The next day…

It was obvious that Mason was distracted. I got the vibes that he was a hurry to get somewhere. He didn't want to have to train me today. Which was fine. I didn't want to be around him when he's in this kind of mood anyway. It was like I was training myself. When we got outside he hadn't said a word to me.

"So what's on the list for our last training session?"

He shrugged. "You can change and try to catch me again." He said uninterested.

"You don't have to do this. Missing one more training isn't going to do any damage."

He rolled his eyes; irritation seemed to be etched on his face when I'm around. Why did he get to be the irritated one?

"You in such a hurry to get away from me?"

"You're the one with the attitude." I shot back. "I know you don't like me, so why do you even bother?"

"I don't have a choice. An order is an order."

"Well take me back to my room since I'm such a burden."

He stifled a growl and rolled his shoulder. At least he was trying to control his temper now. "Go into the fucking trees and change." A wave of his frustration hit me like a heat wave.

I didn't argue with him. I went past the tree line and stripped. I didn't want him to come check on me because I was taking too long, so I did my best to change quickly.

Mason POV

I waited 20 minutes before I went looking for her. She wasn't there anymore. The clothes she had been wearing were in a neat pile.

Either she had run off or she was trying to stalk me. Since I didn't hear her run away, it had to be the second.  So I gave her the opening.

It would piss any woman off if someone else handled their underwear, so that's what I did. I crouched down and went through her clothes.

I could hear her stepping on the dead vegetation. She was a lot better than she had been when she started, but she wasn't great yet.

I couldn't keep the smile from my face when I heard her growling behind me. I stood dangling her bra from my finger.

She eyed the bra for a second, then glared at me.

"If looks could kill..." I taunted her.

She crouched and bared her teeth. She wanted to pounce, but she didn't. Probably because I was still human. But it didn't matter even with her advantage of claws and weight; she wouldn't get close enough to do any damage.

I didn't feel comfortable with her joining the group of guys Casey suggested, but it wasn't my call. I'd just have to make her as prepared as I could today.

Lexi POV

I couldn't catch him. Even when he was human, I couldn't catch him. I wanted to, I tried my best, but it wasn't good enough.

The change back from wolf to human sucked just as much as the changing into a wolf had.

I didn't bother putting on a bra. It would rub my skin raw. I threw on a loose shirt and some sweatpants. My skin still didn't feel great, but I was starting to get used to it.

I didn't have much of a choice.

Mason was waiting for me down the hall. "I could hear you complaining all the way down here."

I rolled my eyes at him. "I'm still getting use to all this. I don't like the feeling of clothes right after I change."

When he smirked I knew I had set myself up. "You can walk around without clothes. I don't mind."

"Right, like that's going to happen." I shot back, sarcastically, as I followed him outside.

"I thought we were going to get something to eat." I complained. My stomach was growling for food.

He heard my stomach growl, "Don't worry. They're barbecuing at the house. There will be a lot of food."

I hopped into his truck and waited for him to get in. He was taking his time because he knew I was hungry.

I looked back at him. He was looking at the ground. "Hurry up." I said to him.

He looked up and nodded. "Give me a second."

It didn't take great will to get into a car. The only danger was him not taking me to food quickly enough. "Giving yourself a pep talk?"

He shrugged. "One day you'll understand what your scent does to wolves like me."

"And what's that?" I asked impatiently. I wanted to go to food!

He let out a slow breath as he stared at me.

He can stare all he wants as long as he takes us to food! My wolf grumbled unhappy with the wait.

"Let's go."

He broke eye contact and hopped in the truck.

He rolled down all the windows as soon as he started the truck.

I lifted the shirt to my nose. He hadn't been around for two changes before, so maybe I smelled. I took a deep breath, but I didn't smell anything bad. It just smelled like me.

"You don't stink. Don't worry."

I huffed and dropped the shirt from my nose. "You rolled down all the windows."

He nodded. "I did."

"So I must stink."

He shook his head with a smile. "It's not that you stink." He glanced at me quickly, his smile widened when he saw the confusion that was probably written all over my face. "Some of the females of our species give off more pheromones than others."

"So what? My smell appeals to you?" He nodded as he kept his eyes on the road.

"How do I make it stop?"

"You can't." He said simply. "Not until you choose who you want to be with."

"Be with? Like hook up with?"

"Marry."

I groaned. "I don't want to appeal to guys."

He smiled. "Well it's not going to change all by itself."

"So being married wouldn't work then?"

He sighed, "This isn't something that I wanted to have to explain to you."

"Please?" I asked as sweetly as I could.

He looked at me again for a second. "Fine." He put his eyes on the road.

"Since you lack a mate, the pheromones you give off are a lot stronger than a mated female. It lets the males of our species know that you're free for the taking. When you change from human to wolf or wolf to human, the pheromones are amplified for a short time. Though the time is a lot shorter when you change to a wolf."

"So I need a mate?"

"To change your scent, yes."

"So how do I get one?"

He chuckled. "You can't just go to the store and get one. It's a commitment. Once you mate with someone, you're drawn to them like they're the air you need to breath."

"Sounds extreme."

He nodded. "It's very extreme."

"Can you make someone your mate then un-mate them?"

He shook his head. "Once it's done, it's done. The only way you can change it is if you let someone else claim you."

I huffed unhappily. "That's not fair. Why do the girls only have to go through it? It's sexist."

He looked at me with a smile, "Yes, but that's how it works."

"Can a girl claim a guy?"

"You have a lot of questions."

"It made me good at getting to the truth. Now answer the question."

He nodded his head once. "You can claim a guy."

"How does the mating thing work?"

I saw him grimace a bit, though he didn't look at me. "99% of the time it happens during sex."

Yikes! Was my immediate reaction, followed by the thought that it wouldn't happen for me. Then my mind created a millisecond fantasy of what it would be like to have sex with Mason.

"The other 1% is without sex."

I felt my face flush. I couldn't believe that I just had a mini fantasy of having sex with Mason! I looked out my window and suddenly didn't have any more questions.

"No more questions?"

I shook my head, "Not at the moment."

"Was the sex talk unexpected?" There was obvious amusement in his voice.

"Very."

He laughed. "You're blushing."

My hands rushed to my face to cover my cheeks.

"How adorable!" He teased.

I glared at his happy face. There was nothing Mason liked more than teasing someone.

"I'm not blushing." I said haughty. "I'm just flushed from the change."

He chuckled, "You're too defensive. Who were you boning in your mind?"

I felt my face heat up. I was probably beet red. How horrifying would it be if he knew it was him I had been thinking about?

"Awe, come on. I'm not going to tell anyone." He teased.

I covered my face. "I'm not saying anything." I muttered from behind my hands.

"I could make you talk."

I felt all that extra blood drain from my face.

"But it would be much more fun if I just guessed. You'll probably turn super red again."

I swatted at him. When my hand connected with his arm, I was surprised. He had let me hit him.

"Please don't torture me." I begged.

He smiled that smile that made my heart flutter. "But it's so much fun to watch you squirm." I felt his eyes on me. "Who was it?" He wondered out loud. "Something embarrassing since you won't look at me."

I looked right into his eyes to prove him wrong.

"Can't be Grayson since he's mated to Casey. Can't be Brian since he's mated too. Chris?" He was gauging my reaction. He shook his head. "No." He looked back at the road, thinking. His smirk slowly grew before he looked back at me. "It was me, wasn't it?"

I did my best to not show any reaction, but I wasn't very confident that I would get away with it.

"It was!" He sounded way too happy about it.

"You wish!" I huffed and looked away.

He laughed so loud it hurt my ears. "Was it good for you?" His teasing was relentless.

My face flushed all over again. "Shut up!"

His laugher boomed until we pulled up to the pack house. By then I was completely humiliated. I didn't want to be here.  I wanted to be as far away from Mason as I could get.

I slammed the door when I got out. I didn't even want to eat anymore. I couldn't believe that for even a second I thought about Mason that way. After everything mean he'd done to me through his training.

I started walking the way we had come from. I could find my way back to the compound. I probably could make my way back to my room.

"Where do you think you're going?" Mason shouted, the laugh still evident in his voice. He probably thought I just needed a minute to cool off.

"Back to my room!"

He laughed. That jerk. "Come on. You know you're starving."

I kept walking.

"Come back here." The force of the order almost knocked me on my ass. Instead I stumbled a little bit. I kept still once I had footing. "Now." This order wasn't so forceful, but it was just as effective.

I walked back to him, but I wasn't happy about it. Even with me glaring at him, he kept smiling at me.

I stood in front of him with my arms crossed.

His smile never faltered. "You're cute when you're embarrassed."

I wound up a punch and shot it at him. We both knew it wouldn't connect, but it made me feel better.

He caught my forearm and pulled me to him. My back was at his chest and my arms were crossed over my body. My skin was always super sensitive, but being so close to him, I didn't feel uncomfortable.

He led me to the main house, just like that. I struggled, but it was useless. It just made him even more thrilled to be tormenting me. The looks we got as he led me to Grayson's office made me even more embarrassed.