My heart was hammering in my chest as I looked at myself in the mirror. Tonight was the night that the pack would know the truth about me. About us. I'd been helping to prepare from performing the basic tasks I knew in the kitchen to setting the tables. Greyson had brought women from the pack to help me pick out a dress to wear and after a few hours, I'd finally picked one. A simple, yet sexy red off shoulder dress that swept the floor as I walked. It as a slit up the side that ran half way up my thigh and was matched with a pair of heels on of the women had brought. But I was saving it to put on last in order to avoid ruining it with the bullets I was sweating.

I had a bit of makeup on including lipstick, eyeshadow, and eyelashes by the talented hands of the women. They'd been so nice and now that the craziness had subsided, I was excited to get to know them and the rest of the pack better.

I curled the finally piece of my hair before I let it go, letting it fall with the others. Once I was satisfied, I walked into our room and slid on the dress and heels. Confidence moves through me as I looked at myself in the full body mirror, and it was intensified by Greyson's mark being on full display on my neck. It felt unreal looking at myself. Compared to the scared little runt I'd been when I came, I was unrecognizable. And I liked it.

I soft knock sounded from the other side of the door, causing me to jump a bit. Greyson's intoxicating scent filled my nose, causing River to go crazy. I hadn't seen him since the women had come to fix me up. They wanted me to be a surprise. "Avery? Little wolf, can I come in?" He gently asked.

I looked at myself in the mirror one more time. "Yeah. Come in, Greyson." The door slowly opened, revealing Greyson. My lycanthrope instincts told me to just jump on him and have my way with him all night into the next day, but I kept myself at day as I reveled in his beauty. He was wearing a suit without a wrinkle to be seen. His hair was done, but in a messy way that made his features look even more rugged and godly. The top of my mark was evident on his neck and it made a sense of pride move through me.

He took slow steps toward me as he looked me up and down, a look that closely mirrored disbelief shining in his eyes. I could feel his conflict in the link, making me feel powerful and sexy. That feeling only intensified as his eyes shifted and he stood a mere inch in front of me. "You look breathtaking. You're a goddess walking among men."

I grinned.

He gently cupped my cheek with one hand, causing a breath to slide past my lips as intense sparks moved through me straight to my core. I had to fight River's want to take him, goddess it was hard. He hadn't been wrong when he told me our sex drive would always be on go.

"I don't know if I want you looking this good in front of all those other men. They might get ideas," Greyson lowly said with a rumble in his chest that sent a shiver down my spine.

"If they get ideas." I said as I allowed my eyes to shift into the darkness that matched his, "I'll just Hunt them."

He grinned down at me. "Avery, you're so damn hot."

"I know," I lowly said with a smile as his lips came into contact with mine. He tightly held onto me as he slowly led me back until my back hit a wall, causing me to let out a small gasp in surprise. He took advantage of that opportunity and slid his tongue into my mouth and his hand scandalously moved up the slit of my dress, leaving goosebumps in its wake.

"Grey," I breathed as he started viciously attacking my neck in the way he knew turned me on more than anything. "Grey you better stop before I can't," I said, though a part of me wanted to get lost and lose control. He paused, his heavy, hot breaths lapping on my neck as we both stood breathless. He straightened up so he was looking me in my eyes.

"Tonight's going to be nearly impossible with you looking as good as you do," he said, causing me to sling my arms over his shoulders and interlock my fingers behind his neck.

"You're saying that like it's easy for me."

He smiled before he pressed one final kiss to my lips. "I'm excited to show you off with this dress on, but I'm more excited to come back here and take it off."

I looked away as a slight blush stained my cheeks.

No matter what we did to each other, I still got flustered every time. He lowly chuckled and kissed my cheek as his eyes shifted back to their normal color. I looked at myself in the mirror to make sure my makeup hadn't been messed up before I slid my hand in Greyson's and we made the short journey to the pack house.

Just like the last time, my heart raced with each step we took toward the house. The last time we'd all met like this, I'd snapped Becca's neck and publicly went off on Greyson. I knew we'd all gone through a lot together since then, but still it all felt so...scary. "Avery, relax. I can feel your nerves," Greyson softly said as we stopped mere yards in front of the front doors.

"I'm sorry. I'm just still so nervous. I know it sounds silly, but I still just really want them to like me and see how much I care about them without doing something to embarrass myself."

Greyson held me close. "You'll be okay, Avery. I'm right here and so will Nat. The whole pack loves you. They wouldn't have fought so hard if they didn't. And if they disrespect you, I give you full permission to snap their necks."

I narrowed my eyes at him as he laughed. "That's not funny," I tightly said, though I was amused.

"I'm sorry, little wolf," he said, sobering up.

"No you're not."

"You're right." I hit him, causing him to laugh as he took my hand and led me the rest of the way into the pack house. It was just as big, yet cozy as I remembered it. My ears were bombarded by the sounds of pack members fellowshiping and pups playing together as the elders watched them. My newly heightened hearing made it sound louder than it really was, but I enjoyed it. It was family. My family.

I felt eyes attract to us like magnets as we walked in, garnering respectful bows as we passed which we responded to with nods of acknowledgement, per usual. I offered the pack members a warm smile and waved to the various pups we passed until we made it to the table. By then, a hush had fallen over the house. "Come," Greyson said, his voice saturated with power. Without missing a beat, the pack members came, all standing behind their seats, waiting for the Alpha to take his seat before they could do so.

Greyson pulled out his chair, but rather than sit in it, he used his hand to offer the sacred seat to me. "But it's yours. You're the alpha," I lowly said so that only we could hear.

"But you're my alpha," he said, causing tingles to move through my spine into my toes. A proud smile spread across my face as I sat in the seat that radiated power and told everyone around who was in charge, all without saying a word. The pack instantly followed suit before the sounds of chatter filled the air once more. Each plate of food was given to me first rather than Greyson, and it felt good. The wine was next to be passed as well as other beverages for the pups, which I graciously took before I passed it. I waited until everyone was served before I took my glass and stood, causing a hush to instantly fall over the pack. "Hi everyone."

"Hello, Luna," they all chorused simultaneously.

I offered them a bashful smile of thanks, still not used to the heavy title. "I just wanted to take a minute and thank you all. I know that a lot of you don't know me outside of training sessions or seeing me walk the grounds with Greyson, and I mean to change that. You all fought so hard for me and for each other, and I don't take that for granted. Me and Grey want to start being more involved in the pack other than practical things. We're not people you should be afraid of just because we're your leaders. We're your family, just like you're ours. So, cheers to family."

"Cheers," the pack echoed as we all raised our glasses before I took a drink with everyone else following suit. As I sat down, Greyson kissed my cheek.

"You make a mighty good Alpha. Sexy one, too," he said, causing me to playfully shove him as he laughed. I took my first bite of my food, creamy mashed potatoes, and the pack followed suit.

"And I thought what you wore to the last dinner was hot," Natalie joked from next to me.

I laughed. "Thanks, Natalie. You look gorgeous as always."

"Thank you," she grinned before she turned to Greyson. "You look beautiful too."

He chuckled as he shook his head. "Thanks, Nat."

We all ate together, sharing stories and laughter. I felt my anxiety melt away as I continued talking to various pack members, even getting out of my seat and walking down the long table to talk to all of them. Greyson had been right yet again about my motherly instincts sky rocketing. I wanted to make sure that everyone was okay and tend to them as best as I could if they weren't. One member, Yasmine, recently had a pup, a little boy named Mikka, and the feeling of holding him in my arms was the more euphoric feeling ever. The way his little eyes looked up at me and the soft feeling of his little fingers wrapping around my pointer finger made butterflies erupt within my stomach. I had to fight the urge to steal him in that very moment.

After I'd made my round, I returned to Greyson's side who'd finished his food and was conversing with another male pack member a few seats down named Joshua. Once I sat back down, he turned to me. "I think it's time to tell them, is that okay?"

I looked out to all of the members that were still excitedly speaking to one another before I turned to Greyson and nodded. "Yeah."

He kissed my forehead before he stood up. The pack instantly got quiet. "Good evening, Blood Crescent."

"Good evening, Alpha Greyson."

"On behalf of your Luna and I, I want to thank you all for coming to celebrate our victory and to welcome a new chapter in this pack. As you all know I haven't been the most...open person. I've been the distant, monster in your closet type of Alpha and that stops right now. The needless violence the fear, all of it." He sighed. "To be honest, I was lost. I was angry and afraid and I thought that if I could make people fear me, then I'd have control. I made the mistake of trying to do that with your Luna and I almost lost her." He said as he looked down at me. "I made mistakes and did things that I can never take back. I made horrible mistakes and did things that I'll never stop apologizing for, but she found the good in me and held onto it. She held onto it and wrapped it around me. She loved me when I was less than deserving of it. She stood by me at my darkest hours and refused to leave me when most would. She made me better and I love her for it so so much." He leaned down and pressed a soft his to my lips that made my heart skip a beat and my knees weak.

I couldn't help the smile that spread across my face as he pulled away. "I'm hers forever. I'm still trying to break down the wall around me, so please bear with me you all, trust me I'm trying. I have to learn how to play nice with people other than her." The pack chuckled. "But, uh, I've been keeping a secret from you all," he continued as he swallowed. I could feel his anxiety through the link, so I instantly took his hand in mine. He calmed down as he gave it a squeeze. "I'm not a normal wolf. While my mother was pregnant with me, she'd passed down a dormant lycan gene that presented itself in me after generations and generations. Most of you are probably wondering what a lycan is and to make a long explanation short, I'm far more dangerous than all of you combined. My emotions are a ticking time bomb and blood is what I crave more than anything. That's why I initiated all of those hunts on other packs, not only because they'd done wrong but because it fed into my insatiable bloodlust. Very few people knew, including Matthew who we threw this dinner in honor of." I looked out into the pack, but I couldn't read them.

"For the Warriors that found me at the bottom of the cliff and for the rest of you all, I can't be killed. It's nearly impossible. That's how I survived Phoenix ripping out my heart. The condition made me really dangerous for a long time. That's why I didn't really come out. But it became so bad that I was a threat to my own mate. So, we went to Atonya, the witch who helped us during the fight, and she helped us by doing the only thing she could...by making Avery like me." Silence followed. "I said all of this to say that we're not a threat to anyone. We're working on control and we're making a lot of progress. I just wanted to be honest with all of you as we stepped into this new chapter as a pack. I know it's a lot to take in, but I believe in us. In all of us. Thank you," he said as he gave a nod of thanks and sat down next to me.

It felt scary to not be able to read the people sitting around us after all we'd said. Were they afraid? Terrified? Disgusted?

"Um, Alpha? Luna?" A soft voice called from a boy that was about eight or nine. "I don't think you're scary. I think it's cool!"

Greyson chuckled. "Thank you, Justin."

"Yeah, I mean, it's a lot, but it's okay," someone further down the table commented, but they were too far for me to make out who they were. Various words of agreement filled the air and both Greyson and I relaxed.

"Thank you all," I gratefully stated before the desserts were brought out. "Let's eat!"

The pack continued to eat and laugh together, even long after we'd gotten done eating. It actually felt like a family and I loved it. "I think I'm ready to go home," Greyson whispered in my ear.

"Okay," I softly agreed before I allowed him to take my hand in his as we stood up.

"Thank you all for coming. You're welcome to continue helping yourself to the food. Your Luna and I wish you all a good night and we will see the Warriors tomorrow on the field."

A chorus of "bye"s filled the air as we made our way out. Once we walked into our house and made it up into our bedroom, the first thing I did was take off all the makeup, my face feeling free and weightless without it. As I stood in the mirror making sure to get the last of it off, Greyson appeared behind me already stripped down to his boxers.

"You did amazing tonight," he said before he placed a kiss on my bare shoulder.

"Thanks, you too," I said with a grin as he took the zipper of my dress in his hand and slowly started pulling it down.

"I think it calls for a celebration."

"Does it now?" I asked as he continued going down until it fell from my shoulders and onto the ground, leaving me in just my undergarments.

"Yeah, I think it does," he commented as he cupped my face. I grinned as I leaned in so that my face was less than a hair's width away from his.

"Try again tomorrow."

He groaned as I laughed and picked my dress up off the floor. "Avery, baby-"

"You know how we get, Grey," I said as I walked into our bedroom and hung up the dress before I sat on the bed and started taking off my heels. "We go at it. Hard. And like you said, we have training in the morning."

Greyson sat behind me in the bed and wrapped his arms around me as he started kissing up my spine. "We could always miss it."

"After the whole speech about starting a new chapter and being more involved?" I asked as I looked over my shoulder at him. "I'm sorry, but no."

He groaned as he fell back onto the bed and groaned. "Avery, you're no fun."

I laughed as I walked into the closet and picked out one of Greyson's shirts. "I'm the worst," I agreed as I took off my bra and slid his shirt over me.

I walked back out into our bedroom before I switched off the lights and crawled into bed. Greyson's arms were instantly around me in a tight embrace as he bombarded me with kisses, causing me to laugh. "Grey!"

He chuckled as he gave me one more kiss before he leaned over me, his eyes boring into mine. "I love you, Avery."

I grinned up at him and said the words I meant more than anything. "I love you too, Greyson."