KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK!

I rolled over, snuggling deeper into whatever was keeping me warm.

"Alpha Connall! Sir, the meeting is about to start.", a muffled voice said from the other side of the door. Opening my eyes, I was met with the intense gaze of Tiberius, his green and golden swirled eyes looking down at me with different emotions, only one of which I could pick out:

Lust.

"I'll be right there, Gail. Tell them I'll be down in a minute," Tiberius shouted to Gail, his eyes never leaving mine.

"Yes, Alpha." Gail's footsteps receded back down the hallway, leaving Tiberius and I in his bed.

I was on my side facing his chiseled-shirtless- chest, giving me an amazing view of his washboard abs and strong pectorals, our legs tangled together under the covers.

Reaching out to his torso, I softly ran my fingernail up and down the middle of his chest, trailing down to his abdomen. Closing his eyes, he groaned and laid his hand over mine, making me stop and look up at him.

His eyes started to turn a golden color, his wolf halfway coming out. "Babe, I don't know if I could resist mating you if you keep doing that," he said low and huskily. Maybe I should keep doing it then..

Giggling, I blushed and sat up in the bed, Tiberius doing the same. After a minute of just relaxing in the comforting silence, Tiberius looked over at me with a small smile on his face.

"Come here," he said softly, holding his arms out to me. I crawled over to him, letting him grab me by my waist and set me on his lap. Wrapping his hands around my waist, I leaned onto his chest and tucked my head in the crook of his neck, inhaling his earthy and woody scent.

Tiberius sighed. "I wish I could stay here with you on my lap all day, not having to go to meetings and being away from you," his voice vibrated through his chest and tickled my ear.

Smiling at his thoughts, I ran my fingernail along his abs teasingly, pleased when I heard him groan once again, a growl full of desire escaping his perfect lips. "Well then, lets do this again tonight," I whispered. "You're like a big teddy bear that I can cuddle with." I giggled at the end.

Chuckling, Tiberius suddenly sat up, his eyes bright as if he just figured out a marvelous secret. "Elenore, I just thought of something! What if you moved in this room with me? There's plenty of room, and," he grinned, "we can cuddle whenever you want."

'Yes! Say YES!', Nikita yelled at me in my mind. Like me, she had grown quite fond of Tiberius, and wanted everything that I wanted. Unlike other wolves, though, she would never take over my body unless it was a very serious situation, like in the Running.

While Tiberius watched me, eager to hear my answer, I began to think about the bad things.

Are we moving too fast? What if I'm not ready? What if -

'OH MY GODDESS ELLIE JUST SAY YES!', Nikita anxiously howls at me.

Smiling up at Tiberius, I answer "I would love to, Ti."

Grinning happily, he hugged me tight before letting go, gently sliding me off his lap and getting out of the bed. Finding his shirt in the floor, he explained. "I have to go to that meeting since I'm the one who called for it. It's probably going to last about an hour and a half, so here," he said, handing me his Iphone, "you can call your family with this. If I don't see you after the meeting, I'll see you at dinner, okay?" He held my hands and pulled me up, guiding me towards him by wrapping his arms around my waist.

Sighing, I nodded. "Okay."

Smiling lightly, Tiberius kissed my forehead and strode out of his-our-room, closing the door behind him. After deciding what I wanted to do first, I walked out of my new bedroom and headed to the guest room I slept in the past few nights.

Once I was there, I slowly sat on the bed and took a deep breath. It wasn't that I didn't want to call my family; I did! More than anything, I wanted to know how they're doing. The reason I'm hesitant is because I know I'll get emotional, and I don't want Isaac or my mom to hear me that way. I want them to remember me as the strong, stubborn girl they proudly raised. The one who helped sell vegetables with them on Weekdays, and who always won a bet, no matter who my opponent was.

Turning the phone over in my hand, I dialed my mother's cell phone on the screen. She is the only one in our family to have a cell phone, and even then it's only used for important things. Haley grew up with a cell phone, and although I sometimes wanted one also, I never envied her.

Riinngg..Riinngg..Riinngg..Riinn-

"Hello? Annabelle Burns speaking," my mother said. Tears burned behind my eyes, but I forced them back.

"Mommy? It's Elenore," I said, praying my voice didn't crack.

"Elenore? Oh my god, Ellie! How are you my baby? Are you okay? Is-" she stopped talking for a moment when I heard a male voice in the background, saying "Is that Ellie? Oh, let me talk to her!" Usual Isaac. Mom groaned and told him to hold on a minute and let her talk. I smiled to myself, trying not to let the nostalgia ruin my mood.

"Hey honey, I'm back. Isaac is just dying to talk to you," she giggled. "So how have you been baby? Are they treating you well in the Alpha Mansion?"

"Yea, actually. I just met some pack members this morning and they're all really nice to me. But how did you know Alpha Connall took me?"

"Oh sweetie, everyone does! It's not every year an Alpha goes to the running, you know. Plus, I already knew he liked you, so that was a big factor too," she explained. I could see her smirking teasingly at me in my mind, knowing she was smug that she was right about Tiberius liking me. "Is he treating you nice?"

"Yea! He hasn't even raised his voice at me once, mom. He's so sweet.." I trailed off, getting lost remembering the feeling of laying in his arms.

I was brought back by mom squealing like a schoolgirl. Wincing, I backed the phone away from my ear and waited until she was done. "That is so great, honey! I'm so glad you feel that way!" She sounded, overjoyed that Tiberius and I were getting along. "Okay, well Isaac keeps pestering me to let him talk to you, so I'm gonna let you go. I love you honey! Call back soon!" she ended, a rustling sound replacing her voice.

"Ellieee!!" Isaac yelled into the phone, sounding like a child. I laughed, yelling "Isaacc!!" back.

"How've you been my sistah? Is Alpha Connall treating you like a Queen?" he said, sounding like how Haley would.

"I've been good my brotha! How've you been? And yes, Isaac. He's treating me very well." I responded, laughing while I spoke.

"Good! He better be, or else I'd have to march my way up there and kick some Alpha ass!", he said a matter-of- factly. "And we're doin' alright. Business is goin' good in the Stands, but..we really miss you Ells," he said, his voice lowering and losing it's joking tone. I sighed, not knowing what to say next.

"I miss you guys too, Isaac. Believe me, you have no idea how much I want to see you two, to help you in the Stands and eat breakfast with you in the morning. Yea, I am Alpha Connalls' mate now, but I promise I will see you soon, okay?"

This time it was his turn to sigh. "I know. We- we just want you to be happy." Hearing the sadness in his voice broke me, and I knew it was time to get off the phone.

"I know you do, Isaac. And..I am happy, I promise. Would I lie to you?" Hearing him let out a light laugh, he said "Yea, but you never got away with it."

"See? There ya go. You'd know if I was lying right now, and I'm obviously not," Chuckling, he agreed, and said he had to go help mom carry goods to the stands. After a heartfelt goodbye -for now-, I hung up, letting my body flop back onto the bed.

Standing with a groan, I felt both relieved and saddened that I called them. Relieved because I found out they were doing okay and missed me, but sad because they wanted to see me soon. How would I convince Tiberius to let me go visit my family 80 miles away from the Mansion?

Sighing, I tucked the phone in my back pocket and walked out of the door, glancing at the clock before I went. 3:45

Wow, what am I going to do until dinner?

Deciding on looking for Haley, I walked down the staircase and around the house with no luck. Maybe she's in the meeting with Gail?

Walking towards the Meeting Room doors, I heard a powerful, demanding voice yell out words muffled through the thick wooden door. Thanks to my curious nature, I quietly pressed my ear to the crack, listening intently to the rest of what the familiar voice was saying.

"..Mine! And I will kill ANYONE who thinks otherwise! That is a PROMISE!" Bitterness and pure, unfiltered hatred bled from their words, making me grimace in disgust. How could anyone manage to sound like that except-

Realization dawned on me, and I was instantly amazed. How could Tiberius be so sweet to me, so protective and caring, then turn into this in minutes? Backing away from the door, I forgot about Haley and went to the kitchen per. the demands of my grumbling stomach. Pushing aside the door, I walked in and saw 2 women talking amongst themselves, cleaning supplies in hand. They both turned and looked to me, bowing their heads immediately.

"Luna Burns, please forgive us! We are almost finished with cleaning the kitchen, and we took a small break. Please forgiv-"

"It's okay! I'm not here to critique you, ladies. I'm just hungry," I cut one of the women off by explaining, blushing and placing a hand on my stomach. My stomach growled in agreement, as if to help my case. "And please, you don't have to keep bowing to me," I added quietly.

The 2 women looked up, and I looked at their faces. One was an average height woman probably around 20, with dirty blonde hair tied into a ponytail and bright green eyes. She was very pretty, a small button nose on her oval face. The other woman was, to my pleasure, the one I saw on my first day here; the short, plump woman with a short, wavy hair. She seemed around the 45, and had kind brown eyes when she smiled.

"Thank you, Luna. Would you like us to get you something to eat?"

"That would be really nice, thank you," I responded, watching as they whisked around the kitchen, gathering ingredients as they went.

"So, what are your names? If you don't mind me asking," I wondered aloud. They both stopped and looked at me, shocked. "What?" I asked, thinking I said something wrong.

"Forgive us, but..no wolves living here have ever asked us that before, not in any of our years working here" the short woman shook her head. I furrowed my brows at the thought. Serving food to the same people for years, and them not even bothering to ask for my name? Wow..

"Anyway, my name is Alesha Lowry, Luna, and this is Brenda Moulton," Alesha said, motioning towards the green eyed Brenda. She waved and said a small hello, and for the next 2 hours, we all just talked and laughed in the comfort of the empty kitchen.

~~~~

Lifting her right wrist up to look at the watch, Alesha's eyes widened, interrupting Brenda's and I's laughing fit. For the past 2 hours, we all had been chatting away at random things and funny stories, making us clutch our stomachs out of pain from laughing too hard in the end.

"Come on, Brenda, we have to get cooking now!" Alesha rushed, pulling her up by her upper arm. After a few apologies, the 2 women began to get to work cooking, on what I didn't know. Strolling out of the kitchen, I saw other pack members walking out of the meeting rooms, exhausted looks on their faces.

Greeting most of them with small talk, I saw Tiberius walk out of the room last, a hardened look on his face. As I walked closer, though, his face softened, a small smile crossing his face. Walking into his waiting arms, I hugged his waist as he clasped his hands behind my back.

"I missed you, baby," Tiberius mumbled into my hair. My stomach did little flips, everything in that sentence making me want to jump for joy.

"I missed you too, Ti," using the newly made nickname I gave him. He chuckled, a glorious sound in my ears.

"What did you do all day?" he asked me as we made our way upstairs, our fingers intertwined.

"Well I called my family, found out how they're doing, and I talked with Alesha and Brenda for a while."

"Who?" he asked, an adorable confused look on his face. Sighing, I explained that they were 2 of the maids cooking for us, and that we had a fun time talking while he was in the meeting. At first, Tiberius didn't seem happy with me being friends with the 'help', but he quickly got over it when I told him I had no one else to talk to, and I was beginning to get lonely.

Laying on Tiberius' bed with him until 6:50, I went and got ready for dinner, refixing my makeup and tying my hair into a ponytail with a mint green bow.

Dinner was very laid back. I saw Haley across from me and had a light conversation with her, greeting Brenda and Alesha once again. Laughter filled the room, and I also talked with almost everyone else, a smile never leaving my face. Tiberius rested his hand on my knee the entire time, smiling admiringly at me whenever I took a break from talking. I always returned the smile, a blush creeping up on my cheeks every time.

Right then, I felt like nothing could get any better. Like I belonged here. Like this was my new home.