I couldn't fall back asleep despite my best efforts and with a groaning grunt of displeasure, I forced myself to shower. I had slowly understood the more advance workings of wolf-world, finding the greatest pleasure in one of the multiple shower heads. The current was hard enough to massage my shoulders yet soft enough to not leave my skin feeling raw and itchy.

Soapy and clean, I was dried and dressed by nine in the morning. I was already halfway to the kitchen before I realised I had left the room by myself. I was so frustrated with my lack of sleep it didn't even occur to me I did it so willingly. Stepping into the elevator, I felt the annoyed haze lift from my shoulders at my minor accomplishment.

The death box stopped earlier than normal and I felt my heart leap in my throat. The odds of it being someone I was friendly with were slim. Mya and Eve usually ate breakfast before eight, since they often had to work. Piper was a possibility, but come on, how many times lucky am I going to get?

I held my breath as the doors slowly opened, revealing an enormous mass of wolf stood waiting. Everett stepped through, his face stoic much like his Alpha's. His brown eyes were firm and emotionless, his black hair neatly styled short on his head. He stepped into the elevator, his hulking figure taking up the space of two of me.

"Luna." He nodded.

I cleared my throat, awkwardly nodding in return. I wasn't a fan of being in such a small space with a male, especially alone. He stood opposing me, his eyes burning into the side of my head. I could feel them crawl through my skin, a feeling of being stripped bare for scrutiny shaming me.

The elevator lurched again, the doors since closed from Everett's arrival.

"You should level your gaze with those who are below you." He stated as the elevator slowed.

I flinched as he took a step forward, and I stepped further into the wall. Everett noticed, and from the corner of my gaze I saw him cock his head and flare his nostrils. Wolves were all so alike.

"You are nervous. You do not need to be, Luna." He muttered.

I swallowed nervously, keeping my eyes locked on the doors. They were going to ding any time now...

"I apologise if I have offended you."

At that, I couldn't help but look at him as guilt coursed through me.

"You have not." I mumbled, hesitating my next response. "I am just uncomfortable when I'm around men alone."

The doors slid opened, a grateful sigh escaping me as soon as a gap was wide enough for me to run through. I didn't give him another chance to corner me, speeding my way towards the kitchen. I ignored the self-forced guilt eating away at my insides and calmed myself down before entering the room.

My palm pressed against the hardwood, swinging the doors open and stepping into the room. It was fairly dead, most wolves with jobs already left for the day. I still knew little about the town, so after downing a coffee and some toast, I made my way out of the front door and onto the porch.

The poor, boring porch.

An idea struck me.

One that involved some trouble and would gain me a mark on the Ailia versus Asra game.

But first, I needed a vehicle and a driver.

But who?

Piper wasn't busy, but the girl was such a social butterfly I wasn't sure where she was most of the times. It was Thursday, which meant she most likely was in the spa or gym...

My eyes caught sight of brown hair. Her dark blue eyes were concentrating on the ground as she walked, lips moving softly as she mumbled to herself. I often found Eliza was one to talk to herself, whether she even realised, but I found it rather cute.

Jogging down the steps, I was beside her quickly. She startled slightly, eyes running down my leggings and t-shirt with curiosity.

"Ailia? What's up?" She wondered, holding my gaze.

"Hey." I breathed. "Do you know how to drive?"

"Me?"

"Yeah, you."

"Humans aren't allowed to drive, remember?"

I frowned, not remembering. "We're not?"

"Wolf law prohibits us from using any kind of motor-powered vehicle."

"Well, that's spoiled my day." I muttered.

"Why did you want a car for? You can just ask for the taxi."

"Taxi? What's that?"

She stifled a laugh, patting my shoulder. "I forgot you lived in an abandoned village."

I scowled, rolling my eyes. "Not abandoned, just... secluded."

She snorted. "Yeah, yeah. I'll ring them. Where do you want to go?"

"Well, that is where I was wondering if you would help me?" I asked. "Are you busy?"

"Nope, not today." She grinned. "What's the plan?"

"Well, since they well know I am the Alpha's mate, I thought we could make some good use of that Alpha's tab and do some much-needed shopping."

Her eyes widened with delight, fingers wrapping around my wrist. "My favourite. Where to?"

"I was thinking about the home and garden store. I have a project I want to work on."

It took little to convince Eliza to go shopping with me. She was right when she said it was her favourite. The taxi driver pulled up in a four-wheeled car and I officially declared it another death-trap. It was bouncy and jerky, the belt around my body not feeling safe enough to protect me from flying out of the car.

Luckily, the drive only took a few minutes, the driver more than happy to hang around in a café until we were done. He insisted it was of no charge since it was his choice to not work and even left the car unlocked for us to come back to it. I had shrugged, not wanting to push the older man further and left the death-trap within seconds. Eliza giggled as she followed behind me, wrapping her arm through my elbow as we left the small car park.

"I didn't think that there would be such things as taxi's in a pack." I admitted. "I thought wolves just ran everywhere."

She laughed. "They do. It is more for us. When more wolves took humans as mates, they adapted. The taxi driver, George, was one of the first humans here about thirty years ago. He is the only human allowed to drive around here."

"You know many people." I pointed out.

"Well, when I had nothing to do in the early days, I made it my mission to find out." She smirked. "Now I help with the cleaning, so it keeps me busy."

Heading into the store, she passed me a contraption on four wheels. Noticing my distress, she laughed and told me it was to carry all the things I want to buy.

"How much do you think I can rack up on the tab?" I wondered as we started down the first aisles.

It wasn't too busy in here, the odd person browsing the stores with baskets just like us.

"Considering Asra is minted, I'd say we have a pretty good budget." She quirked an eyebrow. "Is this day one for mayhem or behaving?"

I grinned. "Definitely mayhem."

An hour later and we had filled the basket with shopping. The employees scanned and bagged everything before the taxi man came and helped us load it into the car. There were plants galore, candles and wired pretty lights, a coffee table and two grey footrests. I chose a large white and light blue outdoor rug, some paint, and had two chairs and a swing on order for delivery this lunch time.

They worked fast in this town. Eliza said it was because I was the Luna, but I told her she was being ridiculous. They didn't know me, so it was obviously purely to save their boredom. I bet there weren't many people coming in and spending thousands of coins. Did wolves even use the same coin system as Evermore?

Was that another ploy of control? I had never seen werewolf money; it always being an IOU on Asra's tab.

I was deep in thought when Eliza nudged me out of it. "What're you frowning for? We had fun today, right?"

I shook my head, my eyes wide. "Oh, of course, we did, yeah. I was just thinking about something... It doesn't matter!"

"Okay...." She hummed, climbing into the car. "You getting in? The chairs will arrive in an hour."

"Yeah, yeah. I'm coming."

Eliza had to sit in the front. They folded the two seats beside me in the death trap down to make room. It made the death-ride home even more daunting. But at least the home and garden store employees looked thrilled as we drove away with half of their store in tow.

Pulling up to the pack house, the driver backed up to the front steps. "I'll leave the keys with ya. Just drop 'em with Serenity when ya get the chance."

My eyebrow rose with curiosity as the man walked away. Climbing out of the car, I shut the door behind me before turning to Eliza with the burning question already halfway out of my mouth.

"Why Serenity?"

"She's his daughter." Eliza snorted. "He mated a wolf and made Serenity."

Did not see that coming.

"Huh." I mused, watching as Eliza opened the back of the car. "Small world."

She snorted, shaking her head. "Come on then, we got some decorating to do."

***

Hi-fiving Eliza, my hand wiped away the sweat on my brow. We had worked through early lunch until seven in the evening, perfecting the front porch. Today had become a hot one and being dressed in leggings and a t-shirt did not do me any favours. Eliza didn't seem to notice, but then again, she wasn't raised in the cold mountains like I was.

"It looks so much better." I commented.

And it did.

It was no word of a lie. We did a smashing job.

"Only thanks to your designer touch." She grinned, tapping my shoulder. "You brought it together so well."

"Yeah, you did very good, Luna." Caleb nodded, his hands on his hips.

Admiring my masterpiece, I had to admit they were right. I did good.

We had repainted the entire porch, turning the dull grey concrete into a glowing white masterpiece. We varnished and polished the front door until it was shining wood again to complement the new make-over.

But besides that, we had added so much more to this waste of space porch.

I could now leave the house without feeling disgusted at the appearance of poor design.

To the right of the porch sat a sofa swing, the fabric white and plush as it gentle swayed to its own rhythm. Before that was a round glass coffee table, sat upon a soft grey and white checked rug. Some tall plants sat on either side of the swing, some vines along the back I hoped would wrap around the newly installed white fencing.

We had the help of both Caleb and Everett in this one, even Olive coming along to watch it all come together. The one borderless porch now stood proud and enclosed. Soon the vines would spread and grow, wrapping around the wired fairy lights and creating a sanctuary. Fake white candles sat upon the coffee table, hopefully creating a soft glow when the night hit.

Then there was the left side. We squeezed four wooden patio chairs and a round table into the space with room for a wolf of Everett's size to squeeze in between the pillars or new fencing, and the table. We did the appropriate tests, of course, much to Everett's annoyance. It made Olive giggle though, and that was enough for the large male to shut up grumbling and get on with it.

That side was also adorned with plants, vines, and fairy lights. Each wooden chair had complementing light blue or grey cushions, the table itself holding a white tablecloth a fraction of the size of the top. In the centre lay a plate, with, yeah, you guessed it, more fake candles.

I may have gone a little overboard with the thought of fake candles. Safe, flame proof, wolf's sense proof equals perfect to me.

Finishing the day with dinner, I found myself cuddled into the swing chair with a cup of tea in my hands as I watched the sun go down. Eliza had retreated after dinner, Caleb had caught her and whispered things in her ear that made her blush. So, I was out here alone, but I didn't mind.

Many people had called me Luna today, and as the time went on, I found myself not even reacting to the title anymore.

I had filled the day with fun, the ability to forget the restrictions and just apply my mind to organising. I painted, I decorated, I arranged furniture. I laughed with Eliza, a girl who I didn't know very well compared to everyone else and now I could finish it watching as the stars took over the sky in my own peaceful world.

******

day late apology- i feel like poop :) yay