The next week flies by.

Between my secret speech therapy sessions, doctor's checkups, hanging out with Grayson and the twins, and heat flushes from the awakening cycle, I begin to forget about what the Moon Goddess had said.

Sitting on the couch in Grayson's library, I go to flip the page of my book when suddenly a wave of pain shoots through me. My head begins to sear and I cry out in pain.

Writhing from the pain, I fall off the couch and onto the floor, catching myself with my hands.

Another wave of pain rushes through me, causing me to scream again. Tears burn in my eyes as I pant and try to stand up but I can't.

I'm in too much pain. I feel myself begin to shake and I look down at my hands and see long black nails extending from my fingers.

Oh god, I'm shifting. I need to get out of here before I break things.

I try to stand up again as black spots dot my vision. I manage to stand up and I begin to dizzily walk towards the door but I stumble and begin to fall.

Before I can hit the ground again, two strong arms scoop me up and begin to carry me out of the room.

The pain takes over and a burning heat spreads through my body, causing me to writhe and scream. Grayson holds me tighter and I mentally thank him for that because it is the only thing keeping me from going insane.

The air changes and I realise we are outside but at this point, I don't care where we are.

I'm too far gone.

Suddenly, I'm placed on the ground and Grayson is no longer next to me.

He's close but not nearly as close as I want him to be.

He makes the pain go away.

I scream and cry as my bones begin to ache and I feel like I'm going to vomit.

I feel myself changing and within seconds, my bones begin to audibly crack and pop, tears dripping down my face.

I let out a final scream before I fully shift, my clothes ripping off my body as I blackout in the process.

"Acacia" a tiny voice calls out.

"Hello?" I ask nervously.

"It's me, your wolf. My name's Elliott, Ellie for short if you'd like."

"Hi, Elliott. It's so good to finally meet you."

"You too, love. However, I need you to wake up. I'm not doing so well and I need you to find Grayson. He can help but you have to let him in."

"But I can't. You know why. What happens if he's just like Zane?"

"You know for a fact that's not true, Acacia."

"But-"

"Look hun, I know it's hard. I get that, I really really do. But I need you to try. I don't want to lose you again. We both need each other more than you realise and we need Grayson too."

"I know. I just... What if he hates me when I tell him what happened?"

"Then we will just have to try and work through it. He can't hate us forever. But that doesn't give you an excuse to not try in the first place. Please, Acacia, I'm begging you."

"Okay."

"Good. Now I need you to wake up, love"

"But-"

"Wake up, Acacia"

Light shines into my eyes as I suddenly wake up. I look down and see I'm in my wolf form.

"Elliott?" I call out in my head.

No response.

Shit.

I look up and see Grayson standing a few meters away, grinning at me.

"Hello, Princess" he signs happily.

Pain shoots through my chest and I know Elliott's getting weaker. I need to shift back.

I whimper at Grayson and his face instantly changes.

He walks up to me and gently strokes the fur on my cheek. He steps back and looks at me, concern and worry painted on his face.

"Imagine yourself in your human form" he signs slowly. "Keep imagining it and eventually you'll shift back."

I nod and imagine myself as me. I picture my green eyes and my long wavy dark brown hair and my skinny figure.

It takes me a while but eventually I hear the familiar cracking sound and I'm back on the ground in my human form.

Panting, I look down at myself and see that I'm completely naked.

Embarrassed, I wrap my arms across my chest and look up to see where Grayson is. I watch as he takes his shirt off and chucks it to me.

Gratefully, I take it and slip it over my head before looking back up at him again. A small pain aches in my chest and I frown.

"Let me mark you" Grayson signs.

Shocked, I stare at him and gulp nervously.

"I can feel it too Acacia, she's dying. Let me mark you. I know I've already marked you before but your mark is your sweet spot that connects our wolves and if I bite it again, it will keep her here for a little longer, until you're ready to mate" he continues, watching me carefully.

I don't want to lose her now that I have her again so I nod in agreement. I watch as he walks over to me and sits down in front of me.

Carefully, he lays me down and begins to kiss me softly. I begin to kiss him back and the pain in my chest begins to lessen.

He makes his way down to my mark and sucks on it hard, heat racing to my core. I feel his canines come through and he brushes them against my skin before sinking them in.

I gasp at the pain before a moan of pleasure escapes my lips. I dig my nails into his back and he removes his teeth and licks the wound happily.

Holy fuck!

Why does it feel so good?

"Nice to know that I'm doing something right," a new voice says into my head.

Stunned, I look up at Grayson and see that he's grinning.

"Yes, it is me, Acacia" he smirks, amused.

"Usually when wolves mark each other, they are then able to talk to each other telepathically but because your wolf wasn't present when I first marked you, I couldn't talk to you. But now that she's back, I can."

I nod, still stunned as he helps me to sit up.

"You are also able to talk to me now too and communicate with the rest of my pack."

Oh, right. Geez, it's been so long that I completely forgot about mind-linking. My old pack and I were able to do it. It was how my mother told me to escape.

God, I miss my mother.

I feel Grayson stroke my cheek and I zone back in.

"Let's head back home, Princess. You must be drained" Grayson signs with a small smile.

I nod and he picks me up and carries me back towards the house.

I snuggle into him and I feel him relax. Gently, I tilt my head up and kiss his neck, causing him to shudder.

"Acacia," Grayson says into my head in a strained voice.

I frown and move my head back onto his chest.

We stay silent until we get to the house and head upstairs into his room. He sets me down on the couch and hands me my hearing aids before sitting down next to me.

"I'm not mad at you, Princess," he says aloud. I look down at my hands nervously. He gently lifts my head up to look at me and smiles gently.

"Please believe me. It's just, you kissed me. I didn't want to lose control" he says into my head. I blush and watch him nervously.

He grins and gently kisses me. Something stirs in me and I know it's Elliott.

I start to kiss him back hungrily, my wolf begins to surface.

Suddenly, Grayson's arms are around my waist and pulling me into his lap. I run my hands through his hair as he kisses down my neck. His hand slides down onto my butt and Zane flashes across my mind.

Panicking, I push away from Grayson and move to the other end of the couch. I hear Grayson mumble something as I look down at my hands, tears threatening to spill from my eyes. I feel him move closer and wrap his arms around me.

"I'm sorry, Acacia. I didn't mean to, we don't have to do it now. We can do it anytime you want, I just thought..." he starts nervously speaking into my mind.

"I will wait however long you need and I don't want to pressure you into anything you're not comfortable with, so please don't feel like I'm forcing you to. I know it must be hard because of what you've been through with the kidnapping and all but please know I'm not like them."

I try to breathe as I struggle to listen to him.

"I mean, I've never had sex with anyone before anyway, so it's not like I'm missing out" he laughs nervously. I look up at him in shock, tears running down my face.

Grayson's never had sex before?

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Hey Guys,

I hope you all enjoyed that chapter! Thanks for sticking by me through all this and feel free to vote and leave me a comment below letting me know whether you liked this chapter!!

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Thanks,

- Allamy xx