"How do I look?" Gypsy stepped out of the closet and twirled for assessment.

Two out of the three pairs of eyes watching her lit up in excitement.

"Oh my." Said Rachel, the tall and gorgeous werewolf that was fast becoming a bestie. Billie clapped her hands and bobbled her head in agreement.

"I don't know," Gypsy started doubtfully, looking down at herself. She had always been a comfort over style kind of girl, which meant that she spent most of her days in sweatpants and lose shirts. Not that she had much to choose from. "This dress is..."

"It's not the dress," Quipped Jared, the third pair of eyes. "The dress is...nice, you just don't have the class to pull it off."

Gypsy bit her lip and narrowed her eyes at him. It had been three days since he was assigned as her watched dog, three days since she has been begging God for patience because she'd strangle him with his tongue if she ever begged for strength and she's already been accused of one murder.

"Ignore him." Rachel took Gypsy's hand before she could find a retort and made her sit at the edge of the bed. "Trust me, we all do and it's easier that way. Just pretend there's an empty space emitting nothing but white noise and watch your life improve exponentially."

"Not for long, Rach." Jared stood from the sofa he had been lounging, "Soon, I'll be the forefront thought on the minds of every single member of this pack. Just you wait till my mate come for me."

"He's also fallen off his wagon." Rachel continued conversationally, parting Gypsy's hair in small portions and braiding it back in big cornrows. "He talks about his mate like the second coming of Yesu Kristo. Is your mate an alpha, Jared?"

"Better than that." Jared replied promptly. "I've seen through his eyes and Alphas have nothing on him. Certainly not Kellen."

Gypsy felt her heart lurch at the mention of his name.

"Funny you say that." She addressed Jared casually, "Yet when he's around you're all, 'yes sir, Alpha sir, how can I please you sir, seat on my face sir, shove your entire feet up my arse sir'." The girls all cackled up, only laughing harder and louder as Jared tried to defend himself. They won't let him get another word in, so he stomped out of the room slamming the door behind him.

Their amusement hadn't completely die down when there was a knock on the bedroom doors.

"Aww, you're back already?" Gypsy said as the handle began to turn. "What's it going to take to permanently get rid of you?"

"Ouch."

All eyes snapped in the direction of the new voice that most certainly did not belong to Jared.

"Trevor!" Gypsy screeched, leaping off the bed like a rocket and flying straight into the body of her friend who caught her effortlessly. She threw her hands around his neck, her legs around his waist and hugged him fiercely, burying her face in the crook of his neck.

Trevor chuckled, "I think she missed me." He said to both Billie and Rachel who watched on with equally wide smiles on their faces.

"It's good to see you, Trev." Rachel nodded then turned to Billie beside her. "What do you say we get my purse together and give these two a minute alone?"

Trevor dropped Gypsy to her feet once Rachel and Billie were out of the room. For a moment they stared at each other in silence.

He wasn't smiling anymore and she took him in with an ache in her heart. He had lost a couple pounds, his sunken eyes were two mismatched colors; one side was the playful dark brown that she admired and the other was a dancing amber.

"Trevor." She croaked, standing on her tiptoes to cradle his face.

"I'm fine." He grabbed her wrists.

"Your eyes..."

"Are fine, too." He smiled at her. "I was in wolf form for three days, I need a little time to...regroup. Believe me, this isn't my first rodeo." He laughed ruefully. "As boys, I'd say Kellen and I spent quality bonding time in there. His father - the alpha at the time - was merciless."

"It's my fault you were in there this time,"

"Wrong. That's on me." Trevor sidestepped her further into the room. He took a seat on the bed and pat the space beside him for her.

"He's going to reject you, Gypsy." He said when she sat. "The three days in that hole, I thought for sure he'd have marked you but I see he didn't. I'm sorry I brought you here for this."

"I'm not." Gypsy linked her fingers with Trevor's on his lap. "I've never met anyone like you, Trevor Keeper. You accepted me from the get go, you gave me a home. So what if Kellen doesn't want me, he is one man..."

"He is your one true soulmate."

"I like to think there's more than one of everything." She countered. "I don't care if he rejects me or not."

"He is the Alpha, Gypsy." Trevor said dejectedly. "I can't keep you here if he doesn't want you around. The only reason I can think of that he hasn't rejected you yet is because he needs your consent."

"For what?"

"Call it the Moon's insurance policy. The woman has to consent to rejection, otherwise a part of him will always belong to you."

"I see."

"Yes and he needs your full name too. The name your mother called you at birth. Whatever you do, don't give him either of those things."

🍃🍃

The sight of her was like a punch in the belly. He'd felt her before she emerged at the entrance of the Mess but he still wasn't ready for the way all air rushed out of his lungs the second he set eyes on her.

God, she was a little sexpot. He forgot how to breathe as his eyes devoured her, wearing a little yellow dress that fit her like a glove. She looked so young and innocent with her hair all braided back like that.

Kellen could tell she was nervous, it was in the way she held onto Billie's hand and kept glancing at Rachel behind her as Jared led them into the partial underground building filled with his people.

She easily drew attention, and soon, with Marlow in the lead, everyone started clapping on seeing her. She looked around, confused, even as she dropped Billie's hand and joined in the clapping. Until Rachel leaned forward to whispered in her ear, mostly likely telling her that the ovation was for her.

Her mouth formed a surprised "oh". She gave a Queen-like wave to the people and curtsied, waved and curtsied again. Her roaming eyes found his.

He lost his breath all over again. There was something that occasionally flashed in her eyes, something he hadn't yet figured out that always stole his breath and made his blood zing in his veins.

She held his gaze. He knew the second her mind got clouded with the memory of her in his room, before she accused him of being "shitface and spewing nonsense" then hightailed it out of there.

It wasn't that Kellen remembered too, it was that he couldn't forget. How she felt in his arms, as wonderful as she smelled. The taste of her skin has a stamp on his tongue now, he got an erection every fucking time his mind went there.

Suffice to say he'd been a walking hard on for three consecutive days! Not even his quick rumble in the sack with Vera did anything to alleviate his problem.

This hunger for her like nothing he had ever felt before has surge to life in the very core of his being and won't be doused.

He was in a constant battle with his morals. He witnessed a gruesome murder, perpetrated by her. He shouldn't be wanting her, he should be reporting her to human authority and having her arse hauled deep into jail where she would never see the light of day again.

Yet the thought of never seeing her again almost brought him down to his knees.

"Luna, how can we ever repay you?" Vera's parents caught in their line of vision and forced her to break eye contact with him.

"You gave our daughter back to us. We thought we lost her, didn't we, Idris?" Vera's mother jabbed an elbow in her mate's side.

"We sure did." Idris replied.

"Worst time of our lives." Vera's mother sounded teary, "But you gave her back to us! We can never thank you enough, can we, Idris?"

"Nope."

Kellen sighed, watching the older woman place a hand on her heart and gently touched Gypsy's temple after, then grabbed both of Gypsy's hand and sniffed the inside of her wrists.

Gypsy's eyes were wide in puzzlement, Rachel leaned in to whisper in her ear again; what Vera's mother did was a sign of gratitude, submission and acceptance.

Gypsy looked genuinely touched, her smiled was from ear to ear.

Kellen was waiting for her to look back at him but as soon as Vera's parents were out of the way, Rachel grabbed her hand and dragged her off to the food stand.

He gritted his teeth, scrubbing a hand over his mouth with displeasure.

Rio laughed, he had been silently watching Kellen's reaction from across the room since Gypsy walked in. Now, he got up and approached, amusement dancing in his eyes.

"What's so goddamn funny?" Kellen's voice tersely matched his temper.

"I've been where you are." Rio said, glancing meaningfully in Gypsy's direction. She had her back to them, gracefully taking a tray of food that was handed to her by one of the cooks.

"Yeah? Where is that?"

"Feeling like punching something when she stopped looking at you."

Kellen linked his fingers behind his head and regarded his friend, "I wasn't feeling like punching shit -although looking at your face- maybe I'll give it a shot."

"Haha,"Rio smirked, "Can't say I blame you though. You lucked out in the mates department, buddy."

She was laughing at something Rachel said as they found a table to settle in with their food. He noticed Billie had run off to join her new friends at another table.

"You think she's beautiful?" Kellen asked.

"You don't?"

He looked at her again, to say she was beautiful would be to completely miss the point. Although right then, she looked more pissed off than anything as Jared slid into the seat next to hers.

"I just need to hear you say it, for when I quote you to Ernie later."

Rio scoffed, "Ernie knows there'll never be another woman for me." He said definitively, paused, then smiled. "Unless she's super hot, and wears yellow like a freaking goddess."

Kellen worked a muscle in his jaw, "You stopped being funny about five seconds ago."

"I got my cue to leave about the same time."

He followed Rio inclined head to see Gypsy making her way to their table, food tray in hand and a set expression on her face.

"Hey Kellen, do you have a minute?" She asked from a couple steps away.

Kellen did nothing to mask the need that must have been evident in his eyes as he watched her approach, his eyes greedily lapping up all her features he barely notice Rio slip into the crowd.

He could feel it; the almost deafening buzz of their bond with every step she took closer, the electricity between them, jolting and whipping around them -excluding everyone and everything else - just them, and the pull to get closer and closer still.

But then she got to him and his nose stung, he could smell Trevor all over her. Looks like that son of a gun didn't learn his lesson. Kellen should throw him back in the cell. This time for a month.

Gypsy slid into the chair across from him and set her tray on the table between them.

He leveled his eyes on her, "Make yourself comfortable, why don't you."

"Don't mind if I do." She grinned at him.

He stared impassively at her until she lost the smile, her eyes fell on her food and she carefully picked up her cutlery.

"You think this taste as heavenly as it smells?" She asked.

"One minute is about all I have for you and it's ticking."

"I need a favor."

"You need a favor." Kellen tried not to laugh in her face. "This should be good. But of course, Gypsy. Whatever you need, I'm at your service."

"Are you being sarcastic?"

He raised a brow at her. Was she stupid?

"Before you start calling in a chit, you should know that the only reason you're still in my pack instead of prison is because you saved my niece and Vera. Consider my IOU all paid up."

She laughed, "That's funny, cause you see, a little birdie told me the reason I'm still here and unmarked..." She tapped the base of her throat and Kellen's eyes zoned in on the spot with unbelievable longing from his wolf.

"...is because you need my "real" birth name and my consent before you can reject me and move on with your life."

He was taken aback, the sudden flair in her temper and her words settled in his guts like rock. "Is Trevor this little birdie?" He asked, feigning calmness.

She scoffed, "Look around you Kellen, you truly believe your icy coldness towards me is lost on anyone?"

He blinked.

"I don't blame you though, I wouldn't want me either."

"Don't." Kellen warned, sensing the self depreciation in her tone.

"I mean, look at me, I wore the same shirt and sweatpants for two days in a row, would have wore them again today if Rachel hadn't forced me into this dress, one step to feeling better is looking better she said -bless her heart. Also I may or may not have put the hot in psychotic and I know I'm rambling but trust me, you are dodging a bullet here and no one can blame you." She paused and took a deep breath.

"So I'm going to come clean to you, give you my consent, my real names, heck every thing you need to know about me in exchange for your word that Trevor will never find out what I did seven years ago."