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𝖍𝖊𝖆𝖛𝖊𝖓

We made our way out through the woods and up to the front porch of August's large house.

As we made it to the porch, I noticed the hulking silhouette of a man seated on the steps.

His head perked up as we neared him, his wavy blonde hair falling slightly into his face.

The closer we got to the mysterious man, the more I began to take in his features. His deep brown eyes held a hardness, but there seemed to be warmth underneath, and his honey-blonde hair made his skin appear sun kissed and tan.

"Ooo, it looks like Marcus was the one assigned to guard us during our shopping spree!" Tara whisper-yelled, hooking her arm through mine.

"Marcus?" I whispered back, wondering who the mysterious stranger was.

"Yeah, he's one of our best pack warriors," Tara stared, "Not to mention how hot he is!"

"Shouldn't you wait to be saying that about your mate?" I teased jokingly, nudging her shoulder.

Tara simply rolled her eyes, giving a small giggle.

"Just because I'm not his mate, doesn't mean I can't admire his looks."

I laughed at her response as she sauntered quickly over to where Marcus was now standing.

"Marcus!" She yelled excitedly, "Aren't you lucky? You get to come shopping with us!"

"Hi Tara," Marcus smiled, nodding politely at her.

After acknowledging the overenthusiastic Tara, his humored smile disappeared as he faced me. His chocolate eyes became more serious as they locked with mine.

"It's an honor to meet you, Luna," Marcus spoke, bowing his head slightly in my direction.

I smiled at his politeness, but the formality of the introduction was not something I was used to, and it made me a little uncomfortable to be spoken to as if I was such an important person.

I shook off the feeling, realizing that this was simply how werewolves were expected to act in front of those of higher rank than them. But I didn't feel as if I was any more important.

"Please," I smiled softly, "You don't have to be formal with me. Just call me Heaven."

Marcus tilted his head to the side, his golden hair falling slightly over his face.

His brown eyes scanned over my face curiously, as if trying to understand the inner workings of my mind.

"Of course... Heaven." He spoke my name unsurely after a hesitant pause.

"Great!" Tara spoke up, "Now that that's out of the way, let's get going!"

We made our way over to a small, sleek, expensive-looking car parked alongside the driveway.

Marcus followed Tara and I, opening the passenger side door for me, and the backseat door for Tara.

After we both slid into our seats, mumbling our thanks to him, he made his way over to the driver's side, sitting down elegantly in his seat.

The ride to the mall was long, considering the withdrawn location of the pack land, which sat quite far away from most human civilization.

Although Marcus remained in silence for most of the ride, it was never awkward, considering Tara's uncontrollable talking habits. Her mindless babbling filled up the quiet moments that Marcus and I had both failed to fill.

While Tara's overexcited voice faded into the background, I leaned my head against the window, watching as the scenery flew by in a blur of colors.

I glanced my gaze up towards the sky, focusing on the grey clouds rolling in from over the trees, taking over the remaining patches of blue.

The first raindrop came not long after, dropping down onto the windshield with a small plink, rolling lazily down.

More drops came soon after, picking up speed as they crashed relentlessly onto my window, racing each other until the glass was completely covered with streaks of water.

I focused on the storm, my senses growing hazy as I listened to the restless rhythm of the rain.

As I leaned sleepily against the window, I hardly noticed as the car began to slow, pulling into the parking lot of the mall.

"We're here." Marcus spoke to me gently, his voice pulling me from my haziness.

I pulled myself up in my seat slowly, as Tara was already clambering restlessly out of the vehicle.

I crawled out after her, facing the familiar large building.

I had been to this mall before, on the rare occasions that Malia and Tasha had invited me, then dragged me unwillingly shopping with them.

Sighing, I began walking towards the building, Tara ahead of me, and Marcus following diligently behind.

As soon as we entered through the doors, Tara wasted no time in dragging me into the nearest store.

For what seemed to be hours, Tara took the lead, pulling both Marcus and I into nearly every store in the mall, choosing outfits and other necessities that I had needed to get.

When we had come to the last store, Marcus looked at the entrance with unmistakeable dread, while Tara still continued to bounce excitedly, as if we had just walked in.

"Come on, Marcus!" Tara giggled, "It's just one more store."

"No," Marcus responded, pure terror in his eyes, "I can't take it anymore. I'll be waiting over at that bench when you're done."

He backed away in a hurry, ignoring my silent pleas to take me with him.

Once Marcus was happily seated and away from Tara's constant enthusiasm, she had no one else but me to torture.

"Let's get this over with," I grumbled, letting Tara grab my arm.

Upon entering the store, Tara's eyes zoned directly onto the lingerie display tucked neatly into the corner.

She turned slowly towards me, a glint of humor in her eyes.

My eyes widened at her mischievous grin, knowing exactly what she was thinking.

"No, Tara!" I whisper-yelled, shaking my head, "Don't even think about it. I don't need lingerie."

"Mmhmm," Tara responded, backing towards the section, completely ignoring me.

I followed her with a sigh, knowing that this was a battle that I wouldn't win.

"Ooo, this one is so cute!" Tara exclaimed, holding up a black, lacy two piece.

"Why are you trying to torture me?" I groaned.

Although, looking at the set, I had to admire how pretty it really was.

"Please," Tara said, rolling her eyes, "I'm doing you and August a favor."

I felt a small blush coat my cheeks at the thought. I shook away the idea, instead focusing on glaring at Tara.

"You're getting it," She responded matter-of-factly.

After shopping for a while longer, we paid for the clothes, and made our way over to where Marcus has been waiting.

We walked out to the car, our ridiculous amount of purchases in hand.

The ride home was much like the ride to the mall, but now Marcus had begun to respond a little more to Tara's excessive talking.

I smiled, happy that he had grown more comfortable around us, and had begun acting more like a friend than an assigned body guard.

Pulling into August's driveway, we all hopped out of the car, each taking our fair share of purchases to carry to the house.

Once Tara and Marcus both dropped their items in the entry hall, they each said goodbye, and were on their way.

Tara, of course, made me promise to give her a fashion show of my new clothes sometime soon.

Making my way up the stairs with a few bags in my arms, I heard a faint voice echoing from somewhere down the long hallway.

Curious, I drew closer, recognizing August's voice. He seemed to be having an urgent conversation with someone over the phone.

"I know he's getting closer Antonio," He spoke, "I just don't know what else to do."

After a few seconds of a pause, where I assumed that Antonio was responding on the other end of the call, he spoke again.

"Just do the best you can. I don't want any members of my pack to get hurt. Especially Heaven."

My name escaping his lips brought my attention fully into the conversation.

Who is this man he's speaking about? Why is he afraid of people getting hurt? What does this have to do with me?

I decided to withhold my questions, sure that August would tell me when he was ready.

But I kept the questions in the front of my mind, for when I truly needed the answers.