The next morning, Mary stepped out of her little cabin with a basket filled with freshly cooked breakfast. She had used up Luis's ingredients yesterday in making them a little breakfast. Inside the basket was hash that was mixed with roasted red pepper and mushroom. She even chopped the asparagus to mix into the hash. Alongside, she packed some freshly baked bread that was lightly toasted with butter and a plate of sunny side up eggs from the eggs that Luis gave her.

Seemed like a hearty meal for breakfast but it was the perfect meal to provide the energy a farmer would need to get their daily tasks done.

Glancing down at her basket filled with her breakfast, she adjusted the little cloth that covered the top. Little did she check her surroundings, Ryker was already waiting for her outside her home.

When Mary looked up, she saw Ryker standing in the middle of the opening in front of her home. She didn't know what to think---actually she knew what she was thinking. She had thought Abraham and Gray will return to take her on another brief tour today. That was part of the reason she got up early and cooked breakfast. Mary wanted to quickly run over to Luis's farm.

Today, he wore dark denim work pants that looked like he has worn them for a while judging by the wash on the dark blue color. The moccasin styled toe work boots worn over his pants. He didn't even bother fixing the hem to cover them. At least he buttoned his red and black slim-fit flannel shirt and tucked one side of the ends in. The male was a spitting image of a lumberjack in these mountains with his medium-length taper fade cut and rolled-up sleeves. He dressed like he didn't care what anybody thought about him, but it still made him look almost crudely handsome.

Mary didn't realize she had stopped walking and had been gawking at him this entire time until he cleared his throat to get her attention.

Ryker's eyes did a slow sweep of her body. Every single hair on her body stood at attention.

Unspoken yet clear.

She had checked him out. It was his right to check her out.

Don't shuffle on your feet, Mary, she scolded herself.

At this moment, she was glad she had selected something decent to wear. A light grey button-up tucked into dark denim skinny jeans and little white casual shoes that were not fit for the mountains. Her mousy brown hair tied up into a high ponytail.

"Good morning," she greeted him first.

"Good morning," he replied. His eyes stopped on her lips a little longer.

Mary knew exactly what was on his mind. Their kiss from last night. She was well aware of everything that had happened. He had kissed her and admitted to desiring her.

"Where are Gary and Abraham?" Mary asked, hopefully deterring her thoughts from getting any darker.

"I assigned them some projects to work on. I'll be showing you around today," Ryker told her.

Together the two walked towards Luis's farm. A desire path created by years of human traffic. The thick masses of branches above covered most of the skies, but little sun rays slipped through the cracks and cast beautiful shadows in the atmosphere.

"I wanted to give Luis something nice. He was very sweet to me," she said.

Ryker gathered as much from the smell of food coming from her basket. He was internally glad that Luis was kind to her. Luis and Doris were an old mating couple, but known as the sweetest in the pack. They were kind to everybody.

The air between them had an answered question that hung in the air. Neither of them wanted to say anything to the other. Waiting to see who would speak up first. Mary held the handle of her woven basket tighter. Her eyes moving to stare ahead before turning to look at him. Unfortunately, the moment she looked at him was the moment he looked at her.

She chuckled uncertainly before releasing a breath of air. Why was she out of words all of a sudden?

"So..." she began, "about last night- "

"Well, hello there!" Luis greeted from a distance. He was about ten yards away from them. Chopping down some firewood. Although the male had hit his prime age for a werewolf, he looked as fit as ever which made sense by how hard he worked on his farm.

Luis chortled and moved to grab a shirt.

"I apologize, Alpha. I didn't expect any visitors today," he said while struggling to pull on his grey t-shirt. Finally, the male pulled the hem down his torso.

"Not a problem, Luis," Ryker replied.

"So, what can I help you two with?" he smiled.

Mary lifted her basket up into the air. "I made some breakfast for you and Doris."

"Oh?" Luis asked curiously before leaning further towards the basket. His stomach grumbled shamelessly in front of everyone. Both males laughed at the sound and Mary couldn't stop a giggle from slipping between her lips.

"Oh, man, I can't tell you how grateful I am. I'm still waiting on my darling Doris to make something for lunch, but she would love this," Luis announced.

There were some leaves rustling behind Luis. All their heads turned in the noise's direction. A male who looked like a younger version of Luis stepped out. Obviously, Mary knew who that it must be Luis's son or relation to Luis. The male was not slender like Luis. Instead, he had thick bulging muscles and broad shoulders. His neck must be the size of one of her thighs. Someone as big as him could look intimidating, but he wasn't.

"Pa, ma sent me to check in on you. Said you might need some help."

"Your ma is fretting for nothing," Luis grumbled.

"That is Alexei. He is Luis's son," Ryker introduced Mary to him.

Mary looked at Luis in the eyes. He was a giant. Ryker was tall already for Mary. So, to stand before Alexei was like staring at a mountain. Her eyes swept over his scarred face. A horrid scar covered almost half of his right face. It looked like he got burned, so badly that healing completely wasn't an option. Mary realized Alexei have not welcomed her staring because Alexei's eyes hardened slightly and his jaw ticked further, enhancing the paleness of the scar.

"Nice to meet you, Alexei. My name is Mary." she greeted him and put her hand out for him to shake.

Alexei's eyes flitted to Ryker, who nodded his head once before his hand touched Mary's. She thought it was odd. Why on earth did he need to ask Ryker for permission? Ryker wasn't courting her. Sure, they enjoyed a few wonderful kisses here and there, but that was it. He told her he desired her, but desiring and courting were two different things.

Alexei removed his hand quickly before turning back to his father.

"We should return home. Ma wouldn't like it if she has to wait any longer," Alexei advised.

Mary was a little disappointed at how quickly the conversations were ending. She had wanted to visit their farm and meet Doris. Yet, she knew she shouldn't intrude. She was still an outsider, but she couldn't help but wonder while she stared at the retreating father and son.

Ryker and Abraham had taken in many rogues, lost wolves, and families. Staring at Alexei, she couldn't help but think about the hardship that he had gone through.

"What are you thinking about?" Ryker asked. They were walking in the woods alone again. She wasn't sure where he was taking her.

The look on her face was distant. Her eyes were clouded and far. Ryker could tell she was deep in thought. When he asked his question, she blinked and looked his way.

"Alexei-how did he come by the scar on his face?" she asked.

Ryker wanted to smile because in a way he knew she was thinking about Alexei. Placing his hands at the center of his back, he sighed and looked ahead.

"Alexei met some terrible rogues. They cornered him in an alleyway. Burned him with melted silver."

Mary found it hard to believe. With how Alexei looked, he could probably take down ten wolves. Ryker must have seen where Mary's thought was traveling to because he answered her next question.

"He is a big guy, but a big guy with a big heart. They have bullied him all his life. Part of the reason his parents parted from pack life. They wanted him to find peace, away from the bullies. They wanted him to find himself."

Mary felt Alexei's pain.

How can people be so cruel?, she thought to herself.

Even when she asked herself that question, she already knew the answer. We built society that way-a wallflower left to hang on the wall. Jumping at the chance of love or a happily ever after...taking life into her own hands wasn't what she had wanted. Did it make her braver to fight for what she wanted? It didn't matter now. She kissed the wrong guy, anyway. At that thought, she released a little breathy laugh.

Ryker halted in his walk to stare at her. What was amusing?

Mary turned to look at him, and one corner of her lips lifted. Eyeing the male before her, she couldn't help but laugh at her own foolishness. Mary had made so many mistakes, but did she regret her actions? Her eyes skimmed his face leisurely. Enjoying how the sun now shadowed his face.

The answer was no. She didn't regret a single thing. To hell with the wallflower title. Mary would taste all the happiness that life would give her. If Ryker was offering passion, how could she deny it? At least if she was to die tomorrow, she at least would have gotten a taste of the wildfires between a male and female, right?

Ryker still eyed her carefully. So many emotions flying across her face that he couldn't pin exactly what she was thinking.

"Where to next?" she asked suddenly.

Ryker was still puzzled over her reaction. A million questions running through his mind. Never in his life has he ever wanted to know what someone was thinking about until now.

Many people were afraid of Alexei. The poor guy doesn't have many friends. Even his pack members found it hard to be around Alexei. However, Mary looked the male straight in the eyes and even offered her hand for him to shake. As if there were no scars on his face. She didn't even flinch in front of him. Alexei was not a handsome male. Ryker could even see how terrified some females would be to wake up to him in the middle of the night. For someone like Alexei, he has closed himself off to everyone, which was why Ryker has always left the male alone.

"Would you like to see our pack's greenhouse?" he replied.

"There is a main one?" Mary asked and chased after Ryker, who has already started walking again.

"Yes. We have a main greenhouse for providing crops throughout the seasons. Whatever we grow inside, we give away to those who are in need," he answered her question.

"That... that is pretty genius," she replied.

"We keep our seeds and re-plant whenever possible," he added.

Ryker continued to answer Mary's questions while walking down another desired path towards the main greenhouse. He figured he'll take her there since she loved cooking so much. She may like to see how they are growing their vegetables.

When they arrived at the greenhouse, it surprised Mary to see how big it was. Ryker moved to open one door of the double glass green doors. Allowing her to enter first, she was immediately hit with the change in humidity and air.

Cemented pathways that led them through the many rows of vegetables. Large piping above to spray water onto the plant. The light shining from the skies. Mary knew right away why they chose this spot. It was in direct sunlight.

"Up here, we can have some trouble growing some crops. So having the greenhouse can help with growing," Ryker said.

Mary crouched down and touched the soil. It was soft, wet, and dark. Filled with nutrients judging by how vibrant even the soil looked.

Ryker crouched down next to her. He too grabbed a bit of the soil into his palm.

"Amazing," she whispered, turning to look at him with bright eyes.

Mary hasn't even seen everything yet, but she was in love with how Ryker has built his pack. The town was small yet efficient enough to not make his pack members miss the city life. He created everything he can here with what he had. The male before him was a brilliant male.

"You are brilliant," she admitted with a smile.

Hearing those words from her lips was enough to kick his heart hard enough that it skipped a beat. The look of appreciation and admiration appearing in her eyes. It pulled at him. Simple ideas like this amaze her? Ryker wasn't sure if he wanted to run away or pull her into his arms. Mary was too sweet for him to taint, but he couldn't resist the temptation.

Gods and Goddesses, how the hell did he get himself in this situation?