After Aidan had stormed off, Ronan had very kindly organised breakfast for the trio and Alice had brought some clothes for Alex to change into after a reviving shower. She had snuggled back into the bed with a now clothed Robbie, while they waited for Nolan to dress himself. Nolan and Robbie kept hugging Alex to them and planting kisses on her head and face in turn as they made their way to Alex's house where her family were assembled for more goodbyes. It felt like torture to Alex. She knew she would be back again in a matter of weeks for Ronan's wedding but it made her heart ache to know that she would no longer be seeing them everyday.

Her nieces had drawn her pictures and framed photos of them together for her to bring to her new house. Her father spoke bracingly to her, reminding her that although she might be going into a difficult situation, she would be able to conquer anything. They all helped Alex pack the last few bags and smaller boxes into the boot of her jeep and stood waiting to give her some final hugs and kisses. Aidan arrived, acting somewhat stoically, to drive in the jeep with Alex to Lunar Ridge. He shook hands with everyone and thanked them for their welcome and for introducing him to his mate. He opened the passenger door for Alex and she climbed in, rolling down the window to wave and blow kisses to the group.

Aidan turned the steering wheel and accelerated towards the exit of Black Mountain. Wolves spilled from the forest on both sides of the road, howling to the sky, creating a guard of honour to the edge of the pack lands. There were tears streaming down her face now as she gasped with the weight of sadness in her chest. Aidan drove on for a mile or two as Alex tried to stifle her crying. Suddenly he pulled over to the side of the road, took off their seatbelts and dragged her over onto his lap, wrapping his huge arms around her.

'Just cry it out', he whispered to her. Alex was shocked at his compassion when she assumed he had been less than happy finding her in bed with her male friends that morning, but she immediately sank into his embrace, crying her heart out for the home she was leaving. He just held her to him, occasionally stroking her face or shoulder as she shook with sobs, allowing the sadness to wash over her completely.

The next thing Alex remembered was hearing her name being called. She opened her eyes blearily, realising she was lying on the back seat of her car. Aidan called her again, 'Time to wake up sleepy head, we're twenty minutes out from Lunar Ridge.'

Alex sat up slowly, stretching out and rubbing her eyes. She reached forward to put her hand on Aidan's shoulder and gave it a squeeze.

'Thanks for being so sweet,' Alex said to him and Aidan reached up to squeeze the hand that she had put on his shoulder.

Alex pulled a rucksack from the back footwell of the jeep and started pulling out clothes and a hairbrush. She needed to make herself look slightly more presentable before they arrived at her new pack. The hangover mixed with her puffy eyes was not the type of first impression she wanted to make.

She pulled off the tshirt and sweatpants that Alice had given her earlier with some effort, noticing Aidan's covert glances at her from the rear view mirror.

'Keep your eyes on the road perv,' she teased as she pulled on a fresh pair of dark jeans, a cropped black t-shirt and ankle boots. She climbed, less than gracefully, into the front passenger seat beside Aidan, pulling down the mirror so she could apply a little make up to her tired looking face.

She felt reenergised now and a feeling on excitement and anticipation started to fill her stomach. However sad she might be about leaving Black Mountain, this was an opportunity to meet new people and that was something she loved to do.

The road was met on either side by a dense forest and it wasn't long before Alex started to hear the howling of wolves in the depths of the trees.

'Welcome to Lunar Ridge', Aidan was smiling as he said it. Just ahead, she could make out the outline of a mountain range and some houses started dotting the treeline as they drove further up towards the pack house. It was a huge building, four or five stories high by the looks of it and looked more like a huge castle than a house. Grey stone covered the entire building and there were look out posts on the roof.

Aidan pulled up to the left of the front entrance and Alex's door was opened immediately by a very tall, eager looking man whose face was beaming with an enormous smile. He was very handsome; young but with silver streaks through his dark hair and a light tanned complexion.

'Luna', the man said, offering his hand to Alex and pulling her from the car into a rib-crushing hug. 'It's so good to meet you.' Alex was amused and also uncomfortable from the force of the welcome.

'Let her breath Marcus,' Aidan growled from beside them and Marcus relented.

'This is my Beta, Marcus Mannero. He has been looking forward to meeting you as you can see.'

Marcus pulled Aidan into a hug now before congratulating them both on finding their mate. 'Honestly I thought this guy,' Marcus motioned with his thumb towards Aidan, 'was destined to die alone, grumpy and miserable. But Alex here will change all that!'

'Sounds like a bigger job than I signed up for,' she quipped, poking Aidan in the side and receiving a high-five of appreciation from Marcus. Alex liked this guy. She had expected more men like Kit to be part of the ranked members of the pack at Lunar Ridge but he seemed like the kind of guy she wanted to be friends with immediately.

'Your audience awaits Luna,' Marcus said, gesturing towards the huge pack house. 'We have a feast starting in the next half hour and everyone is very excited to meet the wolf who will be taming our Alpha's heart.'

They climbed the steps up to the double doors of the pack house. Marcus led Alex into the huge entryway, with a stairway to the left leading up to the other floors and a wide hall leading down towards the pack hall. On either side of the hallway, there were big rooms full of couches and comfortable looking armchairs, enormous fireplaces and even bigger televisions. They were empty now but Alex assumed pack members were free to hang out in these areas in their free time.

Marcus was keen to get to know Alex and questioned her about everything from her family, her job, her likes and dislikes while simultaneously giving her a complete background on himself. He came from a family of 5 sisters, raised by his mother. His father had died in battle when he was very young and he spoke of his mother and her strength with a beautiful respect and adoration. Alex realised after a few minutes that she knew absolutely nothing about her own mate but had the life story of his Beta. But Marcus was easy company and a natural conversationalist. Unlike his Alpha who looked to be brooding slightly at the immediate friendship the pair seemed to have fallen into.

The pack hall was very grand with walls covered in a beautiful light grey stone, and long dark wooden tables filling the floor. The evening sun streamed in through the windows along two of the walls with some of the light hitting the enormous chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. There was a huge banner at the top of the room, welcoming Alex to Lunar Ridge.

Pack members started introducing themselves to Alex before the dinner bell was rung, with Aidan and Marcus either side of her giving some background to the people she was meeting. They all seemed to be delighted that their Alpha had found his mate at last. Kit was sitting now at the top table, trying his best to look anywhere but at Alex as she moved towards her seat. She made a point of going over to shake his hand, to encourage a fresh start now that she was his Luna. He reluctantly took her hand in his and gave it the briefest of shakes before introducing his mate, Nora, who sat beside him. Nora gave her a pleasant greeting but did not seek to extend the conversation beyond a 'hello'. Alex smiled and assumed she had heard about Kit being laid out at Black Mountain and was standing by her man. Alex wasn't going to let this small man or his mate ruin her evening and took her seat next to Aidan as he stood to address the group.

'Thank you all for coming this evening to welcome my mate, Alex Fury, to Lunar Ridge.' There were cheers and claps at his words. 'I feel very fortunate to be bringing such a strong and powerful Luna to help lead our pack.' Alex smiled at these words.

'Please lift your glass in salute to our new Luna. I know that we will all make her feel very welcome here.'