Argent POV

I knock on her door and wait for an answer. She's been out all day with Jemma, shopping for a whole new wardrobe. My poor Aida had literally nothing with her. No shoes. No clothes. Nothing. And yet she didn't complain. Instead, she offered to try to find a job to repay me for giving her my card to buy everything.

I've never met anyone like her. She has nothing, but she would give anything she could to make sure I was not put out. How amazing and selfless after all she has been through. Fuck, I need to grow up to deserve her.

Our future Luna is going to change this pack. For the better.

I hear her shuffling around inside the door. What's she doing? I sent her a text two hours ago saying that I wanted to take her to dinner somewhere tonight. Nowhere too far off the grounds. She isn't ready, and we aren't exactly sure if it's all clear yet.

But I want her to have fun. And I want to be alone with her; there are serious ulterior motives at play here. I've had to share her with the pack for three days. Tonight, she's mine. So, we are going to a little place just on the outskirts of the pack land, run by some members of our pack. We'll be close to home and within the protection of the pack should something happen.

But it won't. No way would I let anything happen to her.

She has been acclimating well for a few days now. It's been a challenge for her. Everyone is naturally inquisitive about where she came from. She's been facing questions left, right, and centre, and she's handled it all really well.

We've had a few odd moments here and there. She wants to be completely honest to a fault about where she's been, and I worry it may put people off or give them the wrong idea. She's not shy about her past, but it's not like she can just say, "Oh, I haven't been around because my long-lost father locked me in an institution to steal my blood." That doesn't really make the best first impression, and it would scare everyone. No one really knows what has happened.

We're still working out what to tell the pack. For now, we're going with the story that she's simply Jasper's long-lost daughter, my new mate. And since there has been no change with Amalie, we haven't made an announcement yet.

Me having a new mate is enough gossip filled info to fill the teenage angst of many a member in this house for now.

I knock harder and just as I move my hand to knock again, she opens the door.

Wow. I can't even form any words. I mean. Wow.

She is a vision. She steps out into the hallway, and I can't hide my smile.

My mate is hot.

Aida has on tight black pants and a form fitting white top. It has loose sleeves that end at her elbows, and the back of the top is longer than the front. Her small, heeled boots make her an equal height with me for once. She only wears light makeup, but she doesn't really need to wear any. Her pale skin against her dark hair reminds me of a portrait of the geishas you see in old Japanese movies.

Her long hair is loose around her face and reaches down to her waist. She twists part of the ends in her left hand nervously, giving me a shy smile. Aida says, "Well? What do you think? Be nice, now. This is my first ever night out, so don't crush me!" She winks. Crush her? I'm over here just trying not to touch her.

"You look, amazing. Remind me to thank Jemma later!"

She smiles, and I practically melt at the sight of her. Oh my goddess, I want to kiss her.

I take her hand, and we head down the hall. Everyone we pass wishes us a good night, and I hear wolf whistles as we pass some of the guys. James is waiting for us when we reach the main staircase.

Aida lets go of my hand and steps forward to hug him. They have become closer over the last few days. I feel like it's the missing link they both needed. They finally have each other, and I love it. For both of them.

He steps back and looks her up and down, then he pushes her to the side and puts on a stern face. "Now, Mr. Lake, do we need to have a discussion about your intentions for my beautiful little sister?"

I laugh and shake my head. "No, sir. My intentions are to show her a good night and maybe get in a sneaky kiss on the way home."

Aida lets out a loud laugh, and we both stare at her. She shakes her head and looks down. James is trying to be serious, but he just makes a gagging noise instead.

Fair enough.

He shakes my hand a little too hard and turns to Aida. "Have a nice time, you two. Let me know if you need me." With that, he heads off down the hallway, likely towards Jemma's room. We barely see the two of them apart anymore. Crazy, loved up kids.

I take Aida's hand again and we make our way out the front door and out to my car waiting in the drive. I open her door for her, and she giggles.

"I am a gentle-wolf, you know." I wink and close her door and head around to the driver's side. We're only going a small distance, but it's cold out, and it's easier this way. We drive and make small talk about her shopping day.

"Jemma is the best," Aida exclaims excitedly. "She knows everything about clothes and what to wear. I literally have no clue, so I just trusted what she said. I think we did okay, though. And I promise we didn't spend too much. And no matter how many times you say I'm not, I am paying you back." She makes this clear. Again.

"You know I don't care but if that's what you want, then okay. When you can, okay?" I am never letting her pay me back. Ever. But the satisfied look on her face is priceless, and I like it. Anything to make her happy.

We soon arrive at Joe's, and as I pull up, I see her looking a little nervous. It's not surprising. We still have no clue if Lukah is on the hunt for the girls, and we have no idea where Jasper headed either.

The trackers have searched for him, and his trail ends three hours south of the institution literally into thin air. The Strand pack has been trying to track Lukah at his usual haunts, and they've had no luck either. All of this makes us collectively nervous, of course. But I don't tell her that. She doesn't need to know.

We enter, and Joe and Merla come to greet us. They are an elderly couple, members of the pack. Their children have grown up and followed their mates elsewhere, but Joe and Merla have remained and fed us all here each Friday since I can remember.

"Argent, we're so happy to see you! And we're even more happy to meet your beautiful mate," Merla says before giving Aida a huge squeeze.

Aida just laughs. "Pleased to meet you, Mrs. Denari."

Merla waves a hand. "Oh, darling, please. It's Merla to our pack. Please come in and let me know what you'd like. Anything on the house for you two."

I shake my head, but I know she'll never accept payment. This is our pack way. We support and nurture each other.

We sit at a small booth in the back, and Aida pores over the menu. Her face lights up at every section she reads.

"Oh my god. I literally want to try everything."

She is so excited about tiny insignificant things. It's refreshing.

"Let's start with a few things and extend on that next week, shall we?"

She nods eagerly and makes her choices.

As we're waiting for our drinks and meals to arrive, we discuss our weekend plans. We're going to work on her wolf skills tomorrow. Well, we're going to try, anyway. She still has no active connection with her wolf. We still don't know why.

I hope it's not permanent. It's not that it matters to me, but I can't imagine a life without my wolf. The freedom. The exhilaration of running free, as one with him. I want her to experience that.

"So, tomorrow Dr. Emerson arrives. She's an expert in our field, though she is a human mated to an Alpha. It's rare to have a human mate, but it does happen. Because of this, she knows all about us. And luckily for you and me, she's an expert in genetics, along with mutation and manipulation of genes."

"Do you think she can help?"

I hesitate. "She's the best option other than ... him."

I see her swallow hard. It's true, though; no one would be better at helping us to reverse all this than her father. The notes and books we found in his office have not been easy for Marcus to understand, but it's not his field.

Hopefully, Emerson can shed some light on it all.

"Arge, if she can't help, if I'm stuck like this, I want you to know that I don't expect anything from you. You've done so much for me, and I will always appreciate it. You saved me."

I cant believe what I'm hearing. I shake my head slowly from side to side and reach out to hold her smaller hand in mine.

"What are you saying? Are you asking me if I would still want to be with you if you can't find your wolf?" I almost say as a whisper, not wanting to know the answer but needing to know it regardless.

She nods a small, sad nod and my heart sinks just a little.

This girl. Selfless until the end.

"Aida, maybe it's because you're new to our lifestyle, but you just don't get it. I could never live without you now that I've found you. Wolf or no wolf, you're mine, and I'm yours. Forever."

I reach out and make my grip on her hand tighter , bringing it to my lips and placing a soft kiss on her upturned palm . Small tears leave glistening trails on her cheeks, marring her perfect round face. I stand up and walk around to her side of the booth, sitting and taking her chin in my hand, I lean forward and place a gentle kiss on her lips.

I lean out a little, just enough to look at her expression. and what I see as I stare into hers I just cannot fathom. My whole future is reflected in her beautiful brown orbs and I cannot help the emotion that bubbles up inside of me. I don't even care if I look like a huge pussy right now. I can't hold back, though I probably should. I kiss her again, and this time she opens her mouth a little and allows me to deepen our kiss.

It's everything I thought it would be and more. I want nothing more than to devour her, take my time tasting her, exploring her, casting every little thing about her into my mind to savour forever. But remembering where we are, I pull away and kiss her soft damp cheek, remaining close just to save myself from going crazy with need. We stay like this, just looking at each other, until our food arrives and we are forced to take a breath and calm the heat of the moment. I move back to my side, never taking my eyes away from hers.

"No more talk of you ever going anywhere, okay? We will figure all of this out, together", I try to sound light, easy but I know the situation is anything but.

She nods, a small grin transforming her features as she leans her upper body across the table towards me, "Keep kissing me like that, Arge, and I will never leave your side again." She bites her bottom lip a little, and it takes all my strength not to jump over the table and kiss her all night. Wow. This girl owns my ass. Already.

I like it.

The seriousness of the moment passes and we ease into light conversation as we both make our way through the sizeable meals. She lets out a sigh, twirling her fork around her pasta.

"So, tomorrow, I've got wolf class and Dr. Emerson in my head. Sounds fun." She says with a sarcastic twang before scarfing down the huge fork full of fettuccine.

That's my girl.