Mary was halfway through her work shift when she received a text from her brother. Marcus wanted her to come over. She thought nothing of it.

That was until the person who opened the front door was someone she didn't recognize. He looked robust in frame and the heavily sun-kissed skin told he worked in the fields a lot. She had nothing against it at all. Actually, he looked charming when he smiled at her.

"Mary!" her brother shouted from inside their home.

Mary glanced inside before returning her eyes back to the unknown man. "Who are you?"

"I'm sorry. My name is Benjamin. I'm a friend of your brother," he said and brought his hand out for her to shake.

She shook it just as her brother appeared from behind. He grinned when he saw Mary.

"So glad you could make it," he said.

"Well, you told me to buy cake," Mary said and looked down at the cake in her hand.

"Dani has been asking about it. I figured I might just kill two birds with one stone. You know?" he chuckled and opened the door wider for Mary to enter.

They walked further inside before two twin boys came running out. They screamed Mary's name and wrapped their limbs around Mary's legs. Jonathan and Joey were little rascals and enjoyed making their auntie miserable.

"Auntie Mary, guess what? Guess what?" the two four years old boys asked in unison.

The mischievous looks in their eyes told her there was more behind those questions. She was half afraid to ask, but she loved them terribly.

"I won't take the bait unless you two boys release me," she posed with a tilt of her chin to show them she would not deal.

Slowly, she felt the weight on her legs lifted. With a smirk, she handed the cake to Marcus and crouched down to look at them eye level. Both boys looked like their father. The replica in hair and smiles.

"Alright. I'm ready. What's up?" she asked them.

Joey leaned over immediately, "Daddy got a secret."

"A big secret!" Jonathan added without whispering.

Joey threw his brother a glare. "Johnny, you weren't supposed to say it out loud."

A brisk chuckle from behind her caught them all by surprise. She lost her balance with Joey's weight and fell backward, but powerful arms caught her. Immediately, she realized that Benjamin didn't leave. He stayed behind to watch their interaction and caught her in time before they all tumbled to the hardwood floor.

"Whoa there," Benjamin laughed.

"He's the big secret," Jonathan leaned in to whisper in his Auntie's ear.

Confused, Mary frowned as Benjamin hoisted her up, and the boys straightened. Now that they were all standing, she turned around to look at Benjamin.

"I'm sorry, you caught me by surprise," she apologized quickly.

"Mary, Benjamin, boys come and sit down," Marcus said from the dining room.

Daniela stepped out from the kitchen with a bowl of salad in one hand and the other on her back. Mary smiled immediately when she saw her sister-in-law.

"Oh, you are glowing, Dani," Mary said and walked over to hug her sister-in-law tightly.

"I'm fat, Mary," Dani laughed.

"You are not fat. You look beautiful," Mary argued.

"That's what I tell her every day," Marcus said from the head of the table.

Daniela moved to sit the bowl of salad down on the table before pointing her fingers to the two seats to opposite from her.

"Please sit," she urged both Benjamin and Mary.

On a normal evening, Mary would sit to Marcus's left and Daniela would sit to Marcus's right while the boys would sit next to their mother. However, tonight was different. They had a guest.

Mary was about to pull out her chair, but Benjamin beat her to it. He pulled out her chair. She didn't think about any of it. She sat down in her seat.

While dinner was being passed around the table, she noticed Daniela and Marcus looking at her.

"Mary, remember that one day during your freshman year we went to Austin for spring break. We traveled for a few hours and got stuck on a country road—" Daniela began.

Mary's mind flew back to the old days. She remembered that day. They had wanted to do some sightseeing but ended up stuck on the country road. She also remembered being rescued by a bunch of boys. It was one of memory that she wasn't very fond of because when the boys helped them; they paid extra attention to Daniela but not her.

When they handed them water bottles, Daniela received two to three while she had to ask for water bottles. It was embarrassing. She also remembered a particular blue eye male wolf in the group she thought she had a good connection with but was horribly wrong when the boy set her straight.

She connected the dots, and her gaze flew to Benjamin.

He was that boy.

"Hey," Benjamin smiled in her direction, flashing straight white teeth.

Immediately, she turned her gaze back to her sister-in-law and Marcus. They had a great time in Austin, Texas, but all Mary wanted to do was run back home and hid under her sheets. She remembered an awkward night of kissing Benjamin and Benjamin pushing her away.

She couldn't blame her brother- and sister-in-law, though. They didn't know that this had happened during the trip. She kept it all to herself.

"I don't recall," Mary lied through her teeth.

Daniela and Marcus looked slightly disheartened, but they said nothing. Benjamin looked slightly relieved. Mary was glad though when they didn't press her to further remember. Dinner continued with a little talk about the past.

Mary gulped down her dish. She needed to get out of there fast, but she had too much hope. Benjamin started a conversation with her.

"So, what have you been up to, Mary?" Benjamin asked. "You look... amazing. Different from when you were fifteen."

"Nothing much," Mary answered with a shrug.

"She's a chef at one of our local restaurants," Daniela said with a gentle smile.

Mary stared at her half-eaten plate. She knew Daniela meant well. Her brother, too. They both loved her so much. They wanted to see her happy. They also knew how much Mary wanted to start her life, but Benjamin? This couldn't be happening.

"A chef? Wow. You can cook?" Benjamin said in interest. "That's amazing. Maybe you can teach me—"

She slammed her eating utensils a little too hard onto the table. Mary pushed her chair back.

"I'm sorry, I have to use the restroom," she lied and stood up.

She didn't wait. Mary made a run for the hallway. She needed to escape. Now, she knew what the twins meant. This was her brother's surprise.

"Mary," her brother said from behind her.

She stopped to look at him. They were safely out of earshot.

"You don't like him, do you?" Marcus said knowingly.

"I want to leave," Mary announced.

"Why? He's a great guy—"

"That guy out there rejected me when I was fifteen. That guy out there pushed me away when I kissed him. He said he didn't like me the way I liked him," she spits out the truth.

"What?" Marcus stuttered in surprise before his face transforms into anger. "Why didn't you say anything to me?"

"So, you can pummel his face in?" Mary retorted angrily.

"Fuck yes," Marcus growled.

"He's your friend, Marcus."

"He is my friend, but you're my little sister. I'll fuck up any boy that hurts you. Friend or not," Marcus announced.

She shook her head, feeling all kinds of emotions but mostly sadness. She was sad because even though her brother meant well; she wanted to do this on her own terms.

Mary wanted love. That was true. Mary wanted a mate that would cherish her and wipe away her tears. Coddle her when she was sad and make sweet little promises to her. Mary wanted it so much, but not this way.

"Marcus, I—" her voice dropped at the end.

"I'm sorry, Mary. I'll kick him out if it makes you feel better."

"No. I just need a minute," Mary shook her head.

"Ok," Marcus said after a minute.

Mary walked into the bathroom. Once she closed the door behind her, she looked at her reflection in the mirror. Even though she was sad, she was also angry. Angry. Her lips pinched, and her fingernails dug into her palms.

Why was this so hard? Why couldn't she be perfect?

She closed her eyes.

I'm leaving today at six.

Her eyes flew open. Mary took out her phone from her pocket and stared at the screen. It was already past six in the evening.

She looked out the window of the bathroom. The sun has set.

Suddenly, she made a decision. A decision for herself.

She took a leap of faith.

Turning towards the window, she opened it and slid it up. Putting one leg over the ledge, she hesitated. Turned to look back at the bathroom door. She thought about Marcus, Daniela, and the boys.

Could she really do it?

Could she really chase her dreams and choices?

This was her choice.

She won't be able to blame anyone but herself.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

Before jumping out the window towards her fate. When her feet touch the ground, her heart sped up. Mary began dialing Alpha Ivan's number. On the fourth ring, he picked up.

"Mary, what can I do for you?" Alpha Ivan asked.

"Alpha Ivan, I-I need to know if Alpha Ryker and his pack left yet?" she asked.

"Yes, they left about twenty minutes ago," he replied.

She still had time, but she'll have to shift to catch up and that means she couldn't carry anything with her. Immediately, she focused her energy on her shift. Her wolf pushed forward, her bones cracked and fur sprouted on her skin. Her phone dropped to the clean-cut grass. Her clothes shredded in an instant.

Mary didn't waste another minute.

She ran straight into the woods behind her brother's house to escape any unwelcome attention.

Her wolf's brown fur flew in the wind. It felt amazing, but not as amazing as the way her muscles worked hard in accommodating how quickly she was moving. If she calculated correctly, she could catch up to them before they hit the busy highway.

Mary needed to catch them before they hit that highway, or it would be too late and it would force her to return. Her brother would definitely stop her then.

Faster.

Faster, Mary!

Run.

Fifteen minutes flew by. Foreign excitement crawling through her in a way that she couldn't explain. This was the first time she chose for herself.

She catches sight of the country road ahead. Vehicle lights rounded a corner and flashed her way. Encouraged, she kicked harder on the ground.

Closer and closer until she jumped right in front of the fast-moving jeep. When they came, they came without driving a vehicle. They ran in their wolf forms, but because they were taking a different route home; they rent to blend in with the humans.

The jeep came to a screeching halt.

A second later, doors clicked open and slammed shut.

"What the hell?" one enforcer said in surprise when he saw Mary's wolf.

"Who is that?" Abraham asked curiously.

Ryker pushed away his pack members and stood in front of Mary. His eyes swept over her wolf and then looked deeply into her eyes.

"Mary."

He recognized her!

"Mary? What is she doing here?"

"Was this why you waited another 30 minutes before leaving?" Abraham questioned.

Ryker didn't answer. He knelt down and ran his hands through her fur. She pushed against his hand with her muzzle, hoping he understood that she wanted to shift and a change of clothes.

Luckily, he understood. He stood up and walked to the back of his jeep and opened the door to look through the back. She padded after him. She watched him dig through a black duffle bag before pulling out some clothes. He handed them to her.

She put it between her teeth and walked into the woods again. From the scent on the clothes he gave her, it was his. The shirt reached right below her butt and the sleeping pants were baggy, but she tugged on the strings and tied them.

Once Mary made sure everything covered and won't slip off, she ran her hands through her brown hair and stepped back out into the light. All males that were waiting on her turned when they heard her. Ryker's eyes swept over her and it felt like fire licks. She felt it on every inch of her body.

"You coming?" Ryker asked, even though he already knew the answer to his question.

Mary was leaving.