"May I go outside, Uncle?" A young woman called Elena asked.

Her uncle turned to look at her from head to toe. "No," his answers were never long, especially when they were about her.

"Why not?" She was born twenty winters back meaning that she is an adult now and has been one for a few years. Spring has always been her favorite time of year, you can see the nature waking up after a cold winter.

Her uncle, Marion, stood up into his long height and snapped, "Because I said so."

Elena wanted to scream and destroy everything inside of their small cabin. It was definitely not a large one and either a beautiful one. They and their pack have to move very often so they always only rig up a house that will keep them warm.

She couldn't understand why he was so overprotective. He never let her meet any boys and she didn't want to even think what will happen when she finds her mate. Uncle Marion will probably scare the poor boy to death with his questions and expressions. Does he want her to be alone her entire life?

He let her go outside when he had his own business to handle and when they had to move. Even then he made her keep her hand in his except a few occasion in a year when she has to sit still and act pretty when he has things to do that he doesn't want her to know. Those moments were the only time in her life when she was close to freedom. She could think of how she would run in the woods letting her wolf take over.

Marion sat down in his chair again and continued to read the book on his hands.

She wanted to feel the wind in her wolf's fur and the moss under her paws. Was it too much to ask? While her uncle read his book Elena made a vow that today she will leave the house for the night and return only when she has had a taste of freedom.

Hours later when Uncle Marion had gone to bed and was expecting that his nice was also sleeping, Elena put her cape on and walked out of the house. This was her first time ever being alone on her own. Her uncle always believed that someone would try and kidnap her if she ever took a step outside but she wanted to prove him wrong, not that he could ever find out about her night adventure.

After their village was out of her sight she took her clothes off and shifted into her wolf form. The freedom she felt while running was something she couldn't describe with words. She never wanted to give up on it, this was how she wanted to spend the rest of her life. No one could ever catch her.

The wind against her white fur and the moss under her paws felt even better than she ever imagined. This was why she was a werewolf.

After a while of running, she went into a panic. Elena had literally no idea where she was, the woods around her were something she had never seen in her life. They were majestic and tall as if every single one of them was created by God himself.

The panic started to rise even more when she heard the sound of two males speaking. Maybe she could ask them for help but she would have to stand in her birth suit in front of two males to communicate with them. Her uncle would pass out by only the thought of it. Ever since she was little Uncle Marion had been overprotective not letting her speak much to strangers that made her socially awkward and silent in the company she isn't familiar with.

She had no idea if she was in someone's territory or not, she could only wish for the later.

Elena started to run towards the direction she thought she had come from. If she was in her human form she was sure that she would have started to cry from the panic. Now she understood why Uncle Marion didn't want her to be out by herself. She had no idea about how to locate the village and her clothes.

She is lost in her wolf form in a territory she did not recognize.

Elena wanted to go home and hug her uncle and tell him everything. She will never leave her home after this again without knowing her surroundings. Soon someone will kidnap her and everything will go just like the way her uncle predicted. She is going to end up dead in a few days, there is no way she could survive when she doesn't even know how to navigate.

She could feel a presence behind her. No, this can't be happening, she thought and speed up. She could still hear and feel him behind her, no matter how fast she ran.

Elena turned her head to watch what kind of monster was running after her. When she saw him her mouth would have dropped to the ground if she was a human at that moment. He was truly gorgeous and fastly reaching her.

She couldn't believe it. How can someone be faster in his human form than her in her wolf form? Is she truly as slow as a snail? That is a cruel prank from fate.

She let a weird wolfy-like scream when the man behind her tackled her to ground with a thump.

She is going to die, that man is going to kidnap her, rape her and send her teeth to her uncle as a souvenir after drowning her to a river. Why did she have to leave her warm bed? Why couldn't she just be a good girl and listen to her uncle? Why!?

The man over her hugged her with his strong hands. Elena froze completely, is this some weird way of murdering someone? She took a sniff from the stranger and felt like someone would have pulled a matt under her legs.

He smelled good. If that is a thing you could say about your future kidnapper.

"Finally," He murmured to her fur. If something would have made Elena feel better that definitely wasn't it. Did that mean that he is finally going to skin her alive? Take deep breaths, Elena, she told to herself. If she wanted to survive as a one piece back to Uncle Marion she has to become a faster runner than a snail.

She started to fight him as a try to get away from him. She didn't know him or his way of murdering people but she did know that she doesn't want to be there when he decides to show them to her.

That didn't work as well as she had thought. The image that she played in her head was completely different than the one that was happening in real life. In he mind she managed to get away from him and run as fast as a real wolf towards her uncle.

In the real-life, the man was hugging her even harder.

"Where are you from?" He whispered in her fur while snuggling her.

Elena had no idea how to answer him. She was a freaking wolf and wolves don't speak before cows fly. She turned to look straight into his eyes when she felt the bond.

The person snuggling her is her mate.

Oh god. Why did she have to meet him of all days on today? Her uncle is never going to forgive her. How could she explain that how she met her mate while sleeping in her bed far away from the place she is laying right now?

Elena wanted to change into a human, but what is she going to wear then? She wanted him to see her in her real form. To see if he is going to run away screaming or if he is going to accept her curly brown locks and eyes that look like a mud pond. But if she would shift right now she would have to stand stark naked in front of the man she only met. Wolves usual mate soon after they met, but Elena didn't want that to happen after, minutes of the meeting and because she still has these thoughts on her head that he may be a murderer who will skin her alive.

She tried to get up and away from his arms but he didn't allow his little mate away from his arms. Cato has waited to meet his mate as long as he can remember. He remembers the stories that his mother used to tell him about mates and what your life will be like after you meet them. Now that he has found her there is no way that he will let her go.

Elena whimpered as she tried to stand up but the weight over her didn't allow that to happen so all the weight focused on her ankles. One of them especially started to hurt, she couldn't move her right front paw.

The panic that once stirred in her chest started to return.

Her ankle is probably only sprained and not broken. How can she run back home now? She could ask the hunk over her to take her home but the possessive look in his eyes made a clear vision on Elena's head that is never going to happen.

"I want to see you as a human," the man muttered.

Elena wanted that too, but she also didn't want to get pregnant today. She was only twenty-years-old and Uncle Marion would throw her to sharks if he would find out.

She moved her snout as a signal for him to turn around.

The man hugging her narrowed his eyes and muttered something before turning around. He was sure that the she-wolf would try to run away but he could catch her, he will always catch her even if she doesn't want him to.

As the man turned his back to her, Elena took one deep breath and shifted into her human form. At the second she did that she prayed that she wouldn't have. The cold attacked her skin making it go goosebumps. Her mate stood there starting to turn his body around to see the person he has always waited.

"NO!" Elena screeched.

Cato froze. Her voice was something so pure and beautiful even though she is screaming like a mad woman.

The last thing she wanted right now is him seeing her naked. That wouldn't end well to either one of them. Elena would end up bearing pups and the hunk would end up on her uncle's skinning list.

"I need clothes," the woman said.

Cato started to curse on his head. He knows that he couldn't control herself if she was in her birth suit right in front of him no matter what she looked like. He couldn't give a shit if she looked like a cave troll with huge malformations.

Finally, he threw her his cape hoping that it will cover and warm her enough. Elena looked as a black cloak flew towards her. Quickly she wrapped it around her and moaned as the warmth and his smell surrounded her.

Okay, I can do this, the she-wolf muttered to herself. One day she had to meet him and now she doesn't have to worry anymore, she found the person she is supposed to be with the rest of her life. He wasn't stranger, he was her mate.

Then he turned around.

When her eyes found his it felt like the time would have stopped. Elena looked at him with awe. How did she got paired with someone who looks like that? When she was running for her life she didn't observe his facial features but now it is a whole different thing. He is completely perfect from head to toe. He had the exact same eye color as her.

She couldn't stop staring at him but so didn't Cato. He looked at the woman in front of him. Her hair was all over the place and looked like a crows nest, but he didn't care. She looked perfect with her rosy cheeks and freckled nose. Everything about his mate is perfect, he wouldn't change a thing.

Elena wanted to say something, but words didn't leave her mouth. How? Why? What did she do to deserve him?

Maybe Uncle Marion is not going to hunt him down after all. He looked like someone with power and Marion has always loved power. Her uncle is also shorter than her mate.

"What's your name, beautiful? He muttered and took a few steps closer to her. After he was finally close enough he started to caress her cheek. Her heart took a leap.

"Elena," she somehow managed to speak. The man caressing her smiled and kissed her forehead. She completely froze.

Never in her life had someone done that to her. Her father died before she was even born. The mother she never met probably threw her to the ground in the second she was born leaving her in the hands of his brother Marion. Don't get her wrong, her uncle never laid hand on her he is just someone who has different parenting methods. And now a stranger is touching her like she is the most precious thing in the world.

It felt good.

"I'm Cato," he introduced himself.

Elena had no idea what she should do. Never had she ever been in a situation like this, so she did the only thing that popped on her head. She patted his chest and muttered, "Good for you."

Cato started to laugh.

That wasn't an expression she was waiting for him. He looked more like that man who his uncle would never let on his yard because he was afraid of him breaking in and stealing his books. He definitely didn't look like a laugher.

Elena huffed and turned to look at the sky. The sun was starting to rise and you could see little hints of red on the horizon. The realization made pale and her heart beat faster. Her uncle always woke up when the sun rises so she had only about an hour to get back home before Uncle Marion is going to see her gone.

"I need to go," she whispered not daring to look at his eyes.

"I'm not letting you go."

Her heart ached. Even though they only met, the mate bond is strong. She turned to look into his eyes and regretted ever doing that. His eyes were filled with a mix of angry, hurt and betrayal.

She didn't want to hurt him that would be the last thing she would do but she also didn't want to be locked on her room. Her uncle would never understand, he never met his mate, he couldn't understand the bond between two mates. Only the look on his eyes made her want to cry.

"My uncle, I need to go to him," the she-wolf didn't know how to tell him her situation to him quickly, "I'll come to here tomorrow when the sun sets."

His eyes told everything. He didn't want her to go. He didn't want to ever lose her from his sight.

Elena turned to look at the sun. She needed to leave now, still not knowing the right direction to home but she had to try.

"Cato, I promise you that I will be here," After that, she tiptoed to kiss his cheek. "We'll see tomorrow?" The beta nodded after a while looking at his mate who started to run away from him. After he couldn't see her anymore something inside of him changed.

He promised to himself to never let his mate away from him after meeting her but that changed when he saw her pleading eyes. He could never say no to her.

"Elena", he tested how her name rolled off his tongue. As he turned to walk away he could only think of his beautiful mate. It broke his heart but he knew that running away wasn't easy for her either.

Now he can only keep babysitting the human and thinking about the brunette named Elena.

***