The days after I had come across Natalia were pretty tense. Lucien was convinced that the people behind the traps were the same people who were responsible for all the mysterious deaths and disappearances that he had been looking into, even if there was no magic involved this time. Working on tracking the culprits was pretty difficult though, especially as Alpha Macalister was refusing to cooperate on the matter. One would think that he would want all the allies he could get to bring down the people who did this to his daughter but from the conversations that Lucien and Connor shared with me, the Windcrest Alpha seemed rather unnerved and anxious about the whole situation yet he was refusing our help. I couldn't help but wonder if there was more that he knew about the situation than what he had shared with us.

I had, however, stayed out of the council and inter-pack talks. My pack might have accepted me even as a human but I did not want to cause tension by joining Luc and Connor in their meetings. Instead, I focused on spending time with Anna and getting to know Natalia- we were texting all the time and, when her dad would allow her to leave their pack for a bit, we would meet at our favourite cafe by the lake in Luss. Meanwhile, I was also working on reinforcing the security of the pack grounds and training the pack warriors. My schedule was packed but I was happy keeping busy. I also loved feeling like a contributing member of the pack. I still couldn't believe that I was living surrounded by wolf shifters and I couldn't help but stare in amazement every time that I saw one of the pack members shift. It truly was fascinating how their bodies changed- the breaking and elongation of the bones, the growing fur, the lengthening of the teeth. Seeing them shift back to human was also amazing, although the constant nakedness was something that I had not thought about beforehand. Thank god that I was no prude. Mind you, it did also help that the pack had stashes of clothes in various locations on the pack lands and the region.

"Are you coming?" I heard Anna say as she popped her head in my room.

"I told you I wouldn't miss it for the world." I sprung out of my seat at my desk to join Anna in the corridor.

"I can't wait to hear what Dr. Stewart says- I just hope that he hasn't mentioned anything to Lucien."

"Relax- I told him that the appointment is for me, just to be on the safe side." I tried to reassure Anna who was clearly very excited and nervous by now. To be frank, I still couldn't believe it myself that it was time to find out if I was going to be an auntie.

Fifteen minutes later, we were sitting in the doctor's office and, after clearing up my ruse and making him promise to his Luna that he would not say a word to Lucien, he was finally performing the scan. As he was staring intensely at the screen and checking something, I suddenly heard what sounded like thunder of galloping horses.

"Congratulations, Luna! You have a healthy pup growing inside you- that's the heartbeat you hear!" The look on Anna's face was so precious- it was a mix of surprise, happiness and love. Her eyes were full of tears and I could barely hold back my own. If only the guys at work could see me since I got here- I was periodically becoming an emotional mess and they would have teased me mercilessly about it!

I gently squeezed Anna's hand and gave her a soft kiss on the forehead. I knew that my brother would be over the moon once he found out and I could also only imagine the emotions in the pack as the next generation of Moreau alphas was announced.

"You are 5 weeks pregnant now. Everything is perfectly fine so far and I expect a smooth pregnancy until you are able to finally hold your pup in just under 5 months' time." What did he just say? 5 months?!

"Sorry, doc, but you mean 8 months, right?"

He laughed as if I was saying a joke. "Not at all, Miss Moreau. Wolf shifter pregnancies tend to be shorter as the babies are also wolf shifters, meaning that they will develop much quicker than a human baby." I was mind-blown. That had been me once upon a time.

"Word of advice though, Luna" Dr Steward said "I wouldn't suggest that you wait too long before you tell the Alpha if you want it to be a surprise, as he will be able to smell the change in your scent pretty soon." Yeah, I still had to get used to the bizarreness of the shifters' world.

After we made our way out of the pack's infirmary, I left Anna in her room to plan how she was going to tell Lucien about their little bundle of joy. I would love to see his face when he found out but I knew that this moment needed to be just for the two of them. It was nearly dinner time when I was making my way down to the entertainment room and I bumped into Connor and a few other pack members.

"Trouble in the house!"He laughed and pointed at me.

"Says the person who nearly started a fight between two girls because of him!" I retorted.

"Hey, not my fault that everyone wants a piece of this fine body." Connor wrapped his arm around me and started dragging me towards the front door together with the others.

"Well then, be a generous man and start giving everyone their fix, starting with Mrs.Morton and Mrs. Goody- they've been dying to get their hands on you for a while now." I saw Connor frown and wanted to bump my first in the air victoriously. Mrs. Morton and Mrs. Goody were two adorable old ladies in the pack but boy were they hungry for this guy! He had to diplomatically fend them off every time he saw them as they were ready to tear his shirt just to touch his abs.

"Okay, okay, you win- I'll play modest! But you are coming with us!"

"Where are we going?"

"Time to show you the fun side of the area, Riley- we are going to do a pub crawl!"

Three hours later, I found myself feeling rather happy and relaxed but that didn't prevent me from downing yet another Jager bomb. I could feel the now dark amber liquid gush down my throat, followed by a warm sensation that made its way to my tummy.

"Okay, okay, guys- next round." Maya, one of the girls from the pack, was trying to speak up but all that could be heard were the loud cheers and chants from our group. This was our fifth pub already and while I was rather tipsy, this lot looked like they could go on forever. Damn shifters and their metabolism- no one told me that alcohol did not really affect them until I was already on my third pint. "Right, it's Riley's turn next. Truth or dare, Riley?" Oh yeah, I nearly forgot that we were playing that. Mind you, it was no fun when you were the only one with enough liquid courage to do stupid things.

"Fuck that, truth is for wimps! Dare- bring it on, Maya!" I saw Maya look around and then I could pinpoint the exact moment that she came up with her evil master plan because her lips pulled up in a devilish smirk.

"You are not afraid of big bad bears, are you Riley?"

Connor looked at her and his eyes lit up with mischief as well. "OOOhhhh, you are bad, Maya. Clash of the titans- this should be fun to watch." Whatever Maya had in mind, he was definitely ready to enjoy the show as he leaned back in the booth with his pint in hand.

They didn't know just how badass I was though. "Do I look like a weakling to you, Maya? I'll crush this- who do I need to fight?"

"You see that group of tall muscular guys at the high table in the corner?" Sure I could see them. They easily looked like they could be rugby players. The one that was facing me had a pretty tough expression on his face- you know, the type of guy that you wouldn't want to piss off. But hey, if I needed to kick his ass to show everyone just how tough I was, I was going to do it. "The one with the brown hair that has his back to us- I dare you to go, turn him on, and then leave him high and dry."

"I'm sorry, did you just say turn him on and leave him high and dry? Isn't it better to fight him to prove who is the best here?" I was still pretty surprised by the dare that she had just given me- what the hell would that prove?

"Oh no, that's no fun. We know you can fight. What's the matter, Riley? Scared that you can't deliver on this occasion?" She was now taunting me and maybe I wouldn't have fallen for it if I was sober but to my tipsy mind, her words were like a red flag in front of a bull.

"Watch and learn, little girl!" I downed my last Jager bomb, turned on my heels and beelined for my target. I was determined that I was going to smash this dare, so I knew that I had to be bold. As I reached him, I got on my toes behind him and whispered seductively in his ear.

"Mmmmm.....I'm feeling frisky this evening, handsome. Tell me your name so that I know what to scream tonight."

I heard a low growl as he turned around to face me. He placed his hand on my waist and pulled me closer to him. When I saw his face, I couldn't help but gasp. What the hell did I just do?

"Fancy bumping into you, beautiful!"