She slept for four hours in the safety and warmth of her mates embrace. Waking wrapped in his arms she took a few minutes to snuggle into his chest just enjoying the feeling that only he could bring.

"Morning." Kaiden's voice was husky and velvety with sleep. She just hummed in response. "How are you feeling?"

As he questioned her he shifted so he was propped up on his elbow and looking down at where she was still cuddled into his side. She let out a little whimper as he gently shifted her onto her back. He chuckled at her. "Hey now love, you're the one who woke up. I just want to see how you're healing. Does it hurt?" He asked gently but persistently, concern now replacing any amusement. His hand moved to shift her further. Gently urging her head away from him so he could get a look at her neck. Reluctantly she gave in and let him move her head to the side so she was facing away from the warm comforting feel of his chest and scent. Brushing her hair off her shoulder he softly exposed his mark.

She could feel his satisfaction spike in the bond and could imagine the accompanying grin that would have spread over his face as he looked at it. With a feather light touch he brushed his fingertips over the now light pale scars that decorated her skin. The mark that resoundly proclaimed to the world that she was his.

Her eyes flew open at the first touch of skin against his mark, a bolt of pleasure racing through her that had her gasping for air. Her body arching up and into his touch. She was suddenly very much awake as desire and electricity raced through her, leaving her begging for more. When her body finally settled sinking back onto the bed, she looked with clouded eyes into the smug face of her mate hovering just over her own. His eyes sparkled with satisfaction and mischief, his breath was warm against her flushed skin.

"You're mine and the whole world knows." He accompanied his words with a sweet kiss to her lips. Of course after the sensations he had created in her it quickly escalated into a make out session that left them both breathless, hearts beating erratically.

Aislinn was cuddle into his side her head resting once more on his chest with one of her legs sprawled over his waist. A remnant from where it had been hiked to wrap around his hip as he had hovered over his mouth moving greedily against hers his hands branding her body. She loved the feel of the taut muscles that covered him. The heat that radiated from him and the way they seemed to fit together. She sighed in satisfaction while his fingers played in her hair and rubbed loving designs over the small slip of exposed skin on her hip where her shirt had ridden up.

"Me marking you will change things." Kaiden said breaking the comfortable silence they had fallen into.

"I know, but it's okay."

"Your part of the pack now, officially. Your scent changed not only to mine but to our packs." He felt her nod but he also sensed her reluctance and uneasiness at the confirmation. Picking his next words carefully he continued needing to make sure she knew what was happening. "Aislinn you're also going to go into heat soon now. Within the next few weeks."

She physically squirmed at that particular reminder. Not at all comfortable with the topic. Since her mother died when she was so young and then living how she did for eight years then finally ending up with humans she only knew the basics of the mating process and the accompanying female heat.

"Are you embarrassed?" She heard the humor in his voice. Ramming an elbow into his side she was rewarded with a hiss of air.

"I told you not to laugh at me." She huffed out while trying to push away from him. Struggling against his hold as she tried to escape this entire conversation. She was completely out of her element in this situation and it seemed to her displeasure her annoying mate was fully aware of it.

"Come now there's nothing to feel embarrassed about."

"I don't want to talk about this."

The sigh of breath he let out at her words stirred her hair as he pressed his lips against her temple. "I know, but you can talk to me. And besides, I'm going to have to be at your side for it."

"Why?"

Now it was his turn to squirm uncomfortably. Pushing up on the bed he leaned back against the wall propping up pillows, before pulling Aislinn so she sat across his lap. Her legs laying out to the side as his arm held her up wrapping around her slim waist and holding her to his chest. He captured one of her hands in his other his thumb soothingly rubbing over her knuckles.

"A she wolfs heat will start after they're marked. It cycles through every few months for the rest of their lives. Your scent will increase, become unimaginably appealing. It will be unbelievable to me but it will also become enticing to other males as well, particularly unmated ones. For your own safety and my own sanity I won't be able to have you away from me. You will also feel uncomfortable, even some pain if you're were apart during it."

"Oh." Refusing to meet his eyes she tried to process what he was saying.

Tipping her head up gently with a finger under her chin he forced her to look him in the eye. "Do you regret letting me mark you? I'm sorry you have to go through this, but there's no pressure involved, just because you'll go into heat doesn't mean we have to go any further. That's not why I wanted to mark you." She felt his guilt and shame resurface, not to mention his worry for her.

His hand rubbed over her side soothingly.

"I love you." She whispered loving the feel of the words, the taste of them, the sound. But even more she loved the feel of the emotion in her heart.

"And I love you."

.

.

After Aislinn got cleaned up and they both got dressed they made their way down to the kitchen. Entering they found Richard and Clay already there.

Richard was sitting at the kitchen table papers and a massive mug of coffee spread around him. Clay was leaning against the counter holding a squirming Kio in his arms. Who as soon as he spotted Aislinn escaped and leaped down before running over to her excitedly. Dropping to the floor Aislinn scoped up the wiggling fluffy little pup before showering him in kisses.

"Where are the others?" Kaiden asked making his way to the coffee pot. Pouring himself a mug he leaned a hip against the counter. Making sure he had a view of where his mate now sat cross-legged on the kitchen floor.

"Blair's sleeping. Got off patrol about two hours ago Aus took over. Olivia crashed like fifteen minutes ago after the last of those injured got settled. The doc passed out in a bed downstairs with his mate." Clay answered pushing off the counter making his way to the table grabbing a chair across from Richard.

Walking past Aislinn Kaiden didn't miss the soft expression that crossed over his friend's face as he looked at the girl and pup.

Catching a hint of her scent Clay's eyes jumped to look at where Kaiden still stood. Who met the questioning look with a small nod, his eyes lighting up in accompanying joy. Clay grinned at his friend, happiness and pride taking him over. Kaiden met the grin with one of his own.

"Congrats man." Clay sent him. Kaiden merely nodded again his eyes returning to Aislinn.

"Do the others know?"

"Not yet."

"This changes things."

"Indeed."

As if sensing the nature of the conversation going on around him Richard looked up from the papers he had been shuffling through.

"Now that you've marked the Princess I'll need to take the oaths for Pack Argentum Sanguinis."

Kaiden nodded he had assumed so. "What time are we expecting Alpha Vance and his people?"

Clay glanced at the clock. "I told him to come here for around noon. Figured everyone needed time to rest and regroup."

Looking back at Richard Kaiden voiced the thought they were all thinking. "To make the title official, normally he would need to be initialized by the former Alpha and the council. I'm guessing traditionally it would have been the King." That got a nod from the Guardian. "So now? Is it enough for him to make the vows to me. Even more so now that I've claimed her or do we need to reveal her identity?"

Richard let out a long breath his forehead creasing with worry as he turned his attention off Kaiden to his mate. "Honestly I'm not sure I spent part of the night trying to figure it out. The best I could come up with, is possibly."

Clay scoffed at that. "Possibly? Really we're supposed to base our plans off 'possibly'?"

Kaiden sent his Warrior a sharp glare before looking back at Richard whose eyes had narrowed in anger.

"Watch your tone pup."

That had Clay's back up as he let out a low growl not liking the intentional insult in the slightest.

Kaiden ran his fingers threw his hair sighing. "Both of you stop it. Richard, you were saying?"

"Look this has never happened before I'm working off complete speculation. No one thought to test the creation of bonds and oaths from the marked mate of a hidden uncrowned royal heir. This is new territory. I'm not sure how it would work. The best I can say is it might. Your claim to The Queen and her claim to the throne might be enough to legitimize your control to the links but it may not."

"What's the worst case?" Kaiden asked.

"Worst? The oaths are partially completed. Honestly it would be better if they'd outright failed then a partial completion. If part of them were created they would be incredibly weak and unstable but you wouldn't readily be able to tell or undo them."

"Okay so what's our other option?" Clay asked.

Kaiden and Richard's eyes met and held, both were wearing matching grimaces.

"He already suspects something." Richard offered.

"If he's going to be an ally he'll need to know what's going on anyway."

"Can we trust him?"

"Do we have a choice?" Kaiden answered grudgingly.

"Aislinn?" Clay deduced from the conversation but looking to his Alpha for confirmation. At the nod he let out a string of curses.

"We don't really have much of a choice we need allies and we can't just let the Council put another one of their minions in place. We'd be back where we started." Kaiden admitted.

"So you're going to tell the man, who yesterday was the head warrior of the Alpha who was trying to kill us. That not only is your mate the last surviving royal in the world but also that we're planning to go after the council itself, as well as hopefully toppling the majority of the Alpha's on the continent?" When no one corrected him he swore again. "Perfect that's just fucking perfect. Good. Glad I got that right. I'd hate to have missed out on understanding the plan that's gonna get us all killed."

"Clay." Kaiden said exasperatedly.

"Yeah yeah. I know ... 'no other choice'" Clay muttered shaking his head, but his eyes were still hard as he looked over at where Aislinn was still playing with Kio on the dark grey slate floor. He for one was definitely not comfortable with this decision. Not at all.

.

.

Aislinn walked beside Kaiden as they made their way around the training outside. It had been decided that they would continue to use the front lawn as training grounds for the pack. Each of the buildings had their own set of workout and sparring rooms but none not even the ones in the main house were large enough to accommodate the entirety of the pack now.

So now they were walking amongst the sweaty mud covered half naked pack members, as apparently Kaiden felt the need to personally inspect the progress of the pack. Blair who had just woken up was trailing behind them nodding along as Kaiden remarked on this and that, along with Richard and her three new guards. Aislinn had long ago tuned them all out, not in the least interested in what they were saying.

As they walked the pack members they neared were quick to bow their heads in recognition as their Alpha passed. As her scent would hit them there would be a moment of surprise before they were nodding to her as well. It was the same thing over and over. They scented her they bowed their heads and then when they had moved along they would lift their heads only now sporting goofy grins on their faces.

By the time Kaiden had finished his inspection, the previous exuberant and celebratory mood that had existed from the previous night's victory had grown to outright mayhem. Even Kaiden was having a difficult time trying to get them to settle down and focus on actually training. And eventually even he had seemed to sense the futility of it and had admitted defeat. Sending them off to celebrate as they saw fit with a halfhearted threat of a double workout tomorrow.

Most of the new pack members had figured out or had just assumed that she was Kaiden's mate. However having a mate, and having a mate that was marked were entirely different situations. It meant that she could now be acknowledged officially as their Luna and that was not a small thing at all. And it was never taken lightly. If they weren't in the situation they were in there would be weeklong pack wide celebration. Other packs and Alphas, in the past even the Royals themselves on occasion would all visit and participate.

A pack needs a Luna as much as it needs a Beta or even an Alpha. Not only to support her or his mate but to support and unify the pack. Richard would explain it as a further repercussion of the type of bonds that the King had created. By tying their souls to one another in the forms of mates and tying those pairs to the foundation and community created in the packs the mate principle became an integral component to a packs strength and stability. The most key and important pairing of course being the Alpha and Luna. A Luna represented a point of nurturing love, loyalty, and compassion. S/he brought out protectiveness, unification and balance for the Alpha as well as the whole pack. With her at his side Kaiden and therefore the pack was infinitely stronger. The bond influenced and reinforced the ties of all of the pack members to the alpha pair as well as each other.

After Richard's initiation he was quick to also inform Kaiden and the others that with Aislinn beginning to take on her role as Luna and bonding herself back into the pack they would now begin to feel the ramifications of belonging to the royal pack much more substantially.