Aidan sat at his desk, looking out onto Lunar Ridge. He knew he had been unnecessarily rude to Alex when she had asked about his family but it was a topic he didn't want to discuss at the moment. Finding his mate had filled him with so much joy but also so many questions about how his father had been able to treat his mate the way he had, defying the mate bond and revelling in her misery. All he could think about was Alex and the life he wanted to share with her. He was thoroughly fuming at his deceased father when there was a knock at the door. Kit entered and took a seat opposite him.

'Alpha,' Kit greeted him. 'I just wanted to give you the updates on patrols and the new recruits.'

Aidan listened to Kit's update, glad of something else to concentrate on. A new batch of recruits had joined the ranks in the past couple of weeks, having just turned eighteen, the minimum age that Aidan required a male be before he joined the pack army. Aidan's brow furrowed after a while as Kit hadn't mentioned anything about the new training regime that they had just brought back from their time at Black Mountain.

'How is the integration of the new training going?' Aidan interrupted Kit.

Kit fumbled a little over his answer, 'Well it's the first day back Alpha. I haven't had time to go through anything with the team yet.' He finished a little obstinately, as though the question was a rude one.

'Make sure it happens', Aidan said firmly. 'I liked what I saw at Black Mountain and the guys we brought really benefited from the training. I'm sure everyone else will benefit too.'

Kit nodded slightly before continuing as if there had been no interruption to his update. Rogues were becoming a nuisance again from the sounds of it. Finding a rogue on two or three consecutive days was a threat and cause for concern and there had been eight captured in the previous two weeks. They discussed plans, changing patrols and rosters before heading their separate ways. Marcus had mind linked Aidan to let him know that Alex was with him at his mother's house. Aidan grabbed some dinner in the pack house before deciding to take his wolf for a run.

The black wolf appreciated being let loose. Aidan checked in with the patrols and ran the perimeter of the pack lands for good measure. He needed to tire himself out a little so he could try and better control himself when he saw his mate later. He found it hard to be away from her all day and didn't want to greet her with an immediate erection until, at least, they were a bit more established as a couple.

He arrived home after dark to an empty house and assumed Marcus would drop Alex off at some stage. Her scent met him when he had showered and dressed himself in a pair of navy boxers. He decided not to wear a t-shirt. There was no harm in getting her a bit hot and bothered, he thought. Alex was sitting up on the counter with her back to him, with her feet in the sink when he entered the kitchen. Her trousers were on the floor and she was making odd hissing noises.

'What happened?', Aidan exclaimed, seeing massive scrapes and cuts on his mate's legs, her knees bloodied and her hands and arms scratched up. He grabbed a clean tea towel to start cleaning the wounds. 'Who attacked you?' Aidan demanded.

'It's nothing', Alex said calmly. 'I wasn't looking where I was going on the way home, tripped up a bit, happened to be on a hill so couldn't quite catch myself before I face planted into some thorny bushes.' She raced through the story, a twinge of embarrassment evident in her voice and in the flush on her cheeks.

'But where was Marcus?' Aidan asked, carefully removing thorns from some of the cuts before flushing them out with water.

'I left him back at the pack house,' she said, looking confused.

Aidan was angry now. 'He left you alone to walk home?'

Alex looked completely bewildered now. 'Why would he walk me home?' she asked, genuinely not understanding Aidan's reasoning and sudden anger. The walk wasn't far. She was well inside pack land perimeters. There were patrols everywhere. Not to mention the fact that she was probably tougher than anything or anyone she would encounter.

'He left you unprotected. I'll murder him.' Alex was alarmed now at the level of anger Aidan was attaining. She swung her legs out of the sink and took Aidan's face in her hands.

'I'm fine. Look at me', she smiled, pulling him closer so he stood in between her legs. 'I don't know if you've heard of me, but I'm pretty tough', she said, trying to break the tension of the odd situation.

'He shouldn't have left you. You shouldn't have been on your own', Aidan repeated.

'Ok. This is really weird Aidan. I feel like I'm missing something. Marcus was called away when we were at the pack house. I waited around for a while then figured he was too busy to come back so I came home. And tripped somewhere along the way, to my utmost embarrassment. I'm glad he or anyone else wasn't there to see it. And these cuts will be healed by the morning,' She was still smiling at him, imploring him to say something that would make this make sense to her.

'I just don't want anything to happen to you,' he said softly as he gathered her in his arms and inhaled deeply at her neck.

'Well thank you for your concern,' she pushed him back slightly so she could plant a kiss on his lips, 'but this bitch can take care of herself.' She kissed him again. 'Unless of course, she trips over her own feet like the graceful swan that she is,' Aidan laughed finally as she said this and they kissed again.

They kissed for a few minutes and just as Alex started to think that perhaps tonight they should get naked together, Aidan pulled away.

'I'll run you a bath', he said, lifting her gently from the counter and heading off down the hall without another word. If Alex thought this was part of a night of seduction, she was wrong. Aidan ran her a wonderful, hot bath, giving her privacy the entire time, only dropping in to leave pyjamas for her or calling to ask if she needed anything else. Perplexed, she dressed and got ready for bed where Aidan pulled her close to him and kissed her gently on the neck, bidding her goodnight.

'I don't know exactly what has happened here tonight Aidan, but I hope at some stage, you'll share some insight with me.'

Aidan said nothing but kissed her again.