He couldn't feel her anymore through their bond but he still felt a tingle of recognition when he finally spied her in the group of people flowing out of the exit. She looked even more beautiful than he remembered. His wolf wanted to run up and lay at her feet until she accepted him as her mate again. He wanted to hide, but he made his arm move when her eyes finally scanned in his direction. Her expectant gaze turned to confusion, but she didn't frown. That was good. It only took her a few seconds to maneuver around all the other people milling about and reach his side. He braced himself for the scent he most feared - that of hers and Nate's intertwined from a sealed bond - but it wasn't there. They'd spent two weeks in Yellowstone together and hadn't mated? It felt like the sun was shining for the first time in two weeks. Maybe he still had a chance.

"Cliff, what are you doing here? Where is my aunt?"

"Her car broke down. She called Alpha Wayne. He sent me. Can I take your bag?"

"No, I'm fine. Are you here to take me home? I need to get back to school."

His wolf whined in his head. She would have let Nate take her bag. "I know. I'm going with you. Alpha Wayne has assigned me as your guard for now."

"I don't need a guard. We caught the Scots and I can take care of myself now."

"They still want the dagger and you're the future Alpha."

From her look, he could tell she didn't want him there. She opened her mouth and he cut her off. "Don't argue. He's my boss. I'm just doing what I was told. If you want someone else, just tell him, he'll understand. I'm not exactly the friendliest guy in the world." Telling his wolf to shut up about how they wanted - no needed - to protect her, he spun around and headed for the door.

Instead of running up to his side and trying to make him smile the way she would have done when they were little, she stayed behind him the whole way to the truck. He unlocked it, then turned to her.

"You can put your bag in the bed behind the cab. It should be fine there."

"I'll just keep it at my feet."

He gritted his teeth and stomped around to his door, again telling the moaning wolf in his head to shut up. Her phone dinged as she was buckling her seat belt. He saw her smile when she looked at the screen and knew it was Nate. He should have punched the guy when he had a chance.

"How's Nate?"

She looked up from her phone with a smile that made his wolf want to snuggle with her and him want to punch Nate even more. "Fine."

He nodded toward the phone. "You should tell your aunt you arrived."

"I already did. That's who just texted me." Her face softened. "Thank you for coming to get me, Cliff. I know this can't be easy on you. I'll tell Alpha Wayne to send someone else if you want. Does he know about us?"

"No."

"Are you completely recovered from the silver?"

The concern in her voice only made him angrier as his wolf whined about how kind she was. He focused on getting out of the parking lot before he answered. "Mostly. How was your flight?"

He saw her shrug out of the corner of his eye. "It was okay. I bought the ticket so late there were no window seats. The guy I sat next to let me take pictures out his window though."

His wolf perked up his ears. "You bought the ticket? Your mate didn't?" He hated that word.

"He offered to."

"I'm surprised he didn't fly back with you."

She didn't answer for several moments, then she sighed. "I'm sorry Cliff."

His heartbeat sped up. Was she going to apologize for breaking the bond? Had she realized Nate was a mistake? "For what?"

"For hurting you. I didn't think it would cause you so much pain. I thought your bond was weak."

"I'm sure I deserved it," he said bitterly.

"No you didn't. Nobody deserves that."

She probably didn't mean it that way, but it was a shot at him for the way he'd treated her. He felt like curling back up into a ball on the hospital bed and crying like he'd done the day she left. "I'm sorry too Aiyana. If I'd known how much it was going to hurt you, well, I might still have done it. I really was a jerk back then."

"It's okay Cliff. I forgave you a long time ago. I know how you felt about Kyli."

It's nothing to what I feel for you, he wanted to say, but he didn't - he couldn't stomach another rejection from her. "Tell me about Yellowstone."

An hour-and-a-half later she was still talking as he pulled into the farm drive. His wolf was entranced. He was jealous. She barely mentioned Nate's name, probably because she was trying to be nice, but he wanted to have been the one to run over the trails with her and to tease the buffalo. Alpha Miguel came out of the pack house with a smile and a fatherly hug for Aiyana which made Cliff's wolf growl. He quickly turned away and busied himself with the bags of clothes they'd picked up from her apartment.

"I see Cliff told you about my arrangement with Alpha Wayne," Alpha Miguel said, scanning the remaining bags in the back of the truck.

Cliff could feel Aiyana's eyes on him but he didn't look up. "Yeah. It's very nice of you to let me stay here. I figured since we had the truck we might as well get my things now. I hope that's okay. I wanted to get everything I need before I start back to work."

"That's fine."

"How long do you think I'll need to stay? Have you heard anything from Colum's dad?"

"Every day," Alpha Miguel said, grabbing two handfuls of bags. "That's why I suggested to Alpha Wayne that you stay here. Alpha Tamhas, that's Colum's dad, is very adamant that he get the dagger back. He's already sent some people to retrieve it even though I told him that you were on vacation and hadn't made any decisions. I'm pretty sure they're spying on us. I'm surprised I haven't got a phone call yet. Every time someone new arrives they call to ask if you're here."

She sighed. "I'm sorry for all this. I'll figure out a way to pay you for the room."

"Don't worry about it, Aiyana. That's what the pack is for - to help one another. Besides, I'm sure my wife won't mind an extra pair of hands in the kitchen or the garden occasionally."

Aiyana nodded and smiled at the alpha. "I'll be glad to help."

A car turned into the driveway. Both he and Alpha Miguel stepped forward, putting Aiyana and the pack house behind them. Cliff's heart sank when he saw the tall, lean, blond-headed form climb out of the rental car.

"Nate?" Aiyana sounded surprised. Again, Cliff wondered why she'd come back alone. He'd been hoping they'd had a fight or something but despite all her talking she hadn't explained and he hadn't asked because he didn't want to be obvious.

Nate grinned, then rushed past both he and Alpha Miguel to pull Aiyana into his arms, backpack and all. "I missed you."

She wasn't quite smiling, but she didn't look angry either. "What are you doing here? I thought you were going to drive down."

"The plane was available, so I packed up a few things and came today." He kissed her cheek.

She didn't kiss him back, Cliff noticed, although she didn't look disappointed by it. Nate released her and took the bags she was carrying without asking and she let him. Cliff's ever-present temper started growing again.

"What about a job and a place to stay and a car?"

Nate shrugged. "It will be easier to find all that while I'm here, and I'm going to buy a used car, that way we'll both have a vehicle once mine gets here."

"You're going to let me use your car?" Aiyana asked softly. Cliff hated the way she was looking at Nate but he couldn't turn away.

Nate shifted all the bags he was holding into one hand and lifted Aiyana's chin with his free hand. "Our car."

He forced himself to look down before their lips met. "Which room shall I put these in, Alpha Miguel?"

"Up the stairs, green door."

"You're staying here?" he heard Nate ask Aiyana just as he reached the front door to the house.

"It's temporary," she said.

"It's for her protection," Alpha Miguel added.

"Maybe I should just hand them the dagger and this will all be over," Aiyana sighed.

"Is that what you want to do?" Alpha Miguel asked.

"I don't know. It's just a dagger, but my dad must have taken it for a reason. I wish I knew why."

"Alpha Wayne and I have discussed this. We think you should let the council decide. The annual meeting is in Texas in two weeks. We can present the case then. That will give us time to do more research and maybe even find some evidence linking him to your parent's death. No matter what is decided, it will make it harder for Alpha Tamhas to act against you once everyone knows the circumstances and knows who you are."

She nodded. "I like that. Next time he calls tell them that's what we're going to do."