That night, I lay in bed, unable to succumb to sleep. But I could feel it tugging at my mind, tempting me to take its hand and fall into its depths. Asra was breathing softly beside me, his shoulders rising and falling with every breath.

I sighed, rolling over to face him. There was so much distance between us. I could feel my body buzzing to be closer. The temptation to just touch him grew too strong. I shifted slightly, my head at the edge of my pillow. He was inches away now. I could smell the freshness of his clean skin from the shower.

After he had groomed me in the shower, he quickly washed himself. He watched me like a hawk, his dark blue eyes following my every movement like he knew I was going to escape. I wrapped a towel around my body, watching him cautiously as he began to dry himself. I preferred to drip dry, only drying the necessary parts. Asra ran the towel through his dark hair before gliding it over every curve of his body. I had watched him through the mirror as I applied creams to my skin, courtesy of Piper's help previously.

We dressed in silence and before I knew, here I was. Struggling to sleep and agitated by every ray of moonlight that dared to peek at me through the smallest gap in the curtain. My agitation only grew when my mind locked onto the noise of a clock ticking. With every passing minute, I felt my anger boiling.

Pushing myself from the bed, I discarded the duvet and headed straight to the spot where the ticking was the loudest. The clock was small, sat above the door that lead to the bathroom. I grunted, knowing I couldn't reach it. Being quiet left my mind as I grabbed a nearby chair and placed it beneath it. Climbing the chair, I took hold of the clock and grinned manically down at it.

"This is what you get." I sneered, my reflection grinning back at me.

Turning it over, my fingers fought the clasp at the back before finally revealing the hidden treasure. Pulling the battery from its case, I raised my arms in a silent cheer of success when the clock stopped ticking. Exhaling heavily, my shoulders sagged, and I closed my eyes. Taking a moment for inner peace, I savoured the silence.

"Do I want to know why you are standing on top of a chair in the middle of the night?"

I opened my eyes, looking over my shoulder to find Asra sat up in bed. He watched me with amusement. His eyebrow rose despite the tiredness in his eyes.

"I'd hardly say it's the middle of the night..." I rolled my eyes, glancing at the recently deceased clock. "It's eleven o'clock."

He chuckled softly, shaking his head. "Once you have done murdering time pieces, get back into bed."

I snorted, agreeing with a nod of my head. Slowly getting down from the chair, I place the clock on the bedside table before crawling back into the sheets. I sighed when the warm cotton slid across my body, wishing that it was cool to be satisfying on my skin. My tired head hit the pillow and once again, I found myself staring up at the ceiling with disdain.

Rolling over with more protest, I barely got the chance to set my head back down when an arm wrapped around my waist. I inhaled sharply when Asra pulled me to his front, pressing his body into mine. I held my breath, my body coated with shock.

Despite having slept next to him for a while now, we had never been this close. Perhaps in sleep, but all the times I woke, we had been on our respective sides of the bed. Feeling the hardness of his body against my back was enough to have my heart racing.

One of my plans to last the next two weeks was to not let him get close in bed!

I was about to wriggle out of his hold when he released a deep growl that had goosebumps rising on my arm. It vibrated my back, my body going tense.

"Sleep." He muttered.

I swallowed, allowing my body to relax. He growled again, which had me close my eyes and sigh slowly. My body decompressed, relaxing into the arm beneath my neck. Weirdly, from the warmth of his body, I felt my mind finally shut down. His other arm snaked around my middle as I settled, his hand sprawled out along my upper stomach.

"Goodnight, Tulip." He whispered into my arm, kissing my throat.

Goosebumps rose on my skin where he touched me, but I was too far gone to reply. Nudging my head into his arm to get comfier, he shifted so his elbow settled beneath my ear. A heavy sigh left me as I let myself just enjoy the feeling of him against me and finally, I fell asleep.

***

"Tulip, what are you doing?" Asra wondered.

My head snapped towards him, a wide grin on my face. "Oh, good morning."

He was half asleep as he watched me dress. I was currently struggling to get my shoes on whilst tying my hair into a bun. It was nothing too extravagant, but Asra's calculating eyes held me captive.

I had woken in the same position I fell asleep in. Asra's arms were heavy as he cradled me, his body warmth providing way too much heat to be comfortable with a duvet on. But as soon as I checked Asra's shiny gold watch and saw that it was six o'clock, I felt regenerated. I was looking forward to getting to work in the kitchen again, and after dressing and making sure I looked the part, I pulled my shoes on.

"Where are you going?" He wondered, glancing at his watch.

"I'm late to help with breakfast." I tutted him, standing tall.

He scowled, suddenly awake and back to being moody. "Why must you insist on this beneath-you job?"

I narrowed my eyes, ready to fight. "Did you not listen to me yesterday?"

He grunted, standing from the bed. I averted my gaze, knowing if I looked too long, I would drool. I think he knew too, going by the slight quirk of his lips. As he walked closer to me, I huffed, crossing my arms.

"Oh, I heard you Tulip. I just didn't want to believe that my mate and luna would lower herself to such standards."

"Such standards?" My head reared. "I have you know, if it wasn't for those girls cooking for your pack every day, you would have a lot of mess and upkeep to make time for. A job is a job. There is no sub-par job when every job has its own contributions to society. Just because it is a manual job and not an warrior job, does not make it any less of one."

He watched me silently as I vented. It was too damn early for this.

"I will not sit on my ass all day bored whilst everyone else here gets to do stuff. I have experience. Before I rot in this room, I might as well make it worthwhile." I jutted my chin, glaring at him.

He hummed, running a hand along his jaw. "I see you have thought this out well."

"Of course I have." I scoffed.

"Perfect sign of leadership. Perhaps the Goddess was right sending you to me."

I faltered in my poker face, my expression turning to one of confusion. "What is that supposed to mean?"

He inched his hand forward to pinch the corner of my face with his fingers. "Wolves act on impulse and instinct. Maybe all I needed was a little guidance."

I was the guidance; I assumed. The 'deeper thinker' he was hinting at. It made me think how a goddess of a difference of species set my life up... it was still bizarre to think about.

I clicked my tongue, shaking my head. "You and your Goddess."

"We make an impressive pair, don't we?" He smirked, his eyes hinting at something more.

I hesitated before stepping away from him and checking my invisible watch. "Well... Wonderful chat, but got places to be and all that."

"Oh yes, you better go time-murderer." He chuckled. "I will see you later."

I paused on the threshold of the hallway. "Where will you be today?"

"In my office." He cocked his head. "I will try set up your council meeting."

I grinned, nodding. "Amazing."

"I do try." He grinned, winking.

I couldn't help but roll my eyes, a smirk of my own lining my lips. Stepping into the hallway, I let the door close softly behind me as I hurried my way to the elevator. I stepped into it in a daze before I found myself in the kitchen.

Huh, didn't even think about that, and now I was here.

"Morning, Luna!" Serenity chimed.

"Morning, Ren." I chirped, washing my hands. "I thought I told you to call me Ailia."

She blushed, recalling that conversation. "Apologies, I am still a wolf, so it is hard for me to do that... Especially when I already see you as my luna."

I shook my head, moving to help her with the meat. Most wolves woke between seven and eight in this pack, and most enjoyed meat after a night of sleep, so there was a lot of sausage and bacon to make.

"I am not your Luna though..."

"Not yet." She rolled her eyes. "You bear his mark. It is only time before the bond finishes it."

"That damn bond." I muttered.

Ren giggled; she always found me amusing. Apparently wolves didn't have such worded thoughts and impulses, and she enjoyed the way I openly voiced my opinions and inclinations.

"I have done nothing as your luna, so I don't deserve the title." I continued.

"You have given us an extra free meal a day. That is enough."

"It is just basic human rights." I scoffed, lining up a grill sheet with bacon.

"But we are not humans." She laughed with glee. "Wolves have hierarchy. You destroyed that yesterday by giving us hot, fresh food."

I scowled, shaking my head. "That's not right."

"We are still animals, Ailia." She nudged me with her elbow.

"It's a lot of learning curves to over come... Living here has given me a new perspective on things." I commented, disagreeing with her without openly saying it.

She smiled softly, setting up a new tray. "But we continue, because that is what we do. We observe and learn and it is up to us to make an action of that, whether it is good or bad."

I contemplated her words, agreeing softly. She was right. We observe and learn, and then we have to choose what we do with that information. Ignore it or use it to our advantage or otherwise. I'd like to think I was an observant, open person, but I still struggled with the wolf laws and politics. To have others not eat because they are lower than the rest of the pack was just wrong to me.

If that was what made a luna, basic rights, then slap a red stamp on my forehead and call me moon.

********