Sundown came quicker than I expected. I had wormed my way into the kitchen, despite Asra's insistence on resting. Besides, he was working in the office, doing something boring, so what else was I supposed to do? It was a good way to get back into things too, and bond with the humans and pack mates.

Only a few had shared their grievances with me, and I listened intently to their sorrows. Serenity was one of them, telling me about how nearly all the human kitchen staff were in the cells until the day after the vampires came. Asra had not harmed them, but they were only fed once a day and treated like prisoners.

"I'm sorry it happened to you. To all of you." I mumbled. "Trust me when I say Asra feels so guilty about everything."

"It's okay, Ailia." Serenity reassured me. "We know now that it wasn't him. He couldn't stop it even if he tried."

"But he still did it." I shook my head. "That's why he feels that way, and that's why so many people still don't trust him."

The room had fallen silent for a while as we all hustled to make lunch and prep supper. It came back to me so naturally that when Asra came looking for me; the time surprised me.

"It's nearly time and you're in here?" His voice echoed, and the room fell silent.

"Well, food will not cook itself." I shrugged.

Asra grumbled, his imposing figure stepping closer to me and trapping me in the corner of the cupboards. I grinned up at him, a spoon in hand. Asra cocked his head, caging me in and casting me in his shadow.

"I told you to rest." He grumbled.

I tip-toed, kissing him on the corner of his mouth. "I could say the same about you being in the office today."

He frowned, mumbling. "Touche, Tulip."

I giggled, stepping out of his trap to grab the bowl of stew. "I just have to thicken this and we should be good to go. Right, guys?"

Those unaffected by his presence nodded with agreement, but a few still eyed him warily. I continued to prepare dinner, munching on a left over breakfast pastry as I went. Asra still didn't leave the corner and when it passed five minutes, I turned to him curiously.

As much as I loved him, this was my workplace and his stare was heavy.

Wiping my hands free of pastry crumbs on a towel, I then bundled it into my grip.

Whipping him sharply, he jerked away and cursed at me. "What the fuck?"

"Why are you still in here?" I asked. "Don't you have better things to do than cast a shadow?"

"I finished my work." He glared, eyeing the towel in my hand.

I whipped it again, and he huffed, stepping away from me. "What do you want? A cookie? Gold star?"

His eyes narrowed, but I spotted the playful glint within them. "I will get you back later."

"I'm sure you will." I grinned, slapping him with the towel one last time. "Now, get!"

Asra turned with a small smirk, exiting the kitchen swiftly. I huffed, turning around to finish what I was doing. Now he was gone, I felt like I could move swifter. He wasn't in the way, but my entire body was aware of him behind me. It was magnetised.

That, and the room was awkwardly quiet the entire time.

With a mere half an hour until the sun was due to go down, I washed my hands with finality. I could hear people chatting outside if I concentrated enough on listening. Their footsteps were light as they headed toward the trees.

Leaving the kitchen, I wandered through the house in hopes of finding Asra. I was supposed to have this magical gut, and the tightening of the bond pulled me unconsciously toward the front porch. Stepping out into the fresh air, it surprised me that following my gut had been right.

There he was. Talking to Rio, in a simple t-shirt and some shorts, his feet were bare, but his hair was still neatly styled. He turned at the sound of my arrival to beam at me.

"Tulip," He greeted softly.

I would've flushed at the gentle tone but played a sweet smile on my face as I stepped up to his side. His arm wrapped around me, pulling me into his skin. I snuggled in, kissing his chest through his t-shirt. He smelt good, and his cologne was always delicious.

"You finally finished?" He mused.

I bit him tenderly, causing him to jerk a little. I laughed softly at the reaction and turned to face Rio. He was standing quietly, watching us with a quirked brow. It made me wonder how old he was and where his mate was. I didn't know the guy that well, never really crossing paths or working with him much, but the times I did, he seemed genuine.

"So, Luna, party at the lake tonight?" He smirked.

I nodded. "I figured it was time. The pack needs it."

His smirk softened to a gentle curve, and he nodded once. "That it does. It's been in disarray for a few weeks."

My smile was forced, and Asra fell tense beside me. I squeezed his side once, curling my other hand into his fingers that lay across my shoulder. Kissing the side of his hand, I felt him relax, sighing softly.

"Shall we get going? The moon is nearly out."

I followed the skyline, spotting the moon in the distance. It was out, and usually was easy to spot in the daytime at this time of year, but the sun was ever so slowly painting the sky a pretty pink colour.

"Talk about timing of a full moon," Rio muttered.

"Worked out quite well, didn't it?" I mused.

Silently, we trudged our way toward the lake. I knew I didn't need to take anything with me because the ritual required nudity, and the big bird house had towels. The last time Asra tried the ritual, it apparently failed, although I felt the change. I hoped this would bring us together, like it did back when the pack was destroyed and lost their luna, his mother.

Clearing my throat to shake the thoughts from my mind, I looked up from my feet. The waterfall was approaching in my eyeline, and I stared longingly at it. I always felt a pull to this lake. The Goddess must want to tell me something. Perhaps I wasn't a wolf, but a fish? A mermaid?

Are mermaids even real?

"No," Asra mumbled. "They're not."

Hmm, disappointing. I could see myself being a mermaid. Bring men to their deaths at sea, swim with a pretty rainbow tail and have shells for a bra. Seems rather freeing if you ask me.

What lay beyond the waterfall amazed me as we passed by. Through the soft spittle of droplets, and the gentle crashing of the river, were voices. And not just two or three, so many voices. As we rounded the corner, those voices came to life and my eyes widened as I found the entire pack here. I couldn't even count if they were all here, but this definitely seemed like the same amount as last time.

As we approached, they all turned to glance at us. Some stopped talking completely, others carried on whilst looking our way. It was awkward having so many eyes on us, especially when most avoided Asra and looked at me.

Asra nudged me as we came to a stop by Piper, gesturing with his eyebrows. He wanted me to speak?

My eyes widened, and he snickered.

"Didn't stop you earlier when you shouted at the whole pack." He cocked his head.

Exhaling, I shook my head. "True. You got me there."

Turning my gaze to the pack, I straightened my spine. So many eyes turned my spine to solid metal, and my breath caught in my throat. What if I fucked up speaking? What if the words didn't come out right?

Perhaps this wasn't such a good idea.

"Everybody." Asra called their attention to him. "Tonight, we gather here under request of your luna, and we shall try to perform the Goddess' blessing."

Murmurs increased tenfold, but my heart remained strained in its cage. What if they were unhappy with my choices?

They didn't seem too affected because when Asra dismissed them; they turned away. I mumbled a thanks to him, and he squeezed my hand in response. Some wolves were already in the water, and I even spotted a couple in their furs, their tongues hanging out with glee. I felt the familiar itch of desire take hold of me and soon I was releasing Asra's hand.

He turned to me, curiosity flooding his face. "Tulip?"

"I gotta swim."

Face dropping with understanding and he nodded softly. "If you can find Mya in five seconds, I will give you a gold star."

"A gold star?" I rolled my eyes. "How about three?"

"Deal." He grinned.

I laughed softly, walking to the bird house store. Entering the large shed-like building, I found a brand new set of bikini bottoms and bra. They would be a little large on me since living with Azriel caused me to lose a portion of body fat, but it would do. I would be free from flashing somebody that didn't want to see my ham sandwich.

I laughed to myself, stripping in the shed and pulling the two pieces on. Once secure and dressed, I headed to the bottom of the waterfall. Everyone was to be naked soon, and I knew I would have to join them. I passed a few humans, grateful to be invited.

"Luna, I..."

I spun around, finding Serenity beside me. "Hey, Ren!"

"Ailia," she nodded before grabbing the girl stood beside her. "Thank you for inviting the lesser-wolf."

"We are all a pack, aren't we?" I cocked my head, frowning. "You should be welcome to everything!"

Despite being a half-wolf, Serenity must see herself as lower than worthy. I took her shoulder in my grip, squeezing it softly.

"Don't doubt your worth, Ren."

She blushed a thank you before her friend nervously picked her fingernails. I turned to her with wonder, releasing Serenity.

"What can I do?" I wondered.

The human jolted, eyes wide. I recognised her then, as she made eye contact with me. She was called Colette, and I often spotted her in the laundry room.

"Most of us can't swim." She muttered.

"You don't have to swim." I claimed. "You just need to get deep enough that your chest is covered. You can sit."

Her shoulders fell with relief. "Oh, thank you. I will go tell everybody."

She turned and ran, before stopping half way and facing me. My eyes widened as she dropped her head and shoulder in a bow, before standing up straight and running away again. I caught Rio's eye from behind her, and he grinned at me.

Serenity cleared her throat and my eyes darted to her. "You going up there?"

"Sure am. You coming?"

"Oh, no. I don't to heights. I'll... I'll wait for you at the bottom." She insisted.

I smiled, nodding an okay before climbing the memorised rock surface. The river flowed calmly down its slight indent, and I stepped into it with a sigh. A gentle tugging led me toward the edge, ankle deep in the decline of its warmth. I curled my toes over the edge, taking a moment to look across the lake.

So many people had come. Whether they heard me or came from word of mouth, they still came. Even when the pack is in uproar, or confused, they came. It was warming to see so many people here together.

With a broad smile, I dived headfirst into the water. Its warmth washed over me, pulling me deeper into its embrace. I trailed my hand across the bed of the lake, watching as the small specs of sand and stones trickled through the currents like they always did. Something felt electric in here tonight, like the lake knew what we were going to do.

I swam a little further, darting around a few stray people that bobbed along the surface. I even came across a wolf, its dark paws slashing through the water with glee. Its tongue came into the water, rippling as it took a drink before its entire snout dived in and took a large chomp of the surface. A grin lifted my cheeks, and I laughed, losing my breath and resurfacing.

I found Mya.

Once in the clean air, I brushed my hair out of my face, gasping for breath. The brown-eyed wolf darted its head toward me in surprise, before its expression softened. Her tongue came back out and she paddled toward me. We were fairly far in the middle here, but it didn't seem to stop the wolf as it suddenly bunched up and dived on me.

Inhaling sharply, I went under with her. Instead of fighting her off, I grabbed her by the neck and pulled her down. Dragging her into the depths of the water, I felt her paws push against my back. Rolling over, I released her, finding her massive wolf glaring at me. A smile tugged at my lips and I pushed the water toward her, watching it ripple her fur.

Wolves looked funny when they're underwater. Mya, unable to hold her breath or a sarcastic remark, swam back to the top. Rolling my eyes, I followed suit, and we tussled on the surface. Her wolf would nip me as I pulled her ears, before nudging me onto her back. I laughed with glee as she swam around the lake with me on her back, only to startle when she transformed half way and I found myself sat on a very naked Mya's back.

I squeaked as the sudden lack of buoyancy caused us to sink. Mya laughed beneath the water at my surprise, and I narrowed my eyes at her as we surfaced.

"That was not cool."

"That was hilarious." She grinned. "Like you've never seen a naked body."

"Mya! I was sitting on your back!"

"You had fun. I know you did!" she teased.

I huffed, splashing her. "Seems like you had more fun than me!"

She winked playfully, about to sprout a remark, when the lake fell silent. I tensed at the sudden hush, turning myself around to find out what was going on. Asra was standing on the edge of the lake, nude.

I should be annoyed he was naked in front of so many, right? So why did it make me feel proud instead? My male stood proud and broad, muscles and tattoos rippling in the moonlight. I had spent so much time playing in the water with my friends that I didn't even notice how long had passed.

One thing I loved about this lake; no wrinkly hands.

Weird, right?

"Ailia Thorne, my Luna. Will you please join me?"

Oh shit.

***********

one last chapter of this book..... ),: