She laughed at loud at the scene that greeted her eyes when she opened that door. Kayleb and the three girls were sitting cross legged on the floor with tea cups and tiny plates in front of them. The girls had obviously decided that Kayleb needed decoration and had adorned him with a bright pink tiara, a plastic gemstone necklace and a thick pink boa scarf.

He was holding his tiny tea cup and was just lifting it to his lips, with his pinky raised, when Vanessa's laughter filled the air. He jumped to his feet and tossed the cup aside when he saw her.

"Uh... We were uh..."

"We're having a tea party mommy! Kayleb was being a princess!" Faith said jumping up and running over to her. Vanessa nodded as she bit her lip to keep herself from laughing again.

"I see that. Nice tiara." Kayleb's cheeks flushed red as he yanked the tiara off his head and tossed it aside.

"Here's your breakfast." Vanessa said holding out the plate. Kayleb took it and sat down on the bed.

"Thanks." he said as he began eating. She seemed to be happier today and the sound of her laughter had been like music to his ears but he was afraid to speak because he might say something to bring back her angry, defensive side.

"Do you want some tea mommy?" Faith asked. Vanessa nodded and sat down on the floor. It was nice to see that her daughter was still playing and happy considering all she had been through in the last couple of days. Kayleb watched his mate as she went about the rituals of a tea party with three young girls. He had made the decision to not tell her about his fight with Vincent or the threats that Vincent had made. If he was right about her, then she would be the type of woman to turn herself over to the vampire in order to keep everyone else safe and that was something that Kayleb couldn't let happen.

Faith stood up and walked over to him and he looked at her questioningly. She grinned her crooked little grin and pointed a tiny finger at his neck.

"Can I have the scarf and necklace for my mommy?" she asked. Kayleb quickly sat his plate down and took off the necklace and feathery scarf. He handed them to Faith and she ran over and put them on Vanessa who laughed happily. Kayleb was glad the little girl had only asked for the jewelry because he had a feeling that he couldn't say no to her. She could ask him for the moon and he would figure out some way to get it to her.

He was surprised by this because he had never been a 'kid' person. He had never played with his nieces and nephews but when Faith had come into his room this morning with her tea party set and asked him if he would have a tea party with her, Gwen and Kaitlyn, he had been helpless to say no.

He finished eating his breakfast and then stood up. His body was still a little sore and he stretched his arms up in the air to work out the kinks. Vanessa glanced over right at that time and felt her mouth go dry. His black pajama pants were riding low on his hips and his gray muscle tank had raised up revealing the skin and the sexy v of muscle low on his stomach. She forced herself to look away but not before Kayleb saw the look in her eyes.

"Kaitlyn! Bring Gwen and Faith down here because we're about to go shopping!" Raquel's voice came from downstairs.

"Shopping?" Vanessa asked Kaitlyn. The girl nodded.

"Aunt Raquel is taking us." she said. Vanessa immediately looked over at Kayleb. He could see the unspoken question in her eyes and he pulled back the curtains to reveal the bright sun and blue sky.

"It's a pretty day for shopping." he said with a reassuring smile.

"Okay baby girl. Have fun and when you get home Hunter told me yesterday that he might teach us how to ride the horses today." Faith smiled happily and then the girls ran from the room and Vanessa began gathering up the tea party supplies.

"I'm sorry for the way I've been acting." she said without looking up. "I've been stressed out and scared and I took it out on you and that wasn't fair."

"You don't have to apologize." Kayleb replied. Vanessa stood straight and noticed that the air didn't seem to have enough oxygen as they stood feet apart in the small room. She pushed her hair behind her ear and bit her lip. If she was going to try to take a chance with Kayleb now was the time. She opened her mouth to speak but he spoke first.

"Do you want to go for a walk or something?" he asked.

"Huh?" she asked. That hadn't been what she had expected him to say. Kayleb shrugged and ran a hand over his hair.

"I figure you're about tired of seeing the house aren't you? I can take you for a walk in the woods.. You can have a little change of scenery."

"Will I be safe?" she asked remembering how dark and foreboding the woods had looked yesterday.

"You'll always be safe with me, Vanessa. I would never let anything happen to you or to Faith." he promised and that intensity came into his dark eyes that both terrified and melted her at the same

"Because we're mates." she said with just a hint of sadness in her voice... She wanted it to be more.

"Yeah." Kayleb replied as if that was all the reason that was needed. "And I care about you." he added.

"Because we're mates." she said again. Kayleb sighed with confusion. What did the woman want him to say?

"I think I would care about you even if we weren't mates." he said and Vanessa was surprised that his voice sounded almost shy. This was a side of him she hadn't seen before.

"We don't even really know each other." Vanessa reminded him. He gave a lopsided grin and tilted his head and she was reminded of a cute dog... or a wolf.

"Then go for a walk with me and we can get to know each other."

They walked side by side through the woods. Neither spoke and the sounds of the birds singing was the only noise to be heard other than Scouts noisy paws on the leaf covered ground. Kayleb looked over at Vanessa and saw that she kept looking off into the shadows nervously and she had one hand on the handle of the gun stuck in the waistband of her jeans.

"Vanessa, there's nothing around. You're safe with me." Kayleb promised. She forced herself to relax and looked over at the man walking beside her.

"How long do you think it will take before Vincent is caught?" she asked.

"I don't know." he replied honestly. "And he won't be caught, he'll be killed. You won't ever have to worry about him again." Vanessa let out a frustrated growl and kicked at the leaves at her feet. Kayleb raised his brow and she gave an irritated laugh.

"I'm a control freak." she said.

"I hadn't noticed." Kayleb replied with that lopsided grin of his and Vanessa couldn't help but slap his arm playfully.

"This is driving me crazy. Why me? I'm nothing special. I'm a single mother who works too much and never sleeps. I am moody, easily angered, and I like to be right... Why the hell does this vamp want me?"

"Maybe he likes apples." Kayleb offered with a shrug. Vanessa raised a brow.

"What the hell are you talking about?" she asked. Kayleb chuckled and Vanessa found herself falling in love with the raspy quality his laughter had... Love? Great. Bethany was right. She was falling in love now and she didn't even really know him. So much for being Mrs. Practicality.

"You smell like apples."

"I do?" Vanessa asked and she turned her head and sniffed her shoulder but all she smelled was flower scented laundry detergent. This time Kayleb laughed loudly and she felt her heart skip a beat at the sound.

"Yeah you do." he replied. "The green kind."

"I smell like granny smith apples?" she asked in a flat voice. "That figures... I would smell like something like that instead of something hot and spicy that sounds sexy. I smell like something grandma bakes a pie with."

"When you're not on edge you're pretty funny." Kayleb said and he was proud of the crooked smile this put on her face. He loved that smile. Love? He had just thought of love and Vanessa in the same sentence. Was he going to get lucky and find love with his mate after all?

"And your scent is fine.. Trust me." Kayleb replied. Vanessa saw that the intense and hungry look come back into his eyes and she blushed and forced herself to look away. The man must really like apples.

"So you think I'm funny huh?" Vanessa asked. She had never been accused of being funny.. She was normally too stressed out to worry about being funny but right now she felt completely relaxed... Which was odd considering that her life was currently in constant danger. There was just something about Kayleb's presence beside her that took away all of her stress.

They spent the half hour walking side by side and sharing stories about their lives, their laughter filling the woods. They came to a small clearing beside a river and both of them took off their shoes and sat down on the river back, letting their feet dangle in the water.

"Well now that we officially know each other," Kayleb said as he threw a rock out onto the water and watched it ripples dance in the sunlight before Scout jumped into the water after them. "Why don't you tell me about Steven and why a woman as amazing as you was married to a man like that?"

"Well aren't you nosy!" Vanessa asked with a laugh.

"You don't have to answer." Kayleb replied. "I just don't get what you saw in him."

"He wasn't always the way he is now." Vanessa replied as a sad look came over her face. Kayleb could smell her sadness and it made his own heart hurt. He didn't think that empathy was a normal thing with mates. Empathy was something that came with love. He made a mental note to talk to his grandma about it later. There was no way he was going to his tough ass uncle with questions about love.

"Are you defending him now?" Kayleb asked teasingly, hoping to lighten her mood. Vanessa smiled but it didn't reach her eyes.

"I'm defending myself. I don't want you to think I had children with him the way he is now."

"Children?" Kayleb asked cautiously. He knew she was sad but he wanted to get to know her. Everything about her. The good and the bad. He wanted to know what made her, her.

"Yeah. I had a son. He died as an infant." Kayleb nodded and wrapped a gentle arm around her shoulders. He thought she would pull away and so he was shocked and rendered speechless when she moved closer and laid her head on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry that happened." he said once he found his voice. His heart was thundering with her this close to him. He could feel her pulse against his arm and her scent was filling his nostrils. He knew that he could hold her, just like this, for the rest of eternity and never get tired of it.

"It was just one of those things. I put Matthew down for his nap and he slept so long that I got worried.... I went in to check on him and he wasn't breathing. The doctors said it was SIDS. Steven blamed me. He said I must have done something wrong. He turned to drugs and once I realized that whatever love we had once had, had died with Matthew, I packed up mine and Faith's things and we left." Kayleb reached over with his free hand and grabbed hers. He entwined his thick, calloused fingers with her long slender ones and squeezed gently.

Vanessa looked down at their hands joined so closely together it was hard to tell where one ended and the other began and she smiled. Being this way with Kayleb just felt right and there was something inside of her telling her that it wasn't just because they were mates. It was something more. They were soul mates...

"I have seen you with Faith. I have seen how happy that girl is. You are an incredible woman and an amazing mother. Don't ever let that man try to convince you otherwise."

"Thank you." Vanessa said as she watched Scout splash around in the river. The dog finally seemed to be getting used to being around the werewolves. "So you've learned all about my pain and scars... What about you? Why did you leave the military and why don't you smile the way you used to?"

"Who have you been talking to?" Kayleb demanded, deciding that whichever of the nosy women in his family it was deserved a swift kick in the ass.

"Angela."

"Oh." Kayleb quickly scratched the butt kicking idea. Not only could Jake whip his ass but Angela probably could too.

"So why did you quit?" Vanessa asked again. Kayleb rubbed his thumb along the side of her hand and both could feel the heat and sparks from just that simple contact.

"I got tired of watching people I had grown to care about being killed. That's the only bad thing about being immortal in a world of mortals... Eventually your friends are going to die."

"I'm mortal." Vanessa reminded him and she heard him swallow hard.

"I know." he replied. They sat there in silence for a long time both of them simply enjoying the closeness of the other. Vanessa wanted to believe that this was real and as she felt the heat from his body against hers and the feel of his thumb rubbing gentle circles on her hand she believed that it was.

Kayleb breathed in deep to capture more of her scent when another scent came to him. It was sickly sweet and familiar and it made his blood freeze and boil at the same time.

Vincent was close. Kayleb stared into the shadowy forest and fought to keep his tension out of his body. He didn't want Vanessa to sense it and become afraid. Not now that she was finally relaxing.

"You ready to head back?" he asked. Vanessa wanted to say no because she was enjoying the peace out here but she had promised Faith she could learn to ride horses today and she was sure Faith would be getting back home soon.

"Okay." she whispered. Kayleb growled at Scout and the dog quickly jumped from the water and followed them as they started hand in hand down the trail. Kayleb worked hard to keep Vanessa out of any shadows and in the sunlight as they made their way home. He knew she probably thought something was wrong with him since he wasn't talking much but he was focusing all his concentration on making sure Vincent wasn't going to come up and stab either one of them in the back. The stupid blood sucker might have caught him by surprise once but he sure as hell wasn't going to do it again.

The closer they got to the house the more faint Vincent's scent became. Cleary the vampire wasn't brave enough to come take on the entire pack at once.

Only when they came into the open where the large log mansion sat did Kayleb finally breath out a sign of relief.