I jump at her without hesitation and squeeze her in a tight hug. My foot catches on the bottom of her sheet, causing it to fall to the floor. We burst into peals of laughter, covering each other's mouths when we realize we're being too loud.

"I can't believe you're here!" I whisper loudly, hugging her tighter.

I've seen her naked so many times over the course of our friendship, it doesn't even faze me to hold her naked form in my arms.

"I can't believe it either! What are the chances we'd find mates in the same pack? Or that you, my sweet, shy little witch would be shagging the new Al-"

I slap my hand over her mouth again to stop her from finishing her sentence.

"Shhh, shut the fuck up! I'm not shagging anyone, Lennon, and I'd love it if all the pack members on this floor didn't have to find out I'm their new Luna from your big ass mouth!"

She groans dramatically in response and swats my hand away.

"Maybe you haven't shagged him yet, but you two will be doing the naked tango in no time. Heat will catch up to you sooner or later and even your stubborn ass won't be able to resist it."

I roll my eyes, but she's right. Heat is a powerful thing, and being mated to an Alpha, I'm sure it will definitely happen sooner rather than later. Still, I did want things to start moving along between us, so maybe it will be a good thing?

Of course, I'd never tell my best friend these thoughts- She'd never let me hear the end of it. Instead, I distract her by bringing up her second favorite subject next to my sex life- her sex life.

"I see you didn't bother to wait for your heat. Do you plan on telling me about your mate since you already seem to know so much about mine?"

"Oh my god, Poppy, he's amazing! His name is Thomas and he's a guard for the pack. He reminds me a lot of you, actually. I can't wait for you to meet him, I know you guys will be best friends," she gushes.

She finally pulls away to wrap the sheet back over her and I give her a genuine smile , happy that she's happy.

"Well if he's anything like me, of course he's amazing. I really am happy for you, Len. You deserve it," I beam at her.

She places her hands on my shoulders, careful to secure the sheet around her this time as she does, and looks at me with a tender expression.

"You too, Poppy. Maddox is a really great guy."

"And did you come to that conclusion before or after you threatened him in the woods?" I laugh at her.

"Ehh, hard to tell. I was just making sure you were safe," she shrugs.

I notice she's hopping back and forth on her feet and laugh again.

"Go pee, I'll catch up with you later."

We hug again and I start to continue down the hall, but not before issuing one last warning.

"And you better be using protection! I can only handle one of you as it is, we don't need a miniature version running around," I call back to her.

The downstairs are is a lot more spacious than I anticipated. The living room is cozy hues of dark blue and grey. There's a large sectional that wraps around a majority of the wall. It's covered in throw pillows and fuzzy blankets and underneath it is a plush grey rug that covers the floor.

The fireplace across from it entices me, especially after sitting out in the freezing rain, and the large TV mounted above it reminds me of Maddox's confession about falling asleep during movies.

I imagine cuddling up to him on the couch and watching one with the fireplace going and a storm brewing outside. Admittedly, it sounded like heaven.

I make a mental note to convince him to have a Star Wars marathon with me and continue exploring. There are so many winding hallways, it's hard to keep track. When I get to the last hallway, I hear faint shouting coming from the last door.

I know it's not my business. I know I shouldn't eavesdrop. I was, however, lured in further by the scent of cinnamon and cardamom. It was too powerful to deny, and the man it belongs to did instruct me to explore. This is the last hallway for me to go down- it can't be my fault if I happen to overhear anything.

The pull to Maddox grows stronger as I get closer to the door, and I'm sure he feels it, too. The shouting also grows louder as I get closer and I begin to regret my decision.

I don't have any time to do anything about it though because the door swings open violently and Maddox steps out, anger written all over his expression. I really fucked up. He's probably pissed I'm even back here, but when he finally realizes it's me standing in front of him, his anger turns to surprise.

"Poppy?"

"I'm sorry, I-I didn't mean to-"

Maddox is pushed into me as two men I don't recognize carry a third struggling man, one on each arm, through the door.

The struggling one looks at me with pure malice as he's pushed down the hallway , but I swear I've never met him.

"Why does that guy look so angry? And why were you surprised to see me? You didn't sense me coming?" I whisper at him, all the questions spilling out of me as Maddox regains his composure.

"I'm sorry, I was just so distracted by that shit show of a meeting, I didn't register that it was you lurking outside the door," he grins at me.

The anger finally seems to subside a little, but he still looks slightly irritated behind the smile.

"And the guy? I've never met him before but I swear he looked pissed at me."

"He's not pissed at you, he's just pissed at his poor life choices," he sighs as he drags his hand roughly through his hair.

I nod, unable to take my eyes off the retreating figures. Whatever that was, it felt personal. I could just sense that man didn't just dislike me, he fucking hated me. So what was Maddox hiding from me?