•Mara's POV•

I watch silently as Ryan and the other two men move up to the house. They knock on the door and say something and it swings open.

When they go inside, I slide down the tree trunk and hug my knees into my chest.

What does this mean? Is Ryan a traitor? Does Cam know I'm a tiger shifter? Does Ryan know about werewolves?

Everything is so confusing and information in buzzing around my brain at impossible rates.

Surely Ryan can't know about werewolves. He would have told me, wouldn't he?

I'm suddenly brought back from a growl, I stand up and look around.

A man comes out in some sweatpants, he looks to be in his mid-twenties.

"What are you doing on my land?" He asks.

And he's an Alpha.

"Uh, I'm Samara Banks, Luna of the Dark Moon Pack." I extend a hand.

He raises his eyebrows but shakes my hand, "Kyle Parker, Alpha of the Blue River Pack. You don't have concent to be here Luna."

I nod, "I'm sorry, please don't tell Alpha Ryder."

He cocks his head to the side, "Well, I have to if you're running away."

My eyes widen, "Running away? Oh no, I'm not running away." I assure him.

"Then what are you doing?" He asks.

Suddenly I hear a slam and notice that the front door has opened, I grab Alpha Kyle's arm and pull him against the tree trunk like me, using my other hand to cover his mouth.

I lift my finger to my lips in a 'be quiet' gesture.

He nods and peels my hand off his mouth.

I peek around the tree and so does Kyle.

"You're crazy! There is no way I'm helping you with this!" Ryan shouts as he walks out of the house.

"Ryan!" Cam comes out next, "Don't you see? Then we have her."

Her?

Ryan turns around to face Cam, "You're sick Cam, you need to stop."

Cam clentches his jaw, "I'm not sick."

"Denying it won't help." Ryan warns.

"I'm not denying anything!" Cam shouts back.

Ryan sighs, "I'm part of a pack Cam, I'm not a rouge like you and these other men you've gathered."

"What does that have to do with anything?" Cam asks.

"It means that I've got something to lose, unlike you who doesn't." Ryan snaps.

Cam growls, "You'll regret this Kunder."

Ryan laughs, "I doubt that."

He then runs into the forest and shifts into a wolf.

Ryan is a werewolf? Ryan is a werewolf!

Cam makes his hands into tight fists, his anger making them shake, and then picks up a large rock and shouts in frustration as he throws it into the forest.

It hits the tree next to us, making it shake and the ground around us vibrate.

He then stomps into the cabin and slams the door closed.

I let out the breath I didn't realise I was holding and look to Alpha Kyle who is looking expectantly at me.

"What?" I ask as I start to walk away from the house.

"Care to explain what that was about?" He asks back.

I look at him, "I really wish I knew."

•Ryder's POV•

"We've been searching for three hours now, lets try again tomorrow." Trent says.

I hesitate, but nod.

He's right, we don't want to push it. We don't even know if Cam is back, there might be a new resident that looks like him.

"Where are the others?" I ask.

"Mara invited them over, so we'll just go there I guess."

We hop on our bikes and cruise to Mara's house. When we get there, her parents car is gone, but Josh's bike is there and Mandy's car is in her driveway.

We go to the front door and knock, Layla opens the door and jumps into Trent's arms. I grin and roll my eyes, going inside to find my own mate.

I find her in the living room with Mandy, Cole, and Josh watching a movie.

I come around and pick her up so that she sits on my lap.

She smiles at me and kisses my cheek.

Trent and Layla come back in and Josh looks at his watch, "It's only four, why don't we go and do something?" He asks.

"Like what?" Mara asks.

"Like," Josh thinks, "Go to the beach!" He says.

"How far away is it?" Mara asks.

I shrug, "Like, half an hour."

She stands up, "Why not? Shall we meet there then?"

Everyone gets up and nods in agreement.

I kiss Mara quickly on the lips, "I'll come back in twenty to pick you up."

She smiles, "Alright."

I go back outside and see the guys leaving, I get on my bike and go to my house. When I get in, I go up to my room and change into my boardies and chuck on a t-shirt.

I go and pick up Mara, who comes out in a sundress, and we get going to the beach.

••••*••••

"You do realise that we're going into winter right?" Mara asks as we all walk to the sand.

Josh shrugs, "At least we have most of the beach to ourselves."

She laughs and shakes her head, I grab her hand and intertwine our fingers.

She looks down at our linked hands and smiles, then looks to me and winks before turning her head to the ocean, the sea breeze whipping her hair back.

I smile at the sight of her and put down her stuff when we get to the spot Josh picked.

I look around and see the guys have taken of their shirts, so I take mine off too. They all look at me mischievously and then look at the girls, who are talking about how blue the water is.

A smirk forms on my face and I nod.

Josh walks over to them, "Wow, check that out!" He says as he points to nothing in the sky.

"What?" Mandy asks as they all try to find what he's pointing at.

That's our cue and we run over and pick up our mates, throwing them over our shoulders. Mandy and Layla scream and start hitting Trent and Cole's back. I notice Mara isn't doing anything.

"Why aren't you acting up?" I ask.

She sighs, "Because I've been in this situation before and I already know what's going to happen."

I chuckle and look over to Trent who winces a little as Layla hits his back.

"Why isn't Mara attacking you?" He asks.

I smile, "Because I have a lazy mate."

That earnt me a slap to the back.

We finally reach the water, and when I'm knee deep I chuck Mara into the cool water. She comes up for air, and unlike Layla and Mandy who are yelling at their mates, she laughs and looks at me.

"Now you pay." She turns serious and comes towards me.

I sigh and let her pull me into the water, when I come up I wrap my arms around her.

"Wow, we're no fun." She pouts.

I laugh, "We must be getting old."

She smiles, "Probably." And then leans in and kisses me, this time she grazes my bottom lip with her tongue and I open for her.

I let her have control for a bit, but then take over and make the kiss deeper and more passionate.

A splash of cold water hits us and we look to Josh to see everyone else glaring at me.

"Come one guys, mateless Beta here," He says pointing to himself, "You can't all kiss at the same time."

"Aw Josh, she'll come soon." Mara says.

He huffs, "She better."

"Is Joshy jealous?" Mandy coos.

"No." He crosses his arms over his chest.

I laugh and twirl Mara around in the water, drowning the rest of their conversation out.

"So, what did you do after I dropped you off this morning?" I ask.

She averts my eyes, "Oh, you know, not much." She replies.

I eye her suspiscously but let it go.

She groans, "School tomorrow."

I smile, "At least I'll be there."

She pats my cheek, "Of course."

I notice her starting to get goosebumps, "Come on." I say and grab her hand, leading her out of the water.

I grab a towel and wrap it around her then grab one for me. She sits on the sand and I drop down next to her, pulling her to me by her waist.

We sit in a comfortable silence and just watch the others goof around.

She sighs and I look at her, "What's wrong?" I ask.

"Just thinking." She replies.

"About what?" I ask.

"When you become the main Alpha, do I have to come live with you?" She asks.

I purse my lips, "It's expected, but you don't have to."

"Really?" She asks.

I nod, "As much as I would love you to, I don't want to pressure you into anything."

"It's just my parents, I wouldn't want to leave them. And the only way they would let me move is if they knew the truth." She says.

"Then tell them the truth, they already know that you can shift into a tiger. I'm sure it won't be that much of a shock if there are werewolves too." I reply.

"I guess so." She says.

The other comes out of the water and we talk for the rest of the time.

It's about six o'clock when we leave, I hold on to Mara's hand while I drive with the other.

•Mara's POV•

I asked everyone to come back to my house for dinner, since I can just order pizza and we can watch movies to celebrate the last day of school holidays.

When we get inside I turn up the heat and go to the phone to order the pizza.

Everyone's pretty much dry now so we can sit on the lounge and Josh and Cole grab bean bags.

I lay on Ryder and Layla leans on Trent. Mandy shares the bean bag with Cole and Josh spreads out on his own.

Sometimes I feel for bad for Josh, since he's like a seventh-wheel.

But he should find his mate soon, sometime some of the neighbouring packs come to other Alpha's ceremonies so maybe he will find her then.

The door bell rings and I get off Ryder, "That's probably the pizza."

I walk through the hall and pull open the door, expecting to see a delivery uniform.

Instead I'm met with a middle-age man in some black trousers and a casual t-shirt.

"Can I help you?" I ask.

"Are you Samara Banks?" He asks.

"Yes." I nod.

He smiles a little sadly, "My name's George Darcey, I'm your biological father."

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Hey there!

Another chapter!

So, the dreaded day has come.... I have school tomorrow. I just want you to be prepared for late chapters because I could have a big workload.

Of course, I love writing this book so you won't have too wait long for chapters, hopefully.

Please vote and comment!

Thank you! xx