•Mara's POV•

"Hey Trent." I say as I sit next to him.

He looks over at me, "What do you need?"

"Why do you think I need anything?" I ask.

He smirks at me, "Because of the way you said that."

I sigh, "Snow needs to go on a run and I need protection apparently."

"Sorry," He says, "Layla and I are going out in ten minutes."

I groan, "Why?"

He chuckles and stands up, "Good luck Mara." He sings, walking out of the room.

I sigh and spot Cole outside, I jump up and go towards him.

"Cole! Hey." I say as I approach.

He smiles at me, "What's up Mara?"

I shrug, "I don't know, just wondering if you're free?"

He give me a small smile, "Sorry, Mandy and I are going to the town over for the weekend."

"And you're leaving now? Like, right now?" I ask just as Mandy comes outside.

He nods, "Yep, sorry."

I sigh and Mandy puts a hand on my shoulder, "Ryder's upstairs and not doing anything but moping around, go ask him."

I shake my head, "Nope, I'm still mad at him."

She giggles, "You're going to have to forgive him sometime."

I sigh, "I know."

"Just get it over and done with, you'll feel much happier." She says.

"Fine." I reply.

"Well, I'll see you on Sunday!" She says and hugs me.

"Bye, have fun." I reply.

She winks at me and Cole waves.

I watch their car move out of the driveway and turn around to walk back inside.

I slouch up the stairs and slowly push on the office door.

Ryder is positioned at his desk, the phone in one hand to his ear and the other resting on his chin.

"Ryan, now he's onto her." He says.

Not wanting to be caught spying, I knock on the door quietly.

Ryder looks up and his lips twich upwards a bit.

"Okay, okay. We'll sort it out when you get back, I need to go."

I hear the muffled speaking on the other end in reply.

"Yep, bye." He says then hangs up the phone.

He turns back to me and stands up, "I really am sorry."

I hold up my hand, "I really don't want to hear that right now. Snow needs a run and I need protection, you seem to be the only one that's around, what do you say?" I ask.

He nods and give me a small smile, "Anything for you."

I nod and spin around, walking back down the stairs.

Making sure Ryder is still behind me, I'm about to shift but he grabs my hand before I can.

"What's wrong?" I ask, trying to forget about the sparks flying up my arm.

"I want to sort us out, before anything happens." He replies.

I sigh, "I guess Snow can wait a little longer."

He nods and points to the bike, "I want to take you somewhere."

I nod and he helps me put on the helmet, keeping his fingers on my neck longer than needed.

I hop on and he starts it, then we blast off down the road.

"Where are we going?" I ask.

"Nope, I'm not saying anything." He replies.

"Please?" I ask.

"Nah-uh." He replies.

I sigh but a small smile comes to my lips.

He turns off the road after a few minutes and we roar down a narrow road, I'm sure by now we're out of the town.

When he finally stops the bike, I look up and my eyes widen in amazement.

•Ryder's POV•

"Is this what I think it is?" Mara asks as she gets off the bike.

"Depends on what you're thinking." I reply.

"What am I thinking?" She asks.

"If you're thinking this is a large, abandoned building, well you're wrong. If you're thinking this large abandoned building happens to be an ice-skating rink, then you're correct." I say, walking towards the entrance.

"How is an abandoned building an ice-skating rink? Shouldn't it be melted or something?" She asks.

I shake my head, "It's open for werewolves during winter."

"Why?" She asks.

I shrug, "Just something to do I guess."

I watch her as we walk through the door, she looks a little blank.

"Do you want to do something different?" I ask.

She makes eye contact and shakes her head, "Ice-skating sounds perfect."

I smile, "Good."

I see her lips twitch upwards, "Good."

We approach the old shack where the ice-states are and I ring the little bell, soon an old man comes out from the store shed.

"Ryder." He smiles, "What can I do for you?"

"Hi Marty, Mara and I would like to skate." I reply.

Marty looks to Mara and smiles, "Well hello there, my name's Marty, I run this place. Are you the Alpha's lucky mate?" He asks.

I smirk when I see her blush, "I'm Mara, and unfortunately I'm the Alpha's mate."

I chuckle, "Just the shoes thanks."

We tell him our sizes and he goes out back to get them.

"Have you ice-skated before?" I ask.

She nods, "When I was little, but not recently."

We tie up our skates and I step on to the rink, doing a small circle as I realise Mara didn't follow. Instead, she's looking uneasily at the ice.

"What's wrong?" I ask.

She purses her lips, "I'm going to fall."

I skate over to her and wrap my arms around her waist before she can back away.

"What are you doing?" She asks, too distracted to notice that I'm pulling her onto the ice.

I lean in closer and whisper in her ear, "I'm never going to let you fall."

"Promise?" She asks.

"Promise." I reply honestly.

I put a little bit of distance between us, not too much as Mara clings to me, and then start skating backwards as I help her get her barings.

"How do you know how to skate?" She asks.

I shrug, "I came here often, when I had nothing else to do."

She giggles a little, "The big bad Alpha came ice-skating when he had nothing else to do."

I frown, "It's good for my fitness."

She rolls her eyes, "Sure."

I scoff but smile when she laughs.

"I knew this would make you happier." I say as we start picking up speed.

She gives me a small smile, "You make me happy."

I grin as I turn around to start skating forward, still holding on to her.

"Well it's a good thing you make me happy too." I reply.

She laughs, "Wow, how cheesy."

I chuckle too, "So do you forgive me?"

She looks at me and then pushes me away playfully, skating beautifully ahead of me.

"I thought you said you couldn't skate?" I ask as I speed up to catch up with her.

She spins around and skates backwards, "I said I hadn't skated in a while. Also, I just wanted a reason for you to hold me." She shrugs.

I smirk and shake my head, catching up with her finally. I wrap my arms around her, causing us to spin around, I lean in closer and whisper in her ear, "You don't need a reason for me to hold you."

"Good to know." She replies softly and and brings her face closer to mine, fireworks igniting when our lips connect.

We've stopped skating at this stage and are just focus on each other, just her and I. My luna and I. Mara and I.

When we brake apart, I keep our foreheads touching, "I love you."

She smiles, "I love you too."

"Come on lovebirds!" Marty shouts from across the rink, "Lock up time!"

We snicker as we break apart, Mara turning cherry red.

When we get off the ice, and start to remove our skates, I look over at her, "So, did you have a good time?"

She nods, "I need longer though, we should come back again."

I nod too and take our skates up to the front desk, "Definitely."

She slips her hand into mine as we exit and go back to the bike, "So, can we go for that run now?" She asks.

I nod, "When we get back to my territory, we shouldn't shift in another Alpha's."

"But what about the hunters? They're after wolves as well." She replies.

I smirk, "You're in very good hands babe."

She rolls her eyes and gets on the bike, "Let's go, Snow is seriously getting impatient."

I chuckle and nod hopping on the bike too.

About half an hour later we get back to the Pack House and Mara jumps off the bike, "Come on!"

I laugh and run behind her, shifting in midair as I jump. I love the feeling on my fur as I run through the forest, my giant paws thumping against the damp ground as I do.

I see the blur of white in front of me and I speed up to make sure Mara is within my reaction time. I would definitely risk anything for her, even if it was my life.

When I catch up to her, I call for back up and make sure the Pack knows she's out here. The more men the better.

She uses her paws to climb a tree and then jumps from branch to branch. I stay below her, keeping an eye on her and my surroundings, Ryan told me that the hunters were after any wolves as well.

She jumps down and takes off, running in front of me. Before I can try to catch up, a movement from my right catches my eye and I frantically look back to Mara to see her absent-mindedly running ahead.

"Mara stop!" I yell through mind-link.

She stops immediately and looks back to me.

And that's when I make my first mistake.

The hunter that I saw takes this as an advantage, I charge towards him, my legs pumping from the adrenalin running through my body.

From there everything goes in slow motion.

I leap in mid-air, my jaws wide open as I lunge towards him. It's not until I'm fairly close that I recognise him as James Kunder.

He glaces at me quickly, horror crossing his face, but then turns back to Mara and pulls out his handgun.

My eyes glide to my side to see a perfect shot at where she is, her tiger face frowning as if in confusion.

Just as I hit his shoulder with my paw, a loud bang goes off and I push him to the ground.

He struggles under me as I try to get a clear aim of his throat.

"I did it once," He says coarsely, "I can do it again."

And then I sink my teeth into his throat, feeling his body go limp under mine.

I quickly pull my canines out and whip around to find Mara.

I see her shifting back to her human form, and my heart beat slows down to its normal speed.

"Mara, I thought-"

But then I see her clutching her stomach and she falls to the ground.

And that's when I know that this has gone very wrong.

___________________________________________________________________________________

Hello hello hello!

First of all I am so sorry for not updating sooner, I know I said I would try, but seriously, I am drowning in homework and assessments.

Second of all, and good news, I only have one more day of school left until school holidays! That means more updates! (Hopefully)

So please stay with me and be patient, I really am trying so just take a breath and keep calm.

Alright, please vote and comment!

Thanks! xx