Things around the pack house are tense to say the least. Going to school on Monday became an argument with Grayson. He, of course, wanted to keep me safe and sheltered in the pack house before the coven members planned to begin their attack. I, of course, wanted to continue on with everyday life and keep up appearances by going to school. 

Getting an education is extremely important to me. In the long-term, I still have plans to be a social worker and work in the field of psychology to help children with tough family situations. This threat doesn't change any of that.

I won the argument of course. I think deep down Grayson knew that in order to trick the coven members and make them believe that we weren't aware of their kidnapping plan, I had to go to school like normal. Knowing that I have goals for my future also probably played into his reluctant agreement- he always wants me to be happy.

Double the amount of guards followed me to class. I really enjoy Psychology class, but the upcoming midterm isn't even a priority of mine. Instead, my mind drifts from Kohlberg's theory of moral development (the irony of the topic is not lost on me) to the chaos of my life. 

After class I make Cooper and the guards come with me to Java. Unfortunately, I had to text Grayson for "permission," but he thankfully "allowed" me to go. I really hate the idea that I have to ask him before doing something, but I do understand where he's coming from. He understands the dangers of the supernatural world more than I do, so until this threat has passed, I'll let him take the lead. 

When Tuesday rolls around, knots form in my stomach for the upcoming plan. T minus two days until the plan is enacted. Basically, when my six o'clock shift rolls around, I won't be going. Elle will wear a brown wig (something she rolled her eyes at because it is totally not her color, apparently) and she'll go in for my shift. Two pack guards will already be inside Java at that time, and Elle will use a spell to trap whoever tries to take me. Then, we can question them for more information and hopefully stop the coven from coming for me. 

I don't want anyone to get hurt unnecessarily, but unfortunately, I think some force will need to be taken to convince the coven that the pack is too strong to attack. I know Grayson will do whatever it takes to protect me. He won't leave anything to chance- it worries me how far he's willing to go to ensure my safety.

It's a boring Tuesday afternoon in the pack house as I scribble answers for my calculus homework in my notebook. We've been learning about limits, and I'm honestly reaching mine from all of these complicated equations. It's not too difficult, but it's tedious work that I'm not in the headspace to complete. 

I'm sitting at the kitchen table with four other students- all in high school. From the table I can see Axel through the window training other werewolves in combat. I wish that I could see Grayson, but I know he's busy visiting other territories today. He took his Gamma Cole and a few of the top pack warriors with him to gather support for our pack, Darkwood pack. 

I found out yesterday that this pack actually had a name. I'm slightly embarrassed for calling myself the Luna of a pack without even knowing what it's called. I guess I should have thought about that, but all of this werewolf mumbo jumbo is new to me. How am I expected to know anything?

After Grayson was reminded of my lack of werewolf and overall pack knowledge, he said that once this threat has passed I'll be enrolled in "Luna classes." A few elders will be assigned to teach me everything I need to know about being the Luna of a pack, including territory disputes, monetary deals, general pack training and traditions, and more. My head felt like it was going to explode just thinking about all of the information I'll have to learn.

I'd do anything for Grayson and this pack, so of course I'll put the time in to learn it all- it's just overwhelming. I still have my college classes to worry about, not to mention my job and my family. 

Hence me reaching my limit. This threat just pushes the walls of my sanity and I'm not sure how much longer I can pretend that I'm dealing with these things in a healthy manner. Grayson must know that I'm low-key freaking out because we can feel each other's emotions. I try to hide behind smiles and nods, but he must know how close I am to exploding.

That's why when Cooper interrupts my homework time to prank Grayson while he's gone, I don't hesitate in agreeing. This is exactly what I need to get my mind off of these crazy times.

"I've been planning this prank for a while, and I need you to pull it off," Cooper smiles and drags my up the stairs and into his room. I plop down on his large and comfortable bed while he shuffles through his drawers and pulls out the "holy binder"- that's what he calls his prank book.

He flips through the pages until he settles on a page near the back. He points to a picture and the scribbled words he wrote beneath it and I can't help but grin. The photo is one taken from the internet, but the idea is amazing. The picture looks to be a bedroom of sorts, but every available space of the walls, ceilings, and floors are of a person's face- most likely the person being pranked.

"How... How would we even do this?" I look to Cooper who just slams the binder closed and puts it back in the bottom of his drawer.

"Easy. I already printed the pictures. One second." He disappears into his large, walk-in closet and comes out with two huge stacks of papers. He passes one to me and I almost drop the stack because of how heavy it is. "I have more, hold on." 

He goes back into the closet to get more, and that's when I finally get my first glimpse of the pictures. I can't help the laughter that comes pouring out of my mouth. Each paper- and there are hundreds of them- has an enlarged picture of Grayson shoving a piece of cake in his mouth. Not just a bite- an entire slice of cake. With only his hands! I have to admit, he still manages to look cute while basically inhaling the chocolate cake, but it would be absolutely embarrassing for him if these were plastered all over his room.

Cooper returns with more photos and a mischievous glint in his eyes. Even though I think this prank would be hilarious, I'm not sure if I can subject my mate to this kind of torture.

"Cooper, I don't know if I can go through with this..." I drop the stack and it makes a thud as it hits the wood floors.

"Don't fucking back out on me now! Listen to the plan, this will be so freaking funny. So, you're the only one with access to Grayson's office. I've wanted to fuck with his office for a while now but it's always locked. We just have to go in there and tape all of these pictures all over the walls and then lock up like we were never there. His reaction will be priceless!"

My smile grows the more he discusses the plan. I feel really bad about the mess we'll be making, but I need this stress-reliever. Badly. Grayson may get really mad, but his reaction will be something I'll never forget. My head is nodding before my brain even has a chance to catch up with the action.

"Yes! Okay so I think we'll need to make two trips up to the third floor. Do you have the keys?"

I shake my head and tell him they're still in my backpack downstairs. After I grab them, I come back up the stairs and walk towards Cooper's room again. I have this bubbling feeling of guilt and excitement building inside of me and I can't help the evil grin on my face... And that's the face Eli and Elle see when they magically appear in front of me.

Okay, well they didn't "magically" appear- they didn't portal in or anything. However, they seemed to just have appeared out of nowhere in the hallway, causing me to bump into Eli's chest. I stumble back, losing my previous smile as I raise my eyebrows in surprise.

"I'm sorry, I didn't see you," I awkwardly chuckle and look down at the ground. My fingers are fiddling with the keys as I avoid eye-contact with Elle. I'm friendly with Eli, but his sister is a whole other story. We got along at the club and the cafe the first few times we met, but after I found out that her friendship was all a ploy to hurt me, I'm not exactly sure where we stand. Eli has made up for it- she hasn't. Her helping me with the threat is a step in the right direction- something I won't forget.

"All good. So... What did you do?" Eli grins at me, his brown eyes peering deep into my soul. I feel like I've been caught red-handed even though I haven't done anything wrong... yet.

"What? I didn't do anything!" I squeak out as word vomit comes pouring out of me. Even I know that I sound extremely guilty.

"Mhhm."

"I don't believe you for one second," Elle adds. "Just tell us what you did and we can help. I'm bored as hell trapped in this house with little guard dogs following us everywhere. I feel like I can't even shit without one of those fuckers asking what kind of sorcery I'm using." 

She nods her head and points with her eyes towards the three guards following them around. Having had some experience with pack guards following me around, I do understand her frustration. However, those were the guidelines for them staying in the pack house. They have to respect Grayson's decision- he just wants to ensure his pack's safety.

"I'm serious. I haven't done anything..."

"Yet," Eli finishes. He rolls his eyes and puts his hand on my shoulder. "You're the worst liar on the planet." 

I go to verbally defend myself, but Eli is immediately pulled back into the large body of a pack guard before I can say anything. Eli is thrown carelessly to the side as two guards step in-between me and the twins. 

"No touching the Luna." The command is simple, and I know they're just following orders, but this kind of behavior is unacceptable. How are the twins supposed to feel comfortable here if they're treated like this every time they interact with me?

"It's fine. He didn't do anything wrong. We were just talking!" I shove the guards out of the way, but they reach for me in an attempt to "protect" me from the "threat."

"Let. Go." The command in my voice is deep-rooted, something I've never released before. The guards drop me immediately and move out of my way as I reach for Eli. Other than the evil glare he's sending towards the wolves, he seems fine. Elle also shares a similar angry demeanor. 

After making sure Eli is okay, I turn to the guards. 

"Look, I understand that your job is to protect me. However, hurting people- people under this pack's protection- is unacceptable. The only time you are allowed to engage is if, and only if, one of them is harming someone or doing something they aren't supposed to. They're allowed to touch me innocently. They're my friends, and I won't stand for you treating them like second-class citizens when they're risking the loss of their coven and more for me- your Luna."

The guards stare at the floor and nod. They act like toddlers who were just scolded by their mothers. It's definitely a strange feeling to have large men acting like this just because I yelled at them. I don't show an outward reaction, but I'm grinning on the inside.

Slow clapping brings me out of my thoughts. I turn towards Cooper who is grinning from ear to ear while shaking his head. 

"It's about fucking time the Luna arrived."

~ 

We finally pin the last embarrassing photo of Grayson to the wall of his office. The room looks hectic and ridiculous with every inch of the walls, floors, and ceilings covered in the awful picture of Gray. Eli and Elle decided to help as well, much to the pack guards disagreement. However, they did slightly smile when they saw what we were doing. Thankfully they agreed not to say anything. They waited outside of the office as we finished off the prank. 

I've never seen Cooper more proud of himself- he was constantly rubbing his palms together like an evil villain who just found out the secret to world domination. It was very amusing.

We used an embarrassing amount of tape, and we had to have a pack guard grab five more rolls of tape so that we had time to finish before Grayson arrived home. Gray told me he would be home around 5:00, and after checking my phone I see that it's 4:42. After I eat dinner with the pack, Grayson will reluctantly drive me home. This has been our routine for a while. 

He's stayed the night a couple times- without my mom finding out- but most of the time he just has guards positioned near my house ready to report to him if anything happens. I think it just makes him feel better since he's not with me. It warms my heart knowing how much Grayson loves me. The depth of my feeling for him... I don't even know how to describe it. He means everything to me. Just thinking of him gives me butterflies- that's just crazy. 

"Uh-oh," Cooper mutters. His eyes widen as he quickly turns around. I turn and see why he's freaking out- Axel is standing outside of the office with his arms crossed. 

He has clearly showered after his training session- his blonde hair looks almost brown because of how damp it is, and he's wearing comfy clothing. He still looks pretty scary, especially with the way he's looking at Cooper.

"I told you not to touch his office. Cooper, what am I going to do with you," he mumbles before walking into the office and hovering over Cooper. He then shifts his attention to me, and my heart beats a little faster in fear. I know Axel would never hurt me, but the look he's giving me looks like the look he gives a victim before he rips their heart out- which I'm pretty sure he's done before.

"Why did you let him bring you into this? There's a reason he wasn't given a key to the office."

"Sorry," I mumble.

"Oh, come on! This is fucking hilarious. You can't say you're not amused," Elle laughs. 

Axel's lip slightly curves up, but he doesn't say anything. 

"The fucker deserves it," Eli smirks. "This plan is stressing him out. He needs to let loose."

Axel begins to defend his Alpha when a low growl resonates through the room. He's home early! Grayson's eyes scan the room quickly, looking around at the mess he used to call his office. The awful picture of him shoving an entire piece of cake into his mouth is repeated hundreds of times. I thought I would see the aftermath of his anger, but watching him discover the prank- I'm beginning to regret my part in it. I still think it's hilarious- don't get me wrong- but now that we were caught red-handed...

"COOPER!" Grayson storms over to him and looks like he's ready to beat him up. Luckily, Axel steps in front of him and places a hand on his chest. 

"Calm down. It's just a prank."

"A prank that's covering my entire office! He's lucky that I don't keep any important papers lying around and everything is encrypted on my computer!" The muscles in Grayson's shoulders and back are tense, tightened with rage. I slowly, ever so slowly, begin to back up. My hope is that Grayson is so wrapped up in screaming at Cooper that he doesn't notice me sneaking away. Then, he'll have calmed down enough to talk to me. I don't even make it two steps before Grayson's booming voice fills the office. 

"Don't take another step." His voice is calm, but his body language is anything but. His dilated eyes stare into mine, and I feel almost hypnotized. The way he's standing- with his shoulders back, towering over most people in the room, his deep voice- it's hot. I know I probably shouldn't be thinking that right now, but it's all I can focus on. 

"This wasn't all my fault!" Cooper complains. He points a finger the direction of me and the twins. "They helped me put all of the pictures up! And Thea gave me the key!"

My jaw drops as I shove Cooper back as hard as I can. Due to his werewolf strength, he barely moves. He gets the point, though.

"Traitor!"

I move to shove him again, but Grayson holds my arms and pulls me so my back is pressed to his chest. This position is totally not helping me stay focused.

"Do you think for one second that I believe that this was Thea's idea? She may have helped, but this is your doing. Therefore, you will clean it all up."

Grayson shoves Cooper so that he's on his knees. Cooper begins slowly ripping the papers off of the floor as he grumbles incoherently. 

"And you." Gray turns around and points at the twins. "You two are going to clean this shit up, too."

Eli and Elle look at each other, communicating in a way only twins can. Then, their faces light up.

"Nah."

"See ya."

They both disappear with a flash of blue. They freaking portaled out and left me and Cooper to fend for ourselves!

Grayson growls and bunches his hands into fists. He turns his attention back to Cooper who is still on the floor. He squints his eyes at him and rubs a hand over his face. 

"You don't get to eat until all of this is cleaned up."

"Axel!" Cooper whines as he looks up at his mate who is only smirking down at him. "Are you gonna let him do this to me?"

"I've always liked you on your knees."

I cover my face with my hands as I groan. Ew. I did not need that visual. Grayson seems to have the same idea because he hauls me over his shoulder and begins walking away from the office.

"Hey!" I squeak as I squirm and kick my legs out. "Put me down!"

A sharp pain spreads through my butt. Did he...? 

"Stop moving. You're in big trouble, Thea."

Uh oh. What did I just do?