One good thing about the kiss Mason had given her during their binding ceremony was that it made her forget Titus Parr. Kissing him had sent her back in time, back when the only thing she had to worry about was when she and Mason were going to be together. The howls of the crowd had jolted her back to reality and when she’d pulled away from him she’d known it had been the same for him.

They were now at Sawyer’s Place celebrating their union. This party was certainly a lot different from the one held here last week. Something had happened amongst the members of her pack and Mason's. It was as if some mysterious dividing wall had been removed and they were now free to mingle amongst themselves. If nothing else, at least her union with Mason had accomplished bringing the two packs together.

She jumped for a second when a large hand came to rest on the small of her back and Mason stepped up beside her.

“We’re supposed to be putting on a happily joined front, so try not to flinch every time I touch you.” He spoked to her in a quiet undertone as he smiled down at her. She knew the smile was for the benefit of those watching, and so she pushed her lips into a smile in return despite her aching cheeks. She’d done more smiling tonight than she had in a while and her energy was starting to flag.

“How much longer do you think we’ll be expected to be here?” Her feet ached in her high heel shoes, and the ceremony had drained her emotionally. She just wanted to get out of here, and away from the eyes of everyone so she could relax and be herself.

Of course leaving early would mean the time for reckoning would be upon them. She and Mason hadn’t discussed sleeping arrangements, but she was under no illusions that this union would be in name only. The whole purpose of it was to produce a child, which would never happen if they didn’t sleep together. But she wondered if she was going to be ready for it to happen as soon as they got to Mason’s house. Surely they could have some time to become familiar with each other again.

“I think we can go any time we like. I’m sure no one expects us to be the last ones to leave.”

“Then I’d like to go now. These shoes are killing me and if I have to smile any more I think my face is going to crack.” She stepped away from him and his hand fell away. She pushed away the chill that came to replace the warmth his hand on her back had pushed through her. She was tired and that was why she was feeling so out of sorts. Him touching her should feel no different to her than anyone else touching her.

“Do you want to follow me in your car or are we going to leave it here?”

He walked beside her out the door of the bar, and although he was not touching her in any way, she was aware of his large body looming beside her. Had he been this big and powerful when they’d been together fifteen years ago? It was such a long time ago that it was hard to remember, but there was no doubt that if Mason hadn’t been in his prime when she’d been with him before, he was now.

“It will be too much of a pain to have to collect it tomorrow, so I’ll just follow you.” She didn’t add that if she followed him in her car she would get a reprieve from his company.

Despite spending the evening at each other’s side, pretending to be a happy couple about to embark on their life together, she knew it was a performance put on for the sake of the packs. It still felt like they were adversaries circling each other, and it would take more than a ceremony where they’d made promises to each other to bring them back to where they’d been before. A part of her doubted that they would ever have that back, and if she was going to be with him tonight she needed time alone to mentally prepare herself for it.

She got behind the wheel and waited for Mason to get into his truck. As she watched him move, with her eyes gliding over his broad back, it struck her that he was her mate. If their past hadn’t been such a tangled mess between them she would have rejoiced in joining with him. If this had happened fifteen years ago, where would they be now? Would they still be in love, or would they have drifted apart? She’d been so young when she’d first met him, and because of that everything seemed more intense. He was the first man she’d ever fallen for. He was her first love, had given her her first kiss and had been her first lover. Would what they had between them have stood the test of time if she hadn’t been forced to leave? There was no point in thinking about it since what had happened couldn’t be changed.

He pulled away from the bar and she followed behind him. The farther away she got from the bar, the more nervous she got. She and Mason would be alone at his house, with no one to interrupt them. Was she ready for that? Was she ready for the possibility that they were going to have sex when they got back to his house?

It was all fine and good to agree to binding with him when it was only a notion that hadn’t become a reality. But now it was reality, he was her mate and she was expected to at least try to have a child with him.

She told herself that she was over analyzing this, that she was making it more complicated than it needed to be. It wasn’t like she didn’t know what to expect, she’d had sex with him many times before in the past, but that had been different. She’d been certain of her love for him and his for her. They didn’t have the anger and resentment between them that they did now.

He pulled off the road, and she followed him as his truck went down a long driveway. She reminded herself that the only way she was going to get through this year was to take one moment at a time. She couldn’t analyze every possible outcome to every situation, otherwise she’d drive herself nuts. She’d go into his home with an open mind and let whatever was going to happen to happen.

She pulled the car to a stop and got out. He came over to join her and as she opened the trunk, he pulled her bags out and held them at his side.

“This is all you brought? Are you not planning to stay long?” Although he smiled when he looked at her, it and the joking tone of his voice felt forced. There was a question in his eyes, and she suspected that he was expecting her to bail on this at any moment. She could hardly blame him, since she’d run out of the area once before with little warning to him.

“I only brought what I could comfortably fit in two suitcases. I don’t have a lot of stuff anyway, since I got rid of most of my things when I moved back here. I figured I could bring anything else out at a later time since I’m still going through my mother’s house.”

She slammed the trunk shut and her answer seemed to satisfy him. A breeze stirred her hair and brushed against her skin. It was so quiet out here, and as she glanced around at the woods surrounding Mason’s log home, she got the strangest feeling like there were eyes upon her. The hair at the back of her neck stood on end and she shivered.

“Are you cold?”

She should have known that he would be watching her, and had seen the chill come over her body. She pushed the notion that there was someone out there aside. Logan’s telling her that Titus was out of jail had her all stirred up, that’s all it was.

“No, just someone walking over my grave.” She gave a dismissive laugh as she put the keys to the car in her purse and turned away. She stepped aside so he could go ahead of her and they walked up to the house. The closer she got the more nervous she became.

The silence stretched between them and she glanced over at him. Could he be feeling something of the uncertainty that was going on inside her? He stared straight ahead as he put her bags down and unlocked the front door of the house. It was so hard to tell what he was thinking when he wouldn’t look at her, and Mason had never struck her as uncertain in the entire time she’d known him. She was probably trying to project her own insecurities onto him.

He pushed the door open and swept his arm out to indicate that she should go inside. She walked in the front door and drew to a halt once she was inside. The interior of the house seemed so much bigger than it had from the outside, and her heels clicked on the hard wood floors as she looked around. The front door led directly into the open floor plan of the main living area. There was a huge stone fireplace that was the focal point and it had seating arranged around it. She could see an informal dining room and kitchen from where she stood. The rustic wooden stairs drew her eyes up to the open walk way that looked over onto the living room and she could see several closed doors along the wall.

“You have a beautiful home.” And she meant it. The rustic wood and rough hewn stone fitted with the man she knew him to be perfectly. Even the surrounding scenery, with the thick surrounding trees that offered privacy and the opportunity to run at a moments notice were perfect for him.

“Thanks. I hope you’ll be comfortable here for the coming year.” He set her bags down and crossed his arms over his chest. She walked a little further into the house, and the silence between them grew thicker. She looked over at him, and there was a frown on his face.

“What is it?” There was a question on his face but it looked like he was hesitant to ask it.

“What were you talking to Logan about? Before the ceremony.”

She’d talked to Logan hours ago and he was asking about this now? Surely he didn’t think something was going on between her and Logan?

“He was asking me one last time if I was sure that I wanted to go through with the binding ceremony. You can’t think that there is anything going on between Logan and I?”

“No, I don’t. I know Logan is in love with Faith. Was that all you talked about?” He took a step closer and took her hand, looking down at her so that he could see into her eyes.

She yanked her hand away and glared up at him. She’d talked to Logan about more than just the binding ceremony, but she wasn’t going to tell him that. What she focused in on was the fact that he knew nothing was going on between her and his cousin was because he knew Logan to be in love with Faith. There was nothing said about knowing that she wouldn’t do anything like that.

“Are you even going to make an effort to trust me? Am I going to spend the next year being questioned about every man I talk to while you look for evidence that I’m running around on you?”

“Can you blame me? You did it once before.” A thunderous look crossed his face.

“Listen to me, because I’m only going to tell you this once. This isn’t going to work until we make an effort to put the past behind us, and to do that you need to trust me. I am telling you right now that I have no intention of betraying you. The promises I made tonight meant a lot to me, and I have every intention of spending the next year fulfilling them. Perhaps you need to think about if you meant them too. We can either spend the next year with suspicion tearing us apart or we can move forward with a clean slate. I know how I want to spend the next year. How do you?”

Her voice echoed off the high ceilings and she didn’t give him a chance to answer her. She went to where her bags stood and picked them up.

“Where are you going?” His voice was a lot quieter than hers had been and she didn’t turn to look at him. One thing was certain, she was not in the mood to share her body with him while he was determined to see betrayal where there was none.

“Please direct me to a bedroom where I can sleep alone. Until we find a way forward, I think it’s best if we keep our bodies to ourselves.”

To Mason’s credit he didn’t try to argue with her, didn’t try to accuse her of withholding sex to get her own way. She followed him up the stairs to the room she would spend a solitary night, and the next year stretched ahead of her like a jail sentence. There was so much distance between them that she didn’t know if it would ever be breached.

* * *

With a growl, Mason rolled over and punched his pillow. He’d been in bed for over an hour and was no closer to sleep. He just had to open his mouth and ask her what had been bugging him all night. Instead of enjoying himself this evening, he kept looking at Grace and then at his cousin, trying to figure out what was going on between them.

He thought he’d been over it, but seeing how right she looked in his house put him on the defensive. He didn’t want to think that she belonged here, because in a year from now she probably wouldn’t be here. So he’d asked her what had been nagging at the back of his head all night.

He shoved off the blankets and turned so that he sat on the edge of the bed with his feet on the floor. What was wrong with him? He knew that there was nothing sexual going on between Grace and Logan. But something nagged at him, some feeling that there was more to their discussion tonight than just Logan asking her one more time if she wanted to go through with the binding. She’d gotten defensive, and if that was all there was to it, there was no need for her to be. Of course he hadn’t exactly endeared himself to her when he said he knew nothing was going on between them because he trusted Logan. Which implied that he didn’t trust her.

And that was why he was in his bed alone. If he’d just not asked her, if he’d kept his mouth shut, she could be in his bed right now. Her nude body could be under him, and he could show her just who she belonged to. He could show her just how much he wanted her.

And want her he did. He’d realized his error when she’d turned on him and demanded that she be given a room separate from him. She’d been magnificent when she’d told him exactly how things were going to be, and all he could think of was taking her to his bed and capturing some of that fire that was inside her.

He gave a bitter laugh as he stood. There was no chance of that happening. If he’d set out to make her not want to sleep with him he didn’t think he could have done a better job.

There was no point in recriminating over it now. She wasn’t coming to his bed tonight, and it didn’t look like she was going to be in it any time soon. That had been made clear when she’d told him that unless he was willing to put his trust in her, they were only going to spend the next year tearing each other apart. And that was the last thing he wanted. He’d committed himself to her for the next year, and he owed it to both of him to move forward with a clean slate.

He walked over to his dresser and pulled out a pair of jeans. He wasn’t going to be able to sleep any time soon, not with the jumbled mass of desire and suspicion running through him. It was easy to say that he was going to move forward and put the past behind him, but she’d betrayed him in the worst way possible. How was he supposed to come back from that, to trust her the way she was demanding him to. She said that she meant the promises she’d made to him tonight, but how could he trust her word. They’d made promises fifteen years ago and it hadn’t stopped her from breaking them.

He shoved his legs in his jeans one at a time and pulled them up over his flanks. He needed a run. There was no way he was going to sleep tonight unless he achieved some sort of clarity. In his wolf form, running in the woods reduced everything to its most basic.

It was the stripping down of every extraneous emotion going through him that he needed right now. Grace was right about one thing, they couldn’t go on the way they had been. He had an obligation to his pack to try to make this work for the next year, and if he was going to throw every ugly suspicion that he had in his head at her, they were never going to achieve any kind of harmony.

He opened his bedroom door and stood in the hall for a second. The house was silent around him, and it seemed no different than it had on any other night. Only things were different. A woman now slept down the hall, the woman who’d been the subject of his thoughts and dreams for the past fifteen years. Perhaps the reason he’d not been able to let her go from his mind was because their break up had been so abrupt. It had blindsided him, because he’d honestly thought they were happy and then the next moment she was telling him that it was over, that there was someone else. She hadn’t even had the decency to tell him in person. She’d done it over the phone.

With a shake of his head, he made his way down the stairs on bare feet. This was not helping him clear his mind. He needed to stop going over and over in his head what had happened. The fact was that it had happened, and stewing about it wouldn’t undo it. They’d been so young then, and the feelings between them had been so intense, at least for him. Was that why she’d done it? Had it just been a mistake made by a woman on the cusp of adulthood?

Why was he still thinking about this? He wasn’t going to find any answers tonight. He went out the back door of the house and stood on the back deck under the night sky. There was a taste of the autumn to come on the breeze that caressed the bare flesh of his upper body. He undid the button of his jeans and shoved them down his legs. Normally he would not have bothered with them, but he was no longer alone in his house and until Grace lifted the restrictions on their sex life he’d be respectful enough to not walk around the house nude.

He closed his eyes and embraced his change. He could feel his muscles and bones shifting and moving under his skin as his other form took over. Once he opened his eyes the world was different. He was different. The night came alive around him as the breeze ruffled his fur. His claws clicked on the wooden steps leading off the deck and the grass brushed against the fur on his paws as he walked toward the center of the backyard.

Tipping his head back he scented the air and he caught the smell of a rabbit. He turned his head in the direction of where the scent had come from and he could just see it there, huddled at the edge of the trees. Although it held completely still he could almost hear its heart hammering in its tiny little body and it jacked up the prey drive inside him.

The rabbit must have sensed that it was about to be devoured because it took off into the trees and Mason ran after it, his paws tearing at the grass as he went off like a shot after the rabbit. This was what he needed. In this form every thought, every emotion, was pure. There was nothing to intrude on him in this form. He could feel the pine needles under his running paws, the scent of rabbit in his nose and the sounds of the night around him.

He came to a clearing in the middle of the woods, and skidded to a halt. It was the rabbit’s lucky night because he had lost it somewhere. It’s den must be somewhere close by, and he was certain that it wouldn’t be coming out of it until it was sure that the big bad wolf was gone.

He tested the air, just to make sure that his quarry had escaped for the night and a scent came to him that had the hackles raising on the back of his neck. It was the scent of wolf, but it was one he did not know. There was an ugly quality to the scent, as if whoever it belonged to was so steeped in malice that it was coming out of his pores.

Mason peeled his lip back and growled, as if daring whoever it was that watched him from the trees to come and face him. The scent got fainter on the wind and he knew that whoever it was, there was no chance that he was coming for him, that he was a coward who wasn’t going to show himself.

He was in the process of turning away when it struck him that Grace was alone in the house. Alone and vulnerable, without even a locked door to protect her from whoever was watching from the trees. In this form there was no subtlety, no nuance, all he knew in this form was that his mate was alone. His mate was vulnerable and a protectiveness rose inside him that was so strong that the need to kill any who threatened her pounded in his blood as he turned around and raced back to his home.

He ran faster back the way he came than he had when he’d hunted the rabbit. The drive inside him to protect her, to keep her safe was stronger than any desire to hunt. As a wolf he knew that she was his mate, something that was muddle by human emotion when he was a man. He burst through the trees and into the clearing behind his house.

There was no one around, and it looked no different than when he’d left. He sniffed the air, and there was no evidence that the stranger with the malicious scent had been here. Still, as he trotted toward the deck, he knew that his run was over for the night. Someone had been out there watching, and he knew with a deep instinct that couldn’t be explained that whoever it was, was a threat to his mate. He would not leave her alone like this again, unless she was safely behind locked doors.

He stopped at the foot of the stairs and turned back into a man. Once the change was complete he went up the steps and pulled his jeans back on. He was no closer to knowing how to go forward than he had been when he’d gone for his run. One thing was certain, his protective feelings toward Grace hadn’t dissipated when he’d shed his wolf form. She was his mate, at least for the next year, and he should start acting like it.

He walked toward the back door and put his hand on the handle when he heard the first scream. The door flew open under his hand as his blood slammed through his body. There was no mistaking the terror in Grace’s voice, and a murderous rage came over him. He had to get to her, he had to kill to protect her if need be.

He made it to the bottom of the stairs when the second scream came to him and he took the steps two at a time.