They're here.

"Head Alpha, Luna, welcome to our humble home. I hope everything is to your liking and that you enjoy your time here," my dad says as we all slightly bow to our guest at the front door. I've never seen the Head Alpha and Luna up close before, but I can definitely see who Gray gets most of his features from. They're both pretty tall, but the Head Alpha practically towers over everyone here. He also has the same blue eyes with a gold ring as Gray (the gold ring around the pupil being a trait passed down to all Head Alphas).

But Gray's skin tone and hair are a mix between the Luna's caramel complexion and brunette hair, and the Head Alpha's olive tone and blonde hair. Dammit, why did Gray get such good genes? Why couldn't he just be ugly? Not that I'm saying that he's attractive, no, not at all. I just wish that his strong scent of pine wasn't making him seem that way right now. Gray looks towards me, catching me starring, and I quickly look away. I can practically feel him doing his stupid smirk towards me.

"Please, rise. If all goes well then, we will just be family to you, not pack members with rank," the Head Alpha says. My dad practically springs back up and shakes his hand, leading them to the dining room. I really wish that I could roll my eyes, but I don't want to be rude (or caught). Dad sits down with Gray's family while mom and I go to the kitchen to make sure dinner is all prepared. At least this keeps me away from Gray for a while longer. We're about to start plating when we hear someone enter the kitchen. To my surprise it's Conner. "U-Um, sorry to interrupt. I just wanted to see if you guys n-needed any help with anything," he says fidgeting with his hands.

"Oh, we're about to start plating the food, but your welcomed to stay and hang out with us until we need help getting the plates to the table honey," mom says with a soft smile. "I know hanging out with the boring alphas can be overwhelming at times." Leave it to mom to be a great ice breaker. Conner relaxes a bit, giving a small smile as he sits on a stool by the kitchen island. Connor has the same blonde hair and olive skin tone as his father but he does stick out a bit from his family. Since his eyes are dark grey and he has freckles scattered across his cheeks and nose. Not to mention he's barely taller than my mom; and she's 4'11.

We continue with our task and mom keeps the conversation going. "So honey, tell us a bit about yourself, what do you like to do?" she asks.

"Oh, um, I-I'm into photography, but I'm not that good," he says looking down at the counter.

"So, you're a creative soul! I'm sure your photos must be lovely. Eli here is really into drawing and painting," she says, nudging me with her hip.

"Thanks for broadcasting my life mom," I say.

"Oh hush, I'm your mother. I'm supposed to brag about how talented you are. So, Conner, what do you like to photograph?"

"Um, mostly nature stuff, like trees and flowers. But I'm starting a new Still Life portfolio right now," he says.

"Branching out is always exciting, it can teach you new techniques and open yourself to things you might find even more interesting. If you're okay with it I would love to see your portfolio when you're done," mom says.

"O-Okay," he says, with a small smile. Despite how formal his parents are and the fact that he's related to Gray, Connor seems like a good kid. A bit shy, but has a good heart overall.

"Well, I think we're done! If you still don't mind could you help us carry these out to the others?"

"Yes, Mrs. Matthews," Conner says, grabbing some plates.

"Oh, call me Sofia. Mrs. Matthews makes me feel too old."

"Oh sorry, Mrs. Sofia," he says, leaving the room.

"He's so precious! Maybe you could be nice like him," mom says, loading up her arms with plates.

"Hey I'm nice!" I say grabbing the remaining plates.

"Only when you want to be."

"True, but still ouch."

We enter into the dining room and distribute the plates of food. I have to use all of my self-restraint to not growl as I place Gray's plate in front of him with a thunk.

"Thank you, dear~," Gray whispers in my ear, with a smirk.

"Go fuck yourself, dear~," I whisper right back.

We all settle down (sadly I'm sitting right across from Gray) and dig in, chatting here and there between bites. Dad is practically singing the Head Alpha and Luna's praises as he talks to them about official pack stuff and improvements that need to be made to the pack house. Mom chimes in here and there, but also tries to chat with Gray and Connor about school and hobbies. I don't know why adults ask us about school. Nothing interesting happens there, unless some alphas get into a fight or some poor omega has their heat during class.

"So, when should we start planning the mating ceremony," dad asks. I almost spit out my water and Gray nearly chokes on his food. Mom slaps dad on the arm glaring at him. "What?" he asks looking at mom.

"We had already told Grayson to wait on any further actions, till Elijah turns eighteen," the Head Alpha explains.

"Of course, due to past events, it does seem like the boys don't get along. So, we did offer the option for them to search for other partners they deem more suitable," the Luna adds in. Weird of her to bring that up, but at least I didn't have to say it to mom, who doesn't look pleased by the news.

"I know that the boys don't get along at times, but being with someone else while they still have a bond is a bit scandalous don't you think?" mom asks.

"Well Gray is to fully become Head Alpha soon, so he needs to find a suitable Luna."

"And you don't think that Eli, his soulmate, is the right choice?"

"I never said such things. I only wish that Grayson has a strong, capable mate by his side soon."

"Which is exactly what, Eli is. They just need some time to get to know each other," mom says narrowing her eyes.

"Yes, well, we can't wait forever on a maybe, and the pack needs a Luna that's ready and able to defend it."

"Oh, I get it now, you don't think that an omega can be a strong enough Luna."

"I never said-"

"Well, I seem to recall there being a good number of omegas taking on the role of Luna in the past and doing just fine."

"Yes, back when the pack was smaller. But things are different now, and we need to prioritize protection and leadership. Not population growth."

Excuse me?

"Coney," the Head Alpha says in a warning tone. The Luna just shrugs taking a sip of her wine.

"Sofia-," dad starts.

"Ryan. Don't." mom says snapping at dad. "Luna, I don't care what your thoughts on omegas are, but you will not look down on my son. I am fully confident that he will be a great mate AND Luna."

"We'll see," the Luna says looking at me for the first time since this conversation started, with a bored expression. No, not looking at me, more like through me. As if I didn't even matter enough to even exist within her world. Like I was nothing. The thought honestly makes me feel cold and a bit hurt. Am I really that worthless in their eyes?

"How-" mom starts but I interrupt her by abruptly standing up.

"I think I'm done eating, may I be excused," I ask, looking towards the Head Alpha.

"Yes, you're excused," he says, but I'm already heading out of the dining room before he finishes. Once I'm in my room and close the door behind me, I head straight for my nest to calm down. I sit down and wrap myself in my favorite blanket.

This is all too much.

And unnecessary

I'm not planning on being Gray's mate so why argue if I'll be a good mate, let alone a good Luna?

I... don't know.

I hear a knock on my bedroom door and reluctantly get up to answer it. My hope that it's my mom is shattered as I see Gray there, who slips past me once I open the door.

"Sure, barge in, why not," I grumble as I shut the door again.

"What the hell was all that about?" he says leaning against my desk. I guess that's his favorite spot now or something. Glad I don't actually use it.

"Oh, you know exactly what was going on down there. Or do you have your head so far up your ass that you don't hear what other people say around you," I say, glaring at him.

"The only thing I saw, was you storming out of the room like a child."

"I was fed up with what was happening at that table. So I left."

He sighs. "Or maybe you were just over reacting, like always, about nothing."

Excuse, me? Was he even sitting at the same table that I was? "Nothing? Gray, the Luna was literally calling me a worthless piece of shit, that can't do anything but suck dick and give birth!"

"Come on Eli, she never said anything like that."

"Bullshit."

"If anything, your mother was the one doing the accusing," he says, crossing his arms and giving me an irritated look. Excuse me?! Not caring if I would make a lot of noise, I stomp up close to him looking him dead in the eye and growl.

"You keep my mom out of this," I say, barely containing my anger.

To anyone looking from the outside it would look like I'm challenging him, an alpha, which is never a good thing to do as omega. Let alone to the future Head Alpha. But I can't be bothered to care about that right now when he's talking bad about my mom, who didn't do anything wrong unlike his. He looked a bit surprised by my actions but quickly settled back into a more annoyed glare, growling back.

"Then keep mine out of it as well," he snarls.

I know that he's right. If I don't want him talking about my mom then I shouldn't be talking about his. But you don't see my mom degrading Gray for being an anger driven, horny alpha. We end up in a stand still glaring contest, daring the other to try something. I haven't fought Gray seriously since middle school, but if push comes to shove then I'll definitely put up one hell of a fight.

However, it doesn't get to that point as we both flinch from a sudden soft knock on my door. I back away from Gray as the door opens, with a nervous looking Conner peering from behind it. His face slowly starts to relax as he sees that we haven't killed each other. He probably sensed the hostile pheromones coming from here and thought the worst had happened. "H-hey, um, father sent me up here to check on you guys, and make sure that you w-weren't tearing each other apart.

Gray sighs, shaking off his anger. "Yeah, everything's good bro. We'll be down in a little bit." Conner nods, shutting the door behind him as he quickly leaves. Gray rolls his shoulders before narrowing his eyes at me with a worn-out expression. Had our argument really taken that much out of him?

"Look, let's just get through the rest of this dinner so I can leave and we can go back to our original plan of ignoring each other," he says.

I can't help but snort, rolling my eyes as I sit on the end of my bed. "Shouldn't you have found somebody by now? I'm sure there are tons of girls dying to be mated to the Grayson Farrell."

He lets out a bitter laugh, shaking his head. "Believe it or not, it's actually a bit challenging to find someone to spend the rest of your life with, who can also be a great Luna."

"What about that one bitch you used to date, Kristy?"

"Hard pass," he says, looking like he just bit into the world most sour lemon. I can't help but chuckle at how weird his face looks,

"Was she that bad? I thought she worshiped you like a king, the way she talks about you."

"More like she expects it the other way around," he grumbles, pursing his lips.

"Really? The way she was talking, I thought she was gonna try to blow you in the middle of the cafeteria to prove her point."

He shivers. "Never again. Not since the last time, when she nearly bit my dick off."

Okay, now I just burst out laughing, not even hiding the outburst as I try to cover my mouth with my hand. Never thought that I'd ever know about that bit of information.

"Hey, don't laugh at my struggles! It really hurt at the time," he says with a pained chuckle. Oh? Is that a genuine smile from the Grayson Farrell? Never thought I'd see that either.

"How does that even happen?" I ask.

"She choked trying to take it too fast, and I guess her reflex was to start biting," he says, with another traumatized shudder.

Excuse me?

Spark!

Go to horny jail, you pervert!

I give an awkward cough as I start to feel a blush blossom on my face. "O-oh."

"What's with that face?"

"It's nothing." I turn my attention to the space behind him. Wow that's a really interesting wall I have.

I can see Gray's confused face through my peripheral vision, which slowly morphs into realization and then his signature smirk. Damn it.

"Whatever you're thinking, that's not what it is," I say, trying to glare at him.

Gray gets up from the desk, and slowly saunters towards me with his hands in his pockets. "I didn't say anything, you're the one that's starting to look red like a tomato."

"From being mad at you."

Once he's in front me he leans in close, with a smirk. "Oh really?" he says. To close, way to close! Fuck this guy for having the nerve to smile at my expense, raising an eyebrow as if he doesn't know what he's doing. I struggle to keep an annoyed expression as his calming scent of pine and the outdoors lulls me closure to him. But I refuse to back down and apparently, neither does he even though our faces are inches apart.

"Fuck you."

"No thanks, I prefer someone whose more-" he leans close to my right ear, "-submissive."

The feeling of his steamy breath on my ear and neck makes my body shiver. I suck in a breath and bite my lip to keep myself from making any sounds that I'll definitely regret later. I'm sure that I'm blushing like crazy now, but my attention is back on Gray as he moves back in front of me, drawing me in with his deep blue eyes. Time starts to slow down as we get lost in each other's eyes, Gray no longer smirking but looking at me with a bit of confusion and... longing? He licks his lips and slowly starts to close the gap between us. Is he going to kiss me? Do I want him to kiss me? Goddess, what is wrong with me?! I would never let Gray kiss me. Right?

*Knock, knock* We both jump from the sudden banging on the door. Gray quickly backs away from me, right before my dad comes barging in.

"Gray your folks are ready to leave, so start heading downstairs please boys. Eli, I hope you were nice to our guest here," dad says.

Shut Up!

I give him a brief nod and dad leaves, satisfied by that answer. The awkward silence in the room now is so tense you could cut it with a knife. I start fiddling with the end of my dress shirt, to embarrassed to look at Gray. That was waaaay to close. I nearly lost my first kiss, to Grayson of all people. I should have punched him in the face or pushed him away, but for some reason I was just letting it happen. Definitely need to stay far away from him if the soulbond can be this strong.

Gray coughs, drawing my attention to him. "We, uh, should get going," he says.

"Uh, right. Yeah." I get up from my bed, feels like I was sitting there forever, and make my way to the door

"Hey."

I turn back towards Gray, who rubs the back of his neck before giving me a half-hearted smirk. "Try to not be an annoying brat again, okay Matthews."

I give him a slight chuckle. "Right back at ya, Farrell."

We head downstairs to see our families by the front door. Dad and the Head Alpha are still talking, hopefully not setting up another "family dinner". Mom still seems slightly upset but is silent, while the Luna looks unbothered and bored. Poor Conner looks like a nervous wreck, standing near his parents. Once we join our respective families, they say their goodbyes while heading out. And, of fucking course, Gray looks back at me giving a quick wink before sauntering out the door. Asshole. Dad closes the door behind them, and turns back to mom and I with a smile.

"I think that went well," he says, looking way to prideful. As if this dumpster fire of a dinner that he planned went without a hitch. Mom just crosses her arms and power walks to their room downstairs. I give dad a shrug and head upstairs, leaving him to console mom. Though he'll probably be on the couch tonight since he's not good at that.

I'm finally able to relax in my nest and think over what happened tonight. It doesn't help that I can sense how happy Spark is, bouncing in the back of my mind. After an hour of pondering and trying to sort out my feelings on everything I give up, and go to bed. All I know for certain is that I don't like Gray and he doesn't like me. What happened tonight was because of the soulbond, and that's that. But can't shake off the small feeling of doubt as I drift off to sleep.