Logan and Casper his beta were on the training ground with about a dozen teenage werewolves. He looked at each of their innocent, eager faces. They were all so young; they reminded him of an earlier version of himself.

He hated sending them out to the battlefield so young but he had literally no other choice. His men were so depleted that he was very sure that they could not stand against any form of opposition. He sighed and closed his eyes, feeling the hot morning sun beat his face. 

Sometimes Logan felt the ominous sense of danger hanging around the pack's surroundings. His spirit was not at peace: he kept feeling like something would happen soon but he could not say in particular what would. All he could do is prepare his people and wait.

When he opened his eyes again, he saw that Louve and Aella had entered the training field and were watching them from a distance. The two most important women in his life, he thought. They were so alike, yet so different. 

Louve, in her very enthusiastic way, was gesticulating animatedly while she was talking to Aella. Aella, on the other hand, stood quietly with her arms folded. But Logan knew that as cheerful and quiet as either of the two women seemed, they could be very terrifying when angry. 

He looked at Aella and thought of their sexcapades the previous night. She was a very easy woman to pleasure, he thought. He had thought that she would be a little difficult last night as she had been ever since they imprinted, but she had been surprisingly gentle and compliant. She had been obviously sexually frustrated like him and didn't give any form of resistance when he had kissed her. 

His mind replayed her moans and he felt himself getting hard again. Her moans had been so surreal! He had wanted to hear it over and over again. Was this what mates enjoyed with each other. He had felt like he was missing an integral part of himself till she came along, and when she came along he had felt like that part was just within reach of his grasp, yet he was unable to grab it. And now that they had consummated their union, it had finally clicked into place. 

He would never let her out of his sight now. She was his forever.

Louve sighted her mate and waved gaily to him. Casper returned the wave, then looked at Logan to see if he had noticed his own mate.

The beta saw the look of enraptured attention on Logan's face as he watched his mate. He had never seen such a look on the alpha's face before. It was full of love, amazement and desire. The brooding expression that was like second nature to the alpha had dissipated, replaced by a starry-eyed look. The look of someone in love.

Casper looked to where Aella and Louve were standing and saw that the woman was also looking at her mate with the same look. Her face, usually set in a familiar haughty expression, had softened. Casper saw how she fidgeted, as though she was itching to walk up to her mate but didn't want to seem too obvious.

The beta smiled knowingly. He had warned his alpha about the mating bond and its effects on mates. but Logan hadn't paid much heed to it. The current between them was even stronger than his and Louve's, he could see. He guessed that it was because they had had a very rocky beginning and had fought a lot. It was their differences that had brought them together in the end.

He smiled and tapped the alpha to bring him back to earth. Logan gave a small start and looked around in surprise. He saw that the teenage wolves in front of him were still looking at him for instructions and Casper was looking slightly amused.

"It would do all of us good if you bring your attention back here, Alpha."

"I did not lose my concentration." Logan said, drawing his eyes away from Aella with reluctance. "Or has it now become a sin to stare at one's mate?"

"Now you're boldly calling her your mate. Hmmmm." Casper said with mock seriousness. "What changed? Or rather, what happened last night."

Logan glared at Casper as the other man laughed "I don't see how anything I did is any of your business."

"Okay, should I guess?" Casper asked, raising his eyebrows teasingly.

"Guess what? Casper..."

The beta whispered into Logan's ears "You two had sex yesterday, didn't you?"

"Yes, we did. Does that change anything?" Logan asked.

"Oh, it changes a whole lot, alpha. Can you not see how the both of you are just itching to be near each other. That's the mating bond at work, my friend. It is stronger now because the both of you finally consummated the union. Now it is irreparable: you cannot reject her again, and she can't reject you too.  You'll be together forever."

"Yeah, I felt that way." Logan admitted. "It's so much stronger this time. It feels like she must always be in my radar or I won't be at peace. I remember when she was attacked and I could not find her. I almost ran mad with worry. I wonder how it would be now that we've had sex."

*Oh, wait and see. You'll soon start attacking any man who gives her more than two looks." Casper said and laughed.

"Well, J hope it doesn't get to that." Love gan said and dismissed the young male wolves in front of him, making a promise of another training session later in the day. 

"Come." He said to his beta after dismissing the wolves. "Let's go and check on the patrol team at the border, shall we?"

They walked away from the training ground and into the woods. As they walked towards the border, Logan was reminded of the time when Aella had tried to escape. She had thought that the woods would provide some protection from him, not knowing that he knew the forest like the back of his hand. He remembered the look of fear and stubbornness on her face when he had found her on the mountain top and chuckled to himself. So much had changed since then.

He was very sure of the potency of the mating bond now. She would be with him forever. She would not be able to run again without feeling an extremely acute physical pain. it would feel to her like she was parting with a vital organ in her body and she would have no choice but to stay with him.

They got to the border soon enough and saw the men stationed at a few yards interval along the boundary. The men murmured greetings and bowed as the alpha and beta walked past. The two men positioned themselves with the patrol team and stood in relative silence.

Then suddenly there was a subdued uproar coming from their left. They all looked towards it, wondering what was wrong. They could hear a lot of arguing and scuffles too. Logan beckoned to his beta and they walked towards the direction of the noise.

When they got there, they found a couple of the patrol members gathered around something on the floor. Just like the way I found Aella, Logan thought. He pushed through the men to see what the fuss was about, then stopped abruptly.

Two men were lying with their backs to the ground, staring up at him.