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“You’re right,” Caeden said again. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that, no matter how cute you are when you’re mad.”

“You’re killing me,” I said.

He grinned wickedly. “Love you too, babe, love you too.”

“Bite me,” I said and playfully bit his finger instead.

* * *

As the plane landed in Germany I looked over at Caeden. He saw the fright on my face and grabbed my hand. Once we were in the air I was usually okay unless there was a lot of turbulence but take off and landings always made me sick.

“Breathe,” he said.

I glanced at him and huffed, “If I breathe I’ll be sick.”

He chuckled and I smacked him.

Finally the plane landed on the runway and I let go of Caeden’s hand. Little red half-moons dotted his hand.

“You know,” I said sitting back in the seat and taking a deep breath, “when you said you’d distract me on the plane I didn’t know it would entail flirting with the staff.”

His laugh filled the cabin. “It worked didn’t it,” he grinned.

I narrowed my eyes at him. “I might have to tell my dad.”

“You wouldn’t,” he said paling.

“Oh, I would. I don’t think my dad would like to hear about my mate flirting with a flight attendant,” I grinned and he relaxed.

He leaned over and pecked me on the lips and then cupped my cheek with his hand. “Only you,” he said and then leaned close to my ear. “I might have to distract you with my lips on the way back,” he whispered and I shivered.

The plane pulled up to the gate and everyone stood to gather
their
stuff. Caeden grabbed my bag and his so I could keep my hold on Archie. I followed him off the plane and took in the stiff posture of his shoulders.

“Still nervous?” I asked giggling.

He glanced behind him at me and gave me a small smile. “Very,” he sighed.

Caeden found a trolley and loaded our bags onto it and then we went to get Murphy. The large dog barked happily when he saw us.

“Hey buddy,” said Caeden bending down to pet his familiar. Murphy’s large pink tongue darted out to lick Caeden’s waiting fingers.

Caeden then proceeded to load the large crate on the trolley. The cotton of his shirt stretched tightly over his muscles and I gasped. He was too perfect.

He looked up at me and grinned. He glanced around quickly before pulling me in for a kiss. He kissed me long and deep before pulling away with a grin. “Last one for the week,” he said.

“Oh please,” I said rolling my eyes.

“Hey,” he said, “I want to be on your parent’s good side. That means hands off,” he said and raised his hands in the air to demonstrate.

I stuck my tongue out at him and he laughed.

“Sophie!” I heard called behind me.

I turned and smiled. “Mommy!” I cried, gave Archie to Caeden, and ran into her waiting arms like I was five years old.

“Sophie,” she said again crushing me to her.

“Christine, don’t squish the girl,” my dad said from beside her.

“Daddy!” I said and dove into his arms next.

“There’s my little girl,” he said and gave me his signature bear hug.

“I’ve missed you guys so much,” I said.

“Oh, we’ve missed you too, Sophie,” said my dad and I could swear he sounded close to tears.

I pulled way. “Mom, dad, this is Caeden,” I said and motioned to the hunky piece of man meat standing awkwardly to the side with the horse sized dog and the very upset black and white dog.

“Get over here,” said my dad motioning Caeden to join us. He pulled Caeden into a hug. Surprised, Caeden hugged him back. My dad pulled away and held Caeden at arm’s length looking him over. “You look so much like Roger. I can’t believe he’s gone. He was my best friend. I loved him like a brother.
He’d be very proud of you, I
know that I
am,” said my dad.

Suddenly, tears pooled in his eyes and he hastily looked at the ground.

My dad clapped him on the back. “It’s okay, boy. Good leaders know when to show emotion and when to remain stoic. Come on let’s get out of here. I’m sure you two have tons of questions.”

I smiled at him, “Of course we do,
smart
people always have questions.”

My dad laughed. “I’ve missed you, Sophie.”

My mom smiled at me. Caeden grabbed the trolley and we followed my parents out into the parking garage.

“I told you they were cool,” I said.

Caeden smiled at me, “Yes, they are.”

“I’m hungry,” my dad said, “What about you guys?” he glanced in the rearview mirror at
Caeden and me
.

Caeden grinned; it was much like the grin he wore when he was a wolf, all teeth. He patted his stomach. “I’m always hungry,” he said.

My dad laughed. “It never goes away,” he said.
“Even when you’re my age you still have an appetite equivalent to five men.”

He pulled off the road and into the small parking lot of a family style restaurant. L
ü
beck was a port town, l
ocated right on the Baltic Sea. It was quaint but cute.

“Alright gang,” my dad said. It was so typical of him. “Let’s roll.”

I smiled to myself. I had missed my parents so much.

Caeden and I climbed out of the back of the car.
I had been amazed that he had managed to fit his long legs in the back of the tiny car.

Archie and Murphy looked at us
with round, sad, eyes.

“We’ll be right back, boys,” I tapped the window. Archie scratched the glass and whined. I gave him a sad face but there was nothing I could do so I turned to follow my parents. Caeden kept a well-respected distance between us when all I wanted was to hold his hand. Suck up.

My dad strolled inside
,
said hello to someone working there
,
and picked a table in the corner. I was surprised when he let
Caeden and me
sit beside each other.

My mom and dad didn’t bother picking up the menu. Obviously they had been here a lot. Neither one of my parents liked to cook so I had always been the designated kitchen person.
Honestly
, my mom was an excellent cook. S
he just didn’t enjoy it.

Caeden and I perused the menu. I had lived many places growing up and spoke many languages so I wasn’t as afraid of the cuisine as he was. He looked at the menu with panic on his face.

I placed my hand on his and said in his ear, “I’ll order for you. Do you trust me?”

He nodded his head and said, “Thanks,” with a grateful smile.

My parents ordered and then I ordered for
us
. I hoped he liked it. I thought by now I knew him well enough to order food. After all, he usually ate just about anything.

My dad took a sip of water and said, “Are you two ready for graduation?”

“I know I am,” I said with a smile.
“I may like school but it will be a relief for it to be over.”

“Yeah, I guess so,” said Caeden. He looked down at the table. “I know that once school is over I’ll have to focus all my time on the pack.”

My dad chuckled. “It’s tough being the Alpha but I know you can do it.”

“Thanks,” said Caeden. “That means a lot coming from you.”

The waitress came with our food.

“So Sophie, are you going to play soccer this year?” my dad asked.

I nearly choked and Caeden smacked my back. I took a sip of water and waited for my coughing spell to pass.

“Uh- I’m not sure,” I mumbled.

“Soph,” said my dad. “You have to. This might be your last chance to play.”

“I don’t know if I really want to,” I shrugged. “There’s a lot going on right now.”

Dad sighed and looked between us. “This
is
your last chance to just be a kid, for both of you.”

I looked at Caeden and voiced what we were both thinking. “Dad, I think that ship has sailed. We have to think about the pack now.”

He sighed and look
ed at my mom. He shook his head.
“Taking care of a pack is too big of a responsibility at your age. You’re just kids.”

Caeden’s hands clenched. I knew what he was feeling because I was feeling it too.

A challenge.

“What are you implying?” Caeden growled. “I won’t let anyone mess with my pack and I
certainly
won’t let
anyone
try and take my position.” The muscles in his arms flexed. I knew he was fighting for
control. I put my hand over his trying to calm him with my touch.

My dad paled. “No- I didn’t mean- that’s not what I meant-” he bumbled. “I just- you’re both so young. I’m not asking you to give up your pos
ition. I’m so sorry, you’ve both misunderstood my meaning.”

Caeden relaxed. “I apologize for my reaction.”

My dad laughed. “It’s okay. I know how it is. Being an Alpha can be… difficult.”

Caeden nodded, “Yeah, it can.”

“Alright,” dad said, “no more wolf talk until we get back to the house. Deal?”

“Deal,” Caeden and I both said
,
relieved.

* * *

The house my parents were living in was a quant, idyllic, little cottage. It was white with a red door and gray shutters. The roof peaked to a point above the door. Flowers overflowed around the walkway and cast a fragrant scent. Or maybe it only seemed so fragrant because of my
wolfy
nose.

“Get in here
baby girl
,” called my dad from the steps.

I looked up with a shy smile. “Sorry daddy.”

He smiled and came down the steps to put his arms around my shoulders.
“It’s nice having you home baby girl,” he said and kissed the top of my head. “Your mom and I have missed you more than you can imagine. It’s been far too quiet without you.”

“I’ve missed you guys too,” I
wrapped
my arms around him and for just a moment pretend
ed
that I was five again and my dad could scare all the monsters away. “So much has happened in the last few months.”

“I know,” he said and kissed the top of my head again. “You’re a strong girl Sophie. I know you can handle it. I have all the faith in the world in you.”

“I’m glad one of us does,” I said and let him lead me inside. He closed the door behind me. My mom and Caeden were already sitting in the living room and she had a tray on the coffee table with four glasses of water. I guess I had dawdled longer than I thought.
Murphy and Archie were already snoozing on the floor.

I sat down on the couch beside Caeden and my dad took the seat across from us on the opposite couch.
His standard recliner sat in the corner of the room.
He put his arm around my mom and tenderly kissed her cheek. Even all these years later you could see the aura of love around them. Did Caeden and I look that gooey?

I looked over at Caeden who had taken my hand. He was staring at me with a crooked smile on his lips.

I gulped.

We looked worse than they did. It was almost comical. Almost.

“You need to shave,” I said to wipe that gooey love struck look off his face. I didn’t need my dad to kill him.

Caeden grinned and rubbed his stubbly chin. “But you love my scruff,” he said and rubbed his jaw against my face to drive home the point.

For the moment he seemed to have forgotten my parents.

My face went red and I swallowed thickly. That plan had backfired.

I turned to find my parents watching us but instead of looking irritated they looked happy.

“So,” my dad said and spread his arms wide, “questions?”

I looked at Caeden and back at my dad. “Lots.”

“Fire away,” he said. “I just hope we can answer them.”

I tucked a piece of hair behind my ear. “Well…”
I said and my mind went blank.

“Why do you think mates are coming back
?” Caeden intervened.

My dad shrugged. “No idea. My theory is that it has always been around but people just don’t realize what is happening.
In our case,
”
he motioned to my mom, “we were from different packs. We met by chance and it was like… wow,” he shook his head. “Had we been in the same pack, and grown up together, those feelings would’ve been dulled and easily mistaken for infatuation.”

I looked at Caeden and wondered if he was thinking the same thing that I was. Bentley and Chris.

“That makes sense,” said Caeden.

I looked down at our entwined hands.
Caeden
and
Sophie
said the elegant script.

“Do
you have the tattoos?” I asked, holding up my wrist. “I don’t ever remember seeing you have them.”

“We have them,” dad took mom’s hand. “But only we can see them. Only you and Caeden can see yours.”

“Really?” I asked.

“Yeah,” mom began to trace lines on her wrist, what I assumed was my dad’s name. “It’s not meant for anybody but the two of you.”

“Can you guys do the mind reading thing?” Caeden asked.

“We can,” my mom answered and then took a delicate sip of water. “It’s very useful,” she said.

Caeden grinned and shook his head. “It’s odd being able to speak in our minds when we’re not in wolf form.”

“What’s not odd about all of this?” my dad asked rhetorically. “We turn into wolves. I think that’s odder than the mind reading.”

Caeden chuckled. “You’ve got that right.”

“What about the others? The other shifters, I mean. Do they have mates?” I asked.

Dad cleared his throat. “In the legends it was all shifters but I don’t know if their mates are
‘
reappearing
’ so to speak
. When your mother and I left… We said goodbye to that life Sophie. It was safer for you if we cut off all ties so I know nothing about the others.”

“You kept in touch with Gram,” I accused.

“That’s different,” he said. “She didn’t want to kill us.”

Travis
. Travis
and his dad wanted Caeden and me dead.
They wanted to destroy our pack and they’d destroy my parents too if they found out who my mom was. Christine Grimm. Peter Grimm’s sister.

Caeden swallowed thickly. “I…we,” he amended, “need your advice on how to handle the Grimm’s.” Unconsciously, Caeden began to trace the scar on my arm.
The scar that Travis had cut into my skin to spell
L
iar
.