Helena sobbed and apologized, and all he could do was hold her. He never wanted to let go. Something had changed inside her—and him—after Aaron said the words of that spell. The gaping hole that had been opened up inside her had finally closed. He was glad for that, at least. Truth be told, from what he’d seen of the Quade family, it was probably better for Helena to be trapped here with a human mate than it was for her to return to El Paso.

The black-clad cowboys dragged away their unconscious alpha, having apparently been released by whatever held them back. Ash leered at all of them. One of them—a big, blue-eyed, dark-haired lunk with blood all over his shirt—looked like he wanted to approach Helena, but Ash shook his head and the guy backed off.

She’s mine now.

And he was hers. All the way.

Aaron touched Helena’s head affectionately, like a father, and put his other hand on Ash’s shoulder. “As a bonded pair, you’re my responsibility now,” said the alpha. “You’ll both be cared for. Whatever it takes.”

Ash nodded and continued to stroke Helena’s hair as she clung to him. She turned to her new alpha and whispered, “Thank you. Thank you, Aaron. I didn’t… You didn’t have to do that for me.”

“Yes, I did,” he said, giving her a sad smile. “If I hadn’t, you would’ve been left with that gaping feeling your whole life. Though you could have trained yourself to ignore it for the most part, it always would have been there, like a gaping hole inside, and you wouldn’t have been the same. That is, assuming we could protect you from the Rangers.”

“Thank you,” Ash said, cradling his mate against his chest. “I don’t know how we can ever repay you.”

“Well, you’re part of my pack now.” Aaron clapped him on the back. “So you won’t have to repay me. It’s my job as alpha to take care of my pack.”

The bearded man walked away, like that was the last word he had to say on the subject. Perhaps he wanted to give them time alone to talk. Or maybe he was just eager to get back to his waiting wife.

He looked around the forest. It was still relatively dark. The sun would likely not be up for another half an hour or so.

“Should we go back inside?” he asked, tentatively. “I’ve laid claim to a nice, quiet couch.”

Helena shook her head, sniffing and pulling away from him. “The wolves will all be coming back soon, and there are more members of my pa…my old pack…who will be coming back. I’m close with some of my cousins, but I don’t want to see them right now.”

“That’s understandable.” Ash walked with her past the still-bloody patch of ground where he had pummeled Phillip Quade. Past the little set of bushes that had hidden Helena from him at first. Past the treeline and out onto the lawn.

Walking toward them, coming from off to their right, was the big, naked sheriff. He covered his privates with his hands when he saw them, and nodded at Ash.

“I see you found yours,” Allan said, darkly, looking around the yard.

Ash gave him a chuckle and wrapped his arms around Helena. “I found mine.”

“You haven’t seen mine around here, by any chance, have you?” the sheriff asked, looking around the big, wide yard. “I tracked her out this way, but with all the other jackasses wandering around, I lost her scent. She’s about so high.” He held his hand up to his armpit. “Long black hair, generally pissed off.”

“Oh, I did see a chick sleeping by the barn.” Ash pointed off to his left. “She seemed knackered. Didn’t even hear me when I approached.”

Allan looked toward the big red structure. “Yeah, well, she was…up all night, both last night and tonight. I’m sure she needs to rest…”

“Go get your girl,” Helena said, her voice quiet. “She’ll want to wake up for you.”

With a dark look, the sheriff groaned. “You clearly don’t know her.”

“Oh, she will.” Helena’s nod was so certain, it tugged at Ash’s heart. “For her mate?”

Allan still looked unconvinced, but Helena slipped out of Ash’s arms and put her hand on his muscular shoulder. A little sliver of jealousy slid into Ash’s skin and he took in a long breath to quell it. She was just comforting the man.

“A wolf will always want to see her mate. Even if she’s mad at you. Inside, she won’t be able to help it. That’s the way Fate made us.” Sadness underlaid her tone, and that cut Ash to the core.

She sounded like she regretted her own mate. It broke his damn heart. Stupid heart. He felt like slinking off into the darkness and leaving them to their commiseration.

“I’ll have to take your word on this one,” Allan said on a sigh. “I never planned on a wolf mate.”

“I never planned on a human mate,” she said, slicing into his heart again.

“Well, it’s good to have the wolf perspective, at least.” Allan took a step toward the barn, breaking contact with Helena’s skin. Ash felt the possessiveness rise up again, and he wanted to draw her close and never let her go.

But not against her will.

If she didn’t want a human mate, despite the feelings Fate had foisted upon her, he wouldn’t force her. He’d make his offer to turn for her, and if she didn’t accept, he would still take care of her from afar. Be hers from afar.

“Go get your girl,” Helena said, turning back to Ash with a sad smile.

He couldn’t smile back. Not right now.

The sheriff strode across the lawn, leaving them alone. As Ash moved toward the house, other couples started to emerge from the forest, near where Allan had been. More of the wolves were returning. Some were clothed. Some were naked. Some may have even overheard Helena’s interactions with her grandfather. He needed to get her away. That’s what she’d asked for.

“Go wait in my truck,” he said, pulling on her hand and pointing toward where he’d parked the previous night. “It’s unlocked, but I have to grab my keys from the house.”

She followed, keeping hold of his fingers. “Can I go with you?”

“Just let me get my keys,” he said, a little more gusto behind his words this time. “I’ll be at my truck in just a second.” He took off running, needing some distance. Her body betrayed how much she wanted his hands on her, but her emotions were still at war inside her. And her words said she didn’t want him. Over and over and fucking over.

When am I going to learn?

He felt her disappointment cloud his mind as he ran toward the house. He was so confused by her, it was hard to breathe. He wanted her so much. He already knew he loved her. Whether it was Fate directing him or not, he knew how he felt.

But she didn’t love him. And he was going to have to learn to live with that. It wouldn’t change him, or his determination to keep her safe, or his devotion to her. He already couldn’t imagine life without her. He knew he would always be checking with their bond to see how she was when he was away from her. Hell, he was only a few hundred feet off, and he was already doing it.

He lumbered up the porch and through the front door, which was unlocked. In retrospect, it wasn’t that surprising: what person in their right mind would break into the VonBrandts’ stronghold? No doubt, because there was a big gate outside, and security apparently up the ying-yang in other places. Plus, the alpha seemed to want to welcome having people in his house. It was an interesting place, this VonBrandt ranch.

Ash grabbed his keys and phone. The boot caught his eye. He could hardly believe he didn’t need it anymore. He’d been in pain for so long. His sock was dirty from being traipsed all over the yard, but the foot underneath was completely healed. Miracle.

Helena was a miracle. He couldn’t let her go. Not if there was even a chance she would love him back.

As he was leaving the house, he heard a quiet voice call out his name, and he turned to look up the big, wide staircase leading from the foyer to the second floor. Kara was standing at the top in a tank top and shorts, her blonde hair hanging over her shoulder.

“Are they coming back?” she asked in a groggy voice.

“They are.”

“And Helena?”

“She’s waiting in my truck.”

Kara smiled. “Luke will come find me in his old room. It’s a game we like to play, where I pretend to be asleep, and he—” She pressed her lips together, raising her brows. “Well, let’s just say, there are benefits to being the human mate of a wolf, and one of them is post-run sex. It is the best sex imaginable.”

Ash tried to return the smile, but he wasn’t quite there yet. He and Helena had plenty to work out before they were at the leaping-into-bed-after-a-run level of the relationship. Besides the whole issue of her not wanting a human mate, they still hadn’t discussed the another-guy’s-hand-on-her-boob-and-butt incident. He was so not excited to bring that up.

His nostrils flared with emotion, but he tried to shake it off, not wanting to bother Kara.

“I’ll have to take your word on that one,” Ash said.

Kara was just about to say something when Helena’s voice cut in. “Ash? Are you coming?”

Helena appeared at his side, dressed in her black clothes again—which was too damn bad, since she’d looked hot as hell in that shirt. Her features were concerned, and he realized he’d forgotten it was a two-way bond. His anxiety must have filtered through to her. He stepped aside and introduced her to Kara, ending with, “She’s one of the moon widows.”

“Moon widows?” Helena asked, slipping her arm around his waist.

“The humans who have wolf mates,” Kara explained, coming down a few steps so she could offer her hand to Helena.

His mate took the handshake, her lips tight. “Ah. I see.”

Ash felt a stab of frustration edging through her, and he let out a long sigh. “We should get going, Kara. Thanks again for the talk last night. I’ll see you later.”

“It was nice to meet you, Helena,” Kara called out as they left. “He speaks very highly of you.”

“Nice to meet you, too,” Helena said, and Ash closed the door behind them.

“We should get back to town, unless you changed your mind about wanting to stay here this morning,” he said, taking her down the steps toward his truck.

“No, I don’t want to stay here. Can you take me to that place with the waffles?” she asked in a small voice. “I haven’t eaten in almost twenty-four hours.”

“That, I can do.” He opened the truck door to usher her inside, but she lingered in the open doorway, squeezing his hand.

“Thank you, Ash,” she said, looking into his eyes.

“For what?” he asked, a little dumbfounded by the rush of desire flooding through him.

“For finding me.”

He closed the door, letting his hand trail along as he walked around the back of the truck. In a low voice, he said, almost to himself, “I’ll always find you.”