Author's Note: I swore I wasn't going to update this story until one of the other ones were finished, but I couldn't stay away. Don't worry, the other stories will be continuing. In fact, Sweet Surrender should be wrapped up soon. I hope you're enjoying a different twist on our favorite couple; it's my first attempt at writing anything remotely close to this genre so please take it easy on me.

Chpt. 2 APOV

"Please…If you could just stop and let me out, I won't tell anyone what I saw I swear," I plea with the driver. "I have some money in my bag, not much-"

"We don't want your money, ma'am," the driver says without glancing back at me.

"Whatever I have it's yours. Please just let me go," I just make out the strap of my in the corner of the van, behind one of the wolves.

"Can't do that ma'am; I'm under strict orders to bring you-"

"Oh God, we're not going to back to Vegas are we? Please you can't….I can't go back there," panic engulfs me to the point that I can no longer hear the driver talking to me. I can't go back to Tony; he'll kill me if they bring me back to him. He's right; no one walks away from Tony. I knew he would send people after me, but I wasn't expecting this. I've got to get out of here; I have to escape before we make it back to Vegas. I have no idea where we are; we could be minutes from one of Tony's businesses where they're meeting him. Jumping from a moving van probably isn't the safest option, but right now it's my only option.

"GGGGGGRRRRRRRRRRR"

Before I can even take a step towards the door the wolf that's been staring at me since we got in the van growls out at me instantly having me backing up against the side of the van.

"Please," I sob.

"Ma'am, we're not going to Vegas," the driver practically screams.

"Where? Where are you meeting Tony?"

"I don't know who Tony is ma'am. All I know is Taylor contacted me to pick him and Christian up at the farmhouse."

"Where" (hiccup) "are you taking" (hiccup) "me?"

"Wyoming," he answers quickly.

"Wyoming? But that's…."

"About 12 hours from Vegas. You were more than 8 hours from Vegas when I picked you up from the farmhouse and we've been headed east since then. I assure you we're not going to Vegas or to whoever Tony is."

"I don't understand."

"I'm sure you don't ma'am. As soon as we get back, Christian will be able to explain things better than I can do while driving."

"How….how did I get so far from Vegas? I shouldn't have been that far away; there's no way I hiked that long before…"

"I don't know all the details but as I understand it, Christian carried you on his back. Wolves are very fast animals and would have made up more ground faster than you could have walking or even running."

I stare at the wolf that is still staring at me, almost as if he expects me to try to escape again…which I suppose is warranted. I don't understand any of what's going on and how he could have carried me running through the woods. The last thing I remember was watching him and the other wolf attack the bears who I was certain would kill me. I wish I would have thought to pack a knife or gun, but I knew if I even tried to it would have tipped Tony off to what I was planning. The next thing I remember was being shut in the van with both of the wolves. I don't know if I should believe the driver, that we're not in fact heading towards Vegas. I want to look out the front window, to confirm what he's saying but I'm afraid to turn my back on the wolves.

"They're not going to hurt you," the driver says.

"Then why is the one is staring at me like I'm a piece of steak?" I snap back.

The driver as the balls to fucking laugh at me, like I'm the crazy one! Hello….there are two wolves trapped in the back of the van with a woman who is injured and probably a third of their size. Hell, I just watched them take down three bears who were bigger than them. And the driver thinks they won't hurt me.

"It's not in their nature to hurt humans unless it's warranted," he says as if that explains everything.

"Maybe wanting to eat me warrants it," I mumble.

"I assure you it doesn't."

I take a deep breath, holding it as I slowly turn my head to look out the front window. There are large mountains in front of us and not much more than that. As I cautiously look out around us, I slowly let out the breath I was holding realizing that it's very likely that the driver was telling the truth and that we're not heading back to Vegas. I've traveled enough with Tony to be familiar with the look of the areas near Vegas where his businesses are kept and none of them were in areas that looked like this. Of course that doesn't mean that Tony didn't have business locations that I didn't know about but even so if we are heading to Wyoming that seems too far for Tony to venture.

"We're really not going to back to Vegas."

"I've been trying to tell you that ma'am," the driver chuckles.

A movement catches my eye and I immediately turn to watch the wolf in front of me lay down which moves his head closer to me. A glance back confirms the other wolf is also laying down in front of the back doors of the van. His eyes are closed, but the way his ears are twitching tells me he's listening to everything going on around him.

What the hell am I saying?

My eyes drift back to the wolf lying down in front of me, his head inches from my leg. I fight the instinct to bring my legs up to my chest and wrap my arms around them only because I'm afraid the sudden movement will make the wolf attack me.

"We have about another hour or so until we're home if you want to take a nap-"

"A nap?"

Is he crazy? He wants me to nap with two giant wolves in here with me? So the minute I close my eyes they can attack me?

"I assure you ma'am you're perfectly safe back there; they won't hurt you whether you're awake or asleep-"

"I…I'm fine. I'll stay awake until we get wherever we're going and I can find a place to stay."

"Something tells me that won't be a problem," he chuckles again but for the life of me I can't figure what the hell he finds so funny about this situation. Come to think of it, why isn't he freaked out by the wolves? How is it he knows they won't hurt me? How did they contact him? I doubt they have cell phones hidden in their fur somewhere. A giggle escapes me at that thought and the wolf in front of me lifts his head, tilting it to the side as if he's questioning me. His soft, almost comforting grey eyes find mine and I can't look away in that moment and I'm not sure I want to which makes no sense.

I must have a concussion.

That's the only rational explanation; I hit my head when the bears tried to attack me and now I'm hallucinating. Hallucinations can be a side effect of a concussion…right? It has to be what happened, because animals that shift into humans don't exist. Wolves rescuing people from a bear attack and then taking them hours away from a dangerous man who wants to kill them doesn't happen. This is all either a hallucination or a dream. With the understanding that nothing around me is real, I stop fighting the heaviness in my eyes allowing them to close a few moments later.

CPOV:

"What do you want to do with her?" Taylor asks nods towards the van as if I need him to tell me who he's talking about.

"I have no fucking idea."

"She's it, isn't she?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Yes you do. She's your-"

"Cut the crap Taylor, you know I don't believe in that shit."

"I also know I thought it was all a bunch of shit until I found Gail, then it all changed. You'll understand, you'll see."

"She's not my mate," I growl.

"You sure? 'Cause I've never seen you so possessive over someone before. You were ready to fight me for daring to touch her."

"She was hurt-"

"That wasn't it and you know it. You didn't want me touching her; you told me she was yours."

"Look, just stay here for a few minutes. I need to shift and throw on a pair of clothes. She'll probably freak out more if she wakes up and finds a naked man in the van with her all of a sudden. Just give me a minute, I have clothes on the porch."

He nods, and I quickly run to the back of the cabin waiting until the van is out of view before shifting back into my human form. I would have done it right there but with my luck she would have chosen that moment to wake up and look out the window. This is going to be hard enough to explain, but having her see it happen? Probably not the best option.

A human being my mate? That's even crazier than the idea that there's someone out there, specifically marked as mine. That the other person is imprinted in your DNA so that you'll never love anyone else in your entire life. That you'll never truly be happy or satisfied with your life until you meet that person. That when you finally find that person and claim them, it will be as if the two of you become one. You'll be able to feel the other's pain, their emotions and even sense what is going on with them when they're not around.

It's all fucking bullshit if you ask me.

Pulling my shirt over my head, I step around the cabin to where Taylor is still guarding the van. Sawyer took off the moment we arrived, having the nerve to wish me luck before heading back to his own cabin. I have no idea what I'm going to fucking do, but I can't leave this woman alone. I need to know her story, to know who hurt her, to know what she was doing in the middle of the woods in the middle of the night.

"There's an extra set of clothes on the porch," I tell Taylor incase he wants to shift here. All cabins in our pack always have at least two sets of extra sweats on the back porch. Sometimes you get called back when you're on a run and don't have time to get back to your own place. Sometimes plans change when you're running and someone else's cabin is closer.

"I'm good, I'm eager to get back to Gail," Taylor says.

"Thanks….for your help with her."

"Anytime. For what it's worth, mate or no mate, you were right to get involved. She wouldn't have…they had her…"

"I know."

He nods at me and takes off into the woods behind my cabin; he'll be at his place in only a few minutes. We've been best friends since we were little so it only made sense for our properties to border one another when it was time for us to move out on our own. I slowly approach the van parked in my driveway, opening the door as quietly as I can. I let out the breath I didn't know I was holding when I find the young woman still asleep in the van. She must have been exhausted when she finally fell asleep because she didn't once move. Not when Sawyer drove up the long dirt driveway; not when the three of us got out of the van and certainly not when even before all of that I nuzzled her obviously sore ankle. Even looking at her now, watching her sleep, my wolf is pushing me to move closer to her. He's typically pretty passive when it comes to women, not caring one way or the other but with this one it's like he can't stay away. Before I even realize it, I'm climbing into the van, moving closer to the woman.

"What?!" She screams and backs up against the wall of the van where she had positioned herself for nearly the entire drive here only moving when she finally fell asleep.

"You're okay," I quickly assure her.

"Who are you?" she looks in the front seat of the van. "Where's the driver?"

"He went home."

"Where am I? Where are….?"

"You're in Wyoming, outside of my cabin to be exact."

"Wyoming," she sighs in relief. "Who are you again?"

"My name is Christian."

I slowly extend my hand, careful not to scare her.

"Your eyes….."

"My eyes?"

"They're so grey, just like…."

She looks at the spot in the van where I sat as a wolf the entire car ride here. I can practically see the wheels turning in her head as she tries to rationalize with herself that there wasn't two wolves in here with her and that one of them isn't sitting next to her now…as a human. I'd think it was comical if it weren't for the bruises on her face and her bright purple ankle that fuels intense anger inside of me that I can't remember the last time I felt.

"Come inside-"

"What? No, I need to….go somewhere. I need to find a place to hide, I need to get further away."

"You're hurt, you can't keep going. Come inside, you'll be safe here."

"Safe?" she chuckles as if the idea is a foreign concept which I don't understand.

"No one will hurt you again," I practically growl at her; her eyes widen and I immediately regret my tone.

"I-"

"Look," I sigh and run my hands through my hair. "You're hurt and at least for right now you can't put any weight on your ankle. Come inside, get cleaned up and I'll have someone come and check you over."

"Someone…."

"I know you have questions; let's get inside and I'll answer them, I promise," I offer in a last ditch chance of getting her out of the van.

"I wasn't hallucinating or dreaming was I?"

"No you weren't."

"You were….you were really a wolf?"

"Yes."

"And there other one…."

"Taylor yes, but he's gone home now too. It's just you and me."

"Holy shit."

"Something like that," I can't help but chuckle. It's not too often that someone finds out about who we were really are, but their reaction is always the same. "Let me help you inside."

She looks at my extended hand and then back to my face, before ever so slowly placing her hand in mind. Almost immediately my skin tingles when she touches me and by the look in her eyes hers does as well. I shake my head, not knowing what the hell that was about and slowly back out of the van so I can help her.

"I'm fine," she says when I try to put my arm around her back.

"Your ankle is double the size of the other one, you're not fine," I point out desperately trying not to scare her like I did earlier.

"It's fine," she repeats. "It didn't stop me from hiking so I think I can handle getting out of the van by myself."

"Adrenaline probably-"

She doesn't listen and decides to get out of the van herself; it wasn't standing right next to her she would be on the ground right now. Her ankle refuses to support her weight which I knew would happen and she cries out in pain. Before she can collapse on the ground, I have her in my arms, cradling her against my chest before bringing her into my cabin. She sniffles against me, but thankfully doesn't argue not that I think she can right now. Once in the living room, I settle her on the couch and put two throw pillows under her ankle.

"Thank you," she mumbles.

"I'm going to grab your bag out of the van, don't try to get up until I get back," I warn before heading back outside.

I have no idea what the hell I'm doing with her or what the fuck I was thinking when I told Sawyer to take us to my cabin. I could have taken her to my parents' cabin; my father is the alpha of our pack, it's his role to handle anything that comes up. He would have seen that this woman receives medical care and given her enough money to get her to wherever she was going. But when Sawyer asked me where to go, I immediately said my place. I never even considered bringing her to my parents which makes no fucking sense.

I grab the bag, shaking my head at how few items were even in it to begin with. I get that she left in hurry, but what the fuck was she thinking not bringing anything to protect her? No knife, no gun; nothing to protect her from the wild. Even if the bears hadn't found her last night, she wouldn't have lasted another day or two. Granola bars and trail mix, that's all she had on her besides two bottles of water. How far did she think she would get with that? But after seeing her what this Tony fucker did to her, I doubt that it mattered. It's obvious she was just concerned about leaving and was probably thinking she would figure it out as she went. But why hike through the woods? Why not drive or take a bus or hell call a cab?

I walk back into the cabin, pleased to find her still sitting on my couch. Even though I would have expected she learned her lesson about walking only a few minutes ago, part of me was still worried she would try to do something on her own again.

"I'm Ana….I realized when you were gone I never told you my name."

"Ana," I repeat.

"Thank you for everything you did last night; I don't know if, with everything, if I said that, if I thanked you. I still don't know what happened last night or where you came from or how you even knew I needed help-"

"I heard you scream, we were only a few miles away so I took off."

"You heard me from a few miles away?"

"Yeah."

"And you were….already a wolf? Or did you….change?"

"Taylor and I were already in wolf form, which is the only way I could have heard your scream from so far away."

"So you're…."

"We're what's called shape shifters."

"I….I thought they didn't exist. That they were just folk tales," her face turns the cutest shade of pink before she continues. "I know there's a few…romance books out there about them, but I thought…you know they were just stories."

"The good books, even those romance ones, were mostly like written by shifters. The crappy ones that make no sense or exaggerate things were written by humans with active imaginations."

"So you're really….a wolf?"

"I'm both human and wolf, yes," I try to explain something I've never had to explain before. We tend to keep our wolves hidden from society knowing that people won't accept that side of us. "Before we get into all the questions I know you have, let's talk about you."

"Me?" she gulps.

"You need medical attention, if I'm not mistaken your ankle is likely broken. The cuts on your hand are from one of the bears last night, but you have other injuries."

"I can't go to a hospital; I just need a place to rest for a few days," she quickly argues. "If….if there's a motel somewhere nearby I have cash that I can get a room until I can move on."

"You're not going to a fucking motel!" I snap not able to hide my anger.

"Look, I appreciate your help last night and today," she sighs. "If I could use your phone I'll call for a cab and –"

"You're not going to a motel," I hiss. "You need a doctor."

"I already told you I can't go to a hospital. You don't understand, my name will be flagged. The moment they try to bill the insurance company it'll alert him. Even if they don't bill the insurance I'm sure he's flagged my social security number or something to alert him-"

"My mother is a doctor, she'll take care of you. No insurance, no paperwork, no hospitals. She has an office set up in her house with everything she'll need to check you over."

"And she's a….shifter too?"

"Yes. My father is the alpha….the leader of our pack."

"Your pack?"

"I'm going to call my mom and see when I can bring you over," I sigh. "I know you have lots of questions, but right now you need to understand that my wolf is going stir crazy seeing you covered in bruises and dried blood."

"Why?" she whispers.

"He wants to go after the fucker who did this to you," I growl.

"Oh."

"So let me get you checked out so it calms him down a little and then I promise I'll answer all the questions going through that pretty little head of yours. Okay?"

"'Kay."

"Now, besides your ankle, your split lip and bruised eye," I grimace as I look over her injuries. "What else needs to be checked out?"

"I….I landed on my wrist," she holds it up and sure enough it's nearly as swollen as her ankle is though the shirt she's wearing was covering it which is the only reason I didn't notice it until now.

"Let's go," without bothering to call my parents I pick Ana up and carry her back out to the van, this time sitting her on the front seat. I should have taken her straight there to begin with, I shouldn't have listened to my wolf that was instant that she come home with us.