WILLIAM

Walking back to my office from the dungeon cells bellow I was still angry with Eric thinking the wedding was a good idea with everything that was going on. Still no word on what this werecreature disease is or what we can do to fight it. I fear that by this time next month, we will have no more holding cells. I will have to get a team to figure out how to make more. I turned the hall to my office and stopped dead.

What's that?

There was a new aroma on the air. Beautiful and captivating. The scent was intoxicating. My wolf even rumbled in my head trying to break to the surface. It was like a mate call. But I knew it couldn't be that. Could it? Wolves get their mates at eighteen. I was twelve years past that. We all agreed long ago that my chosen mate must be already dead. One of those teenage females that were murdered in the rogue attacks thirteen years ago. That's why I never found her. She was already gone.

But why was I feeling like that's not the case anymore?

Could it be?

I sniffed the air again, deep into my chest and closed my eyes in relief. It was so beautiful. Irresistible floral and citrus. I couldn't even describe it. And when I followed it, it went into my office. I burst in, expecting to see her standing there, but my office was empty. But she had been there and as I begged to bring that scent more to my nose I searched around the room for any spot she could have touched letting me scent her better, but nothing had been touched by her hand.

But my mind shot up when I thought her scent got heavy and I looked around expecting her to materialize out of thin air. Where was she?

I walked outside desperate to find the owner of the scent and followed it to Eric's door. I didn't even think to mindlink Eric and ask who might be in his office or even knock. I just opened the door, swung wide frantic to see her.

And she was there.

Standing still and there. Already facing me.

Like she had been waiting too.

"Mate," my wolf urged out of my mouth.

She was gorgeous. Tall and curved in the right places. Striking blue eyes and rosy cheeks. Soft blonde locks that held just a scattering of strawberry, swayed over her shoulder. Mature, grown woman. No wolf presence. Human. My mind was consumed with her scent. With her body. With her. I would do nothing more than make sure she was protected and loved every day for the rest of my life, human or not. She was made as the perfect fit to me.

Her gentle fingers touched at my heart, throat, head, and hand. Each movement sending shocks of pleasure running through me. The feel of her touch was divine.

My wolf howled inside me recognizing the absolute submission, and as she bared her neck, I was consumed to mark her. There was no human left in me to worry about what it would mean later. I only knew that my mate wanted me to mark her. For me to call her mine and to show the world that she was proud to wear my marks. Both of them.

She fell into my arms and I steadied her, feeling the pleasing tingles that sparked between our new bond.

She was mine and I had marked her not even knowing her name.

Maybe she realized that too because her head then shot up to me and she stepped back alarmed. I never wanted her to worry and went to touch her when she slid around me and ran out the door. My eyes returned from the wolfen gold and John's stupid voice from the wingback interrupted my flight to my mate.

"The eff dude? Did you just mark that girl?"

Tarin scoffed. "She's his mate. She submitted. Of course he's going to mark her."

Eric's voice was thoughtful and curious as he stared at me. "She gave the absolute submission."

Garrett, John, and Tarin's eyes shot to Eric. "That was the absolute submission?"

He nodded, perplexed. He would know though. I eyed his mate's second mark high on his neck. Him and his wife did it last year after the birth of their fourth. But the absolute submission wasn't that common for our kind anymore.

He continued. "It was a very simplified version, but that was the intent. I don't think there has been a wolf couple who gave the absolute submission to each other the day of mating in eighty years. And that was in Boulder Terrain Pack. I'm not sure there's ever been one here in Hightop."

Tarin asked, "wasn't she human? How would she know the signs of that submission ceremony? I didn't even know it."

Eric's nod went slower. "Yes. That makes this all the stranger. I don't think she understood what she was doing, but it was clear that's what she meant to do. She just got a whole lot more interesting, didn't she?"

"Will this cause problems?" I asked worried. One wasn't supposed to mark a human mate until after marriage. It was a strongly written law and a punishable offense that is meant to keep the wolf secret. Human mates weren't usually prepared to accept this way of life and being already tied to a wolf complicates things. If the mate doesn't realize what has happened, they might talk.

But, as I imagined it, I knew she wouldn't.

"No," came Eric's immediate alpha answer. "She gave you permission, more than most wolfen females give for marking, albeit in her own way. No council would punish you for that, and obviously I won't. But, you may have trouble with her. She will not understand her feelings and will probably fight you about them." He let a smirk lift his lips. "Good luck with that. She did not submit easily when I brought her in for questioning."

My chest lifted. "Tell me. Who is she?"

He smiled. "I'm actually surprised you haven't ran after her already."

I realized I was too and turned to the door. But then the answer came almost as if I already had it ready. She needed to get away.

He leaned back on his desk, raising his arms to thread his fingers behind his neck. A teasing tone filled his words. "What will you give me to tell you about her?"

My wolf growled the challenge and I fisted my hand into his shirt. "I will let you keep all the blood in your body!"

Tarin spoke first, softly from beside Eric's desk. "Her name is Caroline. Uh... Peters. Caroline Peters."

I nodded my thanks to Tarin and released Eric's shirt. At least someone realized the power of a new mating. Tarin's mating was not all that new, but out of the higher ranked wolves the latest besides mine.

Eric sat straighter. "She said she works as a vet in Seattle, she...oh..."

"Oh? Oh what?" I demanded.

Tarin spoke again, softly and reserved this time. "She's engaged."

My heart sank. Full turmoil of a broken heart loomed across me. "Can't be," I choked out.

Eric nodded gravely. He leaned forward and clasped my shoulder. "She wanted to be marked though. She can't be too far away from your grasp."

"He's here too," John mentioned casually.

Our eyes snapped to him.

He continued. "I saw them holding hands at the rehearsal dinner. Slicked back hair, tie wearing idiot. Complete pompous ass."

But if he's here and they're holding hands that means he makes her happy. I can't break up her happiness. I couldn't do that.

Garrett cleared his throat for attention. "She hasn't been with him though. She's pure. I got that feel when she grabbed me."

I growled. The thought of him letting her grab him.

"No, not like that man. I was going to shift. Ask Tarin and John. The girl bumped into me and I freaked that some random chick was down here. She grabbed my hand and did some spell or voodoo shit and I stopped. I couldn't shift after that. Not even if I tried."

John nodded. "She did something. The shift was reaching his face. He shouldn't have been able to turn back, but she spoke something at him and suddenly he was completely relaxed."

Eric turned to his surveillance laptop and played the cameras. "It's better if you just watch."

He stopped it as my mate, my Caroline, grabbed onto Garrett's hand.

As I watched it was as they said. She stopped the shift. "And we still think she's human?" I asked the room. I felt no wolf presence within her, but how did she do that?

Tarin shrugged. "What do you think? Witch?"

"No," Eric spoke finally. "She's not a witch. I still think human, but I'm not one hundred percent on that though. She knows how to mask her scent and she obeyed my alpha commands. And somehow she knows about how to submit for a mate. Plus..." he paused. "I think I know her from somewhere."

I stepped back. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, I think I've met her before. I know her scent, but I can't remember where from. All I can think of is the Alpha training camp when I was nineteen. Maybe she was there."

"She's an alpha?" John spoke in incredulous doubt.

"No, definitely not. But that's all I can think of where we could have met. I've never been out of Utah besides that. And clearly never to Seattle. She said she's never been to Utah."

"She's from Seattle?" I asked. How far could I be from her now? And especially if she marries someone else.

My wolf bristled inside me. NO! She will not!

"Whoa! Hold up there Will! What's going through your head? Calm your wolf." Eric tensed.

I shook my head clear. "Sorry. Just thought about that guy."

They all nodded, understanding the context of my words.

Tarin answered my question. "Yes. She's from Seattle. She's twenty-eight. She went to SPU. She works at a clinic in Seattle, but I don't think we know anything else. She didn't want to talk after this idiot," she thumbed at Eric, "started spitting at her about stealing stuff."

"Stealing?"

Eric cut in. "Yes. She took something from your office. But she truly believed it belonged to her. Her heartrate and irises stayed on course with honesty."

I thought back to my room. "But she didn't touch anything else. I tried hard to see if she put her hand down anywhere."

"Then she knew what she wanted," Tarin supposed.

Without warning, I stepped to the door and opened it on the way to my office. She took something and knew what she wanted. What did she take? I couldn't even think of something worth taking.