Mason raced through the woods, with the feeling of joy bouncing around inside him. It was more than just the usual exuberance that came from running under the moon. It was because of what Grace had told him. That there was a possibility that they were going to have a baby.

Having a child to bind the bloodlines of Cold Bay and East Brook had always been the point of their mating with each other. In his head he knew that he and Grace would have to have a child together. But it always seemed like an abstract concept. Now it was real, and he couldn’t think of anything that he wanted more than to have a child with Grace.

And he want this baby with her, not because of a merger between packs or a mingling of bloodlines, but because he was starting to realize that he loved her. Children seemed like the next logical step in the growth of their relationship, and he knew he didn’t want to stop at one. Which meant he would be holding on to her for longer than the next year. She was his, and the thought of things ending with her after the year was up sent to growl rumbling through his chest.

There was no way he wanted it to be over by this time next year. When he first learned that he would have to bind himself with Grace he’d been so choked by the bitterness of the past that he couldn’t see a way through it. Things had changed for him in the last two months. The anger and bitterness he carried around inside him for fifteen years seemed like a distant memory now. Things were different between him and Grace. There were no longer any secrets between them, and what happened between them so long ago wasn’t worth bringing up anymore. She’d been so young, as had he, and she’d made a mistake. He’d had regrets in his life too, and it wasn’t fair for him to hold against her something that she done when she was only eighteen years old.

Once he burned off the restless energy caused by the plump moon shining down on him, a hunger of a different sort rose up inside him. It was time to end his run, and go find his woman. His need for her, his love for her, grew stronger with each moment that he spent with her. The possibility that they were going to have a baby only deepen those feelings. They had something to celebrate, and he wanted her with a desire that was primal.

He turned and pointed his body back in the direction of his house. Fallen leaves and pine needles crunched under his feet but he hardly noticed. His one thought was Grace and the ground sped by under his feet in his haste to get to her. He burst out of the woods and into the backyard. The light of the full moon illuminated the house in a cool blue light, but he could see that Grace was no longer outside waiting for him. He went up the steps of the back deck, and closed his eyes to allow his transformation to come over him. Once he was back in the form of a man, he scooped his jeans up off the wooden deck and pulled them on.

He walked in the back door, and she was there waiting for him. Her hair shone like blonde silk, and there was a soft look on her face that ignited the hunger inside him. After a run his need for sex was always strong, but it never been this intense with anyone other than her. He dropped his shirt on the floor and strode toward her.

“Did you have a good run?” The corner of her mouth pulled up as her eyes roved over his body. She was a wolf so she knew that his blood would be up now, so there was no look of surprise on her face when he stood in front of her and put his hands on either side of her face. He swooped his head down and devoured her mouth as if he could never be sated. She put her arms around him and offered herself up to him.

With a growl he scooped her up and strode toward the stairs. His control was shaky as she stroked her tongue over his neck and nibbled on his earlobe. Mason growled as he took the steps two at a time, and in no time they were in their bedroom. He set her on her feet by the bed and the sweater she wore fell from her body. She wore a thin cotton T-shirt underneath and a pair of jeans. He could see through the fabric of her top, she was not wearing a bra and the hard thrust of her nipples called to him.

He looked her in the eye as he reached for the neckline of her top, and after she gave an imperceptible nod he pulled his hands apart, tearing the top down the middle. He bent his head swiftly and took one of her nipples in his mouth, and she dug her fingers into his scalp as a groan escaped her.

He sucked on her sweet flesh as she shivered. His name was a fevered sigh on her lips as she arched her back, and the fire of his desire burned hotter inside him. A primitive possessiveness went through him. This was his woman, and it was his name on her lips. It was his lips and tongue that were making her shiver, making her groan.

He needed to make her mindless with need so that she would know that only he could satisfy her, that there would never be another man who could take her to paradise like this.

He pulled back and her nipple came out of his mouth. She opened her eyes to look at him and he knew the desire he saw there was only matched by what was coursing through his veins. He wanted her so much that he longed to strip the rest of the clothes from their bodies and bury himself inside her. But he called upon every ounce of strength and willpower he had to sustain him. He wanted her mindless, he wanted her begging before he filled her.

He reached for the waistband of her jeans, undoing the button and sliding down the zipper. He slid them down her legs and discovered she was not wearing any underwear. Jesus, how was he supposed to last when she did shit like that. His hand glided down the smooth soft flesh of her belly and he cupped her between her legs. She was slick beneath his questing fingers, and she dug her fingers into his biceps as he stroked her. He knew he could take her right now, and satisfy her completely. She was more than ready for him. But he wanted to drive her out of her mind first.

He sank to his knees on the floor and he pressed soft kisses on her belly where he hoped his baby was sleeping. She widened her stance and push down on the top of his head and he knew what she needed. Gripping her ass with one hand and hooking her leg over his shoulder, he brought his mouth between her legs and stroked her clit with his tongue. She tasted so sweet and he thought that he couldn't get enough of her, that he could do this for hours. But she was so aroused that when he played her like a finely tuned instrument it wasn’t long before she was exploding in orgasm against his mouth. She called his name, her voice proclaiming her pleasure in tones that were sweeter than any music.

He stood up and pulled her to him as she sagged against him. He held her for several moments until he was certain that she would be able to stand on her own. He turned her to face the bed, and she climbed on the bed on her hands and knees and faced away from him. He felt like he would explode if he didn’t get inside her now as his eyes traced over the glistening folds of her body. He tore at the opening of his jeans, wondering why he'd even bothered putting them back on after his run. Every second he was away from her, every second he was not part of her body, seemed like one second too long.

His cock felt like marble jutting out from his body as he walked toward her. He grasped himself and stroked his head over the wet folds of her body as he prepared himself to enter her. Her breath was coming in heavy pants as her body wiggled in anticipation, and he could no longer keep himself away from her. He thrust his hips forward, filling her with his cock.

“Oh God yes, Mason.” Her voice came out in a fevered rush that sent his desire spiraling out of control. He dug his fingers into the flesh of her hips, pulled back and slammed inside her. Jesus she felt so good, she felt so right and she was his and only his. All that remained was for her to acknowledge it.

“Who do you belong to? Who is the only one that can do this to you? Who was the only one that you want like this?” His voice came out in the deep dark growl as he thrust in and out of her.

“You, Mason. Oh God, it’s always been you. Only you can do this to me.” She turned her head to look at him, he could see the fever desire and her heavy lidded eyes. “Fuck me, Mason.”

She didn't need her to say anymore. His need for her caught him and gripped him so tight that he was mindless as he thrust in and out of her. He reached one hand around to stroke her, he was so close to orgasm that he needed to have her with him.

The only sounds in their bedroom was the music of their sighs, the sounds of their breath coming heavier and heavier as he took her in the blue moonlight. God he loved her so much, he needed her so much, that he didn’t know how he’d ever thought he could let her go. But he didn’t have to let her go, she was his and he was hers and her name was a chant in his head as she exploded around him.

Her orgasm triggered his own, and he pulsed inside her as she milked every ounce of pleasure from him. Was it always going to be like this? Was it always going to be this intense, was the love he felt for her always going to be so strong when his body was connected with hers?

He braced his hands on either side of her body on the mattress. She collapsed on her stomach and he didn’t want to burden her with the weight of his body. Once he finally came back to himself, he pulled out of her. She moved so that she was in the center of the bed, and he joined her.

He gathered her to him, with her head on his chest. He closed his eyes and knew it would not take long for sleep to claim him. It was on his tongue to tell her of his love, but the evenness of her breath said she was already sleeping. A smile pulled at the corner of his mouth as he pressed a kiss to the top of her head. There would be time enough to tell her everything.

* * *

Grace drove down the road toward her mother’s house with a small niggling of guilt curling inside her. Mason had been very clear on the fact that until Titus was found, she was to have someone with her whenever she went out to the house. But it had been months since Titus was seen, and it seemed to be a waste of time to bother Rafe when she was only going to be out at the house for a short period of time. It was broad daylight, and Alena would be there so she was certain that nothing untoward was going to happen.

She pulled into the driveway and saw Alena leaning against her car looking at her phone. There was no sign of a vehicle or anyone else, and Grace looked down at her watch as she pulled her car to a stop. She was on time, but perhaps Alena's client was late.

Determined to get this over with, Grace gathered her purse and got out of the car. She was only going to wait for the client for a few minutes, and if they didn’t show she was going to be on her way. Alena could answer any questions about the house that this person would have, and Grace wasn’t sure why exactly she had to be out here. She just wanted the house sold, so that the remaining ties she had to her past would go away with the house.

“Is your client late?” Grace came up to stand next to Alena, and the other woman looked up at her with a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. For a moment Grace wasn’t sure what she’d done to her to make her so cold, but she supposed it didn’t really matter. While she and Alena had been close as teenagers, people drifted apart and life moved on.

“My client is in the house looking around. You can go ahead and go in, I’ll be there in a few minutes I just need to make a phone call.”

Grace turned away, and rubbed the skin at the back of her neck. She tamped down on the uneasy feeling that swam under her skin, and walked toward the house. The sooner she got this done, the sooner she could move on. She was certain it would only take a few moments to answer whatever questions this person had.

She walked up the steps, and put her hand on the doorknob when a feeling of fear suddenly came over her. Her mind flashed back to that night fifteen years ago that had ruined everything, and for a second she couldn’t make herself turned the doorknob.

Why was she being so stupid about this now? She gave a shake of her head, turned the knob and walked into the house. Maybe it was the thought of selling the house, and severing the last tie from the past that was doing this. That was what it had to be, it couldn’t be anything else. But she needed to move on, and to do that the house had to be sold. She had no use for it, since she now had a home with Mason and intended for that to be her forever home.

The house was eerily silent as she walked into the living room, and there was no sign of Alena’s client.

“Hello?” Her voice echoed against the walls, and a shiver took hold of her as if someone had walked over her grave. The urge to turn and run nearly overwhelmed her, but she forced one foot in front of the other as she walked deeper into the house.

A shadow moved from inside the kitchen, and she figured that Alena’s client was in there. Why this person wouldn’t answer her she didn’t know but she went toward the open arch that separated the kitchen from the living room and walked inside.

As soon as she stepped into the room a scent hit her that was so distinctive in its malice that it could only belong to one person. Titus.

The man in the room turned to face her, and there could be no doubt in her mind that it was him. The fifteen years that had passed since she’d seen him last had not been kind to him. He was older, grayer, and had deep lines etched into his face that spoke of the hard life he lived. A scar ran from his eyebrow down to underneath his right eye, and a cloudy film covered it that told her he could not see out of it. The other eye appeared to work just fine if the fact that it burned like green poison was any indication.

Her mind screamed at her to turn and run, to get out of the house now. But fear held her tight in its grip and would not let her go. She trembled as the memory of the pain he inflicted on her during their shared past slammed through her as if it was fresh and happening in this moment.

“It was nice of you to come here alone.” His voice was deep and rumbled out of his chest. It was a voice that personified hatred and evil intentions, and it made Grace feel cold upon hearing it. “I didn’t think you would. I’ve been waiting so long for us to talk, but every time I attempted it you always had someone with you. It’s nice that we finally get to be alone.”

He slowly stepped toward her, and she moved back at the same pace that he moved forward. It didn’t take long for her back to press up against the wall, and he moved to over, her placing a hand on each side of her head. His hands were like huge mitts and she knew that with just the right amount of pressure he could use them to crush her skull. She swallowed hard and consoled herself by thinking that if he was going to kill her, he would’ve done so.

Tapping into a deep reserve of strength that she didn’t know she had, Grace made herself stop shaking as she stiffened her posture and faced the man who’d been the feature in every nightmare she’d ever had for the past fifteen years.

“What do you want, Titus?” Despite the feeling of false bravery that she forced through her body, nothing could erase the slight tremble in her voice as she addressed him.

She knew him, knew what he was capable of, and knew that there was not even one shred of decency inside him that would stop him if he chose to do the worst to her. He’d shown her that fifteen years ago. She just wanted him to say what he had to say, so she could get out of here and get back to Mason, where she was safe.

“So impatient, Gracie. Maybe I want to catch up with an old friend.” He stroked a finger down her cheek in a mockery of a lovers caress, and a shudder of revulsion went through her. She squeezed her lips together to keep them from whimpering. The last thing she wanted was to give him the satisfaction of seeing how much his touch terrified her.

“We were never friends. You went through a lot of effort to get me here, so why don’t you just tell me what it is that you want.”

His hand fell away with a twist of his mouth, and he put it back on the wall so that her head was framed between his palms. There would be no escaping him until he had his say. Hopefully he would spit out whatever it was that he wanted, and she could get out of here because the fear and anxiety inside her was churning so much that she thought she would be physically ill.

“You are going to leave him. This merger will not happen, and the bloodlines will not mix. East Brook and Cold Bay are natural enemies, and for you to bind yourself to our enemy is a betrayal of your pack.”

God, listening to him was like listening to her stepfather all over again. Both had been cut from the same cloth, and he so steeped in the past that he couldn’t see what was right in front of him. East Brook needed to step out of the past if they were going to have any sort of future at all. It was a good thing that this asshole was not running the show because if he was the pack would be doomed.

“I will do no such thing.” Steel ran up the length of Grace’s spine as anger burned inside her. How dare he come here and tell her how things were going to be as if he knew what was best for the pack. He knew nothing and he had no power over her. “This merger is the only thing that will save the pack. It has happened, and I am not leaving him. Without this East Brook is dead.”

With a daring that she didn’t think was possible, she reached up, put her hands on his chest and shoved. He was as mobile as a brick wall, and his hand moved with the speed of a striking snake as he wrapped his fingers around her throat. He did not squeeze, he simply held her against the wall but she had no doubt that he could choke the life from her if he so chose. The determination that stiffened her spine dissolved in light of the vicious gleam that came into the burning green of his single eye.

“Now you listen to me, girl.” He leaned in close and his breath fanned hot across her face. He held her immobile so she could not look away from him. “You will leave him one way or the other. If it is not your choice, perhaps it will be his.”

“He is stronger than you, there’s no way that you can kill him.” She was certain that Mason’s youth and power would be more than a match for Titus. Fifteen years ago, when Titus had been in his prime and Mason just stepping into manhood, there would have been no contest. Titus would’ve murdered him quite easily. But now she knew her man would be more than able to take care of Titus. So if he thought he was going to kill Mason in order to break their binding he was wrong.

“Oh I won’t kill him. I’m sure the price the council would extract for killing someone who shares the bloodline of Cold Bay’s alpha would be too steep to pay. You should know how well I value my skin. Besides it won’t be necessary for me to kill him. You will leave him because otherwise he might learn just what kind of woman you are. Do you honestly think he would want to stay with you, to take the chance of having a child with you after what you did fifteen years ago?”

His reminder of all that she lost when she was eighteen years old, and the part she played in that loss, made pain ripped through her. She fooled herself into thinking that she was the only one who knew the deep, dark secret that she harbored inside her for fifteen years. But she was wrong about that. There was one other who knew, and he stood in front of her with a grin so wide on his mouth that he looked like a shark ready to devour its prey. It was as if he knew that by playing this trump card, that he’d won the game that he’d been playing with her for the past two months.

All she knew was that she needed to get out of here. She needed to get away from him before she dissolved into a trembling mass of fear and anguish.

“I trust we understand each other, Gracie. Don’t disappoint me.”

He let go of her throat and took a step back. She clutched at her neck and darted around him. It felt like the walls were closing in on her, and she had to get out.

Once she burst through the front door of the house, and the cool air hit her she felt like she could finally breathe again. Alena was nowhere to be seen, and her car was no longer there. She supposed her former friend had done what she was supposed to, and it hadn’t really been necessary for her to hang around and enjoy the aftermath of what she’d set into motion.

Grace got into her car and with shaking hands put the key in the ignition. Her knuckles were white the entire time she drove from East Brook to Cold Bay. She pulled into the parking lot of Sawyer’s Place. She got out of her car and raced into the bar as if the hounds of hell were nipping at her heels.

She made a beeline for Logan’s office, not pausing even once to look at or speak to anyone that was in the barroom. She burst into Logan’s office, and her entire focus was on her alpha as he looked at her from across the room with some surprise.

“Titus threatened me, and is demanding that I leave Mason. Oh God, Logan what am I going to do? If I tell Mason the truth of what really happened all those years ago he’ll never forgive me.”

Logan’s face went pale and his eyes darted over to the open door. Grace turned her head to look and saw that Mason stood there, his eyes darting between her and Logan as dark anger descended upon his face.