"Right," my mom laughed. "You will figure something out; I know you will. Just don't leave Dax alone with her for too long, or you might have that scenario actually happen." Mom rolled her eyes as Dad's glimmered with mischief.

"He did get that from my side, huh?" He growled in her ear.

I talked with mom and dad for a few more minutes, mostly mom reminding me to be good to our mate and make sure she is well taken care of. Dad was also concerned about the silver grenade dust and would have some surrounding packs check out the area we were taken from. Of course, dad gave an excellent scolding about how we shouldn't have been caught. With the promise of three-a-day training days when we come back, we cut the communication. Of course, mom made me promise to communicate at least once a week until we came home. Otherwise, she would send the entire Crimson Shadows Pack. Which would be embarrassing.

The Red Wolves Pack was for us to use while we were in the area. Big Claw had even cleared out the most oversized room in the packhouse for us to use if we ever needed it. When the time came, Seraphina would come here and see how our world looks on a smaller level before completely overwhelming her by becoming a princess of a supernatural world. My Wolf was howling in excitement. I hope she'll love it. I'll dote on her all day long, treat her like the princess she was always meant to be.

That was a long way off; I couldn't imagine her wanting to jump into our world so quickly. Then again, she was our mate. Fingers crossed she would accept us, I prayed to the goddess.

Back in my Wolf form, I rushed home, it was getting dark. The sunset was quickly setting the further north you traveled, and I was losing lightfast. Luckily, since Seraphina's home backed into the woods, I had no problem jumping over the barbed-wired fence that kept the town borders and trotted to her backyard. I slung the bag that was in my mouth under her front porch as I cantered up the steps.

"Dax?" I linked as I put my ear up to the door. There was whining on the other side of the door that sounded like Dax.

"Dimitri," he whimpered as he pushed the door open enough so I could come in. Shutting the door with my back foot, I looked around the lightly lit living room. "What's going on?" Then I heard it.

Soft moans were coming from the bathroom. I sneaked up to the bathroom door, which was left wide open, only to see Seraphina in the tub and the showerhead missing from the top of the shower spicket.

Chapter Seven

Seraphina

Bambirodewithmein the front seat on the way home. The SUV had almost seen its better days. The few holes from stray bullets on the passenger side had hit a mechanism in the handle, causing it to jam. Bambi had to jump in the driver's side, and even he gave me a funny look as I told him to hop up.

Rolling the windows down, he let his head out the window. These wolves were like regular 'ole dogs the way they stuck their noses out. Bambi heard me laughing and immediately hopped over the console to give me a lick. Bambi was big, maybe just a smidge bigger than Dimitri, even though they were remarkably close in their looks.

Bambi had a more menacing look, while Dimitri was more thoughtful and loving. They both had their quirks, and I was excited to see how we all fit together in a new family dynamic. Even if we didn't get to stay much longer in this town.

I didn't want any trouble, and Jonas was going to be trouble. I didn't have the manpower to take care of myself in a town that tends to their roots more than their “transplant’ residents. I had to think of myself. Zoey was a great friend and all, but that's all she was. Even with her friendly parents, I couldn't get them in trouble either if I was found out.

Throwing out the ‘I could call the Sherriff’ car’ wouldn't help either. My face was plastered all over the east coast for missing persons. The further away I got from there, the less the police looked, especially in a podunk town like this.

The first town I was in, I made it a whole week. It was a large town on the east coast, and I was walking through a boardwalk fair. They had funnel cakes, a Ferris wheel, and a haunted mirror mansion. I had always wanted to go to one, and since I had just arrived in the states, I thought I was safe, but of course, that was thrown out the window.

Various posters plastered all over telephone poles ranging from garage sales and missing animals. It was amazing how Americans just littered any surface they could find to send out notices of items found or missing. As I heard kids screaming, one poster caught my eye. It was a girl full of red hair and green eyes. My heart jumped when I realized it was none other than my own picture, smiling. It was a professional picture done for my father to send it out to any possible business clients to merge his company with theirs. An arranged marriage with some old fart.

I ripped the poster from the pole only to be met with the sound of a whiz that cut off a lock of my hair. Before I could watch it float to the ground, I jumped into action. The gunshot sounded through the crowd, and everyone scattered. Children ran to their parents, and many ducked inside buildings and hid under benches. I didn't look back to see who was after me. I jumped over the curb and skid my knees across the wet concrete from the fresh rain from a passing cloud.

The SUV blinked its lights as I unlocked the door, and I shoved my rental keys in the ignition. My keys jingled, and my breath was the only thing left I could hear. Glancing up with one hand on the wheel, two prominent men in black suits with dark sunglasses ran towards me. Throwing the car in reverse, I hoped my getaway would be slicker than the oil in their hair as I peeled out of the parking lot.

Shots were fired as they both hit the passenger side panel of the car. This car was not bulletproof and went straight through the middle console. I felt the tap on the side of my seat as I gripped the steering wheel. This was close, too close. Not even stopping at the hotel I had been staying at, I sped off down the highway of my life on the run.

Once I had put at least four hundred miles between the incident, I pulled over at a rest stop to get a few hours of sleep. My eyes glared at the center console as I decided to see how close I was to being seriously maimed. To my surprise, it was not a hunk of metal lying at the bottom, but a broken blue capsule with a sharp needle on the tip.

They were going to fucking use a high-class dart gun to put me out! They weren't trying to kill me; they were going to take me back to my father. I threw the dart out the window and gripped the steering wheel. Sleep didn't sound like a good idea anymore, so I started my drive again until the lines on the road began to blur.

I drove down the coast until I hit Florida and then traveled westward through Mississippi and Alabama. Staying only for a few weeks at a time, I continued on. I always had the bag my mother gave me the night before we parted ways. I swore to her I would always keep it with me so I could have a quick getaway.

Thank god I listened to her because I would be up the creek without a paddle if I had left my bag in that hotel. The bag was my lifeline. Mom packed over a million dollars in that bag, all in small, unmarked bills of American money. Money my father would hardly miss.

Bambi and I pulled into our tiny home and let out a big sigh. Today was a lot more social interaction than I was used to in the past year. Zoey was trying to break through my high walls; if only she knew the real reason as to why I played the introverted card. She would throw a fit and think it was the coolest thing to have a whole mafia after you, "you are living a romance novel without the romance!" I could hear her say.

Nope, I'm just living a complete nightmare.

The door opened with a creak, and Bambi walked in with me. Thumper was nowhere to be found, but if his brother was here, he would be back. I stripped my clothes off, thinking a bath would be the best thing for my aching muscles. My little burner phone was a bit pricey, but I had to have some sort of music in my life.

Putting it on to meditation music, I filled the tub up with bubbles and hot water. I'm talking scalding as I flicked my undergarments off. Tapping the screen a few more times and grabbing my towel on the tub side table, I let the warmth cocoon me into another world. A world where I didn't have to worry about my past and I could float in a sea of warmth and comfort.

I could hear Bambi whining at the door, but I ignored his calls. His big nose lay at the door as he sniffed inside. "Bambi, you can sit in here, you know?" I left the door wide open; I knew he didn't like being too far away, but getting him and Thumper past the door was too much work.