I hop off the bed, waking up to an unusual and unfamiliar liveliness.

The one thing that hasn't changed, though, was that I still woke up "late" according to Felix.

You know those days when you suddenly wake up feeling bright and giddy? Those days when you finally have the energy and motivation to do work?

Yeah, that was me today.

I felt surprisingly passionate and fresh and I was more than willing to train.

I walk—more like prance—towards the mirror, throwing a peace sign and winking to myself.

Craning my neck, I run a finger over Theo's mark: a moon outlined in blank ink with its center blank. A silhouette of a wolf's head filled the empty space inside the full moon.

An Alpha's mark automatically makes you a true Luna and could only be imprinted on their soulmates, preventing most Alpha's from marking another person other than their mate. Otherwise, the connection between the Luna and the pack is weaker.

I couldn't be any happier to say that I didn't have to go through some old traditions like other Lunas from other packs do. I was no way in hell gonna drink everyone's blood and risk getting some disease or have some sacrificial offering.

I grin when I acknowledge the new spirit resting inside me. My heart was thrumming with zest and my mind was swirling with vigor. The Luna's position gave me the intention to care and to protect my pack.

Too bad for them I have a different way of doing so.

Somewhere deep in my mind, I could make out a very exhilarated Emilio prodding the mind link in and attempt to communicate.

I block him out.

I grab a random black shirt out of a thousand from Theo's closet. I walk to the pile of new clothes Celestina had given me. It wouldn't last me for more than a week's worth of clothes, but it would suffice for now.

Changing into it and grey sweatpants, I contemplate putting on a hoodie, then decided it was too hot.

"You coming to training or do I have to kindly drag you again like I always do?" Felix sweetly informs me through the mind link.

"Actually, now that you mention it, I'm suddenly too tired," I mention. Slipping on running shoes I stole from Talia, I leave the room and close the door behind me.

"Since when are you not?" Giovanni adds, breaking through the link.

I roll my eyes and block both of them out.

After going down millions of staircases, I finally reach ground level and find my way out to the training grounds.

I saunter to Celestina, who was busy studying the women dying from lack of breath as they completed their trillionth lap, I assume.

I slow my movements in an attempt to sneak up on Celestina. The idea died faster than it was sparked in my mind.

"Whatever you're thinking, don't even think about it," she drones with her back still turned to me. "It's not gonna work."

"I think it did work, actually," I tell her as I march towards her so that I stood next to her.

"I must've been asleep because I don't remember you doing anything worth my memory. Now, what did you do, exactly?"

"Made your heart skip?" I try, throwing in an additional wink.

"Skip from terror, yes," she retorts, winking back at me.

Bitch.

"Bitch," I repeat with my voice.

She whips her head, her pony tail nearly hitting my face. Shifting her weight, she starts positioning herself into her fighting stance.

"As much as I'd like to play fight with you, I'm taken," I say with a fake frown on my face. I eye her leg as if leaves the ground to kick me. Hands behind my back, I evade the attack. "I apologize but I have a lot on my plate right now and I don't have the time to flirt with you. I have a warmup to do. Bye!"

I run for my life.

I join the group of women who have yet to finish the warm-up.

My lips tug downwards when I notice the woman wearing a sports bra and running shorts. Her breaths were getting shorter and heavier. I feared she was gonna collapse when her legs started to waver.

I run beside her for a hot second and her head turns to look at me. Her hazel green eyes widen when they land on me.

She bows to me and opens her mouth to say something, but I stop her.

Letting a small gasp escape my lips, I tell her truthfully, "You have really pretty eyes."

Her cheeks turn into a light pink shade and flustered, she says, "Yours too, Luna."

I laugh out of doubt but accept the compliment with a flying kiss, "Well, thank you."

Now, I was running past her but I smile when I note her throw a victory punch as she fixes her form and breathing.

I continue to run the rest of the 10 laps, noticing the number of runners lessening.

Aw, will you look at that? I have a stage all to myself.

I keep my breathing in check and keep my pace steady.

My interest spikes up when I see Giovanni staring at my direction with crossed arms. I waving my arms at him to get his full attention.

He turns away from me almost immediately.

The routine continues: me running around the track and trying to get attention.

Leo energy, I'm telling you.

I pout when I pass Theo momentarily, his back towards me as he shouts commands and watches his people like a hawk.

Okay, now let me see those abs, baby.

I must've unconsciously sent it through the mind link because his back tenses almost immediately. I watch him shake his head, refusing to look at me.

Starting off my last lap, I was about to sprint when Emilio's blonde hair reaches my eyesight. I jump and throw my arms high up in the air.

It takes him another second to react, but he reciprocate my actions.

Atta, boy!

I muster up all my energy to finish my last lap.

I walk to Celestina and nudge her shoulder while the other women wait for a command patiently.

"What's the schedule for today?" I ask, grabbing my bottle of water and taking in big gulps.

I raise a brow when her brows perk up with newfound enjoyment.

"We're sparring," the words roll off her tongue.

"Fuck," I breath out.

"With the other adults," she adds and couldn't a control the laugh escaping her lips as if it was the funniest thing ever.

"Suddenly, my leg hurts," I huff out and grab my leg.

"Aww, look. They're coming," she coos and I release my leg, feeling defeated.

"Everyone go in your blocks," Celestina commands them. I watch them scramble to their positions, some excited and some not.

I was the latter.

I find my way to the very back and scratch the back of my neck as Theo's eyes washes over the crowd.

Wow, look at the shoes. Interesting.

"Go to your partners. Person A rotates and Person B stays. Each pair has 15 minutes to spar before swapping partners. I don't want to see anyone taking breaks or chit-chatting. You all know the drill," Theo drags out.

I refuse to look up.

I release a breath I didn't know I was holding when I feel a presence take the position in front of me. Lifting my head up to see a man about my age, he runs a hand through his dark locks and sends me a nervous wave.

I release yet another deep breath when I note Theo position himself at the very front row.

"Begin."

The stranger and I just stare at each other, unwilling to begin the fight.

"Hi!" I start off, feeling more at edge than ever.

Oh God, someone end my life. Please.

The man sends me an awkward smile, but none of us move to attack.

"Good morning, Luna," he greets me with a surprisingly soft voice.

That did it. Guilt eats me up when the thought of not going along with my pack members reaches my mind. I fix my stance, feeling the need to fill in the uneasy silence.

Too bad another figure decides to join us.

"What kind of strategy is this?" Celestina mocks.

"It's called a truce," I retort.

"You'd die at the beginning of a war if you ever use this game plan."

"Exactly," I inform her. "That's why you don't start one in the first place."

"That's it," she says with a resolute tone. "We're switching partners."

Celestina drags me away from the kind man and another person takes my place. I frown, disappointed at myself when they immediately sparred, their energies meeting each other.

We move past by the rows until we reached the very front, right beside Theo.

Aw, look at us. Power couple or what?

I eye a concentrated Theo warily as he throws punches at the poor victim repeatedly. The man beneath him tries to block his blows, which didn't end up too well.

Celestina's hands on both my shoulders moves my attention away from them.

"10 minutes," she informs me with a reassuring smile. "10 minutes and I want you to give it your all."

"Couldn't be easier," I lie and huff out, cracking my knuckles.

Celestina raises a suspicious brow and didn't waste another second before lunging at me.

I swerve to the side, unsheathe the knife I tucked in the tight waistband of my sweatpants, and cut her bare arm very slightly.

It healed as fast as I inflicted it.

"I should've known," she breathes out.

"I thought you knew me," I add.

"Apparently not well enough," I hear her say before she unsheathes a knife of her own from a hidden holster around her ankle.

I smirk, excitement running through my veins.

She sprints towards me but reflex kicks in and I get away without getting hit. Rolling back her shoulders and keeping her arms raised, it only takes me half a second to tell how she lifted her legs to land a kick.

I lean back, keeping my guard up and judge the distance before counter-attacking. I falter a bit, not used to putting all my weight on one leg.

Okay, my footwork right now was so not the mov—.

She takes the opportunity and swings her arm, cutting my cheek in the process. Unlike her, my cut didn't heal.

I hiss but keep a charming smile on my face, flirting to find my way out.

"I was going easy on you," I say in between pants. "But I guess you like it rough."

The only response I hear was a genuine laugh before she charges at me once again. On reflex, I lean away at kicking distance but still close enough to attack her.

Timing. That was her first mistake.

I was glad that her angles was at least horrible.

I stop myself from the urge of throwing my knife and just ending this little game.

But we don't want that much blood now, do we?

As a rogue, I rarely stayed for a fight. All I did was land a hit and run away. I always joked to myself that I'd rather play dead rather than help end a war.

Training with the goal of saving and aiding others when danger hits me was new to me. But I was willing to make that change.

Twirling the knife in one hand and the other hand close to my chest, I shift my weight and go in for a hit. I stop my movement before I could slice her neck.

Another mistake: underestimating your opponent.

Her eyes widen in surprise and we keep our eyes locked. Just a second after, the timer rings.

Time to switch partners.

We both relax and she throws me a wide smile.

"Sometimes I underestimate your capability," she tells me before pushing me out.

"Wait, I thought I was Person B," I mumble.

"You were until now," she says then shoving me into a hard chest.

Fuck.

Pulling away, I let out a fake barf and croak out, "Oh God. I think I'm gonna throw up."

Theo chuckles and lifts my head up with both his hands on either sides of my face.

I frown when he frowns. His eyes swirled with murderous energy and he furrows his brows. I watch him, uncertain.

"Who did this?" He questions me sternly while his thumb lightly caresses the area around my cut.

"Celestina."

"Someone's definitely gonna die tonight," he growls lowly.

"Wait! Theo, no! If it makes you feel better, I almost killed her," I try to reason with him.

"Don't worry, I'm not gonna lay a hand on Celestina any time soon," he tells me with a smirk.

"Then who?"

"You see, she's lucky to have both a brother and a mate," he drawls out, tucking in a strand of hair behind my ear.

"I'll take Emilio, but you can have the other one," I agree with him. He thinks for a long second before nodding.

"Begin," Celestina's voice booms and immediately, wolves clash against each other.

I glanced innocently at Theo, who scrutinized me with crossed arms and a lopsided smile on his way.

Why try if I'm gonna lose either way?

Deciding it was faster for me to announce my defeat, I lunge towards Theo and surprisingly managed to slash his bicep.

"Wha—?"

He grabs my arm and pulls me towards him before pulling me down. I shut my eyes close to feel the disgusting dirt, but an arm wraps around my waist and I land on muscle instead.

I lightly punch Theo's chest and glare at him. "Douchebag."

"I love you, too," he replies, a cocky smirk on his face.

I lift myself up, only to feel a hand reach for me and pull me down so that I was now straddling Theo. He calmly watches me as I feel heat rush to my cheeks. I didn't miss the silence due to the lack of movement and the stares boring holes into the back of my head.

Instead of showing my embarrassment, I clear my throat and say, "I knew I had a thing for bold men."

Great going, Alex!

I always knew I had a loose screw.

"Am I allowed to dismiss myself?" I hear a voice ask.

I move myself away Theo's body and mentally groan to myself. Theo remains indifferent and only smiles, lacking the ability to process the environment around him. He helps me by pulling me up.

Fortunately for me, something seems to make Theo go on high alert as he tenses up and searches for the unfamiliar presence.

"I always wondered how the Royal Crimson Pack manages to remain undefeated. Now, I know why," a new voice calls out jokingly.

I grin when I spot a familiar redhead, Emilio right beside him.

"Dismissed," Theo commands. He waits until everyone else have left for lunch before speaking once again. "What gave you the liberty to travel hours just to see me, Mason?"

Mason grins and runs for me, his arms wide open for a hug. Just as I was about to hug him, Theo covers my way and pulls Mason into a rather affectionate embrace.

"I guess that works, too," Mason grumbles before pulling away with a ton of effort.

"Now tell me why you're here," Theo directs him, losing his patience yet enjoying having someone to make fun of.

"My Uncle, an Elder of the Council, specifically asked me," he begins proudly, emphasizing his words. "To request that your pack participate the annual pack 'meeting' that you've been missing for quite a while now."

Emilio perks up, as if this caught his interest.

We all know that every celebration The Council held was simply a chance for packs not only to make alliances, but also look down on others. Obviously, leaders of wealthier and stronger packs showcased their elaborate outfits and intimidating auras to earn a reputation.

I've pretended to be a waitress many times just to steal a million dollar necklace or two. I wasn't a fool to not notice the tension that tied the gathering together.

"Then why couldn't they just send a call or a message?" Theo questions, clearly knowing the answer himself.

Narrowing his eyes at him, Mason continues, "Oh, maybe because you've blocked all communication with The Council?"

"I don't know, Mason," Theo drags on. "You tell me. Why would I do that in the first place?"

"Because you don't want anything to do with them?" he answers doubtfully.

"Exactly," Theo concludes, a fake smile on his face. "Now get out."

"Oh, come on!" Mason whines and tries to plead with him. "You can see Alex in a cute little dress and a a tiara on her head while you wear a matching suit!"

At my name, Theo raises a brow at me and asks me, "What do you think?"

I steal a glance only to be met by Mason's and Emilio's puppy dog eyes and groan out, "Fine."

Mason cheers to himself and leans in for a second hug only to be blocked by Theo once again.

"Thanks, Alex," Mason beams and throws me a wide smile, as well as a stupid thumbs up. I throw him the middle finger but he still manages to keep that smile on his face.

"That's Luna for you," Theo adds.