Franny’s head jerked up from examining the contents of the fridge when she heard the front door of the Victorian house slam open and shut again. She looked to Oscar who was leaning against the counter watching her rummage for food.

“WHAT THE EVERLOVING FUCK!” Cecilia’s voice echoed through the house.

Franny’s eyes widened and she went to the pass-through counter and raised the divider. She leaned over the small counter, Oscar right behind her and saw Cecilia in the entry way, soaking wet and dripping, her back pressed against the door, her head in her hands.

“Fuck, fuck, FUCK!” Cecilia ranted into her hands.

Franny looked back at Oscar; her eyebrows raised. She wondered if he thought they should approach her. Oscar nodded, he put one hand gently on Franny’s lower back and pushed her towards Cecilia. He turned back into the kitchen heading toward some cabinets.

Franny walked cautiously toward Cecilia, “Hey CeCe? You ok?”

Cecilia sighed into her hands, “I’m an idiot Franny.”

“Was it Zachariah? Did he find you?” Franny was worried the Alpha had managed to find her friend.

“Steinson,” Cecilia mumbled shaking her head.

Franny began to breath easier, relief spreading through her.

“Alright, go change clothes and we’ll come up with something to warm you up.”

Cecilia nodded sadly and trudged past Franny up the stairs to the bedrooms. Franny watched her go and went back into the kitchen. Oscar was standing at the stove, stirring a pot of hot cocoa, three mugs next to him. Franny went to the fridge pulling out a dark brown bottle and poured some into each mug.

The two of them went up the stairs. Franny knocked on the door at the end of the hall, Oscar right behind her.

“Come on in you two.”

Franny went in and joined Cecilia on her large sleigh bed leaning against her as Oscar gave Cecilia a mug and went to sit in an oversized armchair. They sat in silence for a moment until Franny couldn’t stand it.

“So? What happened?”

“We almost kissed, and I overshared.” Cecilia groaned hiding her face in Franny’s shoulder. Oscar raised his eyebrows, surprised at Cecilia’s show of emotion and vulnerability.

“Ok, I feel like your leaving some info out there. Start with what happened when you left the bar.”

“We drove up to the tower on his bike. It’s beautiful Oscar, you’d like him based off his bike alone. He asked who I was trying to get away from and for some dumb reason I decided it was a good idea to tell him about Briar Rose.”

“It’s not dumb.” Cecilia’s head swung to Oscar, startled at his statement.

“He’s your mate. You feel a connection to him and with that connection a level of trust that you won’t feel with anyone else. It’s a bond so pure and deep, it’s overwhelming at first.”

Franny smiled at him briefly before elbowing Cecilia gently, “How does you spilling your tragic backstory lead to kissing.”

“I don’t even know. We were talking and we ended up so close to each other and there was this… tension in the air. Things were just happening. We were just about to kiss when mother nature decided to unleash a fucking monsoon on us.”

“Rain can be romantic.” Franny said.

“Apparently not for him. He was right there with me before the rain started but it’s like it woke him up from a trance. He barely said anything to me. Just brought me here, shot me down when I asked if he wanted to come in and drove away, in the rain, like a dumbass with a death wish.”

Cecilia sighed and took a long drink, “Now I’m pissed. I’m such a dumbass. I start to let him in, to accept the mate bond and it blew up in my face. Oh goddess, this doesn’t mean he’s rejecting me right?”

Franny pulled Cecilia into a tight hug, “Don’t stress CeCe. We don’t know what kind of Fae he is. The Mate pull is different for everyone, we can’t know how it affects him. The Mate pull can be unnerving if you don’t know what it is.”

“Not to mention he’s a mage, so a story about mages killing our whole pack might have been unsettling.” Oscar added.

“I’m sorry, he’s a WHAT!” Cecilia shot up straight, “How the hell did you figure that out?”

“His scent.” Oscar always did have a more sensitive nose than most wolves, who already had extreme senses of smell. He could tell her every where she had been and everything she had eaten that day when she was 10 feet away from him, “Whatever those mages that attacked Brian Rose did to mask their smell and hide themselves from our senses, was wearing off by the time we found that Mage who was alive. His scent was returning by the time I was very up close and personal with him. Your mate has that same earthy smell, like old world spices.”

Franny could see the emotions running across Cecilia’s face.

“Now what do I do. I had just started to lean into this whole Mate thing and now? Can I really trust him? What if he is from that coven? Are we in danger now? Did they find out about us? Will they attack the town? Is he here to finish what they started?” Cecilia started to rant, grabbing a hold of her hair and pulling on it.

“Calm down Cecilia.” Oscars quiet deep voice cut off her ramblings, “We don’t know enough about him or Mages to make any kind of assumptions. We don’t know his story.”

“Stop thinking CeCe. Let’s forget about this all tonight. Get some sleep and we’ll deal with it in the morning.” Franny said, nuzzling her head into Cecilia’s neck, the gesture soothing the panicking woman.

They stayed like that for a while until Cecilia’s breath started to even out and she fell asleep. Franny and Oscar left the room and went back down to the kitchen.

Franny leaned against the counter, closing her eyes,