The engine purred as Dylan drove along the state route after leaving the I55 behind. They’d left New Orleans hours before, and they still had three bags of beignets to eat and hot chicory coffee from Café Du Monde to drink. She nursed her coffee, thrilling to every strong swallow. Her affection for the drink had been so great, Dylan had filled an entire thermos so she could enjoy it on the ride home. The last four weeks in Louisiana proved a revelation. In addition to visiting the historic city—and ghost hunting!—she had spent hours daily working with Sovvan, the Delta Crescent Omega.

The wolf offered her a crash course in all things Omega, then told her in no uncertain terms—every Omega is different. We are a reflection of all that is bad or negative within the pack, that which makes it weak. But it does not have to rule us. We can decide.

How do we decide? Was it as simple as choosing a dress from a shop? If so, Chrystal might be in real trouble. She tended to drift from color to color through stores and often couldn’t decide between a simple sundress or an evening gown. They were all so pretty.

The same way you decided on your mate. A knowing gleam twinkled in the depths of the Omega’s eyes, and a breathless wonder flooded Chrystal. Choosing Dylan had been effortless. Once her heart recognized him, she had wanted no other. Then like a clarion bell ringing, understanding flooded her. That last conversation convinced Sovvan that her time of tutoring Chrystal was over.

Delighted with the experience, the drive, with everything really, she grinned and Dylan’s hand came down on her thigh. “You look really pleased with yourself.”

“I am pleased with me, but I'm more pleased with you.” Her excitement bubbled over. “Have I said thank you enough for taking me ghost hunting?”

His soft chuckle skated over her skin, stoking her senses. “Every single night.”

“Good. Because I did. I loved wandering the Quarter. I loved the street artists and the Po Boys…” She let out a soft moan. “I think, if we hadn’t been so far from your pack, I could have played there forever.”

“They offered you an open invitation to return.” Her mate’s indulgence washed over each word. “Serafina and Linc are invested in maintaining strong ties to Willow Bend.”

“Is it weird for you?” She twisted to sit sideways, loving the way the light played over his strong jaw and gave his skin a golden cast as though he'd been carved from the finest metals—or maybe painted stone. Dylan could have posed for a Greek statue.

“Not having you naked at the moment?” Though his tone was innocent, his single question ignited a profound reaction in her system. It sent a wave of heat crashing through her and her nostrils flared. The rich, heady musk of her mate surrounded her. Even when he wasn’t close, she could scent him on her skin.

“Well, now that you mention it...” She didn’t even try to disguise the quiver in her voice. Dylan turned her inside out in the best of ways. She loved him and loved being loved by him. “Yes, that is weird, but that wasn’t quite the weird I was thinking about, considering I was asking about Linc.”

She’d met the third Buckley brother in Delta Crescent. One of triplets, his older brothers were both in Willow Bend—A.J, who served as Mason’s second and Tyler who fixed cars and helped teach their youth. Linc mated Serafina Andre, Alpha of Delta Crescent and left his home pack for hers.

“Hmm, it’s a wonderful thing that you weren’t wondering why you weren’t naked if you were thinking about Linc.” The barest thread of possessive jealousy edged his humor.

Running her fingers over his cheek, she grinned. “Exactly. So, is it weird for you that Linc is part of Delta Crescent now?” She didn’t have a lot of experience with losing packmates to another pack, especially since her one and only pack maintained a gulf of distance between her and them. Still a part of Three Rivers, Chrystal technically answered to Luciana Barrows, but as mate to Dylan, she had the right to join his pack— a right she wanted to exercise.

Yet, because she was also an Omega, Mason Clayborne, the Alpha of Willow Bend, wanted her to familiarize herself with all that it meant before he brought her over fully. He’d offered her his Hunters as her own and to take her into Willow Bend, to protect and care for—and every word he’d spoken held notes of strength and genuine...

Dylan swore and the car came to an abrupt halt as he controlled it. The lurch sent Chrystal forward, but the seatbelt saved her. The same could not be said for the coffee, which splashed to the floorboards.

Ahead, a figure stood in the middle of the deserted, winding road. Chrystal couldn’t make the person backlit by the sun out, but the aggressive stance required no explanation. Not even to her.

“Stay in the car,” Dylan ordered before he jerked his seatbelt loose and slid out of the driver’s side. He moved with the purpose of an all-powerful predator. As a Hunter for Willow Bend, Dylan was extraordinarily dangerous and capable. The open door let it the scent of loam, swamp, green and flowers, and hints of brackish water, all of it combining into a humid perfume, which coated her lungs.

Under it all, caramel and candied apples teased her nose, sending a bolt of recognition through her. Scrambling with the handle, she pushed the passenger door open and abandoned the vehicle. Usually, it wasn’t in her nature to flout Dylan’s orders, at least not in matters of safety, even when caught up in her hunt for something beautiful. She and her wolf preferred to listen to Dylan.

“Wait,” she called. He'd already adjusted the angle of his path to place himself directly between Chrystal and… “Dylan, wait! That’s my mother.”

Dallas.

His shoulders tensed, but his aggression didn’t diminish one iota. “Why are you in the road?” Nothing friendly lived in the deep timbre of his voice.

Although she longed to meet her mother’s gaze, Chrystal remained next to the car. Distracting Dylan in his current state was not something she wanted to do.

Be calm when you feel those emotions pour over you. The confusion we experience when we reflect is us trying to decipher what we are feeling versus what others are experiencing. Sovvan’s voice whispered from her memory.

Are we empathic?

Yes, and no. Sovvan’s cryptic answer left her more confused, but her throaty laughter immediately set her at ease. We reflect those weaknesses, so it can seem like we are feeling what they feel, but always remember, it’s a reflection. You are in charge of you. You can control the experience, if you're calm.

Her mate’s anger seemed very tangible to her, and she didn’t have to reflect anything to recognize the streaks of spice in his scent or the heat, which pulsed from the bond entwining her heart with his.

“I wanted to see my daughter.” Dallas sounded exactly as Chrystal remembered her. Terse with elements of coolness as though emotion couldn’t chip through the ice separating her from the world. “You're her mate?”

“You’re a fugitive.” Unflinching and unforgiving, Dylan maintained his stance. The country route he’d taken, rather than the interstate, gave them a small measure of privacy, but they could hardly count on the road remaining empty for long.

“Dylan…”

“No, Chrystal.” For her, his voice softened a note. “She’s a fugitive, and she abandoned you. That’s two strikes against her. The fact that she managed to lay in wait on a back road for us doesn’t endear her to me, either.” His tone hardened with the last sentence.

Still tall, long and lean in her build, Dallas held her position. At some point, she’d cut her hair, and the dark mass, which had once matched Chrystal’s, included streaks of red highlights in the cropped boy style. A pair of sunglasses hid her eyes. “Hunter, we’re outside of Willow Bend and Delta Crescent territory. This particular sliver is unclaimed land, so I have a right to be here.”

“Really?” Anger tinged his syllables. “You’re wanted by the Enforcers—”

“For giving birth to your mate.” Dallas’ clipped tone sent a shiver over Chrystal. “Do you really think that issue is something you want to fight with me about?”

“Don’t talk to him that way, Dallas.” She didn’t say mother. Dallas never wanted her to call her mom or mother after a certain point and the habit was too ingrained to be forgotten. Straightening her hunched shoulders, Chrystal closed the distance between herself and Dylan, but she made no attempt to pass him. “Why are you waiting for us here?”

Though she couldn’t see her eyes, she knew the moment Dallas stopped focusing on Dylan and brought the full weight of her attention to Chrystal. Her mother’s scent changed. Subtle, but definitely sensed a shift from aggression to relief. Tears pricked Chrystal’s eyes. Her mother truly did care and, for the first time, she had more evidence than blind faith.

“Like I said, I wanted to see my daughter. I wanted to know you were okay.” She took a step forward and her nostrils flared. Power, tightly coiled within her, spread at the same time and, after her exposure to Dylan and Mason, as well as the other wolves in Three Rivers, Willow Bend and, more recently, Delta Crescent, she recognized it. Had her mother always been so self-contained and formidable? “I know you joined Three Rivers.”

Judgment echoed under the statement. Folding her arms, Chrystal kept her chin high. She wasn’t ashamed of herself or her choices. They brought her to Dylan. “I did. I’m leaving Three Rivers shortly for Willow Bend.”

A tilt of her chin suggested her attention abandoned Chrystal for her mate once more. “You’re from Willow Bend?”

“I suspect you already know the answers. Why else would you be waiting here?” Irritation punctuated his every word. How had Dallas known…?

“You have friends who still help you.” Friends who were nebulous shadows in her memory. Her mother had contacts all over the country—humans and wolves.

“I wondered if you would remember.” Dallas folded her arms. Her posture mirrored Chrystal’s so closely that Chrystal relaxed her stance and reached a hand out to press against Dylan’s back. His steadiness swirled through her, and the bunched muscles of his back loosened at the contact.

“Dallas, you shouldn’t be here.” It hurt her to say the words because, despite it all, she missed her mother. However, Chrystal belonged to Dylan and soon to Willow Bend. Her mother...was a fugitive, and she wouldn’t be used against her. “Julian knows where I am, and he visits fairly regularly.” He always asked if she’d seen Dallas. If she’d heard from her—or at least he had before. The Chief Enforcer still hunted her mother.

Her mother's lips moved in a barely perceptible twitch—tightened then compressed at the mention of the Enforcer who’d once terrified Chrystal.

Lone Wolves were not allowed ties. If they mated or wanted children, they had to return to a pack. Her mother not only had an affair Chrystal’s father, she’d given birth to Chrystal then hidden her from everyone. Her father had been a part of her life at one point, or at least she thought he had. A Lone Wolf himself, he’d helped Dallas keep Chrystal hidden, or had until Julian tracked him down and executed him for the law violations.

“Please…I don’t want Julian to kill you, too.” At the plea in her voice, both Dylan and Dallas eased back on their anger. Dylan shifted his position, catching Chrystal’s hand in his own. He gave her fingers a gentle squeeze.

“If we’re not asked directly,” he told her. “We don’t have to tell them anything.” It was the closest he could come to lying for her. Julian hadn’t asked, not in a long time. Maybe he wouldn’t.

“It doesn’t matter. Tell them you saw me. Tell them I came to make sure my daughter was safe and happy. Once I saw that she is thriving, it pleased me, and I was free to abandon her again.” A void yawned beneath the statement, and Chrystal wanted to hug her. The distance her mother always kept from her—it hadn’t been out of dislike. Her throat tightened. Her mother had always been protecting her. Still seemed to want to…

“I’m fine, more than fine.” Pushing the words past the emotion clogging her chest left her sounding mournful. “I have a wonderful mate. My wolf and I, we’re free from having to hide. Willow Bend is going to be a magical place for me. I’m learning about what I am, what I’ve always been.”

A single nod before Dallas added, “An omega. A wolf other wolves prey upon.”

“No one will hurt her.” Dylan’s declaration drew her mother’s attention once more. “Ever. If any want to try, they'll have to go through me.” He included Dallas in the statement. “The Alpha of Willow Bend offered his protection to Chrystal as well. His Hunters will be hers. She'll be safer than she has ever been.” Though he didn’t say them, the words than she ever was with you seemed to hang in the air between them.

Rubbing her cheek against Dylan’s arm, she dared to look away from her mother to study her mate’s hard expression. She’d seen that look plenty of times, especially in the first few weeks of knowing him, back when she'd broken the rules and invaded Willow Bend territory. She’d frustrated him, and Dallas’ actions seemed to have stymied him once more.

“I’m glad.” Truth rang in her voice as Dallas pulled her sunglasses off to study Chrystal with deep walnut brown eyes which matched her own. “Truly glad. The Enforcers can’t touch you in a pack, Chrystal, and I am very proud of you.”

“Call Brett.” Chrystal pushed past the compliment and her surge of bittersweet regret at hearing the pride in her mother’s voice. A pride she’d longed to hear for so many years. Brett, the Alpha of Hudson River, was her mother’s cousin. “I’ve been emailing with him two or three times a week, getting to know him and his parents. Our family there…call him. He’d give you sanctuary.”

“I’m sure he would.” The finality punctuating the end of her sentence stated more eloquently than any answer that she had no intentions of calling him. Sliding a hand into her pocket, she pulled out a slip of paper. “This is a number for an answering service. If you need me for anything…you call it. Leave a message. I’ll check on it periodically.”

Trepidation cramped her stomach. “Dallas, I can’t…”

“No worries. You can even tell Julian I gave you the number. It won’t matter, because he can’t trace me through it. I had to leave you behind once, Chrystal. I had to leave you to lead the Enforcers away.”

But they’d found her anyway. She didn’t say it aloud, and she didn’t have to.

“You don’t ever have to call, but I want you to have the option.” Dallas squatted to set the piece of paper on the road, then stood once more. “If you need me, I will come no matter the consequences.”

The ache in Chrystal’s chest spread, and the tears she’d fought earlier burned in her eyes. “Mom…” Releasing Dylan’s hand she darted forward and her mother opened her arms. The embrace she gave her was fierce.

“I love you, baby girl,” Dallas whispered before pressing her lips to her forehead. “I’ve always loved you.”

Then her mother was gone, the speed of her departure left Chrystal floundering. As she stared off the lonely stretch of highway to the woods, a part of her wanted to follow. When Dylan wrapped his arms around her, she leaned into his strength.

“That was my mother.”

“I know, sweetheart,” he whispered, but he didn’t let her go.

Her world seemed to shudder, albeit briefly, before righting itself once more. Giving Dylan a squeeze, she pulled away to retrieve the slip of paper from the ground. “I am going to memorize the number then rip this up without you seeing it.”

Eyebrows raised, he shook his head. “No, you’re not.”

“Dylan, I don’t want you to have—” But he pressed his fingers to her lips, silencing her.

“You’re mine, Chrystal. Any burden you carry is mine to help you with. We’ll protect her as much as we can, but we’ll do it together.”

“I love you so much.”

Curling his arm around her neck, he pulled her against him. “Since we’ve stopped, we could always just camp out tonight…”

A thrill fluttered in her belly. “Aren’t we supposed to be home to Willow Bend tonight?”

“We’re still newly mated. Mason will totally understand.”

He didn’t really have to convince her. When his lips brushed hers, offering the promise of sweetness and acceptance, she opened to him. Her mate always seemed to know how to make her feel better.

Seeing Dallas had thrown her, but she landed softly because her mate caught her.

Nipping his lower lip, she laved the injury. “Maybe we go a few more miles north?” Her mother was gone, she was sure of it, but…

“Anything you want, sweetheart. Anything.”