"There is a beautiful thing inside you that is thousands of years old.

Too old to be captured in poems. Too old to be loved by everyone, but loved so very deeply by a chosen few."

Nikita Gill

I was alone in Thane's bed when I awoke. The clock on his bedside showed that I'd been asleep for only a few hours - and in that time it seemed the rain-clouds had finally cleared. The last of the days sunlight streamed in though Thanes bedroom window and cast a glowing warmth across my skin.

I felt content; safe. It felt as if Thane were still beside me, the warmth of his touch against my skin, as if it were his hand that laid across my cheek and not the gentle touch of a fading evening sun. Perhaps that was due to his scent. The room was rich with it; in the air, in his sheets, on me. I couldn't escape it and I didn't for a second want to.

But I couldn't stay in his bedroom all evening by myself. I needed to eat, for one, and I wanted to stretch my legs. Despite the fight, I hadn't trained with Thane in so long, and my body itched to exert some energy now that I had rested long enough. My left arm felt better, only a slight ache remained as evidence of Russo's brutality.

There was a note next to Thane's alarm clock, and I recognised his familiar scrawl.

My cheeks heated at the sight of the declaration and a grin stretched across my cheeks. I was not unaware that I was yet to declare my own love for Thane so explicitly, at least not in those exact words. I would have to rectify that.

Slipping out from the sheets, I realised I didn't have any clean clothes with me in Thane's bedroom. My discarded t-shirt and shorts had been ruined. I certainly wasn't about to go downstairs to my own bedroom completely naked. I was comfortable in my own skin, but not that comfortable.

I'm sure Thane wouldn't mind if I borrowed a t-shirt, I thought to myself, already peaking in one of his draws for something to wear. I found a black t-shirt that was just long enough to reach my ass, and a pair of his underwear - after all I didn't want to flash anyone on my way down the stairs.

The house was quiet as I ventured down towards my bedroom. I could hear a few wolves in their rooms sleeping - perhaps resting after a long patrol - but no one was up and about on the second floor. It didn't take me long to change my clothes, opting to keep Thane's t-shirt on with a pair of sweatpants - mainly because it smelt like him.

I found Riley and Daniel both in the kitchen when I finally made it downstairs. Nero too, as he stood over by the stove cooking alongside another enforcer. Riley was sat at the dining table, hunched over in his chair as he cradled a mug between his small hands. I was unable to read his expression as he stared down at the table in silence. Beside him Daniel only watched Riley with his brows drawn together tightly.

From across the room Nero met my eyes but we didn't speak. I approached the dining room table cautiously.

"Hi."

Riley seemed to pull himself from whatever trance he had fallen into, my voice acting as the catalyst. He offered me a week smile, one without any real emotion behind it and returned his heavy gaze to his drink.

I couldn't blame him. He'd spent his morning running for his life from the previous Beta of his pack - a male who was meant to be his fathers loyal second, the male who had murdered his father and had tried to kill him. I couldn't begin to understand how traumatic it could have been for him.

There had been a moment out there, that I had thought Russo had beaten us. The sight of Riley captured in Javier's arms, David closing in on Nero, and the weight of Benjamin Russo bearing down on me with sharp teeth so close to my throat, had been terrifying. There had been real fear, and a certainty that we would not escape. Had Riley thought that too? Had he believed, for however short, that he was about to die and there was nothing Nero and I could have done to stop it?

I took a seat at the table, sitting opposite Daniel, whom at the very least didn't look as sombre as Riley.

"What you said back there, about me being Beta..." Daniel broached, watching Nero from the corner of his eye. "Did you mean it?"

"Well..." I cleared my throat. "It's not my place to appoint you, that's for Riley to decide. But... from what I've been seeing, I certainly think you'd make a good one, and while someone is acting as Nevada's Alpha in Riley's stead, they're still without a Beta. Nothing has to be decided yet though."

Daniel nodded slowly, expression still pinched with concern for his young Alpha.

Talk about something else, anything else to dispel this tension and distract them from today's events.

"I heard you found your mate," I asked, delighted when Daniels bronzed cheeks tinged the slightest bit pink. I leaned closer to him, speaking behind my hand to slyly whisper, "I also heard she was Nero's cousin."

"Do not start talking about my cousin while I'm in here," Nero snapped, quick to respond. "I don't want to hear anything inappropriate." The enforcer beside him started to laugh.

"Gods, Nero," I huffed, turning in my seat to glare at my friend. Nero was stood by the kitchen island, a wooden spoon in hand that he pointed in Daniels direction with a glare. "We're hardly about to talk about their sex life at the kitchen table, are we?"

"Sex life? I'm going to be sick."

I rolled my eyes. "Ignore him," I dismissed, waving in Nero's direction. "He's being a whiny little pup."

Daniel laughed shakily, blush not fading.

"So?"

"Yeah," Daniel breathed, with a wide grin. "She's called Astrid-"

Nero began groaning, loudly.

"She has the prettiest blonde hair, the palest skin, and she has this really cute accent-"

"It's a Swedish accent, it's not that cute."

"You don't have a Swedish accent." I pointed out with an arched brow. Nero scowled back at me.

"Only my Mom is Swedish. My dad is American and I spent a lot of time with the pack," he shrugged, expression still foul. "I just didn't pick it up. Astrid is shy, she spent more time with her parents than our pack mates. The accent stuck."

I didn't miss the way Daniel perked up the more Nero spoke about Astrid. Clearly the male was very eager to learn everything he could about his mate.

"What's going to happen then?" I asked. "Are you going to stick out your training or are you thinking of moving to..." Which was Nero's pack again?

"Arizona," Nero helpfully supplied.

"I'm not transferring to Arizona," Daniel assured firmly, with a frown. He glanced over at Riley once again. "And I want to continue my training."

He wouldn't leave the young Alpha, but he didn't want to be away from his mate.

It was a difficult position to be in.

"Nero, tell us more about Astrid," I demanded cheerfully, not fazed by Nero's groan.

***

An hour later I was by the training grounds, laid out on the grass panting and slick with sweat when Thane finally returned. By his side was Adriel and the Alaskan Alpha.

I thought Allister had returned home.

I pulled myself up into a sitting position and watched their relaxed approach with a frown, one that was hard to hold when I met Thane's eyes and the warmth in his expression.

"You feeling better?" He asked softly, offering me a hand up. My fingers wrapped tightly around his palm, eyes not leaving his as he pulled me and into his arms. One hand fanned out at the base of my back, holding him to me, while the other buried itself in my hair.

I couldn't seem to find my voice, so only nodded, leaning into him, grinning giddily at him.

"You're wearing my shirt," he murmured with a smirk, seeming more than pleased with the fact.

Thane's head dipped towards me, his nose grazing gently against mine. Without an ounce of patience, I rolled onto my toes and arched towards him, pressing my mouth to his.

A throat cleared beside us.

"We are still here you know." The sound of Adriel's sharp voice pulled me back. I shot the Beta a small glare.

"Don't you have somewhere else to be? Someone else to annoy?" I grumbled, not distancing myself from Thane at all. Perhaps the mate bond was finally kicking in, because I was feeling awfully needy all of a sudden.

The male's eyes widened a fraction, before settling into a glare.

"You," a finger pointed right at me, "are spending too much time with my nephew."

"You weren't this angry and childish when I first met you," I scoffed, rolling my eyes. "I think you have been spending too much time with Nero."

"So we're in agreement then? Nero has to go. He's a bad influence."

I rolled my eyes again, "Sure. I bet his mom will be thrilled to know you kicked him out."

His glare deepened. "I'm going back inside, try to reign in the hormones and not to have sex out here in the middle of the field for Gods knows who to see. Come on Allister," Adriel huffed, gesturing for the Alaskan Alpha to follow him. But he still flinched when Allister fixed him with his familiar hard stare. Adriel grumbled under his breath and stalked off with Allister following at a slower pace.

When the two males had disappeared inside the main house, I turned to Thane and asked, "Why hasn't he returned to his pack yet? I thought he went back to Alaska when we went to the Mating Rotations?"

"He's been in Nevada."

"To visit your other friend?"

He shook his head, "He's looking for something."

"What?"

"It doesn't matter. He's not going to find it." Thane's tone was sharp but I recognised it wasn't anger behind his words. He seemed concerned. Concerned for his friend that was dedicating himself to a lost cause, perhaps. "Come on," he sighed, tugging on my hand as he turned away from the training ground and the house beyond, leading me towards the trees.

"We going for a swim?" I asked, as soon as I recognised the route we were taking.

"We haven't trained in a while, and you seem to be in the mood." He glanced back at me, in his t-shirt, my sports bra and shorts, and the sheen of sweat across my pale skin from the circuit I had completed just before the three of them had returned. It had been a while since we actually trained together.

There was no stopping my smirk when my mind wandered to the last time we were at the pool, of all the training we had done. While I knew Thane intended for us to actually train today, I also knew it wouldn't take much effort on my part to side-track us.

**

I had overestimated my skills in distraction.

Thane held firm with keeping our training on track, something I could only be slightly annoyed by. It did feel good to push myself like this again. For today's swimming session, Thane had ordered me to dress in some thick sweats and a sweatshirt that - from the smell - I knew belonged to him. He wanted me to practice my laps with the heavy clothes in the water and within ten minutes my arms, legs and core were already aching.

It wasn't until two hours later that Thane finally allowed me to stop. In an instant I was back by the shallow edge of the pool, legs wrapped around Thanes waist, body slumped into him with my chin perched on his shoulder. Gone was the drenched clothing, as I clung to him in just my underwear.

He didn't seem to mind, one hand skimming the length of my back in soft slow strokes that - if he didn't stop soon - would easily send me to sleep, while the other gripped me at my thigh. One of my own hands was buried in his hair, playing with the silky strands.

"I didn't realise that the pack was separated into roles here, like in the other packs. Obviously Sandra is the Head-Hunter, Lorcan the Head-Trainer, but I didn't realise the enforces fell into those categories too," I spoke after minutes of silence between us as we simply enjoyed one another's company.

"Which one of them tried to get you to join them?" Thane spoke against the shell of me ear, his lips grazing across the delicate skin. I shuddered in his arms, and found the strength to pull back just enough so we were face to face.

"What?"

Thane rolled his eyes, "Sandra and Lorcan; they have a rivalry between them that's dated back two decades. Every time we get a new pack member - which isn't often - they're both fighting for them." He laughed, nothing but affection in his expression.

"Lorcan hasn't said anything to me," I stated, frowning a little.

"Well you're an Alpha. He probably assumes you won't be solely a fighter or a hunter. Sandra's cocky enough to try regardless."

"I thought enforcers trained as everything? That's why they're so feared and respected."

"They do, but some usually have a preference for one. All enforcers participate in every aspect of training - like the trainees - but some are better suited to certain roles. Adriel has his own prodigies - as he likes to call them - too. He's in charge of patrols mostly, along with his role as Beta. But he's not as competitive as the other two. He participates just wind them up, and encourage their rivalry."

"So what? They compete against each other?"

"Yeah," Thane sighed, "Every year we have a competition and the three teams compete against one another in various training tasks I decide. The whole thing's childish but... It's surprisingly a good team training exercise and it keeps everyone motivated throughout the year to prepare for it."

"And... is there a prize?" I asked, in amusement.

"Only pride." Thane grinned.

"I always thought this pack was serious. As pups we're all terrified of the enforcers... but you're really all really just out here playing games and caring for one another like any other pack," I mused. "So I could participate if I wanted to? It wouldn't be unfair because I'm your mate?"

He shrugged, kissing the corner of my mouth softly.

"You're still in training so I see no reason as to why you can't compete with them. It would certainly be entertaining to see Sandra and Lorcan fight over you until you decide who to compete with." He kissed me again, this time the other corner of my mouth. "I know the pack isn't want most expect. But you're happy here, right? With the pack?"

With me? I saw the silent question in his expression, saw the flash of hesitance within him.

"Happiest I've ever been," I stated firmly, leaning into him so that my lips were just a hairs breadth away from his. "I'm happy with the pack and I'm more than happy with you."

"Is that right?" he drawled, a grin curving across his face.

"Mhm," I hummed, a grin equally as wide on my own face. "That's right."

"Have I told you how much I love you?" Thane asks, finally closing the distance between us to kiss me. Again, that declaration had my heart hammering away in my chest, and I knew he could hear it.

"Have I told you how much I love you?" I repeated. I felt Thane tense beneath me, and he pulled back within seconds to stare at me somewhat wide eyed. Then he was beaming, beaming so wide I thought his cheeks were about to split.

"You have not."

I nodded. "Well I do. And... and I want you to mark me."

"Here?" He croaked, voice suddenly becoming hoarse. Thane's grip on my thighs tightened, pulling my legs tighter against him.

"I think its fitting to have it be here, just you and me. Unless you want to wait? Make a ceremony of it with your pack?"

Thane was shaking his head furiously. "No. No, here is fine. Just you and me. I don't need anything else, just you."

He was kissing me again, deeply this time. Kissing me feverishly as if he couldn't wait a single second longer to devour me. His arms wound around my back tightly, and my lips parted against his as his tongue found mine.

I groaned against him, thighs tensing against his hips as I felt the familiar bulge of his erection between us.

Before long Thane and I had stripped entirely, pressed together intimately in the cool water. Only the heat of his body kept me from shivering. His mouth was pressed to my neck, kissing the sensitive skin from my collarbone to the curve of my jaw.

His sharp canines extended, grazing against my skin.

This time I didn't panic. I knew what was coming and I welcomed it. I wanted it.

I shifted my hips, aligning him against me with a soft moan.

"Are you sure?" Thane murmured against my skin.

I nodded, hissing out a 'yes' as he finally pushed into me. A second later his teeth were sinking into my neck. I gasped, and the sharp pain had my back arching into him.

The pain faded as Thane pulled back, but the bite still throbbed. Throbbed like the heat in my core. And I realised he was inside me still. Inside me but not moving.

Thane's tongue bathed the bite on my neck and a shuddered against him, his name on my lips. My hips thrust forward - urgent, needy. Just like our first time in the pool, it was tender and intimate, the only sounds amongst our moans was the sound of the water as we moved.

I was mated now. Mated to this Alpha male.