Ronan was certainly the worse for wear after the night's events. His Beta Theo and Cain had each taken one of his arms around their neck and were half carrying, half dragging him towards the bus. The rest of the group were singing songs and throwing their arms around one another as they climbed aboard. Although there were plenty of seats on the bus, Aidan was delighted when Alex dropped into his lap, placing one arm around his shoulders. He wrapped his arms around her protectively, happy to be so close to her again, this time with a great view of her cleavage just below his face. He squeezed her into him and she kissed him lightly on the lips.

The bus erupted into howls and the shouting of many inappropriate comments and general abuse towards the pair. Alex laughed along with Aidan at first, giving back as good as she got. Slowly however, she started to sober, her mind becoming more coherent. There was a tug of war going on in her head. On the one hand, she wanted Aidan to screw her brains out. To just rip her clothes off and touch every part of her, making her come again and again until she begged for mercy. Alex was no prude. She loved sex and made sure to enjoy herself anytime she took someone to bed. But this was different. She was about to become Luna to a brand new pack. A pack that had a bad reputation for their advancement of equal status for women. Here she was, a female who had spent her life advancing her career and carving out a formidable reputation for herself and she was very unclear on whether she would have any sort of similar role or responsibilities in Lunar Ridge.

If she mated fully with Aidan, would she lose her edge? Would she just accept what came her way and be steamrolled in a new pack? Was that even something that could happen? She had seen things change when people met their mates. Suddenly she was very torn and things seemed much more serious than they had just a few minutes before.

Aidan sensed something had changed within his mate. Alex was a little more stiff and silent than she had been moments before. He gave her a little squeeze again, took her hand in his and kissed it gently. She relaxed slightly in his arms but continued staring out the window opposite them, something very clearly on her mind.

'Do you want me to go back to the pack house tonight?' Aidan whispered into Alex's ear. He said the words but hoped she would give him a resounding 'No' as an answer. He wanted nothing more than to stay with her.

Alex turned to look into his face, stroking his cheek with her soft fingers, taking her time to answer. She looked a little sad, her eyebrows furrowed slightly and biting her lip in the most adorable way. The bus stopped suddenly.

'Alex, this is your stop', the driver called from the front of the bus.

Alex inhaled sharply. She stood up, making a fuss of smoothing her dress, buying herself a moment to make her decision. She turned and put her hand out to Aidan. Aidan would not have been surprised if his head had exploded with the giant smile that erupted on his face at that point. The noise of the bus was deafening. The sounds of twenty five loud, drunk men followed Alex and Aidan as they exited the bus. Aidan was glad when the bus rumbled away and they were alone again.

Alex was quiet now, fumbling in her purse for the key of her front door. 'Was she nervous?', Aidan wondered. This endeared her even more to him. He put a hand on her waist and reached forward for Alex's hand, steadying her as she put the key into the door. Before she stepped inside, Aidan wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling him back into her.

'I'm happy to just lie beside you tonight', he spoke gently into her ear. 'I've barely slept since the day I met you so I'd be too tired to give you a good time anyway'.

The last part was a stretch. If she had given him any indication that she was looking to partake in some horizontal jogging, he would have ripped his clothes off right there and then and taken her in the doorway. Alex nodded slightly and he felt her relax into him so knew this was the right thing to do. They would have plenty of time to be naked together in the future, he reasoned.

'Would you like something to eat or drink', Alex asked, turning on the lights and opening the fridge. She slipped her shoes off as she made her way around the kitchen, fixing sandwiches and taking a long draw of water from one of the glasses she had filled. Aidan ate and drank anything she passed him.

'So what's the plan for the warriors tomorrow', Aidan asked, figuring this topic would revitalise Alex. He was right.

'Well', she started brightly, turning towards him on her bar stool and chewing a huge bite of sandwich before continuing, her eyes lighting up at the thought of what was ahead. 'Now you won't pre-warn them Alpha, will you?' she pretended to be serious but laughed before he answered.

'They'll be using everything they've learned this week; how to track a rogue, how to plan as a team to attack; we'll throw some curveballs their way so they have to re-strategise mid fight; they'll have to fight as humans and wolves.. Oh it's going to be amazing!' She finished with an excited wiggle of her her upper body.

'And who is going to be the rogue tomorrow?' Aidan asked, loving her enthusiasm.

'I've actually incorporated some of the bachelor party into the training', she laughed. 'So the group will be attacked by a couple of Alphas, Betas and Gammas as well as a few other career warriors, all of whom I have trained so you know they'll be ruthless.'

'You're more than welcome to be part of the attack gang if you're interested Alpha?' she added with a wink. 'I did notice that Ronan and Robbie in particular were a bit worse for wear this evening so we might have a few no-shows'.

'Count me in', he answered. He would be interested to see first hand how his warriors would fare after their week at Black Mountain. He was also keen to see how Kit approached the brief tomorrow and if he was still as reluctant as he had been all week to give the new methods any consideration. Aidan was becoming more unsure of Kit maintaining his position as Gamma if he continued to hold the warriors back but he had been so loyal to Aidan when things had turned bad over the years that it was difficult to think about demoting him now. Another conversation for another day, he thought.

They cleared up the kitchen before Alex led Aidan upstairs, showing him to the guest bathroom. He washed up, gave his teeth a good brush and steeled himself not to get an erection the second he climbed into bed with his mate.

This task was made even more difficult when he saw her in her pyjamas; a light pink cami top and matching pink shorts. Her skin was glowing after washing all the make up from her face and, he gulped, he could see the outline of her nipples, slightly hardened beneath the tight top. She was busying herself, pulling back the covers on the enormous bed that faced the window wall of the bedroom which faced out onto the forest. Aidan covered his face in his hands, exclaiming 'fuck' under his breath.

'Is there any need to look that hot when I'm trying to control myself over here', he said, peeking at her now through his fingers.

This made her laugh as she climbed into the huge bed and pulled the covers up to her chin.

'Now you can't see anything', she giggled. 'And you're one to talk', she retorted, 'you're practically naked'. Aidan had stripped down to his boxers, showcasing his glorious torso, muscular arms and legs. He did an overly dramatic flex of his arms and turned around, sticking his ass out and giving it a shake. Alex giggled again. Aidan was never this silly with anyone but he found he wanted to do anything that would get a giggle or laugh from Alex.

He jumped into bed beside her, pulling her towards him and planting a kiss on her forehead and lips.

'Now go asleep Luna', Aidan said, wrapping his arms tightly around his mate, more comfortable and at peace than he had been all week.