My heart pounded in my chest as the anxiety buzzed through my veins, hands shaking as I paced the floor. Excitement but nervousness bubbled throughout my body, quickening each beat of my heart while increasing my breathing rate at the same time. This emotion, this feeling, scared me. Having never encountered it before, I panicked when my heart fluttered and my stomach rolled over, sending me in a frenzy.

I could hear rushed, heavy sounds of footfalls hitting each step as they moved towards me. Heavy hands pushed down on my shoulders which stopped my pacing. Wide green eyes scanned my body and face before darting up to mine in concern.

"What's wrong? Are you okay?" His hands brushed up and down my arms, adding warmth back to them. Slowly, my hands stopped shaking and I stepped into his embrace, pressing my palms to his chest.

"I got excited and nervous, which then make me scared. I've never felt that before so I became afraid. I'm sorry if I scared you."

"What are you doing up, anyway? It's almost two in the morning." His eyes were still fogged with sleep, his chest still missing a shirt.

"I couldn't sleep. I was thinking to much and it got to me." He hummed and held me closer and I pressed further into his warmth.

"What we're you thinking about?" The deep was of his voice made my heart flutter and I bit my lip.

"The ceremony is soon. Thinking about it made me excited but then I got nervous because of how close it was. I was afraid that something could happen to you while your gone. The pack may also not want me as their Luna because I've brought so much chaos here. Getting excited made me scared and then those thoughts made me panic."

He bent down and pressed his palms to the back of my thighs and pulled, making me jump and wrap my legs around his waist. Walking down the hall, he sat down on the couch so that I was still straddling him. A searing kiss was placed on my forehead, as if his touch would send away all the bad thoughts that were endlessly racing though my mind.

"Everything will be fine, I promise. I will be fine while I am out hunting and the pack will accept you as their Luna." He said confidently. "If they didn't want you as their Luna then they wouldn't have fought for you. They wouldn't have supported you. I know my pack and they know you. They love you and already see you as their next Luna."

"Really?" I asked, worry still laced my voice but I tried to hid it as best as I could.

"Of course they do. I would never lie to you." He hands rubbed soothingly up and down my back. From those up and down movements, my shirt had ridden up slightly, his hands now brushing my bare skin, making me shiver.

"Orion? Can you tell me a story?" I asked, voice muffled by his neck.

"Which once would you like to hear?" He asks, running a hand through my hair.

"You pick." He pondered for a few moments before taking a large breath.

"There was once a baby bird who was different from the rest of the baby birds. She was small and seen as weak, but most importantly, she was scared to fly." He adjusted our position so that we were now lying down.

"The other baby birds made of fun of her for that. They would eat her food before she could and would peck her until she would bleed. They would even pull out her feathers, telling her that she was ugly and weak.

When the time came for the baby birds to learn to fly, she refused. The other baby birds learned with ease, making her seem even more weak. The parents of the baby birds who would fly became embarrassed and rejected her, refused to feed her anymore. Eventually, they kicked her out of the best, making her fall all the way to the ground."

"Was the baby bird okay?"

"Yes, she was okay. On the ground, she cried and called out to her parents but they ignored her. Other animals heard her cries and came to help. That's when she met the friendly bunny. He helped her grow up strong over the years and guess what?"

"What?" I closed my eyes as his fingers began to brush over my face, over my now close eyelids.

"She got over her fear of flying and one day, she walked to the top of a hill and jumped. At that moment, she learned to fly. At that moment, she learned to be free."

................................................................

The following morning, I awoke to an empty bed, clad with messed up sheets with an empty coldness. I was no longer wearing the clothing I had on from the night before. My jeans were gone and my shirt had been replaced with one of Orion's, engulfing my body.

I could feel the familiar ache in my body, the sign the I needed to shift before my wolf got to anxious. I hadn't let her out in such a long time. This forced me to get up and get ready for the day.

As I walked downstairs, I was met with Orion putting plates of breakfast food on the table. A third empty plate sat in front of on of the chairs, along with another set of utensils, making my eyebrows furrow.

"Good morning." He chirped and placed a kiss on my forehead.

"Good morning?" I called back as he moved around the room, finishing the cleaning. He seemed off to me. He was too hyper for what he usually Eason the morning and I always found him in bed with me in the mornings.

"Come here." He said, grabbing onto my hand. "I want to show you something." He pulled me out of the kitchen and around the house before pausing at the front door.

"You wanted me to see the door?" I asked confused. There was definitely something wrong with him this morning and I was beginning to gown concerned. He shook his head, his hair flipping over his eyes as he grabbed onto the door knob.

"Happy Birthday, Sweetheart." He said while opening the door. At first, I was confused. There was no way that if could be my birthday for it wouldn't come till late Summer. It was only just now the middle of Spring. I turned to him and curled up my nose.

"It's not my-" my words got lost between my brain and my tongue as I looked to the open doorframe. A man was standing there, a small box in his hands, wrapped with green paper and a bow placed on to.

His hair was a chocolate brown, hints of gray mixed in here and there. He had a strong build and was fairly tall but not as tall as Orion. His skin was more pale than those around here and was slightly wrinkled with age. His scent did not register in my mind and he was definitely not someone from this pack. I took in every unknown feature as my eyes scanned him, trying to grasp onto some sort of reason of why he would even be here.

As my eyes trailed upwards, I landed on his face. His features mirrored my own and a pair of light gray eyes filled with tears looked into my own. I froze and my eyes widened, taking a step backwards in surprise.

"It's really is you." The man whispered.