I could tell how excited he was to show me where he lived. We toured the Packhouse first, which seemed backwards considering daylight was still fading, but I let him drag me wherever he wanted.

He showed me the main living space, which was a giant log-cabin typical shared space with large tv, a sectional, and several matching chairs to accommodate a good amount of pack members. Then we went to the movie room, game room, conference room, and the leadership offices before going upstairs.

The house only had a handful of guest rooms, as most of the space was needed for the occupancy of the pack. But one wing of the second floor had a few empty rooms. In fact, only one was occupied over there. The second he opened the first door, I realized why.

We stepped into Xavier's room, adorned with wooden furniture cushioned in forest green, a fireplace, a bookshelf and a tv. The closet was an open concept, but had a closeable curtain hanging over it so it was still "put away" from the rest of the space. While there wasn't a balcony, floor-to-ceiling windows on one wall gave a beautiful view of the backyard forestry.

As I walked around admiring everything, I grazed my fingers across his green and white comforter. "What, tattered blankets are only suitable for the truck?"

He choked out a laugh, obviously not expecting me to say that. I was satisfied I had said something he couldn't combat.

"In serious, though," I met his eyes, "I really like the room."

"I'm glad."

I knew why the wing was empty. I would share this with Xavier, and the other rooms would be for our pups someday. The thought brought butterflies swirling up my throat.

Xavier stuck out his hand, "the woods?"

"Yeah." Clasping out fingers together, I let him lead us down the stairs and out the back door. And then he started running and I nearly tripped trying to keep up. "Xavier!"

He laughed, not slowing, especially when he noticed how easily I could keep up once I found my footing. Like how the Royals get special abilities. Do you get something like that, too? Because of your Fox? Xavier's words came back to me. Was running fast part of it too? I was no longer sure what was normal and what were "abilities".

Finally, he slowed to a stop. We were in a little clearing, the woods darkening on all sides of us as the sun fell deeper and deeper. I clung to his arm as we both fought for our breaths. Little puffs of clouds formed in front of our mouths from panting, letting me know how cold it had gotten once the sun didn't touch the trees anymore.

"Xavier," I gasped out when I could form words again, "remember the thing you said about extra abilities?"

"Oh, so now we're gonna talk about it?"

I shot him a look, "well now we're not in a Packhouse that could be full of prying ears!" I didn't wait for his answer, I just kept speaking. "Anyway, the abilities. . . I think you might be right."

His eyebrow quirked. "Yeah?"

"Well, based on that run up the hill-"

"Mountain."

"Hill. Trust me, these aren't mountains."

"Hmm. The maps say otherwise."

"The Rockies are true mountains, these are puny wannabes."

He faked offense, "hey! Don't make fun of our mountains. They're beautiful."

I laughed, kneeling down in the dirt, so I could catch my breath better. Laughing hadn't helped. "The point is, that was still easy. And I'm betting if you and I raced right now, I could beat you."

His quirked eyebrow turned devilish. "Is that what you think? You think your Fox makes you so much better than me?"

I stood back up for effect, placing my hands on my hips. "Yeah," I teased, "I do."

"Think again." He lunged.

I squealed, leaping out of grasp before sprinting away at full speed. I knew I didn't know his territory, but what better way to learn it than to run it in the dark?

Ha! Yeah right! I was definitely getting lost.

I tuned my ears to the sound of his feet thrumming behind me, the swish of trees muting as I pinpointed where he was. Still a few yards behind me. I pushed my legs harder, barely feeling the burn as I picked up speed. The cold, November wind lashing at my face brought water to the corners of my eyes.

Suddenly, the footsteps were no longer audible. I skidded to a stop, spinning in a circle trying to navigate his whereabouts. I must have been focusing too hard, because when he leapt from behind a trunk, I was completely caught off guard.

I screamed and tried to run again, but he had already hooked an arm around my waist, bringing us both to the leaf-covered ground where we rolled over top of each other from the momentum. When we stopped at the bottom of the slope, I was sitting on top of him, my legs on either side of his waist and out chests pressed together. It was a miracle we hadn't bonked heads on the way down. I sat up partially, but made no move to climb off him.

His smirk turned to a grin. "Damn, you are fast."

"You still caught me."

"I had to trick you."

I felt him shift beneath me, and a blush creeped up my neck, making him chuckle. Silently, he reached a hand up and tucked my hair behind my ear, which only made the blush worse, of course.

Breaking our eye contact, I lifted my head to the forest around us. It was quiet, as most things had buried for the night, or for the winter, and it was nearly completely dark out. The house lights were shining between the branches, telling me he had been chasing me back towards the house.

Snap! I sat up completely straight, my ears straining to locate the sound. My heart pounded in my chest and Xavier jumped up with impossible strength and maneuver; my legs were still around his waist. Gently, he lifted me by the hips and set me on the ground, then pushed me behind him as he slowly spun around, inhaling deeply to locate the source.

A second later, Jacob, Xavier's Beta, stepped out of the shadows.

Xavier's entire posture slackened with relief. "Jacob! Man, why'd you have to creep up on us like that?"

Jacob chuckled, and while Xavier was relaxed, I definitely was not. I didn't trust the guy, but I knew that wasn't fair because I hadn't gotten to know him like I knew Andrew. But still, he just put me on edge, and his appearance didn't help with the dark, close-cropped hair, deep-set eyes, and a stubble shadow growing from his sideburns to his chin that highlighted his cheekbones. He seemed like the kind of guy that often forgot his place in the rankings of pack society. Someone that could become manipulative if he wanted to.

Xavier knew him though, way more than I did. And if he hadn't kicked him down yet, then I had to assume he was fine. Maybe he was just a guy that looked scary, but wasn't once you knew him.

Who am I kidding, he would probably put me on edge for the rest of my life.

I hadn't been listening to their conversation while I studied him, but something must have gotten Xavier's attention. His back was rigid again and he was much more alert.

Turning to me, he said softly, "Jacob has made me aware of a sight at the border I need to tend to immediately. Are you okay walking back to the house? My mother will keep you company until I'm back."

The Alpha often served as the head soldier when it came to territory and conflict issues, so I wasn't in any way offended he was sending me back to the house without him. Besides, I could see the building through the trees, we weren't even that far away. No, none of that was concerning. What concerned me was the way Jacob watched me as Xavier's back was turned to him, and how he subtly touched his pocket as I turned away and started my walk to the pack house.

Uneasy, I was almost out of the shadows of the trees when I glanced back to tell Xavier how I felt. But when I did, I collided with a hard chest that didn't smell like anyone I knew from the pack. I opened my mouth, but no sound came out because by then, I was already floating in the abyss.