Arianna:

After dinner, we cleaned up and left the cottage, holding hands along the way. I looked over at my big hunky man and smiled. I purposely bumped him, and he bumped me back, laughing at me. I gave him a playful shove and he stopped with his hands on his hips.

"So...you wanna play, huh?"

"Oh please…"

"You better run ...cause if I get ahold of you…"

He partially shifted, baring his claws and teeth.

"I'm gonna eat you up!"

I squealed and took off running. I heard him laugh behind me and let out a howl. I knew he would catch me, but I ran as fast as I could anyway. It only took him a few minutes before he tackled me to the ground, and we went rolling across the grass. We laughed together, and Hunter pinned me to the ground.

"Gotcha!!"

"No fair! You cheated!"

"Such a poor sport. Nobody beats the Alpha."

"Oh you…"

He leaned down and licked my face.

"Yuck! Hunter!"

He laughed again, then kissed me deeply. I moaned and kissed him back. When he pulled away, he smiled down at me.

"I love you so much Ari…"

"I love you too."

"Alright...enough of this touchy feely shit."

We spun around to find Layna standing there with a gun trained on us. Hunter pushed me behind him.

"What are you doing here Layna? Didn't I tell you to leave months ago?"

"You did, but these grounds are so expansive, I just hid out somewhere else. I've memorized every inch of the mansion and grounds. I know all the best hiding spots where cameras can't see me."

"You've been hiding here for three months?"

"Yep."

"You're the other spy...I should have known."

"Ding, ding...you figured it out. Good for you. Now...hand over the girl, and I won't shoot you."

"No."

"I really don't want to kill you Hunter. I will if I have to."

"Why do you want her? It's over Layna. Nigel and Mark are both in jail."

"It's not over until we get our revenge and our land back. Once we get that, we can grow as a pack once again."

"This isn't necessary. If it's land you want, I will give it back. My father took it by force, but I can return it."

"That's not enough! Your family must suffer! My mate was killed too! I didn't reject him! He was murdered! Why should you get a happy ending! With her!"

She spat in my direction and it made Hunter growl in his throat. She redirected her gun at Hunter's chest.

"Watch yourself, or I shoot. These bullets are silver and coated in concentrated wolfsbane. One shot, and even you won't survive."

"You can't have Arianna."

"I should have known you wouldn't give her up. I hoped you would though. Through everything, I grew to love you. I wasn't supposed to. My job was just to spy and get close to you, but I developed feelings. We can still be together Hunter. One shot, and she's gone."

"Layna...you are delusional if you think I would give her up for you."

"It was worth a try. I guess she'll just have to die."

Hunter lept at her and she amazingly had the strength to struggle with him for the gun. I didn't know what to do. I stood there, helplessly. When the gun shot rang out, we all stopped and held our breath. Layna looked over at me, then up at Hunter. We watched as Layna slowly slumped to the ground, and fell over. Her chest slowly being covered in her own blood. Guards came running when they heard the gunshot, and now surrounded Layna.

"She's dead Alpha…"

"May the goddess reunite her with her mate."

The guards started removing Layna from the ground. I felt frozen in place, just staring at the ground where she had laid.

"Arianna? Baby?"

I looked up at Hunter. He pulled me into his arms with my head against his chest and slowly rubbed my back.

"Why does everyone want me dead?"

"It's because of me. I am so sorry baby...are you okay?"

"I just froze...I didn't know what to do."

"Hey...it's okay."

"I think I should train how to fight."

"That's not a bad idea. We can start after the holidays are over."

"I would really like that. Are you going to train me?"

"That might not be a good idea. I'll have one of the female trainers do that. If I trained you, we wouldn't get any training done."

I couldn't help but giggle a bit.

"You're such a horndog, aren't you?"

"I can't help it. I got my mate back. We have a lot of lost time to make up for."

"How about we go for a run? It's actually been a while since I let Eva out."

"Let's do that. Aden would love to go for a run with his mate."

We took off through the forest together. Our wolves running and leaping at each other. They played for a while before coming to a small stream. We drank some water and sat by the stream. Aden nuzzled Eva as we laid together. This is the happiest we have been in a long time. After a little while, we went back to the pack house and shifted back, finding our clothes where we left them. After we were dressed, Hunter picked me up and carried me on his back to the house. I laughed and held onto him tightly as we jogged back. We went straight upstairs and into Hunter's room. He threw me on the bed and we both laughed.

"Hunter...make love to me."

"As you wish…"

The next morning, I awoke with Hunter's arms still around me. Today felt different somehow. All of the pain and misery we've dealt with is finally gone. I felt renewed. I was sorry that Layna had died, but she did bring it upon herself. I just wanted all of the drama to finally be over. I carefully pulled away from Hunter and kissed him gently on the lips. After using the bathroom, I headed to the closet and found one of his robes to wear so I could go get dressed.

"What are you doing?"

I turned to see Hunter standing with his hands on his hips.

"I'm hungry...I want breakfast."

"I'm hungry too, but not for food."

He pulled me into him and kissed me deeply while moving the robe down my shoulder. Seconds later his kisses moved down my neck and over my mark. I moaned deeply, now wanting more than just food.

"Oh Hunter…"

"Still hungry?"

The large growl from my stomach betrayed me. He laughed and gave me one last kiss.

"Go get dressed and we'll have breakfast."

"Well...thank you."

I hugged him and kissed him.

"I'll meet you downstairs in a bit."

I ran next door and took a quick shower, then got dressed. I then found my way to the kitchen where Hunter was already seated. He had a big plate of food ready for me. I kissed him and dug in.

"What are we doing today?"

"Well...our flight leaves at noon. I have a bit of paperwork to do until then. I have a dress ordered for you for tonight. The ball starts at 6pm."

"I can't wait. This will be my very first ball."

"And this will be my first time with a date. It's all the better having my mate with me this year."

"You never brought a date before?"

"No. Alpha's always come with their Luna's and some bring their daughters along."

"Uh oh...I bet you had quite a few admirers."

"Oh my goddess...I had other Alphas trying to marry off their daughters to me. I mean...yikes. Some were kinda pretty, but...no thanks."

"You poor thing. How did you survive all of those women throwing themselves at you?"

"Are you mocking me?"

"Never!"

He rolled his eyes at me, then chuckled.

"Just you wait and see…"

After breakfast, Hunter went off to do some paperwork, and I explored the house. Well….mansion. There is a huge family room with 3 sectionals and 4 recliners. A huge fur rug and a fireplace that I can literally walk inside of. I moved to another room which seems to be a game room that contains a huge entertainment system with at least 4 different gaming consoles, 2 90 inch screen tv's, ten different types of gaming chairs, a pool table, and a small bar on one wall. Another room has another long bar one one wall with a stereo system, a karaoke system, and 6 small tables and chairs scattered around. I also found an indoor fitness center, and an indoor heated pool with a hot tub. Another hallway led to I'm guessing bedrooms, and another one led to, I believe, offices. I walked down the hallway of offices that led to a set of large double doors. I assume this is Hunter's office. I knocked and heard him answer.

"Come in…!"

I peeked inside to see Hunter behind his desk. Another man stood next to him.

"Is this a bad time?"

"Not at all. Come in baby."

I went inside and closed the door behind me. Hunter came around his desk and kissed me.

"Everything okay?"

"Oh yeah...just exploring. Figured this was your office."

"How did you know that?"

"It was the biggest set of doors at the end of the hallway."

The other man chuckled and we turned to him.

"Arianna, meet Zander...our Beta."

"Nice to finally meet you Arianna. I'm glad you're back. Maybe this big lug can get some work done now."

"It's nice to meet you too."

I turned back to Hunter.

"You've not been working?"

"I um….we'll talk about that later."

Zander came around the desk and took my hand in his. He gave me a friendly smile.

"It's good to have you back where you belong. I'll leave you two alone."

He walked out of the office, giving me a wink and a smile, then I turned my attention back to Hunter.

"I had no idea how big this place was."

"Do you like it?"

"Very much."

"You know...we need to discuss something very important."

"What?"

"Your place as Luna."