We were woken by a sharp rapping on the door. Lucien sprung off the bed in full protective mode. I sat upright wrapping the blanket around my chest. Lucien stood peering through the spyhole in the door trying to ascertain the knocker. It was quite the sight considering he was still completely naked, I got a fabulous view of the back of him. The wideness of those broad shoulders tapering down to hips, every inch of the journey a series of muscular bumps and ridges. After his sculpted rear, he widened again to the thickest, juiciest thighs I'd ever seen. He realised his situation and turned his head back to me. I was busy staring at his thighs he had to cough to prompt me to look back at his face. "Sorry," I spluttered as he grinned, his eyes crinkling in amusement. The door banging again broke our gaze as he quickly shouted to the closed door. "Yeah?" "You are to head to the library immediately, as requested by Alpha Alexander and Luna Helena."

By the time we were back on the road, there was an unspoken tension between the two of us. Leaving Silver City behind we should have been lighter, happier but there was a weight upon us. Like a curtain being drawn between us, my understanding of his character seemed to be decreasing.Lucien had a grey t-shirt on and dark blue pants that finally fit him properly. I was in a black tunic and leggings. I was surprised to be pleased to shed the gowns I had been wearing in the castle, they only served to remind me of a former life that was no longer mine. The rugged, outdoors, hiking in regular clothes was what I wanted now. It sounds pompous but the gilded treasures of Luna life really didn’t appeal anymore. Once more I cursed myself for allowing Bram to convince me they did matter.The sound of gravel crunching under our feet was the only sound for a while. Birds flew above and I wondered how many people found their mates and felt worse about themselves the next day.

Lucien sullenly disappeared soon after arriving at the cabin, on the pretence of gathering more wood. I didn’t say anything, he was obviously trying to prepare his words.  It pained me to see him struggling with his history. His own guilt is holding him back from being true with me. To take my mind away from worry I organised the supplies once more. How familiar this little wooden shack felt now. I knew all the cupboards, the linens and the feel of the bed. The ways of the fireplace and how to balance the poker so it sat just right against the mantlepiece. Little touches that make a place feel homely.  Maybe it is the time spent in a cell, nothing is your own then. You are stripped down to the core husk of you as a person and expected to deal with it. Curtains were a luxury, not being blinded by the daw

We held hands tightly in silence all the way there. Entwined together like ancient tree branches. There was nothing to say that we hadn't covered last night. It is not a word I use but it was perfect.  It made confessing the stains of my life, my savage destruction of my own family feel like it was worth it. Airing out the poison in order to create a clean, fresh start. My mind buzzed with the possibility that perhaps this medicine woman might be the one to finally reconnect me with my family. My mother in particular. I got my greeny eyes from and nothing else. She was a small dark haired woman with a sparkling laugh and a constant need to be in contact. As I told Bella last night you couldn't move in our house, neither me or Felicia without being swept into a cuddle, a squeeze or a hair ruffle by her. I didn't tell Bella that she was exactly the type of

Beta Jackson was sent on his mission before the sun rose this morning. We had found out their location yesterday to be honest but I pleaded with Alexander to give them one more night.“If had been us, possibly separated forever, what harm would it do?” I had said.“Your faith in them still being there is staggering,” he grunted, kissing me and playing with one of my long brown curls as we sat on the bleachers together once more. We were finding ourselves outside of the castle more frequently. Almost as though the castle had become a place with too many associations, too many awful things had happened. Murder, devastation and plots had spoiled it for a while. Being amongst the gardens, watching the defence training taking place whilst taking deep lungful’s of air, that made us happ