Chapter 6

"Ronnie," He said. "What are you doing here?"

She walked into the house, not even noticing me there. I glared at her. "I'm here for you, darling." I walked up behind Riley, making her notice me. She glanced at me with a raised eyebrow but returned her attention to Riley.

"I told you, we were over. I have a life mate now." The woman walked over to me, "you mean this little ol' girl? She can't be woman enough to handle you. She's barely bigger than a child." She purred. I glared at her and fought my instinct to kick her well-coiffed ass out the door.

Riley came and stood beside me and wrapped an arm around my waist. Ronnie's eyes narrowed, angry fire starting to show in her eyes. I blinked innocently at her and smiled. "Sorry, Ronnie, was it? Isn't that a man's name?" I shrugged and tossed my head, "anyway, I am more woman than enough for Riley. So don't worry your pretty little head about it, this little girl has got this. You can go now and rest assured he's well taken care of." I told her as sweetly as I could around gritted teeth.

She actually growled at me and took a step forward. I went to take a step to match hers, daring the bitch to try something, but Riley held me back and stepped in front of me. "You can go now, Ronnie. This conversation is as over as we are." His voice was deep with anger. He held open the door and motioned for her to leave. With one last evil look my way, she walked out and away.

I let out a deep breath and slumped over. "Who the fuck was she?" I demanded, starting to pant, hardly paying attention to my first time cursing ever. Riley hit the door with his fist.

"She is someone who can't seem to take a hint." He growled.

"Yes, but who is she?" I repeated. He turned and leaned his back against the door.

"She is someone I dated off and on for the past couple of years. But I broke it off with her the night after you were attacked. I had a feeling you were my life mate, and so I broke it off. Apparently, she isn't taking it well."

"Well, she seems to think you were bluffing," I growled. I was pissed. Pissed at this woman invading a space I was quickly coming to see as my home, and pissed that Riley had been with that, that, skank. I had never felt so much rage before, even as Mother and my sisters were beating me. That bitch had touched my man, my mate, she ever touched him again, I would have her throat. I blinked, shocked at my thought, but agreed with it.

I could feel that thing inside me rising to the surface, stretching my skin as it strained to get out, to go after Ronnie. I cried out as it felt like it was ripping me apart from the inside. Claws scraping me raw, trying so hard to come to the surface, but I fought it. I didn't know if I could hold out, but I fought to. I barely registered Riley running to my side and wrapping his arms around me. The pain intensified. I felt like I was being shredded to pieces. I fell to my knees and screamed.

Whatever this was, it was just beneath my skin, and it was doing its damnedest to get out and chase after that woman. One thing we were united against was that whore, but I couldn't let this thing surface, I knew it, somehow I knew I couldn't let it out. So I fought with all of my strength.

Jaime came into the room as I was wailing from the pain. "What's wrong with her?" he asked Riley, scared. I looked over at Jaime through the pain, and something he saw in my eyes scared him more. "Oh my God, she's going to shift right now? She can't do that yet!"

Riley sat on the floor and pulled me onto his lap as best as he could with my writhing and twisting. "No, she can't shift yet. It isn't the full moon. She can't fully shift until then."

"Well, she sure looks like she is going to shift right now." He exclaimed. I let out a howl as the pain became unbearable, then I knew no more.

I awoke in bed, with Riley lying beside me. I was no longer in my dress, but I still had my panties and bra on. I looked over at Riley and saw he was watching me. There looked to be concern in his eyes. "What happened?" I asked. My voice sounded gravelly.

"You were pissed off. So much so that your wolf tried to come out, and because it isn't the full moon, she couldn't."

"My wolf? What do you mean? What wolf?"

"I mean that feeling you get where it feels like something is trying to get out, that extra sense that tells you if it's OK or not. That thing, being, you feel prowling around."

I blinked, so that explains that feeling I have. It's my wolf. She's the one that's been trying to shred me from the inside. Well, she can just kiss off on that and stop.

"I don't like that woman, and I would like it very much if you never let her in your house again," I said to Riley, primly. Riley laughed. "Sunshine, it isn't just my house now. It's yours too." I hadn't thought of that, was he serious? I had a house?

He then pulled me into his arms and kissed me. "To be honest, I don't like her much either." He confessed. I smacked him on the chest several times, "then what the hell were you dating her for?"

He grabbed my hands to keep from hitting him some more. "Because in the beginning, I liked her. But after time, she got rather boring and selfish." I glared at him. "How am I supposed to compete with her? She has style and class. I have nothing, but this!" I motioned to my scarred body and sniffled. I will not cry, I will not cry, I told myself. Riley frowned and shook me.

"You don't need to compete with her. There is no reason to. She is nothing compared to you. I am mated to you, I want to be mated to you. You are everything, and I have hope you will see that one day." He paused and took a deep breath, "I love you." He growled. I blinked at him, shocked. He loved me? I hadn't ever thought of love coming into this. But if I thought about it, it made sense. These intense feelings I had for him couldn't be just the bond, could it? It could be love too, right? I looked into his eyes, searching, thinking that this was too fast. It shouldn't be, but I had no intention of stopping this. It felt right somehow. God, I hoped it was right. I deserved something good, didn't I?

"You love me? Are you sure? You did just meet me." I tried to make sure, to make sure I wasn't dreaming.

"Of course I am sure. I loved you the moment you asked me to stay with you that first night. I just knew, even if it turned out that you were not my mate, I wanted to be with you, that I'd do anything to be with you." He pulled me close, he let go of my hands so he could cup my face. "There is no one else for me, now and forever." He kissed me softly, gently, and with all the love he could show me. I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him back. I showed him the love I couldn't yet voice.

He made sweet and gentle love to me. Showing me tenderness I had never known, causing me to quietly cry at the sweetness of it all.

I curled up against his side when he pulled away to flop onto his back. I laid my head on his chest, listening to his heart beat slowly, gentle after our activity. I traced his tattoo's idly. His hand traced circles across my back. "Can we stay like this forever?" I asked hopefully. "Sure. Till you get hungry." He chuckled. With the mention of food, my stomach grumbled. "Sorry." I blushed, then giggled.

"No need. We missed breakfast and lunch." He said. I sat up, "We did? Just how late is it?" I asked, aghast. He chuckled again and sat up as well. "Well, let's get something to eat, shall we?"

He slid out of bed, grabbed his pants and my underwear from the floor. He threw my bra and panties at me as he put on his pants. I got out of bed to put on my underwear. Riley came over to help snap up my bra. I smiled at him in thanks, then looked for my dress. It was placed neatly on the small settee at the end of the bed.

I slipped it back on, just as Riley finished putting his silk shirt on. He took hold of my hand, and we went into the kitchen to raid the fridge. We found stuff for sandwiches and set about making us some.

There was much laughter and giggling as we fooled around as well. Somehow I ended up with mayo on my cheek, so I had to put mustard on Riley's nose, and that just started a tickle war, one that I lost. He had me laughing and shrieking so loud I had tears coming out of my eyes.

We finally finished making our sandwiches just as Jamie came into the house. He stared at me warily. I slowly lost my smile. "Are you OK now?" He asked. I swallowed and nodded, "yes, I am fine, now. Thank you for asking." I swallowed again. "I am sorry about earlier. I didn't mean to scare you or freak you out."

He shook his head, "it's OK, I would have been pissed too if I had been you. Ronnie tends to bring out the worst in people, especially women." And with that, we were OK again. He headed into the living room. "Wanna watch Matrix: Revolution, now?" I looked at Riley with a mischievous grin. "Sure! I'd love to." Riley groaned. I giggled. I grabbed a soda and my overloaded sandwich and headed into the living room.

We settled down and started watching the movie. It was just as good as the last two. Halfway through the movie, Riley got up and made us a couple bags of popcorn. Something I had never had. The first bite was delicious, and soon, Riley had to go make a third bag because I wouldn't give up the bag he handed me. I cried at the end when Trinity died, then Neo. Riley pulled me into his arms and consoled me.

"That movie sucked," I sobbed. Riley patted my back. I heard a rumble against his chest, and I realized he was laughing at me, so I smacked his chest. "Hey! What was that for?" He protested. "Cause you were laughing at me," I said. "No, I wasn't! I was laughing with you." He laughed. I smacked him again. "Big meanie," I called him. He pretended I shot him in the chest. I ignored him and turned to Jaime, who was watching us with a bemused expression.

"Got any more movies like that, that don't end with them dying?" I asked him. He got excited. "I have lots!" he exclaimed. He jumped up and opened up the entertainment center. There was row upon row of Blu-ray and DVD movies. I went googly eyed at them all. "Take your pick." He said.

I got up and moved to look at them all. I had no idea which one to pick. Most of the movies I had never heard of. There was the Die Hard series, Lethal Weapon series, The Bourne series, and a bunch that weren't a series. He had all types of genres as well. I closed my eyes and picked one at random. It turned out to be something called 'Ninja Assassin'. The cover looked interesting, I thought as I handed it to Jaime, and he hooted.

"This is an awesome one, but Riley hates it." He declared. I raised an eyebrow. "Why does he hate it?" I asked. "Because I tease him that the main character is a shorter version of him."

I heard a loud groan from behind me, and I couldn't help but giggle.

"Awww, c'mon! He's Korean and I'm Japanese, we look nothing alike!"

"This I gotta see," I told Jaime. He hooted again and set about putting the movie in.

I settled down next to Riley with a smug smile. He mock-glared at me. He pulled me close and tickled me, and I was startled into laughing. I'd never been tickled before today. I heard Jaime groan, "not again." He complained.

Riley laughed and stopped tickling me. I tried to catch my breath and jabbed Riley in the ribs lightly in retaliation. He let out a fake groan of pain. I smirked at him and turned my attention to the movie.

He settled himself on the couch with one leg on the floor and the other against the back of the couch. He pulled me to settle between his legs, with my back along his chest. He wrapped both arms around me, and I rested mine on his.

We watched the movie, and this one was even better than the Matrix. I adored the main character who did remind me a little of a shorter version of Riley, but I wouldn't say that to him. The action scenes were truly amazing. I was really wanting to learn how to fight like that, if it was possible. I think I am becoming a bloodthirsty heathen. But part of me was OK with it, while the other part didn't know if it liked it or not yet.

At the end of the movie, I laid back against Riley and looked up at him. "Could you teach me to fight?" He looked at me, startled. "Why would you want to learn? Not that I won't teach you. We teach all our wolves basic fighting skills. But I would like to know why you do."

I blushed and fidgeted. "Because I like the way they move, and if I can fight, I won't have to worry about being a victim again. I don't ever want to be at the mercy of someone else again." I felt those pesky tears well up and nearly growled. "Please don't let me be a victim again," I begged. He hugged me tight.

Jaime didn't say a word though I knew he had heard why I wanted to learn. I quickly glanced that way, and I saw he had paused with his soda halfway to his mouth. He saw me look at him and quickly took a drink, then set about putting the movie away. I could tell he was dying of curiosity, but I wasn't about to get into it right now. I'd let Riley tell him, just so I wouldn't have to.

I got up and started cleaning up our soda and plates. I had just got to the kitchen, and I nearly dropped the dishes, when I heard Riley talking to me, 'do you want me to tell him about what had happened to you?' But when I looked, he wasn't near me. He was conversing with Jaime. I shook my head, sure that I was hearing things. I heard Riley chuckle, "Sunshine, remember what I told you about life mates having telepathic abilities?" Oh yeah, that's right. I tried answering him the same way, and it was a tad difficult, but I managed. "This is creepy, yet cool." I heard him chuckle in my head again. "Yes, you can tell him. I don't feel like going into it yet again." I told him. I felt more than heard his affirmation.

I did the dishes slowly and dried them, then tried to find where they all went. After looking in a couple of cabinets, I found that the plates went next to the stove and silverware went into a drawer by the stove too. Cups were by the sink. OK, I got this. I explored the kitchen a little so I could give them time.

I could feel and hear Riley still talking to Jaime, and I didn't want to interrupt, so I tried to think of something to do. That's when I remembered that I had put sheets in to wash earlier and had forgotten to put them in the dryer. I went into the laundry room, only to discover they were already dry and folded on top of the dryer. Hmm, I wonder who had done that and if the blood had come out.

I shrugged, picked them up, and headed toward the bedroom, hoping to sneak past and not interrupt their conversation. Riley gave me a slight nod as I walked by. "Almost done here, Sunshine," Riley said in my head. Boy, that was spooky how he could do that. This demanded some experimentation. I wonder what I could project or if I could project to him.

I grinned mischievously to myself. I stood in front of the full-length mirror that was on the inside door of the closet. I blushed brightly as I contemplated doing something so foreign to me. I took a deep breath then started to slowly slide my dress up my thighs, then to my hips. All the while, I was trying to project what I saw in the mirror to Riley. The dress crept up my waist, to my breasts, then over my head. I stood there in just my panties and strapless bra brazenly yet embarrassingly too.

I grinned at myself as I slowly reached behind me and unsnapped the bra. I let it fall to the ground, all the while hoping this was working. I heard a growl, and that is when I knew I was succeeding. I slipped my fingers into the waistband of my panties, and before I could even slide them down an inch, Riley was there behind me. I looked at him in the mirror and blushed. Well, it worked, I told myself.

"Just what do you think you are doing there, young lady?" He growled. His eyes were switching from black to wolf amber.

I turned to face him and ran my finger down his chest. "Oh, just a little experiment. I see it was a success." I teased. He crushed my hand to his chest and pulled me closer. He leaned down till we were nose to nose. "I'd say it was more than a success." He took my hand and placed it on the hardness rising from his slacks. This was the first time I had actually gotten to touch him, even though he was still wearing his pants. He hadn't let me touch him all night. He said it was my night, a night just for my pleasure. Well, it was a new night, and I wanted to touch, to experiment.

I stroked my hand up and down his hardness, exploring it's length and girth. My, my he was very well endowed, as if all our lovemaking hadn't told me that. I unzipped his pants and slid my hand inside. Riley groaned at my touch and arched his hips into my hand. He was hard as steel covered in velvety smoothness. I stroked him from tip to base, exploring all that I could. I encircled my hand around him, slowly sliding it up and down his length. He groaned and thrust into my hand again.

I pulled him out of his pants so I could see what I was touching, nice to know he didn't wear underwear. His cock was a deeper tan than his skin, with a purplish tint. There were veins prominent along his length, and I could see a drop of pre-cum on the tip. I got a sudden idea in my head from one of the magazines I had read, and I wondered if it was possible. Too quick for him to do anything, I knelt at his feet, his hardness right in front of me. I grabbed him at the base and leaned forward. I placed a kiss on the tip, his pre juice now on my lips. He jumped but didn't pull away. I took that as a good sign. I licked my lips free of his cum and discovered he had a salty yet sweet flavor. I liked it.

I leaned forward again, but this time I licked his entire length, starting at the base. Then when I reached the tip, I took him in. I couldn't take his entire length, but I could most of him. He gasped, and his hands went to my head, holding me tightly. I started to slide back up, then slid back down. I started a rhythm, bobbing up and down his length, and he thrust his hips against my mouth in time to my bobbing.

I did this for several minutes. With each minute ticking by, he kept getting larger and larger, so I knew he was close to release. I so wanted to taste him. Just when I thought he was going to explode, he tore himself away from me. Picked me up and tore my panties off. He placed me on the dresser and thrust in. I cried out in surprised pleasure. Only slightly disappointed he hadn't cum in my mouth. He fucked me furiously. He nuzzled my neck, and with both of our releases, he bit me. Instead of hurting, it just made me fall even faster. I screamed my release as he roared his, neither of us caring who could hear.

I collapsed against him, my arms and legs hanging limply. He leaned heavily against the dresser, his legs barely able to hold him up. That's when I noticed he was still dressed. We stayed there on the dresser for a few minutes, catching our breath and our stamina.

Riley stood up and straightened himself up before he set me on my feet. I had to hold onto his arms till my legs could hold me steady. "I think that is enough experimenting for the night." He told me. I couldn't agree more. But it had been fun while it lasted.

He went to his side of the bed and stripped naked. I got on my side and climbed into bed. We met in the middle, he drew me into his arms, and I snuggled as close as possible. Without a word to one another, we were both asleep in moments.

He woke me up a couple more times during the night to make love to me. Once with me on top, and that was challenging for me, but a lot of fun. I even woke him up once. I didn't see how we were getting much sleep.

The next morning Riley woke me up with breakfast in bed. He sat on the side of the bed and rubbed my back till I woke up. "Morning, Sunshine, time to wake up and have breakfast." I rubbed my eyes and sat up. I grabbed the sheet and covered my breasts as he placed a tray across my lap. I stared at it blearily before I could comprehend what I was seeing. It was a large bowl of a scrambled version of Devie's omelet, French toast, and OJ. I looked up at Riley and smiled. "What is this for?" I asked him.

He shrugged, "just because" is all he would say. I picked up my fork and dug in. I asked him if he wanted any, and he told me that he'd already eaten, so I had the whole meal to myself. I admired Riley as I ate. He was wearing black slacks, with his typical tank top with a green silk shirt open over it, his long hair pulled into a braid. Yummy as always, and I wasn't referring to the breakfast.

We talked while I ate. Just about random things, nothing too deep. He told me a bit about Werewolves, since we had been too distracted the last few days for him to do so.

He told me that Werewolves tend to age a lot slower than humans. They could live hundreds of years, like his father, who was well over two hundred years old but looked like a college kid. It made me wonder how old Riley was. Werewolves were also very fast healers. They could heal most wounds in hours, if not sooner, depending on how they were wounded.

They could also have tattoos, case in point, like him. They just tended to heal them very fast, in hours instead of the human's weeks.

Werewolves were also extremely strong, fast, and agile. They were able to pick up small cars and throw them and were faster than a 45 mph car. I couldn't imagine being able to run that fast. I so wanted to try that. They also had night vision, and some could even crawl on walls, which was rare.

He also told me there are natural-born wolves, like him, his father, and his brother. Then there were those who were 'created,' like me, through a bite or scratch from someone in wolf form of some sort. Natural-born wolves tend to pick up the abilities of both parents, while created ones only get to have the ability that their creator has. I wonder what ability my attacker had, rat bastard, I thought. But I couldn't be too mad. His attack did bring Riley into my life, which I was thankful for.

I had finished my breakfast and was just sitting there listening to him tell me about this new fantastical world I was now a part of. I loved listening to Riley's voice.

Riley leaned across the tray and kissed me. Then he got up and took the tray to the kitchen, and I got up and jumped into the shower. I made it a quick one. I got dressed, this time no sundress, just shorts and a tank top.

I walked out into the living room, and Jaime was there playing a video game. I took a moment to watch. It seemed he was part of a mission to kill some aliens. It looked fun and bloody. Maybe I will ask him if I could play with him later.

I went into the kitchen to find Riley just putting up the dishes. He turned and gave me a smile, I smiled back. This time I went up behind him and wrapped my arms around his waist. I laid my cheek against his back.

He laced his fingers with mine, and we stood like that for a time. He turned in my arms and hugged me to him. "I hate to say it, but I need to go into work for a little while. Catch up on some paperwork and change appointments for the next week or so." I looked up at him, a little afraid of his being gone. "I thought if you didn't mind possibly being a bit bored for a couple of hours, you would like to go with me?" I sighed in relief and nodded yes vigorously. The thought of his being gone frightened me more then I wanted to admit. I felt safe with Devie, but not quite like I do with Riley.

I went into the bedroom to change. I didn't really want my first visit to where Riley worked to be dressed in shorts. I wonder what he did anyway, I had never thought to ask. I decided to go with another sundress, this one in blue and some flat sandals. I did not want to try heels yet. Those things were intimidating to me.

I came back, and Riley was throwing keys in the air and catching them. Jaime had already disappeared, to where I had no clue. Riley headed to the garage door, motioned me through. I went into the dark garage expecting to see the suburban, but it wasn't there. The lights came on, and I saw that there was a car, gunmetal in color. According to its label, it was something called a 300. Whatever it is, it was nice. There was also a motorcycle next to the car. It was sleek and black.

I slid into the leather and sighed at how I sunk into the seat. I stroked my hand lovingly up and down the leather. Riley slid in beside me, pressed a button on a remote, and the garage door opened up. He picked up my hand and kissed the back of it before starting the car and backing us out.

We headed out of the compound and passed the little shack. I looked at it with a little regret. It had been the first place I had had on my own, well sorta. The first place without Mother and the girls, anyway.

Soon we were out of the compound and on our way. We went in the opposite direction of the department store, so the sights I saw were newer. He took us to the interstate and headed to what he called Downtown Tampa. I could see the tall buildings in the distance, and it was a beautiful sight.

We talked about the sights and how he'd seen the city grow up over the years. He explained how the interstate worked and everything that I thought to ask. He promised one day he'd take me to the local amusement park, when I saw a billboard for it, once we could find who the attacker was and disposed of him.

Soon we were off the interstate and entering the downtown area. It had a lot of one-way streets that seemed very confusing to me. But he navigated it with ease and long practice. We entered a parking garage near one of the skyscrapers and walked hand in hand to the building.

I found out that the Alpha owned a construction company and Riley was the VP. He had been gone nearly every day since I was attacked and had a lot to catch up on. I felt guilty that he'd neglected his work because of me.

We went up several floors to their office suite. It took up one corner of the floor. There was a female receptionist at the front, and she smiled at Riley and greeted him with warmth. Part of me didn't like it, but she was an older woman who looked like someone's grandmother, so I didn't let her warmth toward my mate bother me, much.

He led me into a corner office that was as modern as his house. It had a huge desk set near a window, with a laptop and light on it, and not much else, besides a phone. Two chairs in front of the desk, and a leather sofa against the far wall. There were bookshelves on the wall opposite of that. There was also a door not far from the sofa, which he said led to the bathroom.

He motioned me to a seat and moved to go behind his desk. "Make yourself comfortable, I will be as quick as I can." He told me. I moved over to his bookshelves and looked at the titles. They were mostly books on construction, but they had a couple of thrillers. I took one off the shelf and went to sit on the sofa.

I started reading it and was soon engrossed in the book. Hours passed, and I didn't even notice. Riley eventually finished what he needed to do to get caught up and set it up so he could be away for a while. He came over to me and nudged my foot. "Hey, Sunshine, you ready to go?" I looked up startled. I set the book down.

"Yeah, sure." I put the book down and took the hand he offered to help me up. I was stiff from sitting for so long and stretched to get the kinks out. Just then, my stomach let out its typical rumble. I blushed and Riley just grinned.

"Let's go get you fed." He smiled.

We walked out the same way we came in, hand in hand. As we got down to the car, he wrapped an arm around my waist, and I wrapped mine around his waist. We got to the car, and he escorted me into my seat.

We headed off to a restaurant, a steak house if the sign was correct. Mm-mm steak did sound good. He escorted me inside with a hand to the small of my back. We were seated quickly into a booth. This time we had a waiter, instead of a waitress, which was good for me because I didn't want another episode like at Denny's.

The waiter asked what we wanted to drink, and Riley asked for a beer. I thought about it and asked for a soda. I didn't like beer. I had tried one of my sister's one time when they weren't looking, and the taste nearly made me gag.

We chatted idly as we looked over our menu. I noticed they had nearly every type of steak under the sky, and I didn't know what to choose. When the waiter came for our orders, I copied Riley and got the Porterhouse, medium rare.

When our food arrived, I stared at the steaks. They were huge. I didn't know it would be that big. I felt greedy looking at them, but then my tummy rumbled again, and I gave up caring how greedy I might be.

The steak was delicious, and I couldn't get enough of it. Even the sides were delicious. Riley and I laughed and talked during our meal. It was actually very nice to have him all to myself, instead of someone always within earshot. He told me about some of the things he and Devie had gotten into as children. They were roughly the same age and had grown up as best friends from an early age. That was one reason she was his right-hand man regarding Pack business. The other being she was a great fighter and a dominant.

Turns out only dominants could hold some type of official position within the Pack. Submissives could only be fighters, and only if they proved they could fight. It was a hard position to get to be a fighter. They needed people who wouldn't run, who would stand and protect the Pack when needed. Though they may be submissive to their dominant counterparts, didn't mean they would be submissive to threats.

We finished our meal and had dessert. Before the attack, I would have been beyond full, but now I still had room. This time I knew I wanted cheesecake, causing Riley to laugh when I ordered it. If it was anything like the last one I had, had I was going to be in heaven. It arrived, and I took my first bite. It was better than heaven. It was an orgasm in my mouth.

Riley was amused beyond what he should be, I thought. I made a face at him when he laughed, and continued eating the cake. I think I could live off of this stuff. Then I thought of the steak and decided no, I could live off of both of them.

We sat there for a while after dessert, chatting about nothing in important. Then Riley asked if I was ready, and I nodded. He slid out of the booth and took my hand to help me out. He placed some bills on the table to cover our tab, and out we went. He helped me back into the car then slid in himself. He leaned over and cupped the side of my face for a kiss. He tasted of steak, cheesecake, and beer. In other words, he tasted delicious.

Was this considered a date, I wondered. If so, it was nice, and I hope Riley and I got to do this a lot more. Having him to myself was indeed a blessing.

We headed home. It was a long ride since we didn't take the interstate back. He held my hand on the way back, rubbing his thumb back and forth across the back of it.

When we got back to the house, Devie was waiting for us. She had a serious look to her face. I felt a sense of foreboding and suddenly became worried. Riley and I exchanged a look before getting out of the car. He didn't even put it back in the garage. He was as eager as I was to find out what was wrong.

Devie got to Riley just as I rounded the car and stood next to him. "We got a small problem." She started out with, that really made me start to worry. "OK, what is it?" He demanded. Devie looked at me before replying, and my sense of worry increased.

"Her mother showed up today, demanding we give her back. The Alpha told her politely but firmly, no, and she went nuts. Said she would get the police involved, saying that we kidnapped her, and stupid shit. The Alpha reminded her that Poppy was well over the age of consent and she had no leg to stand on. Then he had a security detail escort her off of the property."

I was holding onto Riley's arm, my legs going weak at the mention of Mother, that she had found where I was. He placed an arm around my waist to help steady me. I placed a hand against my stomach. I felt like lunch was going to come back up at any moment.

Riley was growling, pissed off. I could see it as well as feel his anger. All I could feel was fear and nausea. "Did Dad say what he was going to do now?", Devie shook her head, "No, I think he was waiting for you two to get back."

"Why didn't you or he call me and tell me what was going on?" He demanded. "Because it was your first time out with your mate, we figured to let you have a good time before it was ruined." She shot back.

Devie's attention went behind us, and we both turned to look. It was the Alpha, with a small security detail. I felt like fainting right then and there. I don't know if I could handle this. All I wanted was to have Mother out of my life and live it peacefully with Riley. Why was that so hard to have?

I clung to Riley, terrified out of my skull. The Alpha walked up to us, "Afternoon, son, Poppy. Can we talk inside?" He asked. Riley nodded, his face still angry. He led us in and into his study, which was done in a very masculine décor. He closed the door and motioned for Fletcher to take the chair behind the desk, and Riley and I took the chairs in front of it.

"I'm sure Devie told you what transpired today?" He asked. Riley and I both nodded. For some reason, I couldn't look at Fletcher. I was afraid he might send me away and ashamed that he met Mother, my worst nightmare.

"Don't worry, he won't send you away. He wouldn't do that to you." Riley reassured me. "But Mother is causing trouble, maybe he won't think I am worth it. Then there is also the fact that my attacker is causing trouble too. He's going to think I am so not worth this trouble." I was nearly in tears. Riley grabbed my hand and kissed the back of it in reassurance. "You are no trouble. This is not your fault. He won't want to send you away. I promise you."

Fletcher was watching us, somberly, like he knew that we were talking to one another. Which he probably did. He struck me as a smart man, and being the Alpha, he'd know what life mates could do.

"If you are thinking I am going to send you away, Poppy, then you are wrong. You are a wolf and the life mate to my son. There is no reason I would ever send you away. This with your mother is just her pissing in the wind trying to get you back. I won't let that happen, nor will Riley or the Pack." He assured me quietly.

I burst into tears. I couldn't help it. I was so relieved that he wouldn't send me away from my new home, but yet I knew Mother, and she wouldn't rest until she had her way. "But it isn't just my mother, sir. It's the person who attacked me who is causing trouble too."

"He was causing trouble before you survived his attack. You were his third victim and the only one to survive."

I stared at him in surprise, forgetting that he was intimidating to me. "I wasn't his only victim?" Holy hell. Fletcher shook his head.

"We've been trying to track him for weeks now. But he always eludes us in the human community. We can't figure out how he's doing it." Riley explained.

"Can't you track him with smell or something like that?" I asked.

Riley shook his head. "No. We've tried, but it's like he cloaks his scent or something. We can't get a bead on him until it's too late."

"What does this mean about him coming for me? You won't know he's here until it's too late." I worried, I didn't want to see that monster again.

"We've doubled patrol around the compound. Actually tripled it since the other night when he knocked out one of our sentries. You are safe here in the middle of the compound. Extra sentries are patrolling our house and the Alpha's every few minutes. No one is going to hurt you."

The Alpha nodded in agreement. "Now on to your mother. She came here today insisting we give you back, stating we kidnapped you and stole her money. I assured her that we had not done such a thing. That you were here of your own volition. As for the money she mentioned, I didn't know what she was talking about." I blushed furiously and hung my head. I knew what she was talking about. I had taken about three hundred dollars from her. I had thought at the time it was the least she could give me for the hell I went through.

I stood up, "I will be right back." I told them, leaving them watching me with puzzled looks. I went into the bedroom and looked for my backpack. The last I saw it was when I put it on the bed when I moved in. So I looked under the bed and there it was. I took it back to the study with me.

Once in there, I opened up the bag and took out the money. "I am sorry. This is what she was talking about. I thought I would need it to get food and stuff when I left her place. You can give it back to her if you want. But I refuse to go anywhere with her or my sisters again. Ever."

Fletcher nodded and took the money. "I will pass this on to her." He promised.

I also took out the papers I had in the bag as well. "These are from her as well, but they had my name on them, so I felt I had the right to them."

I showed them the papers. Riley took them and looked them over. "This is your birth certificate and social security card. You definitely need these."

"Is there somewhere safe we could put them?" I asked. Riley nodded and got up and moved to a safe I hadn't paid attention to that was on the right side of the room. He keyed in a combination and put the papers in there.

"Thank you."

"No problem, Sunshine."

I smiled at him, and he smiled back. Then I looked over to Fletcher. "What happens if she calls the police and tries to say you guys kidnapped me?" I asked.

"Well, I doubt she will do so because the police will tell her that since you are an adult, you are allowed to go wherever you want. She has no leg to stand on. Besides your wolf, and the police know that wolves belong here." I sighed in relief. But something told me she would still try to think of something to make me go back, and I would rather die than go back to her place.

"It won't come to that, Sunshine," Riley assured me. I sighed. I hoped he was right.