He went out the back door and stood on the porch of the guest house on the property his parents were renting. The entire estate was eighty-five acres of forest. No prying eyes could see him. Fane stripped off his clothes and felt the change pour over his skin, reshaping him inside and out. Within moments, where a man had been, now stood a large black wolf. Although he was a Canis lupus—grey wolf—his grey undercoat was tipped with black, the effect making him look nearly solid black unless his fur was rubbed the wrong way. The wolf shook his entire body, as if he were wet and trying to expel the water from his coat. He put his nose in the air and, breathing deep, filled his lungs with wildflowers in bloom, fresh cut grass, and damp earth from a recent rain. The beast finally let out a long howl. Fane heard a twig snap to his left. He closed his mouth and looked to the direction of the noise. He saw a rabbit bolt out of a bush and, just like that, the chase was on. Fane took off like a bullet, eyes glued to the bouncing prey that wove in and out of bushes, around trees, and over fallen logs. The wolf stretched his legs and lengthened his stride, reveling in the hunt. Air flowed through his fur, rippling every strand. As Fane chased after his quarry, he realized this hunt felt different from others. He felt whole. The emptiness that was every unmated male’s constant companion was being filled. Because of that, the wolf could focus more thoroughly on the hunt, his thoughts no longer divided between man and wolf. If he felt this good just from finding his mate, how good would he feel once the bond was complete, once their mating was consummated?

  Fane lunged one final time, pushing his long body to its limit. He landed on top of his prey, breaking its back instantly. The wolf’s sharp fangs tore into the rabbit’s flesh, enjoying the spoils of the hunt. When he’d had his fill, Fane found a sunny spot, the grass warm from the sun’s rays. He laid down, rolling to his side. Feeling the warm air heat his fur, Fane’s mind unintentionally reached out for Jacquelyn’s. It was like his soul needed to feel its other half, and if he went too long without that contact, he became bereft and restless. He said nothing to her. Fane just slipped into her thoughts, enjoying being with her even if he couldn’t physically touch her. Once his wolf was content their mate was safe, he got up, shook off the grass and dirt, and began the run back to the guest house. The man would need a shower now, and he still had his vows to write. Fane struggled with what to say to Jacquelyn. He knew what he felt, but he just couldn’t find adequate words to communicate his feelings.

  * * *

  Two hours later, after sitting and staring at a blank piece of paper until his eyes hurt, trying in vain to put his emotions into words, Fane took a break. As he laid on the bed, all he could think about was a certain fiery redhead and the fact that, tonight, she would be all his. He had hoped Jacque would be willing to incorporate the human wedding vows into the bonding ceremony, but she’d told him she wasn’t ready for that, even after he’d explained their bonding was permanent, much more serious than a human marriage. But the idea of being married at seventeen seemed to make Jacque nervous, so he would wait. Fane was quickly learning that waiting really sucked.

  “Wolf-man, we are heading your way, hope you’re ready for this.” Fane heard Jacque’s voice in his mind. He grinned at her playfulness, which was one thing his wolf liked about her. Playing was something even wolves in the wild did as a part of the mating dance.

  “I have been ready for you since I laid eyes on you. Be safe, I will see you shortly,” he told her as he imagined himself caressing her soft face. He sent her that feeling through the bond and felt her shiver in response. That made him smile even bigger.

  Looking at the time on his phone, Fane got up, deciding it was time to get dressed. He heard a knock at the front door.

  “It’s open,” he said loudly.

  Fane’s mother, Alina, came through the doorway. “I’ve brought you the traditional ceremony vows that must be recited during the Blood Rites.”

  “Thank you,” he replied.

  “And what is your offering for your future mate?” she asked.

  “Two things,” Fane said. “The first is an autographed book she told me she loved as a child. She had a copy, but it was lost. I hope it shows her I listen when she speaks, and the things she feels are important to her are important to me as well. The second …” He hesitated. “… I think I should show you.” Fane walked out of the living room and went back to the bedroom, returning with a small black box.

  “Fane, is that what I think it is?” Alina asked.

  “Jacque told me she is not ready to go through the human ritual of marriage. I have tried to explain to her that the Canis lupus bonding is more permanent than marriage, but still, she wants to wait. Through the bonding ceremony, she will have my mark, my scent, and that will tell all Canis lupus she is mated, but human males will not recognize this. They will, however, recognize an engagement ring,” Fane explained.

  Alina shook her head. “Barbarians, all of you. Possessive, bossy, over-reacting wolves.” Fane knew she was teasing because his mother was beaming from ear to ear. “Well, let me look at it,” she said.

  Fane opened the box to show his mother the ring he had chosen to put on the finger of the one woman who would complete his soul. The ring was a wide platinum band. Engraved on its surface were the Romanian words ‘finalizarea, absolut, inamovibil, intreg’ (complete, absolute, unmovable, whole), and, in the center, was a rare red diamond in a marquee cut.

  “Fane, it’s beautiful. I recognize the band, of course. It’s been in our family for generations. But where did you get the stone?”

  “The day I spoke with dad and he told me Sorin was coming, I called Sorin and asked him to look in the vaults in the pack mansion for a red stone for the band. I thought, with the vast size of the vault and the centuries of things accumulated, he could surely find one. I knew the bonding ceremony would take place sooner than we originally planned, and I wanted the ring to be ready. The day Sorin took Lilly to her book store, he made a stop at a jeweler while Lilly was working and had the stone set. I wanted red for two reasons. One, she is my micul incendiu, my little fire, with so much personality packed into such a small package, and two, it will be a reminder of this day when we both shed blood to bind our souls to each other.”

  Fane suddenly fell onto the couch, his face held in his hands. “Mama, how is it possible to love someone so intensely, so much that at times it feels like it’s going to make your heart explode because you just can’t contain it?”

  Alina sat down next to him on the couch, handing back the black box, taking his free hand in hers. “I don’t know if there is any way to explain or truly understand the bond between mates. It’s not human. It’s beyond the realm of reason, and that makes it hard to believe it is even possible. I know you haven’t known Jacque long. I know you are both young, but you will grow close faster than you can imagine. She will become your best friend and you will become hers. Even now, I know you feel it—the feeling no one in this world will ever love you as she will. You were born to love each other, and that love will grow stronger as time goes on.” Alina wiped a tear from her cheek as she looked upon the face she had watched grow from an infant to a strong alpha male.

  “What if I don’t make her happy?” Fane’s voice was so soft, laced with fear and worry.

  “Oh, Fane.” Alina began wrapping her arms around her only son, pulling him close. “You will make her happy. You will also make her mad, sad, annoyed, and probably a little claustrophobic at times, but you will make her happy. Your wolf will intervene when your human side steps out of line. The wolf only sees black and white, all he understands is that she is your mate, that you must love her, protect her, provide for her, play with her, and make her content. Your human side will fill in the gap of emotions the wolf does not understand. She will make you a better alpha, a better man. You will give her what no other man ever could: the other half of her soul.”

  Alina stood up and handed him a piece of paper. “These are your vows. You can add to them, but the first part must be said, for it solidifies the bond.” She turned to go.

  Fane stood up then, and before his mother could make it out the door, he said, “Mother, my alpha, thank you.” And he turned his head, baring his neck.

  Alina looked Fane in the eye and held his stare as she told him, “Te iubesc fiul” (I love you, son). She turned and walked out the door, closing it behind her.

  Fane unfolded the piece of paper and, with shaking hands, read:

  * * *

  On this day, I kneel before you, my mate, to ask if you will make me whole. Will you give yourself to me, finally calming the beast inside, bringing order to chaos, shining light where there has been only darkness? Will you bind your life to mine, your fate to mine, and your soul to mine, and, in doing so, complete the mate bond?

  * * *

  Fane knew after he read these words it would be Jacquelyn’s turn to respond with her answer and her vows. Once they read the formal vows, if they so chose, they could recite their own. Until a few moments earlier, Fane hadn’t been sure what to say, but his mother had remedied that. Alina had put to words what Fane was feeling. He grabbed a pen, sat down, and jotted out the words he would pour from his heart to his mate.

  Checking his phone, Fane saw that he only had fifteen minutes until he was to be in the garden where the ceremony would take place. He grabbed the suit hanging on his bedroom door, stripped faster than he thought possible, and slipped into his jacket. Suddenly, he heard a scream in his mind. He fell to the floor from the force of the emotions coming through the bond. He felt confusion, pain, and, most of all, fear—all-consuming fear.

  “JACQUELYN!” Fane screamed back at her through the bond. “Where are you? What’s happened?” Fane waited for her response, but no words came, only more fear and pain. She was scared and hurt. Fane took off at a dead run out the front door and nearly collided with his father.

  “Something is wrong,” Vasile said. “I can feel it in in the pack bonds. What is going on?”

  “I heard Jacquelyn scream and felt her fear and pain and now I can’t get her to answer me,” Fane blurted.

  “When was the last time you spoke with her?”

  “A few minutes ago. She said they were headed our direction. She sounded fine.”

  Vasile was halfway back to the main house before Fane even realized he had walked away. Running to catch up, he heard his father on the phone with Decebel.

  “Get the vehicles started and the pack loaded. Skender and Boian together, Sorin and you together, I will have Alina and Fane. I want each vehicle to take a different route to Lilly’s house. Keep your phones on. Be prepared for anything. We don’t know if they were just in an accident or if this is the act of an enemy.” Vasile didn’t wait for a response before he hung up. Just as they reached the door to the house, Alina stepped out. She was dressed in black cargos, a fitted black t-shirt, and combat boots. She passed Fane a holstered semi-automatic pistol and then turned to her mate.

  “We ready?” she asked him.

  “Yes, let’s go. You drive, Mina, just in case we must engage anyone. Fane, you keep trying to get in touch with your mate. Do you have her cell phone number?”

  “No, I never asked for it because we’ve always just spoken through our thoughts,” Fane said in frustration, clipping the gun to his belt. “Wait, I can call the Henrys and see if they know anything.”

  Brian picked up on the second ring. “Hello?”

  “Brian, it’s Fane. Did you see Lilly and the girls leave today?” Fane spoke in clipped tones, holding it together by a thread.

  “No, Fane, I didn’t see them leave. Is something wrong?”

  “I don’t know, but I think something may have happened to them. If you hear from them, please call me right away.” Fane hung up before Brian could respond. His hands shook as he set the phone down on the seat next to him. He closed his eyes and concentrated as hard as he could on Jacquelyn. He focused on her face, the sound of her voice, the color of her hair, every detail he could think of. He reached out with a push of his power. “Jacquelyn, tell me where you are.”

  Silence.

  “Luna, please answer me. If you can’t speak, give me something, a feeling, a picture in your mind, something to tell me you are still with me.” Fane grew more desperate the longer he went without hearing a response.

  He laid his head on the headrest, fear and frustration threatening to unwilling force him into the form of a huge black wolf. As their vehicle neared town, Fane called on his wolf to use its superior hearing. He detected the faint sound of sirens.

  “Dad, do you hear that?”

  “Yes, it sounds like it’s coming from downtown,” Vasile answered.

  “Lilly’s book store is downtown,” Fane told his mother.

  “Would they be there now?” Alina asked.

  “Not that I know of, but I still haven’t been able to communicate with Jacque. She said they were on their way. She didn’t mention stopping by the book store,” Fane said.

  Vasile was somber. “If you cannot communicate with her, then she is probably unconscious.”

  At the thought of his mate so helpless, Fane struggled to hold on to his wolf. Vasile, realizing Fane was about to lose it, turned to him and placed his hand on his son’s shoulder and let out a low growl. Fane’s wolf submitted reluctantly, but only just, to his alpha. Finally, they turned the corner onto the street of Lilly’s book store. There were no other cars, but they heard sirens somewhere up ahead. Soon, they saw smoke in the distance. Alina increased their car’s speed, ignoring stop signs and lights. Suddenly, they saw bright orange flames surrounding an SUV that lay upside down in the ditch.

  Before Alina could even slow the car, Fane opened his door and leaped from the vehicle. He hit the ground at a run, moving at wolf speed. He gave no thought to his surroundings, uncaring if his actions drew attention, uncaring if people realized that there was no way a human could run that fast. As he got closer to the vehicle, he saw four figures some distance from the burning wreck—two sitting, two lying down. The two prone figures were motionless. Fane’s wolf pushed forward, his eyes going bright wolf blue, his teeth growing longer as he struggled to hold his form, running to his unconscious mate.

  Lilly’s phone rang as they turned off their street onto the service road, headed toward the estate being leased by Fane’s parents.

  “This is Lilly.”

  “Lilly, it’s Jeff from the store.” She heard nervousness in his voice.

  “Jeff, is everything okay? You sound a little tense,” Lilly said.

  “Well, there is a little problem. We have an irate customer demanding to see you, saying something about being ripped off. He won’t go into details, but he is furious, and I didn’t know if I should call the police or what, so I called you.”

  “If he hasn’t hurt anyone, don’t call the police. We don’t need to bother them if I can handle it. Give me five minutes, and I will be there.”

  Lilly hung up the phone and took an upcoming turn that would lead to her bookstore.

  “Mom, what’s up?” Jacque asked.

  “I’m not sure. That was Jeff, one of my assistant managers. He says there is an irate customer demanding to see me. Jeff seemed pretty apprehensive about it, so I think I need to stop by.

  “No worries, Mrs. P. We’re just on our way to bond your only daughter to her soulmate. No need to rush,” Sally said.

  “It’s no big thing, wolf-man can wait a few moments,” Jacque said. “I’m not going to tell him we’re making a detour. Let’s make him sweat a little when I don’t show up exactly at one o’clock.” Jacque flashed a mischievous smile.

  “I don’t think you and Jen should be allowed to hang out any more,” Sally said. “She’s rubbing off on you, and I can’t handle more than one evil witch at a time.”

  Jen rolled her eyes. “There’s nothing wrong with making the man sweat a little. I mean, come on, he faked his own death and nearly drove our sweet little Jacque out of her mind. All’s fair in love and war, baby.”

  “Well, there is that,” Sally conceded.

  They pulled up to the curb in front of the book store, and all four of them piled out of the car, each eager to get a glimpse of the lunatic bibliophile. They could see nothing out of the ordinary through the storefront windows. The group came through the front door and saw everyone in the store was quiet, perusing the shelves, some talking softly to one another. Lilly walked up to one of her employees, a girl named Lisa.

  “Where’s Jeff?”

  “He said he had to leave, something about an emergency,” Lisa answered.

  Strange. “What happened to the customer who was so upset?” Lilly asked.

  Lisa gave her a strange look. “What customer? There haven’t been any upset customers that I’ve seen.”

  Although Jacque had noticed that she hadn’t been picking up emotions lately, she could feel something wasn’t right. “Mom, something’s weird. Let’s go, okay?”

  “Yea, I’m with ya, Jac. I’m getting a bad vibe,” Jen added.

  Lilly felt the same way. Something was wrong. But she didn’t feel comfortable leaving the store without a manager. Lilly turned back to Lisa and told her to politely inform the customers there had been an emergency, and the store needed to close. She gave Lisa a key and asked her to lock up. Lisa looked perplexed but obeyed.

  As Jacque, Lilly, Sally, and Jen climbed back into the car, a chill ran through Jacque’s body. She blocked her thoughts and emotions from Fane. She knew if he thought she was in the tiniest bit of danger, or if there was even a potential for danger, he would come flying to the rescue. Jacque was troubled, but she didn’t feel the situation was that dire.