The warm air caressed Beckett's skin. He moved through the crisp leaves at a fast clip. There was nothing in his way and not another soul for miles. He loved his morning runs.

This was the eighth day of Lenni's employment. She seemed so happy the day before when he told her he liked her choices. And he wasn't lying. She had a keen eye. Even though he'd been wary of her early on, he was glad to have her along. Potter was much happier now that she had an assistant. Beckett could scarcely recognize the old woman she was smiling so much and singing all the time.

Patrick and Lenni had also become fast friends. They had lunch together, and Beckett could hear them laughing all the way in his office. Everyone seemed much happier now that they had a new edition to the servant family.

She breathed so much life into the castle it made Beckett question his living arrangements. He liked living alone with no distractions, but his staff seemed much happier having someone new come in.

Was he being cruel?

He paid them more than a fair salary, but the work-life balance wasn't so great. Neither Patrick nor Potter had families of their own, but that didn't mean they enjoyed living like he did. Maybe he would make a change in the way he did things. Living in this castle all year might not be the best thing for the people who worked for him.

He had homes all over the country. All over the world really. Maybe it would make more sense to travel and change houses every season. It would be nice living closer to Jasper now that the baby was born. He loved his godson and it would be nice to see the baby for three or four months of the year. Potter would also love being able to see the baby more. And Patrick would love being able to live in a place closer to town with a vibrant choice of eateries.

If his people were happier, it would make him happier too. He depended on the two of them to make his life run smoothly. But it wasn't any good if he was making them miserable. He was going look into making the change after the wedding. Not before asking Potter and Patrick of course. There was a chance that they liked living in Hope Springs.

The wedding. He couldn't wait to be done with the whole thing. He was excited that his friends was getting married, but it was all so stressful for him. It was turning his life upside down. Most of it was good—like hiring Miss Belle—but some of it wasn't so nice. There were going to be a hoard of photographers surrounding the wedding. Jasper was doing everything he could to keep the event private. It sucked that they had to worry about it all weekend.

Luckily, the location and time of the bachelor party was a secret. He couldn't wait to see Jasper again. They weren't having a true party, but it was going to be fun. Just the two of them drinking, fishing, and swimming for two days. He would be flying out in just two days to head to the private resort before going to the wedding. Potter and Lenni would fly out on their own and meet him at his hotel.

Speaking of Potter, he felt the vibration in his pants pocket. There was only one person who would dare bother him while he was running. Coincidentally, she was also the only one who had the number to the phone he carried.

"What?" he asked, panting.

"You're going to want to get back here."

Beckett dropped the phone and let his bear free. He raced back toward the house at full tilt. His bear was tired and could scarcely take another step by the time they got back. Beckett shifted back and kept running in human form until he was back in the house. He snatched his spare shorts from their hook next to the back door.

"What's going on?" he yelled, struggling to get both legs into his pants. The sweat was drying on his body, but he didn't feel a chill. He was a million degrees and his bear was on high alert. His animal was tired, but it was ready to fight if need be.

Every hair on his body was standing up and he was ready for whatever was coming his way. Flashes of a black car and blood and snow flashed before his eyes.

Where was his brother? He knew his father was at work. They had exchanged emails before he headed out this morning.

What about Jasper? He hadn't heard from Jasper in a few days. Could something have happened to the baby?

He was sure his stepmother was fine at home, but his father had mentioned that she wasn't feeling too well this week.

The thoughts raced through his mind at warp speed. He took an inventory of where everyone he loved should be at the moment. Who could it be? What was the emergency?

"Someone is out front." Potter paced back and forth in front of the door. "Lenni is out there without someone."

"Who is it?" Beckett roared. He flung open the door and saw Lenni talking to a wiry man who looked familiar.

"I have no idea, but someone Lenni knows. I think it's a shifter."

Her ex-boyfriend. Beckett charged outside and almost let his bear out. Lenni was standing too close to the man. The man stepped forward, putting Lenni behind him.

"Beckett?" He tilted his head up at the one-word question.

It was the son of the Scrabble alpha. Ned. Beckett recognized him from seeing him around town. He still had the same old lanky hair and Beckett could smell him from this far away.

He had no idea how Lenni could date a man so disgusting.

"Ned I assume." Beckett stepped forward with his hand outstretched. He had to play nice until he could get Lenni out from behind the guy.

The young Wolf looked at his hand and sneered. "You the guy keeping my girlfriend locked up here?"

Lenni's mouth twisted in rage. "I am not your girlfriend. You shouldn't be here. As I just explained to you, you're trespassing."

"You gonna call the cops on me?" Ned asked Beckett. The air was thick with tension. There was no question that Beckett could take this wolf. He was twice his size and more than twice his age. But he didn't want to hurt Lenni during a fight. She wasn't moving from her spot behind Ned even though he was imploring her with his eyes to move. Move anywhere else.

Lenni put her hand on Ned's shoulder. "I will call the police. I'll press charges too. You know I have a restraining order, right?"

"No you don't." Ned raised his chin and glared at Beckett.

He could hear the uncertainty in the younger man's voice and he jumped on it. "She's right. You aren't supposed to be anywhere near her. Didn't you get the order in the mail?"

Beckett had no idea how restraining orders worked, but he was betting Ned didn't either. And once they got the wolf out of there, he was going to march Lenni down the police station himself and help her file the order. He'd call his lawyer on the way to make sure they did it right.

"This guy can't keep you here." Ned took Lenni's hand. "If he's making you do anything you don't want to do, you can tell me, baby. I won't be mad. Let me protect you. I'll take you away from here and keep you safe."

Beckett's bear was suddenly not so tired. The animal was snarling and ready for a fight. It was difficult to keep it locked up inside. "Get off my property. After I talk to the police, I'm going to talk to your father too. Let him know that you're bringing the human police into his life again. I don't think he's going to be too happy to hear about this."

"I don't care." Ned let go of Lenni's hand. "I have to get out of here, baby. I have work. If you need anything, call me."

"She doesn't need anything from you," Beckett snarled.

Ned took two quick steps and got in his face. "If you hurt a hair on her head, I'll kill you. I swear."

Beckett opened and closed his fist. "The feeling is mutual."

Ned got in his car and drove off, scowling. He may be the leader's son, but he still wasn't the alpha of his pack. His father didn't want the humans poking around his pack grounds and he sure as hell didn't want any trouble with the Hansen family.

Lenni stood next to Beckett with her hands at her side as Ned drove back down the mountain. Once he was out of sight she relaxed.

"How did he get in here?" Beckett asked. He kept his voice even and tried not to sound accusatory.

She hung her head "I let him in. I thought I could get him to leave quicker if I talked to him. He wasn't going to hurt me."

"We're going to get a restraining order as soon as I change my clothes," Beckett told her.

"I don't think I have enough material for a restraining order," Lenni said, worrying her bottom lip. "I looked it up already and he hasn't really done anything to warrant it."

"Why were you looking it up then?" Beckett demanded. "He's been following you around and he's turned up at your place of work. There is more than enough reason to get an order against him."

"I would rather just forget about it."

Beckett shook his head. "We need to get on this now to get this restraining order."

He wondered if she wanted to get back with him. Why else would she be so reluctant to get a restraining order against the clearly unhinged shifter?

"I don't want to do that. It's going to make it more difficult for me. He's going to leave me alone."

Beckett took her by the shoulders and made her face him. "I'll call my lawyer. I'll speak with him and see what he thinks. If he says you have a case, will you go and file?"

She lowered her eyes. "Sure."

He nodded. "Okay."

He wasn't going to let her leave his sight until this was sorted out. She was his employee after all. He couldn't let anything happen to her.