---Anders' POV---

A smile slipped on my face as I watched Benji sleep soundly. Soft purrs rumbled through his chest as his fingers kneaded at the sheets beneath him. I brushed a strand of his hair from his cheeks, tilting my head to observe as he pushed into the touch, purrs intensifying.

Looking away from my mate, I could feel my instincts flare as I stared out the window and at the drifting boat in the ocean. I knew exactly where Vaughan went, as he was a capable swimmer in either form. But I wondered why he stashed himself away in the boat?

Was he biding his time, waiting for the moment I'd leave Benjamin's side to deal with the serpent? Or was it merely his self-preserving instincts that guided him off the island and out of reach from Vane's claws?

Benji huffed, rolling over just to paste himself completely against my body. I held my breath, not willing to wake him up and try to avoid his questions. Just like Vane, my little mate was curious to why I simply didn't teleport away from this island in the first place, why I governed over these inmates.

Truth was, this island was my property, bought when I was still a youngster and wanting to please a future mate. I bought it with the thought that if I'd ever found my mate, we'd be able to live in peace and tranquility.

But after a few decades, new arrivals kept appearing. Inmates, who had been dropped off on shore and whom would be killed on sight if they left the premises of the island.  Even if I opened up portals to allow them out, they'd be tracked, hunted down and murdered in cold blood.

It had happened once before, but never again. A young woman, tossed on this island for refusing the advances of one of the wolves. When she came here, she begged and pleaded with me to let her return home, at least to collect her young sibling.

I had opened up a portal and waited for her there. The portal had flared to life after hours but only for two bodies to be tossed through it. The woman and her sibling, defiled and murdered in cold blood.

A reminder to the rest of the island of what would happen not only to them, but their loved ones as well, if they ever tried to escape.

I quietly rolled out of bed, tucking Benji in and smiling as he hissed in his sleep, wriggling around before clutching my pillow in a death grip. He relaxed as soon as he inhaled my scent and I could feel my chest swell with emotion as I watched the pleasant smile curl on his lips.

Ah, little one. You brighten up the darkness that was my life.

Quietly I moved to my desk in the corner of the room, dimming the office light so I could work in silence and allow Benji his much needed sleep.

Even thought the wolves had forbidden the inmates to leave the island, they had never been so bold as to set foot on what was mine. Now they had not only breached their contract, they had also laid a hand on my mate, even tried to kill him.

But the wolves made a serious mistake. In attacking my mate and bringing along Vane and his own mate, they had given up information I needed to set things in motion. I knew Vane would be more than eager to help me and if everything was just right, we would be able to tackle the corruption that was flowing out of Red Hills pack.

As if my thoughts had summoned him, a soft knock sounded on the door before it was pushed open by none other than Vane himself. The bear wandered in without a thought, not even shooting a glance at my sleeping mate, which I was very grateful for.

Brushing my fingers against the wall, I opened a small portal to my office, motioning for Vane to go through. He huffed, his bear's suspicion bleeding through his motions but he relaxed when I glanced at Benji when my mate rolled over and mewled softly.

As soon as we were far enough from the portal, Vane chuckled slightly. "For a moment I thought you were foolish enough to lure me in a trap." My lip curled up in a smirk as I shot a glance at Vane.

"Didn't know you'd be foolish enough to fall for said trap." I teased, to which Vane rolled his eyes and grunted. "Nah, figured you didn't wanna wake up Benjamin, which is also the reason why I'm here and not in my own room, with my own mate."

His jabs to him not wanting to be here were on point but I realized his frustration was justified.

Vaughan was still out there.

"He will be fine, if you want I can open a portal to your room as well, so you can see your mate sleeping." Vane's eyes flared at that, almost instantly nodding and watching as I waved my hand through the air.

His expression softened when he watched the sleeping form of his mate before chuckling softly. "What did we do to deserve such beauty and perfection in our lives?" He murmured softly, and while I was unsure he was actually speaking to me, I nodded just the same as I looked at Benji.

Our mates were what drove us to become better than what we are. Which is also why we needed to protect them from harm.

Without them, we are nothing.

I sighed before motioning towards the maps with my hand, silently urging Vane to tell me everything he knew about the Red Hill pack.

We would have the time to lay with our mates later. Now we needed to make a plan that could very well end in multiple deaths if executed poorly.

---Benji's POV---

The sun was warming my skin pleasantly by the time I woke up. Rolling over in the bed, I nearly jumped when I heard a squeak coming from the doorway. I instantly bolted up, blinking against the harsh sunlight, only to see a blushing Elijah covering his face.

"What's wrong?" I questioned after looking around the room to make sure nothing was amiss. Everything seemed to be in order, yet Elijah was blushing sharply, hands covering his face before he managed to squeak, "You're naked!"

I blinked again, looking down before realizing I had managed to roll on top of the blankets at some point. Elijah had probably walked in on a full view of my ass bare for all to see.

Leaning over, I quickly yanked up a pair of pants before clearing my throat, declaring the all clear for Elijah to remove his hands. The blushing buck glanced between his fingers before sighing and rubbing his heated cheeks.

"I'm sorry...why did you come here in the first place?" I questioned in an attempt to relax him. Elijah seemed unable to catch my eyes as they flitted anywhere but my direction.

"Breakfast is ready and Vane asked me to come get you before the buns cool down." He spoke and I nearly choked, my mind instantly thinking of an innuendo that Elijah didn't instantly pick up on before he watched me blush.

"Bread buns! Not...cheesh, I'm ah, I'm going downstairs." He muttered while pointing over his shoulder before fleeing the room. I chuckled and shook my head, managing to crawl out of bed and get a bit freshened up.

By the time I got downstairs, Elijah's face had cooled down considerably, nibbling on his food. Vane was standing behind the stove while Anders was putting the last of the plates out, looking up as I entered.

"Good morning love." He murmured sweetly before kissing my forehead, guiding me to my seat. "Slept well?" I nodded and filled my plate with delicious eggs, slices of crispy bacon and a few hash browns before eying the stack of pancakes longingly.

Oddly enough, there were no buns on the table but I smiled when Vane turned around after shutting the oven and placed a basket of freshly baked buns on the table.

"Help yourself." Vane said while taking a seat. I smirked slightly while taking a pair, "Thanks, I'd love to taste your buns. Can't wait to sink my teeth in them."

Elijah's reaction was instant, as he nearly choked on his orange juice and sent it spraying over his plate before he managed to slap a hand over his mouth. I nearly cackled as his face turned a beet red, especially when Vane raised an immaculate eyebrow, silently asking what was going on.

His mate shook his head, trying to clean up the mess but Vane didn't seem to be buying it at all, especially not when Elijah didn't pick any of the bread. "Are you feeling al right? You love my buns." Vane spoke in a soft and worried tone but the mental picture made me choke on my bacon, forcing me to cough and slap myself on the chest.

"Oh, I'm sure he does." I croaked, watching as Elijah's cheeks heated up even more before he actually tossed a bun against my head.

Vane and Anders took one look at the blushing Elijah and the buns before their eyes lid up with understanding, laughter filling the small kitchen. Vane pulled his mate on his lap, whispering something that had the buck slapping Vane against his chest before hiding his face in the crook of Vane's neck.

Meanwhile Anders had yanked me off my own seat, shooting me an inquisitive look to which I shrugged my shoulders. "I...might've flashed my ass when Elijah went to wake me up. To my defense, I was still asleep when he entered the room."

Anders hummed at that, kissing my bared shoulder before breathing against my skin. "I see. Though I wouldn't be teasing Elijah any more darling, unless you want your buns to feel the consequences."

He smirked as I shivered in his lap, unconsciously reacting to his silent promise. Even though I was slightly curious, I heeded his warning and resumed eating in silence, trying to avoid looking at Elijah to prevent any teasing from occurring.

Still, even after I had apologized for my teasing and relented, Elijah didn't touch a single bun without blushing every time he drew it to his mouth.

Mission accomplished.