I look everywhere but in front of me. It's getting more and more difficult by the second as my entire body wants to check him out. He is still standing there in all his glory and my restrain is wearing thin.

'Dammit girl ! Look at him already ! I want to see !'

Shush. I'm concentrating. One sheep, two sheep, three sheep...

I'm not known for my patience and usually nothing fazes me. But this is killing me. I have never done something this hard in my life.

Hard like his muscled and toned body. Every inch of him is sculpted to perfection. His beautiful eyes and tempting mouth, his powerful chest, his very potent arms, his absolutely marvelous six pack, his strong hips, his...

Wait a second !

I start to cough uncontrollably, my eyes watering.

When the hell did I start staring ?!

I look at the ground, reprimanding myself for my lack of control. I hear a wolf laugh like a hyena and even in that form I can recognize Jared. His wolf is tall alright and his fur a really dark brown, almost black. He is lying on his side, having the time of his life making fun of me. I glare at him more than happy to have something to concentrate on.

"What happened ?" Nate asks and I concentrate on him.

Crap !

My hand shoots up to my eyes to cover them. I hear him chuckle and have the urge to look again.

Life is really cruel.

I press my fingers harder on my face

"I'm just naked, no need to overreact." He mumbles.

"If you want me to concentrate on your questions that's how it'll be." I answer without thinking.

The place is quiet for a second before he clears his throat.

'Way to go.' My wolf mocks me.

My name is not Subtle.

She has no problem with seeing our mate naked. Neither do I actually but there are a lot of people around and I'd like to avoid having a weird reaction, at least not weirder than I already am.

"A-And there are kids around, show some decency !" I feel the need to add.

Even without seeing it I know he rolls his eyes at me.

Wait 'til it's the other way around and we'll see what happens.

I hear movement and shuffling.

"Alright, I'm dressed, you can look. He informs me.

I open my eye a fraction between two fingers to ensure he is telling the truth. When I establish that he is indeed fully clothed with my own eyes I let my arm fall, almost disappointed.

Five other wolves turned back to their human forms and are now bringing the pups down the mountain, one I identify as Jordan's dad comes rushing to the kids next to me and takes his son in his arms, burying him against his chest while Sydney gets a little closer to me, grabbing at the fabric of my jeans. I pat her head gently not forgetting she just had a traumatic experience. The wolves are eyeing the rogues sprawled on the ground, unconscious.

"What happened ? What were you all doing here ?" Nate inquires suspiciously.

'Can't wait to see you explain that.'

I see his eyes traveling to the clearly bloodied bite marks on my sleeve from my encounter with the rogue's teeth earlier and hurry to hide it behind me.

"We were just playing." Jordan interjects.

My savior !

"Hope was telling us about one of her stories." Another kid adds.

"And we were having lunch." Yet another explains showing the empty plates now scattered around.

I can't believe my ears. These kids are more trustworthy than half the people I know.

"Why aren't there any adults here ? Where are your parents ?"

Dude, what about me ?

"Because it's a secret place." Sydney informs him.

I laugh and she smiles brightly at me, the fear disappearing slowly from her eyes.

"Leo, you and Steven bring the kids back to the pack house." Nate instructs Jordans father.

I wave dismissively at loser number 2 at the back as he starts to guide the kids out of the place. Before leaving Leo stops in front of me and thanks me for protecting his child.

"No problem." I shrug awkwardly. I'm not used to people thanking me.

Two other men accompanied by three wolves take the rogues away. Nate orders two wolves to join the scouts and make rounds on the territorys borders to see that there are no other unwanted rogues left hiding somewhere, leaving only Jared and him in the clearing with me.

"So what happened ?" The alpha askes once again.

"We were playing when these two rogues came. They were targeting the kids." I tell them.

"Were there others ?"

"No, just the two." I shake my head. "I would have smelt it if there was anybody else."

"What did they want ?"

"I didn't really take the time to ask." I bite back. "As you probably noticed there were two rogues and more than ten kids in here and none of your fighters." I continue aggravated, my temper rising each passing second.

'Here we go.'

"Where were you ? Huh ? Playing cards ?" I stop to smell at the air around Nate, "Having some fun ?" I ask in utter contempt and see him glare at the implication. "Do you have any idea what would have happened if I hadn't been there. They would be dead. All of them. I thought you tightened the security, I don't even want to know how it was before." I laugh bitterly, feeling myself become hotter.

Jared trots to us and turns back next to us, to communicate more easily. I take no heed of his nakedness, uninterested, not even a little.

"Hope calm down." He says putting a hand on my arm.

"No." I shake him off. "You were late."

"Thank you." Nate says calmly.

"What ?" I ask, not understanding what he's talking about.

"Thank you for protecting them. You are right, we were late." He admits. "This place is actually hard to find. That's no excuse but it didn't help either. You saved them so thank you."

"We will interrogate the rogues and find out what they were after." Jared starts to put a plan in place, organize his thoughts, his strategy. "I'll go ahead." He adds before leaving in a hurry.

We take our time going back. I marvel in the moment. It's almost been a week since I have seen him and I missed him. I find him more handsome than in my souvenirs. All the heat, all the stress of earlier is replaced by butterflies in my stomach.

"So what game were you playing ?" He asks amused, his eyes showing his interest.

"We were just fooling around. And they like stories so..."

"What did you tell them."

"Sorry that's a secret."

"Why do I feel left out every time ?" He laughs. "Can you tell me another one then ?"

I know he is fishing for information but I ignore it.

"You'll just have to wait for the next meeting, like everybody else."

"Will there be cake."

"Only for the first one up there." I show him the top of the rocks, where the kids were earlier.

"So that's how they learnt to climb that high."

"That came in handy." I shrug.

"I'm really thankful for what you did today. I'm really impressed. Say, would you be interested in joining a training session this afternoon ?"

"I don't know." I hesitate as I scrape the back of my neck.

"Maybe you could learn a thing or two." He jokes

I contain my laughter as much as I can.

Me ?

"Alright. I just need some time to change." I accept his offer.

I stop by my room to put on yoga pants and a black shirt before joining him back on the first floor and following him to a room at the back of the mansion. The fighting room is even bigger than the dining hall. It's full of weapons ; sabers, knifes, daggers, swords, axes. On a different shelf I find nunchakus, shurikens, bows and arrows. I smile a little. There was a time where I used these beauties on a daily basis.

Good old times.

Times of war, of precision, of skills.

There are a lot of old weapons and there, in the middle of them I see one of my old knifes, embedded with a cursive H on the handle. I lost it a hundred years ago. I can't believe it ended up here.

Remind me to take it before I leave.

'You and your knives' My wolf sighs desperate.

The biggest love story of all times.

I look around, there are men and women fighting on the mats. I like the sight. At least we got past the sexist era. Should I tell them that thinking comes from decades of having their asses kicked by a girl, centuries of me winning wars against the strongest men and wolves ? Now girls are allowed to fight too. That's actually safer for them.

I observe them move around. They have good techniques. Some of them remind me of my young days. And I unexpectedly discover a few new moves. I watch carefully.

Smart.

Nate offers me to try something before walking to a group in the far right and beginning his own training. When I see him take off his shirt leaving him only in low shorts I choke. I start remembering this afternoon in the clearing when he didn't have shorts...

This is bad, I have to think of something else. I look around the weapons and grab my knife without hesitation. I remember everything about it, its weight, how easy it is to handle. Like it was made for me.

Silly me. It was.

I throw a few times at a target, hitting the center each time. I'm playing with it, throwing it in the air, making it stand at the tip of my finger.

"Impressive." Nate comments as he comes next to me.

"Old skill." I shrug.

I watch two wolves move around each other, the smaller of the two, faster, propels herself into the flank of the other one planting her canines in his main.

"You're next." The alpha tells me and I laugh.

"No thanks."

He rotates his body in my direction, his imposing frame the only thing I can see and I take my time checking him out since I couldn't earlier. A small bead of sweat is running down his body and I gulp with difficulty. I can almost hear my wolf howl at the sight and I want to do the same. Maybe I could ask for a one on one with him. Just so I could put my hands on him.

'One of your best ideas ever.'

I watch his chest rise and fall in a constant rhythm and his eyes flash with lust for a fraction of second before hardening again.

"Turn."

"No."

He growls at my refusal and his whole body shakes. The whole room becomes quiet. Everybody stops to move and breathe.

"I. Said. Turn."

"And I said no." I respond absolutely not impressed.

"Everybody out !" He yells and everyone scurries out of the room. "Don't push me Hope, I gave you an order. I want you to turn so turn."

His voice is commanding but the words brush my skin without provoking any kind of submissive response. Only making me a hot mess, filled with electricity and lust. That voice is sexy.

"And I told you I won't." I smile provocatively.

His body shakes even more, filled with rage at my disobedience, before it relaxes instantly. I'm a little shocked at how quickly he rained in his emotions. I might have some things to learn from him.

"Why ?" He asks gently shocking me all over again.

I consider his question for a moment.

"Because I don't need to to defend myself." And I can't show my wolf's fur, I omit to add.

He smirks amused.

"Oh really. You're that strong huh ?"

I only shrug. I'm really that strong. Usually I turn into my wolf just to let her loose. That's not easy every day to be stuck in my head. Also, there were a few times where my wolf went on a rampage so we try to avoid crowds for it.

"So, if I turned into my wolf you would beat me..." He tempts me.

Yes. "No, of course not. You're an alpha."

He beams at that.

"And in this form ?"

I don't like his smug face. Especially when his pride wouldn't handle the truth. I raise an eyebrow, challenging him.

"Let's see." I wave for him to approach.

He studies me for a moment before moving swiftly. He's fast and accurate in his movements. Most wolves would only see a blur. Most. I pretend to react too late and let him kick me in the leg to make me fall.

"I'm disappointed. I expected at least a little better from someone who doesn't need to turn."

I'm back on my feet in a defensive stance in seconds. He comes at me again, kicking high with his foot but I block it easily before swiftly bending down to hit his other leg, braking his equilibrium and making him fall on the mat.

What ? I never said I have no pride.

He stands up, his brows arced. I'm waiting, ready for his next move. He runs towards me faster and shoots his hand to my side. I avoid the impact and hit his feet again. I think I like him sprawled on the ground, his ass visible. That's a really nice ass.

I hear him growl, I think he's not joking anymore. Too much for his ego. I sigh. He attacks immediately, punching the air in front of my head, I lift my arms as if to protect myself and let him access my stomach. His fist connects with my skin with force and I change my footing to lose my equilibrium, backing a few meters away.

"Fight me seriously already."

"I am." I breathe in a fake whimper.

"Don't lie." He spats.

I sigh audibly, roll my eyes and stand up straight.

"This was a bad idea." I mumble.

I use some speed, to get on his left, I sweep the floor under him but he jumps out of reach. I don't lose my momentum and turn over to hit his stomach with my knee and he blocks me yet again. Little by little I increase my speed to let him adjust his rhythm. I throw my hand in his face as he did earlier and he moves subtly to the side to avoid the contact and kicks at my middle with his right leg. I bend down on my feet, putting my right hand on the floor to gain enough power to lift my left foot up to hit his stomach and send him flying in the air before crashing on the other side of the room.

I go over to him, stretching my hand to help him up.

"I think you broke my ribs." He breathes out.

"What ?" I frown. I didn't hit that hard. And he's a wolf, he should be fine.

I bend down to study his stomach. I refrain from salivating too much at the sight of his naked body as much as I can. Suddenly his hand grabs my arm and I fall onto him, straddling him, lost in his shining eyes and his bright mischievous smile. His hands trace a path on my legs, I shudder at the tension filling my muscles, my skin humming at the touch.

"As an alpha I'm not sure how I should react to having my ass kicked like that.

"You weren't being serious." I succeed to say when the only thing I can think about is that my fingers are currently on his skin, burning deliciously at the contact.

"Believe me, I wasn't going easy on you either." He murmurs as he replaces a strand of hair behind my ear.

I lick my lower lip reveling in the moment. His eyes flash a dark lascivious yellow. His fingers snake to my neck to bring my face closer to his. His warm breath is all over me, his lips brush over mine, as soft as feathers. I'm not as patient as last time. I lose it and crash my mouth against his, bringing one hand to his hair as the other roams freely over his body. I hear myself moan in pleasure as he accentuates his assault on my mouth. I bite softly his lower lip and he groans under me. In a swift movement he's over me, crushing me to the ground with his own body. His hands grab at my shirt and rip it apart around me to leave me in my bra. His chest is pressed against mine and the contact sends a sweet fire to my core. My fingers scrape his back and play with his hair, pulling at it a little. I hear him groan again.

I feel my temperature rise and close my eyes before he can see them shine red. My other senses are heightened, each of his touches, every one of his kisses is multiplied by ten, his incredible scent is all around me, encompassing me. We pull out for air and when I sense myself calm down enough I open my eyes again.

He is watching me without really seeing me. His eyes gain focus and realization flares through them.

"Sorry, I shouldn"t have." He mumbles as he gets up and away from me more than necessary.

It stings like a scorching fire from the pits of hell, I feel rejected and hate it. At the same time I feel cold as if someone poured a bucket of ice over my head. A physical wound couldn't hurt me as much as this psychological torture. Every inch of my being is screaming that we are meant for each other and that I need his touch. My heart is beating fast and my breath caught in my throat. I can't speak.

He is looking at the ground where the pieces of my shirt are laying around. I cover myself with my hands feeling shy suddenly. He jogs quickly to the other side of the room to retrieve his own shirt before coming back and handing it to me.

"I didn't mean to." He starts. "This was a mistake."

I close my eyes, filled with rage.

I'm going to kill him.