[ Aila ]

Aila trailed behind the girls from the booth and left the coffee shop; she was lost in her thoughts about Gamma Chiara and Lydia. She was an only child, but she couldn't understand how somebody had so much resentment towards their older sister; they were blood and trying to tear the other down. This, however, did make her wary about Lydia and decided she needed to be more cautious about the things she did towards her. Although, so far, she hadn't really done anything to warrant some sort of revenge from the girl.

"We punched her in the face.." Malia boasted.

"Well, yeah, technically, that would make the girl lash out. But I meant, there's nothing I have done that she could use against me for the pack," Aila replied to Malia, who nodded her head in agreement.

Aila once again was consumed with her thoughts about the sisters and her newfound leadership she would be taking on that she bumped into someone.

"I am so sorry-"

"Aila!?" A girl with brown hair and glasses nearly screeched in her face.

Malia whined but quietened after feeling Aila's angst.

"Sarah?" Aila exclaimed after being pulled into a tight hug that made her breathless.

Sarah was a girl in her class at university; although classes had finished, the two girls had stayed in touch. That was, until a few weeks ago when she had been kidnapped.

"Where have you been!?" She screeched, pulling away. Her brows drew together, showing concern etched on her cute features. Sarah had freckles across her sun-kissed skin, making her look a lot younger than what she was.

Gamma Chiara and Nairi stopped ahead and looked back at them, alerted by the exchange.

"I'm so sorry, Sarah. I-"

"You literally went M.I.A! Missing in action if you don't know what that means-"

"I know what M.I.A means-"

"Seriously! I texted, messaged on FacePal, tried Stargram. Nothing. I was worried then I thought, oh my gosh, you were ghosting me! But then the others said they hadn't heard from you.." Sarah blabbered on.

"No! Sarah, I would never ghost you or the others. It's been a really crazy couple of weeks.." Aila began and trailed off when she noticed the people behind her took Sarah's attention. Aila looked around and saw not only the girls but Ajax and Finn, who were carrying a few bags.

She rolled her eyes while her head was turned away from her friend and continued with the lie she was about to tell, "They're my cousins.. Well, not all of them. It's kinda mixed and a long story!" Aila could see the confusion and hurt on Sarah's face, "There was a family emergency, and then in the same night, I was going to the hospital.. I was also mugged."

Sarah gasped, "I'm so sorry! Your luck is terrible! Wait, why haven't you got a new phone? I would have gone nuts without mine for so long!"

"I was literally about to go get one now. I honestly.. to be frank, it's been such an awful and busy time that it just never came up. I was quite happy being without it for a while.." Aila felt awful lying to her friend.

"What else are you meant to do, though? Tell her you're a werewolf and was kidnapped!" Malia joked.

"Let me come with you! Unless I am interrupting.. erm?" Sarah trailed off as she watched Ajax and Finn play-fighting and causing a scene.

"You're in public! Try not to stand out! Can you not see I'm in a bit of a situation," Aila snapped at Finn in an open mind-link. She could almost hear his wolf whining back on the 'line'. The pair immediately stopped what they were doing once Finn spoke to Ajax.

"Hey guys, I'll meet up with you after? I need to catch up with Sarah here," Aila said as the group began walking over to where the two girls stood.

Sarah waved at them all shyly and even became rosy-cheeked after eying up both Ajax and Finn.

"Sure, no problem!" Ajax began but received a glare from Finn.

"What store are you going to?" Finn asked while his eyes surveyed the area.

"TopNotch Phones," Aila replied before looping her arm in with Sarah's and almost dragging her away from her werewolf friends.

Sarah fanned her hand in front of her face, "Which ones are your cousins? If it's the guys.. sorry to say Aila, but both of them are gorgeous, and I wouldn't mind climbing-"

Aila burst out laughing, "No! It's not the guys-"

"Mind setting me up with them!?" Sarah wiggled her eyebrows, causing Aila to shake her head at her shameless friend.

"I would, but they both come with A LOT of baggage," Aila replied playfully, already knowing that they could hear everything they were saying. She received a "Hey!" in a mind-link from Finn. He sounded genuinely hurt by the notion while the girls began laughing from behind them. But only Aila was able to hear them as the pair had walked too far away.

Sarah sighed, "Ugh, well, most men come with baggage now. Unless it's really bad?" She looked at Aila questioningly.

"It's really bad. Really, really bad!" Aila exclaimed, making her friend sigh again.

"Oh well! Didn't mean to intrude anyway.." She trailed off as they went into 'TopNotch Phones'.

Aila was seen almost immediately; her white hair seemed to always stand out and attract attention. Two guys arrived simultaneously, putting on their killer smiles to find the perfect phone for her. Sarah rolled her eyes when their backs were turned and whispered about how she couldn't take Aila anywhere without at least one man bending over backwards for her. Which made her blush and playfully slap her on the shoulder before exploring the other phones.

At one point, Finn turned up and gave her the black card after he presumably heard them ask politely at the till for her card. Aila whispered a quick thank you before returning to the cashier.

Finn mind-linked her, "You didn't really think we were going to leave you unprotected?"

"Of course not. It just looked a little weird that you turned up exactly when I needed a card," Aila half reprimanded him via the mind-link.

"Woah! A black card?? When did you get one of those?" Sarah asked, her eyes wide as Aila finished paying for her new smartphone. She placed the card quickly in her jean pocket.

Aila shrugged nonchalantly, "It's not mine. As I said, I was mugged, so everything was taken. It's just my sweet cousin, Chiara, that gave it to me."

"Oh, that's so sweet!" Sarah began before looking at her own phone and nervously smiling, "So sorry, Aila, I have to go! But send me your new number on messenger when you have your phone set up!"

The pair hugged before Sarah dashed off, leaving Aila in the store. She sat down and started setting her phone up immediately as she began to worry; she declined the help of the two guys that initially helped her choose the phone. They glared in her direction when Finn showed up and sat next to her, eying the pair up protectively.

"Can't you wait until we are back?" He asked.

"No. I need to call my mum," She looked around warily before whispering, "you know, to make sure our story matches."

Finn nodded, "Riiiight. Yeah, I don't have that issue."

Aila reached out and squeezed his hand to comfort him, which made him tense slightly, causing her to tilt her head and look at him questionably.

"Thank you, Aila. I don't want to be on the Alpha's hit list.." Finn tried to joke it off in a mind-link as he smiled.

She still laughed even though she could hear the nervousness in his voice. "I think Ajax is the main hit on that list!" She replied in the mind-link with a giggle.

Finn shook his head, "Seriously, I don't know what to do about that guy."

Aila didn't reply as she, too weren't sure what she could possibly say. Ajax was such a friendly and light-hearted person, she didn't want to change that about him, but she also didn't want him to get in trouble with Alpha Damon. From what she read, he could easily be killed, although she hoped that wasn't the case with Damon.

Aila finished setting up her phone and immediately called her mum's bookstore. On the third ring, her dad picked up, and she was instantly in a conversation with him for five minutes before she asked him kindly to let her know what they had both been saying about her 'disappearance' from social media and the town. Luckily, they said the same thing, 'family emergency but didn't go into any other details when her friends asked after her if they were ever in the town. A few of her closest friends stopped by to check in on her.

This was also something she needed to put on her checklist of things to do:

- Get in touch with friends and reassure them.

- Talk to Ajax about her possessive and aggressive mate.

- Sort out her own strange relationship with her possessive and gorgeous mate.

- Take on her role as Luna and.... as Queen.

- Don't get kidnapped again by the hunters!!

By this point, Aila walked through the shopping centre with Finn by her side while she continued to speak to both her parents alternatively.

"Wait, what about the vets?" Aila asked; she unconsciously began playing with her zipper on her leather jacket. This was the first time her mind wondered about her job; she began to worry that she was fired. Her thinking spiralled further as she began to think about her old human life.

Was she meant to quit her job? Her dream of being a vet?

She looked to Malia for guidance, but for once, she stayed quiet. Aila didn't know if that meant her wolf knew something and was afraid to speak her mind, or she genuinely didn't know what her future held.

"Don't worry, honey. We told them the same as well. They said for you to call them and let them know when you are ready to return," Her dad replied. Aila released a breath she didn't know she was holding. She hung up after more pleasantries were exchanged and continued in silence by Finn's side.

Aila felt much better after hearing her parent's voices, but her mind began racing with thoughts about how her future would turn out. Up until this point, she had very much been a human, and the only concern she had was making it to graduation.

Now she was a princess werewolf that would be an Alpha's mate to help take charge of not only their pack but also multiple packs across the country.

Oh, and she had the hunters to worry about..