08/11/2017

*When I write on my phone it won't let me italicize, so bolded words are supposed to be italicized.

By the time Kristin had gone back home, it was getting late.

She walked through the front door, the kitchen and living room appeared to be empty.

"And where have you been?" Her father's voice made her jump.

It wasn't unusual for her to be caught off guard by her father and brother since they could be absolutely silent when they wanted to. She was still annoyed when her human senses couldn't hear them approaching her.

.

"I went to visit Allison and Logan," she said, trying to act casual once her beating heart calmed down.

"Where did you go after?" Her father crossed his arms, his aura of power hitting her strongly.

. She had never been able to lie to her father when he was focusing on her like this.

It was impossible to keep her heart rate calm and her nerves normal when she was being questioned.

"Well," she paused, walking around the kitchen to grab an apple, still trying to delay her response. "I might have went to see Ryder."

She looked up at her father and grimaced, knowing he wouldn't like her traveling on her own. He still hadn't given her guards yet. Mostly because he didn't know she was planning on leaving pack territory.

"I know, I can smell him on you," he replied, toning down his Alpha side once he got the truth out of her.

Kristin tried not to blush at his comment. Did she really smell like Ryder? They hardly even--

Oh, the hug.

"Kristin, you know if you go outside of our territory you need guards. It's not safe to be by yourself, especially when you can be used against two Alphas now."

Kristin nodded, knowing that he was saying the truth. If someone got a hold of her, they could practically control two huge packs by using her as a threat to her father and Ryder.

She just really didn't want guards. After feeling how freeing it felt to be independent and most importantly, , she didn't want to go back to having a random pack member with her.

"I'm sorry," she said when her father continued to watch her.

"I know it's a hassle to be guarded, your mother hated it too. But it's worth keeping you safe, now more than ever."

She nodded, trying not to pout.

"We need to talk," her father nodded his head towards his office upstairs, "There is a lot to discuss with Ryder now in charge of Nightfall."

Kristin followed him upstairs and found her mother sitting in a chair near her father's desk.

"Kristin, we were getting worried," she exclaimed when she saw her, "When we realized you weren't in pack territory we thought something horrible had happened!"

"Sorry mom," Kristin cringed, feeling bad that she had caused them to worry. "I went to see Ryder."

"That's where your father thought you were. He almost called Nightfall before you arrived."

"I won't go again without telling you," she promised, looking at her father.

He nodded, sitting down behind his desk and motioning for her to take a seat as well.

"I know this will be hard to talk about for you Kris, but it needs to be done."

Her mother nodded at his words, turning to Kristin.

"Because of what happened, Ryder is now the Alpha of Nightfall," Alpha John said, "That means you are now the Luna of Nightfall, whether it's official or not."

Kristin nervously nodded, fidgeting with her ring.

"Now, I know you haven't told me the entire story with what has happened the last two weeks. All I know is that Rickard tried keeping his title by killing his eldest son and his mate. From what I heard, Ryder was able to stop him before he did anything more destructive."

Kristin didn't want to add how Rickard was planning on taking over her own pack as well, at least not right now.

Instead she continued listening to her father.

"I am not quite sure what has went on with you and Ryder, however I can see that you, in fact, are marked anymore. Therefore, the mark you had before was faked," he gave his daughter a pointed look.

Kristin gulped, completely forgetting about that.

Her father paused so she could give him an explanation, but she struggled on what to say.

"I wasn't ready to be marked, but I knew it was expected," she tried voicing her thoughts, "I'm still not ready."

"That's okay, dear," her mother spoke reassuringly, "You don't have to rush into it."

"I agree," her father nodded, "However since you are now the Luna, it expected that your mate at least marks you."

Kristin sighed, already knowing this. To be honest, she wasn't exactly sure why she was so scared about Ryder marking her. She only knew that that would mean she would officially be his mate, and officially be the Luna of Nightfall. It just felt like everything was happening so fast.

A week ago, she would have never thought she would ever have to deal with the position she was in now.

"Kristin, whether you like it or not, your mate is now an Alpha. That means you are the Luna, and your duty is to help Ryder lead Nightfall Pack. That your pack now."

"Okay," Kristin nodded, already knowing this.

"I think it's best you leave for Nightfall in the next couple of days. You need to be there, it will be your home now. Of course, you can always visit here whenever you want. But Kris, your responsibility is to lead and protect your pack now."

Everything her father was saying was what she already knew, she had just been hesitant to admit it.

His speech actually made her want to see Ryder again. She felt the need to be with her mate, even if she was scared of being in charge of an pack.

"I know you'll make a great Luna, Kristin," her mother gave her a smile and her father nodded in agreement.

Kristin tried smiling back, hoping she wouldn't disappoint them.

That night, she tossed and turned in bed, once again.

Her body was craving Ryder's presence, wanting him near her. She tried to think of the reason why she had never felt this way before, then remembered she had been living in the house as Ryder for the last two weeks.

This was actually the first time she away from Ryder practically since she had met him.

Now, the bond was making her restless, only until she could be with Ryder.

She glanced at the time, seeing that it was only one in the morning, and groaned.

Her chest hurt, as she picked herself off her bed. Her feet silently moved her down the hall, to her father's office.

The door creaked open and she shut her eyes, standing still so she could hear if her parents (specifically her father) would hear her.

It was a good thing Marcus was staying over at one of his friend's houses, because he seemed to have the best hearing, even when he was asleep.

Kristin tip toed over to her father's desk, picking up the file that she knew had information on all of the packs.

She flipped to the Nightfall tab, looking over the changes on the paper. Alpha: Rickard and Gabriel were crossed out and replaced with Ryder Ambroz.

Her eyes widened slightly when she noticed her name was written next to the Luna title.

She glanced down the sheet until she found what she was looking for.

She didn't know why she hadn't thought to get this information before, but she quickly wrote the numbers down on her hand with a spare pen.

Putting the file back exactly where it was before, she quietly made her way out the door and back to her room.

Sighing in relief when no one suspiciously awoke, she squinted through the dark at her hand.

Finding her phone she shown the flashlight on the ink and quickly typed the numbers.

Staring at her screen for minutes after minutes, she finally shook her head and pressed 'call.'

She slowly lifted it to her ear, holding her breath.

One ring.

Two ring.

Three rings.

She almost pulled her phone away from her ear but heard a deep voice answer on the other end.

"Hello?" Ryder's voice sounded slightly confused, and a little tired.

"Hey," was all she said, her body relaxing at the sound of her mate's voice.

"Kristin?" She heard him chuckle, "How on earth did you get my number?"

"My father is an Alpha remember. There's files of information about Nightfall in his office."

"Ah," he replied, shuffling on the other end, "So let me guess, you missed me?"

"Hardly," she rolled her eyes, refusing to admit she did miss him.

"Then you called me at almost two in the morning because...?" She could almost see him smirking.

"I had a talk with my father about everything. He thinks I should start living in Nightfall," Kristin wished she could be having this conversation face to face so she could see his reaction.

"Okay, but do you want to?"

"What?" Kristin asked.

"Do you want to come live here?" Ryder questioned, testing her.

"Why do you think I'm being forced into everything I do?" She shook her head.

"Because you are," Ryder said, sighing. "You didn't want to do the arrangement, but you did because you thought that was what was best for your pack. You didn't want to live with me, but you did. You didn't ask for the Luna title, and now you have it. So, yeah, I'm asking you if you want this."

Kristin felt a tug at her heart for his concern. This was one of the rare times where Ryder actually showed that he cared for her.

"Truthfully I didn't want to do the arrangement. If I knew we were mates maybe that would have changed--"

"It wouldn't have," Ryder interrupted, "You might have convinced yourself that we weren't mates so the bond wasn't as strong, but deep down inside, you knew."

"It doesn't matter if I knew or not, what matters is I know now," Kristin said, frustrated as to why Ryder sounded like he was trying to push her away.

Ryder didn't say anything which made her become more annoyed.

"I never wanted to be a Luna because I never thought I'd actually one, Ryder. It was something I just never thought about. Now, it's my responsibility to do what Luna's have to do, including living in the pack with their mate!"

"I don't care if it's your responsibility as a Luna, I'm asking if you want to."

"If I didn't I wouldn't be going to live with you. I wouldn't be calling you right now!" Kristin said, frustrated.

She knew she should keep her voice down, but she was upset with Ryder's questions.

Once again, Ryder didn't say anything back.

"Ryder, why are you trying to push me away?" Her voice surprisingly almost broke and she felt her eyes fill with tears.

This made her angry because she couldn't control her emotions when it came to Ryder, no matter how hard she tried.

She heard a sigh on the other end.

"I'm not," he said, not sounding convincing.

"Are you sure? It sounds like you don't want me to do this. You're trying to convince me not to."

"Because it's dangerous and stressful and there's no way you would voluntarily want to do this. You've only known me for two and a half weeks. You've only known we were mates for a couple of days. I don't think you know what you want, Kristin."

A pain flew through her chest, and she winced at his words.

"I want to be with you," she whispered, scared her voice would reveal her emotions.

"I want you to be with me too," Ryder's voice softened, "But now I'm an Alpha, and you can't be with me without being forced into this sh*t."

"Ryder why are you saying this? I already told you I want to be Luna!"

"Because your father told you to be?" Ryder's voice sounded bitter. "I know how it feels to be forced into this position, and I'm not going to let that happen to you."

"So what now? We can't be together then?" Kristin raised her voice, her heart pounding in her chest.

"I don't know, Kristin."

She waited for him to say something more, anything more.

"You aren't making any sense," she said quietly, her voice starting to fill with emotion.

She waited a full minute for his reply, almost thinking he had hung up.

But then he finally spoke.

"I have to go," his voice was shielded from any emotion.

He waited another couple of seconds before hanging up on her.

Kristin pulled the phone away and stared at the blurry screen.

Blinking through her tears she turned her phone off and threw it to the ground.

Now she knew why she had convinced herself so much that she didn't want-- or have a mate.

Having a mate meant you were not only affected by your actions, but their actions too.

You always wanted to be with them, making sure they were happy.

And you couldn't stop yourself from feeling the bond even if they were hurting you. You'd always want them, need them.

But apparently Ryder didn't need her.

She was angry that she was this upset over a random person she had met only two and a half weeks ago.

She was even angrier that she didn't want to be mad at Ryder.

His sudden shift in mood had only left her confused, annoyed, and what she didn't want to admit.

Heart broken.

•. •. •. •. •.

Woah guys, I just cranked this out an hour ago.

Chapter Twenty Five done!

Thanks for reading and I apologize that you have to wait until Monday for the next update.

Maybe give this a vote and go back and vote on your favorite chapters and I'll update early?

Thanks for all the support, I appreciate all of you guys!

Chica_2016