The pack house was completely transformed compared to how it was during the pack dinner.

It was dimly lit and there were no pack members socializing in the living room or kitchen, but rather they were scrambling in the kitchen wearing fancy tuxes and dresses. Mouthwatering aromas filled the air and made my stomach silently growl. "Greyson, what's going on?" I asked as he led me into the huge empty dining room.

"We're having a date night," he softly said. "Seafood, steak, pastas. All the foods you've told me you like and then some." The edges of my lips tugged up.

"Thank you," I whispered so low that even I had trouble hearing them as they left my lips.

He chuckled before gently placing his lips on my forehead. "You're welcome." He gently placed his hand on the low of my back and led me to a circular table that replaced the long dining table that'd been there during the pack dinner. After he pushed me into the table he took his place across from me and looked at the menus that were waiting for us and I became acutely aware of the music that was softly floating through the air. My eyes wandered over dish after dish that made my mouth water and my stomach growl. He wasn't kidding when he said all the foods that I liked.

"Good evening, Alpha and Luna," the waiter said as I lifted my head, and to my surprise, I saw Matthew with his dirty blonde hair perfectly slicked back while he wore an immaculate dress shirt tucked into black slacks paired with shiny black dress shoes. "Are you ready to order?"

"Do you know what you'd like, Avery?" he questioned as he lifted his eyes from the menu and I nodded my head.

"Yes, I would like the deer steak medium rare with the mashed potatoes with light gravy, please," I said to Matthew, causing him to nod before his eyes momentarily glazed over letting me know he was mind-linking someone, most likely the kitchen staff. After a few moments, his eyes cleared and he looked to Greyson.

"And you, Alpha?"

"I would also like the deer steak medium rare with a baked potato and carrots," he said as he folded his menu and collected mine, causing me to give him a pointed look. He sighed as he handed Matthew the menus before grumpily saying, "Please." I could see the corners of Matthew's lips slightly turn up due to how obviously Greyson didn't want to say the one syllable word, but he knew to keep his mouth shut or Greyson would knock his teeth in.

"Of course," he said as he took the menus. "I'll see that your food is done as soon as possible and your wine will be out shortly."

"Thank you, Matthew," I politely offered, causing him to give me a polite smile in return.

"No problem, Luna," he said before disappearing through the doors. No matter how many times people called me that, I'd never quite gotten used to being called Luna. It also bothered me that Greyson probably ordered him to call me that.

I was pulled out of my thoughts when I felt the heat of eyes on me, or more specifically, the heat of Greyson's eyes on me. "What?" I asked as I started looking over myself to make sure that nothing was in disarray, "is there something wrong?"

"No, there's nothing wrong," he said with a slight chuckle, causing my focus to return to him as my eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Now stop worrying and come over here." My eyebrows furrowed even further but I stood up nonetheless and slowly made my way toward him. I stopped in front of him, confused radiating off my body in waves. His eyes bore into mine with an intensity I'd only seen once before, but I knew his wolf wasn't behind his longing stare. I couldn't help but smile before his eyes quickly swept over my body before his eyes found mine once more.

"Are you going to keep staring at me, or do you want to dance?" I quietly asked. The corners of his lips pulled up ever so slightly before he took my hand in his and led me to an open spot and slowly started swaying side to side to the beat of the soft music, his hands securing themselves onto my waist.

"You look really amazing, Avery," Greyson softly said as I gently placed my head on his chest as we danced. "It's moments like these that remind me that you're too good for me. I'm surprised you haven't rejected me yet." At his harsh words, I immediately straightened up. Rejection was a rare and painful occurrence that happens if one mate denounces the other as their mate, causing the physical and emotional links they shared to be severed forever. Their wolves suffer the most due to the fact that the deep innermost link with their wolves- which were the bonds who created the essence of the mate bond- are broken which is a process that takes many days, even weeks to fully severe. The only instance you wouldn't be able to reject your mate would be if you were already marked by them.

"Greyson, I would never reject you," I softly said as I gently placed a hand on his cheeks, the words shocked me as they slid past my lips, but deep down I knew they were true. I went from hating the very air he breathed and trying to come up with terrible consequences for what he'd done to me to being with him in this very moment having a candlelit dinner and sharing a tender moment. It wasn't because I forgave everything he'd done to me physically and emotionally, but it was because there was something inside me that knew that he was broken and knew that he's trying. Even though that wasn't an excuse for the horrible things he'd done to me, I knew he was genuinely trying to change himself for the better. For me.

"But you should've, and you suffered for not doing so. But I'm glad that you didn't," he said barely above a whisper as he gently took my hand from his face and gently kissed my palm, causing a wave of sparks to rush over me before he placed my hand back where it was. "You're so beautiful and dependant and smart that I honestly don't know what to do with you. Like I've said, I've never not completely been in control of something in my life and then you, my smart-mouthed independent little wolf, come out of nowhere and flip my whole world upside down...and I'm happy that you did. I'm not going to sit here and try to defend my actions or play the game where I avoid owning up to my mistakes. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm sorry for what I've put you through, Avery, it's just...God, I have so many problems and I'm so used to taking my anger out on someone else that I used you as a mean to take it out which I shouldn't have done, and I'm so sorry Avery. I'll never not be." I could tell that it was hard for Greyson to fully express his emotions and apologize. I saw the conflict in his eyes. But I also saw how genuine it was and the sincerity behind each syllable he spoke and it caused the spark of hope that ignited in me that night on the cliff to into a small flame. "I promise I'll let you in on everything you need to know, but please be patient with me. This feeling is all so new to me."

"What feeling?" I asked.

"Love," he simply answered, his words barely rising above the music. "It's a feeling I haven't felt in a very long time and I think that might be part of the reason I act the way I do. I haven't felt it in so long I get so possessive because I want to bask in it for as long as I can, but in the process, I nearly drove you away." Something bloomed in my chest that caused my heart to race and my wolf to go in a frenzy as his lips gently met my forehead then my cheeks before they made a move toward my lips when he suddenly stopped, his lips hovering a hair's width above mine. "May I?" he softly asked, his breath tickling my lips.

I smiled. "I guess you can." And at that moment it felt like the world was at a complete standstill. This was nothing like the steamy shower kiss we'd shared, no that wasn't us, it was our inner animals, but this tender moment was us. Hip to hip, chest to chest, lips to lips. This was us. He gently brought his hand to my cheek and gently moved my head so he could have the access to me he needed, and I let him without a breath of resistance. A soft groan escaped his lips that caused something to settle into my lower stomach as I pulled him closer, addicted to the way our bodies perfectly fit together.

Greyson's hands slowly slowly made their way to my lower back right before he abruptly pulled away and put his forehead to mine, his breathing short and labored letting me know he was fighting his wolf. I couldn't help but laugh not only at the lipstick that was faintly smeared on his lips but also due to how adorable he looked causing Greyson to narrow his eyes at me.

"It's all fun and games until I pin you up against that wall and let my animal instincts take over," he lowly said, motioning to the wall right across from us. I instantly sobered up, causing his lips to pull up in a grin before he placed one more quick kiss on my lips then he started swaying along with the music once more. I swear this man's attitude changed on a dime. We continued slow dancing with me placing a few playful kisses on Greyson's neck and throat, causing him to suck in his breath or give me warning growls that let me know I was on thin ice. But what could I say, it was fun messing with him.

After a few more moments, Matthew brought us our wine which warranted our return to the table. Matthew nearly poured our glasses before saying, "Do you want me to cancel the food because by the looks of it, you guys should be full off each other. Nice lipstick by the way, Greyson." I had to hold in my laughter as Greyson gave Matthew a glare that would kill if it could.

"Watch yourself, Matthew," he warned, causing Matthew to wink before joking saying, "Duly noted, Alpha." I had a feeling that if I weren't there, Greyson would've gone after Matthew, but he let it slide. For now at least. "That boy..." he sighed as he used his napkin to wipe the lipstick from his lips before he raised his glass. "A toast to new beginnings," he said.

"To new beginnings," I repeated before the satisfying "clink" of our glasses filled the air and we both brought our glasses to our lips. The bitter taste was a foreign one on my tongue since this was the first time I'd drank wine, but the taste wasn't bad. It was actually kind of pleasant.

Not too long after, our food was served and to say it was amazing would be an understatement. It was more like the gates of heaven opening on your taste buds and a million angels singing with every bite you took.

"Did you like our little date night," Greyson asked as we started walking home after I'd thanked all the pack members who'd helped make this night possible.

"I most definitely did," I said, unable to keep the smile off my lips.

"I'm glad," he said, sounding genuinely happy because I was happy. Once we got into the house, we wasted no time changing into our night clothes and sliding into bed. Greyson's arms instantly wrapped themselves around my body and I felt myself relax. It felt so right laying here with him having my legs tangled in his, having his arms around my body, having our lips pressed against each others'. It felt like a dream that I didn't want to wake up from.

As we kissed, Greyson's lips slowly strayed from mine and started making their way along my jawline and down the side of my neck. "You're so beautiful Avery," he murmured between kisses. "And smart," kiss! "And caring," kiss. "And amazing," kiss! I couldn't do more than humm in response as pure ecstasy ran through my body and clouded my thoughts. His lips just felt so good on my neck and the anticipation kept growing and growing as he got closer and closer to the grove where my neck in shoulder met. It was where he'd mark me one day if I let him. A sigh pushed past my lips causing him to groan as his grip on me tightened. I knew he wanted to and my wolf really wanted him to, but was I ready for him to?

Luckily, I didn't have to make that decision because suddenly he pulled back and his body went rigid as his eyes glazed over. Someone was mind linking him. Once his eyes cleared, he lowly cursed before he quickly got out of the bed revealing that he was wearing nothing more than a pair of boxers. "What's wrong, Grey?"

"Nothing, little wolf," he said as he quickly slid on his gray sweatpants. "It's just a prisoner who won't fall in line."

"Should I come?" I asked making a move to get up, but he quickly stopped me by shaking his head.

"No, I can handle it," he reassured before he pressed a light kiss to my forehead then one to my lips. "I'll be back in fifteen minutes, my little wolf, okay?" He offered and I nodded. That nickname was growing on me. He grinned before he placed one more chaste kiss on my lips and walked out of the bedroom. "I'll be back soon," he called before the sound of the front door closing was heard throughout the house.

I couldn't help but instantly miss him, which surprised me. I'd gone from being fine without him to depending on him like water in less than 24 hours. It was honestly scary. I decided to kill time by wandering through the house and counting my steps. I was on step 257 when I realized where I'd gone. I was standing right in front of Greyson's office. My first instinct was to go in there and read up on Gavin and try to figure out why Greyson had Wolfsbane in there, but at the same time, I didn't want to betray Greyson's new found trust and...love for me. Despite the fact that I couldn't fully commit to the L- word, it felt good to know that he felt it for me. But at the same time, this Gavin sounded dangerous and I didn't want Greyson to have to deal with him on his own.

With that thought in mind, I silently crept into his office and made myself comfortable in his chair before I went into the drawer I'd gone into before and pulled out Gavin's file. I opened the file only to see that the page I'd been reading was no longer there. I fruitlessly flipped through every page that filled the thick file, but it was no use. It wasn't there. Great, the only page that could tell me how to take down the beast afflicting my mate was gone. Hopefully, it was on another page. I flipped back to the first page and read the entry that was on it.

"He got her. I tried everything Atonya told me to, but he somehow managed to defy death. He killed my mate, my beloved Katherine, and I'll never get her back." My heart dropped and I forced myself to read it again in hopes that I'd read it wrong. But I hadn't. He killed my mate, my beloved Katherine. I felt a heaviness settle unto my heart and millions of thoughts fought for dominance in my head. When was Greyson going to tell me he'd had a mate before? Second-chance mates were extremely rare and the Moon Goddess rarely appointed them, so what made Greyson's case so special that she'd give him another chance? When was he going to tell me she'd been killed? Was this the Katherine that girl had been talking about at the pack dinner?

My confusion quickly turned to anger as I threw the file across the room, not caring that the papers had flown out and landed all across the room. I felt betrayed and lied to. I felt tears well up in my eyes, but I quickly blinked them away and stood up. Greyson was going to answer for this, I didn't care if he got mad at me for going through his stuff. I needed answers and I needed them now.

I stormed out of the house, the cold night air hitting me like a slap in the face, but it didn't stop me. I continued walking toward the prison where Greyson said he'd be. "Where's Greyson?" I tightly asked one of the guards that stood in front of the building.

"I'm sorry Luna, but the Alpha doesn't want you to-"

"I don't care what he wants," I snapped. "Tell me where he is. That's an order."

The guard bowed his head in submission. "I'm sorry Luna. He's in cell A17."

"Thank you," I said before I walked into the dark building. The smell of mold and blood hung heavy in the air and the pained moans and groans of prisoners filled my ears, but I was too focused on Greyson to sympathize.

"You're lucky you're alive, pup," Greyson's deep voice rang in my ears as I neared where he was. "I should've killed you on sight, but death would be too great of a mercy for you."

"I-I know, A-Alpha. I'm s-sorry, Alpha," a muffled voice responded.

"You don't know what sorry means, mutt," Greyson seethed before the sound of a fist hitting flesh rang out followed by a pained groan.

"Greyson when were you-" I started, but my words died on my tongue once I saw the beaten bloodied man who laid in front of him.

"Avery, what are you doing here?" Greyson questioned as he tried to stand in front of me so I couldn't see the man, but it was too late.

Fear raced through my body while the horrible memories filled my head as the name of the monster that I'd thought was long dead slid past my lips. "Andrew?"