Adam agreed and said he’d arrange for their cousin Shane to meet them at Sid’s hotel room for the tri-bond.

They took Tia’s car and drove up to where she thought Layla may be, pointing out Cade’s new house.

“She won’t have gone up to the house. They’d scent her and know and make her deal. I’m going to take you down this back road here to see if her car is around. You’ll have to do the rest. There’re about forty acres of forest here.”

“I’ll scent her if she’s here.” He meant to bring her back and make her safe, one way or another.

Tia swore when she saw Layla’s car. “There’s her car right there. Do you want me to wait?”

“No. Because if she gets away from me, I’m going up to that house and enlisting her family to help me.”

Tia laughed. “You’re gonna be just fine, Sid. She’s a good person. Strong. Her family is important to her. Be gentle.”

“She’s my mate. Of course I’ll be gentle. And yeah, I can tell she’s a good person.

Thank you.”

He got out of the car and quickly disrobed, getting to all fours and letting his wolf surface. Nose up in the breeze, he caught her scent, spicy and rich, and tore off into the trees to track his mate down and bring her back.

Layla lay next to a small stream, breathing in the deep loam of the forest floor. The calm she’d had when she first ran was leaving her. As she’d run she’d thought. A lot.

Realized that all her reasons, well, most of them anyway, for resisting the mate bond were work-related. And she realized she didn’t want her life to be all about work any more than she wanted her life to be all about a man. There would be a way to find a middle ground. If anyone could, Layla knew she would do it.

Moreover, Tia was right. All of her whining and drama were not part of Layla’s normal behavior pattern. Her grasp on things became more tenuous the longer she went without the tri-bond. And she missed Sid.

But despite knowing she needed to get to Sid and take care of the tri-bond, worry that he’d be angry at her and not want her anymore ate at her. The weight of the fear held her in place.

She was so lost in her thoughts she didn’t even sense his approach until he pounced, teeth at her throat to hold her still.

Panic filled her and her back legs levered up to push off any male but hers, until he growled, a mixture of comfort and warning. She drew in a breath and scented him. Her mate. Hers. She relaxed and he let go and licked over the spot where he’d bitten her.

A soft whine brought her head around and her heart pounded at the sight of him there. So large and majestic. The most beautiful wolf she’d ever seen. Reaching in, she rubbed her face along his and growled softly. The sound was filled with desire and longing.

He took her there, quick and feral. Large body over her smaller one. His need to have her and mark her as a wolf as well as a man overwhelmed her. After, they lay side by side, her muzzle resting on his back as they let the forest calm them.

After some time she transformed, human eyes looking up at him.

Moving to her knees, she reached out and ran a hand over his ebony fur, thick and soft. Putting her arms around his neck, she hugged him tight and breathed him in.

Loved the smell of him. “Such a gorgeous wolf. I’m sorry I ran.”

And only moments after she’d spoken, his skin was smooth and hard as he transformed back and held her with human arms. “It’s okay. Shhh, it’s okay. Let me take care of you, honey.”

He pulled her against him, into his lap, and kissed her mouth. He felt like he’d come home in her taste. The way her hands felt as they slid up his arms and into his hair, against his skull, burned into him.

“I want to be inside you again. But we don’t have a blanket so will you come back with me? To any place with a bed? We can talk afterward. We’ve got to get the tri-bond dealt with, and today. You understand that?”

She nodded, her eyes clear. “I was afraid you wouldn’t want me anymore. That you’d be so angry because I ran.”

Kissing her again quickly, he added, “Oh, honey. God, it’s so good to hold you. I’ve been crazy without you. I’m not angry. I was worried, yes. And I’d have brought you back kicking and screaming if I had to. But there’s no way on earth I wouldn’t want you. You got scared and things got a bit over your head. It’s okay. I’m here and we’re going to get through this together. From now on, we’ll take turns freaking out so one of us will always be the strong one. You ready?”

And it was the most perfect thing he could have said. Sharing their burdens instead of shouldering them all himself—that last knot of concern in her gut eased from her softly.

“Yes. Oh yes.” She allowed him to help her up and they changed again to run back to where her car was parked.

A short trip to his hotel and they practically ran to his door.

Turning on the hot water in the shower, she let his lips capture hers once again as she discarded her clothes and tossed them aside. A sense of deep rightness followed when his ended up with hers in the same pile. So odd that something so simple would make her feel her connection to him so deeply but it did.

“Come shower with me, I’m all dirty.”

His lips slid into a naughty grin. “I like you dirty. It’s my favorite.”

Laughing, she pulled him into the stall with her, moving so he could share the hot water with her. His hands slapped hers out of the way as he took over the job of soaping her up from head to toe.