Trina woke up with her hands tied behind her and secured to the back of the chair. Her legs were also tied to the chair. Her mouth was still gagged with a filthy bandanna. Her mind was foggy. Her brain swirled with images trying to comprehend so many things. When her vision cleared, she couldn't even tell where she was. It wasn't home, building, or anything. The sound of water dripping onto the rocky ground told her that they were in some kind of cave. It was damp and smelled of moss. The only light came from the opening that was partly obscured by tree branches.

She bit into the bandanna.

"You're awake," a male voice said.

This time the man in the black jumpsuit remained in the back while a taller man in a business suit took the lead. He had a knife with a sharp blade, which he placed against Trina's shoulder.

"We can talk about this proposition I have for you right now.“ He unsecured the knot and threw the bandanna down on the ground.

"Who the fuck are you people?" she demanded. "Where am I?"

"Hold your horses right there, ma'am," the man in the business suit said. "We weren't planning on doing any introductions."

"Why did you kidnap me? Why am I in this cave?"

The businessman straightened out a newspaper and pointed to something on it. "There was a marriage certificate recently filed with the courts. It has your name right here."

Trina glanced briefly to see hr name printed alongside Dane Magnus's.

"How do you know that's me?" she asked.

The guy in the black jumpsuit handed the man in the business suit her purse. He fished out her driver's license. "You're a long way from home, Ms. Trina Daniels. Or should I say, Mrs. Magnus."

"What do you want with me?"

"My partner and I have been eyeing a specific lot over on Cedar Loop Trail. Does the name ring a bell?"

She swallowed.

The man pushed the blade against Trina's throat. "Does it?"

"Yes."

"According to courthouse records, you're now the owner.”

Trina didn't say a word.

"Do you value your life, Ms. Daniels?"

"Of course."

"Then I assume you'd like to leave this cave alive."

Her blood boiled through her. "What do you want?"

He produced another set of papers. "Your signature. Right here on this dotted line."

"Hell no!"

He grabbed a fistful of her hair and forcefully pulled her head back. "I'm not playing fucking games with you, lady—"

"This is no way to treat a lady," she protested, writhing in her chair.

"You're right. Any lady who opens her legs for a half-breed freak of nature is no lady at all."

Trina almost threw up her lunch in disgust and anger.

"You don't seem to understand, so let me break it down to you," he continued. "By blood, Dane and I are related…and no, before you get any ideas, I'm not a fucking animal. While tracing my lineage here in Aspen Valley, I discovered that his mother was my distant cousin, five times removed. I had claims to the land which obviously he abandoned, but then my claim was denied the moment the marriage was entered into records."

"Liar."

"Why would I lie about being related to a measly animal? Nonetheless, I need a simple favor from you, but maybe perhaps I will be doing you a favor. Once you sign your name on the bottom line, you won't ever want for anything again. You don't have to spread your legs for those animals like a whore for cash anymore. You can be free from this slutty lifestyle."

"You arrogant bastard!"

He held out his arms and chuckled. "Well, isn't it true?"

What did he know of her? Why couldn't people just mind their own business and stop snooping in her life?

"I don't trust or believe you," she said.

"Do you trust or believe that animal Dane Magnus?"

She paused. "Yes, I do."

"Are you sure?" he taunted. "You were running…you were alone."

"I don't have to answer to you."

"Well, he didn't tell you why he decided to claim the land officially, did he?"

"Because it's his. It was his mother's. He needs it for his Pack," she said, her irritation growing rapidly within her.

The man in the suit laughed loudly. "You're a fool. Once he gets what he wants, he's going to throw you aside like trash. Those wolves do this all the time. They take what they think they're entitled to by using whoever is most gullible. That animal is sitting on a goldmine and he knows it. But you can stop him from using you right this very minute. All you have to do is sign here and you'll be paid handsomely up front plus future interest. I'm a businessman of my word."

"You're the damn fool. I would never—"

Trina felt the mouth of the gun pressing at the back of her skull.

"I won't hesitate to blow your brains out. I'll have your signature on this paper either voluntary or involuntarily. You decide!"

"You're a stupid motherfucker," she told him. "My signature won't help you! Do you think you can just strip a man of what's rightfully his? Even if I die here and you temporarily get what you want, you'll be dead before you can enjoy the fruits of your laziness."

The man came around and wrapped his hand around her throat, cutting off her speech and her oxygen.

"You sassy-mouthed bitch!"

Gunfire erupted from outside and a man cried out in bloody murder. The man in black jumpsuit peeked outside and then scuffled back while trying to reload his gun.

"We've got company," the man in the jumpsuit cried out. "It's them damn wolves!"

"Fuck!" the man in the business suit exclaimed. "They're like vultures."

Before they could say another word, a mahogany wolf shot into the cave and dived at the gunman. Two shots were fired, but both missed the wolf. The man in the business suit scurried behind her chair. Another wolf shot through the cave. This time the fur was black and shiny like night. His fangs were distended and his snout glistening with fresh blood. Another large-sized wolf blocked the entrance to the cave.

Trina took in a shaky breath and tried to wriggle free of the ropes binding her.

"Stay back, you wolf, or I'll bury this knife in her throat," the man in the business suit warned.

Dane growled and barked several times. On the other side of the cave, the man in the black jumpsuit was clutching his side and stumbling all over the cave. The blood gushed from his open wound with every step he took. The mahogany wolf shifted instantly as if by magic. It was Brock. He bent down and picked up the lone gun from off the ground.

"Alpha, he's done for. It's your call. Kill him or not?" Brock asked, aiming the gun at the man in the jumpsuit's head.

"No…no…no, please. Don't kill me."

Dane shifted, his wolf fur disappearing in waves of energy around him until the man appeared. "Leave him. Let him suffer. If he dies, he dies."

The man in the jumpsuit huddled in the back corner of the cave whimpering.

Dane's eyes shifted to her, his gaze looking haunted like a man who had lost it all and was seeing a glimmer of hope as if for the first time in years.

"Hello cousin," the man in the business suit said.

"Let my woman go!"

"I'll need compensation before I do that. We all know you're rolling in it, so why don't you break me off a piece of it?” the businessman asked.

"That's not the way it works. You can't just run up in our town and lay claim to what you like," Dane told him.

"Ah, but I just did. And as soon as I made it known about who I was and how valid my claim was, you and your little wolf posse want to intervene."

"You have the order of events mixed up. That home and that land have always been mine."

"It's been sitting there for years…rotting. You didn't want it and now you do!"

"Rotting or not, the home and the land was and is still mine. Do you know what you burned to the ground?"

"I do. By having Anderson burn that shack to the ground, I confirmed what most elders in this community already knew. That rotting home was all a front because you know what's sitting under it."

There was silence as Dane and Brock exchanged glances.

"Yeah, that's right. Oil. You knew the oil was in the ground and you've been sitting on the land all this time."

"You've been snooping a lot more than I have, haven't you?" Dane replied. "It's too bad you won't be raping my lands or my Pack home to drill any oil.

The sound of police sirens blared, growing louder as they neared. The cruisers came to a screeching halt outside the cave.

"You dirty dog, you," the man in the business suit exclaimed. "You got the cops involved in this."

"That was a curveball you didn't see coming, huh? Did you think that I was going to be the lesser man and play these mind game tactics with you? You better be glad I called in the cops," Dane said, as several armed police officers filled the little cave. "I don't have time for games, cousin. You didn't stop at trespassing on my land. You touched my woman. I was going to kill you, but that wouldn't give the courts the evidence that I need."

"Blair Fendman, you're under arrest for wire fraud, falsifying documents, arson, and kidnapping," one the cops said. "Release the woman, put down your knife, and place your hands behind your head."

"Insane," Blair Fendman said, but he did as he was told.

Dane ran over to assist her in untying the ropes as the cops exited the cave with both of her kidnappers in handcuffs.

Trina rose and immediately wrapped her arms around him.

"I thought I'd lost you," he whispered in her hair.

"I'm sorry I ran off like that. I should have trusted that you'd tell me about everything."

"That's okay, kitten," he said. "It'll take more than you slapping me and running off to get rid of me."

"Hey! I didn't slap you," she reminded him.

"You did once." He winked.

"Oh…you still remember that."

"I'll never forget it." He smiled and kissed her forehead, holding her securely against his chest. "Now you're coming with me and I won't be letting you out of my sight ever again."

"You know what?" she teased. "This wasn't in the agreement and I think it calls for some amendments."

"Ha!" He chuckled. "We can discuss some extra compensation considering what you've been through."

On a serious note, she wrapped her arms around his neck and placed her palms at the back of his neck. He looked down at her, his smoky grey eyes swirling with adoration.

"Dane, I was scared. I don't want anything like that to happen again.”

"Trina, I promise to be completely truthful and loyal this day forward. I'll protect you with my own life. I'm Alpha of my Pack and I've been given a great many responsibilities and sometimes there is opposition. There has never been quite an opposition like this coming from an outside threat. I can promise to keep you safe as long as you understand that when I caution you against straying that you have to listen."

She nodded. "I understand now. Even if you'd told me before, I probably wouldn't have believed that someone could be that greedy to want to take something like your home from you."

"It's my responsibility now to help you understand, Trina. You are part of my Pack now," he said. "You're part of my Pack family."

Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw Brock nod in agreement. That was all the acceptance she needed, knowing that Dane and his brothers would have her back. And she would have theirs. In her heart, she knew she would have died here in this cave if it meant protecting her Dane and all he held dear—including his possessions.

She lifted up on her tip toes and kissed him, longingly and passionately. This time, when the mate mark on her throat pulsed hotly against her skin, it only served as a reminder that Dane Magnus was meant for her and she was glad that she had stepped out her comfort zone to find him.