"So where are you taking me?"

Patrick leads me through the kitchen where several pack members are sitting around talking and eating lunch. They all nod and smile at Patrick, and surprisingly, some of them even smile at me. I smile back, happy at the thought that they could finally be warming up to me.

We pass by Lexie as we head for the back door and she's still wearing the same sour expression on her face from this morning. That's one pack member I don't think will ever warm up to me, but I can't say that I blame her. She thought she bagged an alpha and I effectively ruined any chance she had.

"Are you going to explain to me what happened back there?"

Patrick looked down at me with mock seriousness, but I could see the laughter behind his eyes. We start to walk through a part of the forest I hadn't been in yet and I grow more curious by the second.

"Where are you taking me?" I repeat.

"You didn't answer my question! Don't avoid the subject," he scoffs.

"I don't recall you answering mine and I asked you first."

"Fine, fine, we're going to the lake. Most of the pack will be busy for the rest of the day so we'll have it to ourselves, and I figured you needed a break from all the chaos."

I'm a little shocked, but grateful. Despite his constant need to nag me and poke fun at me, Patrick has been looking out for me since I got here and I realize he may even be my friend.

"Thank you," I nod my appreciation to him.

When we finally reach the lake, at the very edge of the pack's property, I'm taken aback by the view. The back end of the lake is surrounded by mountains, creating a natural border for pack property, and trees in varying shades of green and orange line the water, reflecting brilliantly off it's luminous surface.

"You like?" Patrick asks quietly, taking note of my awed expression.

"It's beautiful," I whisper. "I can't believe this is your home. Much better than the wired fences and concrete walls of the base."

Too cold for a swim, I content myself with dipping my toes in instead and focus on the tiny ripples that break the water's surface. It's so relaxing, so serene that I allow myself one peaceful moment to imagine what it would be like to live here, to be able to come out here every day and take in this view as it changes over the seasons. I could retire as a Warrior and be luna to the Moonstone pack. I could be Killian's mate and give myself to him the way he so desperately wants me to.

My entire life I've been used to fight, and until now, I've been okay with it. I've allowed myself to be molded into a weapon, to be used at the council's behest, but now, I'm not even sure I can follow through with their demands. Can I betray Killian and report back to General Sage and the council when Killian's put all of his faith in me in such short time?

"You're thinking about doing the nasty with Killian, aren't you? Gross," Patrick's laughter pierces the comfortable silence, but I laugh, too, playfully pushing him onto his side.

"You're the one that can't seem to stop thinking about it," I grin.

He grips his shoulder in mock pain from where I pushed him and I roll my eyes at him.

"Seriously though, what's going on with you two? I thought you both hated each other since you got here. You're both too dominant and controlling, but what Marcus and I walked in on was... hot. No wonder Lexie's been in a foul mood all week," he wags his eyebrows at me.

I groan into my hands, embarrassed. I know Killian said he hasn't told anyone, but I'm still surprised he hasn't at least told his beta that he found his mate. I guess he really was respecting my wishes to keep it quiet.

I find myself warming up to Killian even more knowing that he's looking out for me, even though keeping the secret must be eating him up inside.

"Killian and I might be, umm, well, you know...mates, or whatever," I tell him quietly, almost hoping he doesn't hear me.

He jumps up from where he's sitting and starts dancing in a circle, all while clapping and singing "I knew it! I knew it! I knew it!"

I groans again and tug at the bottom of his shirt, trying to get him to sit back down. He finally obliges and sits next to me once again. When he faces me, he's beaming, the biggest smile I've ever seen stretched across his face.

"You're going to be the best luna ever!" He gushes.

"Patrick, I'm not going to be your luna," I reply softly, trying to break the news to him gently.

"Bullshit," he shakes his head. "You're going to be our luna and Killian's going to finally have the mate he deserves and we're all going to be one big happy fucking family."

I laugh at his cheerful optimism, despite the way my heart aches at the happy ending he's painting. If only it was that easy.

"It's not that easy," I say, echoing my thoughts. "your pack is on the brink of one of the biggest wars in history. Your alpha won't even tell me why and I'm assuming he's keeping the rest of you in the dark, too. I'm here to figure out why, and once I do, I'll have orders to go back to base."

Patrick's eyes are focused over the mountain tops as he listens, but I can tell he's not happy about what I have to say.

"Besides, he was getting ready to mate Lexie," I pretend to gag, hoping to put a smile back on his face.

He turns his gaze back to me, his mouth dropped in amused horror.

"No fucking way. Lexie?" He pretends to gag, too, and I giggle in response.

"I knew they had a fling, but I didn't know it was that serious. Don't get me wrong, she's nice enough when you get to know her, but god, he must have been desperate," he says, shock still evident in his voice.

"You see? We could never work out. He couldn't even hold off to find his true mate," I scowl.

My heart drops a little at the thought and my chest tightens just imagining Lexie at Killian's side as his luna. Even if I don't believe we could make it work, I don't want him to be with anyone else, especially someone like Lexie, as selfish as it may seem.

Patrick opens and closes his mouth a few times, struggling with the right words to say.

Finally, he says, "put yourself in Killian's shoes. He looked for you for years. It drove him crazy, and he damn near drove us crazy in the process. Then he declares war. Of course as his pack, we support him, but if he wanted support from other alphas, he needed to look strong. Being mated would just have been a power move for him, to show the others he was stable and strong enough to lead. He wanted to wait for you."

I nod slowly, unsure of how to answer. He's right, of course, having a luna would make him look stronger to the others and they'd be far more confident in him.

"Doesn't make it hurt any less," I confide in him.

"I know. Trust me, I get it, but please, just give him a chance. Whatever obstacles come with this war and your Warrior duties, please just promise me you'll at least try," he implores, giving me his best puppy dog eyes.

"I will," I smile back at him.