Layla looked up at her friend, stunned. Stung, she pushed up off the couch and headed for the door. “I shouldn’t have come here. I expected you to support me.”

“Support you in what? Being stupid? Not dealing with the thing you need to keep you from going insane? I am supporting you, Lay. This guy is your mate. You said yourself that he’s funny, good in bed and nice. He’s fine with the bond. You’re lucky!

Instead of dealing with it like you usually do, you’re throwing a tantrum. You can’t change anything with this behavior. This drama queen thing is a sign.”

“A sign? What are you talking about?”

“The longer you go unanchored the less rational you’ll be. Look at yourself! You’re a take-charge person. You rarely ever whine about things. You deal. Period. I’m worried about you, Layla. You aren’t yourself right now.”

“I’m fine.” Taking satisfaction in the sound of the door slamming behind her, she left.

Chapter Three

Layla stomped out to her car and drove away. She headed east and tried to think about everything that had happened. She’d worked so hard to advance at her job. It was difficult being taken seriously as a woman in her field. And she was young, another thing she’d had to overcome. A curvy red-haired woman who was young and attractive wasn’t something she complained about being in her day-to-day life, hell, it opened doors for her, she knew that. But it was hard to get past in the corporate world.

Three days before she’d been focused on her career and there had been nothing but clear pavement between her and another promotion. But with a mate she now had to navigate around how yet another person would react to her choices. It was hard enough dealing with her mother who never stopped complaining that she spent too much time on her career and not enough time on her family. Now she had to deal with a man. Not a man, the man.

And here she was with a big old wrench thrown into her plans by that man! As it was, all she could think about was Sid Rosario. She wondered if he was upset or hurt by her running off. She didn’t want this. She wanted her old life where she was free to stay late at work, free to work on a Sunday, free to get up and work in the middle of the night if she needed to.

She wasn’t some human who had no idea what she was in for. She was born a wolf, had seen wolves around her mate and watched their lives change in revolutionary ways. Was she ready for that? Did she even want to be? Was she ready for the level of dedication and involvement from her mate? Her DNA was now altered with his claiming of her. She was changed forever.

Frustrated and frightened, she slammed a palm against the steering wheel.

She needed to run. Running always calmed her, and she felt her wolf begin to agitate within her, needing release. Maybe she could think of a way around this mess if she could get a little bit of calm and stop obsessing about Sid for a few minutes.

Pulling her car onto a side road near where Cade’s new house in the woods was, she hid her things in the wheel well and went to the tree line to shed her clothing. The scent of the wild teased her senses, soothed her as she fell to her knees and let her wolf take over her body.

Her humanity slid away as her fur rose and the world was black and white and gray and yet sharp and vivid. The scent of her surroundings painted the air—the moss on the trees, the mushrooms in the dead tree trunk, the squirrels and the rabbits that scurried out of the way as they scented her.

Nose up, she drew in the universe through her senses and the world was suddenly right again. There, covered in a pelt coppery and fiery red and gold, things were simple again.

And she ran.

* * * * *

Sid hung up the phone, pissed off. He’d been trying to call Layla for the last day and a half and even had showed up at her place, and there was no sign of her. Her scent, now their scent, was cold enough that he could tell she hadn’t been around since early the day before.

He paced, his wolf agitated and worried. He never should have let her leave. A newly bonded female wolf needed the tri-bond, and each hour that passed without it happening put her in danger and made her less rational. She was already surprised and stressed out and that would only be exacerbated by the lack of the anchoring bond.

He picked up the phone and dialed Adam, who told him where Tia lived and that he’d meet his cousin there.

Not knowing what to expect, Sid was happy Tia seemed so happy and supportive of the bond. He was less happy to hear about Layla’s agitation and that it seemed so far out of her normal character.

It wasn’t just that he wanted to protect her—he needed to protect her. As a male werewolf, the mate bond was the ultimate commitment. Her needs were paramount.

Knowing she was out there somewhere, upset and agitated, tore at him.

“Do you have any idea where she could be?”

“She always runs when she’s upset and Cade, my Alpha and her brother, has a big house on a lot of acreage. She may have headed up there.”

“Will you show me? Adam, will you go back to my hotel? I’ll need an anchor and I’d be honored if you were our tri-bond.”

“No! Look, part of what had Layla upset was the thought of having sex with someone I’ve…had sex with. Do you have any other cousins or family members who could help? Any other Pack members who outrank you?”

“Oh, I hadn’t thought of it that way.” Sid looked at Tia and thought. “Adam, call Shane please. He’s on break from school visiting Aunt Jennifer down in Portland. I just talked to him a few days ago. Will you ask him for me? I need to go and get her.”