Jordan woke up alone the day after their wedding.

Sunshine streamed into the room. She blinked, threw back the covers. Nolan was gone. On his pillow was a folded paper. It said he’d slipped out of bed at sunrise because he had to check on grapes and possible fungus.

She read the note, crumbling it in her hand. “Terrific. I’m less important than a fungus,” she muttered to the empty room.

Well, at least she had time to explore her new home.

She showered, dressed in white shorts and a bright turquoise silk blouse with spaghetti straps, jeweled sandals that were a wedding gift from Nia, and went downstairs. The clock read nine thirty. Guilt filled her. She’d forgotten life on a farm began early.

Aiden and Nia sat at a table, eating breakfast. They looked so cozy and happy she didn’t want to interrupt, but Nia spotted her and waved her over.

Looking relaxed and much more approachable, Aiden nodded at her. “Good morning.”

“Hi.” Jordan lingered, unsure of the procedures around the lodge. “I guess I overslept and missed breakfast.”

“It was your wedding night. You’re expected to oversleep,” Nia said cheerfully. “Would you like some scrambled eggs, bacon and toast?”

It sounded divine, except for the bacon. “Eggs and toast would be wonderful. But I don’t want you to go through the trouble.”

“No trouble for me.” Nia patted her mate’s arm. “Aiden will cook.”

Before she could close her mouth opened in shock, the big alpha had pushed away from the table and headed into the kitchen. Jordan sat down, staring at Nia.

“I can’t believe it. He actually does what you say?”

Nia sipped more coffee. “It’s called marriage. We compromise. It doesn’t happen overnight, Jordan. It takes time to work things out, especially between two strong Lupines.”

“I’d like to hope we could do the same.”

Nia’s hand covered hers. “I’ll show you a few ways to adjust. Aiden and I are leaving tomorrow, but we have today.”

Humbled, she smiled at Nia. “But it’s your private time alone. I don’t want to intrude.”

Aiden returned to the table bearing a plate of eggs and toast. “No intrusion. I want to do this for my cousin.”

“Thank you.” Jordan started to eat.

“Letting my mate teach you the ropes of being an obedient, dutiful Lupine wife is the best gift I can give to him.”

“Aiden,” Nia chided.

Jordan narrowed her gaze at the alpha. “Hope your gift comes with a refund.”

Expecting a scowl or bluster, she was once more stunned as Aiden flashed a charming grin. He exchanged a meaningful glance with Nia. “Yeah, she’ll work out.”

“It takes a lot of courage to be the mate of a strong alpha.” Nia sipped her orange juice. “You’ll see, Jordan.”

Aiden kissed his mate on the cheek. “I’ll leave you both to talk. I’m headed to the vineyard to see if I can help Nolan.”

Nia’s warm gaze followed her mate out the door. “Eat your breakfast and then we’ll discuss the basics of being an alpha’s wife.”

She reached for the butter. “Which are?”

“Sex. What else?” Nia winked.

It had been a long, frustrating day in the vineyard, when all he wanted to do was spend time with his new mate. Nolan felt bad for abandoning her, but the grapes had to be pruned before the fungus spread.

Warm sunshine beat on the back of his neck. He stretched, relishing the feel of his muscles flexing.

Aiden threw down the shears and stood, stretching as well. “That the last of it?”

He nodded.

“Feel like a run?”

He nodded again.

They shifted into their wolves. Tongue hanging out, Aiden looked at him.

Nolan understood. His land, his pack and it was up to him to lead the way.

Cutting through the forest, he raced over leaves and through brush, his wolf senses exploding.

And then he smelled something off, like old smoke. Alarmed, he changed direction and headed for the source.

In a clearing halfway up the mountain, he raced toward the sharp, acrid odor screaming in his nose. Wolf and man had trained to fight this, recognize it instantly.

Nolan shifted back to Skin and waved a hand, clothing himself in jeans and a chambray shirt and boots. He squatted down, staring at the burned detritus near a tall, majestic oak tree.

Dimly he became aware of Aiden joining him in human skin, his cousin poking at the ashes with a boot.

“Who’d be stupid enough to have a campfire here, with all these trees around?” Aiden growled.

“Someone who isn’t stupid, but filled with purpose. No one from my pack would do this.” Nolan sifted the debris through his fingers. “It means someone has been trespassing, setting fires on our land.”

“Yet this fire was extinguished.” Aiden brought a leaf fragment to his nose, sniffed. “Almost like a campfire.”

“Or a test fire to see how close they could get without our security team spotting them.” Nolan dusted off his hands. Either way, he didn’t like it. His pack had strict orders never to set fires alone, except during approved bonfires when water and sand buckets were standing by.

“I’ll increase patrols.”

“Need help?”

Nolan shook his head. “Appreciate the offer, but I’ve got this. Selene, the Fae queen in this region, will have to be alerted. She’ll send patrols as well at night to watch out.”

“And during the day, when the Fae sleep and your people are in the vineyard and winery?” Aiden rubbed his chin.

“I’ve got it covered. Been meaning to open up the vineyard to Skin tours. Maybe host a few hikes through the forest in daytime. That’ll discourage trespassers.”

His cousin raised dark brows. “You want to invite Skins on your land, risk exposure?”

“Better the loss of privacy than the whole damn forest burning down.” He made a mental note to talk to the pack, warn them strictly against shifting during the day.

They headed back toward the lodge. As they climbed the gravel path leading to the building, Nia met them halfway.

Aiden swept her into his arms, giving her a passionate, lingering kiss. Nolan watched, jealousy darting through him. Would he ever have the same kind of affectionate relationship with Jordan? Last night’s sex had been spectacular, everything he’d hoped for, but it took more than sex to make a mating work.

When Nia and Aiden broke apart, he came to a decision. “I’ll have dinner sent to your cabin,” he told them. “Spend the time you have left here together in private.”

Aiden gave him a steady look. “You sure?”

“Positive.” He stretched out a hand, which Aiden shook. “Appreciate all your help, cousin. But you should be alone with Nia.”

“Thanks.” Arm in arm with her mate, Nia beamed at Nolan. “Jordan made you a surprise.”

“Sure hope it doesn’t contain arsenic,” he joked.

Sympathy shone in Nia’s blue eyes. “Jordan’s high spirited, Nolan, but please give her a chance. She’s got a good heart.”

“Just make sure to keep all the sharp knives out of the bedroom,” Aiden muttered.

Nolan grinned. “But not the whips and chains. Those are fun.”

“And restraints.” His cousin laughed as a red-faced Nia poked her mate.

Aiden ceased laughing and gave him a long, intense look. He stepped away from Nia and clasped Nolan’s arm. “We’re leaving tomorrow on the early flight. We’ll take care of our transportation,” he said as Nolan started to protest.

“But if you need me, cuz, call, and I’ll be here for you. We’re family.”

Nolan embraced him in a bear hug that said everything his emotions could not state. “Thanks,” he said.

“It’ll work out,” Nia told him, kissing him on the cheek. “You’ll see.”

He sure hoped so.

The lodge was quiet as he stepped inside, wiping his feet on the rag rug just inside the doorway. Nolan closed the door and gazed around the massive living room. A wood plaque hung over the fireplace mantel.

PACK FIRST, it read.

The plaque had been there as long as he could remember. Craig had drilled it into his mind– always put pack first when you are the alpha. It’s been a tradition in our family for generations.

Yet he wondered about the validity of such traditions. How did Jordan see it now that they were mated? All the time required to attend to pack business meant he’d be too busy to accommodate her. His mother had understood that she came second in Craig’s life. Even Nolan had taken precedence over his mother because Nolan had been the future leader.

All he’d had after Craig’s unexpected death were the customary conventions to guide him. He hadn’t been ready to rule the pack. No choice.

So Nolan had clung to the Mitchell traditions as tightly as a grape hugged a vine.

Some grapes need to be pruned. Maybe it’s time to rethink the rules.

Troubled, he walked into the dining room and ground to a halt.

Candles flickered on a table beneath a bank of windows overlooking the hills and valleys. A white linen tablecloth was set with his mother’s good china, and silverware. A large bowl and ladle sat on the table. Enticing smells filled the air – beef and vegetables. Home cooking.

Nolan couldn’t recall the last time he’d actually sat down and ate a regular meal, other than his wedding day. He was always too busy taking care of pack and winery business. Meals were grabbed on the run.

But the best sight was Jordan standing by the table, wearing a floral print dress and a wide smile. He scanned her body. Bare feet. She looked good. Real good.

He was too aware of his grubby face and hands, the sweat on his back from what he’d found in the forest.

Nolan dropped a kiss on her cheek. “This looks wonderful.”

Her smile widened. “Nia helped me today. I thought just the two of us could share a meal and since you had no lunch, you’d be hungry.”

He nodded. Maybe they did have a chance of making this work.

Well, he could be considerate as well. Nolan gestured to the ceiling. “Mind if I wash up first? Only be a few minutes.”

“Go ahead,” she said softly. “I’ll keep everything warm.”

At her suggestive wink, he grinned. “You do that.”

Minutes later, freshly showered and dressed in a clean white shirt and black trousers, he sat at the table and dug into the stew with zest.

“This is really good.” Nolan reached for his glass of sweet tea.

“With Nia’s help. It’s Aiden’s favorite, so I thought you might like it as well.”

The spoon stopped halfway to his mouth. “Mighty thoughtful of you, Jordan. Thanks.”

Something flickered in her gaze. “I’m not the domestic type, Nolan, but I’m also not selfish. You worked hard all day in the vineyard, and you deserve a hot meal. Just next time, will you please wake me up and let me know what’s going on? Give me a chance to work with you. I’m no spoiled princess to be pampered.”

He set down the spoon. “Thought to let you sleep in this morning, after you were up half the night.”

Her smile spoke of mischief. “You were up half the night as well, Mitchell, which made for a very nice evening.”

Nolan laughed. He missed this with Jordan, the clever innuendos, the intimacy they used to share. Jordan, who was unpredictable and made him laugh, the Lupine who did what she wanted.

They had both wanted the same things six years ago. Now he had a pack to run, and a thriving business.

Fires to put out.

She asked him about his day and he explained about the vineyard and the fungus. Nolan left out the part about the ashes he’d found.

No point in worrying her.

They finished eating and he helped cart the dishes into the kitchen. As she started to rinse them, he slid his arms around her waist, lifted the long curtain of her red hair. Nolan nuzzled her neck, enjoying her little sigh and her unique scent of cherries, flowers and female.

His dick gave a happy sigh as well, pressing hard against the front of his jeans.

“Forget the dishes,” he murmured. “I have better use for your hands, pixie.”

Jordan turned, hooked her hands around his neck. “You’re not too shabby with your hands either, wolf.”

As he lowered his head for a kiss, his phone rang. Nolan closed his eyes, suppressed a curse.

He wanted to ignore it.

Couldn’t ignore it.

He dug his phone out. “This had better be good,” he growled.

“Uh, sorry, alpha, but we spotted activity in the vineyard in the north section. Something’s set off the perimeter alarm.”

Coyotes, probably. Nolan let them hunt in the vineyards because they ate small rodents and kept larger predators at bay. Still, it needed to be checked out. If he had a beta, or his trusted head of security, he could easily hand off the duty. He wished Sam, his childhood friend and the former head of security, was around. But Sam had left two years ago and hadn’t returned since.

“Stay in position. I’ll be down shortly.” He hung up, glanced at Jordan, regret spearing him. “Sorry pixie. Have to check this out. I won’t be long.”

She sighed. “I know. Pack first.”

He kissed her again. “Why don’t you go upstairs and get comfortable and wait for me?”

“Don’t be long.” She moistened her lips. “I’ll get lonely upstairs.”

Nolan made a promise to hurry back as soon as he could. He shifted as he rushed outside, vaulting over the railing to drop several feet below on all four paws.

Wolf could run faster to the vineyards than his human self could.

Pack first, and then business. It was tradition for his family for generations. Yet where did his new mate fit into all this?

At the vineyards, he wove in and out of the rows of grapes, their plump roundness glistening beneath the nearly full moon. He spotted two coyotes in the distance and loped up to them. They ran off before he could reach them.

After making a thorough patrol of the vineyards, he shifted back into Skin. In black corduroys and a black flannel shirt, he inspected one of the vines growing the special grapes reserved for the Fae.

In the darkness, the grapes looked whitish, not the mulberry needed for the Fae. Nolan frowned.

Had the Fae’s magick been so depleted on extinguishing fires that they failed to infuse the grapes with their powers?

Lupine senses alerted him to a newcomer among the vines. Nolan whirled, his claws emerging, ready to attack.

Then he picked up a familiar scent and relaxed.

“Thought I told you to go to our bedroom,” he mildly scolded Jordan.

“You should know I’m not good at following orders. I used to work these vines, remember?”

How could he forget? Jordan had been integral in aiding them in the harvest, and her innocent, child-like adoration of the Fae had helped to ease the worries of the pack, who feared the Fae would cast spells on them if they didn’t harvest these grapes correctly. Jordan’s confident attitude had put the adults to shame.

“Tell me what you need,” she urged him now.

I need you to be with me, stand with me together. Help me keep my people together because all these fires and the sabotage has sapped me.

He said none of this, only pulled her into his arms. “I need you,” Nolan said roughly, kissing her.

They kept kissing, his blood fired at the sweetness of her mouth, the way she returned his desire.

When they broke apart, he touched her cheek. So soft, like satin. And yet beneath that fine, translucent skin was the heart of a woman who was anything but soft. Jordan had always been tough.

“Everything’s fine,” he told her, pressing a kiss to the corner of her mouth. “Let’s get to bed.”

Jordan’s smile held promise. She turned, studying the grapes. Her mouth turned down as she touched one. “They look sad.”

“They need magick. I’ll ask Selene to attend to them tomorrow night.”

Nolan took her hand. “Upstairs, pixie.”

As they started away, he glanced over his shoulder.

Odd. White fungus had vanished from the grapes.

He wondered about that.