Mary's muscles were screaming for rest. The incline of the mountain was ridiculously high. She was running out of breath. Everyone around her seemed perfectly fine while she wanted to give up and fall to the ground.

A quick glance around her and she noticed how much more muscular in forms their wolves are. They seemed to be exactly what a dominant predator should be while she looked no more like a puppy-fluffy-on second thought as her tongue wagged feverishly in front of her; she looked like a miserable puppy that was about to die of exhaustion.

An inner battle brew inside her mind. A part of her wanted to push, to be a part of this pack but another part of her was telling her to just give up and take a rest. Just when Mary was about to call quits, she noticed that everyone began slowing down to a trot. Relieved, she almost wept and whimpered her pain out loud.

The sound of their paws treading through the dry terrain was as soft as the sound of the night. Quiet. Ryker turned around to face Mary, and she was glad that she was in her wolf form. She must look a complete fright at this point.

When they all stopped, her legs buckled, and she felt like a newborn puppy in front of everyone. Abraham was quick, though. He leaned his body up against her and pushed her back up to a standing position.

Mary took a heavy to inhale of air. Her lungs were aching, her eyes were watery from the lack of air and exhaustion. The climate change up here differed completely from down there. A little denser because of the elevation, but clean. The smell of fresh pine trees entering her nostrils.

Distracted, she wasn't looking at Ryker until she heard the wind change with a whoosh. Looking his way out of curiosity, it startled her to find Ryker naked and human. He stood in front of her in all his glory, like a Greek statue, without a single care in the world.

Her knees buckled again, but for a different reason altogether. The Gods and Goddesses gifted the male in all kinds of ways. She heard someone snorting behind her and immediately realized she had been gawking at him. Snapping her eyes down, she pretended to eye the dirt with obvious interest.

Waiting for him to get dressed, she kept her ears perked. Listening to the rustle of clothes. She wondered why he had suddenly shifted? Were they close?

Ryker appeared in front of her and she made sure not to look until she saw combat boots. Her eyes trailed up the body until a pair of mirthful eyes met hers.

"We are close to our pack town now. You can shift if you would like or you can run in wolf form," he offered.

Mary glanced behind her to one enforcer who kindly had taken her bag after she struggled to hold it in her mouth many miles back. He handed her bag to her. She took it between her teeth and patted over to a high bush that will hide her body from everyone.

When she shifted back to her human self, she changed into old clothes-a green t-shirt, skinny jeans, and white casual shoes. Not wanting them to wait too long for her, she was in a hurry. Grabbing her bag, she ran around the bush and smacking straight into Ryker's hard chest. He caught her before she could fall.

He had also changed into his old clothes but decided against wearing his leather jacket. She was a little disappointed. She rather liked the leather jacket.

Glancing around her quickly, she noticed that everyone had left them.

"Did I take too long?" she questioned guiltily.

"No, they are eager to get home," Ryker explained.

Relieved, she asked her next question. Knowing that everyone must be asleep, she wanted to know where she will stay.

"Is there a place for me to stay?" she asked.

He nodded. "I had Abraham call ahead and had someone clean a small cabin for you. You'll be living close to my house but will have your own privacy."

Should she be disappointed that she would not stay in the same house as him? A little, but she was more excited about the cabin. She loved living on her own.

"That's great," she replied.

"I'll walk you to it. It's several miles south, but if we run, we will make it in just a few minutes," he said.

Horror filled Mary. Her hair strewn all over the place from exhaustion. She must have bags underneath her eyes from the lack of sleep. The traveling has been tiring. Now she has to run? Mary wanted to cry.

Ryker must have seen the emotional roller coaster she was going through internally because he bent down and swept her up into his arms. She released her bag to wrap her arms around his neck on instinct.

"I can run," she argued.

He didn't look at her but started his pace.

"Running up the mountain isn't easy. You surprised everyone here. They thought they would have to carry you when we were a quarter of the way in," Ryker admitted.

It appalled Mary. They had no faith in her. She was glad she didn't give up and proved them wrong!

"You did great, Mary, but I think I can take it from here," he replied.

She should argue and be totally against it, but her muscles were crying for rest. She was weaker than a newborn pup. No point in arguing with him. She accepted his help and rested her head against his shoulder.

Ryker's pace picked up when he felt her give in.

"Their faith in me is unacceptable. I'm not weak," she muttered bitterly.

He didn't respond, but held her tighter against his body.

"What I said back there wasn't to offend you, Mary. Living in my pack, they will question your strength. We are not like others. We train our females and work hard in providing a good living for our kind. Running these woods should be easy if you train hard enough, but for those who try to make it to where we are, it is almost impossible because of our terrain. When you pushed through and made it without help, you have earned admiration from my Enforcers," Ryker explained.

"Admiration?" she frowned. "I thought we were getting along...I considered them as friends already."

"They think the same of you, but now they admire your strength. You just showed them you are not weak and will survive in the pack," he clarified.

Oddly enough, that made Mary happy. They weren't calling her weak. They were testing her to see if she would fit and they approved.

"I have to warn you though, I have many pack members. By tomorrow, everyone will hear of your arrival. Some may welcome your presence, but others are a little harder to please."

"I'm not here to please anyone," Mary argued.

Ryker was running so fast, she could feel the wind whipping against her hair. It was practically putting the ends of her hair into her mouth. She constantly had to smooth them back. Finally, she had no more patience. She kept her hand there to keep her hair from whipping against her face.

"You need not please anyone, but you need to find a place within my pack," he argued back.

She realized what he said held some truth. Was his pack really that wary against strangers? They couldn't be bad, could they?

Finally, Ryker slowed down. She turned her head to look ahead of them and found a little small cabin. It had a small wooden door and a few small windows. Nothing too big and could probably house only one person, but it was comfy enough for her.

Stopping in front of the cabin, he allowed her feet to touch the ground.

"This is where you will stay," and then he pointed to his left, "beyond that valley is my home. If you need anything, swing by. I am usually not home in the morning, but in the evenings I will be."

She nodded her head and followed him as he walked up to her house. On the doorknob was a key. They had left the key on the doorknob. At first, Mary thought that was the weirdest thing ever, but then she realized it made sense since the only living beings up here were his pack members. The trust and loyalty were there.

He twisted the key and open the door before allowing her to go inside.

"It's fully stocked. I had asked the pack members to get every ingredient that they can find," he added, still standing outside but leaning inside to flip the switch next to the door. It lit the entire cabin.

Spinning around, Mary's eyes took in the small little cabin. It was a dainty little cabin. Small little sofa and couches and a kitchen small enough to fit a few guests. Her eyes wandered down the dimmed hallway and figured that was where the bathroom and bedroom.

"It's small, but most of the pack members who are unmated lives alone. We allow the ones that are mated to build bigger homes for family," he explained.

"It's perfect," she replied immediately turning to look at him again.

For a moment, they stood there staring at each other. The sound of the night buzzing in the background.

"I'll check in on you tomorrow before I leave on duty. Have a good sleep, Mary." He ended their night together with an almost lopsided smile.

"Good night," she whispered and watched him walk towards the valley.

Once he was away, she closed the door and locked it before walking around the little cabin. If she had thought the kitchen was small, the bathroom was smaller. She need only take two steps from the door and she's by the shower already. The toilet and bathroom sink were to her right.

She walked to the last room in the house and turned on the light switch by the door. The light illuminated the bedroom. A cherry wood canopy queen-sized bed leaned against the opposite wall. There was a cherry wood dresser and nightstand that complement the bed frame, and a small Aztec rug in the middle of the floor. Maroon curtains hung on the windows.

Sighing, she called today's event a night. She threw her bag onto the ground and crawled into bed, uncaring that she probably stunk like a skunk. Her legs were thanking her quietly as she removed her weight from them.

She fell into a deep abyss of sleep immediately with no trouble.