The next few weeks seems to fly by. Before I knew it, I was in the last week of my LNA class, and I had passed with flying colors. This meant I had one more week before I left for college. The realization finally hit me that summer would be over, and I would be headed off to college. I would be away from Tate. I was not ready for this, I was not ready to leave home, my mother, or him. Our sleepy little town was where everything I loved and cherished was. The only thing that was making this easier was knowing that McKenna was going to school with me, albeit for a different major, but we would be in school together.

McKenna walked into my room and jumped on my bed, landing next to me. "What's up Jolly?"

"Wow, girl you sound way to happy. I am relaxing, today is the first day of my last week of vacation. No more classes, well for a week that is." I said as I nudged her.

"Well summer is almost over and soon we will be starting a new adventure." She smirked at me, "Think of all the HOT guys!" She was lifting her eye brows up and down as she said this to me.

"Not for me, thanks." I stated, "You know I only have eyes for one."

"Well, he hasn't marked you yet. You never know, things could change."

"Kenz!" I scolded, "We are waiting until after I am done with school. You know if we mark each other now it would be impossible for us to be apart for school." I could not believe that McKenna was suggesting that I could find someone else to be with. Well, technically I could, but I didn't want to, I wanted my mate. The Goddess gives you one person that completes you, but honestly that does not mean that you must be with them, but who wouldn't want to be with their other half? It is just absurd to think that one would want to live a life without feeling completed.

"All I know is I would be claiming him, if he were mine. I wouldn't want any hussy hands all over what's MINE." She emphasized the mine part. "Besides, you may be Mates, but nothing is official until you claim one another. You can still be with other people. Just because he is your Mate doesn't mean that you have to love him and be with him." McKenna shrugged her shoulders.

"Really, hussy hands?" I rolled my eyes at her and we both laughed. "But seriously, we have it worked out. I will come back her to visit on breaks and stuff, and he is going to come out to see me when he can get away." I explained.

"Well I hope for your sake that it works. Long distance is hard, I hope he is worth the trust and faith you are giving him." My heart sank at what McKenna was saying.

"I know he is, he is my mate. He wouldn't do anything to break my trust." I replied, hoping with every fiber of my being that I was right. Would Tate really find someone else to be with? I know that he had Kimber, but that was before? Wasn't it? I guess I had only assumed, it isn't something that we had talked about. Shaking off the thoughts that were now consuming me, thank you McKenna, I refocused on what she was saying.

"...Anyway, we need to go shopping and get our necessities sent out to the school, so they are there when we get there." I hope the first part of what she was saying wasn't important, since I didn't hear it. McKenna said pulling me off my bed and out the door.

"Fine! Let's go shopping. I need to stock the house with food for mom too." I cringed, I really hated shopping.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

What felt like hours later I was finally home! Thoroughly exhausted I sank down into the sofa and let out a huff of air. I HATE shopping, I swear McKenna drug me to fifty different stores, okay well that was a bit of an exaggeration, but it felt like fifty!

Well even for how exhausted I was, I was able to get all the school supplies and necessities that I was going to need for school and at a great price. If I had to shop, I was going to get a bargain, there was no better way to shop after all. I had also managed to get a lot of groceries for mom, mainly dry goods that would not go bad, Mrs. Jones would be able to pick up other things as Mom needed them.

Dragging myself off the sofa, I put the groceries away and then grabbed the boxes to pack my things. I was going to have to mail out to the college tomorrow so they would be there when I flew out next Sunday. As I was strategically organizing the boxes to maximize how much I could fit into the box my phone pinged with a notification. As soon as I saw it was Tate a smile crept across my face and a warming sensation started bubbling through my body.

Since I was leaving soon, and we were going to be apart Tate had planned for us to be together as much as possible.

And just like that my heart was broken and I could feel the heaviness of tears welling in my eyes, followed by the tightness in my throat as I tried to suppress the desire to let them fall. These were supposed to be the last few days that we had together. And what was making it harder is that I

After replying "Ok" since I really had no idea what to say I set my phone down and continued to pack, trying to distract myself from the fact that I would not be seeing Tate for a few days. I guess this would be good practice for the coming school year, we would after all be separated then. Just knowing that my heart was hurting this bad for only losing a couple of days with him, I could only begin to imagine how hard it would be going weeks or possibly months.

Tate

The last several weeks of summer have been the best days of my life. Being with Ally was a feeling like nothing else, there was no comparison to the love that I already had for her. She was truly an amazing person, holding so much love and compassion for the world around her. Ally was truly meant to be a leader, a Luna.

"Our mate is the best!" Knox purred just thinking about her. "Mate is sexy, that black bikini..."

I cut Knox off before he could go any further, "Seriously! Stop with the dirty stuff!"

"Why, she is our mate. I can think what I want."

"Have a little decency, you animal." I scolded him.

"You are right I am an animal." Knox snarked back at me and growled, then cut off our conversation.

Damn wolf! I thought to myself. Always thinking of one thing. Ally is more than just a good time. I shook my head clearing it of Knox's dirty thoughts and just in time to hear my father calling me through mind link.

**Tate, come see me son. I am in my office.**

**On my way.** I replied.

A few minutes later I was walking up to the mahogany door to my father's office. He was expecting me, so I just walked in wondering why he was summoning me.

"Hi Dad, what's up?" I asked casually.

My father is always all business, there is very little room in his personality for small talk, well that is unless you are my mother, "An Alpha meeting was called. Pack a bag we leave tomorrow morning."

"Really?" I huffed. "When will we be back."

"Stop your attitude boy. I will have none of it. As future Alpha this is your duty. You will attend, you are dismissed." See all work and no play as made my father a dull dull Alpha.

Rolling my eyes, I stood and walked toward the door. "When do we get back?"

"Tuesday." He deadpanned. I reached for the door knob and walked out and back to my bedroom.

Walking into my room I slammed the door. I was so annoyed with having to attend the Alpha meeting, I flung myself onto my bed. Usually I wouldn't mind, but I had plans. Plans with my Mate that were more important to me than being Alpha. Maybe I should just give up the Alpha title?

"You will do no such stupid thing!" Knox yelled from the back recesses of my mind. "No mate would want us if you did that."

"Calm down Knox." I raked my hands through my hair blowing out a frustrated breath. "I am not giving up my title, I know there are too many people that are depending on me." And that is the truth. We had about 500 pack members, which was rather large as most packs were about 150-200 wolves. I knew that there were a lot of wolves that were relying on me being a strong and just leader. I knew I needed to grow up. To wolf up, but I was having a hard time with that.

Closing my eyes, my mind drifted to Ally, the one person that made me better. She was going to shape me into the person I needed to be so I could be the best Alpha I could for my pack.

~Flash Back

It was late afternoon and Ally and I had just pulled up to the beach out. We were going to be staying for the weekend. As soon as we got out of the car, she grabbed her shoulder bag and ran up to the front of the house, letting herself in.

"Ahh...This is beautiful." She squealed. "It is so charming, I love how airy and light it is." Continuing to run through the house, she made her way to the living room and to the wall of windows that faced the private beach and deep blue waters of the Pacific Ocean.

Watching her brought a smile to my face, there was nothing more that I loved than seeing Ally happy. "I am glad you like it." I walked up behind her and wrapped my arms around her, kissing her neck and breathing in her scent. Her standing here with me was my happiness.

"OOOOH, I want to go down the beach." She pulled out of my arm, heading down the hallway to the master suite. A few minutes later she came out wearing a simple black bikini with white polka dots, along with a black wrap tied around her waist and black sunglasses on her head. My mouth fell open as my eyes raked over her body, she looked stunning there were no words that could described how beautiful she was.

"Go get ready, Alpha." She said, sticking her finger under my chin and pushing up, effectively closing my mouth. "Your tongue was hanging out and there was a little bit of drool, right there." She said while giggling and pointing to the side of my mouth.

I ran into the bedroom and put my swim trunks on, grabbing a few towels on my way out of the bathroom. Ally was sitting on the back patio waiting for me, beach bag in hand. I reached down and placed the towels into her bag, and then grabbed a couple of the beach chairs that were leaning against the railing. Stepping off the porch I reached for her hand and pulled her with me down to the beach.

We spent the next several hours laying on the beach, running into the waves letting the weight of the world fall off our shoulders. We were just living in the moment, being free, like any typical teenager would. I was not the future Alpha, she wasn't going away to school, we just were.

As the sun was setting on the beach, we were walking along the shoreline just admiring the array of colors in the sky. The blue sky was giving way to the organs and yellows of the setting sun and the waves crashed down with a relaxing melody. The piers in the distance no longer holding the color that they did in the daylight, they were just becoming black lines in the distance. You could hear the squalling of the seabirds as they were coming inland for the night.

Just then Ally let go of my hand and jumped onto my back, "I want a piggy back." She giggled. Stumbling forward a little bit, Ally wrapped her legs around my hips and her arms around my shoulders and placed her chin in the crook of my neck. Instinctively I wrapped my hands around her thighs pulling her in closer to me, securing her so she would not slip off my back.

There was an older couple sitting on a bench hand in hand at the backside of the beach, as we walked by, they smiled at us. "Ah, such a cute couple. Aren't they George?" The grandmotherly lady said, and her husband replied, "Yes, dear they are. Reminds me of when we were young." He reached over and placed a delicate kiss on the side of her face. It was just a cute moment and definitely a relationship goal. One day I wanted that to be Ally and I.

Slipping out of my reverie, I reached for my phone so I could message Ally. I hated to have to tell her that I was leaving for the Alpha meeting, but I didn't have a choice. There was no way I was going to get out of it.

I was hoping for more of a response than "Ok", but I knew that she was hurt by my leaving for the meeting. I could feel twinges of her heartache through the Mate Bond, it was one of the many things that tied you to your mate. It was an invisible connection, a string that held your two souls together. Neither time, distance, or another person could break the bond. You could always choose to be with someone else, reject your mate, but the bond was still there and no matter what you did or who you loved, if it was even possible to love another, would change it. You would never feel for another person the way you felt for your mate.

I quickly packed my suit case for the trip since we were leaving early, and I needed to see Ally before I left. As I packed, I needed to make sure that I was going to have everything that I needed while I was gone. Even though it was only going to be a few days, I was going to need to make sure that I had proper attire for the meetings that we would be attending after all I was representing the pack in an official capacity.