It was oddly silent with Sophia's hand's tied up with Clay, but it was nice. Mya was gone spending time with her mate as well. Aria backed off to give me time to get to know Liam better. And Liam... Liam was still walking on eggshells. And thankfully, it was finally starting to warm up.

"Ready?" Liam asked. We were going on a picnic. And thankfully, Aria taught me how to make myself warmer, so I wasn't too worried about the tiny leftover bite in the air. We walked the short distance from his home to a clearing where he already had a blanket set out. He set the basket down and we sat as well. Liam even went out of his way to make cream cheese and cucumber sandwiches for me. Aria was still pushing for me to eat meat again but I only tried one other time and it didn't go too well. I'd gotten in the habit of showing Liam things Aria had taught me and practicing in front of him.

"How has school been?" I asked him. He shrugged.

"It's okay," he brushed it off. "I miss seeing you all day, though," he added. I chuckled and rolled my eyes.

"I promise, you'll live," I replied, putting the empty baggy back in the basket and taking a sip of water. I formed my hands around an invisible ball and circulated the wind in my tiny atmosphere. It was something new I had been working on.

"How are your grandparents doing?" he asked.

"They're good," I said, temporarily distracted by my tiny wind tunnel. I made it slightly bigger before letting it go. I smiled before pecking him on the cheek. I'd been getting pretty bold lately with Liam. I was comfortable with him, and I accepted him as my mate. We hadn't kissed again, officially, but little pecks here and there were acceptable. His face lit up as he pulled me closer to him and pressed his lips against mine. I didn't fight him or pull away. I let it happen, knowing it was long overdue. My hand moved to his cheek as I deepened out kiss. His arm wrapped around my waist as he pulled me onto his lap. Butterflies attacked my stomach. When I felt like I couldn't breath anymore, I finally pulled away. He was grinning from ear to ear.

"I love you," he said gently. I could tell he meant it with every fiber in his being. I wasn't ready to say it back yet, but we were getting there. I pecked his cheek.

"We're getting there," I replied. I could feel the overwhelming love rolling off of him. He wasn't upset or hurt, just happy.

"I'm glad you gave me a chance. Well, another one," he joked. I could only shrug.

"You should be thanking Aria. She's the one who kept dropping me off at your house unannounced," I laughed. He chuckled and shook his head as he relaxed back onto his hand with his other arm still wrapped around my waist.

"How's the meat-eating going?" he asked. I sighed and rested my head on his shoulder.

"Still tough. I know it's necessary if I ever want to see my wolf, but I just... I can't keep it down. The first little taste was fine but I never actually had to chew anything. The second time..." I drifted off. Aria made a ham sandwich for me one day and had me take an unwilling bite. I threw up almost immediately.

"I don't want to see you hurt anyone. I can help if you want," he offered. I only sighed.

"I know it's something that needs to happen but I just can't bring myself to keep any of the meat down. I don't know if that will change with my wolf," I admitted.

"Well you have less than a month until you figure it out," he reminded me. My birthday was less than a month away. I was turning 18 and Aria was going to unleash Sahria, my wolf. Typically wolves were not granted names, but apparently, mine did. And she sounded destructive. Typically, werewolves were highly in touch with their wolves and could communicate with them and call on them any time they pleased. Sahria and I would be different. I wouldn't be able to call her out whenever I wanted. She would be powerful, but I would have more skills and powers to my use as a human. She would be more for protection in case of emergencies after my first shift. I wouldn't be able to communicate with her and she would choose when it was necessary to make an appearance. She would also choose to make an appearance if she wasn't get enough food, which is why Aria was trying to get me to eat me again before she arrived. Because she was coming whether I was ready or not, and I was not ready.

"I'm actually scared of Sahria," I admitted to Liam. He sighed and kissed my head.

"We have more reason to fear her than you do. She'll protect you," he tried to assured me.

"That's what I'm afraid of," I replied. I was afraid of Sahria going on a rampage and hurting people. This was my pack.I didn't want to hurt anyone in it.

"I'm sure Aria won't let that happen. That's why she's trying to help you eat meat now," he tried to assure me. I sighed and sat up.

"We should go back," I sighed. I moved to lay in the grass and dug my fingers into the Earth, pulling the energy from the ground. I'd gotten so good at that little trick, that I would leave a circle of dead plants when I was done. I enjoyed the energy boost, even when it wasn't a full moon. It was like a high. Liam packed up our belongings before we walked the short distance back to his house.

"Danni!" Lily said before jumping into my arms. That was another thing; Lily absolutely loved me. And I loved her.

"Hello, little bug," I smiled before kissing her head. I set her back on her feet before moving into the living room. Luna Addie smiled when she saw me.

"Danni, how was your picnic?" she asked. I smiled back warmly.

"It was good," I answered. Liam was only two steps behind me.

"Hey mom," he greeter her before he went to sit on the couch, taking me by my hand and bringing me with him in the process.

"Hi honey," she greeted back. Things had calmed down with Liam's family and me a lot. Even Bella and I were getting along great.

"Don't forget that I'm going to be going over to Danni's for dinner tonight," Liam reminded his mom. For the 6 months that Liam and I had been mates, I hadn't allowed him to come over. But since things had been going smoothly for a while, I figured it was time for the family dinner to be on my side of the street this time. Although deep down, I wished he were actually meeting my parents and not my grandparents. And I wished that we had both gotten a chance to meet my mom, Rebecca.