Genevieve

Sunlight seeped through the window, interrupting my peaceful sleep. I opened my eyes, and blinked a few times to adjust to the brightness. I looked around the room. Clothes were scattered on the floor, and a lamp was knocked off the nightstand. Asher was sound asleep next to me.

I gently brushed his hair out of his face, careful not to wake him. He looked so innocent. Not so innocent after what we did last night. I watched as his chest moved up and down with his steady breaths. My eyes wandered lower, to not-so-little Asher Jr. I blushed fiercely and pulled the blanket up to cover it. I know it wasn't his first time, but it was mine. And it was not like the movies.

The events of yesterday came back to me. Having my heat, then completing the mating process. We stayed in his room all day, I honestly couldn't keep my hands off of him; but he didn't protest to my actions. I cringed, realizing how needy I was. But at least it was fun. I was insanely awkward. I remembered laughing a lot. It was easy with him. Even if I was nervous, he seemed to ease all my worries and insecurities. He also wasn't lying about it hurting.

On the brighter side, I'm fully mated to Asher Reed. The thought caused a smile to form on my face. I snatched his black shirt from the bed post, and pulled it over my head.

I ignored the soreness from last night. I swung my legs off the bed and stood up. I took one shaky step while clutching the nightstand for support. I debated whether or not to wake up Asher. I should shower first though.

I took another step, before my legs gave out. I fell to the floor. "Damn it!" I cursed. I slapped a hand over my mouth, but it was too late. Asher jumped out of bed and was at my side.

"What happened?" he asked while scanning my body for injuries. Heat crept up to my face, and I covered my eyes with my hands. Don't look. Don't look at it. "Babe?" Asher asked concerned.

I took a deep breath before moving my hands. I looked everywhere except at Asher. "Uh... Can you.... put on pants?" I asked sheepishly.

A chuckle escaped his lips before he pulled on a pair of grey sweats. Asher walked back over to me and gently pulled me up to stand. "Why were you on the floor?" he asked.

"I fell," I mumbled. My legs were shaking, so I grabbed Asher's arm to keep myself standing.

Asher put his hands on my waist and looked at me concerned. "What's wrong?" he asked.

I motioned to my lower body, but Asher got confused. "I'm sore," I answered quietly. He said it would hurt, and I knew I would be sore. But I didn't know my legs would forget how to work.

He sighed and gently kissed me. He rested his forehead against mine. "I'm sorry," he muttered, making his hot breath blow against my lips.

"What for?" I asked confused. Did he regret last night? Was I doing something wrong last night? He probably doesn't want to be with me. Sadness washed over me at the thought of Asher leaving me. "D-do you regret it?" I voiced my thoughts.

Asher suddenly moved his head away and cupped my face in his hands. "I would never regret last night," he assured me. "I love you so much; and I'm never leaving."

I sighed. "You actually do have to leave," I argued while prying his hands away from my face. "You have a life with your pack. All your friends are there." He's been here for almost three months, leaving his pack without their Alpha. Leaving Brian without his best friend. He dropped everything just for me. He went back a couple days here and there. But that's no way to be an Alpha. He can't lead his pack from here. He can't protect them.

Asher shook his head. "You are my life. You are my family." Selfishly, his words immediately made a smile spread across my face. "Why would you even think that I would regret mating with you?" he questioned a few moments later.

"I don't know," I mumbled. I watched as his eyes glazed over, then his face lit up with the biggest smile I've ever seen. "What's going on?" I questioned.

He awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck. "Well..." Asher started. "Th-the p-pack.." he cleared his throat. "My pack felt us mate, and they want to meet their Luna," he explained more confidently.

Meeting the pack? That means I'll probably have the Luna ceremony too. What if they don't accept me? They could reject me as their Luna. Just like Asher had. What about Wendy? She could have been telling them anything. 'They'll love us,' Ingrid assured me, but she didn't sound so sure. 'I mean, they have to, right? We're the destined Luna. Packs are supposed to love their Luna. Its natural instinct to love and protect us,' she ranted.

"Eve?" Asher asked, snapping me from my conversation with Ingrid. I hesitantly backed out of his arms, until my legs hit the bed. I ignored the soreness, and just sat on the bed.

I took away their Alpha. There's no way that they could respect me after that. Lunas are supposed to care for the pack. They're the mother figure. I did the opposite. I left the pack alone. I took away their leader. I left them defenseless.

Asher knelt down in front of me and placed his hands on my bare thighs. "Baby?" he asked softly.

"What if they hate me?" I whispered. Asher tilted his head in confusion. "I'm weak, Asher. I went in a coma just because I saw some dead bodies. I'm selfish, I turned off my emotions. I can't take care of a pack, when I can't even take care of myself," I cried out.

Asher's hands engulfed my own as he gently pressed his lips to my skin. "Being in a coma doesn't make you weak. You made it out of the coma. You survived. You found the strength to turn back on your emotions; not for yourself, but for Matthew. You've been doing such an amazing job with the kid. If you can be responsible for a six-year old boy, then you can take care of the pack. You have such a kind heart. No one in their right mind would give away the second chances that you had. Life has been complicated for you, they understand," he said, while giving me a small smile. "They won't hate you; in fact, they already love you," Asher stated.

"They do?" I asked hopefully.

Asher nodded. "We spent hours just talking about you. Everyone is so excited to meet you."

Everyone? "W-What about Wendy?" I asked quietly. Its still a soft subject, but I can't go without knowing what's waiting for me there. What has she been saying?

I heard Asher intake a sharp breath. "Something happened while I was there," he started. I nodded for him to continue. "Well, uh... Wendy kept calling herself Luna, and she was being disrespectful to me, and to you. I banished her from my pack."

"She went rogue?" I inquired.

"Yeah... She didn't exactly have a choice," he said quietly, almost as if he was embarrassed. "When I banished her, I might have... uh... gave her a Royal Mark?" he stated, but it came out as a question.

A Royal Mark. I shrugged in response. "Okay, so she's gone?"

"She's gone," Asher confirmed. "Why are you so calm about this?" he asked, looking curious.

"About the mark?" I asked, which Asher nodded to answer. "The mark isn't something you can freely give out. The Moon Goddess made it, so it can only be given to those who have actually done wrong by the Royals," I explained. It was in one of Mom's books that I read.

Asher sighed in relief. "So I didn't just abuse my power or anything?"

"Nope," I said popping the 'p'. All seriousness just flew out the window, and we were in a comfortable silence. Until Asher picks me up off the bed causing me to squeal. "What are you doing?" I questioned as he started walking.

"Are you still sore?" he asked.

I blushed and nodded into his chest. I bounced a little, indicating that he was still walking. Asher slowly set me down, and I pulled my face out of his torso. We were in his bathroom. He moved away from the counter and started running the water. As the tub filled with water, Asher wrapped his arms around me. "I'm sorry," he mumbled. Damn, deja-vu.

I moved my arms from between us to hug him back. "Why?" I asked quietly.

"I should've been more gentle. You're hurt because of me," he said in a strained voice.

I pulled away to give him a quick kiss. "It was my first time, Asher. It would've hurt either way. Its not your fault."

Asher chuckled, making me give him a confused and questioning look. "It seems like it was yesterday that we were fighting about who's fault it was that you got the pain." He stopped the water before it overflowed. I let him take his shirt off of me, then he picked me up again.

"We've come a long way since then," I noted. He nodded and lowered me into the warm water. "Thanks," I whispered.

Asher sent me his heart-warming smile. "I love you."

"I love you too," I stated. Before he walked out the bathroom, I stopped him. "I'm free today. If you want, we can go to your pack, together."

He quickly nodded. "Our. We can go to our pack," he corrected me before leaving me to bathe.

*****

"B-But I want you to stay here," Matthew said as his bottom lip started trembling. I just told him that Asher and I are leaving for a few days. Needless to say, he's not taking it well.

I bent down so we were face-to-face. "Its only a few days, just a little vacation. We'll be back soon, squirt," I assured him.

Matthew slowly nodded before throwing his small arms around my neck. "Love you," he muttered in my ear.

"I love you too," I said while giving him a tiny squeeze. I slowly pulled away and made my way out the castle. Asher didn't want to teleport because it will 'taking advantage' of my abilities, so we're running.

"Good?" Asher asked when I came beside him. I nodded and went behind a tree to strip and shift. I grabbed my duffle-bag between my teeth, and walked out from behind the trees. Asher shifted, showing off his beautiful wolf.

His eyes were a bright blue. His fur was raven black, just like every other Alpha wolf. I gently nudged his side with my head and nodded towards the forest.

"You're so beautiful," Asher complemented through the mind-link. I sent a wolfy-grin his way before we started running to our pack house.

I followed Asher as he skillfully ducked under branches and jumped over the fallen trees. I knew he wasn't going his full speed, and Ingrid was anxious to meet our pack. We needed to run.

"Babe," I cooed in our heads. Asher slowed down to a prance.

He looked around for danger and walked stiffly. "What's wrong?" he asked, still scanning our surroundings.

I brushed beside him and licked his face to loosen the tension in his body. It worked. "I wanna run," I said.

"We were running," Asher responded in a 'duh' tone, and began to walk again.

I rolled my wolf eyes and fell in step next to him. "You're holding back. I want to actually run," I stated.

"How do you know that I'm holding back? We were going pretty fast."

"If that's your full speed, then you're a pretty slow Alpha." Asher stopped walking.

"You just deflated his big ego," Ingrid commented in my head. I snickered.

Asher stalked towards me. "Let's race."

I tilted my head in confusion. "I don't even know which way to go."

"Its a few miles straight ahead," he stated while nodding forward. I nodded and we stood next to each other. Asher started counting down. "One. Two. THREE!"

We both took off running. We were head to head until I saw the faint outline of the mansion. There is no way that I could speed up.

"We don't have to. Powers," Ingrid said. I mentally slapped myself. Asher didn't say anything about using my powers. I saw a tree root up ahead. I focused on it, and when we ran by, it wrapped itself around Asher's ankle.

"Cheater," Asher mumbled in the mind-link. I grinned and continued to run. Asher easily caught up with me and sped up so he was winning. I frowned, before getting a different idea.

I stopped running and focused on the pack house. Within seconds, I was at the forest lining. I saw Asher still running through the trees, and I smirked. I went behind a tree and quickly shifted and changed. I finished just as Asher came out of the forest. He shifted and grabbed a pair of shorts from behind a tree.

"Not fair. You used your powers," he huffed.

I playfully rolled my eyes. "You never said I couldn't," I retorted. Asher sighed in defeat before wrapping his arm around my shoulders, while holding both our bags in one hand. "I can hold my bag, you know."

"I know you can," Asher said. "I just don't want you to get hurt."

I stopped walking, causing him to stop too. "Me? Get hurt from holding a bag? A bag full of clothes?" I questioned while raising an eyebrow.

Asher moved his arm off my shoulders to rub his neck. "Its just that... Uh... You were... um.. sore.. and I d-didn't want t-to make it worse," he stuttered.

I chuckled and shook my head. "I'm fine, Asher. And it was my legs that hurt not my arms. We were just running and I was completely okay. Stop worrying about it. The bath helped," I assured him. We walked up the porch and entered the silent mansion. It was still the same as I remember from a few months ago.

"Hello?!" Asher called out.

"Ash!" a girl squealed. Her black hair swayed as she ran to my mate and jumped on him. Asher easily caught her. He spun the girl around as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

I couldn't help the pang of jealousy that went through me, but I reminded myself that Asher has friends. I can't be jealous of everyone. And at least it wasn't Wendy. "I missed you so, so much," Asher mumbled in her hair. I awkwardly stood to the side as Asher and the girl embraced each other. I pushed the jealousy to the back of my mind, trying to ignore it.

The girl saw me from over Asher's shoulder. She lowly whispered something in his ear, that made him put her down. Asher turned to face me and gave me a kiss that melted all of the jealousy. "Babe, this is my sister Belle. Belle, this is my mate Eve," Asher introduced us. Sister.

They're siblings. I blushed from embarrassment. Belle squealed, then wrapped her arms around my waist. I froze for a few moments before awkwardly hugging her back. She pulled away and studied me with bright green eyes. She honestly looks nothing like Asher, but she's cute; stunning actually.

"I've always wanted a sister!" she shrieked and happily bounced up and down.

"But I thought we were sisters!" a familiar voice yelled from up stairs. A girl with dark brown hair came into the room with Brian trailing behind her. "Eve!" she shouted before tackling me in, yet another, awkward hug.

She's Brian's mate. Crap what's her name?

"That's Peyton," Asher's voice rang in my head.

I quickly thanked him. "Hey, Peyton," I greeted her. She pulled away, and I noticed that Brian and Asher disappeared from the room.

"The ceremony is tonight!" Peyton said excitedly. I'm actually excited for the ceremony. And Ingrid was prancing around in my head like a unicorn on drugs.

"What are you gonna wear?" Belle chirped. I didn't bring a dress! I shrugged.

Belle and Peyton shared a look before hopping up and down. "Shopping time!" Well, they have the energy of a six year-old on a sugar high. Just my luck.