"Well, Master, he probably feels responsible," Alfonse said in a duh voice.

"Perhaps. What's going on in the pack? Am I needed?" Vane cracked his knuckles, the resounding popping noise sounded harsh in the quiet forest.

"Jones and Rief have been going at it again, though that's under control, for now. Christine has been asking where you are."

Shit. That's just what he needed. He'd tried to date the flirty lykaen before and she just wasn't his type. But damn if she could take a hint. "I told her you were away on business...banging human females, of course." Vane laughed at the lie. "Nah, I just told her you were away on business. Which brings up a question. Where have you been and who are you doing?"

The older man definitely had a way with words. "I'm about five miles southeast of you. I found a cabin down here with a...female in her breeding." A heavy pause.

"Lucky bastard. Are you servicing her? Damn, I should have gone with you and called dibs. Why is she alone anyways? No woman goes unserviced during her breeding. I remember some time ago a women tried and it didn't go so well for her. Extreme pain, sleeplessness, nausea, and so on. Supposedly by the end of her cycle, she was straddling a banana because it was the closest thing she had shaped to a—

"That's enough, Al," interrupted Vane. He really didn't want the visual. He took a deep breath that did nothing to calm his raging nerves at all. "No, it's been complicated. Do you remember King Brunes? Yeah, well, it's his daughter."

"What the fuck do you think you're doing? You're fucking the King's daughter. His only daughter! The man will have you drawn, quartered, and eaten in a delicious stew with a silver spoon. He's a member of the Pride, Vane, the Pride. Nobody touches that princess unless he says so."

"Relax, Alfonse. I have not taken her body. She refuses to let me inside her. I've been helping to ease her pain. That's all." And I've asked her to mate with me, but she keeps refusing.

The relieved sigh on the other end of the line irked Vane. "Thank god. That's a lot of baggage we don't need. I highly recommend you get your ass back here now. Leave while she's still intact with her precious virginity."

"No. I want her, and I'm going to have her. I have already claimed her."

"Dammit Vane, you haven't taken her body so you can still come back. How many days are left in her cycle? If she's lucky she won't still have your scent all over her by time her Daddy comes and gets her."

"No, Alfonse. She is my mate. I can feel it."

The long uttered curse would have been funny in a different situation. "Well, then do what you have to. Though Christine is surely gonna be pissed."

"She'll deal. Call me if anything else happens. Sarina's cycle will be over soon. We only have two days left. I'll be coming home then, with her."

"So I take it I'm moving out? Fine, but I'm taking the spare two bedroom down the road."

"Fine, leach." He hung up and slid the phone into his pocket.

Vane didn't like leaving Sarina in the cabin. It made his gut tighten. Too many things could happen. But still, he had to make his rounds around the forest edge. If he could find this place by her scent alone, then others could too.

Vane patrolled the forest line around the cabin using his lykaen senses. He allowed the caged beast inside him to crack the door open just enough to make his sense of smell acute, his eyes sharper, and his hearing clearer.

Vane stepped swiftly and silently across fallen limps, damp grass, and mushy leaves. As he crossed around to the back of the cabin, he caught wind of something. It was distinctly feminine, and lykaen judging from the earthy, bestial smell, and definitely not Sarina. He hunkered down low to the earth in a flash. The wind was in his favor blowing north and blocking his scent from reaching the intruder. But that might not last long and he needed to act.

Keeping his beast near the surface, he charged through the forest to the scent. His steps were fast and never made a sound. He spotted her as his legs ate up the distance between them. A redhead wearing camouflage, lying with her belly to the ground.

Vane flew at her and landed astride her back. His knees pinned hers together and his hands caught her legs as she reached for something in her belt.

"Oh, no you don't." He pulled her wrists back none too gently, wrapping them in his fist like handcuffs. "Who are you and what are you doing here," he ordered.

The woman gasped and tried to pull her arms back. "I was sent here by King Brunes. He wanted me to check on Sarina to make sure she’s fine."

Vane growled and bent down low to the woman's ear. "If he wanted to make sure she was fine, then maybe he shouldn't have sent her to deal with her breeding cycle alone."

The woman nodded a little quickly. "I know, but he makes the rules not me. I just work for him."

Vane loosened his grip on her but didn't let go. "Well she's fine."

The woman laughed a deep throaty laugh. "I saw that, and heard it too as a matter of fact. However, that doesn't changes the fact that I have to report this to him. That you are here. Who are you?"

Vane ground his teeth together. This was not how he wanted this to go down. This damn spy just ruined everything he had planned. Fuck. He briefly considered tying her up and leaving her in a closet, but he could never pull that off with Sarina. There’s no way he could hide her scent.

"I'm Vane Kategan. Alpha of the Kategan Pack. I have claimed Sarina as mine. She is my mate."

The woman hissed in a breath and scrunched her face to the side to look at him with wide eyes. "You took her during her cycle! The King will be furious; he'll kill you and her. What have you done, Kategan?" The woman was so genuinely outraged that he was momentarily taken aback.

"I have not taken her virginity. She has not permitted it…yet." The female's sigh of relief made him want to punch a tree down.

"But I will, and I haven't stopped trying. She’s going to be my mate, and I'm prepared to fight for what is mine." The woman licked her lips, her eyes getting a faraway look, then she smiled sadly.

"You would be a good mate to her then. Not everyone is so lucky. If you believe she is to be your mate then I wish you the best. But I must still tell the King. Or I will be the dead one."

Vane let the woman up. She rubbed her reddened wrists. "You tell him what you need to tell him, but she will accept my claim. And as far as I'm concerned, she is mine." With that, he turned and strode back the cabin. He didn't care if she stayed and watched them or not. But one thing was for sure, he didn't have much time left with her.

She must be his tonight. He must claim her before then or else risk the chance of losing her to her father. He slammed his fist into a tree. The sharp pain in his hand did nothing to ease the red faze of anger.

Vane found Sarina curled up on the couch, her arms folded tightly around her middle. The vanilla scent of her arousal permeated the cabin like incense. His cock lengthened and hardened at the delicious scent. His hands curled into big fists at the sight of her in pain. If he could do anything to save her from it, he would. And hell, that's exactly what he wanted to do, but she wouldn't let him. Damned woman.

He wouldn't tell her about the spy. She'd only shut down, demand he leave. If she ordered him to go, he was afraid he might actually listen to her. Not because he wanted to go, but because he wanted to please her, protect her.