In the morning, I feel like an entirely different person. I'm still me of course, but an enhanced version of me. A happier version. In a sense, I feel like I'm completed, like I was missing a piece and I had just found it, which I can only contribute to finally fully establishing that magical bond between us. My key to happiness. I honestly thought this amount of bliss was unattainable, but I just proved myself wrong.

And the reason for this new sort of poetic epiphany is because of one person. The owner of the arm currently slung across my bare back, where it has stayed since last night after, possibly, the greatest experience of my life.

I smile exultantly and lay my head back down on Cayton's naked torso, listening to the constant beat of his heart. As cliché as it might sound, it's true when they say that two hearts can beat as one.

Cayton is still sleeping, even though the clock on the nightstand says that it's already half-past noon. Hell, I don't even know why I'm awake. Last night, although worth every second, was exhausting once all was said and done.

It's a few more minutes before I feel Cayton's arm tighten around me. Resting my chin on top of my hands, I watch as he slowly starts to wake up. His eyes immediately meet mine once they open, and with a smile that makes my insides churn like butter.

"Good morning sunshine," I greet, unusually peppy for just waking up. Not that I don't have a reason to be peppy.

"Good morning," he chuckles, obviously amused by my cheerfulness. "How are you feeling?"

I take a moment to assess myself. I know that losing your virginity is supposed to hurt, and there was a little pain down south, but other than that every thing is hunkey dorey.

"All good. Sore, but good."

"And you're not broken?" he asks, and I see the corners of his mouth twitch as he tries to stop from smiling. I, however, pull the covers up over my face as a rush of red colors my cheeks.

Somewhere in the heated moment last night, I had asked a completely off-the-wall question about whether or not that thing would break me. You couldn't blame me! After I asked that question—not purposely by the way, it was the product of a dysfunctional word filtering system—and Cayton had a minute to laugh at my expense, he simply replied 'one size fits all'. I will probably never hear the end of it.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how I managed to thoroughly embarrass myself just before making love to my mate.

"We never speak of that again," I mumbled through the sheets. He laughs again and pulls the covers back, just enough to reveal my face before planting a tender kiss on my lips.

"Don't worry, it was... cute," he says.

"Cute," I scoff disbelievingly. We settle into a comfortable silence after that, which I'm completely content with. Cayton's fingers lightly trace patterns on my back, a warm sizzle of electricity accompanying his touch.

"So, what now?"

"Hmm?" he mumbles.

"Like, what now? Is this whole mating thing completed, or are there more steps that I'm unaware of?" I ask cluelessly.

I can feel him shrug. "Nope, we're fully mated now."

"So that's it?"

"Pretty much."

"And as of right now, I'm officially all yours."

"Exactly."

"And you're probably going to be ten times more protective and jealous?" I inquire.

"More than likely," he chuckles. "But so will you."

"I don't get jealous," I remind him, to which he simply rolls his eyes.

I move so I'm lying next to him instead of on top of him. We just stare at each other for a moment, our smiles mirroring each others. His hand gently caresses my cheek, and his eyes seem to be taking in every inch of my face. I literally feel like a priceless gem under his adoring gaze.

"God I love you," he says quietly.

"Not as much as I love you." I realize how cheesy that was, but I didn't care in the slightest at the moment. It's mind blowing how in love I am with this man, and it's even more mind blowing that he loves me just as much. I honestly never thought love like this was possible, but I'm living proof that it is.

See? Love has the power to turn people into complete mush balls. I'm also living proof of that.

And to further expand my mushy thoughts, I'm well aware that there is a stronger connection between us that even I can sense. I suppose that's what completing the bond feels like, and let me tell you, it's an amazing feeling. And the best part is, I know it's never going to change. I'm basically feeling what I'm going to feel for the rest of my life.

Complete, utter, hopelessly soppy, love and devotion.

I would have been content with staying in bed all day with Cayton, but my stomach had other plans. And it turns out other people did too, because halfway through me fixing Cayton and myself some pancakes, someone started knocking on the door.

Cayton went to answer it, and not too long after that I heard a rather high pitched squeal coming my way. I didn't have time to process it because not two seconds after I heard it did someone come hurtling into my back. I would have come face first with the pan, had she not have been able to keep us steady.

"My little Macy is all grown up!" Tami squeals, jumping up and down like an excited teenager. I have to laugh at her vivacious behavior, all too aware that this is more than likely the doings of pregnancy hormones. Yet my cheeks take on the familiar shade of pink as I realize that she knows.

How, I'm not exactly sure because I don't think Cayton would have had time to come out with the words. And I highly doubt his words when he opened the door were "Guess what happened last night?"

Cayton and Trenton come in together, and I realize that Tami isn't the only one who knows by the way Trenton is smirking at me. Geez, do I have 'I lost my virginity last night' painted on my forehead?

"My little Tami is killing me slowly," I say as her ever-tightenening hug starts to deprive my lungs.

"Oh, right, my bad," she replies, loosening her arms, before grabbing my shoulders and making me face her. She looks at me seriously, all traces of the overly zealous girl from moments ago gone.

Great, here come the mood swings.

"Did you use protection?" she asks me in a way that a mother would ask.

"Yes," I mutter, aware that Cayton and Trenton are watching with interest.

"I'm so happy for you two!" she suddenly squeals again, bring me back into a hug. I shake my head, laughing slightly.

"Thanks," I say, trying to remove her arms from me. I really don't see what the big deal is. Ok, so it sort of is a big deal. For Cayton and me, I mean. Why Tami is so happy, or how she knows for that matter, is beyond me. It must be some freaky werewolf sense.

"Give the girl some room to breath," Trenton finally interjects, pulling her off of me. I give him a thankful look.

"They grow up so fast," she sighs, leaning against Trenton and placing a hand over her heart. As weird as this is I can't help but smile, in an amused sort of way.

"Are you guys hungry?" I ask in an attempt to change the subject, "I'm making pancakes."

Trenton shakes his head, but not surprisingly Tami nods.

They take a seat and I resume my pancake flipping duties, Cayton standing with his arms wrapped around me from behind the entire time. I get a sense of déjà vu when he starts kissing my neck, and I smirk remembering that last time it resulted me in assaulting him with a spatula and an attack on both him and Carter with the sink hose.

Ah, memories.

Once our pancakes are made and eaten—Tami finished off all three of hers and one of mine—I convince everyone to mix it up from the usual, and we end up in the game room in an intense game of virtual baseball.

"Macy, go get your phone," Tami whispers to me suddenly as we watch Cayton and Trenton go against each other.

"What? Why?" I ask.

"I need to tell you something and I don't want-" she nods her head in the guy's direction "-to hear."

"Is it about..." I look down at her stomach than back to her eyes for conformation, and she nods. Nodding myself, I get up from my comfy spot on the couch and announce that I'm going to get my phone for totally unsuspicious reasons. Yea, they didn't catch onto the last part.

Retrieving my phone from the room, I pause as I look at the tattered black material on the ground. What had once been some pretty pricey lingerie is now mere shreds of fabric. Instead of just slipping them off, Cayton decided it would be easier to rip them off. Not that he had any trouble doing it, but who knows, I might have used those again.

Being the lazy person I am, I kick the material off to the side and grab my phone from the nightstand, aware of the fact that there's message notifications and I'm more than likely not going to like why there are.

Yep. Six missed calls, seven texts messages, all from one person. Mom.

I ignore them, choosing to face the music later.

Back in the game room, Tami types a message and sends it to me. I roll my eyes at the fact that she waited until I was sitting right next to her to send it, but open it nonetheless.

I laugh quietly and type my reply.

If it wasn't for Bethany being the voice of reason, we wouldn't even have a back-up plan. Yes, we did plan on telling Trenton via a flash mob, in a complete spur of the moment. But none of us are choreographers, and no matter how much Hunter tried to convince us his dancing was good, the idea kind of fell flat.

Just as I'm about to type a reply, two shadows loom over Tami and I. Startled, I jump a bit and hold the screen against my chest to keep it away from unwelcome eyes.

"What are you two doing?" Cayton asks, looking suspiciously between Tami and I. Trenton shares a similar look.

"Nothing," we both answer sweetly, before exchanging glances and giggling like little kids.

*

The Sunday that Tami wants us to have dinner was exactly a week away, and that week passed by fast. Things kind of fell back into their normal routine, though I was losing some sleep.

Anyways, today is the day, and I had successfully convinced Cayton to go to dinner. I say convinced, because he had some other plans for that night. I swear, it's like that boy is suddenly a sex addict. Not that I've been any better, but let's stay on topic.

The restaurant we plan on eating at is one of those high-end restaurants you have to make reservations for. Just my luck that it was owned by some werewolves apart of the pack, and they got us in whatever time slot I wanted.

Perks of being the Luna.

I got myself all fancied up for the occasion, wearing a black cocktail dress that dips down in the back. Paired with a pair of black heels, my hair in loose curls, and just a touch of makeup, I was all ready to go.

I smile and accept Cayton's hand as I step out of his car. He shuts the door for me and then possessively pulls me to his side, his arm secured on my waist. I expected it to be like this for most of the night; not that I minded.

I wrap my arm around him in return, putting my hand in the pocket of his jacket. It was actually kind of difficult to get him into it, he said he isn't a fan of suit jackets. The black tie was an entirely different struggle. But damn, does he look good. He always does, but there's something about a well dressed man that has me eager to get home.

Wow, I really am a freaking horn dog, aren't I?

Tami and Trenton are both waiting outside the doors, locked away in their own little world and completely careless about PDA.

Now, anyone who didn't know me and just looks at me would assume that I am a proper lady. The way I'm dressed, I think I could easily order any alcoholic drink without being asked for my ID. Of course, we all know that I'm painfully lacking in elegance and class, and it shows when I greet Tami not with a hello or a tap on the shoulder, but a kick in the ass.

Hey, it was the only way I was going to get her to come up for air.

She yelps and turns with a fiery look in her eyes, Trenton doing the same. Until they realize it's just me, that is.

"It's about time," she mutters, running her hands against the back of her dress where my foot had just made contact with. Her dress is a pretty grey color that matches her eyes, and her red hair is done in some intricate updo. I scowl when I realize that she's wearing heels, and that she's still going to be taller than me.

Yes, the only reason I wore heels is because I had hoped she would be in flats, therefore making me taller than her. What, you think I would wear these just because? The last time I wore heels, I ended up flat on my face. Yea, remember that?

"Yes, I'm still taller than you," she says smugly as I compare my height to hers by moving my hand from the top of my head to her. My hand hits the middle of her forehead, and I huff. I'm destined to be the short human forever.

All three of them laugh before we head inside. The host doesn't even bother asking for our names, he greets us with a kind smile and immediately leads us to our table. A few of the customers that have probably been waiting for a bit scowl in our direction.

Haha, VIP, suckers.

I seriously feel like I'm VIP right now.

Someone comes and takes our drink orders, and as much as I wanted to try out my theory of getting a drink without being questioned for ID, though I doubt they would ask—I'm VIP after all—Cayton wouldn't allow it.

Tami is becoming increasingly nervous, and I give her hand a reassuring squeeze under the table.

"So, how are things out in the pack?" I ask, trying to strike up a conversation. Cayton and Trenton were in the middle of something, but I wasn't paying attention.

"Good," Cayton replies simply. I raise an eyebrow, waiting for him to go into detail. As far as I know, the pack is on alert because of some recent events. Yes, he told me about the emergency last week, and he's been keeping me pretty updated these last few days. There isn't much I can do currently, unfortunately, other than keep tabs and offer moral support.

I'm not too worried about it, but it seems like I'm the only one. Bethany has been with me everyday. She stays by while Carter is off with Cayton, and even she is slightly worried about the situation.

Aside from that, Bethany and I have been getting closer, slowly but surely. The girl is a complete mystery, and just when I get her to open up she shuts right back down.

I did, however, manage to get one interesting thing from her.

"So, Bethany, how old are you?" I had asked.

"Twenty," she said.

"How long have you lived here?"

"About three years," she said, before passing me an icing pen. I had managed to get her to teach me how to decorate cupcakes, since she seems to have an amazing talent for that.

"Where did you live before?" I was curious.

She hesitated before answering. "In a different pack. With my sister." She choked on the last sentence, and I knew I shouldn't pry, but I couldn't help it.

"Why isn't she here with you?" I asked, trying to be a sensitive as I could be.

"She's dead," she blurted out. Her eyes widened, so I guess she hadn't meant to say it. By then I knew I had overstepped the boundaries, and I let the subject drop.

That explained why she was so closed in. I've never really dealt with a tragic family death, so I couldn't imagine how she felt. It must have really affected her, and you could tell from the always present look of sadness in her eyes. It was a look even Carter's presence didn't get rid of.

Just as I'm about to press Cayton for more information, I hear a faint clapping coming from the other side of the restaurant.

A group of tuxedo waiters and waitresses all come out clapping, and Tami and I exchange excited glances. The last one coming out is carrying the cake, the one Tami and I had especially picked out for the occasion. It has white icing, and the borders are a blue and pink icing, since we couldn't exactly choose one. There are two figurines on the cake; one baby boy, and one baby girl. It would have been easier if we knew the gender, but that won't be for about another three months or so. Written in icing is 'Congrats, Daddy!'.

As the waiters approach the table, I prepare myself to jump up and yell "SURPRISE!" Both Cayton and Trenton are looking at Tami and I, probably wondering why we're smiling like goons.

Unfortunately, just as I'm about to jump up, the herd of waiters pass right by our table.

My smile drops, and I look at Tami to see if she has any idea what they're doing with the cake. The plan was to put it in front of Trenton and start singing 'Rock-a-bye Baby'—you would not believe how long it took us to convince them to sing that—and then I would snap a picture of his reaction.

Instead of doing that though, they put the cake down in front of another guy, who I'm guessing is on a date with his girlfriend. Neither of them looks old enough to be out of high school yet, so when they put the cake down and start singing, the boy looks like he's about to have a panic attack.

Actually, scratch that. He looks like he's about to pass out. He stares at the cake wide-eyed, then up to his girlfriend who just looks confused by the whole thing.

And then he passes out.

I slap my hand over my agape mouth, and the girl shrieks as the boy falls off his chair. One of the waiters barely manages to catch him. The funny part is another waiter is still singing.

A chorus of gasps sounds out from everyone in the restaurant, and there is complete silence for a moment. Even the lone singer finally realizes that she should stop.

I look around the table, and Tami has her face in her hands, and her shoulders are shaking from containing her laughter. Trenton and Cayton both look amused by the situation.

"Is this some kind of sick joke?!" the girl screeches, on her knees next to the boy. "I'm not fucking pregnant!"

All the waiters back away, while one runs off to the kitchen looking for help. Right, because the chef is going to grill him back to consciousness, and serve him with dipping sauce on the side.

"Give me a cup of water or something!" the girl continues screeching, and I, being the good Samaritan I am, offer her my glass. She takes it, and dumps it on the boys face.

He shoots up, spluttering.

"What just happened?" he coughs, wiping his eyes.

"I don't know, what the hell happened?" she demands, looking around at the bystanding waiters.

"I'm not... sure..." one says.

Alright, so maybe I should step in and say something. Then again, this is too funny.

"Are you kidding me? You made my boyfriend faint and you're not sure? Who the hell runs this joint anyways?! If this is a joke, then it's not funny!"