Aila's eyes travelled down from his face to his broad shoulders and muscular arms.

He's kidding, right?

"Nope. Come on, we can probably take him.." Malia exclaimed. She was thrilled by the idea of sparring with him, his body soaked in sweat, showing off his perfect eight pack-

"Malia, sparring with him won't be anything like that. I do hope you know that.. He's the Alpha King for a reason."

"Well, I don't mind my ass being beaten by him," Malia continued daydreaming.

Her wolf was lost in her own sexual fantasies. Whereas Aila pulled herself together and finally found her voice, "Come again?"

"We will train together tomorrow. I want to see how you hold yourself up against me," Damon's voice rumbled through the room that made the silence that much thicker as she stared at him. Without replying, she looked at Chiara in question.

"Chiara said you have improved incredibly quick-"

"It's only been two weeks. I can't spar with you.." Aila intervened, which immediately caused Damon's jaw to tick, and his eyes darken from her interruption.

"Yes, you will. That's not a request," Damon growled, making the lamp on his desk rattle.

This time it was Aila who narrowed her eyes at him, "Why?"

The pair stared at each other, causing Kane and Chiara to look at each other nervously.

"Because I said so," He spoke slowly with conviction.

"That's not a reason-"

"I am your Alpha. If I tell you to do something, I expect you to do it." Damon snapped back. His eyes shone like two luminescent moons.

Great.

She was dealing with Darius.

"Gamma, Beta. Please can you give me some time alone with your Alpha." Her eyes didn't leave Damon's as she pushed off from the wall and strolled to the side of his desk, her hand gliding across the smooth surface as she did so.

Chiara and Kane were quick to get up. Aila waited until the door was closed and narrowed her eyes at Kane after he smirked at her as amusement flashed across his eyes. The door closed behind him, and she whipped her head back around to face Damon.

"Why are we sparring tomorrow? You know I'm not ready," She angrily whispered.

"It's training. Why do you insist on arguing with me? If Chiara thinks you are ready, then you are ready," Damon said in exasperation.

"I personally think you like it when I argue with you. It gives you the means to punish me openly.." His growl made her smile falter, and she rushed to continue, "You just had a meeting with the Beta and Gamma, correct?"

He nodded once as he watched her carefully; she walked back around and sat down in the chair opposite him, her eyes on his as she elegantly crossed her legs and relaxed further in the cushioned chair.

"What was the meeting about?" She enquired casually.

He took a sip from his glass before placing it on the desk and leaning back in his own chair. Aila waited patiently as his eyes flickered across her face. She knew he was probably going to dismiss what was discussed, but not only was she now going to be sparring with her beloved Alpha, she wasn't called upon for meetings.

She was the pack's future Luna, and she deserved to know what was going on in the pack to help it.

Damon sighed after seeing her resolute gaze and raked his hand through his already unkempt hair, "I don't need to repeat everything to you." He held his hand up when she opened her mouth to argue, "But it has come to my attention that the pack are still.. uncertain about you. I want to put them at ease. Chiara said, you will be fine, and I trust her judgement."

"So, to resolve the pack's uncertainty about me, you want me to spar with you?" Aila asked, baffled by his resolution.

"Yes."

Aila blinked and pouted before responding, "I think, if anything, that will make them even more uncertain about me."

"Aila." He tsked, "You should have more confidence in your abilities. I do."

"You have not seen me fight.." She muttered as she looked down and started to play with the sleeves of his hoodie.

"I have." He stood up and walked around the desk and leaned against it with his hands on the edge before continuing, "That first session you had with Chiara-" She opened her mouth to interrupt, but he beat her to it,

"Was incredible."

Aila frowned at his words, "I don't understand. I wasn't even trained then.."

"Exactly. And you did well then. I have no doubts about you tomorrow."

Aila bit the inside of her cheek. How bad could it be? She uncrossed her legs, stood up and placed her hands on his chest, staring at his delicious features, "Okay. But next time you decide to have a meeting with the other pack leaders, I'd like to be involved."

His face softened as he looked down at her; his hand came up and cupped the side of her face, "I'm sorry, angel. I am not used to having.. well, a mate."

She smiled up to him at this new nickname he called her but hid behind her words as she said, "That's okay. I am trying to get used to you too. Just, next time, call on me befooore the meeting."

He chuckled before bringing his face down and leaving a tender kiss on her lips, his hand still cupping her face. He pulled back, so their faces were but inches away from each other and gazed into her eyes, "I will. It's about time you started pulling your weight around here.."

Aila's mouth fell open before she slapped him lightly on the shoulder, "So cheeky!"

She then brought her hand down and found his other hand leaning against the desk, intertwining her fingers with his before leading him away from the desk, and opened the door to the hallway. She looked back after feeling a little resistance from him.

"I need to finish with these papers.." He trailed off after seeing her pout. The corners of his lips twitched into a smile, and he let her drag him away from the office.

That night was the first in two weeks where they didn't end with a power struggle followed by a punishment. Aila couldn't complain about the punishments; they were either an excruciating tease or heavenly bliss.