Kane ran from the car, up the porch steps and pounded his fist against the front door. His hand hurt under the pressure and so he calmed his knocks, scared he might break the door. He turned to see Tyler, who was running up the steps behind him.

"You don't want to wake the Alpha!" Tyler whispered to him. He sounded panicked.

Kane ignored him and slammed his closed fist against the door again. He could pay for a new door if he had to.

"Kane, come on," Tyler muttered quickly. He came to stand next to Kane. "Calm down, we will figure this out."

Kane shook his head slightly. He knew that this couldn't be simply figured out. He felt his heart beating faster under his skin.

The door abruptly opened, revealing Linda. His aunt was standing in the doorway with her nightgown wrapped tightly around her waist with one hand. "Kane, what's the matter?" she asked, her words fast. "Is something wrong?"

Kane nodded. "I need Adam," he told her simply.

Linda ushered them inside. "Are your parents okay?" she asked.

Kane nodded as he passed her. "Everyone's fine, but I just need Adam."

Linda gestured towards the large staircase to her side. "He's in his room."

As Kane approached the staircase he heard Adam's voice. "What are you two doing here?"

Kane looked up. Adam was standing at the top of the staircase, Violet by his side. Adam's expression was complete confusion, whereas Violet looked afraid.

"Was there a rouge attack?" she called out down the stairs. Kane saw her grab Adam's arm. "Is everyone okay?"

"Everyone's fine!" Tyler called out to her.

Except me, Kane added in his mind.

Adam and Violet both sighed in relief at the same time. "What's going on then?" Adam called down to him.

Kane gestured for Tyler to follow him. He practically ran up the stairs. He stood toe to toe with Adam when he reached the top. "I need your help."

Adam's eyes were wide. "What's going on Kane?"

Violet motioned towards their bedroom. "Come on, let's all talk in here."

The four of them practically ran into the bedroom. Kane paced around the room, while the other three stood near the doorway. Kane saw the new addition of pink pillows and boxes in the corner. He wondered how pink pillows would look in his room and shuddered at the thought.

"You're acting really weird," Violet said. She took a step towards him. "Just tell us what's going on."

Kane felt his breathing quicken. He paced faster. "I found my mate."

Kane saw Violet smile out of the corner of his eye, but he also saw Adam's expression. It was hard and unchanged. "What went wrong?" Adam asked.

Kane shook his head. "I can't even say it."

"She's a girl," Tyler told them. His voice was low.

Violet gasped. "His mate's a girl?"

"How?" Adam whispered. He looked around the room, as if searching for the answer. "How did this happen?"

Kane shrugged. "I don't know."

"Who is she?" Adam asked.

Kane shrugged again. "I don't know."

"You didn't catch her name?" Violet asked.

Kane stopped pacing. "I didn't ask." He thought about that feeling that told him to get away from that girl, and it scared him. He wondered if he would feel like that every time he looked at her.

Tyler piped up, "Her name is Nora."

Kane started pacing again. Nora, her name was Nora. She was a pretty girl with bright blue eyes and light brown hair. She was his mate. Kane started pacing again.

Adam stood in front of him. "Stop pacing."

Kane stood still. He blinked at Adam. "What do I do?" he questioned.

Adam grabbed him by the arms. He held them with a light grip. "You need to go back to where you met her, and find her."

"Why?" he asked.

Adam titled his head slightly. "She's your mate, what else are you going to do?"

Kane didn't answer.

"Where did you find her?" Adam asked Tyler.

"A diner, she was trying to find the ball but had gotten lost," Tyler said quietly. "She went into the diner to ask for directions but she accidently scratched my car opening her car door, so she came in to tell me. I gave her my details and she gave me hers."

Adam turned his harsh gaze back onto Kane. "We will get in the car right now and find her."

"No!" Kane barked at him. He felt a sudden urge of guilt straight after. He had just yelled at his Alpha. "I'm sorry," he whispered.

Adam let go of his arms. He sighed. "Please go find her, for her sake. She's out there, confused, probably thinking that her mate hates her."

"She's not my mate, she can't possibly be, right?" Kane looked around the room for support, but the other two were looking down at their feet. "Right?"

Adam shook his head slowly. "The Moon God's don't make mistakes, Kane. This girl, whoever she is, was meant for you. Her gender doesn't matter here. You will love her and be attracted to her, the shock of all of this just needs to wear off first."

Kane sighed. He allowed his legs to give in and sat back onto the side of the bed. "Am I not gay anymore?" he asked, not expecting an answer. "Who am I?"

Violet crossed the distance between them. She wrapped an arm around his shoulders. "Oh Kane," she murmured gently, "finding your mate is not like a crush, it's so, so much more. You might have had crushes on boys before, but your attraction to your mate is so much deeper than that. I'm not going to try to explain why this has happened, I truly don't know, but you owe yourself a chance to explore this connection. You might think it's a mistake now, but when you find her again, it might be a different story."

Kane nodded. She was making sense.

"Your mate is out there right now," Adam told him. He stepped closer to the bed, his hand resting on Kane's shoulder. "You need to find her, before you've lost your chance."

Kane nodded. "You are right." He stood from the bed and made his way towards the door with long strides. Everyone followed him. Kane only made it to the top of the staircase before he froze. He could see the front door, it was open and Linda was talking to someone. He knew who it was without seeing her face, the connection told him that it was her. Nora.

Linda stood to the side and he caught Nora's eyes. He just stared at her, from the top of the stairs, waiting for that feeling to return. However, after a few moments, the feeling wasn't there. He didn't want to run anymore. He wanted to go to her, to make sure that she was okay. "Nora," he breathed out.

Nora smiled up at him and for a quick second, all was right in his world. She had a smile that managed to convince him that it would be okay, that there was hope, even for a second.

Kane's mind was brought back to the world around him when Adam slapped his shoulder. "Well, we don't have to look very far, now do we?"

Kane nodded. "It looks like she's found us."

They walked down the stairs. Kane couldn't keep his eyes off of her. Kane stood close to the wall when they got closer, he didn't want to get too close. He wasn't convinced that the feeling was gone forever and he kept waiting for it to appear, deep in his gut.

"I'm Adam," Adam said. He extended her hand. "I am the Alpha's son here at Burlington."

Nora smiled bashfully. She wiped her hand on the skirt of her dress before shaking Adam's hand. "I'm Nora."

Adam motioned behind him. "This is my wife, Violet. I'm sure you remember Tyler and Kane."

Nora nodded, her wide eyes focussed on Kane's. "Kane," she whispered out slowly. He only then realised that was the first time she had heard his name. Kane suddenly felt uncomfortable under her stare and made himself look in the other direction for a few seconds.

"What pack are you from, Nora?" Adam asked.

Nora's eyes kept bouncing between Adam and Kane. Kane could tell that she was just being polite towards Adam, she really wanted to talk to him. Kane didn't know how he felt about that. He knew that she was safe, he didn't need to know much else.

"The Maysville pack," she replied.

Kane recognised the name instantly.

"Really?" Violet asked. She stepped forwards. "That's the biggest pack this side of the country."

Nora shrugged. She looked over at Kane again.

"How did you find us?" Violet asked.

Nora lifted her hand, which Kane only just noticed contained a napkin. "Tyler and I exchanged information after I hit his car." She bit at her lip. "I'm really sorry about that, by the way," she said.

Tyler shrugged. "It's okay."

Nora took a timid step towards Kane. "Can, can I talk to you?"

Kane looked at Adam for reassurance. Adam shook his head. It surprised Kane. He had figured Adam would have wanted them to get to know each other.

"Uh," Kane muttered. "I don't know."

Nora tilted her head. "I don't understand...."

Adam stepped towards her. "It's been a really long night," he said. "I'm sure that all of you are extremely exhausted. How about you sleep here tonight, Nora?"

Nora's eyes were still on Kane. "I think we really need to talk," she said. She smiled nervously at him. "I won't bite, I promise."

Kane considered Adam's words. He had to trust that Adam knew what he was doing. "I'll come back in the morning," he promised. "We can talk then." He watched as Nora's eyes grew concerned. She looked at the faces around her. Kane felt her worry. He felt it like it was his own, and maybe it was. He took a small step towards her and levelled his voice. "I promise."

Nora seemed hesitant at first but then she nodded. "Okay."

Violet wrapped a gentle arm around Nora's shoulders. "How about a cup of tea?" she asked as she steered Nora towards the kitchen. Tyler followed after them.

Kane kept his eyes on them, but moved closer to Adam. "You sure that was the best idea?" he asked.

Adam looked sure. "You would have said something you'd regret tomorrow. Too much emotion. You need time to calm down."

Kane knew that Adam was right. He, himself, was worried that he was going to scream "I'm gay!" at her the first second they were alone. It was a strange fear, but it hung onto his chest like a weight. What would Nora think if she knew that he was gay? That caused Kane to feel unsure again.

Adam tapped him on the shoulder. "Go home," he said, "we can figure this out tomorrow."

"I don't know if this is something a good sleep will fix."

Adam sighed. He had a small smile on his face. Kane didn't understand.

"Why are you smiling?" Kane asked.

"You found your mate tonight. She might not be what you expected, but she's here," he whispered. He motioned behind them. "She's in that room, living and breathing and waiting for you to love her."

Kane took a deep breath. Looking down at his shoes, he said, "and what if I don't?"

"Don't what?"

Kane's eyes were still on the floor. "Don't love her?"

Adam wrapped an arm around his shoulders. "Let's talk about this later." He started walking them towards the door.

"We took Tyler's car, can you grab him?" Kane asked.

Adam nodded. "I'll be back."

Kane stood on the front porch, his eyes looking out into the darkness as he waited for Tyler. Nora, her name ran through his mind. Nora.

"Are you sure that you want to leave?" Tyler asked when he came outside.

Kane glanced back at the house and considered his options. After a few seconds, he started walking towards the car.