"My love, wake up"."Hmm?", I asked, my voice laced deeply with sleep."They're almost here. The fights about to begin"...  The words met my ears, but it took a while for my brain to fully understand what Grayson had just said. " "They're almost here" " ...My body shivered at the thought of Slade and his fighters coming to our home, wanting to tear up everything and everyone we loved. He wouldn't win, I would make damn sure of that. "Are you ok?", Grayson asked as he paused dressing himself to look at me. "Yes", I said as I shook off all remaining sleep from my mind, "Are you?".Grayson had fought before, many a time, but this time it was different. Through our bond, I had access to a lot of his mind, and while I could feel he always entered a fight confident, this time he was hesitant. "Yes"."Liar".Grayson sighed as he approached me. He was dressed all

                                      *** Laila's POV ***           I was quick to leap into the action. Though I was in my wolf form and could take a back seat, I decided to stay focused and alert. Amara and I needed each other if we were going to make it out of this alive. As Grayson and his wolf lunged forward, the wolves behind him showed no hesitance as they followed suit, their howls echoing off the trees that surrounded us. Amara sprinted to keep up with Grayson. Though I was sure he could handle himself, both Amara and I couldn't help our animalistic desire to protect our mate.  My eyes flickered towards Slade, he was creeping away like the snake that he is. I wasn't shocked he was hiding away... I assumed he had no intentions of fighting today, at least not in a clean way. 

I tried to not scrunch my nose as the smoke from the pyres tickled my nostrils. My eyes stung from the tears that began to trickle from them and my fingers pulled nervously at the hem of my black skirt.Grayson stood a few feet ahead of me, he was emotionless and though he had attempted to keep me out, I could feel his guilt eating away at him. I have been to funerals before, but none could compare to this. Grayson turned to me and took my hand in his. Together we walked through the crowd and back towards the packhouse as the flames began to lick away hungrily at the wooden pyres. It was werewolf tradition to burn the bodies in the event of a death, so that our wolves may be set free from our bodies to roam the afterlife. Our ashes are then scattered in the forest, where we belong. A buffet had been set up in one of the packhouse's giant living rooms for the entire pack to attend, but upon returning home Grayson retreated to his office.&

I brushed my long hair into soft, gentle waves. Taking a deep breath I looked at myself in the mirror and saw doubt flicker in my eyes. Me? ... a Luna? "Stop it", a voice commanded in my mind.Grayson.I could feel his pressence in my mind before I heard him. He was soothing against the anxiety that had begun to swell up inside me."You have more than proven yourself worthy of becoming this packs Luna, and I am honoured to be your Alpha mate" I hugged myself as his words flowed though me."I miss you", I said."I know, but I had to leave early to make sure everything was in place for today. The ceremony will be starting soon, are you ready?""Yes, I'll be down in a minute""I'll see you there, Luna"Today was the day. It our ceremony where Grayson and I will be bonded together in front of the entire pack, and I would officially be named Luna of the Dark Moon pack. I shot mysel