Lucy's POV-

I walked into the dining room quietly. However, due to everyone being werewolves with hypersensitive hearing, quietly didn't really matter. As soon as I stepped foot through the door, all eyes were on me. I sighed and walked further into the room while trying to push the feelings of inadequacy down, it was hard though when everyone seemed to think so lowly of me- even myself. It seemed to be an impossible task to push my old captures' voices out of my head telling me that I was nothing.

I kept my eyes to the ground as I walked. Which is why I was surprised and caught off guard when I ran into a hard body that blocked my path. The impact slightly jostled me and sent a small shock to my back, but nothing too bad. Plus, I barely felt it through the medications that I was on.

I looked up with my eyebrows furrowed in confusion when I saw Dillon, the warrior who caused my injuries, standing before me.

"Hi, Lucine," he greeted me softly.

"Warrior Dillon..." I said skeptically.

I knew that warriors were very vengeful wolves, and I wouldn't put it past one of them to try and attack me due to the punishments that Kale had set. However, I thought that we had taken care of everything the night before. I had thought that we had all come to an understanding.

Everyone's eyes were on us as we looked at each other. Those eyes definitely included a certain hazel gaze that gave me tingles and warmed my core. I knew that Kale was ready to pounce if Dillon made even one wrong move toward me. He wouldn't let me get hurt again.

"I understand why you are so tense right now Lucy, but I promise I will not hurt you," Dillon spoke slowly and raised his hands up to prove that he had no ill intensions towards me. "I wanted to see if you'd do me the honor of helping you with breakfast; it is the least I can do after everything." He lowered his head in a bow and my eyebrows raised significantly. It was unheard of for warriors to act like this and to openly acknowledge wrong doings.

"Uh- um okay. Yeah, sure." I stammered.

"Let me escort you to your seat and then I will get your plate for you. Where would you like to sit? With Kale?"

I glanced at Kale; he had a hard and furious look on his face. He nodded once at me.

"Y-yeah," I answered in a confused tone.

Dillon walked me to the table. When we finally made it there, Kale practically shoved him away from me before he told him to get me a little bit of everything. He then helped me sit down in the Luna spot.

"Be nice," I chastised him quietly. "He's trying to make up for the injuries, so quit with the anger and jealousy."

Kale let out a hard breath but nodded at me. "You're right... I'll try."

I reached over and sat my hand on his knee under the table. His eyes found mine and I gave a small smile with a small squeeze to his knee. I watched Dillon walk over to us before I shot Kale a warning glance. He huffed but I knew he understood.

"Thank you, Warrior Dillon. This was overly sweet of you. You may join us if you'd like..." I offered kindly and smiled at the brute of a man.

"Just Dillon is fine, Lucy. And I would love to, but I have dish duty and then a class." His eyes locked with mine. "You may come and help me teach if you want sometime... Anyone who can take a hit like that and still be able to walk as well as protect is definitely warrior potential."

Kale tensed at those words, but I kept a calming hand on him.

"Thank you, Dillon. I may take you up on your offer sometime. You have been so kind today, and I appreciate that," I told him with a smile.

"Yes, well, I was out of line yesterday. I had a dream last night that I killed you and I can't get that out of my psyche now. I never meant to hurt you, Lucine. Scare- absolutely but not hurt. The fact that you still stuck up for me after I injured you proves how generous you are. I also apologize for my behavior during our talk. I was still angry and very scared about the whole thing, so I was fighting my wild wolf for control. After you forgave me with no qualms, you solidified my complete respect and support. I apologize once again."

I felt myself smile at the warrior and slowly stood up. I took a few steps to him and with no thought put into my actions I embraced him. He was stiff at first but slowly relaxed and hugged me back.

"I forgive you, Dillon. It takes a strong man to admit when he is wrong and an even stronger man to own it. You are a fine wolf and one mistake doesn't define you." I released him and patted his cheek as if he was a child. "Have a good day, Dillon." I smiled brightly at him as I sat back down, and he touched his cheek for a moment and just stared.

"You as well Lucy, you as well," he spoke dazed and then bowed to me once again making people murmur around us.

I ignored everyone and hastily tucked into my food. Only after I finished the few strips of bacon and started nibbling on my biscuit did I look up and see practically everyone in the room still looking at me.

"What is everyone looking at?" I asked the people around me, which consisted of Kale, Sam, Natalie, Corey, Trevor (Kale's third in command) and his mate.

Sam let out a hearty laugh and shook his head at me then smiled. "You're going to make a great Luna Lucy," he said with his big grin and then saluted me with his cup of orange juice.

I glanced at Kale and then to everyone else. "Thanks?" I said questioningly and shook my head at his silliness.

Kale silently put his bacon on my plate then brushed my hair behind my ear. "He's right," Kale stated quietly with a nod.

I gladly accepted Kale's gift of bacon and shrugged. "What ever you say, I guess. I don't see it... neither does the pack" I added quietly and stuffed my face to fill the void in my chest.

"The fact that you don't even see it is astounding," Trevor's mate, Yuli, spoke. "The pack will come around when they feel like they can trust you, just like all probationary pack members. What Dillon just did is a testament to that. You must have really touched him with your kindness for him to react like that..."

I silently contemplated their words as I ate.

"Luce," Kale said catching my attention. "You need clothes..."

I looked down at his borrowed shirt and sweats in confusion and then looked back at him in question.

"I mean, clothes of your own."

"Oh..." I said, trying to cover my disappointment. Of course, he'd want his clothes back. "Right."

"We can order you clothes online, or we can go to the human territory and go shopping after Lexi's training. Which would you prefer? I personally don't think you should be going out in your condition, but I'll leave the decision up to you."

I looked down and shrugged. "I've never been shopping before so I don't really know if I'd be able to handle it or not," I answered honestly.

"Wait, you've never been shopping?" Nat asked incredulously. I shared a panicked look with Kale who then turned to glare at Nat. "I'm sorry... I didn't mean it like that. I just... can't believe it."

"It's okay, Nat..." I paused and looked at her face that was painted with disbelief but embarrassment. I had never had friends before, much less, girl friends. I had heard about the fun that girl friends had together and how they were always there for each other. I had always wanted to experience that for myself. Plus, I knew that Nat wanted to go. "Would you like to come with us and show me how it's done? I've never got to pick out clothes before, so I have no idea what I need or what will look good on me... You too, Yuli, if you'd like, I mean. "

"I'm in!" Yuli smiled.

Nat smiled widely and nodded enthusiastically. "Absolutely!" She exclaimed. "You really will make a wonderful Luna."

I hid my blush by grabbing everyone's plates to go put them up, only to be chastised by Kale. "I'll do it, Lucine. I don't want you hurting yourself."

I rolled my eyes but let him take them from me to go put up. Once he got back, he brushed my hair back affectionately. I liked the flutter in my chest when he touched me.

"You're already going to be going out shopping today; I don't want you overexerting yourself. And once we figure out her size, Natalie, we will not be trying too many clothes on. If it looks like it will fit and she likes it, we'll get it. Her back is in no shape to be putting clothes on and off; she is not a human barbie. I am only agreeing to this because we have no clue what her size is or what she likes. If I had it my way or you argue with me too much, she'll be staying in my clothes forever. Got it? Good." He didn't give her time to argue as he led me away from the table. "Now, we're going to meet Lexi. See y'all later."

I smiled at his overprotectiveness but rolled my eyes at the same time. "You know I can make decisions for myself, yeah?"

He nodded once but didn't backtrack.

"It's okay though, I understand. Besides, I do like your clothes," I whispered to him softly and rubbed my cheek against his shoulder. His breathing hitched a little bit as I touched him. "But clothes of my own might be nice... I've never had those before."

He huffed a breath and put his arm around my shoulders while nuzzling my cheek. "I'm sorry you've never gotten things before. I'll try to give you whatever you want."

"I only want you..." I stated solemnly and pulled away from him. "And you will not give me that so..."

He sighed deeply and closed his eyes. "I'm- I'm sorry."

"I know..." I paused and let my hurt subside a little; going down this rabbit hole would help no one and just detrimentally hurt us both. "Let's just go to the gym, Lexi will be there soon."

I waited for him to catch up to me, but he just stayed frozen in his spot looking downward. I could feel his confliction through our bond, and it hurt my heart. I knew that he wasn't purposefully hurting me, he was even hurting himself in the process, and my visions showed a long and winding road to us being together... It didn't make it hurt less though. It hurt, plain and simple.

"Hey, it's okay Kale," I said caressing his face while trying to make him look at me.

"No, it's not!" he snapped making me flinch back. "I'm sorry," he whispered brokenly and hung his head low. "I-I, I can feel the hurt and sorrow from you. It's suffocating and stifling, and it makes me feel like shit for putting you through this. I don't mean to, Luce... I truly don't."

"I know that, Kale. I know you aren't doing this on purpose. I knew before I got here that ours wasn't going to be a normal story, no matter how much I would have liked it to be. We both have a lot of baggage from our pasts, and it hurts right now... But eventually it will mend and even help us. I believe in you, Kale. Sometimes, it's hard for me to keep up the faith and positivity for both of us though. But I'll always believe in you. I know you'll make the right decisions, and not because of my sight... But because I believe in you."

He sighed and put his forehead on mine. "I wish I could see what you see... in me, in my pack, in everything. You can see things that no one else can. It's beautiful. You're beautiful, you have such a stunning soul."

I smiled at him and kissed his forehead. "Let's go meet Lexi now, I'm sure she is busting at the seams to see us."

Kale chuckled. "To see you; yes, I am sure."

---------

Lexi was not a good runner, plain and simple. However, she was an excellent shadow and sneaky as hell. She'd make an excellent assassin.

That's beside the point though, we, mainly Kale, were preparing her for her first full moon run. Granted, it would be in wolf form, and she wouldn't be able to shift until that night. However, the wolf-side learns from the human-side just as much as the human-side learns from the wolf-side. It made sense for Kale to want to prepare them and train them before their shift; not starting at five though.

Lexi was laying in the grass panting after her last lap. Kale was pushing her, not too hard though. Lexi needed a push, she tended to slack off until you really gave her a reason to work. Kale was drastically different from Dillon though, he wasn't being mean, just firm.

"Okay, that's enough. Two hours of running with an Alpha is plenty of training for today," I announced. Kale looked as if he wanted to argue but wisely kept his mouth shut.

"But I still have barely improved. I have less than two weeks, Lucy!" Lexi complained even though she was still very out of breath, so it didn't come out very fluid.

"If you are so worried about it, Lex, then I'll make Kale carry you if you fall behind that night... okay?"

"Seriously?" Both asked. One was deadpanned and the other was happy as could be.

"Yes." I answered them both. "Now you, Lex, go get showered and start on your schoolwork that has been severely neglected. And you, Kale, we have many plans and discussions to be had."

"You're being very bossy," Kale said with a raised eyebrow.

I snorted. "Guess I've been around you too much." I stuck my tongue out at him for good measure making him laugh.

"Okay, come on you two. Queen Lucy has spoken, we must follow her orders now. Isn't that right, Lexi?" Kale joked and grasped both of our hands to lead us back inside.

"I believe, Alpha, the correct term is Luna Lucy," Lexi corrected him making both of us sputter.

Once we made it to the gym Lexi went to go shower after bidding us both goodbye.

"I'll meet you in just a few minutes in my office, okay?" Kale asked calmly as I knew he wanted to go have a shower himself. "Since I'm sure you have many outlines and strongly worded things for me," he joked.

"Ya damn right I do!" I joked back and blew him a condescending kiss and wave.

I waited for Kale patiently as I got my ideas in order. I really did have several ideas on how to improve the pups' happiness. I wanted to help this pack so much and give them something to fight for.

After a few more minutes, Kale finally came in holding two plates of sandwiches and a couple waters. "Okay, time for you to make so much sense and severely piss me off, but not on an empty stomach of course. I can't have you missing lunch."

I smiled and thanked him as he handed me my water and plate.

"We have two and a half hours before we have to meet the others to go to the human territory for shopping, so you better get started so you can fit everything you want to change in those few hours." He was being super calm and joking. It immediately put me at ease and had me smiling.

"So, the pups..." I started. "For one, you already know how I feel about the full moon run. Unless you want me to take all the pups out separately on the full moon night then we will be changing how that is handled."

"What do you suggest?" Kale asked attentively and waited for my answer. It made me smile because I felt heard and important.

"A buddy system makes the most sense to me. Each pup should be paired with one adult and that adult should stay with them the whole time. If they get tired or can't keep up, then the adult carries them or asks for everyone to take a break. We can't have the pup's first outing be one of abandonment; that just opens up the door for too many scars and distrust in the future."

"Should the buddy be one of their parents or no?" He asked seriously.

"Hm... I'm not sure. I mean I see the advantages and the disadvantages to that. If it's their parent then they'll feel safe and nurtured, but they will also be more likely to slack off and not learn as much. With a different adult they'll feel uneasy and nervous, but it will be more about the connection with the moon and they'll learn more. What do you think?"

"Hm, maybe their moon parents can do it with them?"

"Moon parents?" I questioned never hearing of that in my whole life.

"Yeah, the person or people that will take the child if something happens to the biological parents. Its like godparents for humans. It's a requirement for children born into this pack to have a set of moon parents because of the uncertainty of war and attacks upon such a big pack."

"Okay, so the moon parents will take them, watch over them, and help them if they need it. Thing one off the list." I took a breath and ate a few bites of my sandwich. "Thing two: Five is not an appropriate age for pups to begin training."

Kale sighed and nodded, "I am beginning to see that. What age do you suggest?"

"Six and a half. Before you say no, hear me out..." he gestured for me to continue. "Six months before the first full moon shift is ample amount of time to learn to run and basic self defense should the need arise. We want to keep them kids for as long as possible... innocent and safe. I don't want them dragged into the horrific world for as long as possible."

"Six and a half then," he agreed.

"Really? I was expecting to have to fight about that one. Why are you being so agreeable?"

"You make good and diplomatic points. Did you want to have to fight?"

"Nope! However, we might over the new training schedule that I created though," I said and laid out the schedule that balanced schoolwork and training equally but still left plenty of time for fun.

Kale sighed but listened to my reasoning, and that was how the whole meeting went. Me explaining my reasonings for my different changes and him begrudgingly agreeing with me. I felt good by the time we were done with the newfound freedom the pups were getting. Kale was a good Alpha, he just needed to loosen the reigns a bit and trust his pack.

"You're a good Alpha, Kale. The puppies will thank you so very much for this."

"You really will be a wonderful Luna, Lucy. The amount of care you hold for me and my pack is spectacular," he replied and gazed at me.

I smile at him and in a weird spurt of confidence I found myself settling into his lap and kissing his cheek. "Let's keep that in mind as we go over the things for the rest of the pack tomorrow, yeah?" I giggled at his deflated expression and huff.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," he jokingly grumbled. "Let's go meet the others so we can go to the human territory to the shops."

He paused as we got to the door of his office and held my attention aptly. "Lucy, I need you to understand that the human territory is dangerous. We can not control who goes to it. That means that someone can go there specifically just to hurt one of us, so I need you to stay with me the whole time.

"That means that I'm going to the bathroom with you, the lingerie store, to get a drink and food, to the dressing room... It doesn't matter where and it will be me; not Nat, Yuli, or one of the other guys or guards if they choose to go with us... me. The last thing I need is some cliché kidnapping story thing to transpire while we're in the human territory. I have been searching far too long for my mate for you to just disappear from me so suddenly."

His eyes were desperate as he spoke; the only thing I could muster was a small nod and a hand squeeze.

"My pack and I need you too much for you to leave us," he finished.

"And I need you all too, Kale, so much."