Sunday.

Her Aunt had either forgotten her birthday for the first time ever or there was something wrong. Just in case her aunt was sleeping in, Aiyana waited until after church to call. Her call went directly to the answering service. That could mean her aunt had lost the charger again or lost her phone, but it had been over a week since she heard from her last. She waved goodbye to the girl she'd caught a ride with and went into the dorm, already dialing the one person she'd never imagined she'd call when her aunt made her put his number into her phone.

An hour and three pages of notes she already didn't remember later, her phone rang. Alpha Wayne was calling her back? Why wasn't it her aunt? The smooth case nearly slipped out of her hand and across the room as she raised it hastily to her ear.

"Hello?"

"Hello Aiyana."

She didn't know she could feel so relieved. "Aunt Aimee, are you okay? I've been trying to get a hold of you all weekend."

"I'm fine. I'm sorry I caused you to worry."

"Are you sure? You missed my birthday."

"I didn't miss it. I remembered it, I just didn't have a phone."

"It's all right Aunt Aimee. I'm just glad you're okay."

"Did you have to call Alpha Wayne? This is embarrassing. He made me call you on his phone. He's waiting in the living room."

Her aunt thought having him there was embarrassing? She should try cold-calling him to ask him to check on someone. "Well maybe you'll keep a better eye on your phone in the future."

"You sound like my mother."

"Your mother told you not to lose your phone? Has your mother ever owned a phone?"

It was a source of frustration for her aunt. Her mother - Aiyana's grandmother - was completely against technology. She didn't even own a television. Aiyana suspected her grandmother spent most of her days laying in the sun in wolf form. Luckily, she lived in the heart of wolf territory so no one cared if she sprawled out in the front yard or not.

"Aunt, I have something big to tell you."

"I have something big to tell you too."

Something big? What could have happened? Did her Aunt finally get a promotion? "You go first Aunt Aimee."

Her aunt's voice got quieter and the buzz got louder. Aiyana imagined her aunt stepping to the far corner of the kitchen near the noisy refrigerator to try and keep Alpha Wayne from hearing."Remember that thing of your father's I gave to you? Some wolves came by looking for it."

"Thing?"

"Letters," she said cryptically.

Someone wanted her old letter opener? "Why?"

"They said it was part of their pack history and they wanted it back. They claimed your dad stole it."

"Do you think he did?"

"No. They were lying, blatantly." Her aunt prided herself on her ability to tell when someone was lying. Aiyana wasn't sure if she could or not although her aunt had certainly been good at catching her lies when she was little.

"What did you tell them?"

"The truth - I gave it away."

"Did you tell them about me?"

"Of course not. I just wanted to warn you in case you saw something suspicious. It was a man and a woman - both with dark hair, rather tall. They had Scottish accents although not as lovely as your father's."

"Tall as in everyone who's taller than you or tall as in actually tall?"

She could sense her five-foot-two aunt rolling her eyes. "The woman was at least as tall as you and the man at least six-foot, and half that wide. He looked like he could take on a tank."

"When did this happen?"

"Tuesday morning."

"When you lost your phone."

"Yes."

"Did you call me before or after they came?"

"I didn't call you."

"What?"

"Oh, and Happy Birthday, dear. I would have driven up there to celebrate with you but since I'm coming up there next weekend, I thought we could celebrate then. Sorry I didn't make more of an effort to call. I figured you'd be celebrating. Did your friends take you out for a drink since you're legal now?"

"I went out for dinner with a friend and he bought me a drink. I don't think I like beer."

"Did you get a cake?"

"We split a large chocolate piece for desert."

"Really? And who was this friend?"

"Just one of my classmates."

"A wolf?"

"Yes."

"Cute?"

"Of course."

"It's about time. Is that your big news, that you went out on a date?"

"No. Remember how I told you Cliff was my mate?"

"The Jerk? How could I forget?"

The amount of disgust her aunt expressed with that one word made Aiyana's heart warm. "Is it possible to form a new bond with someone else?"

"A new bond? I've never heard of anything like that? Why? Do you feel something for your classmate?"

"Not me. There's another wolf. He says he followed his link to me all the way from Yellowstone. He got shot in the head and refused to go home to get treated because he didn't want to leave me even though I told him I didn't believe him."

"Do you feel it?"

"I feel something but it's different than before."

"Aiyana, I've never heard of someone having two mates. Are you sure? And how could he sense you all the way up in Yellowstone? The bonds don't stretch that far. That's why young people do pack visits."

"I know it's strange. What's funny is I don't even know what his human form looks like yet. He's been stuck as a wolf this whole time. He could be bald and weigh 300 pounds and I don't care. He's really sweet."

"Do you really think he is fat and bald?" her aunt asked.

"If he looks anything like his parents - no."

"Why is he stuck?"

"Getting shot in the head messed up his ability to change. He's healing, slowly though."

"Well that's good. I'd hate for you to have to go through life explaining why your husband is a wolf. Is he going to be there next weekend? I'd like to meet him."

Aiyana chose to ignore the husband remark. "If he has any say in things he will, but there are other things going on too. I'll fill you in when you get here. You should call the phone company and tell them what happened. Tell them you think someone is using your other phone."

"You think those people took my phone?"

"Someone called me from your number and if it wasn't you, who else could it be?"