Ever since Lorena got rid of those pills she was taking, Orion kept a close eye on her to make sure she was doing okay.

They were basically inseparable except for Orion's meetings with Carter, and Lorena seemed to be taking her new lifestyle in stride. She ate healthily, but in bigger portions to get her weight back up, and she trained with the other girls in her pack that were around her age.

Unbeknownst to Orion, Lorena tried to be there for him as much as she could without annoying or angering him.

To help him sleep better, she started to diffuse lavender and other relaxing oils into the room, and she would lay the bed every night, throwing the sheets in the dryer beforehand so that the bed was warm. She would also make herbal tea for the both of them before they slept, which she didn't exactly prefer, just so Orion didn't feel like she was coddling him. And when Orion started fidgeting in his sleep or mumbling, she would shake him very gently, enough to wake him up just so his brain didn't throw him deep into a nightmare.

It was somewhat exhausting, but Lorena was happy to do it, especially when he told her he wasn't having as many nightmares as before and he seemed more relaxed.

One night before Orion came home, she gathered her sheets up from the bed to wash them so that hopefully when Orion came home, she could take them from the dryer while he was showering and he would have nice warm sheets.

Her father entered the house just as she was coming down the stairs and he took his glasses off, looking at her in annoyance. "Again? So are you going to start paying the water and electricity bill, or what?"

Lorena rolled her eyes. "I don't have a real job, Papa. But yes, I have to do this for Orion."

"Is he gonna pay the bills?" He asked, somewhat playfully.

"I could ask," Lorena offered, not really paying attention and making her way to the laundry room.

Her father followed her. "Its a joke, Lorena."

"Oh."

"But seriously, why are you doing this so often? Is Orion asking you to clean the sheets?" He stood there for a moment while Lorena shoved the sheets into the washing machine. "Wait. Are you guys having...you know-?"

Lorena rolled her eyes. "No, Papa. Orion just has trouble sleeping. So I figured that doing this and making sure he has clean and dry sheets every night would help him."

Her father frowned. "Well, that's sweet and all, but the boy is royalty. He doesn't have a sleep therapist or a doctor or something?"

Lorena sighed. "He takes pills, Papa. But listen," she stepped a bit closer to her father in case her mother was trying to listen in because she didn't want her to worry, "it's really bad. He says it only happens sometimes, but I don't think he really knows how often it happens. He's had a nightmare every night he's been here."

Her dad half frowned and then crossed his arms. "I don't know what I can offer you, but this: ask him to talk to you about it. Maybe if he talks it out and gets it out in the open, he'll feel a lot better."

She let out a frustrated huff. "You don't think I've tried that already?" She felt as if Orion didn't trust her the way she trusted him, and it hurt. "He won't speak to me!"

The front door opened and Lorena started the washing machine just as Orion walked over.

He looked up at her father and gave him a nod. "Hello, sir." He looked at Lorena and his whole demeanor lit up even more. "Lorena. What are you two up to?"

Lorena's father crossed his arms. "Um, I think you and Lorena need to talk."

"Dad!"

Orion frowned and looked at Lorena, who was flushed red and refused to make eye contact with anyone and anything but the ground.

"Lorena, what's wrong?"

Lorena's father gave him a clap on the shoulder and slipped out of the laundry room, leaving Orion standing in the threshold of the door and Lorena leaning against the washing machine.

She shook her head. "Orion, it's nothing, seriously."

"Don't lie, Lorena."

She sighed. "I just feel hurt that you won't speak to me about what you're dealing with."

Orion shook his head. He would rather not get into an argument while her parents were around, but it looked like that's where this was going.

"Lorena, can we talk about this upstairs?" He knew that her parents were also werewolves and would be able to hear most, if not every, word that they said, but he knew it would be easier for the both of them to speak in an area where they had even a false sense of privacy.

Lorena looked up at him, surprised and clearly angry. "Fine."

She pushed past him and stormed up the stairs, leaving Orion to regret even indulging in this conversation. An argument was coming, and after a long day, all he wanted was peace.

He walked up the stairs and past a fuming Lorena, who was sitting on the bed. He plugged his phone up on his charger and pulled up one of her chairs from the corner and set it in front of her.

"Okay, now tell me why you're upset again?"

Lorena glared at him, her arms crossed over her chest. "You know why."

"But I want you to articulate it like you did before we came up here so we can go from there."

The spark of anger in Lorena's eyes did not go unnoticed, but he didn't feed into it either.

"You're a hypocrite. You made me talk about and find a solution to my problems, but when it comes to yours, you push me away."

Orion rubbed his temples. "Lorena. I told you part of why I don't want to talk about my trauma. You don't need to know. It's not important and it doesn't concern you."

The Luna's eyes widened as big as saucers. "Oh my god..."

Orion, oblivious, looked confused. "What?"

"Doesn't concern me? Doesn't concern me? After I've done my best to help you get a good night's sleep for almost an entire week at the expense of my own time and energy? After I've looked up ways to help you sleep better on my slow ass internet and used a whole day to get a routine together for you? Oh my gosh, I could strangle you right now!"

Orion, tired of the conversation at the moment, shut his eyes for a brief moment, trying to keep his emotions leveled. He couldn't understand why someone would push so hard to attempt to help someone who didn't want it this bad.

"Lorena, its not a matter of trust. I feel safer with you than with anyone! I just can't burden you with the shit that's causing me this much pain. I don't want you to have to feel bad for me all of the time. I told you not to worry about it, that I'm alright, but you refuse to listen! You're so...stubborn sometimes!"

"Oh look! The pot calling the kettle black! You're the most headstrong person I know! You don't get to fucking lecture me about being stubborn!"

"Lorena, Orion, dinner!"

"We're coming!" The quarreling couple yelled back in unison.

Orion continued. "What part of leave it alone don't you get? I'm not telling you to protect you!

"Protect me from what?" Lorena gasped, offended! "I was losing weight the wrong way and you helped me see that I had a problem that needed to be fixed. You even helped me fix it! All I'm asking is for you to talk to me! I've done so much to help you and it's been working. The least you can do is confide in me as your Luna and girlfriend and future wife about what is causing you so much pain!"

"Listen, I didn't ask you to do all those things for me-"

Lorena couldn't help herself. She stood up, geared back hard and slapped him square in the face.

As soon as she did it, she gasped and held her hand over her mouth, sitting back down. "O-Orion I'm so sorry-"

Orion's head was still to the side where she had slapped him so hard, and he looked back at her, rubbing his now red cheek.

The alpha male was seething. He clenched his jaw and bit the inside of his cheek. His mate basically just...pimp slapped him? And he had no idea what to do next.

Until he did.

Before Lorena registered him grabbing her arms and yanking her over his lap from where she was sitting previously, he had already brought down three slaps onto her upturned bottom.

She was in shock for a moment, but he continued the onslaught on her ass, causing her to kick and scream and cry out for him to stop.

"Oww, Orion, stop! Let me up!"

"You're done making demands for the night." He continued to spank her even harder than she thought was possible over her thin fabric shorts, causing her to wail.

"My parents are going to hear!"

"So will the rest of the neighborhood the way you're screaming. And don't worry, I'm sure I'm not the first man in the history of this territory that's decided their mate deserved to be disciplined for stepping out of line."

He calmly continued, his mate kicking and struggling as best she could, but his hold on her waist not loosening.

Lorena's ass burned. She was literally going to kill this man when he let her up for causing her this much pain. The swats lit up her every nerve ending, the impact rippling up her back and alerting her whole body to the assault that was coming down on her ass.

After a few minutes though, Lorena stopped struggling so much and just cried softly, holding his jeans in her fists tightly and resting her head on his leg. His arm was starting to tire out, so he gave her a handful more and stopped, making the last two even harder.

She screamed at the last few. "'M sorry, 'Rion! I-I'm so sorry, I'll never do it again!"

He reached up to the nape of her neck, holding his hand there as he watched her tense body relax even more.

"Oh, I know you won't, my love."

Lorena whimpered pitifully over Orion's lap and just cried, letting her hair hang down over her head and loosening her grip on Orion's pant leg. She tried to sit up, but Orion pushed her back down gently, rubbing her lower back.

"Catch your breath first."

Lorena gave him a short nod and focused on catching her breath. She didn't want to stand up so quickly after all of that and faint.

"Why were you just spanked, Lorena?"

Lorena whined almost childishly. "Don't call it that..."

Orion rolled his eyes, entertaining it. "Why were you just punished, Lorena?"

"B-because I kept arguing with you and then I hit y-you."

"Wrong. I will never punish you over a disagreement, Lorena. You have your own input as an adult and someone who means the world to me. No, you were punished solely for hitting. We can argue from dusk to dawn, but keep those quick hands of yours to yourself."

"Yes, sir. I won't do it again."

"Good. On another note, if you behave, the next time you do go over my knee can be a reward."

Lorena rolled her eyes at the floor as she was still upside down. "How could this be a reward?"

Orion moved his hand down to rub her ass, his fingers grazing over her panties on a wet spot in between her legs.

Lorena jolted in surprise. She strained her now exhausted body to turn and look at the floor behind her. She had kicked and struggled so hard that her somewhat already loose shorts had flown off across the room.

Also, she had no idea she was enjoying it while it was happening. The only logical explanation was that her wolf was having a good time solely because it could handle more pain, because she herself sure wasn't.

She tensed but then relaxed as Orion added more pressure there and she found herself gasping softly and biting down gently on his thigh.

Orion chuckled at her reaction. "Wouldn't you rather have this than a punishment?"

She nodded almost frantically. "Yes. Yes, please," she breathed desperately.

Orion leaned forward towards her ear and licked his bottom lip, his eyes now clouded with extreme want. "Then be a good girl and behave yourself from now on."

"Yes, alpha, I will!"

He helped her up so she could stand on trembling legs. He stood up as well, grabbing her a pair of sweats from her drawer to put on. She gratefully stepped into them, holding onto the shoulder Orion offered so she could keep her balance.

"So we're going to clean you up, go downstairs for dinner, and then straight to bed. Tomorrow morning, I'll be taking you out with me."

Lorena thought that she would be super pissed off that Orion did what he did, but she wasn't really angry anymore. In fact, she felt better mentally. There was a sort of fluffy haze of calm she was in and she couldn't elaborate more on it.

She nodded, slowly, looking up at him through content eyes. "Okay."

Orion led her to the bathroom and turned the water on, grabbing a face towel so she could clean her face off.

Lorens ran the towel under the lukewarm water and squeezed it out, dabbing at her tearstained cheeks and under her eyes and nose.

She watched as Orion grabbed one of her scrunchies and held it up. "May I?" He asked.

Lorena eagerly nodded and Orion carefully put her hair into a high ponytail, making sure to push her stray strands of hair behind her ears.

"There, all better." He wrapped his arms around her torso and kissed her on top of her head. "And Lorena, even though it seems like I'm pushing you away and holding you at arms length, know that's not the case. I've heard your concerns and your worries, so I'll answer any questions you have for me tomorrow morning."

He didn't really want to put her through that nor relive his own trauma, but Lorena was somewhat right. He needed to talk about it somehow and he couldn't keep it a secret forever, especially not from her.

Seeing her face light up was worth it, though.

"Really?"

"Yes. For now, let's go downstairs. I'm sure that we're both hungry and your parents have been waiting for us."

She grabbed his hand in her slightly smaller one and started to pull him down the stairs.