As Alex made her way to the door of the arena, her wolf was uncharacteristically excited. She hadn't forgotten how handsome Aidan was but even still, it seemed to take her by surprise how attracted she was to him. She inhaled his scent deeply as he drew up next to her, closing her eyes to savour it. Immediately her eyes snapped open as she realised what she had done. Her face reddened as she glanced at Aidan. He clearly hadn't missed her moment of weakness as a huge grin spread across his beautiful face. Worse still for Alex, the sight of Aidan's smile gave her the most wondrous feeling and, at the same moment, made her pussy extremely wet. Aidan could also clearly tell since his face looked like it was about to explode with joy. Goddamn wolf senses, Alex thought as the redness in her face extended to her neck and chest.

'Come on', she said, as she pushed past the delighted Aidan and made her way down a path into the forest.

They walked silently for a few minutes. The sun was beaming down through the trees today, while the light breeze rustled the leaves above them. Every so often, Alex would greet a passing wolf, one of her many warriors on patrol across the pack lands. Alex and Aidan were stealing glances at the other but neither wanted to be the first to speak. Eventually, Aidan broke the silence.

'The training seems to be going well with the team', he commented, still smiling at how sweet Alex had looked when flushed with embarrassment.

Alex latched onto this topic of conversation gratefully and spoke passionately about her training programme for the next few minutes. She was radiant in her clear joy in this subject. Her hands gesticulated as she spoke, her body turning towards him at times as she explained different aspects of her techniques. Aidan loved seeing her like this and it was a good reason to openly stare at her full lips and beautiful face for an extended period. She told him about the different training methods, what she had found most beneficial to her team and other packs; her research into fighting styles and battle strategies and the people who she had developed in her pack.

Aidan was hugely impressed with his mate. They maintained their steady pace through the forest while Alex continued to regale him with tales of her travel, battles over the years and what she had planned for the future of her pack warriors. Aidan sobered up at the thought of Alex's future plans and how this could not transfer over to his own pack. There was no way she could have such a huge role in the warrior training at Lunar Ridge. His Gamma Kit had won many battles but as the years had passed by, Aidan had started to see a man who was much too slow to change and much too stubborn to accept that things needed to be updated. This week was testament to that. He had fought against his warriors receiving world-renowned training from Black Mountain. And he was only one barrier at Lunar Ridge. The changes that Aidan had made to the pack over the last eight years of his reign as Alpha had been consistently met with push back and more often than not, open hostility. He would never allow the females of his pack to be treated as his father had done and he had made sure they were much better protected now, banishing many men from the pack who refused to treat females as equals. The backlash had been enormous and the years had brought the threat of mutiny towards him many times but Aidan had persevered, and largely won over many of those who doubted him.

Bringing home a Luna who had worked for nine years as a Gamma would be a lot for his pack to accept. Aidan suddenly realised that Alex had stopped talking and was staring at him expectantly.

'Have you been listening to anything I was saying?' Alex was slightly irritated now.

'Yes, yes of course', Aidan answered as though offended by the insinuation.

Alex shook her head. 'So what did I ask you?'

Now Aidan was stuck. He stared blankly at Alex, smiling slightly at her annoyance. 'I was just thinking about Lunar Ridge', he started, 'and introducing you as the new Luna'. This was somewhat true at least.

Alex's expression softened slightly and Aidan thought she started to look a little sad. There was an extended silence as the pair looked at each other. As the seconds passed, Aidan could see something resolving in Alex's mind. She took a deep breath.

'I'd like to discuss my potential role in your pack'.

'Our pack', Aidan corrected her.

Alex continued as though he had not interrupted her. 'As I'm sure you will understand, I am keen to have a say in warrior training and changing things around who can train and so forth. I have extensive knowledge and expertise that I don't think can be overlooked. Can we agree that it's about time females were given the opportunity to train and take up defensive positions in your pack? You can't really believe that you are doing the best you can for your pack if you are excluding half the pack from warrior training owing to their gender. You can't run your pack as if this is the 1940s. You have to update what you're doing even if it ruffles a few feathers from idiots like your Gamma'.

Alex stood firm, hands on hips with a look of anticipation on her face, clearly baiting Aidan. Aidan could feel the anger rising in him as his mate questioned his ability to run his own pack. After years of torment and hard decisions, he was proud of what he had accomplished at Lunar Ridge. Who was this woman to question him when she hadn't so much as set foot inside the pack lands? Alex continued undeterred.

′I want assurance that I can start a training programme for any female in your pack who wishes to be trained to warrior level. I would like to run a training programme daily and time allowed from the duties of any female to take part as many times per week as they wish. I would like space for training with standard supplies and budget for any additional training materials I feel may be necessary. If your female population cannot be warriors, they should, at the very least, be in a position to defend themselves and their community should the need ever arise . I would also like to add an hour's training to the school schedule 3 times per week so the pack children can start learning appropriate defence and fighting methods as part of their education. I'll need this to be confirmed before I will consider moving to Lunar Ridge'.

Her final remark was too much for Aidan. He was beyond angry now. After all he had been through, after all he had survived these last few years, after all he had fought for, she was condemning him and his pack and his leadership. He balled his fists in fury, his chest starting to heave, breathing hard through gritted teeth.

'This is not a negotiation', he spoke loudly and angrily now. 'I am the Alpha here and you will not question how I run the pack. You will move to Lunar Ridge on Sunday. And I will not be discussing terms with you when you know nothing about the pack'. Aidan finished with a snarl, turned in his heel and stormed back to the pack house.