"Guys! I'm okay. Whoever it was stole a body. There's some crazy stuff happening here, I feel like I walked into the middle of something huge, but I don't have all the pieces to make heads or tails of it. It's frustrating," she confessed.

"Back to Penny. Unfortunately, the paperwork we forged is only valid in the human world, you're in Lycaonia now; her grandparents will have the upper hand. What's Colton doing about it? How is he with our Penny?" Radek asked.

"Colton's wonderful with her. You wouldn't recognize her Radek, she's smiling and bouncing around, and really coming out of her shell. I know it's because of Colton. He didn't hesitate for even a second to accept her as his own. He'll be just as devastated if we lose Penny," she swallowed hard feeling a knot in her throat. She took a breath and continued. "He's letting Aiden's father deal with it, I think he may be important here."

There was silence on the other end of the phone. "Did you say Aiden's father, as in Byron McKenzie?" Radek asked.

"Yeah, Colton and Aiden are childhood friends, Colton asked Aiden to be Penny's Athair, so Byron's doing everything he can for Aiden, if that makes sense."

"Holy shit! The McKenzies are the closest thing you can get to shifter royalty, if we had royalty. She couldn't have better men looking out for her." Radek's voice sounded awestruck.

"You sound unusually impressed, Radek."

"It's because of Commander McKenzie, the older one," Levi called out in the background.

"Older one?" she asked thoroughly confused.

"Byron McKenzie, Aiden's father, used to be the Unit Commander before his son took over. Most of us who volunteered to be in Vanguard served under him. I've heard that his son is just as fair and honorable as his father," Radek said.

"So what do you know about Colton?" She felt bad about asking, but she valued their opinions.

"If Aiden is the crown prince, Colton would be the court jester," Marco called out, laughing.

Radek chuckled. "There's more to that wolf than meets the eye. He acts like the laid back Lothario so most people drop their defenses around him. I think he's played the good cop to Aiden's bad cop for so long he doesn't even realize he does it anymore. But I will tell you this, he's good, very good. He's the second highest ranked shifter in all of the units for a reason."

Rheia knew what Radek said was true; she had caught enough glimpses of Colton's wolf behind his eyes to know he wasn't as easy going as he let on.

"You got quiet, kiddo, all jokes aside, is he treating you right?" Radek asked.

Rheia answered without hesitation. "Yes. He's even agreed to wait to claim me."

"Ouch." Radek hissed.

"What?"

"Rheia, honey, I'm sure he didn't tell you, but that will be very hard on him. Every instinct in his body is screaming at him to claim you. He must have extraordinary self control." There was a degree of admiration in Radek's voice that hadn't been there before.

"Wait, I'm causing him pain?" Rheia felt ill.

Radek hesitated. "Yes and no. You have every right to ask him to wait, but in honoring that request, Colton is under a certain amount of mental and physical duress. Whatever you do, don't sleep with him."

"Why?" she asked suspiciously.

"Shit, you've slept with him already, haven't you?"

"Yes. I can't seem to keep my hands off of him," she admitted.

"Poor bastard," Dax murmured in the background.

"What? What did I do?" Rheia asked frantically.

Radek exhaled loudly. She could just imagine him pinching the bridge of his nose. "Pumpkin Dumpling, having sex with you and not claiming you would be like teasing someone for hours on end and not letting them orgasm."

"He had an orgasm," she protested.

"It's not physical; basically you gave his heart and soul the worst case of blue balls in the history of mankind."

"Oh my God," she whispered.

"So tell me what's wrong with him. What is it about him that you don't like?" Radek asked.

Rheia felt her defenses go up. "There's nothing wrong with him! I've never been with anyone who was as selfless and as considerate as Colton. I know that he'd do anything to keep Penny and me safe and happy." Rheia stumbled as her thoughts collided in her mind. She knew, with unwavering conviction that Colton would die before hurting her, that he lived to see her smile. In an instant, she knew. She loved him.

"Caught ya' didn't I?" Radek chuckled.

"Ryuu said it would be a defining moment. He wasn't kidding."

"Who's Ryuu?" Levi asked.

"He's the house squire and makes the best damn food and coffee I've ever had." She couldn't keep the smile off her face remembering the cinnamon rolls.

"Must be nice having a squire," Levi said longingly.

Rheia heard footsteps by the door. "Listen guys, I gotta run. I'll call you back later with updates."

"We miss you. Take care of your wolf," Athan said in goodbye.

"I miss all of you, too. Stay safe."

"You too, Pumpkin Dumpling." Rheia ended the call and stared at her phone. There was no reason not to mate with Colton. She felt her body tightening in anticipation. Considering how off the charts the other night had been, she couldn't help but wonder about the claiming process.