“Did you kill Wake last night?” I have to know.

“No, but I could have. I caught him. My wolf tore into him. When Wake shifted, so he could start the healing process, I tore into him as a man. Every time he shifted to try and heal, I went at him again and again in whatever form he was in, as his equal. My wolf never bit his human, and I never struck his wolf as a human.”

“Why did you let him live?” I’m grateful he didn’t kill him. Wake is the only one like me I know. There’s information he can give me.

“Because he told me he was trying to help you. I'm not sure I believe him, but if he wanted to hurt you, he had his chance. He also asked me to punch him so hard I knocked him out.” Rion smirks.

“Why would he do that?”

“Because we were at the border of his pack's territory. If they found him conscious, they would’ve wondered why he didn't bring in the wolf who hurt him. They're going to ask him who did it, and he'll say me. There's no point in hiding it. Also, they'd expect it from our pack.”

“But won't this bring their pack to yours? They'll want to fight you.” Now I’m panicking. With the whole pack war thing lingering over us, this will only add to their hatred of the Avynwood Pack.

He shrugs. “If there's one thing you get out of this conversation, little mouse, it's that we always protect our mates. My pack will have my back. I couldn’t let Wake get away with approaching you when he knows what you mean to me.”

“You still shouldn't have attacked him like that.” I hate to think of Rion tearing into Wake for trying to help me. He didn’t come to my house with malicious intent. But Rion was acting on his shifter instinct.

Peering up at me, he says, “You asked me to see it from his perspective. Now I'm asking you to do the same for me. I have a history with him. He's a wolf who went after someone else's mate in the pack. He fought, made enemies, and joined a rival pack. Of all the packs out there, he went to Diaminsey, knowing how we’d react.

“How should I have taken it when I caught his scent near your house? I was late showing up to watch over you. Aries and I got into an argument. Cassandra had to intervene. Then, when I finally get to you, I smell a wolf whose scent I will never forget. A wolf who’s known for trying to take another's mate. How would you feel if a female wolf was after me? Trying to persuade me to be hers?” He’s trying to rationalize his response, and he’s facing the wrong audience for that. I’m not a shifter. I don’t see things like he does, even though I’m trying to.

“One, that's not what Wake was doing. Two, I can't compete with another wolf, or any other paranormal, for that matter. There’s no competition there.”

“No?” he asks, standing, keeping an arm’s length between us. “No one, except you, has this connection with me. No one has given me a part of themselves as you did today. And I have never loved anyone as I do you.” A blush quickly rises over my cheeks. I duck my head to try and hide it, but Rion doesn't let me. He steps forward and lifts my head with his finger until my eyes meet his. “Never hide from me, Ariane. You forget that you reside in my heart. It will only ever beat for you.”

“It's not your feelings I'm trying to come to terms with. It's the intensity of them and the speed in which this happened.” To know he cares about me so much, and would risk everything to keep me safe, is a lot to take in.

“Time doesn't matter to me. My life expectancy is a thousand years. Whether I met you weeks ago, or three hundred years from now, my feelings would be the same. The intensity would be as it is at this moment. And this,” he says as he takes my hand in his. “This energy coursing between us when we touch, it would be there then as well. Fate put us together for a reason, Ari.”

I let out a breathy sigh and wonder how many times in one day Rion can make me melt for him. He's a dream come true. A guy who only wants me and doesn't have eyes for anyone else. In turn, no one could make me feel like he does. This deep connection we share, and how we can speak to each other in our minds, it's amazing. More than I could ever have wished for.

Then something he said comes back to me. “Why were you arguing with Aries?”

He smiles. “Should I add investigator to your list of traits?”

“You must have forgotten that I remember everything you say, even when you try to bury it with sweet words that make me swoon.”

“I make you swoon, huh?”

His hand meets the small of my back to pull me close as he dips his head to kiss below my ear. My body trembles at his touch. His other hand finds the bare skin of my stomach, where my shirt has ridden up. He skates his fingers along my skin as his lips work their way over to mine. A moan quickly rises in my throat while his hand skims higher. Electricity courses through me at every stroke of his fingers.

He pulls back and leaves me wanting more. But I don't forget what I asked him.

“Nice try,” I mutter.

He barks out a laugh. “Fine, you win. I was talking to Aries about building my own house on the property, once our book is out. He tried to forbid it, told me he's my alpha, and I should listen to him. He said I should be living in the house with the other wolves.”

“Why don't you obey him like the others do?”

“Maybe it's because Aries tries to be a father to me. Yes, he raised me, but he can never take the place of the dad I lost. I respect him as the pack's alpha, but I won't bend to his will. I've always done what I wanted, not listened to anyone. Aries instilled a lot of great traits in me, but I also watched him lead from an early age. He was always the alpha. I respect him, but I challenge him, and he doesn't like it.

“What I will never do, however, is challenge him in front of others. The pack dynamic is too strong. I don't want to weaken it by showing them I don't do everything Aries asks. We butt heads a lot. Cassandra usually pulls him away from the situation before it gets heated. Sometimes, I think he tries to push me too hard. Maybe it's because his son isn't here for him to look after. I'm not sure.”

Rion is old enough that if this were a human relationship he had with Aries, he’d probably move out of the house and live on his own. But this is a pack and packs always stick together. Aries is trying to maintain order.

“Does he know about what happened with you and Wake?”

He nods. “I came home briefly and told him. I didn't have much choice, though. Wake’s blood was on my clothes. I'm still tired. At first, he didn’t fight, but then he got some good shots in. I had to shift a few times to fully heal.”

“Was Aries mad you fought him?”

“No, he understood my reasoning and said I was justified in my attack.”

“One day I'll understand all of this.” I’m not sure when. I’m honestly not sure how I’ll ever be able to sleep again at this point. Not because I won’t be tired. But because my head will constantly be spinning with the massive amounts of information given to me.

Rion chuckles and lies down on the bed. “I think you know more than you realize. You're absorbing everything we're throwing at you. It's a lot to take in.”

I sit on the bed beside him, peering down at his gorgeous face. This guy appears to be carved from stone. That's how gorgeous he is.

“Why are you looking at me that way?” he asks.

With my mind, I send him a message using our new way of communication. “Because you're the most handsome guy I've ever seen. There are times when it's hard to believe you chose me.”

He sits up and cups my cheek in his palm. “It’s I who cannot believe you chose me.”

His lips press to mine and the second we touch, fireworks go off inside me. With them, so much love and hope. Rion is everything I could ever wish for and he wants me. He loves me.

A throat clears behind us, causing me to jump. I turn and Ford is leaning against the sliding glass door, but on the inside, facing us.

“Good afternoon, lovebirds,” he says with a smile.

Rion growls. “What do you want?”

“Oh, well, I thought you should know that Travis is aware you hurt Wake. He wasn't surprised, but this is more ammo he has against your pack.”

“Travis?” I ask.

“The Diaminsey alpha,” Ford replies.

Rion stands. “I knew he'd find out. Wake surely told him. I knocked him out cold before I left. My scent would have been all over him.”

“It was. He lied, though.”

“How so?”

“He said your mate came on to him. That he was helpless to her advances. That when you found out, you went for his throat.” Ford smirks like he approves of the lie.

“It’s decent.”

I turn, leveling Rion with a hard glare. “How are you okay with him saying that?”

“He has a pack, little mouse. If he returns beat up, they’re going to want to know what happened and why. This makes him look better and doesn't look like I'm merely attacking for no reason. We know they’re coming for us. The pack war is getting closer every day. But these fights, we've been at each other for many years. My fighting with Wake won't seem like anything out of the ordinary, especially given our history.”

Mulling it over, I say, “That makes sense, I guess.” I look at Ford. “How did you find this out?”

“Kiara and Travis spend time together, if you know what I mean.” He waggles his eyebrows.

“And she went behind his back to tell you this?” I ask incredulously. I can’t believe she would do that. Not that I know her well. But she was so sweet and kind. Her doing this doesn’t match up.

“She isn't loyal to him. He's nothing more than a toy for her. She overhears things, tells me along with some of the other vampires. I relay information back to Aries or Orion.”

“Wouldn't Travis suspect her of doing such a thing?”

“He probably does, but he's a single alpha male and doesn’t always have the purest thoughts.”

I put my hand up before he gets any further. “I get it.” So, Kiara is essentially a spy. Interesting. Wait one second. “Does that mean she goes back to him and tells him information she gains from you and the Avynwood Pack? How she stayed in my bed overnight? How I was bitten by one of his pack?”

“No,” he shakes his head. “She's met many members of the Avynwood Pack. When the time comes for war, she'll be on our side.”

“So, you're on Rion's side, too, right?” He said so at dinner with Lealla. I want to make sure, however.

He smiles wickedly. “I'm on any side you are.”

“Me? Why me?” I wish people would start leaving me out of the equation. I hate my role in this. Everything is resting on me to stop the war, that’s been going on for far too long, and I have no idea how.

“Because I have a feeling you’re going to be more powerful than any of us realize. You're feisty, princess. You have a tenacity that many lack. Paranormals will want to follow you.”

“Here we go again,” I mumble.

“What?” Rion asks, completely confused.

“Wake said something similar. How people are helpless to my charms or whatever.”

“He always was a smart wolf,” Ford adds with a grin. Rion tenses at the comment, but I place my hand on his arm to silently tell him not to start. Ford and Rion don’t need to fight again.

I glance over at the nightstand and see the time. Jumping up, I say, “I’ve gotta go. My parents will be home soon.” Rion stands as well.

“You're forgetting something, princess,” Ford states. “You don't need Orion to drive you home. You can snap your fingers and be there in a second flat.”

A slow grin spreads across my face. “You're right. This power will come in handy, for sure.”

“It's good having powers.” Ford winks. I need to remember this power of mine doesn’t only come in handy when I’m facing down impending doom. I can use it for everyday stuff, too. Like getting home fast.

“How come you never offered to give Rion any of your powers?” I ask. “I'm sure teleportation would work well for him.”

“We wolves don't run from our problems, Ari,” Rion states firmly. “I charge into battle, not flee from it.” I roll my eyes. I get it. He's strong and a fighter but come on. It would have to be a bonus to have more powers. Less isn’t more in this case.

Glancing over, I find Ford making a face. His lip is curled up like he ate something gross. “What's with you?”

“I'm not biting him.”

“You bit me.”

“Ah, but you're a woman who is very—”

In a flash, Rion is across the room with his hand wrapped around Ford's throat, pressing him to the sliding door. “If I were you, I wouldn't finish that sentence,” he warns through clenched teeth.

Ford brings up his arm, slamming it down over Rion’s, effectively removing his grasp from Ford’s throat. As soon as he's released, Ford swings at Rion, landing a solid uppercut to his jaw. My mouth hangs agape. Did Ford really just punch Rion? I can’t break this up. I’m nowhere near strong enough.

“Listen, wolf. You and I may go back a while, but I'm getting sick of you putting your hands on me every time I say something about Ariane. Enough. I'm just teasing. You need to get a grip. I have no interest in your mate. Loosen up.”

Rion shifts into a wolf and widens his legs as he lowers his head in a fierce growl. Oh, for the love of…

With a quick snap of my fingers, I place myself between Ford and Orion. My back to the vampire. “Would you two stop? This is ridiculous. You're friends. Friends tease and joke around. Orion, shift back. We have enough problems without you two fighting.”

Ford's hand finds my hip as he pulls me back to his chest. “Listen to your mate, wolf.”

I elbow Ford in the ribs, causing him to release me. He laughs. Orion shifts back into a human and immediately puts his arms around me, pulling me away from Ford.

With his mind, Rion says, “You’re right. I need to gain better control over my wolf when you're around. He doesn't like it when another person, or vampire as it is, speaks about you that way.”

I peer up into his eyes. “I think that's a trait both you and your wolf share.”