By the time we had gathered everything on one table and scoured the other sections for anything we might have missed I was dead on my feet and my stomach was growling. We hadn’t even stopped for lunch. I was a touch wobbly on my feet at this point.

“Alyce dear, are you ok? You look awfully pale.” Ivy frowned, concern plain on her face and in her voice, which drew Tristan’s attention to me. His brows furrowed and he was at my side in an instant, tucking me into his side for support.

“My love? What’s wrong?” He questioned softly.

“I’m fine you two. I just need to get some food. We haven’t stopped all day. I should also check in with Mattie. They should be getting pretty close to Dark Forest by now.”

“We can stop here for now. We can start going through all this tomorrow. Let’s get you some food and I still need to reach out to Alpha Noah about Jennifer as well.” Tristan started leading me towards the door, his mother ahead of us as he then spoke to her, “Mother, would you be so kind as to arrange some Omegas to ready the 4th floor for Jake and Faith? They will be residing there permanently and Cedric and Mat will be remaining on the 5th floor if other Omega’s can prepare the front apartment area for permanent residency so the Beta’s can vacate the guest rooms and get permanently settled.”

“Of course dear. Let me worry about that, you worry about our Luna. I will be checking on you later Alyce and I will not hesitate to summon Dr. Jacobs if you’re not looking and feeling better.”

I smiled and giggled, “I promise, I just need a break and some food. I will be fine Ivy. I do appreciate the concern though.

We stopped outside the door to the Luna’s Library and Ivy removed a key from her pocket, using it to lock the library before handing it to me, “This is yours now.”

“Thank you Ivy, but what about you? You may have stepped down, but you’re still a Luna and entitled to access the library as well.” I held the small silver key in my palm, observing it as though it held some fantastical secrets I could only discern through unwavering study.

“I have a spare, don’t fret over that. I had this one made shortly after you arrived.”

I smiled at her and slipped the key into my pocket, patting it to make sure it was there before Ivy headed off to round up Omega’s and Tristan escorted me down to the kitchen for some food. It was almost dinner time.

Down in the kitchen, Tristan continued to fuss over me, “You just have a seat and I’ll make you a plate.”

“Really Tristan, I’m fine.”

Some of the other wolves that were starting to wander in looked at us curiously, whispering amongst themselves, “Is the Luna ok?”, “Is she sick?”, “Does she look paler than usual?”

I huffed a sigh and gave in about the time Kami walked over to us, eyeing me closely, “You do look a little wobbly and rather pale.”

“Honestly, I just need to eat and take a break. Pushed myself too hard without taking care of myself today.”

“Kami, take her to our table please.” Tristan directed as he passed me off to Kami, who didn’t hesitate to lead me to the table.

“Ya’ll are impossible… I swear.” I gave in, heading to the table with Kami and sitting down with a bit of a huff as we reached it.

“What do you want to drink?” Kami gave me a questioning look.

“Water is fine. Thank you.”

With a nod she turned and headed to gather her plate and drinks for the both of us while Tristan piled plates of food for him and myself. My stomach grumbled again and I flushed a little when some of the nearby wolves chuckled at me. I stared at the table, missing Mattie right about now. He would have been teasing me at this point and the thought made me smile a bit to myself.

Brandon soon approached the table, plopping into a chair on the opposite side of where I sat, “Your stomach is as demanding as mine is at dinner.”

I laughed, “Not normally, but I got caught up doing some research and missed lunch. Now I’m stuck waiting on a fussy Alpha.”

“More like a fussy mate. It has nothing to do with being Alpha. You see it all the time among mated wolves, when one of them isn’t feeling 100%.”

“I suppose that is a more accurate way to put it.”

Tristan and Kami soon returned. Kami handed me my water and then sat next to Brandon. Tristan took a seat next to me, placing both our plates on the table as he planted a kiss on my head, “Here, eat something love.”

I smiled at him and kissed his cheek. “Thank you.” Pulling my plate over the conversation almost immediately stopped as the four of us focused on eating. I felt better within minutes of getting some water and nourishment into my system.

*You need to take better care of yourself, Faelyn. Especially with the events coming up in the very near future.* Aramyth griped at me.

*I know, I have been! I just got distracted by the potential to learn more about you and myself and where we come from.*

*I understand that, but it’s not an excuse. You must lead by example as Luna.*

*Just whose side are you on here? We both know I’m fine. Why are you acting like I have some weird condition or something?*

*I’m on the side of making sure you don’t develop bad habits in the pursuit of knowledge; and I’m not. I’m just looking out for you.*

*Uh-huh… Weird ass wolf… Lucky I’m so attached to you. Might ask the Moon Goddess for a new one…*

*You would not! You love me and I’m the bestest wolf ever!*

I giggled. *You’re right. Now, back to eating.*

*Indeed, take better care of yourself!*

I shook my head a bit, my vision clearing as I focused on three sets of eyes watching me curiously, “What?”

“You kinda zoned out there, you ok…?* Brandon questioned while stuffing a roll in his mouth.

“I’m fine. Just getting scolded by Aramyth.”

Tristan let out a breath that I don’t think even he knew he was holding, “That makes me feel better. I still can’t always tell when you’re mind linking.”

“How would you even tell? You can’t tell when her eyes glaze over they’re already so pale.” Kami spoke in disbelief.

I laughed and smiled, “It has worked in my favor on numerous occasions. As has the fact that telling the difference between Aramyth’s presence and mine is also very minute that most won’t notice the difference when she’s in the driver’s seat instead of me.”

“What do you mean? What color are her eyes?” Brandon asked, now more interested in the conversation than his food.

“I’ll show you.” I grinned and closed my eyes as I called Aramyth forth, sharing my human form with her. Once we were settled I opened my eyes and looked at the group.

“Amazing, it really is very subtle isn’t it?” Tristan smiled and kissed the tip of my nose, “Hello Aramyth, lovely to see you again, even if only briefly.”

“What are you talking about Tristan?” Kami asked as she leaned across the table to get right up close to my face.

I turned my gaze from Tristan to her and just stared at her with a smirk, waiting on her to figure it out.

“Oh shit! I see it! How both a bit creepy and very cool! Hi Aramyth!” Kami grinned, still inspecting the difference in my eyes.

Brandon reached forward to pull Kami back into her seat, “Move your ass, I wanna see what’s so cool too!”

Kami squealed as she was forced back into her seat and now Brandon was in the spot she just was, staring at me. I laughed, Aramyth snickering in my head as well. She was enjoying this. It took Brandon a couple minutes, “No way! You can share your Human form with your wolf? Even most Alpha’s can’t do that! Aramyth has the red flecks doesn’t she?”

“Yes I can, and yes she does. She and I have been able to cohabitate since I was about 15. We’ve become quite adept at it.”

“How long can you maintain it?” Tristan asked.

“Mmm, about 12 hours before it starts to get uncomfortable. 18 is the longest we’ve done it, but that was only once and under extreme conditions.”

“Tw-Twelve hours?” Kami stuttered in shock.

“That’s unheard of.” Brandon stared at me, looking like he wasn’t sure he believed it.

“Other Alpha’s can body share, how long can they do it for?” I asked.

“The longest known time is Ryder and I at 4 hours. Most only manage an hour or two.” Tristan ran his fingers along my shoulders in a loving manner as he answered me.

“Maybe it has something to do with being a Crimson Wolf, or perhaps from the extreme bond Aramyth and I share from everything we’ve been through together.”

“Perhaps, we can look into it to get answers, but as long as it’s not uncomfortable for you then I’m not sure the reason behind it matters. Though it’s probably something best kept amongst ourselves.”

“Mmm, you’re probably right. At least for now. It does give me an ace in the hole should I ever need it while we handle things.” I smiled at him and Aramyth retreated into the back of my mind, curling up to observe from the back seat.