight, and the new counselor’s handling the girls.”
“Mmm.” Honey let him pull her back into his arms. “I could get used to having a backup counselor around.”
His hands curved over her hips. “It has its advantages.”
Honey caught her breath as his hard heat pressed against her. “I think we’d better take this to your cabin, Buck.”
He drew back, one eyebrow quirking. “Actually, I had something else in mind.”
* * *
Buck had faced wildfires—and worse—without feeling so much as a flutter of nerves. Now, as he led Honey toward the woods, his stomach knotted into a pretzel.
If this doesn’t work, I’m going to look like a motherloving idiot.
“Buck.” Honey tugged at his arm, forcing him to stop. “Not that I wouldn’t appreciate going somewhere a bit more private than your cabin, but I’m not wearing the right shoes for a midnight hike. Plus, I can think of better uses of our time.”
“Don’t worry. We’re not hiking.”
