I flicked an ear back and tried to pick up my pace. It didn't help. With a sigh, I came to a stop and turned around before sitting, facing back the way I had come. Within moments, the black wolf bounded down the trail to skidded to a stop in front of me with a grin. I wolf-grinned back at her.

  Ruby was catching on very fast at this point. She would be the equal of most experienced rogues when it came to tracking and hiding her trail. People were slowly getting used to her more laidback style - and they had also started underestimating her in fighting practice, much to Ruby's amusement.

  I tilted my head innocently. "Fancy meeting you out here. You seem to be in a good mood today."

  She chuckled, and her falsely over-enthusiastic voice sounded in my mind, "A coincidence, I am sure. How can one not be happy on a day like today?! The sun is shining and the birds are singing!"

  I replied in a dry ironic tone, "The fact that you currently have Tony, Evan, Will, and half a dozen others looking for you, while being unable to locate you due to your carefully honed skills, has nothing to do with it either, correct?"

  "Nothing whatsoever." She grinned back.

  I shook my head in amusement. "That is good. Otherwise I would warn you that Will has realized you are with me, and they are heading this way with all the speed the Enforcers can muster..."

  She blinked and darted off into the trees. "Got to go! See you later!"

  I snickered and trotted the other way. I tilted my head as I regarded something at the base of a willow tree. I wondered what Will would think if I crawled down this rabbit burrow...

  ~

  I paused in the tunnel as I sensed Will approach. As he ran by, he realized the direction of the mate bond was down. I felt his curiosity and confusion as he asked, "Where are you?"

  I sent amusement and a childish sense of adventure along the link, sharing the feeling of dirt in my fur as I explored deep beneath the surface. I replied, "I’m exploring this rabbit's burrow. You should see all of the tunnels down here!"

  Apparently that was the wrong answer.

  I practically felt his heartbeats surge and sensed the soundless snap across the mate bond. He lost control as the mate bond and Enforcer abilities ganged up on him. He swiftly located the rabbit burrow entrance and started digging for all he was worth. His mind wasn't exactly sane at this point, and I realized that he really needed some time to calm down.

  I quickly went out one of the rabbit's emergency exits. Will was so obsessed and out of it that he didn't even notice. I climbed into the tree above him to watch. Tony and Evan remained at the edge of the clearing to watch Will as the rest kept going after Ruby. They wanted nothing to do with an Enforcer who wasn't in control. I didn't blame them.

  I mindlinked Tony, "Why is he like this? I haven't seen him like this since before the bond was completed. I wasn’t aware that he could truly lose control once the bond was completed."

  I felt Tony's shrug through the link. "You being out of his reach has always pushed him over the edge. In the past, he could always see you, but this time he couldn't, and it has hit him harder. Even with the bond completed, mates can lose control; it is just much harder to reach that point. Although with you being a runt and him being an Enforcer, it is much more likely than average."

  I rolled my eyes; he could have mentioned it earlier. It didn't take Will long to uncover the entire network of tunnels, which was quite impressive considering how deep some of them went. He hadn't found me underground and started snarling and lashing out at trees in a mindless rage as his control slipped further.

  I had never seen him like this before, and from the emotions I was sensing, Evan and Tony were also stunned. I was really going to have to start thinking my plans through beforehand now that I knew he could still lose control over such a minor thing as me exploring in a location where he couldn’t see me or easily get to me.

  “Will. Will!” Nothing. I couldn't get through the mindlink. His overreaction and intense focus had raised strong mental shields. I climbed down to try and calm him down. He glanced over his shoulder as he caught my movement out of the corner of his eye. The second he saw me, his eyes widened as he spun around and lunged at me.

  He used one of his massive paws to whip my feet out from under me, and I hit the ground with a grunt. He knocked me flat on the ground and crouched low over me, his belly fur brushing my clothing and skin. I heard a ripping snarl from above, and I rolled my head to the side to see Tony and Evan drop their heads and back up until their wolves were out of sight in the trees.

  "We can't approach him when he is like this,” Tony said in frustration. “Try to calm him down, and let us know when he returns to the realm of reason."

  I rubbed my hands against Will's stomach. "Take it easy. I’m fine. I was never in danger."

  His never-ending growling showed that he wasn't buying it.

  I mindlinked Tony, "Calm him how? He is blocking the mindlink, and my spoken words aren't getting through to him."

  His enigmatic reply was of no use. "You are his mate; you will manage."

  Gee, thanks... I rolled onto my stomach and started to wiggle my way out from under Will. His growls turned to snarls as he moved so that he was once more above me and lowered himself until he lightly pinned me to the ground. He wasn't letting me go anywhere. Probably worried I would roll down another rabbit burrow... I sighed at the situation I had gotten myself into.

  "Will? Can you please let me up? Will?"

  His snarls had receded to unceasing low growls. He didn’t respond to my words. My senses told me that he didn't even really hear me; he was so far out of it that he was at an instinctive level. I sighed as I crossed my arms in front of me and propped my chin on my arms to wait. A rock dug into my ribs and dirt dropped out of Will's fur, courtesy of his frantic digging earlier.

  I was starting to get mildly annoyed. I had run hard earlier with Ruby, and I was tired. I simply didn't have the reserves of a normal wolf. It was irritating, especially when dealing with an Enforcer who was almost tireless.

  "Earth to Will..." I muttered as I reached out to gently tug on a tuft of fur on his ankle. He was not impressed and put a bit more weight on me as he continued growling at the trees where Tony and Evan had disappeared.

  His weight was uncomfortable now. I tried to wiggle out, to no avail. I couldn't even budge. The rock under my ribs was starting to dig in painfully. I shifted into my wolf form, and sighed in relief now that the rock was no longer attempting to drill a hole into my ribs.

  Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

  My shift distracted Will for a second, but not in a good way. The disappearance of my physical contact had him in a frenzy again, thinking I had once more disappeared, further goading the mate bond into a larger overreaction. He stood up to look underneath him, although his murderous glare softened the second he realized I had simply switched forms.

  I felt his instincts shift; previously they had been protective and defensive. Now they shifted to evasion and escape with a strong undertone of protectiveness. In a lightning fast move, he grabbed the scruff of my neck and took off at speeds that had me frozen in terror. The smell of my fear pushed him into new speeds in his determination to put as much distance between us and where we had been, as if his imagined threat was back there.

  I could sense Tony and Evan trying to keep up, but they were simply unable to reach the speeds that Will was hitting with the mate bond spurring him on. They fell back and simply tracked his scent.

  Will's headlong flight didn't slow until he came to a large cave dug into the side of a hill. Well, it was large by my standards. Will could barely squeeze down the tunnel, and there was barely room for him to curl up in the tight den.

  He somehow managed to get inside and curled up before finally putting me down, nuzzling me gently. He wiggled a bit and ended up curling around me in the tight space. It was like lying in the middle of a giant furry donut. His shoulders completely blocked the entrance, so I wasn't going anywhere until he let me.

  He sighed and buried his nose in my fur again. A tongue almost half my size started licking my fur. I made a face, but didn't bother commenting since his mental shields were still up.

  Tony's voice entered my mind. "How are you holding up? I can't believe Will actually managed to fit into that hole."

  He was torn between concern for me and laughing at Will's accomplishment of squeezing his massive bulk into the narrow space.

  The situation was just too ironic and I said, "For someone who freaked when I climbed into a tight space, I find it hard to believe that he just pulled a similar stunt. I am currently getting a bath. Feel like trading places with me?"

  Tony's chuckled, and I felt his amusement clearly in his reply. "Nope. Just keep hanging in there."

  I sighed; I hadn't really thought that either of them could help me. Will would probably turn them into a scratching post in his current mood.

  The fur on my face, neck and back went from dry to damp, then from damp to soaked with Will's cleaning. About the time that my fur simply couldn't get any wetter, Will's mental shields dropped as he regained control. He blinked slowly at me as awareness finally appeared in his eyes.

  His mindvoice was slow and confused. "What just happened?"

  "Good question,” I said, nuzzling his cheek. “I was exploring and having a great time with Ruby when you jumped off the deep end."

  He huffed as my words triggered his memory. "You were stuck in a rabbit burrow. I could feel the sides of the burrow pushing against you from all sides through the mindlink. What did you expect? You cannot tell me that Ruby was in those tunnels with you either..."

  I knew he would have felt the dirt in my fur, but it hadn’t occurred to that he would pick up just how tight of a squeeze that section of the tunnel had been. Then the image of him attempting to somehow stuff Ruby into one of those tunnels made me chuckle.

  "No, you would have found her if she was, but, alas, she wouldn't fit. She was nearby, though. I had more room in most of those burrows than you have in here. I was not stuck either, that is why you couldn't find me underground."

  He exhaled in irritation. I shook my head, causing my ears to flap and sending small droplets flying from my fur. Will blinked as they hit his face and fur, distracting him.

  "Why is your fur soaked?"

  "Gee, I wonder why?” I said, baring my teeth in a wolf-grin. “It surely couldn't have anything to do with the couple thousand kisses I got over the last five minutes."

  I felt his surprise. "Somehow I don't recall that..."

  "Well, I can honestly tell you that there isn't anyone else in here."

  Will glanced around and examined the rather snug den he now found himself in. "Exactly how did I get in here?"

  "That is a mystery for another day. Let me go out first so you don’t have to worry about squishing me in your attempts to get out."

  He wiggled to the side to unblock the entrance. Once Will had moved enough, I crawled over his side and trotted out the tunnel. Near the tunnel entrance, I reared up on my back legs but was unable to touch the roof of the tunnel with my front paws. Tony chuckled at my display from where he lay at the base of a tree across from the entrance.

  I trotted over, prancing a little for extra effect. "I made it out!"

  He grinned at me with his tongue lolling out the side of his mouth. "So I see. I’m waiting to see how Will manages."

  "He will probably shift and crawl out."

  Tony shook his head. "After losing control like that, he won't be able to shift for a bit."

  I blinked slowly. "Oh. This could be interesting then..."

  Tony grinned, and I turned to face the entrance. We listened to scratching and muffled noises coming from the tunnel.

  Will eventually grumbled, "This is impossible. There is no way I could have gotten into this tunnel in wolf form."

  Tony yipped faintly in amusement. "Well, you did. You managed it while carrying Jade, too."

  Will snorted, unimpressed with his mentor’s claim. "How long until I can shift? It might just be easier to wait."

  "Not long. About ten minutes, give or take."

  "Then I think I’ll wait."

  I sent my surprise down the mindlink, exclaiming, "Hey! That’s no fair! You freaked out when I was roaming around in a rabbit tunnel, but when you are actually the one stuck underground, it’s a different story?"

  Will contemplated it for a bit. "Odd as it seems, me being stuck doesn't bother me. You being potentially trapped is a different story."

  I shook my head. "Unbelievable. You do realize the chances of a bear or cougar sneaking up behind me when I’m out here is far more likely than when I was down in the rabbit burrow, right?"

  Will's mindvoice was tight with that thought. "I’m sure Tony can protect you from bears and cougars for the next ten minutes."

  I glanced up at the tree above me. It was pretty big, but it also gave me an idea to further torment Will. I shifted and quickly climbed up while Tony watched me in suspicion.

  "What are you doing?" Tony asked with misgiving.

  I sat on a big branch and shifted back to my wolf form before lying down on the wide branch. I grinned down at Tony's wide eyes. He apparently never realized, until now, that I could shift so easily in a tree and not fall out.

  "I’m getting a good seat to watch the upcoming show."

  "Jade, what are you up to?" Will had been listening, and from his voice, he sounded as if he suspected that he really didn't want to know the answer.

  I bared my teeth in a grin as I replied, "Nothing I haven't done before, and no, before you ask, I’m not in any danger."

  That alone made Will quite worried. "Jade... What you are doing?"

  "Just laying down and watching the tunnel."

  He was still suspicious. "Then why did Tony seem concerned?"

  I shrugged even though he couldn’t see the motion. "I guess Tony didn't realize that I was actually part cat."

  Will gave up interrogating me and focused on Tony. "What is she doing?"

  Tony kept his voice calm. "She is fine. You can see what she did when you come out."

  I heard Will's mental and physical growl. He was starting to get agitated. "You two are hiding something from me."

  I tilted my head, letting my mischievousness be felt. "Not really, if you come out here, it’s quite obvious."

  He was losing patience, and his voice held a warning tone. "Jade..."

  I sighed. "All right, all right. Just don't blow a gasket. I have done this thousands of times." I sent an image of my view of the tunnel. He would be able to tell that I was in a tree.

  "If you look down, will I see shoes or paws?" he asked, his voice shaking in worry.

  I grinned. "I can show you whatever you want to see."

  "That was not what I wanted to hear."

  With a few grunts and groans, Will squeezed out of the tunnel in wolf form in a way that looked painful. He spotted me instantly and started heading in my direction. "Don't move, I’ll come and get you."

  I rolled my eyes, but remained where I was. "Fine, I’ll let you play the knight in shining armor."

  I waited in amusement to see the outcome of his decision considering his current predicament. He immediately realized that he still couldn't shift and turned to stare at Tony. With a chuckle, Tony shifted and climbed into the tree before carefully picking me up and taking me back to ground level.

  Will immediately came over to nuzzle me as Tony put me down. I lay down in the grass and surprised myself with a big yawn. Today had really worn me out... Will sighed as if he was as tired as I was.

  "Let's head back," he said.

  I shifted, and Tony and I walked beside him in human form.