Chapter 8

Marnie drove in silence as she took me back to where Alpha Grayson was waiting for me. I had never seen her so quiet, it was as if a ghost was sitting beside me and not my best friend. As we came closer to the border Marnie pulled over, I could see the Alpha's car ahead, his headlights on as if to lead me through the dark. Marnie turned to look at me, her face was stained with mascara from her tears. She looked completely defeated as she pulled me into a tight embrace.

"Laila, I am so sorry", she whispered into my neck.

"I know". 

I held on to my friend, I sent her waves of pure love. I hoped she would understand that this wasn't her fault, she couldn't be blamed for what my destiny had in store for me.

As I pulled away from our embrace I could feel a tingle in my chest, it was as if I was being beckoned toward the Alpha, our mate bond growing as it could sense we're close to one another. I stepped out of the car and into the headlights glow, taking a deep breath and not looking back I walked towards the Alpha and towards my new life, praying Goddess would take pity on me and change my fate somehow.

As we drove through the night I stared out the window, not daring to look at the man seated beside me. He may be my mate, but I was still loyal to my pack and I was determined to make him see that. We continued through the Dark Moon territory, though theirs was much the same as my own land, surrounded by lush forest, it still felt different. My wolf and I could sense we weren't in our own lands. We drove for a while before the sun began to rise, its warm orange light was comforting as it lit up my surroundings. The forest was still rich around us, but I noticed the small scatters of houses and buildings within it. I couldn't help but feel excited as I pressed my face up against the glass. Before last night I had never stepped foot into the Dark Moons territory and very rarely left our town at all. Everything was new to me as I wound down the window to breathe in the pine-scented air, it was cool and welcoming as it skimmed across my face. As I continued to take in my surrounding the car turned down a long road that seemed to disappear behind the trees. We continued down this road for half an hour before we came to stop in front of a beautiful wrought iron gate, intricate designs swirled around what looked to be a moon set in the middle of the huge gate. They slowly began to open as we drove through and I could see dark figures trotting through the trees as I looked back. 

"They must be the some of the Alphas patrol team, I wonder how far we are from the packhouse, I'm desperate for a hot shower and a snooze", I said to Amara. She had been unusually quiet during the trip here, though I couldn't blame her. She, like me, was torn between her loyalties to her mate, and her pack and I could tell she had already grown attached to Alpha Grayson in the time we had spent with him. 

"Hmm", was her only response. 

Once we had passed the gates we continued to drive for another 15 minutes before a town came into view. While my home had in no way been considered 'old' or boring, the Dark Moons capital was utterly breathtaking. Modern houses and buildings lined the streets, fountains and gardens littered through the town square. It was quiet as most people would still be asleep, that was fine with me. As much as I was excited to be experiencing something new, my fear of being in the enemies territory hadn't subsided, would these people accept me? Would I be feared, or mocked? 

Another 10 minutes had gone by before we reached another driveway. There was no gate, but trees lined across the side of the path perfectly as if they were guiding our way. We came to a large modern style home, it was crafted out of dark wood and the windows that were lined up across the walls reached the ceilings. I was amazed, for some reason I envisioned the packhouse to be like some kind of dark spooky castle, with dungeon vibes, but this was truly beautiful. It was like a modern-day cabin in the woods...if cabins came in mansion size. 

I didn't notice that while I had been taking in the view in front of me, so had the Alpha, except in his eyes I was the view. I sighed as once again his face was unreadable, though I thought for a second I could see a hint of softness in his emerald eyes. Wordlessly he climbed out from behind the steering wheel and helped me lug my bags inside. We walked through the well-lit foyer and up the dark timber stairs. The modern theme from the outside of the house continued on the inside as I took note of the warm creams, soft browns and cool greys that coloured the interior. We passed many doors and after walking for what felt like a mile with my heavy suitcases trailing behind me we stopped at a pair of dark double doors. Alpha Grayson stopped and turned to look at me, he thought for a moment and paused before he continued to open the doors. Once again I was amazed, the room itself was huge, possibly the size of half of our packhouse back home. In the middle of the room was the largest bed I had ever seen, it could probably fit close to 5 grown men. I blushed as I could feel Grayson's eyes watching me, the black swirls once again trying to overtake his emerald green. He pulled out a remote from his pocket and pressed a button, my mouth dropped as a flat-screen emerged from the base of the bed and he chuckled as he watched my shocked face continue to take in the room around us. Across from the bed was a beautifully ornate fireplace, with comfy chairs and lounges positioned around it. Behind the bed was an unsurprisingly large bathroom, you couldn't have a room of this size and have a broom closet for a bathroom. The shower was of an open design and had a raindrop shower head above it, as well as two shower heads on either side. The centre of the room took all the attention as an enormous bath sat in the middle. It was made out of marble, matching the walls surrounding it, and I could see the jets beckoning me to jump in. Tearing myself away from it I continued to explore the far side of the room where there was a fully stocked bar with a pair of double doors stood out from beside it. I opened them to reveal what felt like a miniature clothing store. Rows and rows of clothes were neatly hung up or folded away, shoes were lined up in their own shelves and there was an island full of accessories taking up the centre of the room, it was only when I looked in the wall-length mirror and saw Alpha Grayson's reflection did I realize that I was surrounded by men's clothes. 

"Ok, so I'm assuming this is your room. Well done you it's stunning, but where is mine?", I asked.

A smirk appeared across the Alpha's face as he took a step towards me.

"This is your room", he replied.

I frowned in response.

"You're my mate, where else would you stay? And besides, isn't there a saying, 'Keep your friends close and your enemies closer?' ". 

I was livid, not only at his idea that I would share a room with him but also at Amara who was failing at trying to be quietly jumping for joy. 

"No, this isn't happening", I said, shaking my head.

"It's either here or outside, Laila". 

"I'll take my chances outside, thanks". 

Grayson strode over to where I stood, his eyes dark as he lifted me into his arms. I kicked my legs up and hit my fists across his back, he was unphased as if I wasn't even there. I could hear him turn the shower on before he sat me down directly underneath the cold stream of water. I screamed as he blocked my way out, looking down at me. 

"You need to cool down, little girl. Have a shower and some sleep, then we will talk". And with a smug look on his face, he made his way out of the room. 

Furiously I stripped off my gold dress and shoes. I scrubbed viciously at my face, hating the fact that I found the smell of the soap entirely delicious... It smelt like Grayson. As I combed out my wet hair I sourced out a pair of sweat shorts and a tank top from one of my suitcases. I fought back a yawn as I looked out of the floor to ceiling window. The view was stunning, I could see the forest surrounding me and made a mental note to explore it as soon as I could. I cursed to myself as I walked towards the mammoth bed, I didn't want to follow the Alpha's orders but I hadn't slept for 24 hours and I was close to collapsing from exhaustion. I could smell the Alpha's warm and comfortable scent surrounding me, it lulled me to sleep as I fell into the soft cushions and closed my eyes. 

When I woke up it was late afternoon, the house was as quiet and still as it had been when I had first gone to sleep. I stretched and braced myself as I left the comfortable room. I found myself suddenly desperate for sustenance and quickly sourced out the kitchen. I quickly made myself at home and gulped down a glass of water while I made myself a BLT, if I'm being forced to be here I may as well do it with bacon, I chuckled at myself. 

"What's so funny?", I heard an all too familiar voice call out. Amara's ears immediately pricked up as she looked around for our mate.

"Oh, sorry. I was just really hungry and when I saw there was bacon I couldn't help myself", I blushed, suddenly feeling embarrassed.

"Don't be shy", Alpha Grayson said almost softly, "This is your home too now, and I've made sure no one will disturb us while you get comfortable here". 

While I wanted to fight him on where my home truly was, I was too hungry and exhausted still. Instead, I surprised us both.

"Would you like some?", I asked, my blush continuing to bloom across my pale cheeks. 

Amara practically did a backflip, she was delighted at the thought of taking care of our mate, as mates should. I reminded her this was no ordinary mate situation, but she ignored me and continued to dance around in a blissful state. 

Alpha Grayson looked slightly taken aback but was quick to recover when he eagerly replied that he would love a BLT. 

I moaned in pleasure as I took my first bite, a low growl escaped the Alpha's lips as I realised her had heard me and was watching me as I licked the crumbs from my lips. My cheeks were now scarlet red, "Sorry... I just haven't eaten anything since the BBQ and I just love food, although it's missing my mum's homemade aioli", I frowned at the memory of my mother, her face wet and devastated as I tore myself away from her arms last night.  

"BBQ?", Grayson replied, seeming interested in both what I had to say and my reaction to this simple sandwich.

"Oh, my family threw me a BBQ for my birthday...before I left for the club". My voice trailed off as I remembered the events from the previous night. 

As we finished off our food I stepped outside onto the deck that wrapped around the bottom half of the house. I breathed in the fresh air, which soon mingled with Grayson's scent as he stood next to me. I was aware of how close we were, our arms almost touching. I felt a sense of longing as I wanted to reach out and stroke his arm, or simply hold his hand. But I had to try and fight this mate bond, I had to make him see we can't be together.

"If I bring up our sleeping arrangements will you throw me in the shower again?", I asked.

"Perhaps", was his response. 

While I wanted to continue the battle, minus the shower chucking, exhaustion washed over me once again. I sighed as I turned to walk towards the door. As if reading my mind, Alpha Grayson scooped me into his arms and carried me to the bedroom. His comforting scent was again lulling me to sleep as he placed me gently into the bed. I felt him climb in beside me, his warm arm wrapping around me as he whispered into my ear, "Goodnight, my little Laila".