* * *

Remus eyes followed Hera with ease, and caught that Willow was the one to help her daughter down the steps. Having the Alpha instantly recall the fact that she was clumsy and he knew he'd have to do the same later.

His wolf documented these moments, and it took all his manpower to keep him contained. The idea of scaring her off a second time was his ultimate fear and thus...He walked slowly to the group with his Beta and Delta behind him.

"Filled out a little more, Alpha Remus?" It was tradition that the higher ranked on the plane lead the group and as of yet, Hayes and Willow stood in front of their daughter. Which she nicked him for making a comment on the male's size.

"Yes sir, I have an Alpha to fight." Hera was just thankful that her mate didn't make a comment that caused her father to throw her over his shoulder and right back onto the plane.

Instead, she smirked and looked up at her dad. "You might be in trouble." And Hayes growled down to his daughter and she simply rolled her eyes.

Willow stepped aside and it was then Remus was blessed with a flash of her own beautiful smile from his mate, and he could hardly breathe.

"Hey..." She said with a strange sense of worry running through her heart, but the cringing face caused him to chuckle. "Hey, sweetheart." Hayes held back a groan while Willow was the one to silence the Alpha.

"I don't think you did much better than that the first time we met Hayden, you watch it." Hera instantly got away from her mom's fighting words that she almost tumbled over the flat tarmac. But Remus acted just in time before she truly was at risk to fall.

"Goddess, you weren't kidding."
"N-no...Um, hi?" She mumbled, and the two shared a small and equally nervous laugh. Only for Hera to curl up into her mate's hold with her arms going to wrap around him.

"Hey there munchkin, did you have a good flight?" She nodded and then pulled away, the sparks and warmth being so appetizing that she melted into the hold he had on her—Which turned into a hug without her knowing.

"Sorry." Remus ignored her apology and kissed her temple, wrapping an arm around her shoulder and looking back to her parents. And of course, Willow was already ready with the camera.

"Mom!"
"I'm sorry Bubbles, this is too precious to pass up." Hera pulled off her best smile that she hoped wasn't too embarrassing with the redness of her cheeks.

Oh, goddess what is happening?!

"Might need another car Remus, this one didn't pack light." The light, upbeat attitude that Remus heard over the phone every other call suddenly became clear that it usually blended into every conversation.

It sounded so strange to him, that this was what a family did. Teased and growled to jokes.

"I promise it's not that much." Hera pleaded and Remus chuckled. "We have my truck and the SUV, I'm sure it'll be enough space." Hera turned over her shoulder and smiled to Jack, and he just settled the greeting with a wink.

Enjoying the Alpha's hug there, hun?

I'll hug you when his paws aren't pinning me to his chest—

Alright alright, that's as far as that's gonna go, sweetheart.

Beta Eli was not forgotten in Hera's greeting, and he nodded off towards her. Course she didn't have as much of a relationship with him as Jackson or Remus, she was sure it'd grow now that she was going to be living here.

"Welcome to Crescent Moon...So uh, how does this fight work?"
"Well, I don't want to move her stuff from the plane only to pack it all back up, so we can do this whenever." Hera scoffed at her dad's taunt and Remus growled in retaliation.

And sweet goddess she hadn't felt herself turn into mush since she caught an ab when Remus was trying to get into bed a month ago. But this was raw and inviting, it rumbled through his chest straight into her.

Remus knew that his mate didn't like cocky males, so he held back from the taunts and thus earned him an approving smile from Willow. "It's nice to properly meet you, Remus." She said coming over, kissing his cheek, and then turning to either male off behind him before turning to the car.

Hayes sent a glare off to Remus before he followed his mate, leaving the four of them on the tarmac. "Goddess, help you Remus, I might throw up for you." Jackson breathed out, and it was clear that the male was affected by the Alpha range that Hayes released.

Especially when he was angry.

"Alpha Drake succeeded, I'll manage."
"Dad and I already took a final run before we left, I think he has hope in you too," Hera added right after her mate, and he couldn't get enough as his lips kissed her temple again.

"So uh...Do I call the pack now or...?"
"Nah, dad wanted to talk to Leo before." Eli nodded and passed the keys off to Remus for the truck.

"Come on, sweetheart," Remus said, his slick transition from holding her close to inching his hand to snake into hers and interlock caused her to fawn over the action as he escorted her to the truck in question and helped her up the step.

"Is this your truck?"
"Yep, or uh...It's ours, you can use it whenever."
"Oh...I don't know how to drive." Remus looked at her in confusion, raising a brow even.

"I mean I know how, kinda, but I never really needed to."
"We usually use ATVs and stuff too, if that's easier." She smiled lightly to her mate, and the second Remus closed the door on his side of the car Hera realized that she was alone with him.

Completely alone.

"Goddess you smell amazing." He groaned, and Hera had to hide her laughter in her shoulder.
"I'm sweating bullets over here Remmy, I think I almost had a heart attack on the plane."
"Why?" He said, starting up the truck and putting on the air conditioner, thinking that was the problem.

"I was just nervous, but dad's right...Someone's been training." She said, her hand having a mind of its own and going to feel his arm muscles, to Remus it felt beautiful—Her wolf was scoping out her mate, and he'd be lying if he wasn't doing the same.

Hera did until she realized what she was doing, her tinted cheeks instantly colored at the fact that she just openly touched him. "I'm not this weird all the time, my wolf's just going nuts."
"You can touch me all you want, Munchkin. It's calming him down...Also—" He turned to the back seat and grabbed the bottle of ice tea he was ready with and she laughed.

"Alright, that's pretty cute."
"The house is stocked, Willow said you have a little addiction." While she said thanks she made another stink eye toward her mate and took a few sips.

"You stocked the house with ice tea? I'm sure Gigi loved that." While Hera might not have recognized why Remus was smiling, but the idea of her knowing pack members and their task was making his wolf hum.

"Any hints on how to take down your dad?"
"I only beat him a few times, and that's when I was really angry—Or the first time we fought after I got my last tiers. It's like he files each and every move you've ever made, and he didn't watch me train that much. So that was pretty funny."
"You beat your dad?!" It sounded unbelievable, goddess when he was 18 he couldn't beat his own.

"Well yeah, I was always bumped up in training ages—Then I would help train the pups. Mom said I should find something I liked to do as a job but I couldn't find anything to stay with. That's why I went with dad to the council meeting." Remus nodded along before starting to drive the car passed the packhouse and she narrowed her brows.

"Where are we going?"
"To see where that stockpile of ice tea is." Hera snorted, and Remus' only reaction was to reach over to place a hand on her thigh, and of course, her instant reaction was to tense up.

He didn't realize what was wrong until he turned to look at her for a moment and frowned.
"...Did the plane make you nauseous?" With him looking at the road in front of him, and instead squeezed his hand, instantly earning him a small mew—And Hera, to try and stop from her wolf taking over and smother herself back into his hold.

So she retracted his hand from her thigh, prying it off, and returned to hold it. "Yeah...But my wolf is getting too excited when you do that, mate."
"Shit. I didn't think that—He just wanted to touch you."
"It's okay, your hand is really warm." Her face only spoke about how uncomfortable she was feeling, and of course his wolf was chiding him on making her upset.

"Hera, if I do something that you don't like, I want you to tell me."
"You think I didn't like that?... Goddess, Remus, my dad's going to wring my neck and yours if I show up to the fight with a claim. A-and I'm nervous." He didn't want to be overbearing either, he was just so damn excited that the yips in the back of his mind was causing him to inhale to live in her scent.

"I'm nervous too sweetheart, but after this fight, I have a few plans."
"Plans?" She said, and he caught the unsureness of her voice.
"I was thinking we watch a movie, dinner...Enjoy the house." He nicked his head forward and thus she turned to look and her mouth dropped.

"T-that's the house?"
"Not the house, ours." She couldn't help but wiggle in her seat, the excitement filling the truck's cabin as the male put the car in park.

"Wow..." She mumbled as she stepped out of the car, it was funny to see how tiny Hera was compared to her father. But his wolf found it adorable, that she was just the right height to curl up under his arms. And that is exactly what he was hoping for on tonight's date.

His wolf thought it was so silly, the idea of dates. The male living inside him would much rather prefer the later portion, the one that involved in bed—Or wherever his female preferred to mate, and allow him to claim her.

But he knew that it would take more than just a few dates, Hera was a cautious female and after everything, she was going to remain so.

Yet in order to build up the trust between them both, he handed her the keys and of course, she excitedly went forward to unlock it, though he had other plans.

The second she managed to get the door unlocked, he scooped her up into his arms and she naturally went to hold onto his neck. "Goddess, Remus!... What are you doing?! Put me down!"

"Can't do that, I'm walking you over the threshold." Instant laughter filled his ears and goddess was it beautiful.

"I think I got you hooked on too many human dramas..."
"They're pretty cheesy but come on, I thought this was pretty cute."
"It is." She said, leaning forward to kiss his cheek—Leaving his walk forward to stiff and a rumble of approval to pass through him.

Making her shiver.

"Whoa...Mom wasn't kidding." She whispered, and sure Remus knew what it looked like as he checked on it frequently. But having his mate actually in the house made it feel complete.

"Most of the bedrooms upstairs are empty, but the guest room downstairs for your parents is all set."
"This house is huge, are all houses like this here?" He forgot for a moment that Hera wasn't used to living in a house, that she lived in the packhouse that might as well have dueled as an apartment.

And it only made it more unbelievable as her cousin and brother had the same layout.

This was new territory for her, that the entrances and exits of the house didn't mean that she had to see members when she came and left.

"There's a porch." She breathed out, and he grinned off in the background as she ran around this way and that to uncover everything. "I uh...I ordered a few things for you, necessities and stuff. Your mom gave me a list."
"Thanks...Is, is that the moose antler?" He grinned with a sense of pride, he thought it would look nice on the wall in their home.

"I should put the deer antlers you have me there too...Or in the office."
"Right, did you want to see your room before we go?" She nodded, hoping to stall the fight just a little bit longer, but of course, the voice of her dad entered her mind.

"Dad just linked me, he says we have three minutes or else...Oh god, he probably thinks we're—"
"We aren't, you still smell like you. I'll show you after, no worries." Hera of course knew how that worked for the most part, but she decides to keep her backpack and things in the house before following him back to the car.

"You want to drive?" He asked and she scoffed. "I think you like your truck, Remus. I don't want to crash it on our first-day meeting."
"It's not our first day, and you're not going to crash it." In an attempt to send him a memory, she placed her hand onto his cheek in a slight caress as she brought forth the day when she did indeed crash the car.

And not on pack property which was even worse.

"We'll work on it."
"We?"
"I'm your male aren't I? Or am I just for show?"
"For show, duh. Who's going to open my jars when I can't?" The two were a bundle of laughs as they exited out of the truck, and it didn't talk long before Luke had taken the jog up to them.

"Alpha, Luna...Ready to get started?" Remus didn't know how well Hera had communicated with anyone else other than himself and Jackson, but it was clear that she and Luke had managed a friendship over the time from her last visit.

"Sorry Hera, it just comes out."
"Yeah yeah, Elwood, look at you—Almost the size of a tank." It was a new feeling that came over Remus as he latched an arm further around his mate, securing it tightly and Hera rolled her eyes.

"So I guess I can't hug Luke?" She pouted, and it took all his self-control to pry his hand off and watch as his mate wrap her arms over Luke as well.

"Hey! I didn't get a hug!" Jackson called out, and of course, the future Luna couldn't deny her future Delta a friendly hug either. He did, after all, live in Mystic Grimm with her for a few weeks.

As the group of them started to watch the last of the pup's training, Remus snaked his arms around Hera's waist from behind. Locking his head on top of hers which she loved.

Her and her wolf.

While he couldn't see it himself, those around him could. And even Eli commented through a direct mind link to his Alpha, that they looked like a strong couple, and the smell either was letting off felt like a wave.

Something that Leo commented on, egging Hayes to start—And perhaps it was the sudden flashback of the last time Mystic's eyes turned onyx, but they were also in the same field where Alpha Randal had been fought and killed.

A true blessing if anything.

Hera pouted as she caught her father's glare to the male above her, and so she leaned up and gave him a good luck kiss at the bottom of his chin as she couldn't reach any higher. "Almost done, munchkin." She hummed all before she watched her male stride off towards her father, which Willow hurried over and hugged her daughter.

"Dad's not going to kill him, right?" The two males beside her started to chuckle, and Willow only shook her head.
"No, but I have a feeling you'll want to jump in to help. Delta Jackson, I might need help holding her back, she's not so tiny anymore for me to tackle." Hera huffed at her mother's comment but then huffed again when both Jack and Luke said they'd help.

The young almost Luna would've made a comment had her male not thrown his shirt off to the ground, damnit why did he look so fucking delicious.

"Easy Hera...Don't let your father see that one, he might rip off that male's tail." Hera wiggled, but her mother stayed planted with her head leaning onto her daughter's neck.

"Alright...I've been looking forward to this for weeks! Alphas? One minute and I'll say shift, start!" Remus had trained every day, sparing with his highest tiers in rotation to prepare for this. But even now, the seasoned Alpha hardly looked afraid, he was even smiling and laughing.

I got a few questions for you, son.

What...Now?! You couldn't ask me before?!

Hayes issued the first attack in his skin, throwing a decent few punches that did indeed manage to make contact for a moment before Remus found a rhythm.

Recalling what Hera had said, he needed to use new materials that Hayes would not recall. And that was what gifted him the first solid contact.

Are you going to treat her with respect? Trust her judgment and never hurt her?

Sir, of course I will!

If I hear one damn word from her or anyone I won't hesitate to repeat this lesson, Remus...Is that understood?

Loud and clear.

"Shift!" Hera lurched forward as she caught the first sign of Remus' wolf, but it was only for a moment before her father tackled him—Hardly giving a second to shake out his fur before settling his attack.

"Whoa whoa...Lil Luna, easy does it." Luke said, his arm and the Delta's soon found themselves blocking her in, and while they thought it was a fair warning, Hera did indeed look ready to pounce.

So much so that Leo started to come over to essentially catch her if she did.

"Help mate."

"Not right now, bubbles, you can lick his wounds after. Just a few more minutes." Luke found it instinctual for a female to want to save her male, or perhaps that was an Alpha trait—Or family? Those in Crescent Moon thought it was strange as they have their own tradition, but nobody was against seeing two Alpha's fighting.

Especially if it meant their Luna would be joining at their Alpha's victory.

A small whine escaped her throat, however, and with the prospect of Remus starting to win caused another feeling to pass over her. One of tension and admiration to how her male fought.

While the scent of blood caused Willow to twitch as well, she had more than two decades to get used to it, and this wasn't the first time she had to hold her daughter back during this tradition.

In addition to watching her own son fight for the right to have Jade as a mate. It was a forgotten method of passing on the responsibility of being a male protector, and while Remus' offer of teaching her how to drive was just the start of transitioning as being  the main male in her life.

He would indeed be responsible for her and for her training to becoming Luna.

Of course, it wouldn't end in a surrender. If they were following the mentality of Alpha's would bring one of them to death. So while Remus was prepared for another attack, Hayes sat on his back legs and let his tongue out.

Remus had passed the test.

And the relieved and blessed Alpha had thrown his head back to make the announcement, and anyone who was in fur sang along just the same.

With the cease of attacks, Hera managed to weave her way between them and hurried to tackle her mate with a hug. Her arms latching around Remus' big wolfie head as she stuffed herself into his neck.

Willow was having a little trouble holding her back, better comfort her, son.

Even with the cuts and scraps lingering around his body, a few patches of skin lingered around the ground from either Alpha. Remus took to his father-in-law's advice and began slobbering his mate in kisses.

"Goddess stop! No! Remus!" She giggled, her fear completely vanishes with her anxiety and his playful attitude.

"I have a surprise, can you close your eyes for me?" Hera caught her mate's nose twitch, yet neither he nor his wolf could manage to refuse her when she puckered her lips and pouted.

Damn it all!

He let out a playful sneeze and closed his eyes, sitting down and waiting for his surprise. One that he assumed was a physical object, so he wasn't at all shocked as her presence moved away.

Oh, I think you're in for it now, Remus.

Hayes teased, bumping his nose to nudge him a slight taunt. But Remus did not budge, instead, he kept his eyes closed and tried to follow his mate's scent around the cluster of others.

Alright! You can open your eyes!

Remus welcomed her voice in his head with ease, and goddess it felt beautiful in his mind. However, it was the lack of her being in the audience that caused the male to blink and search the crowd.

The grins around him only caused him to growl, yet that was all put to a halt when Hera let a small howl—A beautiful song to tempt her male.

Mystic Grimm couldn't be the only tradition the couple would follow, Crescent Moon had their own. A chase.

So while Hera had shifted near the wood's edge, she wagged her tail as Remus caught clear sight of her.

Catch me if you can, mate.

Better take a running start. female, my wolf is having a hard time—

Oh. I won't need it.

______

Date: 04/14/2022

Time: 2:04

Words: 3867

Author's Note:

And Remus wins!
The reason Mystic Grimm has this law is to protect their daughters from going to unworthy males, but realistically, it's just to scare the males into remembering that a female's father is still present in their lives.

While Crescent Moon's ritual of catching the female imposes that the male has the ability to find their female, in addition to the hunt following it (Find, hunt, provide as I like to think of it).

I'm enjoying these two, but this story is going to put on pause while I focus on the main storyline. Don't worry, I will revisit it in the future!