The dining room was fairly calm today. Apparently, most of the wolves were still out on a run. It was only twelve, but Piper was hungry and decided that I had to join her. I didn't mind; enjoying the softness of bread and pastries. I could well class it as one of my favourite past-times.

Asra wasn't here, much to my disappointment, so lunch time passed pretty uneventfully. No one stared at me as much as they did in the past, the odd wolf saying good afternoon and then that dreaded word. Luna.

I frowned, mulling over the new title I was unwillingly given.

"What is it?"

My head snapped to Piper with confusion. "What is what? My lunch? It's just a-

"No, not your lunch." She grunted, rolling her eyes. "Your head. What are you frowning at?"

I laughed. "Oh, it's nothing."

"Is it though?" She tutted, grinning.

Shrugging, I played it off as nothing. "Just the new title."

"Ah, I see. Think you are not worthy of it?" She smirked.

"No, not that. I just..." I looked around, dropping my voice. "Don't want it."

Her head cocked with confusion. "How could you not? Ultimate power at your fingertips, and the entire pack to control."

I laughed, standing to leave the dining room. "Yes, you are totally selling it now."

She nudged her shoulder into mine as she rose too, snorting. "I'm glad I am. It is your destiny, after all."

There it was again; my destiny, my fate. They already played my life out like a book and I, the main character, just didn't know the final chapters. I did not know how it ended, but some strange Moon Goddess already chose my fate. It was eery, rather strange to think of.

I was not a religious person, my town raised rather atheist. I learnt that many decades ago, most of the humans believed in a God, but a lot of them lost their faith when the supernatural came and killed most of us. My parents and my town were one of those groups of people, born to live day to day until the end, when we succumbed to a sickness or accident. So, it was strange for me to think there was something else, that I was some wolf's soulmate.

The fact I even had a soul mate was bizarre. I didn't deserve one. What had I ever done in my life to deserve one? I did nothing extraordinary. I worked, looking after my family when Dad passed and then got engaged to an evil man. How did that make me a suitable leader of an entire pack? Better yet, Asra was a Continental Alpha, so that just adds even more power to my shoulders.

I didn't want it. I didn't want to control people; I didn't want to decide their fate.

I couldn't be a leader of a race that I wasn't even born into. It didn't feel right. They were raised their own way; they have their own beliefs and systems. A human controlling so many wolves? It was humorous.

My mood doing a complete flip, I told Piper what I felt as I climbed back into bed. She sat on the end, frowning as she listened patiently. It felt good to let it out; I had complete trust in Piper. She listened to my feelings and let me rant uninterrupted until I reached the end of my monologue. Then I sighed, staring up at the plain white ceiling.

"Well, I don't know what to say to cheer you up... but I will say something." She began. "You may feel these things, but you are here for a reason. You have more empathy, more emotion than most of the wolves here. I see it in the way you talk to people, but yet you bring yourself down so much."

I frowned, about to protest, when she shot me a glare to stop. I sucked my lips into my mouth, my eyes widening with understanding.

"The fact you feel so down about this because you feel unworthy just shows how gentle you are. Maybe it's what we need, a gentle hand to help us." She shrugged. "Also, you must have some instinct, no matter what you say, because you live in his room now."

I paused, a realisation dawning on me. "Well, yeah, because... it's easier."

"What is?" She smirked. "What is easier? You haven't fucked so..."

Groaning, I rolled my eyes. "Why is that such an obsession?"

She laughed. "It's not an obsession. It just completes the mating process."

"Why even have a mating process?" I grunted. "It's unnecessary! You can just marry someone and save all the biting and rituals."

"Well, when you mate, it is forever. Marriage can be reversed, right?" She asked, and I nodded. "Mating can't. The only way to reverse a bite is by not mating in time."

"In time for what? Christmas?" I teased.

"I don't know." She shrugged. "It's never happened."

"Way to make that sound daunting." I smirked.

She laughed. "Not that bad, Ailia. He's already bit you, so the best part is coming."

"Not if I can help it." I muttered.

"What do you mean?"

"I made a bet with Asra." I sat up, grinning.

"A bet?" She shook her head. "That can't be good."

"Yep." I giggled. "I bet I won't fall into his sex trap within two weeks."

"You are joking, right?" Her eyes widened, laughing. "You won't win that."

"Of course I will. If l avoid him all the time and not let him touch me." I crossed my arms.

"Once your period is over, it's gonna go downhill." She raised an eyebrow. "The mating process is legit. Even being near him is going to set your instincts alive."

"Then I won't go near him."

"And if you survive two weeks of burning horniness, then what?" She grinned.

"Then I get the freedom to do as I please." I shrugged.

"Asra's gonna turn into a black hole. He's going to go crazy." She snorted. "I may just have to extend my stay to stick around."

"You have to stay forever. I thought I told you this." I rolled my eyes.

She giggled. "I wish I could, Ailia. I really do. As soon as I find a man to settle down with, they will expect me to be the alpha female of my pack."

My heart ached at the thought of the inevitable, of my closest friend not being so close to me. She would move hours away, to a place I would need permission to even enter. Even then, I doubt I could go alone. Being a Luna meant so much responsibility, half of which I did not know what to expect.

If I was going to be Asra's soulmate, I really had to knuckle down on this whole role thing...

***

The next few days passed easily. I spent most of my time wallowing in my pity upstairs. Asra only appeared at night time and first thing in the morning. On day two of aunt flow's visit, I had apparently been rather grumpy, but if you ask me, not putting the seat back down after you piss is grounds for a scolding. Asra had practically beamed at my anger. The fact I was trying to scold him didn't even cross his mind.

He found me funny. I could tell. I was just a little human wonder he loved to watch explode. Like a toddler watching a mouse in a cage, Asra did not seem the slightest bit affected by my mood swings.

By the time my period ended, I was back to my 'usual' self. Waking up beside Asra the next day, I felt no different. He was already awake and showered, the water running being what disturbed me. I slept unusually light last night, which wouldn't be a reason to be concerned if it wasn't such a drastic change in my sleeping habit.

Back in Evermore, I slept light, trying to keep my wits about me. It had become engrained in my body that I could wake at the slightest noise. I think the amount of times Darius would do something whilst I slept caused my body to react in its own way. But since coming here and settling in, I found my sleep becoming deeper. It has filled the past month with careless blink-and-I'm-asleep moments. So going back was strange.

"Good morning, Tulip." Asra smiled, coming over to me dressed in his just boxers. "Sleep well?"

I narrowed my eyes, knowing what game he was playing. He was trying to get me to react to him already, but the joke was on him.

"Surprisingly, no." I shrugged, patting the duvet.

"Oh?" He cocked his head, smirking. "Wonder why that could be?"

"Probably the farts you let off in the middle of the night." I muttered sarcastically.

He grinned, a bark of laughter escaping his lips. "Oh yeah, must be that."

Nothing really fazes this guy.

"I'm pretty sure I can tell you what it is." He winked, moving to kneel on the bed.

I eyed him sceptically, perfectly capable of getting my body and mind in control. I could admire him, sure, right now I could run my eyes down his almost-naked body and not even care. Appreciate the tattoos, the curves and lines of his muscles and the way they dipped down into his boxers... I did that every day.

My eyes rose to meet his, a lazy smile on his face as he watched me take him in. "Want to touch?"

I tried my hardest to keep a poker face, but the absolute humour of his words had me falling into laughter. My hands wrapped around my stomach to keep the amusement in, but I failed miserably. Asra's face dropped into a scowl, and he stood, retreating to his feet.

"Are you coming down for breakfast?" He wondered.

I snickered, letting the last pieces of giggles to leave my lips. "What time is it?"

He glanced at his smart watch. "Seven-twenty."

I scoffed, falling back into my pillow. "You woke me up at this time in the damn morning?"

He shrugged. "I have to work early."

There it was; work.

"What do you even do?" I asked, pulling the duvet up to my neck and getting comfy.

"I control forty-one packs, including my own. It is my duty to ensure they have supplies, training, guards, emergency protocols... All of it needs to be checked every month." He explained. "Then I have to visit packs or have video calls to ensure they are running fine. Get into the depth of them and make sure that pack members aren't hiding anything."

"Like what?" I wondered.

"War, abuse..." He trailed off.

"Can't you just get an assistant to do that?" I frowned.

"I am Alpha. I have power and responsibility."

"And... what about... me?" I muttered.

"Huh?"

My eyes narrowed at him, knowing full-well he heard me with his wolf's ears. "What am I supposed to do... if I was to be your luna?"

He grinned, his eyes brightening. "When you are my Luna. You will help me."

"How though? I know nothing about war strategies, training or... general wolf-ness." I shook my head.

He grumbled with displeasure. "You are my other-half. We do it all together. Where I fail, you guide me, where you need a boost, I lift you. It's simple."

"Doesn't really answer my question." I mumbled.

He chuckled, coming closer to run his hand down the side of my face. "It'll all make sense, trust me."

I sighed, lulled by his words and deep blue eyes. "It better. I want to know what job I am signing up for."

He chuckled, kissing me softly. "Oh, you do not know what I have in store for you."

Asra moved away, grinning at my look of confusion. He sounded very suspicious right now, as though he already had planned my demise. But by the look in his eye, I knew most of it was sexual. So, with a grunt and a soft kick to the thigh, I dismissed him. He staggered back, never losing his amused glint as he walked into the closet.

I huffed, rolling over in the bed, hoping to fall back asleep. Asra came out not a minute later, dressed in a nice suit. It caught my attention, my head lifting slightly to run down his legs and back again.

"Where are you going?"

"Neighbouring pack. You should come." He raised an eyebrow.

I hesitated. The option of going on adventure sounded rather exciting. But then my insecurities took over, my weak human heart giving way. I shook my head, thanking him softly before laying back down in bed.

"I will see you tomorrow. I will be late tonight." He muttered, opening the main door. "Don't do anything troublesome, Tulip."

I smiled innocently. "Me? Never."