She grins, licking one of her canines. “Or a wolf. In fact, I’d bet on it.”

Our laughter cuts off when two males come into view up the slope. The smile drops off my face and my stomach sinks. Instead of hikers, we’ve been caught far down the mountain by Caden and Liam.

They’re running straight for us, not bothering with the zig-zag of the trail. Caden’s leading with Liam trailing behind. Caden’s flannel is unbuttoned, as if he considered shifting. He doesn’t slow until he reaches us, almost colliding with me when I don’t budge.

“Shit,” Taryn mutters. “Busted.”

Caden ignores her and gets in my face, scratching irritably at his exposed chest. It’s covered in raw, red marks as if he’s been itching it for a while.

“What the hell do you both think you’re doing out here?”

I hold my ground, raising my chin. His eyes narrow, suspicion written all over his features. It’s not all that different from the last time we were in this position when he caught me before. Except this time his spiced woodsy musk isn’t just delicious, it’s making my knees weak with the urge to wind my arms around his neck and rub against him. My mouth goes dry.

“I want an explanation, and it better be a damn good one,” he says.

“I needed some evening primrose.” I hold up my bundle of clippings, waving it in his face. “This variety only grows at a lower elevation.”

He releases a rough noise. “And that gives you the right to break the rules whenever it suits you? You aren’t the pack’s healer and you’re outside the border. Without permission.”

I press my lips together against the sting of needing to become my own healer. “Oh, come on. I’m only out here foraging for plants that aren’t within the border. You can’t bend all of nature to your will, too.”

Thankfully we didn’t go all the way to town. If this is how he reacts to sneaking off packlands, he’d lose his head if he caught us in Ashbury.

He swipes a hand over his mouth. “How did you do it? How did you slip by the patrol team without them catching you?”

“We walked,” Taryn replies sardonically.

Liam hasn’t taken his attention off her since they spotted us. “It’s Taryn’s doing.” He grips her by the arm with a scowl. “She’s always causing trouble and is allergic to any rule. I’ll take care of her.”

“You wish,” she simpers. “You couldn’t handle me if you tried. Not even in your dreams.”

A muscle jumps in his cheek and he addresses Caden. “I’ll take them to the patrol cabin.”

“No,” Caden growls as he steps in front of me to block me from Liam’s view. He stiffens, then blows out a breath. “I’ll handle this. You go on ahead.”

Liam lifts his brows. “Are you sure?”

“Go,” Caden orders with a flash of his lengthening fangs.

Taryn covers a snicker. “Are you sure that’s a good call? You could be the dangerous beastie out here.”

“Don’t question your alpha,” Liam snarls as he carts her off.

Once we’re left alone, Caden scrubs his pec again. I hope he’s breaking out in some sort of uncomfortable allergic reaction to ruin his perfect, sculpted chest.

He scans the trail as if he’s looking for any threat of danger. I roll my eyes, then tie my bundle to my bag and start walking back. He catches my arm and whirls me around, intent blue eyes searching my face.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

“To spend the night in a holding cell for breaking your suffocating rules, I assume.” I jerk out of his grasp with a huff. “I’m not sorry, either. I’ll do it again.”

He swipes a hand over his face with a grumble. I fold my arms, not sure what’s come over me. My wolf’s in my corner, though. She’s not impressed he ignored us when we walked around the commons today.

“You’re not going anywhere without an escort,” he says.

“I can handle myself.”

“You’re a female, alone after nightfall. Out of the question.”

I glare at him. “You didn’t care before if I was by myself. I’ve been doing just fine for the last seven years.”

His mouth presses into a hard line, accentuating the sharpness of his jaw.

“Shift,” I suggest.

His head jerks and his brows furrow. “What? Why?”

“If you won’t leave me be, then stalk me in your fur. I prefer your wolf’s company to yours. He’s far more tolerable to be around.”

The corners of his eyes tighten before he tears them from me to glare past my shoulder. “You like my wolf.”

I don’t think the puzzled mutter is meant for my ears. “It doesn’t have to be you at all. Not if I don’t want it to be. I’ll just wait here for Liam to come back.”

At the mention of Liam, he’s on me, backing me against the nearest tree. He plants a hand on either side of my head. Something hot and pleasurable tugs low in my gut at his proximity, leaving me breathless even though I’m angry with him.

“Damn it, Avery, there are rules for a reason. You can’t just do as you fucking please,” he thunders. “No one else but me is around to escort you. Do as I say because I’m your alpha, and you will respect my orders.”

I swallow and stare him down. His bare chest brushes against me, heat rolling off him in waves leaving me lightheaded. My pulse thrums for all the wrong reasons.

He’s the one who rejected our bond…yet he won’t let another male near me, as if I’m his.

Caden would have to claim me as his mate if he wanted to make me his.

“Careful, Alpha,” I warn with a cold tone to guard against the flutter in my heart. “All your rules are starting to tread a little too close to old pack views you pretend we’ve moved past.”

15CADEN

The accusation is a slam to my gut. I could never treat pack females like that. I’m not my grandfather’s heavy hand when females didn’t obey.

Nor am I my uncle or his sons now.

They’re the ones that harp about things being better the old way where our females had no rights. The males kept them practically locked up once they were mated, expecting them to roll on their backs and birth pups.

There’s no way I’d ever let things go back to that.

My stomach roils at the thought of Avery thinking I could.

Does she believe I want to be this strict on every little matter of pack life?

This approach is the only way I’ve learned to lead from my father before the injuries he sustained from the challenge with Clark Morgan took their toll on him. The only way I’m able to demand obedient loyalty and trust as the youngest alpha this pack has had.

Her anger stings my nose with the sharp bitterness wafting off her. Hurt, my wolf barks, rising to his feet, alert for any sign of danger causing his mate distress. Doesn’t he realize it’s me that’s pissing her off?

She’s so close, her body brushing my abdomen.

Mine. Claim.

I shove away from the tree with a grunt, raking my hands through my hair. “No,” I push out rigidly. “That’s not what I meant.”

She sets her jaw. “Why do you care so much about this now?”

It’s not because I think she’s weak, it’s for her protection to make sure no female is vulnerable and unguarded.

And because my wolf is restless at the idea of her out here alone. I don’t like it either.

I haven’t felt in control, not from the minute I found out she was meant to be my fated. If I don’t do something to regain my footing, it could derail my preparations for the summit.

Every night since the bonfire, I’ve gone to sleep in my own bed. And every morning, I wake up as my wolf sleeping outside Avery’s cottage. He’s as taken with her as I once was.

I dragged Liam down the mountain because we went for a run to blow off steam after the first day of tryouts. I didn’t mean to, but we ended up near Avery’s. My wolf took down a boar we both knew was for her. When we went to drop it off at her place, Liam eyed me without saying anything.

But she wasn’t home. I could smell her, sweet honey warmed by sunshine and fresh rain, but my wolf insisted it was stale, hours old.