Her body was heavy with nerves. She could feel herself shaking, and by Kole's prominent presence at her side, she knew it was obvious to others. Her first full moon was in minutes, and she hardly knew anyone in the pack. The last two days she had meet only a handful but the only one she could remember was Edna.

"Are you ok?" Kole questioned.

"I'm fine, just nervous." She fiddled with the robe around her. It made sense that they all just wore robes on the night of the full moon, saving everyone the time to have to strip down. But she wasn't very comfortable being around everyone while she was so exposed. Glancing around at the pack she found to her surprise, many were standing in the field naked as the day they were born. Part of her was disturbed by all the body part she saw, all in various shapes and ages, but the other part of her was jealous that they were so comfortable and confident in their bodies.

"You have nothing to be nervous about. They will all be happy and welcoming to you." Kole said trying to reassure her.

'Easy for you to say' she thought to herself. She watched as one by one the pack shifted, eager to feel the strong connection to the moon. Knowing she didn't have much time left, she glanced to Kole before letting go of his hand and shifting. Her fox was at peace finally able to have a stronger presence. Shaking out her fur, Rory glanced next to her, noticing the dark shadow over her.

Kole stood tall next to her, his brown wolf scanning over his pack watching as everyone let their wolf out, before his eyes fell to her. When their eyes connected, Rory felt a spark inside her, making her realize that this was the first time that she was around Kole while they were both in their forms. It was refreshing. Kole tilted his head down, and nuzzled into her neck, scenting her.

She couldn't help but let out a soft purr, as she reached up and nipped at his neck. Her fox begging her to return the affection. Rory looked around waiting to see how the pack was going to react to her not being a wolf, but shockingly no one seemed bothered. A strawberry blonde wolf came over to her, and somehow she just knew that it was Georgia.

Not sure what else to do she stayed still as Georgia stood in front of her licking her snout, before giving off a bark. A howl broke Rory's attention and she watched as the pack acted accordingly, getting ready to run. She was nervous; she was beyond worried that she wouldn't be able to keep up with the pack, having never ran far before. She was still weak from the poor health she was in when Kole found her, but she was determined to push herself.

Rory watched to see what Kole was going to do, only to see him looking down at her watching her. He pushed her gently before nodding to the pack asking if she was ready to run. If the pack was anything like Darren's, she knew that the Alpha was supposed to lead them.

Rory shook her head slightly, encouraging him with her eyes to go ahead of her. She hoped that they would complete the bond soon, it would be so much easier when she would be able to communicate with Kole and the other wolves, using the pack mind.

At last, the pack was moving and Rory found herself running with Georgia and a blonde wolf, who she assumed to be Alex. She wasn't able to go very far with them and with a huff she stopped running. Georgia stopped immediately and turned to look at her with concern. Rory tried to hold it back but somehow the yawn still escaped her lips. She was exhausted. Georgia took her lead and spun in a circle before curling up on the floor. Rory followed, and with tired eyes looked around, thankful for the boulders that gave them shelter.

Kole didn't run as long as he would have normally would with the pack; he was too eager to return to his mate.

"She's asleep." Georgia told him using their special family connection.

"Where are you guys?" He thought back. Almost instantly his mind was flooded with their surroundings, and having studied all of his territory he knew exactly where they were.

It took him a matter of minutes to reach them, and sure enough Rory was curled into a ball sound asleep. Part of Kole was proud that she was comfortable enough around his sister and her mate to sleep around them, the other part of him was worried about how quickly she had gotten tired.

"How long did you guys end up running?"

"Maybe 20 minutes."

"She probably needs to work with the others, build up her endurance." Alex suggested from his spot next to Georgia.

"That's a good idea." Kole nodded, glancing down at his mate once again. He was still surprised by her dusty fox. He never thought that his mate would be so unique, but he wouldn't change her for anyone.

Kole laid down next to her, and smiled to himself as she automatically curled into his warmth. Laying his head on his paws, he kept watch as his mate slept.

*~*~*

She woke to the sun in her eyes, and warmth surrounding her. Blinking her eyes, she almost panicked when she saw she was outside, before she remembered about the full moon the night before.

Tilting her head up, she noticed Kole's eyes on her lying next to her in human form, a smile on his face, thankfully in a robe and had one covering her fox form. She wasn't ready to be that exposed yet. Shifting back she couldn't help but return the smile, pleased with how the full moon had gone. The last thing she had remembered was curling up with Georgia, and Alex in their own little puppy pile, something Georgia told her about when she was with Darren's pack. Nothing could prepare her for how touched she was to have that moment of comfort, of that family time; it was perfect. She had only been with them for a little over a month but she had been so happy to finally be accepted somewhere.

"Good morning." Kole smiled.

"Morning." She yawned, shielding her mouth, not wanting him to get a whiff of her morning breath.

"Did you have fun last night?" Kole asked, reaching out to push a lock of hair behind her ear.

"It was perfect." She nodded with a slight smile.

"Good. I know I got dragged away early yesterday, but I was hoping that we could spend some time together?" Kole asked.

"I would like that."

He slowly worked his way to his feet before extending a hand to her. Without hesitation she grab it, letting him pull her up.

"Why don't we go get dressed and then I'm sure breakfast will be ready." Kole spoke.

"Sure." She nodded. Together they walked hand in hand to the house, where to her surprise many of the pack members were hanging about.

"We usually all eat breakfast together after the full moon." Kole said seeing the surprise on her face.

"That's nice."

Rory made her way into their closet a smile on her face at her belongings hanging next to his. She still couldn't get used to having more than four outfits, let alone having a spot for them.

Normally she wasn't one to eavesdrop, but with her heightened hearing and the sound of her name, the whispers from the hallway caught her attention.

"Her name is Aurora, what type of name is that? Is she a Disney princess?" A harsh voice spoke, the amusement clear in the owners voice.

"There was nothing special about her, Kole could do so much better." A female giggled in response.

"I know, it should be you Rachel."

"It really should. How is she going to be able to lead ours when she was a runt in her old pack?"

"Maybe you need to make Kole see the truth."

"I may do just that." She hear Rachel speak, she didn't have to see her to know she was smiling. Her tone said it all.

As much as Rory didn't want to listen to them, she knew it was the truth. Even if they weren't telling her to her face, it was clear what these two females truly felt about her. Her doubts about herself leading the pack were consuming her. She didn't want to tell anyone because she was embarrassed, and if she asked Georgia for help, Kole would find out. The last thing she wanted was for Kole to change his mind about her.

Not feeling too great about herself, she picked out a simple outfit consisting of jeans and a tee-shirt. Much like something she would wear in Darren's pack but not as worn out.

"Hey are you ready?" Kole asked oblivious to what she had just heard.

"Sure." She nodded sliding on a pair of red converse and pulling her hair up to a sloppy bun.

"You look nice."

"Thanks." She said glancing down at her outfit, that was nothing special.

"I was thinking after breakfast we could go to a park and just hang out."

"That sounds nice." She fiddled with the hem of her shirt as the made their way to the dinning room, where many were still eating. Kole sat at the head of the table, gesturing for her to take the empty seat to his right. Rory was slightly hesitant because she didn't know anyone who was around her.

"Rory, I want you to meet the guys. I think you met Josh, my third." Kole glancing to said man. "This some of the other inner rank, Peter, Kyle and Julian. Guys this is Aurora, my mate." He beamed.

"Nice to meet you. Our Alpha has been waiting a long time for you." Peter said with a kind smile, his blue eyes proving he was sincere.

"I've been waiting for him too." She said, cringing at how cheesy she sounded.

"He hasn't stopped talking about you in our meetings. Its nice to put a face to the name. All he would do was go on and on about how beautiful you were." Kyle said, with a teasing smirk towards Kole. Rory couldn't help but blush at the attention she was receiving, and could only imagine the types of things Kole shared with his friends.

"Shut up Kyle." Kole smirked, reaching out to take her hand under the table. The boys all laughed a their Alpha's embarrassment, and just like that she felt welcomed into their circle. As she listened to the boys talk, she looked them over, trying to figure out a way to remember them. She knew Josh from before, as he was with Alex and Kole when they came to Darren's pack, but she hadn't seen the other three.

Kyle was a tall lanky man, with dirty blonde hair and hazel eyes. Peter had was of a built nature, with a nice definition on his muscles, but not overly so. He had a dark buzz cut, and despite the tough appearance he projected, his blue eyes showed nothing but kindness. Julian was shorter than the two, with olive skin, dark brown hair and deep chocolate eyes, a splash of freckles on his cheek.

"So Rory, what do you think of the pack?" Kyle asked.

"Everyone seems very nice. I haven't met everyone but I met Edna yesterday. She was very welcoming." Aurora smiled thinking about the older women.

"She's definitely an interesting character." Julian laughed.

Rory nodded before finishing her breakfast in peace. She enjoyed sitting with the pack but her mind kept on bringing up what she heard Rachel and her friend talking about. Rachel didn't seem to care that Rory was Kole's mate, and was going to try and mess with them. That was the last think Aurora needed right now, but try as she might to ignore it, it was a seed of doubt that had been planted in her mind.