"Say it," Cayton demands.

"No," I counter.

"Say it."

"No!"

"You leave me no choice then," he says, and before I can even blink he jumps on the bed, grabs my sides and from then on out is merciless. I scream out, before the traitorous laughter sounds out.

Why is it that we laugh when we're tickled, when we do anything but enjoy it?

"Please stop!" I gasp.

"Say it!" he commands, a smile on his face.

"Never!" I shout stubbornly.

I've known eventually that my dog jokes would result in some sort of payback, but I never thought it would be this cruel. Cayton had just gotten out of the shower five minutes ago, and I made a comment about a wet-dog smell. There are few things in this world that I hate more than being tickled. If I want to stop this inhumane punishment, I have to eat my own words.

My stubborn side isn't allowing that.

He doesn't stop tickling me, and by this point I can feel tears running down my face from laughing so much, and no doubt my face is flustered unattractively. I'm squirming underneath him, pathetically begging him to stop. Which, again, I can't help but laugh, so it isn't helping my case.

"Say it." He kicks it up a notch, and I crack. This is constitutionally classified as cruel and unusual punishment.

"Ok!" I give in. He stops for a moment, allowing me to catch my breath. He smiles down at me, clearly amused with the situation. "I'm sorry, you don't smell like a wet dog," I apologize.

"And?"

"And I love you?"

"I'll take that," he chuckles, using the pad of his thumb to wipe all the water from under my eyes.

"I hope you're happy with yourself," I say, pushing him away from me in mock anger.

"I am." I roll my eyes, standing up and attempting to run my fingers through my knotty hair. I don't understand how my hair tangles so easily, but it's very annoying.

"Do you have anything to do today?" I ask, giving up on my hair.

"Meeting soon," he answers simply. "It shouldn't take too long though."

"Is about that thing that happened yesterday? You know, the thing you refuse to tell me about?"

"Yes," he answers, obviously not planning on telling me anytime soon. I don't need him to tell me though, I already know. But he doesn't know that, and I don't like that he is withholding things from me.

I jump back onto the bed, landing on my knees right next to him.

"Can I come?" I ask.

"Can't stay away from me, can you?" he teases, smirking.

No, I answer mentally, but say "I try my hardest to." His smirk fades and I laugh. "I'm kidding you dork. So, can I?"

I don't give him any time to say no as I wrap my arms around his neck and look at him with the puppy-dog face. It's hysterical how easy it is to get my way with that look.

"Fine," he sighs.

"Yay!" I cheer, kissing his cheek before releasing my hold around his neck. "Now can you tell me what the meeting is about?"

"Well I guess you'll find out soon enough." Alright, now he's just not telling me because he knows it's driving me crazy. I can't help how nosey I am. Whether or not it's any of my business, which now, technically it is, I have to know.

Dropping the subject for now, I fall back onto the pillows, staring up at the ceiling.

My mind drifts back to yesterday. We had to remain at the mall for about another two hours after the call, and in that time things were just a little strained. Cassia and Luke were attempting to act normal, but there was a bit of awkwardness between the two. Marissa kind of just sat there; Hunter and I were the only ones who weren't completely out of character. And then there was Bethany.

I'm actually worried about her. After flipping out over Carter, then the whole mystery thing between her and Warren, she completely shut out. She didn't say another word, she was just... there. Physically. I'm not sure if she was mentally with us.

I'm going to have to ask her about it today. After this meeting of course.

Cayton waves his hand in front of my face, making me realize I was completely zoned out. I blink a few times, before looking up to Cayton who is hovering over me with an almost concerned look on his face.

"Did you hear anything I just said?" he asks.

"No, I didn't," I admit.

"I said, get dressed because the meeting starts soon."

"Right," I comply, heading towards the closet. Cayton follows me in, watching me from the doorway as I grab a random shirt and pants.

"What were you thinking about?" he asks.

"Bethany," I say. There isn't any point in hiding my thoughts from him. He can tell when I'm lying, and I have no reason to hide it anyways. Besides, maybe Carter has said something to him about Bethany. "Has Carter said anything about her lately?"

He shrugs. "Not really. He's mentioned not getting much sleep because she's always waking up in the middle of the night screaming."

I stop what I'm doing for a second to look at him. "That's terrible. Does he know why?"

He shakes his head. "She won't tell him."

"Can't you guys like tap into each others heads or something?"

"Not if the other person is blocking you out," he explains. "Only an Alpha or Luna can get into anyone's head."

"Not mine," I gloat with a smug smile, resuming gathering my outfit for the day.

Now I definitely have to have a talk with her. There must be something seriously wrong if she's waking up screaming. Either she has some very intense nightmares, or something is haunting her. With what I know, my guess would be on the latter.

*

I sit back in the chair, just admiring Cayton as he works.

The way he can just flip a switch and instantly have an entirely new attitude amazes me. The Cayton that was just tickling me upstairs and smiling has been replaced by an all-business, emotionless man. Not that I didn't know that side of him existed, It's his Alpha attitude I suppose, but it's just strange to see him in action.

I still find it completely attractive. And I don't know why, but I love the fact that there's a side of him that's for my eyes only. Everyone else sees the brooding Alpha side, while I get to see the more gentle and loving Cayton.

Though I do enjoy admiring him, it gets a bit boring after a while. And since I pretty much have nothing to do in here, I decide to make some use of my time and tackle the various documents he had thrown off to the side.

I don't know why I decided that I wanted to join him today. I guess just the idea of being included, and I feel like I should be. And I wouldn't admit it out loud because it would make me sound like a total mush-ball, but being with Cayton was the driving force.

Bethany decided to skip out, wanting to catch up on her reading. She's in the living room.

Cayton, Carter, Trenton, and two guys named Drake and Michael all have a map spread out across the desk, looming over it and pointing to different areas. I don't hear what they say, nor do I have the ability to read lips. All I know is that they are discussing Joshua. I didn't hear much of the initial conversation. I just checked out, and then started listening to music.

I change the song on my phone, absentmindedly humming along as I carefully organize the papers. Finances here, pack members' information there, reports of stuff I didn't bother to read. Fun...

Soon I feel a tap on my shoulder, and I look up from the file and yank out one of my earpieces.

"Yes?" I ask Cayton, who had been the one to tap my shoulder.

"Thank you for doing this for me, but could you do it without humming?" he asks softly, like I would get mad for him asking me to keep quiet.

"Oh, right, sorry," I say to him, and then look over to the others.

"It might have been ok if you could actually sing," Carter jokes.

"I'd like to hear you try jelly bean," I challenge, using his nickname solely because he hates it.

His eyes narrow at me, which I mimic. He opens his mouth to retort, but Drake is quick to cut him off.

"Can we get back to work?" he asks, annoyance clear in his voice. I know it's directed to me when he glances my way. Touchy.

I stick the earpiece back in my ear and go back to organizing and filing. Cayton returns to the others and they start back with the map.

Once I have the files all organized and alphabetized, I decide the rest of the office could use a nice cleaning.

Remind me again why I suggested I be here? If I had known all I would end up doing is cleaning, I would have organized our closet instead. Or Bethany and I could have gone out.

But no, I went mushy and wanted to be around my dear mate.

With all the papers organized, I look for a place to start my new strange need to clean. I swear, I am a bipolar neat freak. If someone else's stuff is messy, I have to clean it. If it's my stuff that's messy, I have no desire to fix it.

Against the wall is a large dark wood bookshelf. Only the two bottom rows contain books, while the rest of the shelves house miscellaneous items.

On one of the shelves is a family portrait of Cayton, Lisa, and Warren. And though I couldn't exactly tell you what Warren looks like when he is happy, I would assume he looks like this. He has his arm around Lisa's shoulders, and his other hand on Cayton's shoulder, who looks to be about seven or so, his adorable smile revealing a missing tooth.

"Aw, Cayton! Why haven't I seen this before? You're so cute it isn't even funny!" I gush—loudly since my headphones are in—not realizing I had interrupted their discussion. I actually see Cayton's cheeks tinge the lightest shade of pink as the others chuckle, except for Drake, who pinches the bridge of his nose and huffs in annoyance.

"Sorry," I mutter sheepishly, putting the picture back in its place. Drake gives me a hard look as the rest return their gaze to the map.

Alright, so maybe I've been a little disruptive, but there is no need for that look.

I turn my gaze away from him and look down at my feet, until I feel his eyes off of me. Deciding I can't be disruptive if I'm sitting and doing nothing, I sit in a chair on the outskirts of the huddle, peeking at the map.

"So they came from this way," Carter points to the left side of the map with a pencil, and draws a line down. "And headed in this direction."

"Right towards the center of the territory," I hear Cayton mutter, examining the map intensely. I watch in awe, still bewildered at how this man is so different from the one outside of his office.

Don't get me wrong, the whole Alpha thing is completely hot, but it's weird seeing how quickly he can switch from my sweet and loving mate to a sexy, serious Alpha mate. Well, we've been over this already, so you get the point.

"And what's at the center that Joshua is after?" Drake asks, though it's more of a rhetorical question. I catch Cayton glance at me, answering the question for himself.

Now I've thought long and hard about this whole thing with Joshua. And a few things stick out. First off, Joshua had a huge opportunity to capture me the day I found out about werewolves. If I'm what he's after, why didn't he try and take me?

Another thing is that what I've gathered is that Joshua is smart. Smart enough to not just go blindly into another packs territory when he already knows who, or what, is there and where they are. It's a given that I'm at Cayton's. So if he knows that, why does he keep sending people in to search?

It does leave a few unanswered questions though. Without thinking, I blurt the first one out.

"How do you know he's after me?"

All five pairs of eyes snap up to me, looking at me like I've grown a second head. I stop my absentminded twisting in the swivel chair I'm currently seated in for a second.

"Look, I know you don't understand any of this-" Drake starts.

"I'm just saying. Maybe Joshua is looking for something else," I interject.

Drake shakes his head at me. "Just because you want that to be true, doesn't make it true. Joshua is after revenge, and what better revenge is there than an eye for an eye? His mate is gone, and he wants Alpha Cayton's mate gone too."

"But Joshua had the chance to take me and he didn't!" I exclaim.

"He didn't because he knew Cayton was close, he couldn't have gotten you out without attack," Drake says, his annoyance with me clear. It causes Cayton to give him a warning glance, which he doesn't notice because he is too busy staring me down. I refuse to back down though, though I do realize he has a viable point.

"Why would he continue sending people in if he knows I'm here? Why isn't he busy planning an attack?"

"If he keeps sending people in to the center of the territory, he's most likely gathering information. Trying to find easy access," Drake says, practically snarling on the last part. Again, viable point, but- "And if you want your ass saved, I would suggest minding your own business and letting us-"

"That is enough!" Cayton suddenly yells, slamming his hand on the desk and causing me to flinch. I stare at Drake in shock, eyes wide and mouth ajar. He takes a deep breath as if calming himself, and turns to Cayton the same time I do.

Man, the male werewolf temperament is ridiculous. Why couldn't everyone have gotten the same temper Trenton has?

"Drake, I suggest you learn some respect for your Luna," Cayton says lowly, and I smile smugly.

"Alpha, with all due respect, we're getting nothing done with the constant interruptions," he says, taking on a more respectful tone. I want to retort, but Michael beats me to it.

"Maybe Macy should go. This might be a little too intense for her before she's learned all about her position," he chimes in. Drake nods in agreement.

Cayton's eyes flick from Drake, then Michael, weighing their proposal, before his eyes meet mine, where they soften.

"Princess, do you think you could sit this one out?"

I look at him in bewilderment. He's kicking me out? He isn't even going to listen to what I have to say? Maybe Drake did have a few good points, but I think I did too. More importantly, he's siding with Drake, who had practically been trying to set me on fire with his eyes? I look at Drake, who is now the one looking smug, though he tries to hide it.

"But-"

"Macy," Cayton says more sternly. Just the use of my real name in place of what he usually calls me hurts for some reason. It might not be justified, but I feel betrayed. Like he's choosing Drake's presence over mine.

I'm sure my face projects my emotions well, because Cayton sighs and starts to walk around his desk towards me. Before he can reach me, I get out of my chair and storm out of the room, making sure to slam the door behind me. Childish, sure, but I feel like I could do so much more than just slam a door.

I cannot believe that I have just been kicked out of a meeting by my mate. Why? Because of some rude asshole. Ok, I interrupted a few times, but it wasn't like I put a freaking halt on the whole operation. And it wouldn't have killed them to take a few seconds to see things from my point of view.

Fuming, I stomp into the living room, throwing myself down on the couch like a pouty child. Bethany peers at me from over the top of her book, an eyebrow raised.

"I'm guessing I missed all the fun?"

"Oh yea, because it was so much fun," I say sarcastically, my tone bitter. She closes her book and lays it on her lap, giving me her undivided attention.

"What happened?" she asks. I sigh, before going through the whole thing, leaving nothing out. She lets me rant and complain, never once saying a word.

See, would it have killed them to do that?

"And that's my sad, sad story," I finish.

"Well I think it was wrong for them to kick you out," she says.

I nod in agreement. "And they were pretty quick to shoot down my points. I mean, I know I don't know much about werewolves, and Drake knows a lot more, and I guess he could be right..." I trail off, realizing that maybe my anger isn't completely justified. Maybe they're just doing what's best...

Nah, I'm going to stay pissed.

"Don't let Drake get to you. Who knows, maybe he's wrong," Bethany says. "And if it helps any, I see where you're coming from. Who knows what's going through Joshua's head."

"Speaking of things going through people's heads," I start, remembering that I was going to ask her about some things when I got the chance to. I tuck my anger at Drake and Cayton away for now, reserving it for later. "Do you wanna tell me what that was yesterday?"

"What what was?" she plays dumb, looking down at her hands.

"The thing between you and Warren. You can tell me, I promise I won't tell anyone or... judge you."

It might sound crazy, but for the briefest second I wondered if there was something going on between Bethany and Warren, as in she was the one he was cheating on Lisa with. I couldn't even find that to hold an ounce of truth though. That's just not Bethany. She loves Carter more than anything, evident by her freak out over his safety.

She searches my eyes for something, her internal conflict evident through her green eyes. I almost think she's about to shut down again, until she sighs in defeat.

"Promise you won't mention this to anyone?" she says meekly. I nod a bit too eagerly. I can almost hear her gulp before she continues.

"Well... that was my first run in with him. I've never met him before, and I had wanted to keep it that way. Actually, I wanted to stay away from everyone but, you know, fate had other plans," she smiles ruefully, pausing and taking a deep breath.

"When we were there, he was trying to get into my head, and I was trying to block him out, but I couldn't-"

"Wait, I thought only Alphas and Lunas could do that?" I interrupt.

"Yes. He's the former Alpha though. Someone never really stops being an Alpha; they just pass the title and ruling position down. After their time is up, they still get all the perks of being the Alpha. They just don't get to run the pack. So yes, he was able to get in and read my thoughts."

I nod in understanding, motioning with my hands for her to continue. I'm completely immersed, hundreds of questions buzzing around in my head. I decide to hold them back until she's finished.

"He's only able to read present thoughts, and at the time I was thinking about-" she cuts herself off.

I don't press her to continue, knowing that she would tell me if she wanted to. When I'm sure she's done, I ask my first question.

"What exactly was he looking for? You said that was the first time you had met him, so what reason did he have to get inside your head?"

"That's the problem. I have no idea. But there are just some things I don't want anyone to know," she says. I'm about to ask another question, when she makes a subtle swipe across her neck with her hand, looking behind me. I turn around to see everyone coming into the living room.

Time to pull the anger back out.