With my new hiding place decided upon, I spent my nights sleeping in the barn. The urge to go to Cody was hard to ignore, so at least with the distance between us it was easier to stay strong. I even decided horses weren’t that bad, as long as I didn’t have to ride them. When Ethan and I weren’t helping out around the farm, we were training. Occasionally one of the others would join us, but never Cody.

 He was virtually invisible since our return and it was killing me. It shouldn’t even be possible not just for me, but for my wolf to have this attachment to him. I didn’t really understand the mate thing, other than they were meant to be the perfect partner for you. Once the bond was established between the two, it was unbreakable. They were your true love, your life and shifters were meant to spend their lives searching for their other half; not searching to kill them.

 It was something Damon and I had in common when it came to each other. Since being told I would be the death of him, he had searched for me. Now I wanted to make sure I did just that, I searched for him. I didn’t have to do too much, he rarely left his state though his transactions never revealed any kind of pattern.

 Using what contacts he had, Ethan found out minimal information. I found out some of what Connor knew about things happening within packs was actually from some calls Cody had made. The search for Ethan hadn’t eased up and the reward Damon was offering only kept climbing. There was also the alert about being aware of humans as he had two, if not more helping him.

 All I could think about was Caprice. Did she know who Ethan actually was? The fact she had only seen him as a human probably didn’t help her when Damon had taken her in or maybe it did. The descriptions put out for those humans were nothing like us, which only made me even more curious about her.

 “Can you find out anything about the Alpha Caprice?” I didn’t know her last name, but if she was an Alpha of such a large area, it might be easier than I expected it to be to find her.

 “Why?” Connor asked, looking up from his computer.

 “I need to know if Damon killed her.”

 All eyes turned to us and I regretted not waiting until later to ask.

 “What does it matter?” Ethan growled, getting up to come over to us. Sure enough Taylor, Adam and Jay all followed.

 “She is a smart wolf, and don’t you think its strange the two humans that apparently ‘helped’ you were described as a dark skinned male and a blonde female?”

 “I hadn’t really thought about it.” Ethan admitted and clearly none of the others had either.

 “That is why she will live and you will die.” Cody muttered as he passed, heading outside. It was the most he’d said to either of us in the last couple of weeks since our arrival and it silenced me completely.

Ethan only growled, not impressed.

Before I knew what I was doing I was running out after him. Cody headed to one of the paddocks, and I followed. Behind me the others were trying to keep their distance, but they failed at not being obvious. There was something about Cody right now that had me on edge and not in a good way.

 “Feel like some training?” He asked flatly and I hesitantly nodded. “This time, I fight your wolf.”

 “What?”

 “It’s only fair.” He taunted, climbing over the fence.

 Do it. He’s right.

 ‘I have a bad feeling about this.’

 Do it.

Her eagerness was almost desperate and so I shifted, leaping over the fence to join him. Just like I had done, Cody stalked towards the center of the field and my wolf keenly studied his movements. Already she was in attack mode and faintly I could hear Ethan yelling something.

“Come on she-wolf.” Cody growled, squaring out his shoulders there was no hesitation as I started to circle him.

"This is fucking insane! Stop them!” Ethan screamed.

 “They’ve done this before, let it go.” Jay answered calmly, but I didn't think this was going to be like last time at all.

Tuning them out, I struggled to keep control of her. I didn’t think my wolf could be this focused on killing something. Not even with the arrival of the first deer at the end of winter had her this riled up and I constantly tried to remind her it was Cody. Not one of Damon’s pack; not a threat.

 She taunted him a few times, jumping in and then back as if playing. In doing this she caught him off guard when she did move closer. Grabbing his arm I cringed at the sensation of bone in her mouth, yet his fist connected with the side of her head just as quick and instantly she let go. The taste of his blood was spat out of her mouth as she snarled, coughing saliva out more in display and started to circle him again.

Breaking the pattern, Cody ran towards an old panel of fence and I quickly cut him off. Stalking towards him he hesitantly stepped backwards before I lunged again.

 He managed to dodge the next few attacks and instead she started going for his legs, reasoning if she got him down she could keep him down. It took three attempts before he realized what her plan was, and when he did fall; he shifted.

 Things only got worse from there.

The last few months seemed to explode via his wolfs attack. As if that wasn’t bad enough Cody had the same control over his wolf as I did mine. None.

 The next few minutes went by in a blur of fur, teeth and claws. I didn’t know if the yelps were my own or Cody’s as we battled it out. Adrenaline made us stronger, numb to the pain. The wolves didn't quite know how to release their frustrations. Humans could talk it out, and so the animals forgot their true nature, reacting more like humans than anything. He wanted me to hurt like he had, where as my wolf was more focused on staying alive. 

By the time we stopped, steam was rising from our bodies as the color began to fade from the sky.

We were both panting to the point of collapsing and finally I took a second to look around. Somehow we had left the front paddock. My legs were trembling beneath me and my chest was on fire. Numerous wounds were tingling as my body began to heal and I felt dizzy from the frantic pace of the panting.

There was no chance of being able to shift, despite having control back and we stood barely a meter apart, trying to work out what the other was going to do. My legs were aching in protest at having to remain standing, and I moved first.

Standing at his side, I whined as I fell and he followed. I rolled onto my side, the damp cold ground beneath me felt nice and slowly we began to calm down. Slowly Cody shuffled closer, reaching out to lick my muzzle and I returned the gesture before dropping my head down to lie on my paws.

The pressure of his head resting against my neck sent a new rush of emotions through me and with a deep content sigh, human and wolf were finally on the same page with that magic word lingering in the air.

 Sorry.

 --

No one said anything when Cody and I finally managed to get back to the house the following morning. Dried blood covered our skin along with the dirt and as I walked past Ethan he opened his mouth to say something. I quickly shut him up by holding up my hand.

“Not now.”

Cody only growled and when he went into his room, I claimed the shower. The miracle of having the warm water wash over my skin was a sensation I had not yet grown tired of. Especially when every inch of me was aching and it took a few minutes of scrubbing before the water began to run clear again.

I had just finished washing the shampoo from my hair when the door opened, and knowing who it was I held my breath before the curtain was pulled back. Cody said nothing as he stepped in beside me, and I prayed he wouldn’t hear how hard my heart was beating. Guilt filled his eyes and I knew he hated losing control to his wolf as much as I did.

“I…”

“I know.” I answered, already knowing exactly what he was going to do. He didn’t need to apologize, his wolf was as strong as my own and if she could understand it – so could I. “How do you feel now though?”

“Better.” Wolf and man were once again at peace with each other. It explained why he had worked so hard at avoiding me too. “I really thought he was going to kill you, and I couldn’t stop him.”

“I thought the same thing before you shifted. It’s done.” I didn’t have control the second I followed him out of the house, maybe on another level our wolves could communicate and that had been their plan all along.

With the wolves satisfied, it was time to take care of the humans.

Soaping up the wash cloth, I moved so he was the one under the showerhead and began to wash away the dirt. Despite how tense he was to start with, by the time I finished he was completely relaxed. Washing him down like this left us both feeling vulnerable. He was letting me take care of him, yet my wolf was trying to make me understand it was me who was submitting to him.

He stepped forward, the warm water still running over his shoulders and down his chest. The sensation of the warmth against my own skin felt nice until I found myself being held against the cold tiles behind me. I soon forgot about the burn of hot on cold as his lips claimed mine possessively and I wilted against him. The smell of the soap was still fresh on over his body and my hands ran up his muscular arms before snaking through his hair, pulling him to me.

“Stop, we can’t.” I managed to mumble as his lips moved down my neck steadily. Tilting my head back, I closed my eyes, trying to find the will to stop him before we went too far or worse – someone heard. My thoughts must have been obvious as Cody sought to put me at ease.

“No one is here, they all went for a run.” His voice was raspy with need, and that was all the convincing I needed until the hot water ran out and the icy change had us both jumping away. Cody turned off the taps, and as we left the shower recess he instead scooped me up. Ignoring my protest, we moved quickly to the end of the corridor and into his room. He put my down gently, yet thanks to the height of his shoulder I still bounced as I hit the mattress. He was on top in seconds, the cold of the room forgotten thanks to the heat of our bodies and even if they all came home now there was no way I was going to let him stop.

-

The others didn’t come back for a couple of hours and hearing them outside I left my place beside Cody on the lounge. He didn’t even stir, his soft snores giving away how deep of a sleep he was actually in.

“Everything ok?” Jay asked first, as the others all shifted behind him.

“Fine, have a good run?”

“Yeah, cold though.” Adam piped up which surprised me, since my return he had changed and I had no idea what to make of that.

“Can you be quiet when you come in? Cody is crashed out on the lounge.” It was hard to ignore the look that passed between them and the growl was sent out in warning.

“OK.” Taylor growled back, shivering she only wanted to get inside and the group all went in quietly - disappearing into their rooms. I checked on Cody, glad he was still asleep and went into the kitchen for a drink. Connor was the first to reappear and the look on his face told me had news.

“Is this her?” He opened his laptop and on Damon’s Facebook page a picture had been posted of him with the other alpha pair. It was only dated a few hours earlier.

“Yeah it is.” Her smile was clearly fake and her mates eyes gave away his rage.

“Apparently he loves having house guests and they will be there for Christmas.” Connor scrolled through the page a little more and I wondered what the point of this all was. “He must be doing it for show. The fact he is keeping them with him would also make him look harder to get to. If he has a powerful alpha couple as well as his pack nearby, who would even try to attempt anything towards him?”

“What if the alpha couple were to leave?”

Connor looked at me nervously, already my mind was forming a plan.

“Unless he lets it happen, they’re not going anywhere.”

“That’s what he thinks.” Despite our run in earlier, something about Caprice made me want to trust her. I knew she would be a strong ally and my wolf agreed. So far all the information that had been passed around the packs was completely fake and I knew it was her doing.

“Do not do anything yet. We will work this out together, understand?” Connor warned in a tone I didn’t know he was capable of producing. If it had been Adam to talk to me like that I would have put him in his place quickly, but Connor had the ability to get away with it. “And I’m telling Cody when he wakes up. No secrets.”

 “Fine.” I mumbled, leaving him to go outside.

 It wasn’t long until my time with the horses was cut short as Cody came storming in.

 “So Connor told you?”

 “He did. We’re doing things differently this time Bianca.” He warned.

 “I know.”

 It felt nice to have his arms wrap around me and to feel his body back against mine. Things were definitely going to be different this time.

-

“I don’t like it, if you can get them out – why not just kill him then and there?” Ethan demanded. Jay started to clear the dinner plates and to say Ethan didn’t like my latest suggestion was an understatement.

“Because we don’t know what it’s even like in his compound. They do and if he is keeping them in the guest house at the back of the property, we won’t even have to go near the main area and risk exposure.” Connor pointed at the satellite image of Damon’s mansion, circling the smaller house in the corner.

“This is stupid and we’re going to end up getting killed.” I didn’t like the way he was talking to Connor and only glared at him. “If only he had a mate, we could have got hold of her and put her to ransom.”

Jay dropped the pile of plates he had in his hands and the clatter had us all jumping out of our skins. The awkwardness that followed made me sink lower into my chair and everyone besides Ethan turned to look at me. Their question was clear, what the fuck?

“What? It’s the oldest trick in the book!” Ethan hadn’t noticed and Adam and Taylor got up to help Jay sweep up the broken crockery.

“Yeah, if only he did.” I mumbled, not wanting to linger on the topic. “We’re getting nowhere. Let’s just sleep on it.”

I didn’t move from the table and neither did Connor or Cody. The TV was soon turned on and with the others distracted, Cody pounced. “He doesn’t know?”

“No.”

They both shook their heads, the family resemblance uncanny.

“Let’s keep it that way.” Cody finally decided.

“Don’t you think…” Connor started.

“No. You heard his idea. He is scared and desperate to put an end to this so he can fly off into the sunset. If he finds out, I think he really would do something stupid like put Bianca up for ransom.” That was the one thing I hadn’t thought of yet and Cody had a point.

“You’re right. I’ll tell the others.” Getting up, Connor squeezed my shoulder as he passed and Ethan walked in as he walked out.

“Fancy a work out?” He offered, ignoring Cody. The growl was obvious as it sounded from his direction and with clenched fists Cody left us alone.

“Yeah why not.” We headed downstairs and I didn’t miss the way he always looked at the cell curiously as we passed it.

“Do you ever stop?” Ethan was breathing heavily after half an hour.

“If you stop in the wild, you die.” I snarled, taking another swing. He was getting tired and he didn’t block me as well as he should have. With another hit, Ethan was knocked over. “Let’s call it a night.”

“You’re something else Bianca.” He stayed down for a few minutes, taking off his gloves and tossing them to the side. I extended my hand to help him up and instantly stepped back from how close he was to me. “You should be careful with Cody. He has a temper and I don’t trust him. The way he looks at you, you need to be careful.”

“The way he looks at me?”

“You’re smart, but really stupid if you don’t see it. I think once this is over, you should leave with me. There is nothing here for us once we have revenge for Leanna, for the pack.” He was to close again and I stepped back, my wolf coming to the front. She didn’t want me to retreat, she wanted to fight.

“You want me to leave, with you?”

“I think you had the vision for a reason, it bought us together. Maybe I was meant to help you and take you away. What if your mate is waiting across the ocean? This could be part of a bigger plan.”

“My mate isn’t waiting for me across the ocean Ethan, this is my home now.” I answered coldly, narrowing my eyes at him.

Leave.

She was right, I needed to get away before he kept poking and I slipped up.

“Good night Ethan.”

“I’m just trying to look out for you, pack sticks together!” He yelled out after me. Packs do stick together, and that’s exactly what was happening now. I had my pack, and I wasn’t leaving them again.