I slowly sipped my tea as I glanced at my mate, who was sitting beside me on the bench at the table. He was adding cream to his coffee, but I could tell that he was keeping most of his attention on me despite watching the cream pour into his cup. The others were still recovering from their shock. My Omega senses had mostly recovered from the battering of the mate bond, but it still had a ways to go to reach its former level of ability.

He looked at me with his amber eyes, and a smile grew on his lips. He said, "By the way, my name is William, although everyone calls me Will."

His presence and scent had me relaxed in a way that I would not have thought possible. I grinned at him, completely at ease in his presence. "I'm Jade, although you probably know that already."

His silent grin showed that it was not news to him. The Luna shook her head in faint disbelief, although she was happy for us. She said, "It never even crossed my mind that your mate could have been Will."

The Luna, Emily, had decided that we should all grab a cup of tea or coffee while they tried to get over their shock. Will was an Enforcer, and the chances of an Enforcer finding their mate was almost as low as a runt's odds of finding theirs.

Will put an arm across my shoulders and pulled me gently towards him until I leaned against his side. The sparks were gentle and welcome. The burning coal in my senses was no longer overpowering my Omega abilities. It was still the strongest presence in my senses, although I could tune it out if I tried.

"I know what you mean, Emily,” he said. His arm still around my shoulders, and he showed no signs of letting me go anytime soon. “I didn't expect it either. I was so stunned that it took me a few moments to go to her."

I glanced up at my mate; he dwarfed my size, even in human form. I was slender and barely stood over five feet tall, while he was well over six feet and heavily built. In that fashion, he was a typical Enforcer, larger and stronger than most werewolves. I could not figure out how an elite fighter got paired with a runt. It simply defied logic.

I had the strangest urge to run my hand through his short dark brown hair. The mate bond was apparently playing havoc with my usual thought processes, and I was beginning to understand why newly found mates acted so infatuated.

Emily watched us with a grin on her face as she said, "Well, you might as well give her a tour of the place once she finishes her tea. The Alpha will be back tomorrow and will probably perform the acceptance ritual at that point."

One of the guys who I hadn't been introduced to asked, "How is that you don't have any scent?"

I tilted my head as I examined the teenager. "It isn't that I don't have a scent. I just rub various plants on my clothing to mask it."

Phil snorted in good humor. "Yeah, that is what she keeps telling us, but we couldn't differentiate her scent from the trees when we were traveling. I notice it inside since it stands out, but until now, I haven't been able to pick up any scent to indicate that she is there."

Will looked at me in curiosity. "Bruce mentioned that you picked up the scent trails of other rogues. He couldn’t smell anything though."

I tilted my head in thought before replying, "Their scent was slightly different from the surrounding forest. Rogues use a mixture of plants to keep one from being overly strong and noticeable; so, for example, the hint of a willow tree when none are in sight is a dead giveaway. My current scent still has a tang from the cedar trees despite the fact that I haven't seen a cedar tree for two days. I have seen lots of oaks around here, but I haven't used them, so my scent is unbalanced compared to the local forest."

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Phil shook his head as he said, "I would never have thought of that."

I looked at him in confusion. "How else will you ever know if a rogue is around you? It isn't uncommon for ferals to roll in leaves and also have a somewhat similar forest scent."

Andy glanced at Phil with a somewhat concerned expression. Andy said, "She is right, you know. She was almost in the room before anyone even picked up her scent despite the fact that her scent obviously did not belong in the house, and the open windows couldn’t be responsible for that strong of a scent. If a feral did this in the forest where you were running patrol..."

Phil frowned at that thought and glanced in my direction. "Perhaps, once she settles in, she can help us learn to identify such camouflaged scents."

I was still stumped at their inability to notice the differences in such scents. They were wolves, and even mere weeks into life as a teenage rogue, I had managed it. I thought it was a common ability and that the four who escorted me here had been humoring me. I slowly finished my tea while listening to them discuss how they could test out various situations and learn to pick up such scent trails.

Emily smiled at us. "Why don't you and Will go for a run in wolf shape? He can show you around the nearby forest, and if you find anything amiss, you can let us know."

Will looked at me in growing excitement. "Do you want to go for a run? I know we won't be able to mindlink yet, but I would love to see your wolf form."

Smiling somewhat shyly, I said, "Sure, as long as you don't mind going slowly. I'm not the fastest thing around."

He grinned. "I have no problem traveling slowly. It will give me more time to stare at you."

I blushed a bit; no one had ever flirted with me before, so I wasn’t too sure how to react. Andy chuckled as he commented, "Don't irritate her, or she might chew on your ankles. I hear her teeth are quite sharp too."

Phil elbowed Andy so he would stop talking. It had taken half a day for the bite and scratches on Phil's hand to fade. Will raised an eyebrow in askance. I guessed he hadn't heard how they had met me yet. It might be best if he didn't learn about it at this second, though.

It wasn't wise to antagonize Enforcers, and I wasn't sure how Will would react if he learned that they had chased me through a forest and pinned me. A new mate bond was known to cause both wolves to react somewhat unpredictably, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to see how an unpredictable Enforcer may react.

I shook my head and retorted in a teasing tone, "Why would I chew on his ankles when toes are a much more sensitive target?" I rose to my feet and looked at Will. "I wouldn't mind stretching my legs, though. I have been packed around in a basket for the last week."

The distraction worked, and he stood up. He was taller than anyone else in the room, but he towered over me. I didn't even come close to his collarbone. I let him take the lead and followed as he led me out of the kitchen. As we exited the pack house, I looked around. This side of the pack house faced the forest, and there was a large expanse of neatly cut lawn and a big pool. I stretched my arms before shifting.

I shook out my fur and glanced up at Will. If I thought he was big before, he was absolutely massive compared to my tiny wolf shape. He looked enchanted by my wolf form. He knelt down on the grass as he gazed at me with soft eyes.

I walked up to him and put my front paws on his knees. He leaned forward, and I reached up to give his chin a small lick, the equivalent of a shy quick kiss. He smiled as he gently ran his hand along my back, causing sparks to cascade along my spine.

"Your fur is so soft..." he murmured.

Before I realized what he was doing, he managed to scoop me up in his arms as he cuddled me to his chest. He was fast when he wanted to be... I rubbed the top of my head against the underside of his chin as an odd purring sound rumbled in my chest. He gently buried his face in my fur. It felt like I was surrounded by gentle sparks. I listened in contentment to the sound of his heartbeat.

After some time like that, I heard his muffled voice as his warm breath ruffled up my fur. "I am not sure I can put you down after this. I could stay like this all day."

I chuckled and leaned over to nibble on his fingers. After a bit longer, he raised his head to look at me in amusement. He gently put me back on the ground. He stood up and took a step back before shifting. For a split second, it looked like he was concealed by a heat haze before a dark grey wolf stood in front of me.

I blinked in surprise, he was nearly as big as an Alpha, although the large size was common among Enforcers. It was rare for me to see an Enforcer in wolf form - and certainly never up-close when I was also in wolf form. This was a first for me.

I wouldn’t say it out loud yet, but he was handsome. I trotted towards him as he watched me with his amber eyes. I wove a figure eight between his two front paws, leaning lightly against his legs as I walked, enjoying the feeling of the sparks. I was amused to realize that I didn't even come halfway up his legs. I grinned up at him before wagging my tail and darting towards the trees. He immediately followed me.