Kissing her back was the best idea ever or the worst one ever.

Ryker couldn't get over it, and he was hating himself for it.

The rules he followed were strict and simple. He vowed to develop no feelings toward females. He turned his focus on his pack. Females-they were just there for satisfaction. There should be no string attached. No emotional attachment.

Why was it so damn hard for him to do that around Mary?

Even after the event, he was still thinking about it. Lying awake in the hotel bed, wondering what the female who was sleeping in the next room was thinking. Was she also lying awake like him? Thinking about the kiss?

Mary... she wasn't what he expected.

Hell, he didn't even register that she had kissed him until she kissed him.

A smile crept onto Ryker's face. He rolled over to his side and tucked his hands underneath his pillow. Staring out the window, he imagined Mary's face from earlier that night when he pulled back from kissing her underneath the moon. The lust that filled those round eyes.

Mary was different. Older than what society would deem mate-able age, but she was naïve and Ryker was falling for those raw emotions that she seemed to display without a thought. It wasn't just her naivety that he liked. He liked how mature she was. How she jumped at the chance for freedom. How she had more courage than others to do what she wants and not care about society rules.

Females rarely travel out of pack unless they are mating with other packs. They are courted by males. It wasn't out of the norm to see a young, beautiful female with a line of males wanting to be her mate.

Sighing, he rolled onto his back and tucked his hands underneath his head. He closed his eyes and forced himself to sleep.

Hours later, he woke up to the sun glowing through the open window of his hotel room. The white cotton comforter rolled down to his waist. Yawning, he stretched his body and got out of bed.

Glancing at the alarm clock on the nightstand, he saw that it was a little after eight in the morning. He quickly showered, brushed his teeth, and did a quick, careless comb through his hair before walking out of the bathroom and searching through his duffle bag for clothes to wear.

He pulled on a pair of classic dark denim blue jeans, a lightweight black rocker shirt, and slipped his arms through a leather jacket with narrow lapels. Sitting on the bed, he slipped on his black combat boots.

Once done, he grabbed his bag and headed for the door. They needed to leave early to arrive at his pack in time.

In one hand he had his duffle bag. In the other hand, he held his phone and started texting Abraham. He finished texting for them to get ready when he heard the door next to him open. Glancing up, he saw that Mary had also stepped out of her hotel room. Her eyes found him immediately.

Last night's kiss appeared immediately. Neither of them spoke, but a blush appeared on Mary's cheeks. She broke eye contact first, and he was a little disappointed. Mary's confidence last night was unexpected but welcomed. He found her initiative to kiss strongly attractive.

"So, wh-where are we going?" she asked, still not looking at him.

"Are you asking me or the floor?" He looked down at the white casual shoes she had on. He had asked Abraham to have someone find her some clothes to wear.

Her head shoots up.

"You," she answered with a displeased frown.

He fought back a smile.

"We need to leave soon. It will take us several hours to reach home. Are you hungry? We can grab something in the lobby before we head out," Ryker asked.

She nodded, thinking if it was going to be several hours, she would like to eat something. "That will be nice."

They walked together to the elevator, silent to the lobby. When they stopped downstairs, we met Abraham and the rest of the enforcers. They were yawning with disheveled hair. Some of them looked like they rolled right out of bed and threw on whatever they could find that was clean.

"We'll have some breakfast before we leave," Ryker informed them.

The enforcers grumbled their answers. It sounded like pure mumbling. They all looked exhausted.

Abraham scratched at his temple and yawned for the second time, "I need coffee, or else I will not be good company."

He walked straight to the dining area while the other enforcers followed. Mary smirked at the enforcer's reaction. They all came home late last night. Ryker walked ahead with Mary following closely behind him.

After breakfast, they all hopped into the jeep. Ryker's pack hid in the high mountains on private land. Driving by vehicle, they can only reach the outskirt of the territory. They must run in wolf form the rest of the way home.

Halfway to the midpoint, everyone has fallen asleep except for Mary and Ryker. They remained in comfortable silence until Ryker couldn't hold it in any longer. He turned to glance at Mary, who was looking out the window.

"Why did you leave?" he asked, breaking the quiet environment.

She turned her head abruptly to look at him. Before turning to look out the window in front of her. Sighing, she leaned back and crossed her arms over her chest protectively. The green t-shirt she has on was a little big on her but fits her comfortably. The color highlighted the brown coppers of her hair and eyes.

"I'm twenty-five and waiting for something to happen in my life. Marcus is sweet. Loves me to death, but he can overbear. I just needed-" she sighed and moved to smooth some hair behind her tiny little ear, "I don't know what I am saying."

"You needed to do something for yourself. You needed to open your wings," Ryker answered for her.

She chuckled softly. The soft sound flowing quietly in the quiet vehicle. A snore came from behind them. Ryker glanced behind to see Cole, one of his enforcer's head nestled on Abraham's shoulder.

"Wings? Funny how you say that when we are werewolves. I need to find myself and I wish I could find it easily where I was at but I couldn't. I think a part of me-is begging to be found? Do you know what I mean? God, I must sound like an imbecile right now."

"No," Ryker answered with a shake of his head. His eyes returning to the empty country road. Believe it or not, but Ryker knows exactly what she meant. He felt that way one time too. There was one time in his life where he wanted more than what it gave. Ryker's hands tightened on the wheel.

"I know what you mean," Ryker replied.

"You do?" she asked.

"I do." He turned to look at her. "Don't worry about it. I think you made the right decision."

She laughed quietly and broke eye contact to look back onto the road. "Do you think I would find what I am looking for at your pack?"

She didn't see it, but Ryker smiled then. He hoped that she did. That whatever she was looking for was there. Maybe then she'll stay. It has been a long time since Ryker met someone like her. People were satiated with what they have. They want nothing more or nothing less. There is nothing wrong with that at all. So, whatever she was looking for, whether if it was love or success, he hopes she finds it there.

"Can't see into the future, but I hope that you do," he replied honestly.

At that response, Mary felt her heartstring tug. She changed the subject.

"What about you? What's your story?" she asked.

He smirked then. "Do you mean to tell me you haven't looked me up?"

If only he knew what she had done. A blush appeared on her cheek and she laughed nervously.

"Yeah, right," she replied before clearing her throat. "I mean, I heard stories about you but there is very little and sometimes the information given is false. I rather hear it from you directly."

He cast her a side glance before returning his focus onto the country road. The sun was setting in front of them and cast a warm shadow on the trees on the side of the road. The sun upon his sun-kissed skin though was a different story in Mary's opinion. He looked even more handsome right now.

While waiting for an answer, Ryker pondered over the many reasons he shouldn't talk about his life, but with Mary, he couldn't resist. He could only conclude that he was comfortable with her to where he didn't mind talking about his life.

"It has been Abraham and me for a very long time," Ryker replied, his mind flying back to the old days of just the two of them.

"How did you get to where you are right now?" Mary asked.

Ryker could remember it like yesterday. He ran away when he was sixteen. Left his brother alone to fend for himself. He thought he didn't need anybody else. He was wrong. Ryker learned more than he could ever within that year he was on his own. He learned that the world was cruel and you can't be alone in a world like this.

When he returned to Abraham, he was eighteen and broken.

He owed Abraham a lot. Abraham did everything he had to turn Ryker around.

"Would you believe if I told you I am lucky?" Ryker asked.

Mary scrutinized him. A man like him-he was rough all around and she could seriously sense some walls like he had somehow blocked the world from getting to him again.

"No," she replied.

He ripped his eyes from the road to look at her for what seemed the hundredth time. Both their eyes connected and Mary knew she was right. Ryker wasn't lucky.

"How would you know?" he retorted.

"I don't know, but am I right?" she asked.

He nodded before looking at the road.

"I've learned that to survive this world, you shouldn't wait for luck. You should take life by the hands and fly with it because only you can change the course of your fate," he answered her.

The car came to a rolling stop in front of a small cabin. Vehicles parked in a gravel parking lot. The lights inside the cabin were off. The place was vacant. Ryker pulled up to one vehicle and turned off the ignition.

Everyone began rousing from their sleep and rubbing at their eyes. Ryker stepped out of the jeep. Mary's eyes scanned the terrain. Thick masses of trees stretched for what looked like miles. The incline of the terrain to continue in an upward motion until it touched the sky.

The sun had already almost settled over the horizon already. Very little light lit their way. Ryker opened the door and handed her bag of clothes to her.

Everyone else was getting ready to leave.

"We run in wolf forms the rest of the way. Do you think you can keep up?" Ryker asked.

Mary knew why he asked. Alpha Solomon's pack was flat terrain compared to Ryker's territory. She has never run up mountains like these before, but Mary was stubborn. She didn't admit it. She only nodded her head.

"I can do it," she replied.

Ryker didn't respond to her announcement. He only nodded his head that he heard her and continued into the woods with the rest of the males. Mary knew why he disappeared into the woods with them. They were going to shift. Clutching her bag to her chest, she walked a little farther away from them. When she found a private area but within earshot, she stripped, folded her clothes back into her bag, and shifted into her wolf.

Shifting is a norm for werewolves who do not live in the cities. If you do it often, it becomes easier. When Mary shifted completely, she nipped her bag between her teeth and kicked her paws towards the group. They were waiting for her and seemed to tower almost over her form.

Slowly, Ryker's enforcers, Abraham, and Ryker surrounded her. Ryker staying ahead of them. Ryker was the first to run. Mary followed and the rest of the enforcers continued to maintain a circle around her. Oddly, Mary has never felt safer than ever, and she was grateful for Ryker's thoughtfulness.

Running through the woods though was a unique feeling. Mary felt this when she ran to catch up to them that night. A sense of overwhelming freedom mixed with anxiety. It gave her a weird adrenaline that ran through her veins and pumped through her heart.

She was finally here.