So here he sat at the bar of the Wolf's Den. It was a very popular night club frequented by werewolves and other shifters with the occasional vampire thrown in for good measure. It's not like Duo could tell the difference. They all looked like the patrons of any other club. There was the usual tight clothes and an inordinate amount of bare skin. Throw in a lot of writhing around to music and it was pretty much like any other club.

Since his undercover ID required him to pose as a waiter he was studying the wait staff to see how he would be expected to dress. It would seem the required "uniform" included tight leather pants that laced up the outside of both legs, no shirt, and a collar that would look at home on a pitbull. Oh yeah, that little red convertible was going to look good after he ran his keys along one side from the headlights to the taillights.

He was waiting to meet Heero Yuy. According to the info the captain had given him, this Yuy guy was the owner of the club and the pack Alpha. Evidently, Yuy knew about his assignment and had agreed to help in any way he could. Une said he was more than a little angry when she contacted him to tell him that his club was somehow the exchange point for a notorious gun runner and his clients. It would be Duo's job to figure out how it was being done and ultimately stop it. For now he just waited like a good little detective and hoped this didn't turn out to be the assignment from hell.

As he sat feeling sorry for himself his attention was drawn to some one behind him calling his name.

"Excuse me, are you Duo Maxwell?"

Duo turned to find a very sexy blond man with the softest blue eyes he'd ever seen. "Yeah, that's me. Can I help you with something?" The blond smiled at him making him feel calm and safe in a way he hadn't felt since arriving at the Wolf's Den. And like magic his headache began to disappear. Evidently, the Tylenol was finally kicking in.

"Actually, I'm here to help you. Heero Yuy sent me to get you. He'd like to talk to you in his office. Its this way." He said pointing toward a door at the back of the dance floor. "By the way, my name is Quatre Winner. My partner Trowa Barton and I manage the club for Heero. Grab your drink and we'll go to his office."

Quatre unlocked the door behind the dance floor leading them down a short, dimly lit hall that ended with another door. Once opened the second door led to a much brighter hallway. This hallway was covered in a rich brown carpet that complimented the taupe wall covering. It was as if they had stepped into an hotel leaving the garish dance club behind.

"The elevators are over there." Quatre said pointing about 25 feet away. "Our offices and Heero's apartment are on the tenth floor. You'll need an elevator key to get above eight. Even pack members can't go to the top two floors without special access. Floors two through eight are living quarters for some pack members and employees of the club. We found it helps in an emergency to have staff close at hand."

"So what's on the ninth floor that's so special you need a key?"

"The ninth floor has the apartments of Heero's Betas Trowa Barton and Wufei Chang and their mates. Wufei's mate is the pack's doctor, Sally Po. I'm Trowa's mate and the pack's Omega."

"Yeah, who's Heero's mate, the pack attorney?" Duo mused.

Quatre laughed out loud. "As convenient as that would be, I don't think Noin's mate, Zechs would appreciate it. Unfortunately, Heero hasn't met his mate yet."

"You'd think running a club like the Wolf's Den would give him ample opportunities to hook-up"

"That's true enough but for werewolves a hook-up is not the way we find our mates. It's a case of pheromones. When a wolf senses the scent of his mate he just knows that this is the person who will be his life's partner. He does not pick his mate on looks or personality or any of the reasons that humans use to choose a partner. Wolves don't pick their mates at all. Nature takes care of that for us by removing any decision making on our part."

"Wow, that could be inconvenient if you didn't like the person nature chooses for you."

"Actually that never seems to happen. Our hearts always follow our pheromones. We don't have the divorce problems that humans do." He gave Duo a smile that showed his amusement at Duo's look of doubt.

Once the elevator doors opened Quatre used his key card to choose the tenth floor. "We'll make sure you get a key card for the upper floors. We also have a small armory on the tenth floor. We've found over the years that it is occasionally necessary to defend ourselves from other packs or even rogue wolves. Feel free to use any weapons you need. And before you ask, all weapons have been approved by your department with the understanding that they can only be used for defense and never against humans."

"Thanks man, but I'm not planning to turn this investigation into a war. I'm here to find out how the money/weapons exchange is happening. When I know I can make the arrests and let your club go back to business as usual." As Duo finished, the elevator stopped and the doors opened. He was surprised to find himself stepping directly into Heero Yuy's office.

"Come on Duo I'll introduce you to Heero and his Betas."

The office was comfortable and masculine. Lots of wood and leather with the plushest carpeting he had ever walked on. In the middle of the room was a massive wood desk surrounded by leather upholstered chairs. In front of the desk sat two men. Behind the desk was the hottest looking guy he'd seen in awhile. Dark slightly disheveled hair and the most beautiful cobalt eyes he'd ever seen. Maybe this wouldn't be such a bad assignment after all. As they approached the desk the two men in front stood and faced them. It struck Duo that the pose was meant to be intimidating as if the were protecting the man behind the desk from the unknown potential aggressor. As Duo and Quatre stepped forward so did they.

"Duo, I'd like you to meet Heero's Betas. This is my mate Trowa Barton." The taller of the two men extended his hand, shaking Duo's. "This is Wufei Chang." The other, a very surly looking Asian, reached out and shook Duo's hand as well.

"It's nice to meet you, Duo." Barton said. "We are willing to help in any way we can to stop this man. We've collected personnel files on all the club's employees. We've put the files in your apartment on the eighth floor. We'll share any info we have on our regular customers. But I'm sure you realize that information my be pretty limited."

"Thanks, that's a good starting point. There may be something in the files that'll give me a clue on our gun dealers contact here at the club."

"Do you have any idea why the Wolf's Den was chosen? We are law abiding citizens and not inclined to allow criminal activity in our club." Chang said with an expression almost daring Duo to imply anything to the contrary.

"We don't know why the Wolf's Den, in particular, was chosen. We suspect that they just wanted a very public place, thereby insuring against walking into a trap at the exchange point. We think that someone here is acting as an agent, bringing prospective customers to our gunrunner. We've nicknamed him the "invisible man" because we've never gotten any kind of description of him. We don't have a clue of what he looks like. The guy's a genius at making sure that people who can identify him just disappear."

The sexy man behind the desk stood and walked around to the front. "We appreciate your help in getting rid of this traitor in our midst."

With that said the man stepped very close to Duo and extended his hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Duo. I'm Heero Yuy." The man's touch was strong and almost possessive in nature and sent a shiver through Duo. As Duo looked into Heero's eyes he saw Heero's glance shift over his shoulder toward Quatre. The glance was accompanied by a slight smile as if the two of them were sharing a secret of some sort. What the hell was that about? Then the weirdest behavior yet, as Heero leaned closer and inhaled deeply.

"Ah, Heero did you just sniff me? It must be that new aftershave my friend Hilde gave me for my birthday. She said it was guaranteed to attract attention from potential dates. She's always trying to play cupid for me."

"We're wolves, Duo. Much of the information we gather comes from scent. Your pheromones are quite alluring. You won't be needing that aftershave anymore. From now on, Duo, you will no longer have to attract "potential dates".

Worried that he had given Heero the impression that he was an unreliable goof-off Duo said. " You're right about that, Heero. I'm on the job now not trolling for a hook-up. I can promise you my attention is completely focused on catching this guy. He's been a pain in our butts for months now. This is where it ends."

In return Heero looked back at Quatre with that same smirk that said the two of them definitely knew something that Duo was not in on.

"You'll probably want to get started tomorrow. Let me show you around and introduce you to the people you'll be working with. Quatre had someone unpack your clothes and personal items so that your apartment is ready for you. Let me show you this floor first. I especially want you to know where the armory is. Your key card will open all doors for you."

With that Heero turned to leave, leading Duo to the door at the left of his office and into the hall leading to the armory.

When they were gone, Trowa grabbed Quatre by the arm as he turned to go. "Oh no Mr. Empath, you're not going anywhere until you tell us what was going on between you and Alpha Boy."

"But Trowa, love, there wasn't anything... Duo is Heero's mate!"

"Oh my god! That's what he meant about that pheromones crack he made. I thought he was just being a smart ass. Oh I wish I could be there when he tells Duo. He'll freak!"

"We should have known that Heero's mate would be a tough guy like Duo." Quatre beamed a very self-satisfied smile. "He doesn't know it yet but he belongs to us now. And by the way, I don't think he will freak. I got a vague sense that he just might be interested."

"Well Maxwell just might have something to say about being a werewolf's mate. This isn't a done deal quite yet."

"Oh, Wufei, don't be such a skeptic when Heero puts his mind to it things just seem to happen."

"We'll see."

Duo's headache was beginning to stir again. Heero had dragged him around the building and club introducing him to everyone he'd need to know right away. None of them knew Duo's mission at the club. Heero had managed to keep that knowledge to the few men in his inner circle which would minimize the chance of Duo being discovered by the gunrunner's contact in the club.

They were now headed to Duo's new apartment. Heero stopped in front of apartment 802 and turned to Duo. "This is your home here at the Den. The master key card that Quatre gave you will work in this lock as well."

Heero looked at him with that same stare he'd used on and off all afternoon when he looked at Duo. It was as if he was caressing Duo with his eyes. Duo was all at once apprehensive and aroused. How was that even possible? Yuy had the strangest effect on him just standing near him. He didn't even need to touch him for Duo to "feel" him.

Duo rubbed his forehead hoping that would help his returning headache. He was pleased at his temporary home. It was comfortably furnished in neutral soothing colors. At least his time off would be spent in pleasant surroundings. Much better than some of the flop houses he'd lived in on other undercover missions.

"Duo, are you not feeling well?" Heero said with a gentle concern in his voice.

"I had a headache earlier which disappeared and now it seems to be coming back."

"Were you with Quatre when your headache went away?"

"Yeah, now that you mention it. That's about when it got better."

"As Omega that is one of Quatre's abilities. He brings a sense of peace and tranquility which took away your tension and with it your headache. Do you want me to call him? He'd be glad to help."

"No, it's not that bad. I'll take a couple of Tylenol. It'll be gone in no time."

"All right. Duo there is something we need to discuss. Have you sensed something happening between us? A feeling as if we've known each other for far longer than one afternoon."

"Well, something is different in how I feel when you're around. It makes me feel off balance. Like I'm not in complete control of anything. I'm a bit confused about how I should relate to you or how I should act around you. You want to hear something really weird? When that woman customer at the bar flirted with you, I had to stop myself from pushing her away from you. I don't understand my own emotions right now." Duo rubbed at his forehead again trying to will his headache away.

"You were jealous, Duo. You were trying to protect what is yours. Me." There was an expression in Heero's eyes as if he was pleading with Duo to try to understand a situation that didn't even exist in Duo's world.

"Heero, how could I be jealous. I barely know you. I think I'm just having trouble adjusting to things around here. I'm sure that's all it is. I'll be fine as soon...."

As Duo opened his mouth to finish what he was saying he found himself propelled against the wall with Heero's body pinning him in place. Before he could say another word Heero's mouth covered his in the most thrilling kiss he'd ever had. His first instinct was to push Heero away but the urge was quickly replaced by his need to kiss Heero back. As they kissed Heero forced his hips against Duo rubbing their denim covered erections together and making Duo moan.

"You see, Duo, your body knows the truth. You are mine. As soon as your mind accepts this you will find peace at the prospect of being my mate." With that Heero stepped back leaving Duo leaning against the wall trying to catch his breath. "Soon I will claim you so that all in the pack will know you belong to me. Until then, I will leave you to your investigation. You need the time to accept what is happening." With that Heero turned and walked out the door not looking back.

Duo slid down the wall until he was sitting on the floor. He scrubbed his face with his hands and drew a deep breath. "What the hell was that about?" He remembered what Quatre had said about a wolf scenting his mate's pheromones. That explained why Heero had sniffed him. How could it be that easy to identify your life's partner based solely on their scent? Whatever the reason Duo knew Heero was right. He was just as attracted to Heero. From the moment he'd looked across that desk into those amazing cobalt eyes he was doomed. He just couldn't deal with this now. Now he had a gunrunner to catch. That was something he understood. Something he was good at. It would be his excuse not to deal with Heero's announcement setting his life's future on a road he couldn't even comprehend.

He finally got back up on his feet and made his way to the kitchen table. There he found the personnel files that Trowa had promised him. "OK, Maxwell, time to get to work. Heero Yuy and his pheromones will just have to wait until I'm ready to deal with them."

Two hours later Duo finished the last of the files. He had narrowed his search to seven files. From what evidence they'd been able to collect, they were sure that the contact in the club was a fairly new employee. One who had been hired not more than six months ago. Now that he had his suspects he needed to talk to Quatre or Trowa to get some feedback and perhaps a better sense of these seven men.

Duo picked up his cell and dialed Quatre's number.

"Hello, Duo, how are things going for you?"

"I'm fine Qat. I've narrowed down my suspect list and was wondering if you could come to my place and give me your impressions. We might be able to narrow down our list a little more."

"Of course, I'd be glad to help. I'm free at the moment. I'll be there in about five minutes. See you then."

Quatre shut off his phone and turned to Heero. "Duo has gone through the files and he's eliminated all but a few names. I'm going down to his apartment and take a look at his list. I'll let you know what we decide."

"Quatre, do me a favor. Please see if you can get some impression of how Duo is feeling about me. I have to decide how to approach him about being my mate. Right now I'm just hoping I didn't scare him off."

"Don't worry, Heero, Duo will come around. He just needs time to absorb all of this. Our world is quite different from his. Be patient."

"I'll try. Let me know who you and Duo have on that suspects list of his. If this guy turns out to be pack he'll have more to worry about than the police. He'll pay for using pack territory this way."

"You're going to have to rethink that Heero. We promised to help identify this traitor for Une. We didn't sign on to be lawless vigilantes."

"You're right. I'll reign in my anger. Go help Duo and let me know what you two decide."

Quatre arrived at Duo's apartment and rang the bell. He was surprised to see the Duo who answered the door. He looked tired and obviously in some pain as he rubbed his hand across his forehead.

"Thanks for coming Quatre. I have my suspect list down to seven and I'm hoping you can help me thin it out a little more." They crossed the room to sit on Duo's couch where he had stacked the files of his potential "persons of interest."

"Duo, do you have a headache? You look so tired and pained right now. I can fix your headache if you'll let me. Quatre leaned toward Duo putting his finger tips at Duo's temples for just a few seconds. The stress faded from his face as the pain drained away.

"Wow, Qat, that's the best I've felt all day. Can you cure other things that fast?"

"I can't actually cure illnesses. As an Omega I have the ability to calm people. When your stress left, your headache went with it. If you need anything else you'll have to see Sally, she's the only one who can actually treat illnesses. She does it the regular way with pills and the like."

"Well, however you do it, I feel so much better than I have in hours. Thanks. I'd like you to look at these few personnel files and give me your impression of each of these guys. I've pretty much eliminated all the others at this point."

Duo watched as Quatre looked through the short list of his suspects. When he was done Quatre put five files to one side of the coffee table. He handed the last two files back to Duo. These two are the most likely ones of the seven you gave me."

"What makes you so sure that these five are not our suspect? They fit all the criteria of the guy we're looking for."

"I've known three of them most of my life. They have no need for money. They live simple lives with no flashy big purchases. And they're good loyal men who would never insult their pack mates by doing something so dishonorable."

"As a matter of fact, if you need someone to help you I suggest this man, James Spencer. He is a good friend of Wufei's and has the same sense of honor and fairness. They were part of a small pack that left this territory. James and Wufei didn't want to move and petitioned us to join our pack. James has been as dedicated to this pack as anyone born to us. He recently started to work part-time here because he's saving to put a down payment on a small house near here. He and his mate are having their first child. He wants them to have a home of their own. He works full-time as an accountant for a friend of Heero's."

"I'd bet my life that none of these men are involved. As for the other two of the five, they are friends of Trowa and mine. They're here to help us out. We recently expanded our hours and needed a few extra waiters to get our new schedule going. Ben and Andy are both part-time and will probably quit when we don't need them anymore."

"That's a big help, eliminating five of the seven. I've learned from Heero to trust your intuition. He says you're never wrong. That leaves us with these two. Robert Powell and Daniel Martinez. Do you have any feelings about either of them?"

"Both are good workers and seem to enjoy their work here. Bob is very friendly and is a favorite of the customers. He already has his regulars. Danny is a little less outgoing but no less good at keeping our customers happy. I'm an empath Duo, not a mind reader. I'm afraid I don't feel anything from either of them that causes me not to trust them."

"That's OK, Qat, you've done quite a bit by narrowing down my list. Now, you just need to set up the schedule so that the three of us work on the same shift. That way I can keep an eye on them. It's up to me now to find our perp.

"Not a problem. Bob and Danny already work the same schedule. I'll just add you to their shift. You can start tomorrow night and work the 8PM to 3AM shift."

"I've got my uniform. Could you possibly make those leather pants any tighter? I'm seriously worried my dick will never work again after I crush it into those pants for eight hours a day. And what's with the dog collar?"

Quatre chuckled and patted Duo on the shoulder. "I promise you, Duo your genitals are safe. None of our waiters have had any problems. The pants are sexy and the collars add a little "bad ass" to the outfit. Our customers, especially the women, seem to like them."

"Qat, can I ask you something?"

"You know you can ask anything. I'm here to help you any way I can."

"Heero told me I'm his mate. What am I supposed to do? He seemed so sure as if it was written in stone. A done deal."

"I know you are having difficulty with this concept but for a wolf, for Heero, this is written in stone. You have to decide how you feel about this."

"I'd be lying if I said I'm not attracted to him. He is a really great kisser too. But it's a long way from being attracted to someone and committing to them for life. I have to say, it scares the hell out of me."

"That's why Heero's giving you some space. Take the time to think this over. Decide how you want to deal with it. In the end if you reject him Heero will respect your decision. Before that he may, however, switch to "commando" wooing mode. Prepare to be swept off your feet."

"Remind me to stay out of his way if I see him coming after me with a broom."

At that Quatre laughed out loud. "Relax you'll figure it out. Get some sleep you'll be on the clock tomorrow night. See you then." Quatre left still smiling as if he was enjoying Duo's romantic dilemma.

It was day three of Duo's waiter job at the Wolf's Den. He was tired of watching Powell and Martinez for hints of which one of them was the gunrunner's contact. He had enough! He stormed up to the bar to give Jeff his order. "Two Buds, a Margarita, and a Fuzzy Navel. If one more person grabs my ass I won't be responsible for my actions. These are some of the boldest women I've ever seen."

"It's a well known fact around here that there's a direct link between the number of ass grabs in a night and the amount you make in tips that shift."

"If that were true I'd be a millionaire tonight. It's easy for you to stand there and grin. Your butt is safe behind the bar."

Duo flipped his braid forward over his shoulder where he could protect it from grabbing hands. He filled his tray with table 5's order and headed back. As he bent over to place the drinks down, he felt someone from the table behind him run a hand over his butt with way too much familiarity for a stranger. That was it. The straw that broke the camel's back. Duo spun around and glared into the face of a very shocked middle aged man. He reached out, grabbed the man's hand and bent his ring finger as far back as possible without breaking it.

"We at the Den really appreciate your business. But I'm afraid that if you put your hand where it doesn't belong again this finger will get broken. You understand?"

"Yeah, yeah, sorry." He said panting with the pain.

Duo released the man's finger and patted the back of his hand the way he would a child's. "Good boy."

As Duo turned he noticed Bobby Powell standing at a table taking an order. He seemed to be engaged in a fairly intense conversation. Duo made a mental note to keep an eye on that table and Bobby as the shift went on. He didn't recognize the customer as anyone he'd seen in the last three days, but he'd be sure to take notice of the man if he saw him again. Tall, blond, slender build, mid forties and he seemed to be a buddy of Bobby Powell's. Duo went to the next table in his station to take another order from an overly made-up and perfumed woman who was at this moment waving at him and batting her eyes. It made Duo long for an assignment chasing heavily drugged junkies with big guns. "Yeah, that would be like heaven compared to this." Duo mumbled under his breath before going to take the woman's order.

At the end of the night Duo went to Trowa and Quatre's office at the back of the club. He walked through the open door to find Trowa behind his desk going through the night's receipts. "Hi Trow, how'd it go tonight?"

"Shouldn't I be asking you that? Any clues about your suspects?"

"I may have something. I need to see the credit card receipts from Powell's station tonight. I'm looking for a credit card slip for table 14 with a check out time of about 12:30."

"Let's look through Bobby's receipts. Is there something special about this customer?"

"Don't know. Actually, It's just a hunch right now but its more than I've found so far."

"Here it is. It's a business card for a company called Perkins Ltd. I can't quite make out the signature. I'll make you a copy." Trowa went to the copier in the corner and brought back Duo's slip

"Trow, you keep the copy for your records. Don't touch the original again. I'm sending it to Une. We'll find out what we can about Perkins Ltd. And get any fingerprints we can from it." Duo picked up the paper by the corner and placed it in the envelope Trowa handed him.

"I'll call Une in the morning. "She'll give this to the guys in the lab to see what we can discover. Thanks, I'll let you know what I find out as soon as I know something. Ah... Trowa, I haven't seen Heero lately. Is he OK?"

"Well Duo I guess it depends on how you define OK. He's been a surly bastard for three days. You wouldn't happen to know the reason for that would you?" There was a twinkle of amusement in Trowa's green eyes that made Duo think he knew exactly why Heero was being a "surly bastard".

"I guess he's waiting for me to give him an answer. I just don't know what that would be. This whole mate thing is just so overwhelming."

"You know, Duo, a talk with Heero just might help that feeling of being overwhelmed. Heero is a good man, he'll listen. Just tell how you feel."

"I don't think I'm quite ready. I'll think about it though. Night, Trowa. I'll let you know what I find out about Perkins Ltd."

It was 7AM and there he stood in front of Heero Yuy's apartment. He hadn't slept and knew that his only hope of ever sleeping again was confronting Heero. He raised his hand and knocked on the door of apartment 1001 half hoping there would be no answer. The Heero Yuy that opened the door looked like shit. He stood there in soft cotton pajama pants and no shirt, barefooted. His eyes had circles as if he hadn't done much sleeping either. Good! Heero started this whole mate thing. It seemed only fair he should be as miserable over this process as Duo was.

"Good morning Heero. I didn't wake you did I?"

"No Duo. I was just... No you didn't. Come in I'll make us coffee. We can probably both use some."

Heero went into the kitchen stopping to fill the coffee maker on the counter near the sink. Duo took a seat on the stool at the center island. He was surprised as he looked around the room. It was larger than most apartment kitchens. Its equipment and layout spoke of a place designed for someone who could actually cook and probably enjoyed it. Was it possible Heero was a good cook? He realized that there was so much they didn't know about each other and yet the man was convinced their destiny was to be together for the rest of their lives.

"Heero I came to talk. We need to work this mate business out."

"I agree, Duo. I'm tired of not sleeping. Yesterday, Wufei told me that if I didn't snap out of the major grouch I'm in he'd kick my ass. Take my word he's one of the few werewolves capable of doing that."

"W don't know much about each other. You just know how I smell which seems to be enough for you. I need a little more than that to make this kind of commitment, though."

"Actually, the day we met, when I realized you were my mate, I did some research on you. I know that you were raised in a Catholic orphanage and that to this day you do volunteer work at the orphanage, including coaching their T-ball team. You went to the Police Academy out of junior college where you finished second in your class. You've done undercover work the last 18 months and you're Captain Une's favorite. She thinks of you like a son."

"Where on the internet did it say that Une thinks she's my mom?"

"Not the internet. I figured that out when I talked to her about this assignment. Did you know that back in Texas she and I were in the army together? We were MPs. It would seem that you and I have a similar interest in law enforcement."

"Yeah, I guess we do. How did you wind up here in Seattle running a night club?"

"My tour was ending, when my guardian who raised me called and asked me to come. He was Alpha of our pack when I was growing up. While I was in the service he was challenged for Alpha and rather than fight he gave up his position. He said it was time to step down and just run the Wolf's Den. At the time he called me, Sanders, the new Alpha had run the pack into the ground. He was cruel to anyone he thought might have old loyalties to my guardian. He withheld pack privileges from them and anyone he didn't like. So I came home and challenged him for Alpha. We fought. I won. I became Alpha and banished him from the pack. My guardian died a few months later in a car crash. He willed me the club. So here I am Alpha and club owner."

"I like finding out who you are and what brought you here. It makes you less a stranger to me. What about hobbies, things you like, things you don't like?"

"I do competition shooting. My favorite hobby is cooking, though. I especially like to bake. It calms me down when I'm stressed out. By the way, would you like a piece of cake? I've baked several in the last two days plus dozens of cookies. Half the pack took home cake and cookies yesterday."

"I'd love cake. I'm a junkie for baked goods. I think that might just be the deal maker for us. I can't cook. I usually eat out. My partner's wife takes pity on me and is always sending me food she's cooked."

Heero put a piece of cake and a fork in front of Duo. "Wow, is that carrot cake? It's one of my favorites."

"It's a special recipe I developed. I entered it in the Pillsbury bake-off last year. It got an honorable mention."

Duo tried to control the laugh attempting to take him over. "Geez Heero, I've thought of you as a tough guy Alpha. Somehow, the image of you as Betty Crocker doesn't work."

Before Duo could say another word he looked up to find Heero standing next to him. He reached out taking Duo's hand and pulled him to his feet. Duo realized that the time had come to make his decision known. For the first time it all made sense. As if Heero's future and his finally meshed. Duo stepped forward, his eyes never leaving Heero's. It just seemed right to lean forward and capture Heero's lips with his. The kiss started slow, gentle and sensuous. It didn't stay that way for long as Heero took the kiss over and let his Alpha out. He ran his tongue across Duo's lips demanding permission to enter as Duo submitted opening his mouth to Heero. It was even better than the kiss in Duo's apartment. He was so lost. It was as if this kiss mapped their future together.

Heero finally leaned away just far enough to speak. "Say it Duo. I need you to say it."

"Yeah, I'm OK with it all, the mate thing, the happily ever after, the whole deal."

"Good, I don't think I could last much longer. Besides, I'm running out of sugar and flour."

"I guess my next question is how does this all happen?"

"After your investigation is over and your time is free to focus on our future I will call a pack meeting. At the meeting we will declare to all present that we are mates. It's a rather short affair, not even really a ceremony. After that we have something like a honeymoon. We have sex, I bite you and we are officially mates."

"Whoa there, my big bad wolf what do you mean you'll bite me?"

"I know it sounds awful but it is necessary. The bite is on the top of your shoulder near your neck. It happens at out first mating. I promise when it happens you will be too happy to care. Before you argue, it is necessary. Remember how I recognized you as my mate when I scented you? After the bite your pheromones will change. All who scent you, all werewolves, will know you are mine."

"OK, I guess. Is there anything else I need to know? I won't have to get your name tattooed on my ass or become a werewolf or something will I?"

"No the bite is the only surprise. Contrary to Hollywood lore you can't become a werewolf by being bitten. You must be born a werewolf. Are you still sure you want this?"

"Yeah, I'm sure. Stop stressing you can put your mixing bowl away and relax. I promise I'll do my best to finish this assignment quickly so we can make the big announcement. By the way, I may have a lead. I took a potential piece of evidence to Une's house early this morning. Cross your fingers. It might be the lead we're looking for."

"I hope so. I want this criminal out of my club. Our pack is honorable and law abiding. I intend to keep it that way. When we...." Heero stopped when someone started knocking at the door. "My apartment seems to be the place to be this morning. Sit down. I'll get that." Heero opened the door to find Quatre standing there.

"Good morning Heero. I knew you'd be up so I brought those estimates from the contractor to replace the windows in the front of the club. He said he can start... Hello, Duo. I never expected to see you here, especially this early in the morning."

Before Duo could say anything, Quatre spun around to look at Heero and then back at Duo. "Oh my god! What's going on with you two? And don't say nothing because I can feel the sexual tension in here like a tidal wave."

"Come into the kitchen and have coffee and we'll explain."

Heero handed Quatre a cup and poured coffee for all of them. "Duo has agreed to be my mate. We will make the announcement when the gun dealer is caught."

"I knew Duo felt the same way you do. I could sense it for the last few days. He's been all fuzzy and confused. If he had no feelings for you, I would have just sensed those determined cop vibes he was putting out the day I met him. The best part of all this is that we won't have to tip toe around Heero anymore. I swear he actually growled at me yesterday. I will miss the cookies, though."

"It's OK, Qat. Hopefully, this will be over soon. I may be closing in on our bad guys. I'm pretty sure Bobby Powell is our man. I watched him with a customer last night. They seemed a little too chummy to be waiter and customer. I sent the guy's credit card slip to the lab to find out what we can about him. With any luck we'll know something by this afternoon."

It was 3PM when Duo got the phone call he'd been waiting for from Une. "Hi, Duo, I have the lab report on your credit card slip. We went through the fingerprints and compared them to the elimination set you gave us. The only print left belonged to Joshua Bennington, the guy who signed the receipt. It would seem that Mr. Bennington is the owner of Perkins Ltd. He also has a record. Six years ago he did two of a five year sentence for possession of unregistered guns. All of which had their numbers filed off. Perkins Ltd. Is an import company. We think he may be using it as a way to move weapons shipments from all over the world. Oh, and by the way, the fingerprints you identified as Robert Powell came back for Andre Sanders. He had a minor conviction for passing bad checks a couple of years ago."

"I can't believe it we may actually have this jerk in our sights. Bobby and I are working together. I'll keep an eye on him and look for Bennington while I'm at it. You know that name Sanders is so familiar. I just can't place it, right now. Thanks Captain I'll keep an eye on things here and let you know what happens next."

"Good-bye Duo. Be careful. Don't take any chances of bringing these guys in by yourself when the time comes."

After Duo hung up he decided he'd go to Heero's office to let him in on the information he'd just learned. He got in the elevator and pressed the button for the tenth floor then swiped his card. When the door opened he was happy to see Heero, Quatre, Trowa, and Wufei all sitting around Heero's desk shuffling papers back and forth.

They all looked so intense until Heero lifted his head to see Duo getting off the elevator. His wide smile made Duo feel almost as good as that kiss this morning. Almost.

"Geez, Yuy what's with the sappy grin?" Wufei mocked as he turned to see who had gotten off the elevator. "I should have known. Besides he's as goofy looking as you are. You two have got it bad. Hi, Duo, come in and have a seat."

Duo crossed the room sitting next to Quatre in front of Heero's desk. "I'm glad you're all here. Une just called me with the report from our lab. She said that Perkins Ltd. Is a phony import company they're probably using to move the guns around The only print on the receipt that wasn't an employee belonged to a Joshua Bennington who just happens to have an old conviction on a weapons charge. Oh, and they discovered that Bobby Powell is an alias. His print matched a guy named Andre Sanders."

"Did you say Andre Sanders?" Trowa asked. "He's the younger brother of George Sanders our old Alpha. Heero beat him to become Alpha two years ago. No one in our pack ever met him because he was raised by his grandmother in Portland. This explains a lot. We were just going over a preliminary report sent to us by the credit card company. It would seem that Bobby has been selling customer credit card numbers. The company works backwards from the reported illegal charge to the last legitimate charge made on the card. They got suspicious when several of those ended here at the Wolf's Den. And guess who the waiter was on all of those receipts. Bobby Powell. My guess is that the credit card fraud and the gunrunning are all a part of some plan to get even with Heero and the pack for banishing George. We're going to have to move on Powell fast because the credit card company is about to turn him into the police."

"I'll have the captain call them. She can explain that we're investigating Powell and we need some time. Now we have to figure out what to do about Bobby. I don't think we can rush this. We need to wait until Bennington comes back to catch them making a deal. Then we can shut them both down. I haven't figured out exactly how the exchange happens but I'm sure that the phone is involved. The night I saw them together Bobby was on his cell while he was standing at the table. And the thing that got my attention was Bennington used his phone at the same time. There was a whole lot of texting going on at that table all of a sudden. I wish I had gotten closer to hear what they were saying to each other before all the testing started."

"I can help you with that Duo." Wufei was almost vibrating with the possibility of getting in on this little adventure. "We'll hide a camera and microphone near the table. Since we can control where he sits. We'll make sure you see and hear everything that happens between the two of them. We'll also tape everything so that you can use it for evidence. You'll have to stop by our monitoring room. It's pretty impressive. I designed it myself."

"That'll be a big help. After we finish here I'll take you up on your offer. There may be other places we can bug that will help us out."

Bobby slammed his apartment door and stormed down the hall. He had just gotten a text from Bennington to tell him their cover had been blown. Bennington's spy in the Department had discovered that he was being watched by an undercover cop named Maxwell. Damn! He never did like the pretty boy. He was just too friendly and way too interested in Bobby's business.

His gravy train was about to screech to a halt along with his plan to get even with Yuy for his brother George. It wouldn't be long before word would get around that using your credit card at the Wolf's Den meant risking someone using your number and maybe even stealing your identity. Not only would it humiliate Yuy it could put a dent in his impressive profits at the club. Even better it put more than a few bucks in his pocket from selling the credit card numbers to pros who knew how to use them.

But the real money came from acting as a go between for weapons buyers and Bennington. That was where the big profit was made. Now it would all end. Thanks to Duo Maxwell.

Bennington's text instructed him to meet him in the alley behind the club to do their last exchange. He was also to lure Maxwell into the alley so that Joshua could take care of him to prevent the deal from being interrupted. He had five minutes to get Duo into the alley before Bennington got there.

Powell stepped into the employee lounge knowing he'd find Duo waiting for their shift to start at eight o'clock.

"Say Duo, can I talk to you for a minute outside?"

"Sure Bobby, I'll meet you by the back door in a minute. I'm just going to drop this book in the monitoring room for Wufei."

With that Powell left heading for the back door to look for Bennington and to get ready for Duo.

"Hey Wufei, how's the surveillance of Bobby's table going?"

"We're ready to record anything that happens in the immediate area. Powell won't get away with anything this time."

"Well keep an eye out for me. Bobby's waiting for me in the alley. He says he has something he wants to talk about. I have a funny feeling he's up to something. I'm going out there to see what he wants."

"Be careful. I'll keep an eye on the monitors."

"Powell, where the hell is Maxwell?" Bennington glared as if he was thinking about bouncing Bobby off the side of the building.

"Relax he's on his way. Get over there where he can't see you. I'll try to get him to turn his back to you."

"It'll only take a couple of seconds for me to jab him with this needle. He'll be out of commission before he hits the ground."

"Get back here he comes"

"Over here Duo." Powell waved to make sure Duo saw him. He managed to turn placing Duo's back to where Joshua was hiding.

"So Bobby what's the big emer... " It was all he got out before he felt a stabbing pain in the back of his neck. In a few seconds he could feel all the starch leave his muscles as he slid to the ground supported by a pair of hands belong to his unseen assailant.

"Make sure he can't call out, Joshua."

"Don't worry my little friend just took away any ability he has to move or even to speak. Let's get the exchange going. Get your phone out. I need to get out of here."

Duo could feel his hold on consciousness slowly slipping away when a loud shout drew his attention to a very pissed off Wufei as he shifted into his wolf form to attack Bennington. Nearby he could barely make out Heero lifting Bobby by the throat until his feet were dangling.

Wow, Heero was strong. If only he could call to him. There were things he wanted to tell him. Things that needed to be said. It looked like he'd never get to say them now. It was his last thought before the darkness claimed him.

It was the sunlight streaming in the window that woke Duo. He groaned when he moved his head causing it to feel like it would explode. He'd had some bad hangovers in his life. Few that could compare to this one. Whatever Bennington had injected had evidently worn off. More or less. At least he could move his arms and legs which was more than he could do last night.

His next realization was the very naked body spooned behind his body which was also naked.

"Shhh, relax Duo. Sally says you just need a day to sleep off the drugs he gave you. They were like the tranquilizer darts they use on animals. We'll rest a while longer and get up for dinner this evening." Heero whispered as he pulled Duo closer.

"Ah Heero, where are we?"

"We're in my bed. I mean our bed. Quatre took a team over to your apartment to pack your things and move them in here. He'll talk to your landlord and negotiate an end to your lease as well. You just need to sleep the rest of the drugs out of your system."

"Thanks Heero. You really are my hero now. You saved my life last night. I gotta say you are really strong for a guy who bakes cookies." Duo turned facing Heero and placed a chaste kiss on his lips.

"Holy shit, Une is going to kill me herself. I need to get to the office and file my report. I'm betting she wasn't too happy that I was asleep while you and Wufei caught the bad guys."

"Take my word she was more worried about you than anything else. She said you can come into the office tomorrow to file your paper work and after that you are on vacation for ten days."

"Damn, maybe she doesn't think I'm a total fuck up. You know when she gave me this assignment I promised myself I would get even with her by keying her precious little car. But it turns out she was our cupid. I would never have met you if she hadn't sent me here. Remind me to send her a thank-you card and some flowers after I wake up." With that Duo laid his head on Heero's shoulder and fell asleep.

"It's already done." Heero said as he joined Duo in sleep.