"Yesterday was kind of crazy." Madison announces, a tight lipped smile on her face.

"Yeah." I say, raising my eyebrows in agreement. Just thinking about the events from yesterday make my head hurt. I haven't talked to Justin after I got back to the pack house, I haven't even seen him. I know what I said about Lizzie was out of line and I regret bringing it up, but it was in the moment and I spoke without thinking. I know I should talk to him sometime today and apologize.

"I'm sorry I didn't say anything yesterday, Al. I was just really shocked and thrown off by the whole situation." She says, looking down at her fingers. I give her a little half smile. I don't know what she could've said during that situation. A bunch of emotions were in the air, and I'm glad she didnt say anything so no one snapped at her in the heat of the moment.

"It's okay Madison, really. A lot of stuff went down." I look down at my feet. "And I know I should apologize to Justin for how everything I said came out and bringing up Liz. Most of it I meant, but it was a dick move for me to bring her up and I feel really bad." I don't know how I'm going to approach this conversation with him.

She gives me a small, reassuring smile, "You both were mad, I'm sure if you guys talk it out he'll understand. I mean he did punch Mason, which I cant lie, I thought it was kind of funny but it was also uncool." She says.

"Yeah, I really cant believe that happened." I sigh. I rub my eyes, and rest my head in my head.

She sits next to me on the bed and lightly rubs my back, "How are you feeling about this whole thing?" She questions. I try to think about how I want to word my answer.

"Stressed." She stays quiet waiting for me to say more, and I sigh, "I'm super stressed because I don't think anyone is willing to give him a chance, and I know what he's done, but he's my mate now. We were literally destined to be together, and its because we're compatible. He could give me a happy life, and I know we just found out a couple days ago but there are so many possibilities. I will never forget what happened to my uncle, but Mason wasn't the alpha at the time." I feel like I could cry from stress.

She continues to rub my back as I lay my face in the palms of my hands. "But how does he make you feel?" She mutters quietly. I look at her and think. I've never felt the same way with anyone that I've felt from him.

"He makes me feel different. I've never felt this way before. This feeling I get when I'm with him, makes me want to only focus on him. It's frightening actually, feeling this way and knowing my family hates him." I admit. She just stares at me, processing what I told her.

She sighs, "I'm not going to lie to you Alison, I've never really liked him because he was always an asshole to me, but maybe you two could work. You know my parents were from different packs and they didn't really like each other before everything happened. Then they tried it out and ended up loving each other." I smile remembering Madisons parents story. I think they knew each other from school and they were both from separate packs. Once they found out they were supposed to be together, it took a little bit but Madisons mom moved in to my pack, which Madisons dad has been apart of since he was born. Her parents struggled at first, but once they actually opened up with each other they fell in love. Thinking about it gives me hope.

"I hope so." I give her a weak smile, "I hope in the end it will all work out." I get up to walk out of my room to go down towards the kitchen for a glass of water. As soon as I step out of my room, I'm met with a strong body clashing against mine. I instantly stumble onto the floor, hitting the ground so hard it makes a ruckus. "Ow." I mutter, massaging my ass and looking up at who ran into me. My brothers third in command, Tyler is staring down at me, his green eyes wide and filled with shock.

A light blush fills his cheeks as he extends his hand out to me and apologizes, "Oh Allie I am so sorry. I didn't know you were walking out." I grab his hand and he helps pull me off of the floor. I brush the dust off of my jeans and give him a small smile and notice how hard he is avoiding making eye contact. Tyler is a little taller than me and is one of my brothers best friends. He is pretty attractive too.

"It's alright Tyler," I say, smiling at I'm and trying to make light of the situation, "There are no broken bones so I am perfectly fine." Tyler is a nice guy, so I know he feels bad. He makes eye contact with me and returns my smile, a blush still evident on his cheeks. I turn around to walk in the direction of the stairs.

I only walk a few steps away when Tyler says my name. "Hey, Allison?" I turn around to face him. His hands are shoved deep in his pockets and his dark green eyes are staring straight into mine as if they're looking straight into my soul.

"Yeah Tyler?" I question, watching his demeanor. He keeps shifting between his feet as if he's uncomfortable. We just stay staring at each other, both of us silent. I open my mouth to say something when he finally speaks.

"Is it true? That you-" He trails off as if he's searching for the right ending to the question. He sighs and asks, " Is it true that you found your mate?" His question catches me off guard. I know that its probably gotten around to everyone in the pack, but why would he be asking? Also, why does he seem so awkward right now?

Studying him, I place my hands on my hips. He keeps moving his eyes around the room and his foot is tapping anxiously. "Yeah, its true." I answer slowly. He lowers his head and stares at the ground. "Why?"

"No reason, I was just wondering." He states with a side smile. I try searching his face for something, but I cant figure it out. "I know we haven't talked that much since Justin made me his third in command, but I was wondering if you wanted to chill and do something sometime." I could hear the unsureness in his voice.

I give him a polite smile and say, "Sure Tyler, we can hangout sometime. We do live in the same pack house, so I'm sure we'll do something."

After answering Tyler, I turn around and walk down the stairs feeling his eyes burning a hole into my back. After getting off the last step, I head for the kitchen, rubbing the palm of my hand over my eyes.

My pace slows as I hear Justins and his beta, Camerons, hushed voices leaving the kitchen. I slow down until I'm stopped right next to the kitchen entrance and I press my body against the wall. I would normally just walk right in and not eavesdrop on their conversation, but with the way they are whispering it makes me wonder what is going on. Both of them stop talking and for a second I think they could've heard me, but then I hear their voices again.

"Dude, I don't know what to do. She is being so ignorant with this, and if she decides to be with him this most likely isn't going to end well." Justin whisper-yelled. "This dude is such a tool and I don't want her to get hurt. God she's being so stupid."

"I know, man," Cameron mutters, letting out a long sigh, "you haven't stopped talking about it since you came back yesterday."

Realizing this conversation is about me, I slowly back away from the kitchen entrance and mutter a string of curse words as the floor boards creak under my weight. "What was that?" I hear Justin ask.

Panicking, I quickly look around the area and quietly run into the empty bathroom next to the stairs. Once I'm in, I leave the door cracked and put my hand over my racing heart. I slowly slide down against the sink cabinet until I am sitting on the floor and gaze out the door. A couple seconds later, I see Justin come out from the kitchen with Cameron behind them as they look around the area. I quiet my shaky breathing and hope any light doesn't seep through the crack in the door, which could possibly let them know I'm in here if it landed on me. They race up the stairs at the same pace my heart is beating. I don't know why I decided to run and hide so my brother didn't see me. I shouldn't have ran, I should have stayed in my spot and let him know I heard him, because it's not like he would do anything to me.

I hear a set of footsteps descending the stairs and watch Justin disappear into the kitchen with Cameron, and now Tyler trailing behind him. All of them are talking and then their voices grow weaker after I hear a door shut. I just sit on the bathroom tile until the only sound I hear is the ticking clock. Using the counter to pull me off the floor, I take one last look out the door before silently opening it. Taking a deep breath and slowly walking out, I turn into the kitchen and a sigh of relief escapes my throat as I see nobody is in here. I walk over to the window and see three retreating forms going into the woods.

I move my way over to the refrigerator and grab a cold bottle of water, pressing it against my face. My face is warm and after letting the bottle press against it for a couple seconds, I twist off the cap and let the freezing cold water move down my throat. There's nothing more refreshing then a cold gulp of water when you're parched.

When the bottle is half empty, I grab another one from the fridge and head to my room. I take the steps two at a time and keep my eyes trained on the floor.

As I'm about to enter my room, I hear a door open down the hall and it peaks my curiosity. Turning my head in the direction of the door, seeing who it is makes me roll my eyes. Shelby is exiting out of Gerard's room, fixing her tiny top and trying to smooth her disheveled hair. She is kinda infamous around the pack, popular with some of the boys and hated by the girls. People call her the pack slut because of how much she gets around. It's understandable why people would give her that name, but I couldn't ever call her that because we used to be good friends when we were younger. It was when we got to high school, she dropped most of her female friends, me included, and started hanging out with more guys.

I'm still gazing at her when her eyes meet mine. "What are you looking at?" She scoffs. I dont say anything, trying to think about what I want to say. Shelby puts a hand on her hip and smirks, "Take a picture, it'll last longer."

I scoff, "Shelby what the hell is wrong with you? Where the hell is Gerards girlfriend?" Her faded red lips draw up in a smile.

She moves her hair over her shoulder and shuffles through her bag, "I dont know. She's off somewhere." She flicks her hand and tilts her head as she looks at me. Just hearing her say that makes my stomach twist in knots. I feel so sad for Gerards girlfriend, she is such a sweet girl.

"What the hell happened to you Shelby? You used to be so kind, and now you're sleeping with other girls boyfriends. You can't even just go for single guys?" I ask, irritated.

"I mean I could, but it's not my fault these guys go after me." She shrugs. "But, there is a single man I would gladly go after. Tell your brother to come find me, 'kay?" She smirks, walking away. Shelby has always had the hots for my brother, but he has always turned down all of her advances. I sigh, shaking my head and step into my room. Looking around, I lean against the door thankful that Madison left.

~

"It's been so long!" Catie squeals as she wraps her arms around me in a tight hug. Catie is one of those people you meet and become friends with in school that are easy to get along with.

Catie has been gone for a little while because her and her family went on a 'trip' visiting their family in the North packs. Something inside of me made me wonder if she was lying for some reason because a little while ago she told me that all of her family lived in different packs in our area. It could definitely be nothing, maybe I'm just thinking too much into it.

I smile and hug her back. I'm really glad to see her because its nice talking to someone who hasn't been mixed up in all the shit that's been going on the past couple days. "How was your trip?" I ask.

"It was good. I'm sorry I missed your birthday. I really wish I could've been there, how was it?" She asks, curiosity flooding her eyes.

"Oh no, it's okay." I say. "It wasn't really that great." I shrug.

"Well, what did you do?" She asks arching an eyebrow. I bite my lip as I grab some books from my locker, thinking about how I want to. Tell her. Thinking about everything makes me wonder if I'm going to see him today.

"Well, Madison," I sigh, flipping through a couple notebooks until I find the ones I need and continue," woke me up from a nap and took me to a couple clubs. We had some drinks, and it was fun." I shrug and give her a small smile.

"That sounds really fun." She smiles.

I look at her with a half smile, "Yeah, it was. Also-" I hesitate, taking a deep breath. I know if I dont tell her, she's going to hear it from someone else. "That was also the night I met my mate."

As soon as the words leave my mouth, her eyes go wide. "What?!?" She shrieks, causing a few people to look at us. I give all of them a weak smile and turn my attention back to Catie. "What's his name? Is he cute? What pack is he from? Is he tall? Do your parents know him? Do I know him?" She bombards me with questions which makes me scratch my neck nervously. I can feel my cheeks heating up.

"His name is Mason and yes, he is very handsome." I laugh nervously. With the expression she's giving me and her not saying anything I can tell she wants me to tell her more. "He's tall, and you and my parents know him." I finish with a tight lipped smile.

She has a big grin on her face. "Omg who is? Is he from your pack?" She questions.

I take in a deep breath. "He's from the Red Moon Pack." Her smile drops and a blank expression takes over face. I feel my breath hitch in my throat.

She looks like shes fumbling with what to say. "You're-" She sighs and shakes her head, "You're not talking about Mason Wood, right?"

I nod at her, letting her know that's exactly who I'm talking about. She stares at me with shock in her eyes, probably having a million things race through her head right now.