Logan quickly caught the white wolf before she fell to the ground. He lowered her gently and sat down on the ground, cradling her in his arms. He hadn't really wanted to hit her but she had tested his patience. His wolfish anger had overridden any affection for her at that moment. Sometimes, she had to be shut up like that.

She was a really beautiful woman, he noticed. She looked much more peaceful like this without all the stubborn features etched into her face. Her tightly curled black hair surrounded her face like a perfect frame, making her look much gentler and childlike. The Goddess' had blessed him with a stunning mate.

His eyes roamed her face, taking in her almost angelic expression. Her eyes, usually big and glaring, were closed peacefully, tiny web-like veins showing in the eyelids. Her nose usually turned up in a haughty expression looked small and pert.

His eyes moved from her nose to her mouth and he found himself reacting to the sight of those lush, full lips. They were pale pink due to the cold, but they hadn't lost their attractiveness. He longed to kiss it, to take her rosy mouth in his and feel them part to accommodate his tongue. But instead, he raised his hand and rubbed them with his thumb, sighing lustily as she parted her lips involuntarily.

He continued his perusal by looking down at her neck, which was collapsed against his arm. He had seen it stretch when she was trying to stand up to him, and he marveled at how much more pliant it looked now. Her shoulders were bare as she was wearing an armless dress. He glanced at the small tattoo on her left shoulder, the tiny crescent surrounded by a circle, and his thumb moved from her lips to the tattoo, lightly caressing it.

His eyes continued traveling and stopped at her breasts. The dress she wore was white and see-through, and he could make out the dark, pointy spots that were her nipples. Goddess, she wasn't even putting on a bra!

He groaned lightly at the sight and his hands itched to touch her but he held himself back. It would be harassment if he touched her without her permission.

His wolf had other ideas though. Touch her, Logan. She's your mate after all. It urged.

"Shut up! That would not be right!" He snapped and his wolf retreated grumbling. Yes, she was his mate, but it would be beneath him if he attempted to do anything sexual to her while she was still unconscious. 

Ignoring his raging desires and his grumbling wolf, he picked her up with a grunt and slung her over his shoulder. He would take her back to the pack house and ramp up the security. She would not be able to escape from the pack again.

He ignored the mountainside that Aella had run down from and instead took a faster route behind the mountain. That was the route he had taken when he was tracking Aella.

She had been very suspicious yesterday. He had noticed her strange behavior during dinner when she had remained silent and compliant even when he had hurled words at her. At a point, he had deliberately tried to annoy her into speaking, but she had remained silent. It was at that point that he knew something was wrong.

He had watched her closely after dinner and had followed her without her knowledge. He'd seen how she had sneaked into the kitchen and walked out a few minutes later with a bag full of food. He had wondered why she was stealing food and where she was going with the food. He always made sure she was well-fed and provided for. He saw no reason for her to be stealing from the kitchens.

Instead of going back to his room, his curiosity had gotten the better of him. He had followed her closely from the kitchen to her wing and had stopped when she had walked into her room. For several moments he had contemplated bursting into her room and demanding that she tell him why she was stealing, but he had decided against it. She would most probably have evaded his question and tried to get him mad again.

And so, he had decided to sleep in the room next to hers. Throughout the night he couldn't sleep because he was carefully listening for footsteps or any other indication that she was about to make a run for it. He had stayed up thinking about the possibility of her being a spy for the rogues, hence her sudden desire to run away from him. At a point, he had been subtly hurt, as he had expected her to stay by him as his mate.

Finally, when his brain got tired of thinking about her, he had fallen into a fitful sleep. His dreams had been punctuated by very inappropriate images of her. Suddenly his dreams had been interrupted by hurried footsteps from the other room. He quickly stood up from the bed and pressed his ear to the wall he shared with the other room, trying to listen in on her. After a few minutes of walking around, the door of her room creaked open and close as she walked out of the room.

He had waited for about a minute before stealthily opening the door to the room he was in and followed her. He'd followed her to the front door, where she had jiggled the doorknob and cursed when it didn't open. He remembered smiling at her impatience. She had been so eager to run away that she hadn't even paused to consider that the door would be locked at this time of the morning. The keys to the front door were always with him and he only gave them out to the maids every morning.

After a while, she turned around and walked to the kitchens. He'd given her another one-minute head start before following her again. This time she was luckier with the kitchen doors. As a maid in the house, she knew where the kitchen keys were kept.

He had watched as she had stepped out into the cold and shivered. He had followed her into the forest, where she has begun running. It was quite hard after that, as he had been trying to run after her without letting his footsteps give him away. He had made sure to be at a safe distance from her without revealing himself.

He even knew when she had stolen the blankets from those sleeping guards. He had continued to chase after her until they had gotten to the mountaintop, where he had watched her enjoy her short-lived freedom. She had looked so happy and carefree, happier than he had ever seen her when she was in the pack house. It had hurt him a little to cut off her joy but it was necessary.

Soon Logan got to the packhouse with Aella still unconscious on his shoulder. He ignored the stares from the wolves and entered the pack house through the kitchen doors, climbing the staircase and heading to his wing.

"Poor wolf." He whispered to himself as he unlocked the door of his room and stepped inside with her. "You really thought you could run away from me, didn't you?" Once inside, he dumped her on his bed and drew the covers around her, tucking her in securely. She would be safe with me, Logan thought. Safe and secure.