I'd never heard anything like this before.

Never something so thunderous, yet majestic and murderous yet alluring all at the same time. It had my mind in a clouded lusty confused haze. Not a great mix. Even me – a human, or I think I am – could very clearly pinpoint the amount of power he was putting into this, this roar.

Yes, a roar. I can't think of any other word that could fit what I heard. I heard something just beneath Lucas' exuding power play, a humming of some sort in the stillness of the pack's yard. Lucas looked furious, which was an understatement, but he clearly wasn't humming. I didn't know how to describe him really, I had never seen him like this before. I've only ever seen the Lucas that cradles me and rocks me from side to side when I'm sad, or tickles me just to hear me laugh. I've been lucky to know that side of Lucas, because this side is not one I would like to meet head on. I would rather be six feet under then be the cause of that look on his face.

Visibly, knees shook as his pack members fell to the grass covered earth. Whimpers escaped the children's mouths, some women while the men's lips trembled with fear. It was weird, to say the least. I know that wolves are physically stronger than me, so why didn't I feel the urge to fall to my knees? My brows furrowed in confusion before I glanced back to Lucas, hoping he may have the answer but decided against it when he was still fuming. My nerves from earlier had dissipated, it was no secret that my presence with their Alpha was a shock, but again, those nerves disappeared into nothingness now that the urge to comfort him took hold.

Lucas' chest was still heaving up and down, visible even through his blue flannel while his jaw was clenched. I inwardly cursed myself for finding the attractiveness in a jaw line, especially at a time like this. My thumb began to rub small circles on the top of his hand, but the moment my foot moved to stand in front of him his voice echoed clearly through the yard. "I will NOT tolerate your gossiping mouths or spiteful looks towards my mate." His once beautiful forest green, now black eyes glanced from one edge of the yard to the other while I watched on with my jaw dropped. Lucas took a step forward in front of my frame, angling slightly in a defensive stance. "If I catch wind of anyone, and I mean fucking anyone, speaking hatefully or being disrespectful to my mate and your future Luna you'll be begging me for a simple ass beating. You'll wish you had never been born."

I gasped lightly when the entire pack population shuddered violently and replied in unison, "yes Alpha."

"DOES ANYONE HAVE ANYTHING ELSE TO SAY?" I could tell he was getting worked up again, I just wasn't entirely sure what to do, Lucas always calmed me down, he is usually the one that is patient and collected. It wasn't until a rumble vibrated through his chest and into the air that I realized his wolf was the main reason behind his anger.

"Lucas," I whispered while positioning myself in front of him. Standing on the tips of my toes, my hands reached out for his cheeks that were dusted in a five o'clock shadow, despite the fact it was barely afternoon. Lightly turning his face in my direction, his black eyes with hints of hazel finally settled on my face. I made gentle movements, softening my eyes and giving him a small smile, while continuing to stroke his cheeks. "Lucas –

He growled lightly, showcasing a few of his fangs. In an effort to remain calm, I pushed back the tremors of my body and forced my heart to remain at a steady pace. When his wolf was out, I assumed he was driven by animalistic instincts, they played on fear and a racing heart was a telltale sign of fear. It was still a shock to see him that way, especially since I've only seen him shift once – and I passed out. "Gabriel," he whispered while stepping closer. The hazel tones in his eyes became more apparent when his pupils began to retreat back to their normal size. "Gabriel," I responded with an understanding look, "you need to relax. Breathe. Everything is okay –

"They were whispering about you," Lucas – Gabriel growled.

Sighing, I nodded in agreement. "Yes, but it's because I'm the Alpha's mate. They could have been saying nice things, you don't know what your members were saying."

When a small smirk curled his lips, my mind instantly laughed at me. "Werewolf hearing, baby doll." I tried to keep the defeated look off my face because I knew they weren't pleasant things, but I was hoping. I guess I didn't do well, because Gabriel snarled again before abruptly pulling me into his chest while he began murmuring things about ripping out tongues and what not. Things that didn't exactly comfort me, but his wolf would think so which isn't a bad thing, it's just something that I have to get used to.

And I will, I'm determined to. "It's okay, I'm just new. Please don't rip out tongues or ears, that's –"I shake my head with a small laugh, "let's just go inside and you can show me what mister Alpha does in his busy time."

A warm smile danced across his lips, eyes filled with adoration as they abruptly switched from hazel to the forest green I love. "Don't call us Alpha doll."

"Lucas?" I questioned with an arched brow as he began to tug me through the maze the kneeling pack members created.

He nodded, "Gabriel likes it a little too much."

I didn't even have time to flush pink from his comment before I trip over something and my face collides with the dirt, painfully. "Doll?!" That deep husky voice is coated with worry as I'm lifted off the ground. With a groan, I rub my nose in small circles, trying to relieve it of the numbing pain and spit out some of the remaining dirt in my mouth. Hands cup my face, lifting my focus towards my mate. "I'm okay, I must have tripped over a rock."

Lucas shook his head while glancing at the space we just walked over. If I thought he was pissed off before, if I thought his roar from earlier was terrifying, it was nothing compared to the pure rage rolling off of him in waves and slapping me in the face at this moment. Following his focus, my eyes landed on a young woman who was still kneeling on the ground. "There was no rock, stand up wolf."

I furrowed my brows but didn't have a chance to turn around entirely before I'm colliding with his brick like chest, which did nothing to help my still tingly nose. "Alpha."

"I'm a fair Alpha, which is why you're still breathing. So, I'm going to give you a chance." I begin wiggling relentlessly trying to get out of his hold, knowing he needs to calm down. "You know that in my pack, females receive the same rights, same opportunities, same training and same choices as the males. I mean, one of our best fighters is a female. However, that also means you receive the same punishments. Is that in anyway unclear, wolf?"

A small whimper echoed through the air, but even after that warning a mere few minutes ago she tried to trip me. "Yes, Alpha. I'm so –

"I don't want to hear a bullshit apology because you and I both know you don't mean it." A devious laugh shook Lucas when I'm gently tugged away by a familiar and from the looks of it friendly face – Josh. "I don't care why." My mate shrugged as he let me go with obvious reluctance, "I don't care what you have to say. These are the terms of your punishment. I'll give you a head start, when I catch you, and I will catch you, you fight to survive. If you survive, meaning if my beast is feeling generous, then you'll be on night patrol for a month after you heal without aid. Do you have any questions about your terms of punishment?"

I'm not sure how I'm supposed to feel right now. Honored? Scared? Loved? Surprised? A small part of me is loving how protective he is of me, no matter how terrible the punishment sounds. But, a good portion of me knows I have to stop this. "Lucas, Gabriel." Josh's grip tightens ever so slightly around my shoulder, my mate snaps his dilated focus towards me. Ignoring the clear warning from Josh, I step forward with a hand out. "Please, I don't want my first day meeting the pack to be like this. Anyone hurting because of me, it –

"I know, my baby doll." Gabriel. "You're so innocent and good. But she hurt you, even after my very specific warning. This female went against her Alpha and harmed her Luna."

Nibbling at the inside of my cheek and a bit on my bottom lip, I nodded, knowing that if he doesn't follow through on punishments he will look weak. It's like dealing with children, if you don't follow through on consequences, they'll try to get away with it. In this circumstance, apparently the consequence is severe. "Okay, then I would like to negotiate the terms of her punishment."

Gabriel cocks his head to the side, while I'm ignoring the shoulder squeeze of Josh once more. "Oh really?"

"I was the one who was wronged." I shrug, avoiding eye contact as he stepped closer.

His scent invades my senses, but I stay focused because I needed to do this. Not just for her, because I have a strong feeling that he wasn't feeling too generous, but because if someone died because of me, my guilt would eat me alive. "What'd you have in mind, doll." When the voice isn't so gruff, I snap my head up, grateful to see Lucas.

Gabriel is so intense, the power just exudes off of him hitting into me like a speeding train. "If you want her punished, that's fine. She explicitly defied what you said, but let her battle someone that isn't an Alpha."

"Josh." Lucas replies before I can get my next thought out. "As the Beta he is the Luna's guard, his instincts to protect you know no bounds." The rumble of approval beside me was enough for me to curse under my breath. "He's not an Alpha, doll." It wasn't great, nor ideal but at least I'm not his mate, at least he won't be as protective of me.

Fudge.

"You are a conniving dog," I whispered under my breath, causing my mate to chuckle deviously. "Fine. She can fight Josh but she will live, and she will receive aid. You said yourself that you're a fair Alpha, I think that's plenty fair for something that was probably a simple mistake."

Lucas pondered for a moment, holding my gaze and testing the waters. I could feel him pushing his power towards me then away again, to see if I'd back down. Or at least I assume that's why, but I refuse to fall into his power play. His punishment was way too far, and at least this way he appears strong, just simply giving in to his mate's wishes, which for wolves would be understandable. He smirked while turning on his heel and glancing at the female who was watching the conversation intently. "Fine, run female."

I glance towards the woman with long dark hair, she grinned gratefully. "Thank you, Luna."

Nodding with a small smile, and eyes that expressed how much more I could have helped I jutted my chin towards the woods telling her to get lost. In two strides, she's shifting into her wolf, avoiding the intentional arms and legs being put in her way by the rest of the pack. "LUCAS!"

Both Josh and Lucas are clutching their stomachs as they laugh. Arrogant men, huffing I spin on my heels and storm towards the pack house. At least, that's what I hope this giant building in the center of the clearing is. When the sound of footsteps heading my direction grab my attention, I begin to turn into an all-out sprint. Lucas playfully growls while his foot falls become quicker, "wolves love to chase, mate."

Squealing, I run up the steps and reach out for the door knob only to feel his arms wrap around my waist. "Caught you," he breathed against the shell of my ear, "I'll always catch you."

That, I'm okay with.

"My job is so much more fun than yours," I quip with a wicked grin.

My mate growls, nipping at my neck as I relish in the sparks shooting through my body. "It's important, doll and eventually you will be helping me with this more consistently. Either way, you're right. You get to bake and eat your delicious treats all day, not a lot of things are better than that."

I'd kill for a cinnamon roll right now.

"Well, if that isn't the truth." I quip while leaning against his chest, since apparently the rest of the chairs in the pack house were occupied or non-existent. Lucas and I both waited to start all this pack paperwork until Josh came back, which surprisingly we both agreed on. His reasoning was a little gorier, he just wanted to see and hear the damage that Josh put on the woman. Unfortunately, it was taking a bit longer than I would have liked, and Lucas had to get to work.

Lucas sighed, and brushed the hair out of my face. "I'm sorry again, about earlier. Gabriel can be a bit extreme, but if I question my wolf in front of the pack –

Nodding in understanding, I interrupted, "I don't know a lot about werewolves – though I'm learning – but I'm aware there are certain animalistic instincts and things that are implicated through actions than in the human world. It's something I'm going to have to get used to, and reign in a great deal."

Lucas leaned in, licking his lips, preparing to kiss me which I was more than ready to comply to when there was a knock on the door. I heard a small whisper about breaking someone's hand but I just waved my mate off, "come in."

Josh comes strolling inside, a few bruises and scratches across his skin and if you look rather closely there is a small limp. At least she put up a good fight, "Alpha she's in the infirmary right now. I can stay with the Luna if you'd like, the female wanted to speak to you." Lucas grumbled, fighting an internal battle on going to see her but with a small glare from me, he got out of the chair, setting me down on his desk with a chaste kiss before basically storming out of the room.

"How is she?" I ventured to ask.

Josh smiled softly, "I am the Beta, the Luna's main guard aside from the Alpha. In my book, what the Luna wants outweighs what the Alpha requests, unless I'm under an Alpha order." I nodded in understanding, but waited for a more direct answer, "she is hurt Luna, to satisfy the Alpha but to keep you happy she will be out of the infirmary by tonight, tomorrow morning at the latest. Nothing is broken, but I did tell her to lead the doctor on a bit more."

Grinning wildly, I hopped down from the desk and wrapped my arms around his torso. "Thank you, Josh and please call me, Riley."

Pulling away, I glance at a grinning Josh. "She said it was an accident and there were no signs of deception. No scent, not even a quicker heart rate."

I shook my head, grumbling to myself because of my carelessness. "She got hurt because I was clumsy, I knew it." Collapsing to the floor in a heap of sadness, I buried my face into my hands. My first day here and I already caused a threat to the pack and landed a woman in the infirmary. God, I'm going to be an awful Luna.

"Yes and no, Luna. She itched her nose and as she put her arm back down and hand into the grass your foot met with her hand. It was an unfortunate coincidence, but she isn't upset."

"I find that incredibly hard to believe."

Josh shook his head and moved to sit by me, sighing in relief – I'm sure – as he does so. "She along with the pack respect you negotiating and with a bit more practice you'll have this down." We both laughed, while I made a silent agreement that I'd go see her before I left today. "He'd give you his balls on a plate if you asked him, Lu-Riley. You just have to learn how to use that to your advantage."

"In the right circumstances. I'm still learning wolf and pack life, I don't want to interfere with your way of life."

Josh shrugged, contemplating what I had to say for a few moments before actually replying. "I understand that, but you were chosen – no you were created by the Goddess to become a Luna, a mate to an Alpha. Don't doubt your instincts so much, they'll be maternal and protective and at times worrisome."

"Hmm, interesting." I never thought of it that way, "can I ask you something?"

"Of course, Riley."

"Do you think it's weird I actually felt good for a split second? Like I was being protected by him no matter how gruesome – is that normal or –

Josh interrupts me, "more than normal. It's the mate bond growing inside of you, knowing that your mate will protect you no matter what is an attractive quality in humans but even more so in wolf relationships. Even though you're a human, you were created by the moon goddess', they most definitely instilled that into your DNA."

Ugh, though he is so right the last thing I wanted to do was discuss my, creators? Mothers? Goddess'? I don't know, whatever the fudge they are. "Josh, do you think I can do this?"

His gaze snaps from the plain wooden wall towards me, horror almost coating his face. Swallowing back a laugh at his expression, I wait for his answer. "Riley, I don't think that there is another woman – wolf or human – that would be better for this job. Lucas is the – well, he's waited a long time for his female and I don't think the moon could have chosen better. You two balance one another out and I also believe that once we figure out what the hell the Goddess' created you for, you'll be a force to be reckoned with."

A giant weight is lifted off of my shoulders, I'm not sure why his words reassured me so much more than Lucas'. Probably because Lucas is my mate and will say anything to keep me smiling. After five to ten minutes of just sitting in silence and enjoying the sounds of the pack children playing outside, I felt the urge to tell him, "Josh, if it helps – and I'm not sure if it will – but I think that Maya is truly missing out on a great guy. You'll be a great mate to her someday." Silently reassuring him that Maya would eventually come around took a weight of worry off of his shoulders.

It was very apparent when he gulped, his adam's apple dropping before bobbing back up to its original position. Glassy eyes meet mine, a sad smile on his lips that makes something inside of me tear into a million pieces. "Luna, you have no idea how much that means to me."

**
Don't shoot me.
Please.

I am so sorry it took so long with this update. I can give you the million reasons as to why it took so long but it makes no difference. My mistake in posting this story was not writing chapters ahead, like I did with Sweet Cheeks and Arrogant Alpha where I could post daily because I had several chapters ready.
I'm trying to get back into the groove of things, and making time to write is up in my top five.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter, it was hard for me to push out because I think I am getting a bit of writer's block but we'll figure it out – together.

XOXO – Taylor
Word Count: 3,432
Date Published: October 9, 2017