"Oh come on." I chastised, glaring at the door between us.

The door creaked open, and Aiden stood there, rubbing his eyes wearily. I groaned and shook my head in exasperation. "Seriously, does being on time mean nothing to you?"

He squinted through his early morning hazy vision. My eyes were instantly drawn to his Luna Mater tattoo on his ribcage, the intricacy of it, the way the flicked lettering swam into one another. An emblem of perfection, I thought to myself. "Stop staring at my body." Aiden crossed his arms over his chest and pretended to shy away, his voice going ridiculously high.

I tore my eyes away and looked away quickly. "Put a shirt on."

"No."

"Why not?" I exploded. "First, you're late waking up and then you don't even want to get dressed."

"Because I fail to see why we even have to go to that pack meeting. I mean, whose even going to notice if any of us turn up at all."

"I appreciate your cynicism. But time is of the essence." I say dryly, glancing at my imaginary watch. Then, my eyes widened at what he had just said. Pack meeting? "You told me we were going to meet your dad. Not go to a pack meeting!"

"Correction, we are going to meet my dad. At a pack meeting. Alongside like, 100 other people."

I felt myself wither and shrivel and dry up inside. I slumped against the wall, dejected. "You can't seriously be telling me this now. 100 people..." I whispered to myself.

"You'll be fine. I mean, honestly, what's the worst that can happen? You faint, puke up on yourself, trip up?" He waved it off with his hand. Thanks for making me feel better. "All of us will be there: Diego, Beau, Nina. You know, the lot. There's no need to be nervous; we don't bite. Much."

He winked at me and stepped forward so quickly that he was in the corridor with me, my back pressed against the wall, his body pressed against mine. I didn't even care that he had just woken up, he still somehow smelt amazing.

"W-what are you doing?" I managed to breathe shakily.

"Making you shut up for a bit."

"Aiden," I warned, my voice more of a soft sigh as his arms caged me, his sweet lips grazing my ear. My eyes flickered shut at the sensation before he nipped at it gently with his teeth. I gasped, my eyes flying open at how strangely good that felt. He teased me a little more, targeting all of my weak spots - my neck, my hair, my lips - making me sigh in pleasure and shut up for a while.

Then, he suddenly stopped and my eyes flew open. I felt like I was pouting as he grinned down at me - why did he stop? I didn't want him to stop, I thought, annoyed. "Now if you'll excuse me, we have a meeting to get to. Time is of the essence." Aiden mimicked, his sudden mood change startling.

"Screw you, Aiden." I grumbled.

"Ha, in your dreams Evans." The dirtiness of his comment dawned on me a few moments later and as soon as the door shut, I pounded on it, yelling all kinds of colourful insults. I just heard his laugh and the run of water and gave up, resorting to giving the door a death glare instead.

I dragged my feet downstairs, glowering, before I reached the gang. "What's up, little A?" Beau noticed my sulk and grinned as he leaned back into Barbara.

I shot him a look and complained."I didn't know we were going to a pack meeting. I thought we were just going to see Antonio!"

After 5 seconds of silence, raucous laughter erupted, and between fits of laughter, I heard simultaneous chortles of: "You – can't – serious – really – poor – thing." Those were the only words I managed to pick up out of the laughter.

I glared at Nina, indignant after they had sobered. "How did you know about this?"

She glanced at Diego and shrugged. "Diego told me."

"Aiden's a total jerk, granted. But maybe he didn't tell you so you wouldn't freak like you are now." I heard Daniel's voice in my ear. I shut my eyes, pinching the place between my eyes.

"But still," I insisted, "I should have at least known."

He placed a reassuring hand on my shoulder. "You'll be fine." I noticed his eyes darken so I leaned closer so I could whisper:

"Are you okay?"

He glanced at me, bewildered. "Yeah. I'm just wondering where Emma and Carlos are." I frowned at his observation and I joined his eyes in searching for them.

"Where are they?" I muttered under my breath as I swept the crowd with my eyes.

Two arms slid around my waist just then and I turned, my eyes already narrowed. "Oh, so now you decide to show your face, do you?"

"Is that a rhetorical question?" Aiden grinned broadly at me as he settled his chin into the crook of my neck. I couldn't help but feel my anger melt away as soon as he did this and cursed myself for it.

I straightened up, glancing to my side. A faint smile was lingering at Daniel's lips and when he saw me, it slipped away and he looked over my head, nodding at Aiden. "See you guys later."

I turned to Aiden weirdly. "What was that all about?"

He shook his head at me, shaking the question off. "Just Danny boy being his usual self. Anyway, let's go." He announced, slinking his arm down around me. I leaned my head against the warmth of his shoulder and felt his hair, still slightly damp from his shower, tickle my cheek. His lips brushed the tip of my ear as he whispered: "No more waiting for bad news now, Ap. I swear nothing will happen to you now." I swallowed, but said nothing.

As soon as I had told, well, squealed, the news about the hospital letter to Aiden, his expression spoke all the words he didn't need to say. It wasn't relief; it was almost as though he knew what the letter would say. Instead, he gathered me in his arms and kissed me, releasing all of the agony that had built up inside of me. After that, everyone decided a celebration was in order – but I think it was just an excuse for people to meet up and party, really.

"Shall we leave?" He murmured in my ear. I nodded reluctantly, but turned to him quickly.

I waited until the kitchen cleared and our breathing was the only sound left. "You'll tell me what happened with Noah later?"

His jaw tightened and he looked away but I kept staring at him, adamant about him not shrugging this off. "I told you I'd sort it out my way."

"And I want to know what that way was, Aiden. When you came back, I didn't even know if you were hurt."

"Well I'm not hurt am I?" He gestured to himself. "And I promised Noah wouldn't be dead at the end either. I kept those promises. But if you still insist on knowing, I'll tell you after this pack meeting." Then, he bent down and kissed me gently, an unspoken oath, and I smiled back at him.

****

"April. How are you?" Cole's voice travelled over the crowd and I felt myself wince as eyes followed his it. We were at the pack meeting and geez - I don't think I've ever seen so many attractive people in one go. It was safe to say that I felt like a complete outsider.

He strode through the crowd and looked me up and down, pleased. His mate, Nadia, followed suite and she smiled at me. "Nice to see you up and running again with no wires hanging loose."

"Ha. Thanks."

"Have you met the pack yet?"

I looked around at the large mass of teenagers, children and the elderly and shook my head, exasperated. "I'm not sure I can meet everyone."

He scoffed. "Nonsense! Everyone here is like family. You'll fit right in." He said confidently.

Nadia nodded, raising two eyebrows. "It's true. I was from a pack in Bulgaria but we had to move because of conflict – my family were never huge 'pack' people in Bulgaria, but we fit right in over here." Nadia agreed. "You'll adjust, I promise."

I smiled gratefully at her, but wasn't convinced.

"Trust me, Ap, I've been with this pack since I was born and I still don't know or like half of them." Aiden's voice sounded from next to me. I scowled at his dismissive attitude.

"Are you always this rude?"

"You tell me."

I pretended to think for a moment. "Yes." I could see Aiden's eyes lingering upon a cluster of what looked like several young teens smoking in one corner, away from prying eyes.

Then, his expression cleared and his features turned hard. He whistled. The teens turned to him in a union of glances, startled. "Put them out." Aiden nodded towards the cigarettes they were clutching behind their backs as though trying to hide them.

They pretended to be oblivious.

Then, one particularly stupid and brave boy spoke up. "We're not doing anything wrong."

"Do you want your mother to come and whack you over the head with a shoe if she finds you smoking?"

"She'll never know. And I don't think you'll tell her either." The boy replied, his arms crossing over his chest as he gave his friends a smirk. But they all looked too nervous to intervene.

Aiden laughed, "and who the hell are you to decide what I will and will not do."

"Because you're Aiden Knight. Everyone knows what kind of stuff you do, so it's hypocritical to tell us off for doing the same.

Aiden pondered upon this for a moment. "So... are you implying it's okay to follow following in my footsteps?"

The boy nodded, pulling a face. Aiden scoffed. "Bullshit. Why do you want to follow me? Who the hell am I to follow? Some dick that's digging his own grave? You're part of the Silvermoon Pack – start acting like a werewolf, not a follower."

The boy looked lost, his cocky facade falling away. "But what following the Alpha? They're a leader. Aren't you going to be Alpha after your father?"

Aiden leaned down mischievously, whispering: "Fuck the Alpha."

The boy drew back in shock. Even I stared at Aiden in incredulity. "You can't say that!"

"Why not? After all, I am going to be Alpha soon." He laughed, his expression clearing as he noticed the cigarette again. He scowled, remembering his purpose, "If you were going to smoke weed, at least do it away from your elders so you don't get caught." After a few seconds, they realized Aiden had just given them a rather warped piece of advice and they scarpered, leaving behind a heady trail of smoke.

"What the hell?" I hissed after they had left.

He turned to me in oblivion, his eyes wide. He looked so innocent in that moment, I could have been fooled into thinking I had not witnessed what I had just witnessed. "What?"

"You know what. What kind of advice is that to give to kids?"

"They're teenagers, not children. And I only gave them what they needed to hear, not the fake crap people say to protect their children. I helped them if anything." He defended.

I rolled my eyes. "'Fuck the Alpha.' Really?"

His face lit up. "I thought that was a pretty cool, right? You know, atmospheric and all."

"You're going to be Alpha you idiot!"

"Exactly. I'm no leader, so why the hell act like one."

"Yes, but still. You could have kept your cynicism to yourself. Your words will probably haunt that boy's dreams now. And eventually ruin him."

"Don't you mean nightmare?"

"I'm sure you're compatible for both." I sighed."I thought you would allow some leniency for kids at least. Damn, if we ever have kids-" I paused, frozen, realizing what I had just said. Oh my goodness. Please let him not have heard what I just said.

He laughed awkwardly. "Ha, going a bit fast there, Ap, aren't we?"

"Oh my god, I didn't mean that." I said, mortified.

"Well anyway," he tipped his head to one side. "Not too sure I would like you as a mother. You're too much of a control freak. Our kids would be like robots."

My mouth dropped and I poked him in the ribs. "Shut up! I would be so damn nice to them. You know my motto, 'discipline and fun make the world go round.' Well, it'll be like a regime, training them to be good humans to go out into the world. I would be great at it. You on the other hand..." I trailed away, shuddering.

"Hey, they wouldn't be just be boring old 'humans!'" I froze at the prospect. What the hell would they be? Hyber-hybrids? My head hurt just thinking about it. "And anyway, I like kids." I stared at him. "Hey, I do like kids. Ask Diego. Kids love me. " He paused, thinking. "Thinking about it, I don't really like the annoying ones though."

I laughed, "I still think you're annoying and you're nearly 19."

He pulled me back my waist. "Do you have to be mean all the time?" He murmured his lips curving up into a smile, his cheekbones accentuating as he did so.

"We must be a terrible pair. Mean, bitter, sarcastic. It's no wonder people haven't punched us yet."

He shook his head at me, frowning. "You know, sometimes, I really don't understand your way of thinking, but I nod anyway because it's just amusing watching you."

I opened my mouth to protest, but looked around and thought better of it. "Look, let's just argue later. We're earning stares." I broke away.

I took him by the arm and dragged him away from the site, unsure of where I was going. However, Aiden had different ideas in his mind. I ended up being introduced to nearly every member of the pack and by the time we were approaching Antonio, I broke away from the pair, exhausted and slightly out of breath.

"I need the bathroom." I lied, digging my heels into the ground as I nodded at them both.

"Do you know wh-"

I cut Aiden off. "Barbara showed me where it was, thanks."

Then, I walked away, leaving both father and son to face their biggest enemy. If they were stuck together, then surely some progress would be made. And they sure as hell didn't need me there for that.

"Aiden." My father greeted me awkwardly.

Rolling my eyes must have been a natural thing for me to do in front of my father now, so he took it with a huff. "Father." I replied.

"How are you?"

"The same." Geez, does the man not know how to ask anything but that same question. He nodded, muttering good under his breath. I turned away, my eyes searching the crowd for April until I saw her worried expression bobbing among a blur of faces. I breathed a sigh of relief. Antonio's voice broke me out of my thoughts.

"I heard April received the all clear from the doctors recently."

"Yeah. She's recovering and out of the danger zone. Thanks for asking." I responded dryly, adamant that I wasn't going to show this man any more emotion than he ever showed himself.

"Do you always need to sound so – so, formal?" He said, exasperated, his hands falling away from behind his back so he could wave them around as he spoke.

I scowled. "I learnt from the best, didn't I dad?"

"Boys, calm down." Cole's voice came from behind my right shoulder and I stiffened at the sudden appearance of this peace-maker.

"Shut up Cole." Kaden's voice came now as he appeared from behind my father.

"Cole. Kaden." Antonio greeted, his eyes glimmering under his thick brows; he looked old. The lines on his forehead, the peppered hair, the proud stoop of his back – I suddenly didn't recognize the same man that carried me on his shoulders when I was younger.

"Father." Kaden answered back, formal as always. Then, the conversation veered towards April's health and it lingered there awkwardly for a few moments – what else did we have to talk about? For the first time, me and my family were all together – well, forced to be together. I was waiting for April who seemed to be taking a damn long time, whilst my father simply stood here because it was his duty to do so and Cole was chattering on about some crap whilst Kaden smoked in the corner. What a family, right?

"Where's Lisa?" Cole asked, his eyebrows dancing as he glanced about the room – I joined his eyes and scowled as soon as my eyes came into sight of the blonde-haired woman my father so happily moved on with.

"Wipe that scowl off your face, Aiden." My father commanded. Admittedly, I was much taller than him despite his 6'1 stature, but he was still Alpha and therefore radiated a rich, commandeering aura which I would be a fool to ignore. And what a fool I was.

"Why?" I growled.

"Because it's been nearly 7 years." Kaden said quietly and we all fell silent.

"If you just gave her a chance... She can't replace your mother, I know that – that was never my intention. You're mother is still your mother and I still love her – but, she left us too early. What did you want me to do? Leave my boys fatherless and orphans as well? Is that it?"

I remained silent, my jaw clenching. I didn't want to agree – or disagree.

"Dad, no-one's blaming you." Cole hissed, stepping closer into the circle for privacy. Yeah, because stepping closer is really going to stop people from listening in. We're a pack full of werewolves for fucks sake.

"I am." I offered in unhelpfully.

Then, Lisa sauntered into the circle, smiling at each of us, pausing slightly to beam at me unsurely with an extra mouthful of teeth showing as she did so. I looked away. "Hello." Her voice was shy; it annoyed me for some reason. After a few moments of silence, she tucked her stray blonde hair behind her ear and cleared her throat awkwardly. "I-I'm going to get a drink. Excuse me." And she walked away as quickly as she had come. My eyes followed her movement through the crowd, the quick movement of her feet as she dodged past people, her eyes moving down to the crowd fleetingly, the way she kept her arms tucked behind her back. She seemed harmless and yet every time I saw her, I couldn't help but wish my mother was there instead.

"Aiden, I swear it, if you don't start growing up and dropping this grudge against Lisa, I will disown you for your role to become Alpha." My father's gaze had evidently been following my own and I scoffed at his words, not bothering to look up at him but grabbing the nearest drink I could find and gulping it down quickly. The warm sensation of alcohol warmed my blood and I sighed in content, cockiness flooding back into me.

"I never wanted to be Alpha anyway – and if it helps, I don't hate Lisa. I just... have a certain distaste for blondes, 5'6, 38 years old who always seem to wear blue." I replied.

"Stop being a dick."

"Nice." Kaden and Cole's replies came in unison.

"Aiden," my father's voice was strained now. "Your mother is dead." I felt my jaw stiffen and I turned to face him squarely in the eye, daring him on. "I have accepted that but I haven't forgotten it nor will I ever. She was my mate, my first love and I have three children who remind me of her everyday and live on for her. When I look at you, who do you think I see? A smoker who's grown up too fast looking after his younger brothers because I was never there to do so?" He looked at Kaden. "A smart-talking little boy, who, it seems like only yesterday was chasing girls in the playground and probably still does so?" Cole took the statement like a champ and grinned. "Or a boy who's killing himself faster than I am? And who still hates his own father for the death of his mother? How do you think I live with all that?"

Silence.

"You just do." I muttered, quoting the one thing my father always said to us when we were younger.