Tuesday.

Three exams down, three to go.

If she hadn't promised Nate she'd be there, she wouldn't bother going out to the farm tonight - she'd just phase in her room and back and be good for a month. It was fun to run in the moonlight though and it was her favorite time of year and Nate would be there. She hadn't seen him since Sunday when they'd moved him back to the farm. Yeah, she couldn't lie to herself. She was excited, and scared. What if he changed his mind? What if he didn't like her wolf? What if... Stop it, she scolded herself. If he didn't like her wolf then too bad.

At 7:30 she put down her note cards and changed into her nicer jeans, then tried to figure out what to do with her hair. If she braided it like she usually did, it would just be undone when she changed back. It actually looked good down for once. Maybe Nate would like it. Would he even notice?

At 7:45 she went downstairs to wait for Kobe. She didn't have to see him to know when he pulled up. His old green Chevy Sonic backfired, eliciting a screech from one of the girls going into the building.

She pulled open the squeaky door and slid into the passenger seat. "When are you going to get that fixed?"

"My dad's going to look at it when I go home." A slow grin spread across his face as he observed her. "You look nice."She reached back and grabbed the seatbelt, doing her best to make it very obvious that she only considered him a friend. "Thank you and thanks for giving me a ride."

"It is my pleasure."

As usual, he didn't talk much. Aiyana didn't mind. She stared out over the green fields of rapidly growing wheat and just enjoyed the view.

The front yard was already full of vehicles and the smell coming from the three smokers was mouth-watering. A long line of students had already formed in front of the loaded folding table manned by Alpha Miguel.

"Think there will be enough for everyone?" Kobe asked.

"There better be or things are going to get ugly."

"Who are you going to run with tonight?"

"I don't know. I might just visit. Nate is supposed to be here. It depends on how he's feeling."

"You can both come."

Nate was near. Whether she felt it or she just imagined she could, she wasn't sure. "I'll let him know. I'm going to go find him. I'll see you later."

"All right. I'll save you a place in line just in case."

There were a surprising number of people meandering about considering it was finals week. On second thought, it was the last full moon before the end of the semester and no one wanted to miss out on the end-of-the-year barbecue. She waited for a trio of giggling girls to pass in front of her then headed toward the front of the house where some extra tables had been set up. She didn't see anyone in wolf form yet. Maybe Nate was inside? Alpha Miguel was standing behind the table next to one of the smokers wearing his big red apron and wielding super-long tongs. A blond-headed young man she'd never seen before was laughing at something he was saying. The blond was tall - taller than the alpha. He turned enough that he could see his blue eyes. Why did they look so familiar? She should stop staring before he caught her. Too late.

His whole face lit up with a grin and he was moving her way. Oh my gosh, it couldn't be. She should do something. Closing her mouth would probably be a good start.

"Nate?"

He stopped right in front of her. Somehow her hands were already in his. "In the flesh, well human flesh."

"You're all healed?"

"Not quite, but enough that Doc finally gave me permission to change. I won't be able to change back for a while though. My gland is growing back, but it's not fully functional yet."

"You're not..." she wasn't sure how to say it.

"Not what?"

She couldn't look into those blue eyes anymore so she looked toward the ground. "You're not what I expected."

"Is that bad?" he sounded worried.

"No, no. I just didn't think you'd look like a Norse god."

He laughed and she got the courage to look back up into his face.

"And I didn't expect you to look like an exotic supermodel, but here we are."

"A supermodel?"

"Oh, yeah. You have got to be one of the most beautiful women I've ever seen."

She looked to either side of her just to make sure it was actually her he was talking about. "Are you sure your eyes are working?"

He put a finger under her chin. "Aiyana, look at me."

She tilted her head up to look into his blue eyes again. At 5'8" she usually didn't have to look up that far, but Nate was several inches over six foot.

"You are beautiful, both inside and out, and I love you. I will always love you, and not just because of the bond, but because of who you are."

"Nate, you barely know me."

"I feel like I've known you forever."

She thought for a moment that he might kiss her right there in front of everyone, but abruptly, he stopped and looked around, then smiled down at her. "Come with me?"

"We should get in line."

"I'm friends with the chef, and it will only be for a few minutes."

"Where are we going?"

"Wait and see."

He let go of her hands and walked in front of her toward the house. She'd never been a hand-holder, but then she'd never had a boyfriend before and she found herself wishing that he hadn't let go. He held the front door open for a woman with a pan full of cornbread and another with a bowl of salad, both coming out of the house, then ushered her inside. She moved toward the open living room, but he grabbed her arm and pulled her toward the stairs just to the left of the front door.

"What are we..."

He stopped mid-stair and pulled her into his arms.

"I've been waiting for three years to do this."

He lowered his head, and suddenly she was kissing. Her first kiss. She'd read about kissing. Usually there were tongues involved and knee-knocking feelings. This wasn't like that. It was just his lips pressed against hers. It was nice. His lips moved and hers and okay, maybe there were some.... No, not... What was she thinking about?

His lips pulled away and she abruptly realized they were in the middle of the stairwell in the ALPHA's HOUSE! She quickly put space between them.

"You all right?" Nate asked. He cocked his head curiously much like she'd noticed him doing when he was a wolf. It was adorable.

"Mmm-hmm."

"You don't seem all right."

"I'm fine." It sounded like there were fewer voices downstairs than before. She couldn't hear anything coming from above them.

"You didn't like it?"

He sounded hurt. The sad look in his eyes nearly made her tear up. Who cared if the Alpha caught them? He was the Alpha on a college campus. He'd probably seen worse. She hurtled herself back into his arms and starting kissing whatever she could find. It only took her three tries to find his lips again.

"There you are."

Aiyana blinked up at the smiling blond-haired woman. Right, Nate's mother. Here, on the stairwell, where she'd been so lost in her son's kisses she couldn't remember the woman's name. She scrambled to stand up. When had she sat down?

His mother waved her down. "It's all right. I know what it's like when you first find your mate." She glanced at her son with a lift of her finely shaped eyebrow. "You may want to fix your hair before you go back outside. Anyway, here." She offered him a fed-ex package. "After you take care of this, you should go eat. I've never seen food disappear so quickly."

She glanced back at Aiyana with a kind smile. "Your hair is beautiful down like that. Welcome to the family."

Nate waited for his mother to turn back toward the front door then thrust the package at her. "Here. Happy Birthday. Sorry I couldn't give it to you on your actual birthday."

She took it but didn't look at it. "You opened your eyes. I don't think I could have had a better birthday gift."

"Go ahead, open it."

She was actually thrilled he'd thought of it. What was a birthday without something to open, after all? There was a small wooden box inside with Celtic-looking carvings around the edge of the lid. It looked ancient.

"Wow."

"Look inside."

She undid the tiny latch on the front and opened the lid. A silver wolf with bright blue stones for eyes stared up at her. Tiny Celtic-like designs flowed along it's forehead and twirled around its ears. She reached in and lifted it by the sturdy black cord through the loop at the top. "It's beautiful."

"It's been in my family for years, but no one has been able to wear it - at least not without being very careful. My mother suggested I give it to you. Try it on."

"You told your mother about me and silver?"

"I did. Sorry. Was I not supposed to?"

She shook her head at his guilty look. "It's all right. I just prefer to keep it to myself."

"I won't tell anyone else."

She slipped the necklace over her head. It did look good against her black T-shirt. It was the first time she could remember someone other than family giving her something so nice.

"Do you like it?"

"Yes, thank you."

"Good. It suits you." He pulled her closer. "Just like you suit me."

She was never going to get tired of kissing him, but her stomach had other ideas. He pulled away with a chuckle when it rumbled for the second time.

"We'd better go eat before your stomach gets mad. Wait." He grabbed her arm as she started to go downstairs. "I think we should keep what's between us quiet for now. I still can't remember why, but I know you're in danger, and with Jeremy..." he sighed and rubbed his forehead. "I don't know why he was here. I came down by myself - I remember that much. He knew I was leaving, so maybe he followed me. I don't know."

"You traveled all the way down here in wolf form by yourself? Why?"

"It was a quest. I know, it's weird, but I wanted to find you on my own without mechanical means - you know - like our ancestors did. I wanted finding my mate to be special."

She reached up and smoothed out the hair she'd mussed. "It's not weird."

"I can't believe Jeremy is gone though."

"I'm sorry you lost him."

"Me too. He's my best friend. Was my best friend."

He covered his face.

"Nate." She wrapped her arms around him and held on.

I think this was the chapter where I suddenly realized that the ending was not going to happen like I'd planned. The odd thing is, there was no reason for it. I was a bit mad too, that my story wasn't listening, but that part of my brain that seems to know the stories before I do was adamant. Don't worry, we have a ways to go yet until the end.