The Dark Side of the Moon

T H I R T Y

Grayson drives me home to gather an overnight bag. Thankfully he respects my wishes and stays in the car while I quickly gathered my things. I throw in a random outfit and stuff toiletries into a small bag to take with me. I barely pay attention to what I'm grabbing, too nervous about making him wait too long in the car. I walk downstairs with the bag slung over my shoulder, and I scream "I'm staying with a friend tonight, Mom!"

I almost escape, but my mom peeks her head around the corner with Evie slung on her hip. My mom is wearing an apron with a bikini on it- her favorite one- and Evie is wearing a cute butterfly dress as she holds her stuffed bunny close to her.

"Who's house?" my mom asks. She's purely asking out of curiosity, but I'm a little nervous to admit where I'm going. I could curb the truth and tell her I'm staying at Cooper's, but I decide that being completely honest is the best route.

"Um, I'm gonna stay at Grayson's tonight." I bite my lip and look down at the tiled floor, too nervous to see her reaction. I look up slowly and am surprised to see a huge smile on her face.

"That's great, honey! I'm glad you two are getting along after that rough patch you had. Be safe, and text me if I need to come over and whoop his ass!"

"Mom!" I complain, pointing to Evie. "Language!"

My mom has a guilty look on her face as she covers Evie's ears- as if that will make her forget the curse word she let out moments ago. Sometimes, I feel like I'm the adult.

"Go, and have fun!" my mom says. She walks me to the door and I walk outside to see Grayson leaning on his Tesla with his arms crossed. His arms look so big like that, his triceps bulging and calling out to me. I can't wait for him to hug me again- he gives the best hugs.

Grayson meets me halfway down the driveway and takes my heavy bag from me. When he holds it, he makes it seem like it weighs two pounds instead of twenty. Freaking werewolf. He gives my mom a quick wave and opens the car door for me. It's not necessary for him to do it every time, but he still remains gentlemanly and does it anyway. I don't tell him that it makes me like him even more.

Before I know it, we're on the road to the pack house. I'm a little nervous about my stay there, again, but am comforted to know that Grayson will be there next to me. Now that I've met a few of the pack members and know that Cooper will be there, I definitely feel more comfortable than last time. Thankfully I'm arriving at the house at a normal hour instead of the middle of the night.

When we arrive, Grayson immediately grabs my hand and my bag and walks us inside. As soon as I step in I'm almost instantly trampled by a group of boys who seem to be in the age range of 14 to 16 years old. They are throwing around a frisbee and trying to tackle each other right by the front door. If Grayson didn't have such quick reflexes I definitely would have been a pancake on the floor.

Grayson immediately lets out his grumpy growl, causing all of the boys by the front door to cease their playful banter and sink their heads down low as they bare their necks to him. I don't think I'll ever get used to the submissive nature everyone displays around my mate. Knowing he's an Alpha and seeing he's an Alpha are two very different things.

"Watch where you're going, pups. You almost injured your Luna." Their eyes instantly widened with fear as they noticed that I'm being held tightly in Grayson's grasp. He still has his arms protectively around me and his eyes are black like they get when he's angry.

"Hey, it's okay Gray." I gently release myself from his firm grip and walk over to the group of boys. Now that they've stopped moving, I can see that it's a group of five. The one in front who seems the oldest still has his eyes downcast. His hair is obsidian black and cropped short. His almond eyes refuse to meet mine, but I clear my throat once to make him look at me.