Once again, Ryker studied her every feature.

What was it about her that pulled him towards her?

Why was it that every time he looked at her, she only grew more attractive?

Mary blinked and waited obediently. In that split second, she felt more than just safe. She felt contentment from deep inside her soul and knew without a doubt that her wolf may have taken a liking to this potential mate standing in front of them.

Ryker's thumb touched her bottom lip. It part and trembled underneath his silent observation. His thick eyebrows furrowed with bewilderment, but his eyes burning with desires. Two contrasting emotions written on his face.

Sudden, harsh rapping at the front door broke their trance. Immediately, Ryker looked away from Mary towards the door.

Howls.

Loud, mournful howls echoed throughout the desolated woods of the mountain.

Something was wrong.

Ryker moved to the door, unlocking it, and whipping it open. His eyes were hard and masked. Mary followed Ryker, but when Ryker saw that she was moving a little too close to the opening of the door, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her behind him. His firm hand wrapped on her wrist to prevent her from going further.

"What happened?" Ryker questioned.

"It's Ava-she ran away from the hunting pack. Said she needed some cool air. When she didn't return, I sent Ethan and Gary after her scent. When they found her-someone torn her throat. She's dead, Ryker." Abraham's face looked ashen white.

"Did you catch the scent of another?" Ryker questioned.

"Whoever did it knew what they were doing. They masked their scent," Abraham replied, shaking his head almost in disbelief.

In the last couple of months, Ryker has been dealing with dead bodies and accidents. These accidents looked unintentional, but Ryker knew otherwise. They were little clues that they found after each accident that led Ryker and Abraham to believe that every accident was deliberate.

Ryker needed to investigate the crime scene. Releasing Mary's wrist, he was already stepping out of her cabin. He needed to shift to his wolf. His sense of smell and supernatural traits were stronger in his ultimate form. In a blink of an eye, Mary witnessed a strong and passionate male morph into his wolf. Standing before her regally strong and concentrated. His clothes shredded into pieces on the ground.

She thought he would run into the woods and disappear into the darkness, but instead he turned his head to look at her. Those hazel eyes gazing at her.

Waiting.

Then he turned around and pushed his head against her waist. Mary released a surprised gasp before she realized he wanted her to go back inside.

"Alright! Alright!" she answered hastily before walking inside her cabin.

Once she was safely inside, Ryker jumped on his paws and ran after his brother, who was a few feet ahead of him. He followed Abraham to the scene.

When he got there, only a few trusted enforcers stood around in their human skin. A few trackers were examining the crime scene in their wolf forms. Ryker noticed that the ground Ava's dead body laid on was in disarray. Broken logs and ruined brushes and grass. She put up a fight but judging by the damage done; it looked like it involved a few people.

Walking over to Ava's body, he sniffed her fur and then around her. Ethan came running out and to Ryker.

"We looked everywhere. There are no signs of invasion. Gary checked all borders of the territories and Patrols tonight saw no one or anything different," Ethan rushed to say, out of breath and a little freaked out.

Something glistened underneath the moonlight. Ryker turned his head to the left and noticed Ava's necklace lying on the ground. He knew right away that it was hers because she was wearing this earlier this evening. On the necklace were fresh bloodstains that were more than likely hers.

Ryker knew that Ava's death would question his position as Alpha for a few of his pack members. They might not have said it out loud, but he knew that they were talking about it. However, among those few pack members they were a few that believed in him. He was new to his position and has no significant lineage that would support his position. So hold a seed of doubt was understandable.

Ryker was quiet as he observed the crime scene. His thoughts were everywhere. Calculating and running through every possibility that he could come up with. Their territory was in an elevated area. Border patrols guarded all entrances but nothing impenetrable, so he couldn't just drop that possibility.

Could it be...someone internally?

Ryker continued to mull over these options throughout the night. When he finally collapsed into bed, exhaustion ached his muscles and mind. His temples were pounding to where keeping his eyes open hurt. Ryker took a quick shower, dried himself off quick, but didn't bother putting on any clothing. Collapsing into bed, naked and weary. He placed one arm over his head and exhaled.

Stressed and desolation accompanied him tonight. He closed his eyes, but images of Ava's dead body lingered in his mind. It acted like a demon that tortured him in the night. It was unsolved. No traces or scent. The destruction of the crime scene only made it harder to locate where the perpetrator disappeared to.

Now, even though weariness settled into his very bones, he couldn't stop his mind from running. The wheels were turning. Pulling the thin black silk cover over his lower body, he rolled over to his side and stared into the dark corner.

After a few minutes, he heard movement outside. The sound of leaves crunching and branches snapping underneath footsteps. Whoever it was, wasn't very sharp on keeping quiet or was a complete novice in committing crimes. The hair on his arms rose. His wolf was on full alert.

Unmoved by his nakedness, he stood up from his bed. Walked out into the hallway slowly. His ears raised and listening. Once he reached the stair, he walked down the one flight stairs to his main level floor. His kitchen to the left and behind the stairs and a large sitting area to his right. Right next to the living room was the dining area that had a long rectangular table and several chairs. Honestly, Ryker bought it because it looked nice, but he never once sat down on the table to eat.

A flicker of a shadow on his front left window caught his attention. His eyes lifting to see it fly across and to the front door. Ryker exited the backdoor of his home gradually. Walking out of his home, Ryker hoped to catch the culprit before he could manage to break into his home.

He followed the noisey footsteps. When he near enough, he could see the shoulder hiding behind a post but it was literally pitch dark outside that even with his human eyes it was a little hard to see who it was. Instantly, he grabbed onto the culprit, wrapped one arm around his neck in a chokehold.

"Who are you?" Ryker questioned deathly low just as the culprit released a high-pitched scream.

He realized immediately that the person he was holding was not a man. More importantly, she was not a culprit.

"Fuck! Mary, I almost killed you," Ryker swore angrily and loosening his grip.

"Do you always sneak up on people and put them in chokeholds?" she accused him.

As soon as he released her, she spun around to give him an indigent glare.

"To be fair, you were creeping around my house," Ryker pointed out with a shrug.

That was when Mary's eyes swept away from Ryker's dreamy eyes and traveled gradually down his naked body. For the second time since her arrival, she was, again staring at his beautiful body.

Ryker took a step toward her.

She stumbled back so quickly she hit his door. Averting her eyes to look, she grabbed at his door like her life depended on it.

"I-I was just checking in on you," she stammered.

"Why?" He took another step toward her.

She moved closer to the wall that now every single part of her right side touched the door. He was so close to her. She felt the heat of his body radiating all over her right side body.

"You left in a hurry. Abraham looked worried. I just wanted to make sure everything was okay," she replied.

Ryker said nothing. After a few minutes, Mary's eyes returned to Ryker's face. He was looking at her oddly.

"Coming out in the middle of the night like this isn't good for you," Ryker whispered.

"Why?" She looked at him innocently.

With her current position, she stood just below a ray of moonlight that he could see part of her face. He lifted his hand to cup one side of her face. Ryker's mind was indeed troubled. So, messed up with so many issues that he couldn't sleep even in an exhausted state.

Adding Mary into the mixed and if he had to give into one issue, she was the one that he would give in. Taking the one last step to eliminate the space between them, he cupped both her cheeks. His eyes studying her face for any hint of fear or disgust.

"Easton was right, you know. Danger lurks in the dark. Many of which would love to destroy the very innocent soul that you are," he rasped huskily.

Mary sharply inhaled. Her breasts accidentally rubbing against him.

"Are you one of them?" Mary whispered. She could barely get the words out. Her heart was beating so fast, she feared he could hear it. She fisted her hands at her side and unconsciously wetted her lips.

"Do you want me to be?" he asked while his eyes dropped to her wet lips.

This was it. Mary could feel it. She didn't mean to come out to this. She had only wanted to check in on him. It took her a while to find his home, but after a few lost turns; she managed to find it. Ryker's home wasn't huge like Alpha Ivan's. No, he built it a lot smaller, but enough to fit a family in it. A few pups and a wife.

What was she thinking? Why was she thinking about this? The thought of Ryker with another female and having pups with her-it didn't sit well with Mary. Her chest tightened at the thought.

"Mary?" Ryker reminded her.

"What was the use of running? You only live once-Mary's motto she was living by.

"Yes," she answered him.

Ryker didn't waste another second. He needed a reprieve from the painful tension in his head. He needed an escape from his obligation and needed comfort. Mary was here, and he never craved her more.

Kissing her only confirmed how much he needed this.

He slammed her up against his front door. Heard her grunt a little at the impact, slid his tongue across the seam of her lips before lifting up her legs to wrap around his waist. He slanted his lips over hers as soon as she granted him entrance. Mary wrapped her arms around his neck.

The kiss right now was rough and full with need. She felt his frustration, his anger, and desperation. Somehow, Mary knew. She knew that Ryker needed this and oddly, she was more than willing to give it to him.

She let go of her resistance. Closed her mind to society rules and allowed herself to fall into whatever was happening between Ryker and her.

Mary felt the door opened behind her and a second later she was inside his home. The kissing never stopped. Even when Ryker moved his lips from hers down to her throat and began sucking. It was sensitive, and it drove her crazy. She couldn't sit still in his arms even when he was trying to carry her upstairs. Finally, he had to stop halfway to tell her to stop wriggling.

"I can't help it." Her voice-damn, did it make Ryker's cock harden even more. It was throaty and sultry. Was it bad that he wanted to drive her crazy like this all the time so he could hear it? Yet, throughout the pleasurable haze, Ryker could still remember that Mary was innocent.

"Mary, are you sure you want to go through with this?" he asked one more time.

He kept asking her, and although Mary was still firm on her answer; she realized that he thinks she was still a virgin.

"Ryker...I'm-I'm not a virgin," she replied.

Her response made him smirk. "That doesn't mean you don't deserve to be asked."

Mary's heart melted. It was her turn to cup his cheeks.

"I want this, Ryker."