Chapter 7:

Luna Hart kept Taine busy with questions about the pack as well as subtle personal questions. She forced Camila and Taine to sit together, not picking up on the discomfort of both parties.

Camila admired this woman. She could be the quirky probing mother figure one minute and distinguished inquisitive all- business Luna the next. Her presence could light up a room and command it if required. Alpha Hart always joked that his mate was soft on the outside but crunchy on the inside. Although Camila and Lizzie were 20 years apart, she saw the Alpha and Luna as her family. She loved them with all her heart.

Lizzie's calling her name brought her back to reality. "Yes, sorry Liz, what were you saying?"

"Your mate and I were just discussing what happens next..." The hidden but smile of sadness on her face told Camila that this conversation wasn't going to be pleasant for her.

Taine interjected. "Now that she's here, she can't leave. I don't think there is much to discuss."

Luna Hart wasn't surprised at his words, she had similar experiences with her own mate upon meeting him, and had anticipated the direction this would take. Camila however, didn't expect this at all.

"That's a bit sudden, I think there is a lot to discuss, for instance, where will I live?"

He looked at her like her distress was irrelevant to him.

"I have a big house."

Camila looked at Lizzie, begging for help. She interjected, "you could stay there, or here with Demi for a while if you aren't comfortable."

Camila always looked back on this exact moment, the moment when she could practically hear her hope shatter.

"Mila, I'm sure you'll be allowed to come back to the pack for a little while. We have been away from home for a very long time you see." She said turning to Taine, "and my mate is expecting us back very soon."

Taine was quiet for a moment, thinking.

"As much as I am not happy with this arrangement. I am going to compromise and allow you to make a trip back. If you leave tomorrow then I'll expect you back here in one week."

Compromise my ass.

Camila's jaw dropped. "ONE WEEK! I can't pack up my whole existence in one week to come live with a man I barely know."

Taine's jaw clenched, a sign that Camila would later learn meant he wasn't willing to budge. A pillar of solid rock she could not move past. "She reluctantly agreed after a great deal of convincing.

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She sat across the stranger she was destined to spend her life with. An Alpha stranger at that. Her eyes had a magnetic pull towards his face. She started pinching herself every time she felt the desire to look at him. He didn't look back at her the whole time. His gaze was either fixed on his plate or on the conversation between Luna Hart and Demi. The whole dinner made her uneasy.

Later that night, after Taine had left the house with a half-hearted goodbye, she vented with Lizzie and Demi.

"I don't know the first thing about being a Luna! How can I leave the pack, my friends, Libby, Sammy! How can I leave them, or you and Alpha Hart?"

Lizzie tried to be extremely happy and supportive, to overcompensate with the sadness at the pit of her stomach. Camila leaving was eating her up too.

"Mila baby, it's going to be better than fine. You are the only one who thinks you won't be able to do this, your job has definitely prepared you for this."

Mulling over the words, she realised that the 'Luna' part of this would be a worry that could take a fixed place at the bottom of her list. "Okay, let's just forget about that bit for now... Let's talk about the emotionless Alpha that I met less than 5 hours ago."

Demi had been silent until this point and decided to make a worthwhile contribution. "He's damn hot though, you could be blind and still see that."

Lizzie and Camila glared at her.

"It doesn't matter what he looks like. If I'm not attracted to his personality and heart he might as well look like the bottom of my mud boots."

"Mila, just give him a chance. Yes, he seems a little bit rough around the edges-"

"And controlling and demanding and a loud chewer and-"

Lizzie was trying to be serious but was laughing at this point. "Okay, okay Miss nit-picky! Mila, they are all like that though, you can just whip him into shape. You'll be fine. Having a mate is one of the greatest gifts in life and yes it's scary and new chapter for you, but it's your destiny."

Camila couldn't argue with her words of truth, but they could drag her kicking and screaming if Taine expected her to root up and live with him just like that. No way in hell.

She had made Luna Hart swear that she would not tell anyone about finding her mate. Lizzie protested but agreed eventually. They both returned to the pack greeted by many warm hugs and happy smiles.

Camila didn't plan on leaving anytime soon, but nobody needed to know that.