I found Molly hoarding food at the buffet. She greeted me with a wide bread-filled smile. She passed me a large plate when I approached and, much like a mother hen, began piling food on top of it. I had to break away from her for fear of her giving me the entire table.

My mind was still hazy about what happened in his office. The proximity, blood, along with the kiss, and to top it off, he was leaving for a month. He's only just started talking to me and now he's going again!

My brain hurts.

My wolf huffed in agreement.

"So, what did Alpha want?" Molly eyed me suspiciously.

I rolled my eyes. "He joined me...to the p-pack."

She paused, and without a second thought; I felt her mind pressing against mine. She cheered a laugh before shoving more macaroni into her mouth.

"How did I not even realise!" She spoke through her food.

I grimaced. "Maybe you were too...distracted."

She gave me a playful glare. "And you? That's twice you've sneaked off today and both times you come back smelling too strongly of Alpha."

My eyes widened. I realised that being in his presence alone with only a pack bond would not make me smell this bad, so for her to pick up was concerning who else could.

"I d-do not."

"You sure do." Another voice quipped in.

I turned to glare at Sean. The only person who knew my secret was surely loving the tease.

"Right!" Molly gaped, rolling her eyes. "You sure you and Alpha haven't got a thing going on?"

I was no doubt blushing, my heart racing in my chest. "N-n-no!"

She eyed me. "Are you lying to me, Sherbet? Alpha doesn't let just anyone join this pack."

I seemed to imitate a fish, my mouth opening and closing, but no words falling from them.

"It's Alpha or my brother, so which is it?" She smirked, her teasing setting me into an anxious frenzy.

"Ah come on now Molly, enough messing with her. She's gone bright red." Sean nudged her. "Besides, Alpha has an announcement. He'll be here any minute."

Molly shrugged and gave me a you-won't-get-away-with-this look. I sank into my seat and buried my hands in my hair. How was I going to get out of this one now?

As if on cue, Phoenix's deep monotone voice ran through the pack mind link. One thing I hated about them was your Alpha could overpower any mental block.

We were all asked to meet out on the front steps and I dragged myself along beside Molly. Sean stood at my back, a place I often found him. When I questioned him about it, he says it was because I'm to be his Luna he feels it's natural to protect my back.

To be his Luna.

Like that was gonna happen.

I didn't realise we had stopped when Sean gave me a gentle push from behind. I glanced up at him in confusion before noticing his attention was ahead. The whole pack seemed to have gathered. Being a weekend, no one was at school or work. Now they were all together, I could see how many wolves there actually were.

Considering females were supposed to be dwindling in numbers, this pack had twenty. But the number of males was astronomical compared. There had to be at least one hundred.

Sean's presence kept the wandering eyes from landing on me too long and I stepped back towards him when a few sneered at me. Obviously, they realised the omega was part of their pack now.

"Welcome Blood Moon," Phoenix spoke, making the crowd go quiet.

He didn't even need to shout he held that much respect and power.

"I've called you here to announce that I am needed in some packs down South. They are having trouble with rogues going on killing and kidnapping sprees." He explained, scanning the crowd. "I will be gone for at least a month, if not more unfortunately as there is disorder amongst ranks after they have taken a few Alphas down."

Gasps ran through the crowd and I dropped my head to stare down at my arms. My nails fought the urge to pick at themselves, so I ran my fingertips along the scarring on my right wrist.

"I am temporarily leaving Beta Charlie in position as Alpha, and Gamma Sean as Beta." He announced, and I glanced up to see Beta Charlie standing beside him with a stern expression.

I felt Sean shift behind me, but he didn't move away, so I glanced up to see him nod to the Alpha. Looking towards Phoenix once again, I found him staring at Sean with a set jaw before his eyes cast down on me. They were harsh as they met mine, and I looked away as I remembered what happened in his office.

A large, warm hand landed on my shoulder and I turned to see Sean staring down at me with a sympathetic smile. I smiled in return but kept my gaze downwards as Phoenix continued.

"I expect you all to continue as normal. Nothing will have changed except you report to your Beta or Gamma if needed. You are all dismissed." He completed.

The crowd murmured and I heard a few mutters about how catastrophic it must be for Phoenix to have to help. It surprised me when many said that they would happily join him to take them down, but then I remembered that this was a warrior pack. Not my old pack.

A few wolves gathered around Phoenix and he said a few words to them before they too departed.

"Come on Nova." Sean's hand met the small of my back as he lead me inside. "Let's go in."

Molly jogged up to stand beside us, her eyes narrowing at Sean's hand on my back. I just rolled my eyes at her internal monologue theories and followed Sean inside. People glanced at us, wondering why Sean was always around me, no doubt.

"So what are we doing now, then?" Molly finally asked.

Sean shrugged. "I dunno, it's half two, so we can do anything now. Training is over."

"That Nova skipped out on." She teased me. "Thought I would finally get to see your wolf. When's the last time you shifted?"

I laughed shyly. "I've only s-sh-shifted twice."

Her eyes bulged out. "What! You're like what, twenty and you've only shifted twice?"

I frowned and glanced down at myself.

"Nova was a non-shifter before she came here."

"And so why did she come here?" A new feminine voice sneered.

I cringed at the sound of her voice. It was the jealous, nasty she-wolf that seemed to always glare at me. She had obviously showered recently as her dark brown hair was straight and damp down her shoulders. Her blue eyes narrowed at me, before giving Sean and Molly expectant glances.

"Jess, it's none of your business." Molly snapped, even though she didn't know why.

Jess huffed and crossed her arms. "Well, I am not the only one curious about her relationship with Alpha Phoenix and Sean in this pack."

"That is Alpha Titan to you." Sean snapped, stepping to half shield me.

Jess snorted and rolled her eyes. "Puh-lease. Alpha and I are very close."

I winced at her words, feeling ashamed of myself that Phoenix must've had relations with this woman. Not that I blamed him. Behind her harsh words, she was beautiful.

"Well, Nova has potential. Alpha recruited her personally." Sean growled, crossing his arms too.

I chewed my lip and saw even Molly look at me in surprise. Jess was dumbfounded. Whether it was me having potential or the Alpha part, she wasn't happy.

"Her? Alpha recruited her?" She almost laughed. "Please, she can barely talk. Alpha only recruits the best. She's just a little whore."

"Then you better watch your mouth." Beta Charlie growled as he suddenly walked in.

The growl had even Sean bowing his head, but I could suppress it and stare on in surprise at his intrusion. He gave me a concerned once over before turning back towards Jess. No doubt I looked like a frightened lamb hiding behind Sean.

"Jessica. You have laundry duty. Leave."

"Y-yes Beta." She bowed.

As she turned to walk away, I saw her glare at me. I swallowed harshly at the sudden silence in the hallway. Even Molly was silent.

I glanced up at Sean to see him and Charlie having a mental conversation.

"Why don't you two girls have a movie afternoon?" Charlie's brown eyes suddenly met mine.

I nodded hesitantly. "Y-yeah. O-okay."

Molly kept her head downcast as we scurried away and towards my bedroom automatically. I paused halfway up the stairs and gave a small glance behind me to see Sean giving me a soft smile as Beta Charlie turned away. I followed his movements to see Phoenix standing at the main door, his jaw set hard and eyes black in anger. How long had he been standing there?

He was staring at where Jess had disappeared. His eyes were harsh as he turned his head, feeling my gaze and staring at me. I could've choked on my tongue. He was that fierce, but I blinked rapidly before continuing my ascent of the stairs.

Glancing behind me one last time before I turned the landing corner and down the hallway, I saw him marching off to his office. If he was a cartoon, there would be steam coming out of his ears.

Once behind my bedroom walls, I closed the door and collapsed on my bed in defeat, Molly joining me after emerging from my bathroom.

"Soo..." she started.

"So..." I agreed.

"Netflix?" She asked.

I gave a small laugh, glad to be away from the tension.

"Okay."

***

A few hours had passed and Molly and I had successfully watched yet another Harry Potter movie. She planned to make me watch all of them, considering I'd been "living under a rock". This one was about a werewolf coincidentally, nowhere near as cute as I expected, though.

When the credits rolled, I felt Molly's tension grow. I knew it was coming; she had questions on her mind.

"W-what you w-want to-t-to know?" I sighed.

She turned to me with a sheepish smile. "You. I wanna know you."

I glanced at the clock. It was approaching four, and I knew Phoenix was not leaving for another few hours. So I had no choice but to answer. No escape this time.

So with a deep breath, I told her everything I could, leaving out the detail of Phoenix being my mate. She knew the basics before from when we played the question game, but I had been vague. So I told her about all the abuse, the omega status, how I got my scars, how they got fixed and how I came to live in my old pack.

She stayed silent, so I told her about spilling champagne on Charlie which she found hilarious, of course. And then the coffee on Phoenix, which was where he found out about my mistreatment. I played it out like my wolf shifted spontaneously because of his Alpha wolf rather than the mate bond.

I hesitantly told her my wolf was black-furred, my wolf telling me she trusted Molly with the information I was told to protect. I explained it was why I couldn't shift around the pack.

When I finished, Molly just blinked at me, not once uttering a word. I relished in the silence, but after a too large pause, it became uncomfortable.

"So... your... wolf is black? Like... Alpha black-black?" She wondered.

"Alpha black."

"So... figuratively... if we find out who your birth parents are... we'd find out why you are that colour?"

I shrugged. "I guess we would."

Her eyes were unfocused as she stared at me in wonder. I shifted uncomfortably.

"Well... I guess I know now why you're always sneaking off with the Alpha, and why your room is below his and on the floor of the high-ranked wolves." She laughed. "Here I thought you were mated to someone of high rank."

I laughed along with her nervously, knowing that indeed I was and she wasn't to know was going to kill me inside. My bond with Phoenix was growing, even though he kept his distance from me. As of late, it was becoming hard to ignore it and he proved it wasn't just me who was struggling if the kiss in his office was anything to go by.

"I'm just glad you're not mated to my brother." She smirked. "I would feel so sorry for you."

I chuckled. "He's not that bad."

"Please, you didn't grow up with him. He's a gross mess."

"Aren't all guys?" I laughed.

She nodded and laughed too, her body sinking back into my pillows. "So, another movie? Or snacks?"

If we had snacks, we'd have no room for dinner... but who cares?

"Snacks!"

We had already dressed in pyjamas, having stripped off the gym clothes the moment we calmed down from the argument downstairs. We looked like dorks, no doubt, as we sneaked our way to the kitchen's pantry.

"We gotta be quiet. Regular wolves aren't supposed to take snacks at this time of day." She whispered.

I frowned. "Oh-okay."

"If the cook sees us, she'll smack me with a spatula." She grimaced as though speaking of experience.

I snorted a laugh but followed her quietly downstairs. We approached the kitchen doors, but Molly gestured for me to follow her further down. We came to the utility and walked in quietly. The pantry was part of the utility, but it was right next door to the kitchen. The only thing separating it was a pair of bi-folding doors.

The pantry was dark, so Molly turned her phone light on and handed me an old vegetable box.

"This will help hold it all."

I nodded and just watched her as she piled packets into the box. I was still naïve as to half the snacks, but Molly was sure to educate me on the importance of good snacking.

"Ooh, can't forget the Doritos." She mumbled.

I nodded, knowing that Doritos were, in fact, delicious thanks to the crisp taster we had a few weeks ago. She and Sean treated me like a Tarzan who hadn't seen the modern world, but it was fun.

"Okay, what dip shall we have? I'm feeling cheese..." she mumbled absentmindedly and put a jar of nacho cheese in the box.

It was almost full now and with one glance at the huge pantry around us, she nodded, satisfied with herself.

"One fridge in the utility holds all the fizzy drinks. You want that or water?" She asked.

"Both?" I shrugged.

She nodded as we quietly left the pantry and crept towards the huge fridge. She grabbed two cans of cola and two bottles of water before we creeped out into the hallway. Once free, we let out a deep breath and she eyed the box I was holding.

"That box makes you look tiny." She mused.

I frowned. "I'm not t-tiny."

Just as she went to retaliate, someone interrupted and we turned to our invader with wide eyes.

"You are tiny." Charlie grinned, crossing his arms as he leaned against the wall.

Molly darted in front of me with a slight bow and tried to cover the box.

"Beta, what are you doing here?"

He pushed himself off the wall and raised his eyebrow. "I was just passing through when I heard some strange giggling coming from this door."

Molly shuffled, my view of Charlie now obstructed as she protected me aka protected the box. Which was getting heavy. I adjusted it in my grip with a grunt, lifting it higher up my chest. How long had I been holding this damn thing?

"We-we were just going to go watch a movie." She laughed nervously.

Her head began to bow again, and I looked up from studying something rainbow-like called Skittles, to see him standing beside us now. I gave him a wide smile. No shame in hiding the box of stolen snacks now.

He smirked back at me, barely glancing at the box of treats, instead focusing his attention on me. I remembered I was only in my pyjamas and blushed in embarrassment.

"Didn't know you were the type for silk, Nova." His eyes finally met mine.

"Th-they're Molly's." I blushed.

He hummed. "And the treats, are they Molly's too?"

I swallowed, nervous about getting my friend in trouble. His wolf was enjoying the tease, the dominant vibes flowing into the hallway. Molly kept her head down, but I could see her watching us from the tilt of her head. His power didn't bother me, much like it didn't at the party. My wolf bristled at the playful challenge, and I cursed at her eagerness to play. She was a wild one and had the urge to torment his wolf.

"No. I want to drown myself in snacks and forget about the day." I spoke effortlessly. "Is that a problem?"

He blinked in surprise, staring at me for a moment. His face turned up in a smirk before he ever so slightly, that I only I noticed, bowed his head to the side, a cheeky look in his eye.

"Not a problem at all..." He grinned.

'Luna.' He added in my mind.

I blushed, losing my boisterous demeanour and bent my head towards the ground. Whenever my wolf's temperament met me on the surface of my mind, I always spoke like that. Confidentially, effortlessly and with no fear.

Damn wolf.

"See you girls later for Alpha's send-off?" He asked, turning now to Molly.

She gaped in surprise, eyes darting between us two. "Y-yes Beta Evans."

He nodded and walked away without a second thought. Molly let out a loud breath and giggled. I turned to her, confused, but she just shook her head and gestured for me to follow her.

"What?" I asked once we were back in my room.

"I thought we were done for." She laughed.

I rolled my eyes and placed the box in the middle of my bed. "Charlie is weird."

"You can't call the Beta by their first name! It's disrespectful!" She gasped.

I frowned. "I-is it?"

She nodded.

I looked at my hands. "B-but he asked me t-too?"

Her mouth gaped open in surprise as she stared at me. She blinked a few seconds, seeming to compose herself before shaking her head with a smile.

"Should've seen that one coming."

I raised an eyebrow at her, but she just grinned and climbed into my bed. I joined her as she searched for the remote.

"Whatever you have, that makes the men melt into a submissive puddle. I want some." She chortled, putting the next Harry Potter movie on.

"What do you mean?"

She rolled her eyes. "The men, the high-ranking ones. They just follow you like puppies. My brother does. Beta Evans does, and I bet Alpha Titan would if you were around him."

"Alpha Phoenix is not a puppy."

She gaped again and flung her arms in the air. "Now you just call the Alpha by his name! Goddess girl, can we swap bodies?"

She reached for me, and I squealed before shielding myself. "No! I don't know what you would d-do with it!"

She laughed and fell into my pillow, opening the Doritos and dip between us. "Just saying, the feminine power you hold is making me envious."

I rolled my eyes but laughed with her, deciding to leave it at that as the opening titles on the television finished.

**********

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