A/N: You guys responded so fast with comments and votes in the last chapter I figured why wait a week, I popped this baby out so please enjoy it. Thank you for the support <3

[23] Luna Status

"Well it's a good thing she didn't call me because I would have told her no and redirected her to her parents house. Nicely, of course." Samantha said decidedly. She tied her shoelaces in preparation for a run.

"Really? I don't know. I guess hearing her cry made me feel really bad. I just told her yes." Mia sighed into the air.

She had just explained to Sammie the recent turn of events of how Jasmine would be flying in tomorrow around noon. Once the woman got a 'yes' from Mia she gave her profuse thanks and booked a flight that same moment.

Sammie surprisingly was not as sympathetic to her plight. "I'll be honest with you Mia, this right here is the reason why Jasmine bothered me so much. You remember how much I used to complain about her. She was always crying, always sensitive, and she never handles her problems. I don't know. I just feel she's making this a bigger deal than it has to be."

Mia shrugged. That may be true, but she hadn't been around Jasmine for a year the way Sammie had to be able to recognize this as a personality trait rather than an actual problem.

"I already told her yes. Once she's here she should be calmer. I doubt it'll take her long to figure out what to do next."

Sammie seemed unsure about that. "Tell me Mia, what did you notice about her behavior towards Saurus at Everglades?"

"Well, she was definitely very smitten with him. Blushing all the time, making an effort to go see him. She honestly paid more attention to him when she sat with us."

"Exactly. I know for a fact she's coming here on a desperate last attempt to get him back."

Mia laughed at this. "Okay, not for nothing, but even though Jasmine still likes him that girl is way too shy to try anything crazy."

"Don't underestimate the shy ones. Those like to pull up with wild cards without warning. And didn't you tell me she knocked on Saurus' room during the trip?" Seeing her eyes clear at the recollection, Sammie continued. "Jasmine knows better than to do something like that. She knows in our culture it's inappropriate to approach a single man's room. Especially while engaged to someone else. She's just asking for trouble. Even when she was dating my brother he didn't give her access to two places: his study and his room."

Mia balked at this. That sounded completely absurd, as those were the two places she had been in more times than she could count.

"Why? Even Samuel lets me in the study."

"From what I remember he told her his study was for working. Knowing her she was probably an unhelpful distraction. As for his room...well, you know that's mates only." She said, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively.

Mia blushed. She should've known asking that question would resurface the situation of her being caught coming out of Saurus' room. Despite explaining the situation to Sammie she still made innuendos when the topic was brought up. She found it hilarious that her brother specifically waited for them to pass by.

"Whatever. I'm just saying, it seems kind of extreme to not let her in the study."

Samantha gave her a smile. "Instead of asking why Saurus doesn't let Jasmine in there, the better question would be why he lets you in there. My brother is not that complicated Mia, even if he is hardheaded."

Mia cleared her throat. "Speaking of your brother, aren't you suppose to go run with him now?"

Samantha gave her a knowing look. The werewoman knew Mia was trying to change the topic. Nevertheless, she didn't push and went out for her daily run. Mia breathed a sigh in relief, she wasn't sure how to take that sort of news. It amazed her Samuel placed boundaries while dating Jasmine that he never placed on her.

It could be for a variety of reasons. Maybe Jasmine's closeness tempted him too much, whereas Mia being close to him was no threat. Controversially, it could be he wanted distance between Jasmine to keep things proper. But if that were the case why was he not proper with her? Were they too on the familiar side it did not apply?

The next day when Jasmine arrived it seemed like any other day. There was no hustle over a new arrival and everyone woke up to do their daily jobs. Even Saurus went to his paperwork in the morning, he coordinated his training schedule with Michael and didn't slot time to spend with Jasmine as a welcoming. There was no need. Mia was instead delegated with the responsibility of greeting and directing her to a room. When asked why, he responded with she was the one who said yes, and thus she should attend to her.

Mia felt it was a little outside of her scope as this wasn't technically her pack. Typically a Luna was the one who welcomed new guests. In a case like Samuel's where he had no Luna, Samantha would then be expected to take the role, but the wolfwoman steadily refused with the excuse of too much work to do. Sammie had another meeting with people at the mall to plan out the opening of her store there, and as a result Mia remained with the responsibility.

Coming out from the taxi Jasmine pictured quite a sight. In a beautiful, waist-hugging dress and her hair curled like a model's she looked nothing the mournful woman Mia had imagined over the phone. There was a smile on her face, and stars over her eyes, as though she were coming to the vacation spot she always wanted—until she spotted Mia. It was not so much the sight of Mia that seemed to dampen her mood, but the fact that she was alone. She quickly tried to cover her disappointment with a chirpy greeting.

"Hey Mia!" she walked up to her, a rolling suitcase in tow.

Beside her Mia felt slightly washed-out. Jasmine had even bothered to put a moderate amount of makeup. It gave her lips a deep rose color and her cheeks a subdued glow. Nothing crazy, but altogether very complimentary.

"I'm glad you got here safe." Mia said. "I would give you a tour but I figured you already know where everything is by now. Are you hungry? We have some food in the kitchen."

They went inside and Mia guided her to the appointed room. It was not far from her own guestroom, only two doors down. Jasmine rejected her offer to eat and instead inspired another topic, "Where are Saurus and Samantha?" she asked.

She included Sammie's name as if it were a tagline. Something she added for the mere sake of it, not because she actually cared about her whereabouts. It bothered Mia to answer her question. She knew her intentions were to allocate Samuel and nothing else. Even so, she purposed to not be anything like the jealous person she had been at Everglades.

"Sammie is doing business in town. As for Saurus," Mia checked her watch, "he's probably outside training the kids by now."

"Oh! We should go watch him, I wouldn't mind some fresh air right now."

"Um, sure. That's fine."

Heading to the backyard Mia didn't have to guide Jasmine. She went right in front of her, clearly knowing how to get to the training grounds. Aside from her not wanting to eat, nor take the time to settle and organize her things, Mia noticed the dress she wore was specifically off the shoulder. Whether Jasmine knew it or not, a clothing in that style that exposed the entire neck and shoulder indicated a female seeking a mate.

Outside was another world of its own. As expected Samuel was at the tail-end of training the kids. They were sweaty and out of breath, with dirt stains all over their clothes and their partner wolves being no cleaner either. Who knew what kind of exercise their Alpha put them through. Their faces glowed with exertion, and while their bodies lagged the atmosphere sang of pleasant accomplishment.

As they finished training Mia noted Jasmine's eyes did not stray from Saurus. His shirtless form kept her attention as he commanded the werechildren into a stretch. From the distance some of the kids recognized Mia and waved excitedly. She smiled and returned the gesture, they were so cute. Seeing their attention no longer fully on him Saurus dismissed them and the kids ran off.

"Is this your new friend, Luna?" Jason asked. His small hands pulled on her shirt to gain her attention. Mia knew the 'friend' he was referring to was in fact Jasmine. She was about to respond but the woman beat her to it.

"I was here a year ago for some time." Jasmine said. "I'm not new."

"Oh. Don't remember you." He said, scratching his head.

Then, Allan shoved himself to the forefront and jumped excitedly.  "Luna come see what I can do! Come see, come see, come see!"

He reminded her of the energizer bunny with all that excess fuel. Mia had no option as the boy half her height pulled her with inhuman strength to the edge of the forest and began to climb to with practiced agility. He had to eventually stop midway as the following branches were too high for his height, and he was not yet able to properly leverage. Even so he did quite skillfully for a preteen.

"Wow you did great sweetie!" Mia clapped her hands to show her appreciation.

"Soon you can call me reptile like you do Alpha! I wanna be a cool reptile too!" Allan yelled.

Mia couldn't stop herself from laughing. They must have overheard her calling the Alpha reptile and now thought it was a compliment. Its adorable how they tried to copy their Alpha's penance for climbing trees. The other kids copied Mia and began clapping too. Allan puffed his chest out proudly before coming down.

"You're such a showoff!" Amy cried indignantly.

"You're just jealous you can't be a reptile!"

An argument ensued between the two of them. Mia held Amy's shoulder and crouched to her level. "What new thing have you learned, I'd like to see it."

The distraction worked and the little girl blushed. She waved her wolf over, a gray-black hound who licked Mia's hand on arrival. The two went off at a nice distance before steadily running towards her. Mid-run Amy jumped into the air and the two coordinated seamlessly so that Amy landed right on her wolf's back without a cinch.

Mia clapped again and at her approval Amy beamed with joy. The next moment it seemed it was a talent show with all the kids wanting to show their 'Luna' the new things Alpha had taught them. They all clamored for her attention and praise.

"Why do they call you Luna?" Jasmine inquired quietly. "You and Saurus are only friends so why would they think that." There was a frown on her face as she tugged her hair to calm her fidgeting hands.

Mia had arranged the kids in some semblance of order so that they took turns showing her their skills. As Saurus had immediately went off somewhere at dismissal Jasmine had no choice but to stick with her.

"One time Samuel was really angry and was about to punish a group of them for wrecking the paint job around the back and making some workers fall from the ladders. I negotiated with him so they wouldn't get in trouble. It turned out to be a fun activity for all the kids. Now they all think I'm their Luna."

"Aren't you going to correct them?"

Mia pondered this for a bit. She wasn't quite sure. "Saurus says they've grown attached to me, so he refuses to tell them anything until I do. They're so cute though, I would hate to make them so confused."

Jasmine shifted in her seat, she seemed uncomfortable with the answer. Just then Mia's phone rang. It was Samantha. She waved to the kids to pause as she went inside to answer it away from all the loud noise.

"Hey Sammie, what's up?"

"Huge favor! Run to my room and open my safe with all the bank papers. I finally signed the deal! I need some fast info and in my rush I left it at home."

Mia hurried to do her bidding. She punched the code, found the specified paper, and read the numerical information back to Samantha. She could hardly get another word in before Sammie breezed a relieved thanks and hung up.

Excited for her best-friend, and to continue seeing the kids show off their moves Mia returned to the backyard with an extra pep to her step. She was just about to make herself known when she overheard a familiar voice speaking to the children. Only this time it didn't sound as sweet and demure, instead it was heavy with vexation and a hint of anger.

"You don't have to keep referring to her as Luna. She's only a guest at the packhouse like I am."

"No she's not. She's Luna and she lives here. She knows Alpha since little." A voice defended.

"She's friends with his sister. That doesn't mean she's Luna."

"Yes she is. She saved us. She is Luna you don't know anything." Another petulant voice continued. It was Amy's.

"Yeah!" Jason queried. "We even helped her make a present for Alpha and he gave us candy!"

The children became a riot soon after and Mia was ready to intercept when someone else did. An authoritative voice hushed them to silence

"What is going on?" Saurus' tone was low, but the severity in it made the children stand straight like little soldiers.

"S-Saurus, the children they're g-getting out of hand." Jasmine stuttered. The anger in her vanished and she became nervous.

"One of the biggest rules for our pack is to be kind to our guests." Samuel reminded them.

"But she's lying!" Allan cried, indignantly stomping his foot down. "She said Mia isn't Luna! Isn't she wrong?!"

Samuel didn't answer the children, instead he slowly turned to Jasmine. "You told them that?"

Jasmine turned red. She looked ready to defend herself but one of the kids interrupted her.

"Yeah, she's stupid!"

The others quickly followed after that assertion with a round of agreements and other childish derogatory terms.

Samuel immediately turned his attention to them again. "What rule do we have about bullying?" He asked icily.

The kids straightened out again and bowed their necks. "No saying mean words. If we do we're punished with more running." The children recited.

"Twenty minutes are added tomorrow. If I find you said another mean word to Jasmine you know that means more time. You are dismissed, go play with your wolves."

The kids darted into the periphery. A swift breeze was left in their wake and Jasmine sighed in relief once they were gone. She looked to Saurus as though he were her hero.

"Thank you Saurus. I wasn't sure what to do. They were all so against me."

Samuel did not pay any mind to her gratefulness. He redirected the topic immediately. "Why did you tell them Mia wasn't Luna?" He asked. The question was voiced rather normally, but his facial expression showed he was somewhat irked.

"Well...I..." Jasmine sounded at loss for words until she finally said, "Mia explained to me the situation. She wants to tell them the truth, but she feels bad breaking it to them. I figured it no harm in letting them know. It's what she wanted to do anyway. I guess it's good I suffered the brunt of their anger, that means Mia won't have to."

Mia's mouth dropped. At no point did she ever say she wanted to tell them the truth. All she did was explain the situation. And even if she did want the truth to be known she never gave Jasmine the responsibility to do it!

Samuel furrowed his brows and turned pensive. The corners of his lips dipped down in disappointment, he looked almost sad. "Mia told you she wanted the kids to know the truth?"

"Yes. That's what she told me." Jasmine walked closer to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "And she's right. They should know. Otherwise if you were to look into taking a mate that would complicate things for you."

Saurus took a step back. It effectively caused Jasmine's hold on him to falter, as she could no longer reach him with the new distance.

"Their assumption of Mia being Luna does not interfere with my wishes to take a mate."

"But if you and were to get back together I'd be fighting against her for that position." She rationalized.

Samuel stopped her before she could get any further. "I've discussed with you the nature of our relationship. We are only friends and will remain as such."

"Please Saurus, I'm so sorry for leaving you. I made a mistake, I didn't mean anything I said the day I left!

"It doesn't matter." He sighed. "You were right to leave me. Everything you said was true. I didn't love you. I wasn't being a good partner. Why would you want to go back to that? You know I hold no resentment against you, there is no need to apologize."

"Then why are you so distanced from me?" Jasmine took a step towards him. Like before he took another back. "If you really forgave me you wouldn't be so far away."

"I stay away because my closeness does not help you. I hugged you in Everglades and you misinterpreted it. I don't want to give you mixed signals."

"You're going to always hate me for what I did, aren't you?" She asked sorrowfully.

"I don't hate you. Look, the truth is—"

"No." Jasmine shook her head vehemently. "I don't want to hear it. I don't want to talk about it right now."

She ran into the packhouse with tears running down her eyes. Mia was amazed at how quickly this situation did a turnover. That was crazy intense! She inched her way back through the sidedoor and secluded herself in her room. So Sammie's assumption was right after all, Jasmine was truly trying to give her last shot.

Mia just wondered how far she'd go.

That night Mia had another interesting dream...

The fire crackled within the fireplace. Small chips of fire flicked about like mini stars of heat, it gave the room a warm orange glow and made her feel so cozy. She was still on the man's lap. The stranger who had taken her in during the storm and shared his shelter. His arms encased her in an embrace that was both protective and affectionate, his own face buried in the crevice of her neck. Sometimes, she would feel his teeth lightly graze the area.

The rain and thunder which had once been frightening became soothing in its noises. She knew it had all to do with being inside. Storms of life aren't as scary when you had someone to help you.

Despite not knowing this man Mia felt safe. It's like she belonged here, in his home and in his arms. She was quite thankful now that the other home she had knocked on rejected her, otherwise she wouldn't have been led to come here.

Suddenly, there was a fervent knock on the door. "Please let me in!" A female voice called.

Mia immediately recognized it as Jasmine's. It was strange. Hadn't the owner of this house told her no? Having already walked away dejected why would she return again?

"Someone else is knocking. Aren't you going to answer?" Mia asked.

The man did not shift from his position. His warm breath caressed her skin as he responded. "I won't offer shelter for anyone else but you. If anyone gets to come inside, it's only because you've allowed it."

Mia planned to stay in place so that the girl would get the picture and go knock somewhere else. However, instead of giving up and going to the other available houses Jasmine resorted to tearful begging. That it was only for a night. That she'll leave first thing in the morning when the sun rose. Mia started to feel guilty.

"What do you say?" Mia asked him. As it was his home he had the final say.

"You are the one who decides, not I." He insisted.

Mia pondered this. It amazed her that this elusive man should grant her such authority in his territory. As the sobs of the woman became louder Mia came to a decision.

"I'll let her in. We have more than enough food and there's a space over there where she can sit to stay warm."

He nodded. "Very well, but only on one condition."

"What is it?"

"You must kiss me first."

Mia blushed. Somehow the idea of kissing him did not repulse her, but rather made a tingle run down her spine. She was glad she wasn't facing him so that he couldn't see her shyness. She wasn't sure how serious he was about this.

"A kiss where, on the cheek?"

She felt the vibrations of his chest as he chuckled. "That alone will not satisfy me." He shifted her on his lap, enough that she sat sideways over him, almost to the point of fully facing him. "Kiss me on a place only accessible to lovers. You are mine, and I am yours. Take what belongs to you."

He placed gentle pressure on her lower back, causing her to lean closer to his shadowed form. At this angle the blaze of the firelight highlighted half his face. When she squinted and saw the fullness of him, she gasped.

"S-Samuel?" She stuttered.

He did not hear her. His eyes were so focus on her lips that the entire world might as well have disappeared. He was a wolfman entranced, a man wrapped around her little fingers. Mia cupped his face between her hands. His eyes became heady with desire. The hand on her waist gripped her tighter. Mia leaned in closer, their breaths intermingled like tangled lovers. She was just as transfixed on him as he was on her.

"If you kiss me, I won't be able to pull away." He cautioned, almost breathless at having her so close.

Then, her dream finished.

Mia woke up with a start. She blinked quickly. There, hovering precariously over her on his bed was Saurus. His hands gripped her shoulders firmly to hold her down on the bed. He was blushing, and not lightly either. A deep red spread across his cheeks and his eyes were spinning gold with a mixture of relief and heat at the same time.

"I came to your room again." Mia said, clearing her throat and looking around for verification.

He assessed her, as though to confirm she was indeed awake before letting go of his iron-hold. It was interesting. It seemed almost as though he had tried to anchor her to keep her down.

"I'm glad you finally woke up." He breathed.

Oh no. Apprehension gripped at her throat

"What did I try to do?"

If her dream was any indication, she wasn't sure she wanted to find out.

A/N: I know, horrible cliffy hahahaaha this chapter was meant to have more Saurus/Mia but I had to include the other stuff so that their interaction in the next chapter makes sense because its just sooo much. Eeep! I'm excited! Hope you liked <3 Comment and vote