Back and forth now I'm feelin' guilty
Cause I just can't stop this pendulum in my head
Though I know that our time is ending
I'd rather lay forever right in this bed

• • •

"The Council has summoned you."

I stop brushing my hair and meet Princeton's eyes through the mirror on my vanity, before turning to him slowly with my hairbrush still stopped halfway through brushing. "Excuse me, but what?"

"The Council, they are holding Unum noctem Pacem," Princeton said grimly, edging closer to me as he watched me with his careful eyes.

"One Night Peace," I murmured, translating the very important, very ancient Latin term into English. My grip on the hairbrush tightened, and my scalp burned as a reminder of the hair I was pulling. I separated the brush from my locks of hair and tossed it onto the counter. "Well crap."

"You know of it, then."

"Of course I do. It's very rarely stationed, but when it is . . . " I trailed off, looking for him to continue.

He nodded darkly, and finished, "Shedding of blood ends, battles find Alliance, and the supernatural forget their feuds. Just for one night."

"Right," I murmured, turning back and staring at myself in the mirror. "This means that the council members will call upon the spokesmen of their supernatural species and ask them to come forward."

"Yes," Princeton agreed, meeting my eyes through the mirror.

My mind rushed back to the first words Princeton spoke to me. "You said they brought this on because of me? Why?"

He reached his hand out and played with my brushed hair, his fingers grazing the silky strands gently. "The knowledge of our pairing has gotten out, thanks to the Gonzales no doubt. It is strange enough when a supernatural coupling is interlinked. Say a fae and vampire, or a warlock and a human. It is strange, but it is not challenged for the most part. Yet the knowledge that wolves have a goddess who chooses our mates is a different thing — and for that goddess to bring together a feline shifter, the most mysterious of us all and who live under the sun and bask in its rays, and a wolf, who soaks in the shine of the moon and Her blessings, is completely and utterly confusing."

I hummed as I felt his fingers gingerly caress my scalp, massaging it soothingly. I closed my eyes and swallowed a moan of satisfaction at the gentleness of it all. "You'd think they'd act more like the powerful forces they are and simply ask us about it instead of calling on Unum noctem Pacem," I murmured in response. "Though I can also see their side. There isn't much to gossip about anymore, and the whispers about which vampire screwed which human is getting rather old. Our relationship is simply scandalous in their boring lives."

A soft snort was the response I received as my mate bent down and grazed his teeth across the top of my ear lightly. "Hmm I wonder what they've heard regarding our relationship."

I exposed my neck submissively as his teeth scraped against my ear canal and lowered to the lobe, brushing against it before connecting to the skin below my ear. I practically purred with delight at how nice it felt. "I bet we've done terrible things. Perhaps we've eloped and had children already."

He chuckled, but his lips lowered inch my inch, driving me mad very slowly. "Indeed. Very scandalous. Can't believe you said yes, but I'm sure you don't regret it. How many children have we had?" he purred as his arms wrapped around me.

I squealed as he hoists me up and taps at my outer thighs. I understood the message and wrapped my legs around his waist securely as I used my arms to anchor myself against him and his neck. "Hm, I like to say we have at least four already."

"We've been busy." His nose brushed against my neck, right where he would put his mark. My eyes closed and I submissively exposed it to him. Yours.

"Mm."

He nuzzled the spot almost longingly before lifting his nose from my neck and squeezing my hip as he held me against him. His lips found that spot, brushing ever so delicately over it with a soft growl vibrating in his throat. "Right here," he whispered, his lips sparking flames in my blood and on my skin as they brushed against it, "is where my mark will go." He gently grazed his teeth over the area. "Can you feel it, Rivera? The path of flames that engulfs your body with each touch?"

My heart was racing against my ribcage, having no mercy on me and revealing just how responsive this male made me. Goosebumps danced across my arms and chills ran down my spine. A small moan rose up my throat, and escaped my lips before I was able to contain it. "Yes," I moaned out softly. "I—I can."

His hands tightened firmly on my hips, not painfully, and he pulled me closer to himself, teeth nibbling. "I know," he purred, one hand releasing my hip and dipping down to encase my leg. His palm and fingers explored their way up my thigh and leg once more, passing over my hip and trailing up my waist. It was pure torture, and he was taking pleasure in it. His tongue flicked out and brushed against the skin of my neck. "Everything you're feeling I can feel — that is how connected I am to you. I can feel the shivers you try your hardest to suppress, and the way your body stiffens as if trying to keep from coming apart."

Goddamn him. I hated how he knew how my mechanics worked, how my body [ and my soul ] bared to him. He was the only one with the key to unlocking my inner works, and he was using it to his advantage.

And suddenly, he stopped the kisses and the heating touches. His exploring hand came to rest back on my hip, and his lips left the site where I was secretly hoping he'd mark, and instead moved to my forehead. Our breathing mixed, heavy and full of strain as we attempted to gather our control before it was completely lost to the darkest part of ourselves.

When both of us were able to properly regain our bearings, he gently lowered me to my feet and cupped my cheeks in his warm hands. I leaned into the touch, my skin still buzzing and yearning for his affection. "Very scandalous indeed," he murmured, leaning forward to kiss me.

As we kissed, everything that kept me guarded and protected always stripped away and exposed my deepest self to him.

And I allowed it.

• • •

My body dropped to the ground in the sand, sending a spray of cloudy dust into the air around my body. Screaming pain erupted through my form as I pushed myself up, trying to relish the pain rather than suffer it.

Maddie was also staggering to her feet, looking disgruntled and wincing with every movement. We had managed to knock each other back through attacks we used on one another.

I had asked her to help me train, because it had been a long while since the last time I had done any fighting. I was getting rusty, and this was something I couldn't afford. Princeton had been on the edge of bursting a blood vessel when I argued with him about it, but he eventually relented when he saw how insistent I was.

"You said you were rusty," Maddie complained as she moved her sore back and popped it.

"I am."

"If that's rusty, then I don't think I want to know what the hell you're like at your best," she retorted, shaking her head. Sand fell from her ponytail as she moved it.

"You got a good hit in as well. My ass hurts," I tried to assure her, reaching back to rub it for emphasis. It ached upon my touch and I quickly pull my hands away. Sitting would be painful for a while. "Like, really hurts."

Maddie laughed, placing her hands on her hips as she eyed me up and down playfully. "At least it's nothing crucial. I'd hate to mess up that pretty face. It's your best feature."

I raised a brow, a playful smirk rising on my lips. "Madison Westscott, are you flirting with me?"

One of her hands left her hips, two fingers instead inserting themselves halfway into her mouth as she faked a gagging noise. "You're going to make me sick, Rivera."

I laughed at her dramatics. "You totally were flirting with me," I mocked, to which she lunges at me suddenly and aimed a blow for my chest. I caught the movement quickly and jumped to the side swiftly, angling my left heel to dig into the sand as I slid across the grains. Sand and dust flew up around my feet as I came to a halt and watched as she captured her own fall by slamming her hands into a nearby tree above the pit. She turned around, huffing.

"That's just embarrassing," I quipped, smiling. "And sloppy. Very sloppy. Perhaps try something more subtle next time," I added seriously. "You shouldn't let your frustration take grasp of you because that's what your opponent wants in the end. Being collected will help you better recognize what may happen."

Maddie blinked at me in unveiled surprise as she shoved her hands off of the tree and straightened herself up. "I thought I was training you," she teased as she made her way back over to me.

"We're training each other." I shrugged, grinning cheekily at her. She returned it with her own. "Besides that, I'm teaching you some top secret Feline moves that have never been attempted by a wolf."

She smirked, a twinkle of amusement in her eyes as we positioned ourselves in protective stances across one another. "And you think that's a good idea, is it? What if they find out you're sharing trade secrets?"

"My kin turned their back on me because their Denari forced them to do so. If he ordered them to walk off a cliff to their death, which has happened in the past, they would." I wiped my sweaty hands on my training shorts and gave her a small look. "We have no choices in our life — not many, anyways. I don't blame my Clan for something they can't control, but I can punish Denari's for using their power wrongly. Andy knew they would have fought him and argued with him if he hadn't used his power. He knew. Which is exactly why he did what he did. I want him to understand that when he sees me again, he can't control me. I am no longer under his control."

She regarded me with an obvious flow of respect, her lips pursed tightly as she listened to my story. "What will you do? When you see him, I mean? There's a high possibility he'll be at the grand meeting."

I moved my ankle into a different position, getting ready to lunge at her. She glanced down at the movement and did the same, mirroring me in order to learn my attack process.

"If and when I see him, I will show him I did not end up going to the mountains like he had expected. I am very much alive and have my mate on my arm."

"Your sister? What if she's there?" Maddie asked quietly. I could tell she had practically forced the question out, the unsureness that was in her tone was enough to tell she wasn't sure what I would do to her if she spoke of my sister.

"If my sister is there — if she's there, I will go to her and I will tell her everything. The one person, the one damn person, who deserves to know where I am, and how I'm holding up is her. If she's there . . . If she's there, then we aren't leaving without her. When Andy finds out how I'm living, if he knows I've moved on with my life and I'm not "suffering" from the exile, I can't be certain he won't use Lucky against me. I can't be certain he will either, but I don't like chances."

Maddie bit her lip and nodded her head. "But Andy has control over her like the rest of your Clan, right? He won't let her leave."

I swallowed, breaking our eye contact and trying to ignore the lump that suddenly lodged itself in my throat. "I know. But I've got to try right? If I don't, I won't know what will happen."

Noticing my sudden lack of enthusiasm, Madison rolled her arms out and said loudly, "Well, until then let's continue to train. I want to make sure your ass is thoroughly kicked before we leave this pit."

With that, my mind released any thought of my little sister and instead focused on training.

• • •

Maddie and I were both kicked in the ass, so to say. We trained for another two and a half hours, and we were regretting each second of it as we dragged ourselves out of the pit and slowly, very slowly, made our way back to the house.

Lana was waiting for us with painkillers strong enough to knock out an elephant and freshly baked cookies for our suffering. When I questioned how she knew, Maddie lifted her dirt-caked finger and tapped her forehead. "Mind link."

I tried to push any jealousy down into the darkest part of myself — the part I usually ignore so that I don't cause myself any suffering. But nothing could be hidden from Lana quickly enough, as she had seen something in my eyes.

She smiled sweetly and reached out to caress my shoulder in a gentle manner. "Once you're made an official member of the pack, you'll be able to communicate as we do. It's usually just a wolf thing, but pack is pack. The link does not discriminate those who are claimed by us."

I tried to smile back, but it did not reach my eyes. "I doubt that will happen for a while. Princeton and I haven't marked yet, and that's important right?"

The older woman shrugged her shoulders. "Sure. It's very important among our pack. They have acknowledged your position and what you will become to them, and for that reason they understand the circumstances." Her eyes shifted to me and locked me in place as she untangled some leaves from my bun and flicked them away. I watched them flutter to the floor.

"I do want you to realize something, however," the former Luna continued after a moment of silence [ besides the noises of loud crunching and soft moans from Maddie ], "You do not have to be marked or mated by Princeton in order to become an official pack member. That is not the reason we haven't had a ceremony. We are waiting for you to come to us and tell us you would like to be made a member. The only thing you'll need to be marked for is the Luna Ceremony, and that can happen on its own time."

Emotion swelled in my chest suddenly, and the urge to lean forward and embrace her was stronger than my ability to control it. Next thing I know, I'm embracing the woman who has become something like the mother mine never was, like the mother my adoptive one tried to be but couldn't. To Lucky, most definitely, but I'd always felt like a visitor.

Lana returned the embrace and rubbed my back. She bummed quietly and I murmured, "I would like to become part of the pack . . . If you'll have me."

"If you'll have me," Maddie mimicked behind us, her tone rising in a playfully-mocking way, before returning to normal, "I swear, Rivera, sometimes I don't even know what to do with you."

Lana chastised her daughter lightly before pulling back from my embrace and smiling softly at me. "We will have you. We willingly bring what we see as ours into our family."

I smiled back at her, fighting away the tears. Family. "Thank you."

"You're in your forever home, Rivera," Lana confirmed boldly, not even needing to read my thoughts to know what I was thinking. "You're not going anywhere."

• • •

Phew! I was in love with this chapter simply because of how quickly Rivera is slipping into pack life. I feel like her horizon is definitely being broadened.

How do y'all feel about Rivera and Princeton being summoned by the council? Do you think Andy will try to make trouble?

The next chapter will be the integration of Rivera into the pack — the council will appear within the next couple of chapters after that.

Until next time!