I spent the rest of the day aimlessly wandering around the pack grounds whether I was walking in human form or running in wolf form. I needed something to help me vent. By the time I returned home, I was naked, hungry, and just as frustrated as I was when I left. The lights were off so I assumed Greyson was asleep, and despite how upset I was, I quietly opened and closed the door in order to keep from waking him up. I softly walked through the house toward the kitchen, only to nearly scream when I saw Greyson sitting at the kitchen table in nothing but his briefs with a plate of food and a glass of water across from him. As soon as he saw me he stood up and slowly walked toward me.

"You're home," he softly said, stopping in front of me, but instead of responding or even looking at him, I walked past him and the delicious smelling food he'd made me and grabbed an apple before I walked upstairs to take a shower. "Avery," he sighed following me, but I continued ignoring him as I tried to suppress the suffocating tightness in my chest. "Avery, please-" he begged as he reached for my hand, but I quickly pulled away.

"Don't touch me, Greyson," I chastised before I hurried into the bathroom and closed the door behind me. I didn't have it in me to look at him. Not right now. I took a quick shower and ate my apple as I did so, knowing that I'd be too tired to eat it if I waited until later. I walked out into our bedroom and grabbed some pajamas, Greyson watching every step I took from his place on the bed. Once I was fully clothed, I grabbed the blanket he kept in the closet along with a pillow from my side of the bed.

"Where are you going?" He asked as I began walking out of the room.

"To bed," I said without looking back at him. He had a ton of guest rooms in this house so I had a lot of options.

"Avery, please come back," he pleaded as his fingers wrapped themselves around my wrist, and instead of instantly pulling back, I found myself lost in the sparks that raced through my being. I looked into his eyes and saw that he was genuine and I could hear how badly he wanted me to stay.

I sighed and slowly nodded. "Don't make me regret this, Greyson," I warned. "This is your last chance or I will make you pay. Trust me."

Despite my threat, he let out a sigh of relief and nodded. "Thank you." Confusion moved through my body since I'd never seen Greyson so relieved or genuine, but I allowed him to take me to bed nonetheless with me on my side and him on his. "Avery," he whispered after a few moments and I hummed a response. "Can I touch you?" I instantly shook my head. "Please. Just for a little bit. I just haven't touched you in a long time." For some reason, my heart skipped a beat at his words and my stomach flipped.

"Fine," I mumbled. "But only for a few minutes."

"That's all I need," he said before his arms were securely around me in a tight embrace so that my back was against his chest and his head was in the crook of my neck. The anger I was trying so hard to hold on to slowly dissipated and was replaced by confusion and relaxation. I had to admit that it felt good. Really good. I felt my eyes flutter closed as sleep slowly crept over me. "Good night, little wolf," he whispered before I felt his lips on my neck, causing my body to intake a sharp breath. He chuckled. "I'll try harder, I promise." And those were the last words I heard before I found sleep.

***

I awoke to the smell of bacon filling the air along with other heavenly scents. I slowly peeled my eyes open and instantly realized Greyson wasn't in bed with me. I let out a sigh as I sat up and ran my fingers through my hair. Of course he left while I was asleep, why was I surprised? Matthew was probably downstairs getting breakfast ready so we could watch a marathon of cheap movies or something. That was our relationship, and that was a lot more than I could say for Greyson and me at the moment.

I hopped out of bed and stretched my back before I threw my hair up in a messy bun then made my way downstairs. "Good morning," I mumbled as I blindly walked into the kitchen with my eyes still half closed.

"Morning, Avery," a voice that sounded a tad higher than Matthew's greeted, causing me to fully open my eyes and be meet with my beautiful best friend.

"Natalie," I smiled as I wrapped my arms around her in a hug.

"Oh be careful, I'm handling hot grease," she chuckled, but gave me a one-handed hug nonetheless.

"I haven't seen you in what's felt like ages," I admitted as I sat on the counter.

"I know, we haven't been able to hang out as much as I'd like but you know, duty calls. For both of us, me with my pack duty and you with your mate."

"Don't remind me," I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose. The very thought of Greyson made me upset, but not as upset as the thought of me actually believing he'd make an effort to change. I'd just been caught up in one of his calm moments, but now that it's a new day we're back to business as usual.

"Okay, I won't," she said as she started sliding freshly made omelets out of her pan and onto a plate where more omelets resided. "Tell me about Avery. How is she feeling? What's on her mind? You know, stuff that normal girls our age talk about."

"Normal isn't even in my vocabulary," I chuckled before I readjusted myself on the counter. "But Avery is not in the best mindset right now," I admitted.

"Pray tell," she said, and those two words were enough to break the dam that kept my thoughts and feelings from forming words and carelessly spilling from my lips. I told her about everything from the night my pack was attacked to the night Greyson and I first met and even what happened after the dinner until I finally told her what had happened last night. I was out of breath.

"Wow," she breathed as she turned off the oven and fully looked me in the eyes. "That sounds...wow."

"Tell me about it," I grumbled. "He's such a wild card, you know? One minute he's nice and the next he's threatening to rip my throat out. Then the next moment he's soft and caring and in the next, he's threatening to Hunt me. And then last night..." I trailed. "Last night almost felt different, you know? Like he was trying to change and make our relationship about something other than dominance and fear, but then I wake up alone in our bed this morning without even a small goodbye and it honestly crushes me." I knew I should stop burdening Natalie with my problems especially because I didn't want to scare her off, but she was my only female friend and I really needed to let it out. "I don't know what's wrong with me because I know I should hate him but-"

"-the mate bond's getting the best of you and you want to keep giving him second chances."

"Exactly," I sighed. "Does that make me as hopeless as I feel?"

"Not at all. I know we barely know each other, but I know you're strong both mentally and physically and that there's another reason besides the mate bond that you keep going back and whatever the reason, it's yours and yours alone."

I silently pondered over her words for a few moments before something her brother told me resurfaced in my memories. "Your brother said something about trusting Greyson and giving him another chance because he's trying to figure something out. Do you know what that 'something' is?" I questioned. That same look flashed across her face like it did with Matthew when I asked about Greyson: looking like she wants to say something but something's holding her back.

"No, I don't," she said as she went back to work so she'd have something to look at other than my eyes that were silently calling her out on her bluff.

"Natalie, I-"

"Look, if there's something up with Greyson he'll tell you when he's ready. Despite he's terrible and questionable behavior, he's just looking out for you the only way he knows how." Why does this sound familiar?

"Yeah, sure," I grumbled not wanting to talk about Greyson anymore. "How'd it go with that Becca or Bex or whatever her name is?"

"It went okay," she admitted with a shrug. "I've had wolves that are okay at receiving Discipline and others that aren't. She falls into the 'others'." Discipline was a kind of punishment where your pack status was literally beaten out of you and you had to start over all the way from Omega, the bottom of the food chain. The Alpha could either have mercy on you and make it easy or make your life pure hell until you restore your status. I'm pretty sure I knew which one Greyson would put her through. I instantly felt terrible.

"I didn't want her to go through all that. I just wanted to stand my ground and show everyone that I'm not a weakling who can't defend herself. I never meant for her to-"

"Hey, Avery, relax," Natalie softly said as she placed a warm hand on my shoulder. "What's done is done. She was disrespectful to the Luna, so she got Discipline. That's how things work around here, and it's hard to change the rhythm of how things go. You'll get used to it soon enough."

"Yeah, maybe," I said under my breath, though I knew I'd truly never get used to the violence that thrived on these pack grounds.

"Enough depressing talk," she said as she moved toward the kitchen sink. "Let's eat! Matthew already told me all your favorites and I have a ton of bad movies lined up for us to indulge in," she smiled. I rolled my eyes though a smile plagued my face.

"You and your brother..." I trailed, though we both knew that I loved them.

"Me and my brother," she mocked, "are the best things that have ever happened to you and don't you forget it."

"I don't think you'll ever let me," I chuckled before I hopped off the counter and began filling me plate with greasy and delicious breakfast foods.

***

"I don't understand how you do this! Ugh, I did it again!" Natalie whined as she accidentally hit the menu button for the fourth time during our battle. We'd quickly gotten bored of the movies that were showing today, so Natalie and I opted for the video games the boys played.

"Neither do I," I admitted. "I just click a ton of buttons at the same time and it does stuff. See?" I unpaused the game and quickly started randomly pressing buttons causing my character to engage in its power move and completely annihilate Natalie's character.

"That's not fair! You did that on purpose!" she said which a shove as the word "victory" flashed across the screen as my character engaged in its cringy victory dance.

"Maybe," I shrugged before I laughed.

"You're so lucky that I don't know what I'm doing because if I did you'd be totally-" she suddenly stopped as her eyes glazed over letting me know that someone was linking her. After a few moments the haze fell from her eyes and she sighed before getting up. "Ugh, I gotta go take care of some stuff."

"Do you need any help? I hate being crammed in this house all day," I begged as I copied her actions.

"I wish, but there's still a lot you need to learn about this pack before you dive in like that. But it will all come in its time. Thanks for the offer though, I'll be back soon."

"Fine," I reluctantly said as I crashed on the couch. She shot me an apologetic look before she disappeared. Less than five minutes later, I heard someone else enter the house. "Back already? Guess you couldn't wait to get your butt whooped again."

"You do know your talking to the best Mortal Kombat player in the pack, right?" Matthew quipped as he appeared in the door.

I frowned. "Oh, it's you."

"I'm going to pretend that didn't hurt," he said as he put a hand on his chest.

"Sorry Matthew, but I'm surrounded by guys all the time whether it's you or Greyson and it's good to have another girl to talk to, you know?"

"Yeah. Well, let's go on a run to take your mind off things, yeah?" As soon as those words left his lips, I was up and out the door, practically running toward the woods. Matthew's laugh chased me until we were surrounded by trees. I shamelessly stripped and shifted into my wolf River. I had to admit it did hurt a tad, but it was only because my body was still getting used to shifting on a regular basis since Alpha Phoenix never let me.

I instantly started running not waiting for Matthew knowing that he'd catch up if he wanted to. I simply let my wolf free and let her run as fast and as far as she wanted to. After a few moments, we sensed a deer.

Hunt, she begged despite the fact we'd eaten mere hours ago. Nonetheless, I let her. We stealthily hid and watched it. Its guard wasn't up and it didn't have the scent that a mother deer would. It was alone. Perfect. River effortlessly caught the deer's thick neck between her teeth and savagely bit down until we couldn't feel the jugular moving and blood was streaming down our chins. It tasted amazing. I had to keep my chuckles at bay at the look on Matthew's face. Since I hadn't had my Lunar Ceremony nor had Greyson marked me, I didn't have a link to him so I'd have to wait until we were in human form once more for me to make fun of him.

We continued on through the forest until the sun began dipping in the sky. I was laying down enjoying the feeling of the sun on my skin before I felt Matthew nudge me before he used his head to motion back toward the house. I shook my head and lied back down. He grunted before nudging me harder before motioning toward the house once more. I gave him a warning growl before I laid down again. We may be friends, but I was still his future Luna and when I said stop I meant stop. He suddenly started whimpering before he nudged me over and over again. I knew he wouldn't stop until I gave in. I gave him a louder warning growl but got up with a grunt nonetheless. Sometimes I hated him. He gave me a wolfish grin before we headed toward the house. Once there, we shifted back and changed into our clothes before I said, "You're lucky I don't snap your neck for that stunt you pulled back there."

"Very," he agreed, "but we're back home nonetheless, aren't we?" I scoffed in response. "Look, let's take showers and meet back in the living room and I'll make it up to you."

"I don't know if you can," I admitted. "You know how little freedom Greyson gives me and today I...I forgot for a moment that I'm mated to one of the cruelest men in the world. I forgot about my past. I just felt normal. Once, for once in my life I felt normal."

Sadness and regret flashed across his face before he placed a hand on my shoulder. "This evening will make up for it. I promise."

"It better or a neck is getting snapped, and by 'a neck', I definitely mean yours."

"Duly noted," he mumbled before I made my way upstairs and into the bedroom where Greyson's scent hit me like a truck. I hadn't seen or heard from him all day and thanks to the stupid mate bond my body was yearning for his. But luckily I was stronger than the mate bond. I took a long relaxing shower and ignored the part of my brain that wished Greyson was here to wash me like he usually was. I didn't need Greyson and I never will. I wasn't that pathetic.

As soon as I was done, I hopped out and applied deodorant and brushed my teeth before I headed back out to the bedroom only to be stopped in my tracks when I saw a note on my bed. "Meet me on the training field- Greyson," I read before I noticed something shining on the bed. I slowly bent over and picked it up to see a necklace that rested on the bed with a carefully crafted midnight black charm on it and a small jewel in the shape of a heart on the left side of the wolf's chest. I had to admit it was stunning. But something within me couldn't accept it.

I huffed before I used one hand to hold my towel tighter against my body. "Matthew, tell Greyson he can take this necklace back. I don't want it." Lie number one. I got no answer. "Matthew, I'm not kidding. I don't want to see Greyson." Lie number two. "I don't even want to be near him." Lie number three, I'm out. I still didn't receive a response and I had a feeling he knew about this.

I let out a growl of frustration before I closed my hand into a fist around the necklace and headed into the closet, contemplating whether or not I was going to comply with Greyson's demands. I wanted to follow Matthew and Natalie's advice and give this one more chance. It truly couldn't become worse so the only option left would be to try. So within a few minutes, I was dressed in one of Greyson's sweatshirts with a pair of leggings. His shirts were comfortable and it was a bit chilly outside and I'd run out of my own. I also slid the necklace into my pocket so that I could return it to Greyson when I saw him before making a mental note to kick Matthew's butt the next time I saw him. He was in on this whatever "this" was.

I followed the note's instructions and went to the training grounds where I'd been a little over a day ago with Matthew and the pack before Greyson completely lost his mind over Tyler. After I arrive though, I realized that I was completely alone though the hairs on the back of my neck stood up.

All at once, a scent rushed into my nose causing me to fluidly side step and wrap my arm around my attacker's neck. Then my brain registered the scent and my eyes adjusted to see the figure in my arms. It was Greyson.

"I see you've gotten better," Greyson joked as I released him. "Footwork was a bit sloppy though."

"What is wrong with you, Greyson?" I chastised with a weak punch as he turned to face me. "You should know better than to sneak up on a paranoid girl! I could've snapped your neck!"

"But you didn't," he pointed out with an annoying attractive grin before his eyebrows furrowed and he picked something off the ground. "You dropped this," he said revealing the wolf necklace he delicately held between his fingers. "Why aren't you wearing it? Don't you like it?"

"Of course I like it," I said feeling guilt spread throughout my chest at the hurt look in his eyes, "but it's going to take more than jewelry to earn my trust and forgiveness, Greyson."

Hurt flashed in his eyes before they became stone cold causing my guilt to grow. "Of course I know that Avery, I'm not that shallow. I just wanted something to show that I'm trying, but since you obviously don't care for it-"

"That's not what I mean Greyson," I sighed before running my fingers through my hair. "Look, I have trust issues, okay? I mean, given my past is that really so hard to believe? When I first found out you were my mate I was terrified, but those few moments of tenderness you showed me gave me hope that maybe my life could be better. But then your actions completely demolished it and put me right back in the hell I'd just escaped from and it felt like you didn't care. Sometimes I still don't think you do." By now tears were silently falling down my face as the memories started replying in my head. But I kept eye contact with him. I wanted him to see my pain.

"Of course I care, Avery," Greyson softly said as he cupped my cheek and gently ran his thumb across my chin causing a noticeable shiver to run down my spine. I hadn't felt his touch all day and my body was having withdrawals. "Never doubt that, okay. I...I'm really trying here, okay, and this is harder than you could possibly imagine. But I'm still trying, fighting for this to work despite how hard it is for me not to be in complete control." Conflict was raging in his eyes, but sincerity laced his voice. He sighed and put his forehead on mine, closing his eyes. "I...I can't promise how this will turn out, but I'm willing to try if you are."