"Bye." I hugged River.

"Yeah," he whispered, looking close to breakdown.

"River," I said sternly. "This isn't forever. I'm going to come visit, or you could take your fiance to Northern Ridge. You could hunt some rabbits and go fishing the traditional way." I bumped his arm.

He tried not smile and put a hand over his new engagement mark.

"You're going to be okay. Alright?" I hugged him again. "If you need anything or just want to talk, call." I stepped back and sighed. "Heaven knows I'm bored as hell most of the day."

That earned me a real smile.

"Okay, I will." He waved at Titus. "Bye."

"Troy is a great guy. You'll be fine."

The golden haired boy looked to Xavier. "Bye, alpha."

Xavier chuckled and put his arms around the sub. "I'll miss you, River."

"Really?" He peered up at the alpha with a confused expression.

My father-in-law patted his head. "Yes, but I'm glad you found someone. I know that's what you wanted."

River nodded, clutching his arm at the elbow. "I guess I'll see you all soon."

We all gave a final wave and goodbye before heading out the front door.

I grabbed Titus's hand. "I think he'll be okay."

"Stop worrying. Did you see the diamond Troy gave him as an engagement present? The man is done for, he's completely fallen for the boy."

"Well, being a little obsessed is common among werewolves."

Titus eyed me. "Meaning?"

"You did pretty much stalk me when we had to break up that one time," I said with a smirk.

He snatched my arm and tickled me.

"Stop it," I laughed, batting his hands away. "Knock it off. People are watching."

"You've been on one this week." He put his arm around my neck and pulled me to him.

"A little bit."

We arrived at the car, but Xavier went to another one.

"See you all tomorrow."

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"On a detour." Titus opened the car door for me. "My dad thought we could use some one on one time."

I smiled him before standing on my toes and giving him a kiss. "This should be exciting."

***

"What the hell is this?"

"Isn't it great!" Titus held out his arms with the row of booths behind him. "It's Midfield's Annual Barbecue Festival."

I arched a brow. "And why are we here?"

"It's meat," he said with a shrug. "Good meat."

Folding my arms, I arched a brow. "Really Titus? We finally get to have a trip together and you take me to a barbecue festival."

"I have other stuff planned." He grabbed my hand. "This is just the first stop."

He led me down the rows of stalls cooking up an assortment of meats with their own unique sauce. At first, I hadn't been too thrilled about his choice for a couple's getaway, but as my stomach started to growl, I was getting into it. Titus was in heaven and wanted a sample of everything. I followed behind him, taking little pieces since he ordered way too much.

Some were way too spicy or too sweet, even for me, Titus threw those steak bites away, but the majority of it was really good. I paid a man for a plate of chicken wings and joined my mate on the grass. A country band was playing on a stage nearby.

Titus was licking the sauce off his fingers when I arrived.

"What to try?" I held one up to his mouth.

He smelt it, and I saw the inner turmoil. Chicken, wimpy werewolf meat, but it still tasted amazing.

I took a bite. "Mmm.... best I've had today."

My mate groaned. "Don't tell Darius." He took a wing from the stack, cracked it in half, and slurped off the meat in one go. Tossing the bones onto the pile, he grabbed another. "So did you have a good time?"

I nodded, wiping my face. "A little unexpected, but it was fun. If you want, we can come again next year."

He gave me that overexcited puppydog smile before kissing me. "I'm really glad you weren't a vegetarian."

I scoffed at the comment. "I'd starve in this world." I offered him the last one as my stomach couldn't handle any more.

"I'll never understand humans who are." He savored the last bits. "Meat is just so good."

"You're a werewolf, Titus. You're programmed to be obsessed with it."

He shrugged. "I guess."

"So," I laid back on the grass, "what now?"

Titus leaned over me. "I booked a room in a nice hotel." Brushing a hair off my forehead, he kissed me. "So we can just relax the rest of the night before heading home tomorrow."

"Sounds good. I need to sleep off all this food."

He laughed. "Me too, but." Titus licked his lips, "later we could?"

I shook my head. "We'll see."

***

I was jolted awake when the car pulled into the garage back at Northern Ridge. Groaning, I rubbed my face.

"How'd you sleep?" Titus turned off the engine and took off his seatbelt.

"Horrible," I muttered, removing mine. "I can never sleep while driving."

"Yeah." He reached over and ran a hand through my hair. "You look haggard."

I slapped it away. "You kept me up all night. It's your fault."

"You slept pretty good for a while." He climbed out of the vehicle.

"Because you claimed me! Then you did it two more times." I glared out the window. "You need to learn some self-control."

Chuckling, Titus walked around and opened the door. "Come on. I'll take you home and then you can sleep."

I slid out of the car very slowly as the aches and pain woke up. Titus held me to his chest.

"My body hurts," I muttered.

"I think we overdid it." He laid his head against mine. "Sorry."

"It's fine."

"Do you want to go to the hot pools before we head to the cave?"

"Hot pools? Like the one we went to when we were dating?"

"Yeah," my mate smile, "it'll be a trip down memory road. We haven't been back since we were married."

With a shrug, I stared at my feet. "It's a long walk."

"We'll make it a true trip down memory road then." Taking off his shirt, he tossed it on the trunk. His pants and shoes followed. He shifted and squatted down. "Alright, let's go."

"Titus," I breathed, covering my face. "This is embarrassing."

"Come on." He shuffled his feet, ready for me to jump on. "Unless you want to walk."

"No," I said firmly, climbing onto his back.

Titus hiked up my legs, and we started down the path to the hot pools.

I laid my head on his shoulder. "You're fur feels nice. That fancy shampoo at the hotel made it really soft."

"Aden," he breathed.

"Oh right, dominant pride. It more sensitive than sub pride."

My mate shook his head. "Something like that."

We talked about random things along the way. The trip was actually pretty nice. The leaves had started to turn colors, so everything was shades of yellow and orange. It was starting to get colder so a dip in the hot pools sounded really nice.

"Let me down." I slid off Titus's back. Taking off my clothes, I shifted.

Titus grabbed my hand, and we walked the short distance to the hot pools. They were exactly the same and looked amazing with steam rising up from the surface. I ran into the water and swam out to the middle. Titus followed.

"Look." I stood on my tiptoes and pointed my muzzle straight up. "I can touch."

He nudged me, and I fell under.

"Hey!" I tread water, glaring at him. "Be more considerate. That was a big achievement."

Smiling, he pulled me to him. I draped my arms over his shoulders.

"Shift."

I shook my head. "What if someone comes?"

"No one will, shift."

I did so.

"This is your true form." He brushed water drops off my cheek. "You'll always be the most beautiful as human."

"God, Titus." I laid my head on his shoulder to hide my face. Swallowing hard, I tightened my hold on him. "I like you this way too."

"Are you sure?" he teased. "I remember you stating your hatred for dogs multiple times."

I leaned back and looked him in the eyes. "You're not a dog. It's very offensive for you to even think so."

He gave me a quick kiss.

I ran my hand through his head fur to stop the water from dripping into his eyes. "At first, I liked the human you, just because I was used to it. But the last couple months, seeing you as a werewolf, I've grown to like it." I shrugged. "You act more like yourself."

"I'm starting to understand my grandparents more."

Relaxing into his chest, I sighed. "Yeah, me too."

Rocks tumbled into the water. I jerked back and peered up at the black werewolf standing on top of them. I quickly shifted and turned away.

"Jet?" Titus walked back to shore.

I was able to touch and slipped behind him.

"What are you doing here?"

"Passing through on my way home." He jumped down.

"You're a little far south."

He nodded. "All the good hot pools are on Northern Ridge territory."

"That or really far north," Titus laughed.

My stomach felt weird. I tugged on Titus's hand. "Let's go home."

"Just a minute." He put his arm around my shoulders. "Congratulations on the Midfield deal. It's always a nice feeling to have an in with them. I'm sure Darius was excited when he found out."

"Thanks, as next in line it is something we have to worry about." His eyes ran up and down me.

I turned to my mate. "I want to go."

"Just a minute," said Titus a little firmer.

"Why are you in such a hurry, Aden?"

I eyed the man. "I'm tired. It's been a long day."

"It's not that bad of a drive. It seems like you split it into two days, like me." He scratched his neck.

"We went to the barbecue festival in Midfield," said Titus. "It was amazing. You should have gone."

"I had some other business I had to do before coming home. Sounds like you had a good time, though." His head fell to the side, and I could feel his gaze on me.

Grabbing Titus's hand, I headed for the shore.

"Aden, stop it. We're just talking."

"I want to go home." I hurried past Jet.

"Aden," he groaned. He swung me back to him. "Stop it, alright."

"I want to go home," I stated, getting upset.

Titus gave me a concerned look. "What's wrong?" He ran a hand through my fur.

"I don't feel good." I glanced at Jet. "I want to leave."

"Okay. We can go." He cupped my face. "You should have said something. Wait here, and I'll get your clothes."

"Titus, wait," I called after him as he jogged off into the trees. "Titus?"

I hugged my arms around me and didn't look at the man. I could feel him getting closer, though. Backing up against a rock, I kept my head down.

"Are you scared of me Aden?"

"Please go," I whispered.

His hand rested above my head. "You getting better."

I peered up at him. "At what?"

A smiled spread across his lips. "Listening to your instincts."