I stood awkwardly in the middle of the kitchen, not wanting to go anywhere near Heather in case of a repeat of her unusual outburst. She was scrubbing at the dishes angrily, clattering them down on the drying rack with much more strength than necessary.

I glanced to my right to see Logan making his way back into the kitchen, shoving his phone into the pocket of his shorts. "Sorry, my Beta was just updating me on some pack business."

I nodded, avoiding eye contact, not wanting to talk in case it would set of Heather.

"Do you need help with the dishes?" asked Logan, grabbing a tea towel, but Heather snatched it from him, throwing it back on the counter.

"No, Mom is going to help me after Millie's bath," Heather's tone was glum and gloomy, and I could tell Logan was taken aback by his sister's aggravation.

"Okay, well we're gonna head out."

Heather nodded, chewing the inside of her mouth as she focused on scrubbing the plate in front of her.

"Please tell Diane I said thank you for dinner," I said, chewing on my lip.

Heather scoffed, shaking her head whilst she laughed to herself, causing Logan to glance at her in confusion.

We made our way out of the house, stepping down from the porch onto the gravel path.

"She knows we're mates," mumbled Logan, dragging me down the path and away from the house quickly.

"Yeah she does," I replied, running my hands through my dark hair. "What does this mean? Is she going to tell everyone?"

Logan shook his head, pinching the bridge of his nose in stress. "I'll make sure she doesn't. I don't want the whole pack to know or things could just start to get messy. I need to figure out what I'm doing first."

"Why don't you just throw a party?" I said cheerfully, smiling.

Logan raised his brows, gazing at me questionably. "What?"

"You know, one of those parties where packs all come together so that people can find their mates. Why don't you just hold one of those and that way, people will still think you're mateless, and nobody needs to get hurt."

In my head, it was a great plan, and I was annoyed at myself for not mentioning it earlier, but Logan shook his head, his mouth set in a firm line.

"Inviting a bunch of packs who despise us onto my territory and giving them the upper hand? Something tells me that wouldn't go too well Eliza. It's way too risky. Besides, people would find it suspicious that I stopped the first Whipping and never organised another one. It would be way too obvious that I had found my mate."

I nodded, understanding what he meant. It would just be a perfect chance for them to strike and it was a silly suggestion of mine. I was upset with myself that I couldn't seem to think of a way around all of this, and it seemed that neither could Logan.

"We're running out of time. They could be planning their attack as we speak because I stopped the first Whipping. I've made it so obvious!" growled Logan, his hands balling into fists, causing multiple people around us to turn and look curiously.

"Shh, Logan, let's go over here," I said, grabbing his hand and pulling him towards the forest away from the busy village, settling myself on an old log, but Logan refused to sit, pacing up and down on the freshly cut grass.

"We need to do something about this quickly. Eliza, the Whipping is the only way!"

I shook my head, pushing myself up and walking over to Logan, stopping right in front of him. "Logan, that isn't an option."

Logan growled, glaring at me. "Eliza, it's the only option."

I crossed my arms, furrowing my brows. Although I was much shorter than Logan, I still tried my best to intimidate him, knowing that it probably wasn't working one bit. "I was serious about what I said about volunteering."

Logan chuckled to himself, shaking his head. "You've already been a part of the Whipping. You aren't allowed to do it again."

"The rules state that a wolf must receive a minimum of five lashes from the whip for them to count. Plus, you stopped the event, making it void, so anyone who was part of the last event can take part again. I would really brush up on the rules Logan, seeing as you're so intent on organising a second one," I spoke with a cocky tone, knowing it would get to Logan, which is what I wanted. He had to know I was serious about volunteering. I would not let anyone else in my pack go through it for no reason. If Logan wanted to organise another Whipping, he would have to watch his own mate be whipped, possibly to the brink of death.

Logan growled, his body shaking in anger, but just as he was about to open his mouth to probably shout at me, a guard came running up to us, breathing heavily.

"Alpha Logan, there are three men at our border. They have said they are here to talk to you. I haven't granted them access as I thought you would want to talk to them first to see who they were."

Logan nodded, turning his back on me, making his way quickly through the busy village towards the forest on the opposite side. I followed him, making sure to keep my distance so nobody around us would notice. I had to squeeze my way past people, whereas they all just seemed to part for Logan, allowing him through, as if he was parting the red sea. I knew if I became Luna here, I would probably receive the same treatment, but did I want that? I was rather happy going unnoticed and just blending in with the crowd.

Once we had made our way through the village, I scurried after Logan towards the trees, pushing through the leaves and bramble in order to keep up with him. "Slow down!" I yelled after him, causing him to turn around and scowl at me.

"You shouldn't be following me," he stated, turning back around and stopping just after a large oak tree.

"You didn't tell me not to," I replied, making my way to his side.

"Show yourselves. You say you want to talk? I need to know who you are!" boomed Logan into the forest, scanning it for any sign of movement. After a few moments, the bushes swayed and out walked my father, Theo and Alpha James.

"Dad?" I mumbled, staring at them all in shock. What were they doing here? Why had they decided to just show up?

I glared at Theo, knowing he must have told them about me leaving.

Theo held his hands up defensively, taking a step forwards, causing Logan to growl. "I had to tell them Eliza. You just disappeared and I was worried."

"You've taken my daughter without permission," growled my father, taking a threatening step forwards.

"I came here on my own, Dad. Logan didn't even know I was coming," I stated.

"I wouldn't attempt to enter my territory Mr Bennett. You haven't been granted permission," warned Logan.

"Why would you want to come and see him Eliza? He's not good for you," said my father, giving me a pleading look.

"She's an adult. She can make her own decisions," said Logan, letting out a soft chuckle, shaking his head.

"You've taken my only child away from me. She belongs in our pack and that's where she will remain. She will not be running off to become a Luna of some pack she's never heard of. She will never leave to be a Luna. Ever."

I scoffed, looking between my father and Logan in disbelief. "Dad, why are you saying that?"

I glanced at Theo for help, but he avoided my gaze, settling it on an irritated Logan instead.

"Dad, is that what this is all about?" I asked him, taking a few steps forwards. "It never mattered who my mate was did it? Logan could have been the most perfect mate in the entire world, and you still would have brainwashed me into thinking that I didn't want it. For what? Just because you don't want your only child to leave? To move on? To grow?"

"Eliza, I was just thinking of you and-"

"No, Dad! You were thinking of yourself! You were willing to hold me back from my life just to keep yourself happy!" I yelled, my eyes welling up with tears.

It didn't matter who my mate was to my father, because he didn't want me to have one. He never had. Ever since I was little he had told me how most mates were controlling and brought nothing but trouble. He was always going to try and change my mind, it just helped him out that Logan had severely messed up in the beginning.

"You can all leave. I'm not coming home."

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Question for my readers! What's the first thing you'd buy if you won the lottery?

I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! I'm getting loads of comments and votes now and I want to say thank you to everyone! It really means a lot and I hope you are looking forward to the rest of this book.

Now Logan and Eliza will really be getting to know each other. Do you think romance will blossom? Do you think something will get in the way?

Lots of love xxx