I ignored the glorious scent of cedar and vanilla rolling off the beastly alpha. This guy was my mate? Oh, hell no. I wanted to wipe that smirk off his face. He was the kind of guy who thought he knew best, no matter the situation. I highly doubted he knew how to handle me.

A gust of wind cut through my thin clothes. Excellent for dancing, shitty for winter hiking. "I don’t suppose any of you have any warmer clothes for me?" I arched my eyebrow and tried not to shiver. I should have put my shoes back on when I’d dressed after they’d left me earlier. I didn’t have anything to hide, but I didn’t like the idea of invisible eyes lingering on my naked body.

The big alpha didn't even look at me. "Don’t worry about clothes, Princess. We’ll make faster time in fur. Gotta call this in first." He lifted his phone to his ear and stared into the distance.

One of the other alphas approached me. He was brawny as well, but not the Beef Jerk's size. None of them matched up to him. "Hey man, Zeke." He held out a hand to introduce himself. I ignored it, but only because I was pretty sure my arms were frozen in place. He dropped his hand, the welcoming smile on his face undeterred. "Maybe you should shift now while we're waiting. It'll be warmer in fur."

Noah growled and we looked to him. He wasn't staring into the distance anymore, he was looking at Zeke and me. What, were we being too fucking loud? I managed to slip out a hand long enough to flip him the bird. Zeke was right—I'd be warmer in wolf form, but there was no way I was going to shift before the big guy did.

"Don't mind Noah," Zeke stage whispered. "His bite is worse than his bark."

Noah growled again, and Zeke stepped away with a shit-eating grin. Well, now I had a name. Though I liked Beef Jerk as well.

Noah's attention turned back to the phone, and he gave whoever was on the other end a quick run down. Saved me, obviously. Unless I froze to death. No transportation. Dudes got a way. Noah listened for a moment, then swore. After another moment, he hung up.

"New plan. Simon and Levi go after the phone. Twins, transport."

Twins? I looked to Zeke and realized he had suddenly doubled. Huh. Twins.

"Me and Princess will hole up at that vacation cabin we passed a ways back."

Fuck no. Me stuck in a cabin with asshole super alpha after the shit day I'd had? At least, I hoped it was only a day—I’d no way of measuring time in that cage. Yeah, there was no way I’d be putting up with his craptastic caveman shit after all that. Zeke was the only one who'd taken time to be somewhat interested in my welfare. I'd rather go with him.

"You’re like, the leader, right? Shouldn’t you be going after the phone? Isn’t that the priority?"

Noah began unbuttoning his vest. "You’re priority number one."

The rumble in his voice sent shivers up and down my spine. The way he said that, it felt like more than just a job. I was glad he hadn't been looking at me when he said that. My reaction was unexpected and intense. It was just shock, I told myself. Everything is going to feel intense for a while.

"If my dad hired you, his reputation is priority number one. Not me. He’ll care more about the phone. You should be going after that."

Noah stepped close, his eyes finally zeroing in on me. I lifted my chin in defiance. He couldn't intimidate me. Noah's voice dropped even further.

"I don’t know how much you know about ALPHA division, but we don’t exactly answer to anyone. There’s objectives, and then there’s our mission. Mission trumps all. Do you know what ALPHA stands for? Accept, Love, Protect, and Help Always. People come first. You understand what I’m saying? You come first. You are the mission. Everything else is just an objective." His eyes held me captive.

I didn’t normally go for muscle bound meatheads, but this guy’s scent combined with his seemingly unshakable confidence and ridiculously earnest intensity made me want to bring him to his knees. I wanted to see him let go of that control and unleash that passion he bound so tightly.

He finally broke his gaze and finished stripping, storing his clothes in a bag. The rest of the guys did the same. Noah held his hand out with an expectant look. He faced me straight on, unashamed of his nudity. He definitely didn't have anything to be ashamed of. I couldn't help but sneak a glance. Noah’s dick hung heavy and low. That was a lot of length to be just swinging in this ice-cold wind. Was he a grower or just a shower?

Now so wasn’t the time. Shock, I reminded myself. I couldn’t help but focus on anything that wasn’t the actual danger pressing in on me. While I stripped, the others dispersed, sliding their packs over their backs somehow and disappearing into the woods.

Noah stashed my clothes without comment and then shifted. His wolf was a mottled dark gray, and just as imposing physically as his human form. I knew what he'd see when I shifted: a smaller wolf, a more traditional gray and white coloring, but sleek. I raised my tail and preened, but Noah didn't pause. He slid into his pack, nipping at it to tug it into position, and then started down the mountain. I had no choice but to chase after him.

"So how far is this cabin?" I asked.

"Maybe an hour."

I stopped in shock. "How the fuck are we supposed to walk for an hour?"

Noah kept going. "It took us six to get up here, Princess. At least we already broke the trail through the snow. It'll be easier going back. Better pick up the pace, pup. The faster we move, the sooner your precious little paws can get warmed up."

An hour? I hadn't eaten in who knew how long. I'd actually gotten hungry enough to try and reach the pieces of cold egg that I'd kicked out of the cage, but the silver in the bars had burned my arms in the attempt.

"Maybe we should just go back to the cabin? The fire will be going for a while, right? That should be warm enough."

"Yeah, let's stay right where the bad guys can find us easily. Good plan."

The sarcasm was strong with this one.

"As if they can't just track this big ass trail you made so nicely for us? They're shifters too. Wolf tracks aren't a deterrent, they're like a neon sign saying 'Here they are!'"

"Snow is coming."

Damn this man and his fucking answer for everything. "What, you smell it? Are you a mother fucking snow whisperer?"

Noah snorted. "I'm almost tempted to run with that, Princess. But no. Jonah saw it on the radar."

"Oh, right. Jonah. From his weather station inside a big fucking whale, right?"

Noah froze suddenly. "Quiet."

I followed his example, instinctively crouching into the snow, my eyes darting through the bare tree trunks around us.

"Did you hear something?"

"Maybe." After a moment, Noah started walking again.

I stood up, annoyance flooding me. "Did you just say that to get me to shut up?"

"Maybe."

Just for that, I narrated every annoyance that tickled my attention for the next hour. I wanted to get under Noah's skin, but he seemed unflappable. At least complaining managed to distract me from worrying about my dad's response when I finally got home. I wasn't looking forward to hearing how much I'd fucked up. Again.

Well, the complaining managed to mostly distract me.

My nose bumped into the stairs of the cabin before I realized we had arrived. I jumped with a yip of surprise, and then a yip of glee. Noah shifted to human form and busted out a window pane on the door with his elbow, carefully knocking all the sharp glass in before reaching in to unlock the door.

"Care—"

I bolted past Noah, jumping over the glass on the floor.

"—full".

A couch! I jumped up. It had deep, squishy cushions, and a pile of blankets folded on the arm. I pawed at the blankets until I'd built a nest, then nosed my way underneath, burying myself in the warmth.

"Dude. You got snow all over their fancy ass couch."

I poked my nose out of my blanket mountain, pushing it just far enough out that I could see Noah, my lips stretching in a wolfy grin. "Come on, big guy. Let's get that fireplace going. How long will that take?"

Noah shut the door and bent to pull out his clothes and dress. "No fire. Don't want any neighbors or your kidnappers to see it and come running. But..."

"But what?"

He ignored me, sweeping away the glass and throwing it in the garbage while I peppered him with questions.

"But there's a solar powered jacuzzi? But there's an underground safe room? But what, Noah?"

Noah disappeared outside, closing the door behind him. Cold wind still blew through the broken window pane, though. What was Noah doing? He sure as fuck better not be hunting down a deer for dinner, because I did not do raw. Not even sushi. Fuck that shit.

I was imagining Noah tracking down and fighting a wild bear for its meat and fur when the lights suddenly came on, making me jump. A loud noise, like a chicken and a lawn mower fighting, followed seconds later before fading, and the blessed scent of musty, too-still air started circulating. A heater! Even better.

Though why would someone have a fireplace when they had a fucking heater? Maybe for ambiance. I could totally picture laying out one of those fluffy white fake fur rugs, a glowing fireplace, a couple bowls of strawberry and chocolate accompanied by some champagne glasses.

Noah's entrance was announced by the door slamming open, destroying my fantasy. Yeah. There was nothing romantic about this guy. He was raw and uncut. Literally. Though now that I wasn't worried about being beaten up, freezing to death, or eaten by a bear, I was growing used to the idea. I still couldn't believe this guy was my mate. Dad was going to blow a gasket.

That was a point in Noah's favor, though.

I listened to Noah test the water in the kitchen—working. Flipped a light on and off, but left it off. Then fiddled with a thermostat. I could already feel the difference, though. My nose didn't feel like an icicle anymore.

"You hungry?" Noah asked.

"Starving." Now that he'd mentioned food, it was all I could think of.

Noah pulled out two shiny, flat bags from his bag.

"What are those?"

"MREs. Everything the body needs to survive. Do you want chicken chunks, chili, or spaghetti with beef?"

Even though my stomach was screaming at me for food, the idea of eating anything out of those bags, especially chicken chunks, made my stomach churn.

"Can't we just make something?"

"With what?" Noah asked. "This is a vacation home, not a 7-11. There's a can of corn and a bag of beans in the cupboards. Help yourself."

I glared at him as he ripped open the chili meal bag. He lay out the contents, and I peered at them suspiciously, my nose twitching eagerly at the Tootsie Roll.

Noah noticed my interest. "Chocolate is bad for dogs."

"Good thing I'm a shifter, not a dog," I snapped. "Give it."

Surprisingly, Noah unwrapped the chocolate before tossing it at me. I snapped it out of the air and chomped happily on it, but buried my nose back in the blankets when he finally opened the chili. So glad I hadn't even tried to get any of that down.

"Here," Noah said, and I perked up. He tossed another chocolate at me. "Sure you don't want to at least try the spaghetti?"

I wrinkled my nose, as best I could in wolf form, and worked on the chewie snack. I was still hungry, but the chocolate took the edge off it. When I finished and looked up, Noah was just sitting there in an armchair, smiling at me. Not smirking, but an honest to god smile.

I looked away. I wasn't used to... this. Sober, I was used to masks. But Noah, I could tell he was exactly what he seemed to be. And it terrified me. I didn't know how to be myself without chemical help.

Now what? Noah was still looking at me, and it was making me nervous. I wasn't good at sitting still. And the circulating air seemed to just intensify Noah's scent, not weaken it.

When had it gotten so hot in here? I shifted to human form and stood. The blanket fell from my body and Noah's eyes danced down in unveiled appreciation. This I knew what to do with. This would be a good distraction.

I sauntered over to the big alpha, relishing the way his eyes couldn't seem to decide which part of me to focus on. I straddled his legs, dropping to my knees, settling nicely in his lap. I needed someone to make me forget what was going on. And, well, if I was right about this scent thing, Noah was my mate. So why not? It’s not like either of us were virgins, waiting for our first time, right? There’s no way Noah could be a virgin, that’s for sure.

Noah was stiff underneath me. Both the good kind and the bad kind. I bent forward and nibbled his ear. “Loosen up, baby. Let’s have some fun. You know you wanna.” I could see the lust burning in his eyes.

“No.”

I hadn't expected him to be the kind to play hard to get, but I could roll with that. I pressed my chest against his and moaned softly into his ear, my desire unfeigned. Definitely a grower. I could feel his length continuing to stretch beneath me. “I need to thank you somehow.”

Something shifted in that moment. Noah shut down, ice cold, his body going from stiff to frozen. I suddenly found myself on the floor. Noah hadn't been playing hard to get—he actually had meant that no. But why? I could see he wanted me, he wasn't faking that. But he was fighting it.

Noah’s back was pressed against the door, his arms crossed, but his eyes burrowing into mine. I felt suddenly vulnerable, in a way I hadn’t even felt when I had been locked in the cage. I had opened up and offered myself, only to be rejected. I grabbed the blanket and started covering myself up.

Noah's sigh was like a gust of a storm wind. I had no idea what was coming next. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, then opened them and pinned me with his gaze.

“When I’m with you, Princess, it won’t be because you owe me. It won’t be because you’re bored. It’ll be because you need me and want me.”