Anastasia's P.O.V.

My tummy grumbled as I sat down and I felt an immediate twinge of concern. I sighed and settled into my chair. I was so tired last night that I forgot to pack a lunch and I didn't have the time to make one this morning as I overslept. My eyes glazed over to the lunch line and I groaned at the number of people in it.

I heard chuckles and four chairs scraping the floor as my friends sat down. I shook my head at their lunch offers, knowing that they needed it more than me. I didn't have a particularly hard day today; I could always hold out until I got home.

I saw Cael shaking in silent laughter making me raise an eyebrow at him. Cael snickered and pointed to Xaden whose nose was wrinkled disgustedly and eyes fixed on me. I bit my lip and smiled at him as he brought a passive mask to his face.

"What's wrong?" I asked looking at him amused.

"You reek of him," Xaden grumbled. Most people would think Xaden was jealous or disapproved but I knew better, he was happy for me.

I bit my cheek as Kenna, Hayley and Cael laughed. It was true, Luke's scent was mingled with my own as our wolves got closer last Saturday, something my brothers teased me about yesterday. I didn't care, Luke is my mate and this is how things are supposed to be.

"You have a problem with that, Ford?"

My heart stuttered and my wolf perked up as our gaze trailed upward until it met the Luke's blue eyes. I couldn't stop the smile that spread across my face as I looked up at him as he stood behind Xaden.

"Not at all Blackwell," Xaden said evenly, smirking as he opened his soda. He looked at me, a silent warning to be careful.

"Hey Luke," I breathed. My wolf licked her chops as we drank in our mate's appearance. Dressed in a blue and white striped tee and matching blue hoodie and jeans, his look was simple but enough to send my tummy into a flurry.

"Let's go out for lunch," he said. It wasn't a command but he didn't leave much room for me to decline so I weighed my options and nodded. Xaden and Cael warned me to be safe while Kenna and Hayley barely contained their excitement.

My hand slid into Luke's naturally and I smiled shyly as we walked together to the exit. I tried my best to ignore the whispers and my skin prickled from the holes I could feel boring into my back. Luke's hand slipped out of mine and across my back to my bare shoulder as he growled lowly, letting it echo through the room as we made our getaway.

"I'll take that." Luke slipped my bag off my shoulders as we walked towards the principal's office.

"Thank you," I smiled as our fingers found each other's again. Luke got us both lunchtime passes and clocked us out. I shielded my eyes from the sun as he led me to his car.

"M'lady," Luke grinned as he opened the passenger door of his silver Honda Accord.

"Why thank you kind Sir," playing along as I got in. He laughed as he closed the door and got in. I settled into my seat as he placed my bag in the back and started the car. I looked around as he drove.

"Where are we going?" I asked happily, looking at him.

"There's a restaurant on the bank of the lake," Luke replied as his hand rest on my thigh. My breathing hitched lightly as his warmth spread through me. "I think you might like it."

I grinned and rest my hand on his thigh as well, smirking when I felt him tense under my touch. "Sounds great." Luke shook his head before using his steering controls to turn the volume up. "I'm not under dressed am I?" I asked looking down at the coral tank top, blue ripped jeans and silver sandals

"Nope, you look beautiful as always," Luke smiled and brought my hand to his lips, causing me to blush.

After three songs, Luke pulled into a dirt parking lot. I looked out at the wooden cozy restaurant. If Luke didn't bring me here, I would've never known this was here but then again, I've never seen the eastern side of the Blackwell's territory.

"Home on the Lake," I read the wooden sign as Luke opened the door for me.

"They took food you would make at home and made it a bit fancier," Luke said as we walked up. "It's still good soul food."

I smiled and looked around as we waited to be seated. The lamp on every table shone on the dark varnished wood. I could smell warm soup and freshly baked bread as Luke pulled me closer to him and pressing a kiss to my forehead. I rest my head against his arm as we waited for someone to seat us.

"Luke! So nice to see you here!" a middle aged brunette woman came out. "I hope you're not playing hooky." She glared half-seriously at him.

Luke grinned, "Hi Aunt Miranda." His hand fell from my waist into mine. "Anastasia, this is Miranda Everson or Aunt Miranda. Aunt Miranda, this is Anastasia Ashworth, my mate."

"Hi," I extended my hand and fought a giggle at her wide eyes, "nice to meet you."

"I can't believe it," Aunt Miranda said in a small voice. "Luke, you're upholding the tradition."

I quirked my eyebrow as Luke chuckled lowly as his fingers caressed my waist. "Of course," he grinned as Aunt Miranda led us to the deck. The tables were much more secluded here, wooden separators gave each booth its privacy. Luke held my hand as I slid into the booth before he did. Aunt Miranda suppressed a smile before placing our menus on the table.

"Do you like it?" Luke asked with a hint of excitement in his voice.

"I do," I said looking out at the placid lake. "Do you come here often?"

"When I was a kid, my family used to come here every Saturday night," he said ruefully. "I guess as I grew up, it kind of faded out."

I nodded, "We have something like that, only it's Sunday lunch as a family." Aunt Miranda came and took our drink order and in a flash she was back before disappearing again.

I leaned into him as a cool breeze blew off the lake. "Let's play a game."

Luke chuckled, "Twenty questions?"

I thought about it, "How about twenty truths? That way neither of us can lie."

A dark look clouded his face as he looked at me, "You think I would lie to you?"

"No I don't. This is me learning to trust you," I said meeting his gaze with one of my own.

I saw the gears turning in his head as he weighed my words. "I understand," he relaxed, "ladies first."

"Is Aunt Miranda really your aunt?" I took a sip of my lemonade.

"Nope, she's a family friend. I believe that friendship is around 50 years old," Luke replied. "What's your relationship with Tammy?"

"She is my mom's best friend and her mate was my dad's Beta," I replied. "He died in the same rogue attack that killed my mom." I felt his arm tense around my shoulder. "They didn't have kids so she loves and helped my dad raise us like her own. She filled in as Luna until I was old enough to." I flipped through the menu, "What's the "tradition"?"

Luke grinned and tipped my chin up so our eyes met. "Since this restaurant has been open, my family have been customers. But there seems to be a trend, my great grandfather brought my great grandmother on their first date here, my grandparents did the same. My parents sat in this same booth." His eyes became alive with a look of triumph and love, "Now I'm here with you."

My cheeks flushed and I could no longer meet his eyes from the heat of his gaze. I smiled and kissed his cheek, unable to voice my thoughts but judging from the way Luke pulled me closer, he understood me perfectly.

We continued asking each other questions while Aunt Miranda came to take our orders. I could see the giddiness practically oozing out of her as she darted away again and it made me smile.

"Your turn Ana," Luke said after downing his third glass of Coca Cola while I took a bite out of my grilled chicken panini.

"You're cut off," I said jokingly as I placed the glass over on my side of the table. I bit my lip as the next question I wanted to ask weighed heavily on my tongue.

"Don't be afraid," Luke murmured as his thumb brushed against my lip, freeing it from my teeth and leaving tingles at his touch. "I will answer anything you ask, always," he pressed a kiss to my temple, "don't ever hesitate."

"Did you ever bring Isabel here?" I asked softly. The tension became tangible between us as I felt his hesitance through our bond. His eyes searched mine, trying to decipher the reason behind my question.

"Once," he muttered. "When we first started dating, she seemed liked it but preferred the fancier restaurants in the town."

I nodded and sipped on my lemonade thoughtfully, enjoying the tortured look on his as he waited for my reply.

"I honestly like either, as long as I'm with you and good food I'm happy." My heart's smile mirrored his own.

"So you wouldn't mind going with Xaden?" I raised my eyebrow at him, knowing what he was getting at.

"I'll think it'd be cool to finally go on double dates or just one big group date," I answered happily thinking about it. I always excluded myself from those kind of activities.

"Just curious," Luke said, his fingers tracing circles along the skin of my shoulder, "what is your relationship with Xaden?"

I shook my head knowing that this question would've come sooner or later. "Xaden, Cael and I have known each other since we were pups. We always looked out and protected each other. When Cael and Xaden found their mates, it was a bit difficult at first since they were still in the honeymoon period of their relationships. I never fussed and was so happy for themand they tried to not flaunt it, knowing how much I craved a connection like that. When their mates went off to college, they dealt with in different ways, Cael took in good stride but Xaden," I paused to phrase my words properly, "he shifted those feelings to me I guess. We both wanted companionship so our relationship got closer but never intimate."

"You trust him don't you?" Luke's voice was void of any emotion that wasn't curiosity.

"With my life," I answered. "Now, that's a lot of questions from you, you're lucky I'm too full to return the favour."

Luke grinned and did a mock victory fist pump. "Shall I get the bill then?" I nodded before curling into his side. I felt him reach for his wallet and grabbed the $100 bill I always kept on me but before I could place it inside the booklet, Luke grabbed my hand and pressed a kiss to it.

"Love, I promise to split the bill next time but just let me pay for this one," Luke looked down at me, his eyes pleading silently. I sighed and nodded, letting Luke handle everything. We bade Aunt Lisa goodbye and I promised to be back soon. The drive back to school was more light hearted as Luke and I sung out hearts out to the eighties songs on the radio.

My hand slipped into Luke's as we made our way down the almost empty corridor to the Biology Lab. Luke opened the door and I felt his hand ghost past my butt as I walked past. I glared at him playfully from over my shoulder as I walked over to our bench. We ignored the knowing smirks from Bryan and Jason as the bell rang and Mr Hayes started class.