The wolves that glanced at Jack smiled, some even laughed silently before twisting their heads to the side when the boy shot a glare at them, daring to say anything. Jack quickly shot a glare back at Kaiden, who was swiftly carrying the boy through town and back to his cabin.

Jack pouted slightly and shivered as the wind picked up. The wolf holding him seemed to notice it, his pace quickening as he drew his shoulders up to five Jack some reprieve from the wind. Letting his blue eyes wander over the werewolf's face, he noticed the guilt flashing in Kaiden's eyes as Jack shivered again.

Honestly, Jack didn't blame him at all. After he had laughed so hard that tears leaked over his cheeks, Kaiden had stalked out of the creek. The teen knew instantly that he was in trouble and had started to run away, only to be hauled over a muscular shoulder and plopped right in the middle of the creek.

Kaiden had a good laugh at that, and Jack could honestly say that he squeaked and laughed along with him. But damn, that water was freezing! It was only when Jack pushed himself up that his teeth clashed together with an audible click, pulling Kaiden's attention to the shaking and shivering lad.

Jack knew that the man hadn't meant anything bad with his prank but he probably hadn't realized that even though Kaiden himself didn't seem that bothered with the icy cold water, Jack's reaction was a bit more severe.

He was still human after all.

Some of the pack had gathered to investigate what caused all that commotion and they had all shared pointed looks and wide grins when Kaiden trudged through the water and plucked Jack out of it, swinging the boy right in his arms.

"Why are they looking at us like that?" Jack wondered softly, glancing at the people that watched Kaiden bounce up the stairs and shoulder past the front door. Jack caught a glimpse of the village over Kaiden's shoulder and frowned.

"Why is everyone cheering or grinning suggestively? Did I miss something here?" Jack wondered but his thoughts stopped when his nose crinkled, followed by a loud sneeze. It was followed by another one before sneezing one final time, causing Jack to groan softly as his nose clogged up.

As he blinked, he found himself inside Kaiden's home, where the man set him down on a seat, pulling Jack's soaked clothes off of him and wrapped him up in a soft blanket before Kaiden rushed to light the fireplace.

A soft smile slipped on Jack's face as he burrowed deeper into the silky soft blanket, nearly moaning at the warmth sinking into his skin. His eyes were fixed on Kaiden's back as he threw a few more logs on the growing flames and went about to make sure his home was warm enough.

Meanwhile, Kaiden was mentally kicking himself, his wolf already disgruntled and growling. How could he forget that Jack had a weaker immunity than himself? He hadn't even thought about it before he dunked his mate in the freezing waters, albeit it was just for fun. But still, Jack could grow sick, and judging from the soft sniffs and the way he had to breath through his nose, his mate clearly had managed to catch a cold.

When the fire was roaring in the fireplace, Kaiden turned around and stalked closer to Jack, wrapping the boy in his arms so that his body heat could do the rest. He was happy that Jack sighed and nuzzled deeper into the embrace but that pinch of guilt dug a bit deeper when he felt the freezing tip of the boy's nose pressed against his skin.

"Stop worrying. 'M fine." Jack murmured sleepily, unknowingly teasing the wolf as his breath fluttered over the man's throat. After his whole ordeal of escaping his village, surviving in the forest, being chased by a murderous wolf and now warming up after his sudden dip, Jack was beginning to grow tired.

Kaiden watched in awe as his boy slowly succumbed to sleep, not before plastering himself against the werewolf. Whenever Kaiden made a move to stand up or simply sat up a bit straighter, Jack would frown and subconsciously scoot closer until his face was buried in the wolf's throat, his arms clasped around Kaiden's neck and ankles crossed behind Kaiden's back.

Gently brushing his fingers against Jack's pale cheek, Kaiden brushed the white hair our of his love's face, holding the strand against the flickering light and smiling as it gained a slight gold tan against the moving light of the fire. Releasing the hairs, he slowly brushed over Jack's spine, from his neck down to his hips and up again, trying to sooth the boy as he made a move to get up.

With only a mild protest, Kaiden was able to stand up and swiftly made his way to his bedroom before he hesitated. He was quite reluctant to settle Jack down for the night and remove him from his body, but he needed to make sure that the fireplace was securely locked so the fire couldn't spread.

And then there was the fact that he needed to speak with the Alphas, regarding the fact that Kaiden was now mated. It was tradition that the mate was to be introduced to the Alpha pair, so they could recognize him in the future as part of the pack.

But as he even thought about leaving, the wolf whimpered pathetically in his mind and rendered him immobile, hovering above the bed as he was just placing Jack down. "There's no way that I can go to the Alpha while Jack remains on his own." He thought to himself, trying to alleviate the dread in his chest.

Luckily, Kaiden didn't need to leave, since there was a knock on the door before it swung open. Verona had taken the liberty to see herself into his house, with the Alpha pair following on her heels.

The Luna smiled and quietly rushed into the room, eager to see the new addition to her pack and the man that had conquered Kaiden's heart. She watched Kaiden as he gently drew the covers over Jack, who was deeply asleep and unaware of being the center of attention.

"Oh my...he's beautiful." She smiled happily, keeping her voice down and patting her husband and mate reassuringly on his back when he gave her a stern frown. "You know that you're the only one for me love, but...well, just look at him." She coed, waving her hands at Jack.

"Kara, you're doing the same thing as when you met Julian and Maverick again." Her mate, Brandon, chuckled as he reminded her of the last same sex pairing that happened in the pack. Kara flushed slightly and huffed at the reminded of how she had coed and fussed over the two men in pure adoration.

No need to remind her off it!

"Well, I understand that our mating has been approved off?" Kaiden questioned with a grin before frowning slightly as he looked down at his mate before ushering everyone back in the living room.

"What about the village? Jack is scarred by whatever those humans have done to him. He honestly believes he deserved everything that happened to him." Kaiden snarled lowly, pacing through the room as the wolf inside him growled and bared its teeth.

Brandon growled as well, a scowl marring his handsome features as he crossed his arms. "We're not becoming the beasts they want us to be Kaiden. But I'm going to make sure that every single member of the pack has visited the village, so if they have a mate still lingering there, they can save them from that foul place."

Kaiden nodded, feeling his anger slowly diminish as Verona pinched a few herbs out of her poultice and tossed them into the fire before locking the fireplace.

"Keep Jack inside for a few days, two pinches of these herbs spread on the fire twice a day. It'll help with his breathing." She smiled warmly before she shamelessly ushered the Alpha pair out of Kaiden's house and winked at the wolf before leaving with a small warning.

"Make sure to keep Jack close now and hang on to your self-control. The scent might make him a bit frisky when he wakes up." She smirked and shut the door after glancing at the conflicted expression on Kaiden's face.

Meddlesome witch.

The wolf was reluctant to follower her advice, not because he didn't want to be with Jack in every way possible but because he wanted to give the boy more time. He wanted it to be Jack's conscious choice when the boy picked him.

With that in mind, Kaiden rushed after her, nearly stumbling over his feet when Verona was still standing outside.

Naturally anticipating his outrage.

"I'm not telling you to force your mate, Kaiden. But you know as well as I do that his heat needed to be induced." Verona's eyes flicked past Kaiden and into the house.

Logically, Kaiden understood. After all, non-wolf mates never went into heat on their own. A heat that was biologically necessary to mark one another as mates, to bind his wolf, his lifeforce, his everything to his soulmate.

"I do not want a repeat performance of what happened with Sergei's pack." Verona whispered, eyes hollow with the memories that still haunted her to this day.

Sergei was an Alpha of the closest pack, which still was a few countries away. An Alpha who had encountered his mate into a human just like Jack.

And just like Kaiden, Sergei had wanted to wait. Wanted to get to know his human, his mate, introduce them with a soft hand into the realm of immortality.

The man had managed to hang on for a week before his wolf had snapped. It had shifted, marked their mate by force and nearly forced themselves upon the poor girl.

It was only by sheer luck, perhaps divine guidance, that Verona was visiting that day to educate the local healer and exchange herbs.

They had managed to prevent things from getting worse, but the damage had already been done. Sergei's own mate saw nothing more in the wolf but a predator that was waiting to ambush her.

Last Kaiden heard, it had taken the better half of a year before the girl trusted Sergei enough to let him sleep in the same bed as her.

With one last shared look and Verona gently patting on Kaiden's shoulder, she added a murmured "I'm not telling you to force the issue. I'm merely setting things into motion that biologically can't happen in Jack unless I interfere."

Kaiden nodded, knowing that the induced Heat would change Jack's body, just like it would a natural born wolf.

It's the lesser of two evils.

He heard a few disgruntled huffs when Jack tossed and turned in the bed before Kaiden sighed and slipped out of his shirt, making sure to leave his pants on.

The wolf smiled; as soon as he slid under the covers, Jack was glued firmly to his side with a relaxed sigh as he snuggled closer in the protective arms of his wolf.

Listening to the steady and deep breaths, Kaiden slowly yawned and followed Jack's example, slipping into a deep and dreamless sleep.

--------

It was a few hours later, when the night had already settled over the village that Kaiden's eyes snapped open. He was wide awake and panting, trying to control his wolf as he realized that for one, Jack was sleeping right on top of him, one arm slung around his neck whilst the other was circled around his back and grasping at Kaiden's shoulder.

But the worst part of it all was that somewhere during the night, Jack had managed to strip out of his clothes and was now sleeping on the panting werewolf...naked. Kaiden could only swallow harshly before he tried to move Jack off of him.

Even touching the boy's soft skin was proving to be temptation but as he gently touched Jack's thigh, trying to push the boy to lay beside Kaiden, Jack moaned in his sleep and arched into the touch, slipping one of his legs in between Kaiden's. He quickly released Jack's leg, biting on his lip at the snarl that tried to rumble through his chest when the boys bare skin brushed against his growing erection.

Kaiden was stuck in a torturous paradise; he loved the fact that Jack was all over him, his unique scent emanating from the boy in thick waves was driving Kaiden insane. But his wish to not force Jack into this relationship was what kept him back from freely touching the boy.

He could only hope that Jack wasn't going to wake up in the state of undress he was in now. Kaiden didn't know how the boy would react and he would hate to make Jack doubt and distrust his mate.

"Damn you Verona." Kaiden groaned under his breath as Jack snuggled a bit closer. All he could do now was wait until Jack either rolled off of him or woke up. Either way, both options were unappealing for Kaiden.