Serenity sat at her usual spot in Liam's office. To of which she looked up from her current read and looked over to Liam whose nose was deep in paperwork. She had noticed how he had been unusually busy these last few days.

With admitting new pack members, making sure all the training structures were built and on time, and dealing with Kensley's trip, he was swamped. Serenity could tell this but had no idea how to help him.

Standing up with a sigh she walks out of the room.

Downstairs the packhouse is booming with life. Old and new faces were everywhere. As people moved in they stayed at the packhouse for a week or two until they got settles and found a house in the pack.

"Serenity! Hey, Hey!" Mercedes ran up to her friend.

"Hey, what's up?"

"Nothing much. Making new friends and all. Also, gotta thank your loverboy for canceling school for the rest of the week."

Serenity rolls her eyes, "You mentioned making new friends? Does this mean you're replacing me?"

"Never that, but," Mercedes grabs the girl's arm that was standing behind her. She pulls her forward, "this is Amelie. She's new here. Her family came in with the last bunch of people coming here from the Prowlers pack."

The girl shyly waved at Serenity.

"Oh hello. Nice to meet you!" She gives Amelie a sweet smile and a little wave combo.

"Serenity, Alpha Liam's mate?" Amelie points at Serenity.

The air stiffened.

Mercedes nervously laughs, "Amelie is a bit old school, but we're not supposed to talk about what Liam and she are. It's like a forbidden unspoken truth."

Serenity nervously scratches the back of her head, "yeah what she said. We're-" she stopped talking. Honestly, she didn't know what they were, "erm Mercedes can I talk to you in the kitchen, alone please?"

Amelie taking a hint dismissed herself while the two friends went inside the kitchen.

"Serenity that was a bit rude. We're supposed to be making the newbies feel welcomed."

Groaning, "Mates? Mercedes she asked if I was the alpha's mate!" Serenity throws her hands up in exasperation. 

"Mates don't even exist anymore. It was an honest mistake. Amelie's pack was old school and believe in that stuff still." 

Serenity shakes her head, "that's not the problem."

"Then what is? I am a bit confused here."

"Liam and I. What are we? I know the full truth about him. He shares his secrets with me. I share my secrets with him, well what little secrets I have with no memory. We should be one, but there's something missing."

Mercedes walks up to her friend and grabs her by the shoulders, "Yall were made to be! If mates still did exist you two would be without doubt mates and do you know what that means?"

Serenity shook her head.

"You and he were made for each other! Made for each other," she emphasizes the last four words.

"But mates don't exist also we weren't made for each other. Right now we are choosing to go through life by each other side purely through free will."

Her friend sighs and drops her hands off of her shoulders, "you just proved my own point. You two are choosing to be by each other side. It's not a mate bond or an external force, it is you and him choosing to stay by each other sides."

"I-" Serenity had no words.

"Exactly. now push all this doubt aside and tell me what's really troubling you.

"Well, I guess Liam has been stressed recently with all the new pack members and stuff."

Mercedes's eyebrows scrunch together, "so you're just not getting his full attention and are touch-deprived?"

Her hands flew up to her face and covered her eyes as she was embarrassed, "well whenever you put it that way."

"Oh, my gosh girly," giggling she pokes at her friend's face.

"Stop it! This is embarrassing."

"No, it's really not. It's actually understandable. Good thing I'm your best friend though."

Serenity peaked from behind her hands, "What do you mean?"

She rolls her eyes, "I have a plan of course."

"Well then I'm all ears," dropping her hands she takes a seat at the kitchen island.

Mercedes takes a seat next to her, "well it's almost sunset. I say you make a picnic and go out to the ledge where you can watch the sunset. Romantic, and fulfilling."

"Get him out of his office?" 

Nodding her head she smiles, "if anyone can get him to do it it's you. I will even help you make a picnic. Now, what does he like?"

"Erm. He's not picky."

Merced stands up and walks to the fridge, "well. You can't go wrong with fruits."

She pulls out the containers of strawberries, grapes, and blueberries. Placing them on the counter she then continues to browse in the fridge. Baby carrots, cucumber, and ranch are the next things placed on top of the counter.

"We don't have much. No ones has been out hunting and the grounds haven't been harvest yet. We will have to make do with what we have leftover."

"I think we can make due." Serenity gets up and grabs a few glass containers. 

She washes two handfuls of strawberries dries them, then places them inside the container. She does the same for the grapes, blueberries, and baby carrots placing them all in separate glass containers. For the cucumber, she washes it and then slices it, then it goes into the container. 

Mercedes finds a smaller circular container and squits some ranch inside. Meanwhile, Serenity goes to look in the fridge. 

"Hmm. We really have nothing."

"Yeah, but," going over to a top cabinet and pulls out a bottle of wine, "you got this."

Taking the bottle of wine Serenity examines it, "wow, this isn't the human stuff."

"Nope. 50% alcohol. You know it will hit."

Placing it on the counter the two stare at it warily, "I don't know about taking this. I'm only 17."

"18."

"What?" Serenity looks at Mercedes.

"You're 18."

She tilts her head, "I thought-"

"In the midst of everything I guess we forgot to celebrate." Mercedes frowns. Out of all things, they forgot her birthday. Now that is kind of shitty. This person standing before her deserves the world. The least she could do as her best friend was remember her birthday. 

"Oh, that's alright. No worries," smiling she grabs two wine glasses, "no harm in taking the bottle right?"

"Right. I'll grab a basket. Be right back."

Serenity stays to begins to stack all of the containers. 

Mercedes comes back but not alone, "here that basket, but good luck. Amelie and I are going to have a movie night in the living room. Whenever you get back feel free to join us, we will be being watching twilight."

Serenity nods at the two. After packing up the picnic she grabs the basket and goes upstairs to Liam's office. For once she knocks on the door.

"Come in." 

With a soft smile on her face, she walks in. 

Liam looks up dropping the papers that he was holding, "There you are."

"Here I am."

"You just kind of walked out earlier is everything okay?" 

She nods her head, "yes everything is fine. I just had to get my surprise ready."

His ears perk up, "surprise?"

"Yes surprise."

He leans back in his seat, "well what is it?"

She shakes her pointer finger, scrunches her nose, and shakes her head, "no-no-no. You have to come with me in order to receive this surprise. Well, you can't really receive it it's more like an experience."

"Hmm. An experience?"

"Yes," she walked over to his side of the desk, "do you want to experience it with me?"

He turns and looks up at her, "well of course." turning back to his desk he grabs his phone sends a quick text to Mateo telling him he was going out, rearranges the papers on his desk, then stands up, "where to darling?"

"Well, you have to follow me." she takes his hand.

"I'd follow you to the ends of the earth if I had to."

Enter the butterflies in her stomach. Slightly blushing she turns around gently pulling him along. 

They reached the cliff just in time. The sun was beginning to set. Serenity set out the blanket she had grabbed before leaving the pack house. 

"So this is the experience?" he looks down at Serenity who had sat down on the blent and began to unpack the picnic basket.

"Yes, do you like it?"

He takes a seat and watches her finish unpacking the basket, "I love it." 

She smiles up at him, "good I'm glad."

"Is that wine I spot?" 

She giggles and nods her head, "that was not in fact my idea."

Liam smiles at her, "I bet it wasn't. Although one glass won't hurt." he takes the wine glasses and pours the wine into them.

               Two glasses of wine later, the two laugh loudly under the star-lit sky.

"They pants you?" Serenity threw her head back in laghter. 

Liam held his glass up to his lips, "yes. They just pulled them down and took off running." He tips the glass back the contents inside trickling down his throat.

"Oh," she sobers up, "Is that why you and Aston don't see eye to eye?"

"Partly, but that's a story for another day."

"So we're going to do this again?"

He nods his head while pouring another glass of wine, "Most definitely."

Scooting closer to him, she leans her head on his shoulder and stares out into the abyss of the cliff's edge. 

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Yes of course, " he looks down at her loving how she leans against him. Being her support is all he wanted in life, but he would never admit that. 

"What was I like before?"

Taken aback he looks out into the clearing also, "Before?"

"Yes before I lost my memory."

He chuckled, "the exact same. Maybe a bit wittier, and sharper tong, but I liked you even then."

"What were we then?" she moves to look up at him. 

"I-"

Maybe it was the wine talking- liquid courage-or heck her feeling just pouring out, but she leaned forward and pressed her lips on his. He didn't even get to finish his sentence. For his sake that was good. He didn't know what to say. 

As their lips moved in sync, they fell more into each other. Thirsting for the other even more. But he couldn't at least not now. Not with the deal still in place, so he pulled away.

"I-I'm sorry. I don't know wh-"

But he couldn't help himself as he crashed his lips back into hers to stop her from apologizing. 

At this point in time, I update once a month. OMG, I am so sorry I am just so busy. I keep on going back and forth from home to college which is a six-hour drive there and back. But here she is. 

Serenity took initiative? 

What's next?

Are we vibing with this Amelie girl?