A/N: Please vote! You'll love this chapter!

[22] Odd Requests

"You ass! You threw me into that hallway right when the women were passing by!" Mia pointed an accusing finger at Saurus, daring him to contradict her.

She couldn't believe he would honestly do this to her. That whole time while he pretended to have his ear out to listen for any wandering steps it was not to protect her from being discovered, but to have her be exposed. Mia found it hard to express the embarrassment she felt facing Sammie as she saw her step out of her brother's room. And Annie beside her was no better. Both were floored at her exit.

Saurus leaned back on his chair with a rather unbothered expression. "Did I now?" He rubbed his beard as though in ponder of his actions. Nevertheless, the tell-tale signs of a smirk gave him away. "I guess I'm losing my touch."

"That's not funny! Now they're thinking something is going on between us! Sammie and I had a long conversation after that."

Samuel shrugged. "What a shame. I'm glad you talked to Sammie though. It's good having a best-friend you can share all the juicy details with."

Mia was 2.5 seconds away from slapping him. He was having way too much fun at her expense. She had to take a deep breath in order to reel herself in. She wasn't accustomed to this new Samuel that exploded since their trip to Everglades.

"There are no juicy details." She grounded.

"Really? I remember very vividly you going in my bed and climbing on top of me. Amongst other things..."

"I did not climb on you!" Then, she had a pause. "Wait—what other things did I do?!" she asked, suddenly panicked.

It was one thing to sleepwalk all the way to his room, it was another thing altogether to wonder what kind of things she might have done to him, and quite frankly it was very embarrassing. She was already slapping herself for the odd behavior she carried to Everglades, now her body was doing weird things too? The worst part is she couldn't blame Saurus for it. He relinquished his power of alpha over her before the trip. Indeed, all of this was her doing.

"Don't worry. All you need to know is you were being a cute needy leech, talking something about the rain and lightening. You're lucky I felt bad for you." He sighed. Samuel folded his hands over his desk with an expression akin to mock sympathy.

"I can't believe you."

"Like it or not Mia, you instinctively trust me." He concluded, looking ever the arrogant wolf. He left his position on the desk and walked to her, making her jump at the sudden contact when his hand feel on her cheek. His voice lowered to a richer tone. "Why don't you just submit? Your body already has." His eyes glittered with mischief, lined with a tone of something predatory.

"Excuse me, you're in my space again reptile. We need to avoid situations like this lest I be accused of 'taking advantage' of you again." She quoted, referring to the time they had first argued over the kiss.

Samuel didn't back down. "Yes. You did take advantage of me Mia. I was weak with love for you and you ensnared me with your beauty."

Mia snorted, actually laughing at his attempt at flirting. "More like weak with love for your ex."

Samuel's eyes narrowed. She had mentioned that purposely to annoy him, as she knew well and clear by now that he hadn't truly thought of Jasmine that night. But it's the only thing that made him back off a bit and stop him from saying things that made her heart race.

"What have I ever told Jasmine that would make you think I love her?"

Placing a hand on her chin, Mia was pensive of the conversations she overheard. "You called her healthy. You've never called me healthy."

The wolfman's shoulders shook as he began to laugh. "Healthy is not the first word that comes to my mind when I see you."

"Ew, did you just flirt with me again?" She placed the back of her hand on his forehead. He had to be coming down with something.

"You're uncomfortable," he mused.

His fingers trailed up her arms to follow the peppered trail of her goosebumps. Needless to say, Mia was getting nervous. She wasn't accustomed to being on this side of their relationship. Usually she was the one who teased him for an angry rise. Why was he doing it.

"Yes." She admitted. "It's this prickly feeling. Like a cactus trying to touch me." Despite her words she did not remove herself from his touch.

He smiled. "You like it when I flirt with you."

"No I don't."

"Yes you do. I'm aware of women and their sensibilities. Besides, I can hear you. And smell you. Your heart rate picks up whenever I get close to you. And... your pheromones call out to me."

Mia blushed heatedly. "Stop doing that! Don't use your senses on me it's invasive and rude!"

Samuel looked like he was ready to respond in a way that would make her further embarrassed so without a second thought Mia turned to walk right out of his study. He wasn't wrong. There were feelings about him that were coming to the surface and she wasn't sure how to handle them. The wolfman quickly sobered at the view of her leaving and caught her arm before she made it too far.

"Relax, Mia. Come." He said softly. "There's something I wanted to talk to you about today. It's regarding your suggestion for the plants and how your most recent experiment has turned out."

At the change of topic Mia calmed and agreed to follow him. Samuel actually allowed her to sit on his chair while he presented some documents to her on his desktop. He hovered over her from behind, his large frame above her so that his chin landed over her head. His arm rested at her side as he used the mouse to navigate through various files. She felt encased by all of him despite him not touching her. His smooth voice fed her information as he scrolled down a report.

"We tested your idea on that small plot of land and the results were actually in line with what you said. A chemical test found there was in fact excess nitrogen from the type of fertilizer we were using. We had to harvest the flowers two times before we noticed a difference. Without the fertilizer the plant looked duller and not as large, but it's actually more potent. That means the treatment will be more effective. Not to mention, the seeds those flowers give are successful in growing more plants so that means we can properly use the surface area to increase our harvest. As of yesterday we began a large over haul and will be doing things differently."

Samuel finished at the end of the report. There was a smile on his face full of genuine gratitude. "I wanted to thank you." He said, spinning the chair slightly so that she could better face him. "I know I made it unnecessarily difficult for you to figure this out. I apologize for not believing in you." He lifted her hand and brought it to his lips. "Thank you, Mia."

His eyes remained steady on her as he kissed her knuckles and rubbed it with the pad of his thumb. Mia swallowed and tried to appear unaffected. "You're welcome. I'm just glad everything worked out for the best."

And genuinely that's how she felt. In the beginning her intentions might not have been solely pure. She sought to study the plant for the sake of one-upping Samuel and his pack. He sensed that and it's why he made it hard on her, not to mention he wanted to assure his packmates he was not undermining their work. Even so, throughout the process she came to actually care about the service of the plant. A deep part of her also admitted she did it to make him feel better, she hadn't liked seeing him so stressed and worried. Now he didn't have to be anymore.

"It's interesting though, I had three little rascals come up to me this morning asking for candy as a form of payment for my present." Saurus mentioned.

At this Mia shot up from her seat. Samuel promptly held her shoulders and pushed her back down. "To think— I have another person in this house who managed to override my authority by commanding them to stay quiet. They told me nothing of these forest exploits. I'm impressed. Meanwhile they think its alright because 'Luna said so'."

Mia laughed nervously. She had pulled the Luna card on them to get them to stay quiet about that. "Yeah, the experiment worked out perfect so it's no issue. Like you said, flower problem has been solved—"

"Except now I have a whole crowd of children thinking you're my mate. As Alpha I cannot lie. How do you propose I remedy this situation?"

Her eyes slightly widened that he would even ask her this. And with that inquisitive tone he was using it almost implied a specific solution. Hesitantly, she proposed the complete opposite, "Um, tell them the truth?"

"They've grown so used to you. I'd hate to break little kids' heart." Saurus placed her hand to his heart in a show of compassion.

But there it was again. The beginnings of that sneaky smile of his again that showed he was having fun at her expense. Mia's eyes narrowed.

"You're annoying."

Samuel chuckled at her angered expression. It wasn't fair. And she couldn't even pull the stuff she used to do on him because if she did she was sure he'd turn it around and it'd backfire on her. Hard. When his laughter died his eyes remained amused.

"Aren't you going to do your work today? You brought no supplies with you." He said, suddenly realizing she came into his study empty handed.

"Honestly I was so focused on yelling at you that I forgot my things."

The wolfman shook his head as though her anger had been unwarranted. Mia didn't bother disputing that with him and left to go gather her things. As she was organizing her books in a neat pile her phone vibrated within her back pocket. It was not so much the fact that she was getting a call, but from whom she was getting it that made her pause.

Jasmine? What on earth does she want to speak with me about?

It was strange. Watching the phone ring with the name of a person she hardly knew. At the same time Mia was compelled to answer, just to see what she had to say. She also felt remnants of guilt from the way she harshly judged her throughout her stay at Everglades. She had been unnecessarily hard on Saurus whenever he got close to Jasmine, and she looked down at the girl deeply despite her never doing anything inherently evil. With her mind made up Mia answered.

"Hello?"

"Hey Mia." Jasmine responded.

Immediately she could hear the shyness in her voice, like she had taken the time to convince herself to make this call.

"How are you, everything good?"

"I'm doing okay. Not too bad I—" she paused. There was displacement of air as she took a deep breath. "Everything isn't going well. I know we don't know each other that well, you're probably surprised I even called but... I was hoping you could help me...While you guys were here I didn't mention that next week would be my wedding to Stephens. That's when it was meant to happen. As I spoke to you guys I realized how much I don't belong here. You've known Sammie and Saurus for a long time, is it possible you could ask them for me to stay at their packhouse for a few days?" Her voice cracked. "I need to escape from here and it's the only place I can think to go where Stephens won't insist I return back to him."

To say Mia was shocked would be the biggest understatement. She was more than shocked, she was full blown astonished that Jasmine would even think to contact her requesting this. It made no sense. Wasn't she still friends with Samuel and Samantha? It felt odd she side-stepped them and went directly to her for this. She could hear quiet sobs coming from the other line and it touched her heart.

"I'm sorry to hear that Jasmine. To be honest I don't think marrying Stephens would be right for you either. From the little I know of you we seem to have in common the preference of a single partner. I think leaving is a good idea but, wouldn't you think it best to ask Samuel yourself? From what I saw he cares about you and I'm sure he'll open his packhouse for you while you pick up your feet."

"Oh no, I'm terrified to ask him! Saurus is nice, but I don't think he'll take me in."

At this Mia made a face. Why wouldn't he? Reptile was nice when he wanted to be, and as far as she saw he was rather kind to her.

"Why wouldn't he? You're his friend, he cares about your well-being."

It amazed Mia she was even in this position in the first place. If someone had told her a few days ago she'd be convincing Jasmine of Samuel's kindness she would have laughed. Suddenly, Mia heard more sobs coming from the other side.

"Please Mia, you have to ask him for me. I remember the stories Samantha told me and there were many times you convinced him in times he would have said no. I don't want to ask him, I'm so ashamed of what I did to him a year ago that I can't bear asking this of him. Samantha was there when I left him. It's the worst decision I ever made and to ask this is too much."

Mia's heart filled with pity at the woman's plight. So that's what it came down to. Jasmine was ashamed of asking for shelter because it would look bad for her to flip flop between two packs. She thought Samuel would find it offensive, and perhaps even assume she wanted to get back with him. Either way, Mia felt it was not something Jasmine needed to worry about. She would have further encouraged her to communicate with him directly but her sorrowful sobs made Mia relent. What could it hurt? Whether Samuel heard it from her or Jasmine directly he'd probably give the same 'yes' anyway.

"Alright Jasmine. I'll speak to him today. You should hear back from me soon as I'm about to see him now," she assured.

The words were effective in placating the anxious woman. She blew her nose and answered in relieved tearfulness. "Thank you so much Mia. You have no idea how much this means to me."

After quick farewells the conversation ended. Mia fumbled with her things before heading back to the study in a powerwalk. Jasmine was waiting for a response and she wanted to give it to her as soon as possible. When she entered Samuel looked up from a file he was reading.

"Did you need my laptop today? I left it in my room." He told her.

Mia looked down and noticed in her rushing she had indeed left her laptop. A warm feeling spread across her chest that he would be so attentive as to not just notice, but also offer his own. She pushed this feeling aside as she dropped the books she had brought and went to his desk.

Samuel raised a brow at her approaching form "What? More yelling?" He guessed. And maybe it was her imagination, but he seemed to get excited.

"Actually I came to talk to you about something else. Jasmine just called me. She's not doing too well right now because her wedding to Stephens is next week. While we went she had the sudden realization that marrying him is not the best decisions for her. She needs a place to stay and wants to know if you'll allow her here for a bit until she gets her feet up. She was so devasted that she was crying, she very sad and is afraid you'll say no to her so she asked me to ask you."

After spilling the words without a beat Mia waited for his response. It was most definitely not what she expected.

"I don't know. What do you propose Mia?"

"Wait, you're asking me?" She emphasized, pointing a finger to herself in honest surprise.

"Yes. You are apparently the Luna so this place. I'll let you make that decision yourself."

Mia rolled her eyes. "Samuel get serious for a second. The girl was legit crying in despair. She seriously wants to come here for a few days until she gets her feet up."

Samuel shrugged in an unconcerned manner. "Whatever answer you give her I'll stand by."

Mia scoffed at this. She crossed her legs and leaned back with an expression of disbelief. "So if I called her back and told her 'no' you'd be completely fine with that?" she challenged.

"Of course."

"You wouldn't feel bad for her and call her back to say it was a mistake? I'm telling you she's terrified right now."

"Mia." Samuel started. He rolled in and placed his chin on her thigh, peering up at her as though she were stressing too much. "Don't forget Jasmine is an adult. She has parents, she has family, she has friends. While coming here is an option for her, I'm sure she has many others. Not to mention, why doesn't she just tell Stephens the wedding is off? Sure, it'll be awkward, but sharkmen do this all the time. That culture is notorious for shifting around couples before an official mating is done. It wouldn't be anything unseen before."

His rationalization made all the urgency in Jasmine's call dissipate. He was right. Coming here wasn't Jasmine's only option. As a matter of fact, she had many others that were way more plausible. Come to think of it this better explained why the girl went to her instead of directly to Samuel. The wolfman was too logical. He would send her on a different route that did not include coming to his packhouse. The realization of this comforted Mia. She liked that Samuel's first response was not to bring her here. She was pulled away from her thoughts when the wolfman rested his cheek on her lap.

It made her nervous. In wolfman culture the way a male proposed was by placing his head face-down on a woman's lap while she was sitting. Granted, they weren't in a room full of witnesses to legitimize such a thing if he did end up doing that, but the fact that his face was positioned so precariously close was enough to make her a little unsettled.

"There goes your heart again." Samuel murmured, not moving from his spot.

Anxious to change the topic Mia gave him an answer. "I'll tell her yes. Once she's away and destressed I can help her contact her family or figure out where she'll go from here. I'm sure she's overwhelmed with everything and isn't thinking straight."

"Very well. I'll let you do as you please on one condition."

Mia huffed. "Samuel, why should I have to pay for a favor you're doing for someone else?"

"Because I said so. Otherwise you have to tell Jasmine no."

The thought of saying no to the woman pulled her heart. Not only because of the stress Jasmine was dealing with, but also because Mia felt that if she told Jasmine no it would seem off. Jasmine would probably assume she never asked Saurus in the first place. The girl had such strong faith he would say yes to her for whatever reason, probably because she knew deep down the wolfman was kind.

"What do you want, reptile."

For this Samuel sat up straight. Her heart had no chance to relax further, for immediately after the length of his arms settled on his desk, right beside her thighs and encircling her so that his hands rested on the sides of her bottom.

"I want you to submit yourself to me."

Mia gave him a look. He couldn't possibly be serious about this. "No, really. What do you want?"

"You heard me the first time woman."

Mia tilt her head to the side, suspicious of his request. It's the third time he's brought this up. "Why on earth would you want that? What happened to all the claims of not wanting me in your pack, and the whole hating to be responsible over me?"

The sides of his lips quirked up slightly. "I like being able to boss you around."

Mia rolled her eyes. That would have been believable except he barely used the power of alpha over her when she had submitted. If anything he had been compelled to do many of her whims and catered to her without asking. His instincts for her went on a whole rise. If she was honest with herself she would have agreed to his terms. It was a starling memory that made her reject his bargain.

"Ask for something else. There's no way I'm doing that again. It hurt when you released me from it and I don't want to deal with that pain ever again." Unknowingly her hand went to clutch her chest, the memory of it compelled her to touch the area which had felt injured.

A warm palm touched her cheek. "If you submit to me, I will never release you again." He promised.

His words carried weight as he addressed her concern. There was a sense of welled desire escaping in them that made Mia reconsider. Their eyes locked. Her breath caught as she saw the golden dots in them. She was so used to only seeing them when he was angry that it made her heart stop when she recognized they were glowing without the emotion of rage to feed them. He was feeling something else.

"Samuel, I submit myself to you." Mia whispered.

His eyes widened, as though he hadn't really excepted for her to give in. There was a euphoric glow to his face as he responded, "I accept."

A/N: ohmygoshhh I just loved how Mia/Saurus filled this chapter was <333 In the next chapter Mia will have another dream and I can't wait for you guys to interpret it!! I wonder if she'll sleepwalk again ... *wink wink*.

What parts of this chapter did you like?? Let me know! I send you love xoxoxo