“You can call me Sampson, A chuisle” His voice was low and husky, his breath warmed Cecilia’s neck. Before she had a chance to avoid it, he looked directly into her eyes.

His eyes captured her and for Cecilia time felt like it stopped. His scent filled her nose and she felt her mind spin as every instinct howled at her. 'MATE' the wolf within her screamed and howled. She hissed out a breath.

"Aw FUCK, no"

He tilted his head, a slight confused smile on his face, his eyes were slightly glazed as he reached out and ran his thumb across her check. She could feel her skin spark and tingle where he touched her. She hadn’t felt them before while tattooing him, she always wore gloves when she worked but now, she could feel the mate bond starting to strengthen. He probably wasn’t totally conscious of his actions. Mate bonds were strong and difficult to resist.

As if startled back into his own mind by the sparks of their contact he pulled his hand back and cleared his throat. “Thank you for your time.”

He quickly pulled away from her and walked down away toward Franny.

Cecilia tried to control her breathing and her instincts as she watched Hammer walk down the hall. She ached to follow him, grab him, and drag him up to her room. Instead she grabbed a hold of the door jam and gripped it, grounding herself, trying to regain some control. The wood started to crack under her grip, but she didn’t let go until she heard the door close and an engine roar to life minutes later.

She moved from her shop room to her office quickly, "FRANNY!!"

Cecilia could hear the other woman come down the hall toward her as she started pulling off her tank top. The full sleeve on her arm flowed over her shoulder and down the left side of her back, a flowing space scene with planets and stars. Down her spine a tattoo of the phases of the moon stood out and a wolf sitting on its hunches howling at a full moon on the right side of her back.

Franny raised an eyebrow at the woman stripping, "That bad?"

"Open the back door, I need to run."

Franny nodded and left the room. Cecilia sighed running her hands over her face and took off the rest of her clothes and then she released the warm energy that was always with her and she felt her body change. Her wolf form was at least 3 times larger than a normal wolf, standing at 5 feet 6 inches, as tall as Franny. She wasn’t an overly bulky wolf, more lean and well-muscled, made for speed rather than brute strength.

Cecilia shook out her fur, ruffling her coat. She was mostly a light red brown color, with darker brown and white patches. In her wolf form Hammer's lingering smell was stronger and all her instincts screamed at her to follow him. She huffed through her nose and followed Franny instead. Franny stood leaning on the open back door, scrolling through her phone.

Cecilia stopped and leaned against her friend, their heads were at the same heat and Franny looked into Cecilia’s eyes "Go run CeCe. I won’t burn the place down. I mind-linked Oscar; he was on patrol but will be back soon. Clear your head, we'll talk later."

Cecilia nuzzled her large head into Franny’s neck affectionately taking in the familiar scent of honeysuckle and wildflowers. Franny rubbed her check on to the top of Cecilia head with a quiet purr of approval.

Cecilia bumped her friend playfully with her shoulder feeling more relaxed and at peace now that she was in her wolf form. Leaping of the back steps she quickly ran into the trees.

Her paws dug into the dirt as she moved through the trees, feeling free again. It had been too long since she had last shifted. Two weeks since the last full moon, when the pack went out together. Cecilia decided she needed to find more time to do this. As a shifter both forms were natural to her, but she needed to spend time in both, and she too often denied her wolf half its time and freedom.

As she ran, she had the chance to think about what just happened. All Fae species could sense their soulmates. It was different for each and from what she had learned it wasn’t as strong of a pull for some Fae. Wolf shifters could tell their Mates with a few things.

She first suspected something from Hammer’s scent. A scent that drove her wolf wild. It had sent shivers down her spine and made her want to bury her face in his neck. She wanted candles of that scent, to be engulfed in it. Then the eye contact and the sparks. These would only happen with her mate.

She didn’t know what type of Fae Hammer might be so she couldn’t be sure how the bond would feel to him, but now that she knew who her mate was the bond would be hard to resist.

Denying or rejecting the bond could have dangerous or even deadly consequences, for them both. She didn’t know what to do.

Fuck she thought, pushing harder, picking up speed heading up the mountain, what a fucking mess.

She didn't want a mate, didn't need a mate. She didn't need to get too attached, not again, not after what happened to her birth pack. She had what she needed, her shop, Franny, and Oscar. She didn't want to go through the pain again, much suffering, she couldn’t lose someone she cared about again.

So, she ran and decided to avoid Sampson Hammer Steinson from now on. Keep him at a distance and her instincts couldn't betray her. Her heart couldn't override her brain.

Stay smart Cecilia