•Ryder's POV•

I can tell Mara is nervous.

Actually, more I can feel Mara is nervous. The mate-pull is bugging Caleb because he just wants us to go in there and comfort her, make all her nervousness disperse and bring out the confidence I know she has.

I just hope that once she just out there, she will be the Mara I know and everyone one will love her.

What am I talking about? Everyone will love her.

The phone ringing pulls me back to reality.

"Alpha Ryder speaking." I answer.

"Alpha Ryder, it's Alpha Will." He replies, he sounds a little panicked.

"Is everything alright?" I ask.

"Not really. A large pack of rogues just attacked my pack." He says.

"Pack of rogues?" It's very strange for rogues to travel in large packs, they usually like to go alone or an small groups of three or four.

"Yes, they were very strong. They killed most of my pack and then just left, we killed a few but were unable to imprison any." He replies.

"Is Bailey alright?" I ask, worried.

"Don't worry, she's perfectly alright." He replies.

"Good. Did you need my assistance for anything?" I ask.

He clears his throat, "Actually, I have a proposition for you. Most of my pack have been wiped out, we only have about one hundred left." He says.

"So, what's the proposition?" I wonder.

"I would like to join your pack, if we can stay here and I can still be in charge of this town, we need protection and more members, which I don't have." He says.

I think about this for a second.

"You would give up the Sterling Moon Pack?" I ask.

He pauses a little, before merely replying, "Yes."

I can understand his hesitation. I wouldn't want to give up my pack.

"Look, instead of wiping out the Sterling Moon Pack, how about we form a strong alliance. I will grant you with more protection and guards, and you can still run your pack. This way we can also have each others backs in case of an attack." I offer, my Dad has trusted me to make decisions even though I'm not the true Alpha yet.

He processes my information before answering.

"I think that would suit better, thank you Alpha Ryder. Just remember that those rogues are still out there, they are strong and have good skills." Alpha Will warns.

"Thank you Alpha Will. I'll send some men tomorrow to your town." I say.

We exchange goodbyes and hang up.

Well, at least we have new allies now. But, I'll have some people on guard this evening.

There's still hours until the party, so I decide I might as well go see Mara before she starts to get ready.

I grab my bike keys and head outside, swinging my leg over and adjusting my helmet. I start roaring down the road and grin at how free I feel on my bike. I think Mara would love it, but I haven't taken her on a ride yet.

I park on her driveway and notice her parents car is out.

I walk up to the door and give a quick knock.

I hear footsteps down the stairs and then the door swings open.

Mara's still in her pajamas, which is some orange shorts and a black tank top, and her hair is a little messy.

But she looks extremely sexy.

She smiles as soon as she sees its me and takes my hand, leading me up to her room.

As soon as she takes a foot in I pull her up to me and she wraps her legs around my waist. She giggles and her fingers play with my hair, I grin and press my lips her hers.

I kiss her with care and urgency at the same time, our tongues dance together, causing sparks to ignite and explode.

I carry her to her bed and lay her down so I'm on top of her, her legs are still wrapped around me and I'm holding myself up so I don't squash her.

She moans and pulls me closer, Caleb howls and I know this is the time to ask her.

"Mara?" I say, breaking away for a split second.

"Hm?" She mumbles against my lips.

I stop kissing her, but stay very close, and open my eyes to look at her. She gets that I'm serious and opens hers too.

"Can I mark you?" I ask.

She smiles and nods her head, "Yes."

I smile too and kiss her again before trailing kisses down her neck and to the spot where her shoulder meets her neck.

I feel my teeth come out a little and bite down gently. She takes a sharp breath and her grip in my hair tightens, but then she relaxes a little and moans.

I withdraw my teeth and lick away the blood so that it's not messy. I quickly eye my work and then look back in my mates gorgeous eyes.

"You're so beautiful." I whisper and lean in to kiss her again.

After a few seconds she pushes me away a little and grins.

"I want to see it." She says.

I smirk and roll off her so that she can get up.

I lay on the bed on my side and support myself with my elbow. I watch Mara as she looks in her vanity mirror and moves away her hair to look at her freshly made mark.

She smiles and bites her lip adorably.

She turns back to me and lays down beside me.

"So does that mean that I'm forever yours?" She grins.

I smirk and pull her closer to me by her waist, "That's right, there's no escaping me now Princess."

"Who ever said I wanted to?" She whispers.

I lean in again and cup her cheek, deepening the kiss. She places her hands on my chest as she snuggles closer to me.

"Ew! PG-13 please!" I hear someone whine from the door, I'm pretty sure it's Mandy.

I groan and Mara giggles and pulls her lips away from me. She's about to move but I keep her in place.

"Ryder." She warns.

"Just a bit longer." I smirk.

"Actually." Layla says as she comes over, "We need to start getting this Luna ready." She says as her and Mandy pull Mara away from me.

I roll my eyes and sit up, "But there's still hours left." I whine.

"There's three hours left Ryder, we have to start right away!" Mandy instructs.

I groan and get up, giving Mara a gentle kiss.

"See you soon." She smiles.

I grin back, "See you soon."

I sadly walk away from my mate and travel down the stairs and back out the door, Josh and Trent our at the pack house getting stuff ready, I'll just go there.

As I get on my bike, I decide to test me and Mara's mind-link.

'Well hello beautiful. Now you're stuck with me in your head too.'

'Oh honey, you were always in my head anyway. Now move that butt of yours before the girls get all mad on you.' She replies cheekily.

I chuckle and start my bike.

I smile madly when I start zooming down the road.

I marked Mara. She's all mine.

•Mara's POV•

"No Layla! Black shoes go way better with the dress!" Mandy throws her hands in the air.

"No way! Cream will fit perfectly!" Layla defends.

I just sit on the bed and zone out of the two bickering werewolves.

I smile when I remember the events that took place about two and a half hours ago.

Ryder marked me.

I'll admit, it was painful to begin with. But then some sort of pleasure took it's place.

Is that normal?

I mentally shrug it off and my fingers graze the mark that Ryder made.

"Earth to Mara!" Mandy waves a hand in front of my face.

My smile drops and I look to her, "What?"

She sighs and Layla rolls her eyes.

"I asked you what shoes you'd prefer to wear, but then I look at you and you're smiling like an idiot and staring into space." Mandy shakes her head.

"Oh, sorry. I'd rather where the cream heels." I reply, pointing to the shoes Layla's holding.

Layla smirks, "See." She rubs into Mandy's face.

Mandy scoffs and turns around.

I get up and smooth down my light blue dress, I slip on the heels and take a look at myself in the mirror.

The dress is an ice blue colour and has a sweetheart neckline. The top is decorated in sequins and one part of the top wraps around to my side. The bodice has soft layers of the blue material and sequins are scattered around the torso.

The bottom flares out and flows down to the bottom, where the ends are slightly perked up in some places.

I was complaining to the girls that it was too formal, but they assured me that most people get dressed up. And when they came out in beautiful cocktail dresses too, I relaxed a little.

I tried not to get nervous for two reasons.

One, I need to be confident for this event.

And two, Ryder knows when I feel nervous because of the mate-pull. And now it's even stronger because he's marked me.

The girls fish-braided my blonde hair to the side and expertly applied my make up, which was light and natural, but still different to how I usually wear it.

I smile and do a twirl for the girls.

They giggle and clap, "Yep, we did good." Mandy high-fives Layla.

"A good job well done." Layla grins.

"Okay, now lets get going." Mandy says and pulls me up.

I follow them out to Mandy's car and we buckle ourselves in.

I play with my fingers nervously, but push down the feeling inside me.

"Don't worry Mara, everyone will love you. You've pretty much meet everyone, you'll just be introduced as their Luna now." Layla says.

I smile and nod, looking out the window.

We pull up to a large house, or should I say mansion, that smells and sounds like it's bustling with activity.

When we get out, Layla takes my hand and smiles, "This is the pack house. Normally the Alpha and Luna would live here, which is Ryder's mum and dad. But when Ryder becomes the true Alpha very soon, he's going to stay living in his other house." She explains.

Mandy jumps in next to me, "With you." She smiles.

I stop suddenly, "Wait what?" I ask.

They look at me with confusion, "When Ryder becomes Alpha you'll go live with him." Mandy replies.

"Why?" I ask.

"Because, you're the Alphas of the pack. You need to be together as much as possible." Layla says.

"But I'm only seventeen! I can't just tell my mum and dad I'm going to go live with my boyfriend." I reply.

Mandy shrugs, "Then you tell them the truth."

I gape at her.

Layla shakes her head and drags me along, "Don't worry about that now, we'll sort everything out later. Just worry about now and the party." She smiles reassuringly at me.

We enter the house, but I notice nobody's in here.

Mandy holds her hands in front of me in a stay-here-and-don't-move kind of way.

"We'll go get Ryder, you just stay here." She says and her and Layla scamper off.

I sigh and close my eyes, taking a deep breath.

When I open them, Ryder is leaning against the door frame smirking.

I jump and hold a hand to my pounding heart.

"You scared me." I sigh.

He comes over and kisses me quickly, "You look beautiful and amazing and every other word that describes how stunning you look." He smiles.

I blush a little and smile back, "Thanks. You look nice too." I say as I look at his grey button down shirt and black trousers.

He chuckles and grabs my hand, "Come on, the pack is waiting for you." He says and pulls me along to the back door.

I take a deep breath and focus.

This is it.

Ryder opens the door and nearly the whole town turns and looks at us, many of the faces I recognise from school.

Ryder doesn't let go of my hand as he speaks.

"Everyone, I'd like to introduce you to my mate and your new Luna. This is Samara Banks." He smiles at me.

I smile at everyone and they just look back at me for a tiny bit.

But then they erupted into cheers and applaud.

I am now officially the Luna of the Dark Moon Pack.

_______________________________________________________________________________

Hello people!

Another chapter! Whoo!

I went out for dinner tonight and got to wear this pretty dress that I'm in love with *-*

Speaking of dresses, Mara's is to the side ------------>

Hope you enjoyed the chapter, please vote and comment!!

Thanks! x