When I woke, I didn't want to move at all, so I turned and snuggled into Aiden's warm embrace. The memories of what we had done last night (multiple times) came back to me all of a sudden and my face turned a bright shade of red that even a tomato would envy.

But all in all, I was happy.

Aiden was still asleep, his gentle snores filling the silence of my bedroom. There was a tiny gap in my curtains, and through it I could see that the sun was just rising. Too early.

I buried my face in Aiden's naked chest, closed my eyes, and let sleep overtake me once again.

The next time I woke up, I was alone in my bed. The space beside my wasn't completely cold yet, so I knew that Aiden couldn't be far away.

I stretched out my limbs but immediately recoiled. That hurt. 'I wonder why,' my wolf said gleefully inside my mind. She was delighted to be fully mated.

I ignored her and moved to get up, a lot slower this time. I stood up and let the covers fall away. My clothes were scattered all over the floor because we hadn't paid any heed to where they landed. Both of our wolves had practically taken over when I had reassured Aiden that I was completely ready to tale the next step with him.

I moved slowly to the closet and pulled out a pair of leggings and a baggy t-shirt. Then I gathered some underwear and socks from my underwear drawer and went into the bathroom. I was in bad need of a shower.

I glanced in the mirror and almost did a double-take. My hair was all over the place and I had dark circles under my eyes, but my mark stood out more prominently on my neck. My eyes were bright and I looked happier than I'd ever seen myself.

I turned away from the mirror and turned on the shower. The warm spray helped soothe my sore muscles and I soon relaxed. This was nice.

When I was finished cleansing myself, I turned off the water and stepped out, wrapping a towel around my body. I dried off quickly and got dressed in the outfit I'd set out for myself. I finished with a pair of brown ugg boots.

I dragged a brush through the wild tangles in my hair and plugged in my blow drier. While I dried my hair I wondered where Aiden was. I thought he'd have been back by now, at least to check if I was awake. I guess not.

I didn't bother putting on any makeup because I really didn't want to have anything to do with that kind of thing today. The space in between my legs was sore as well and I just wanted to lie down and watch movies until I was able to walk steadily.

I was hungry so I decided to go down and get some breakfast. I was hoping the kitchen would be empty of people I knew when I got there, but sadly practically everyone was there - Rian, Mark, Lisa, Gail, and a bunch of other pack members.

I tried to sneak in unnoticed but unfortunately since I couldn't really walk that well, I was like an elephant trying to hide behind a rose bush.

"OMIGOD!" Lisa shrieked.

"What?" I asked, sliding into a seat at the table with a wince.

Rian giggled. "You look like a constipated penguin."

"Hey!" I said, reaching for a plate of toast. I was glad that they didn't seem to care that Aiden and I were now fully mated.

"Wait, no, sorry," Rian apologised and I smiled at him. "You look like someone who just had a lot of sex!"

The table erupted in laughter and I groaned. I guess I spoke (or thought) too soon. "Shut up," I said, burying my head in my hands.

"We could hear you all the way in the guest room," Lisa said, wrinkling her nose. I blushed, even though her comment was obviously made up. The guest room was literally on the other side of the house.

"Where's Aiden?" I asked, hoping to change the subject.

"Ooh, looking for round two already?" Rian asked in mock surprise.

"Or three... or four," said Mark with a chuckle. Rian grinned, high-fiving him.

"Guys!" I said, my face flaming red. "Stop. Can someone please tell me where Aiden is?"

"Well, we all know where he was last night," Lisa laughed. "In your -"

"Shut up!" I yelled. "Just tell me where my damn mate is!"

"What's the magic word?" Rian singsonged. I glared at him.

"He's in the gym, I think," Gail supplied. I smiled at her gratefully. At least someone knew how to be nice.

I shoved a slice of toast in my mouth and stood up. I waved at everyone once before heading to the gym. It was a place I didn't like to visit unless it was absolutely necessary. I preferred to exercise outside, where it didn't smell like sweat.

However, today when I stood by the glass doors and looked inside, there was my very own Adonis, lifting weights and showing off his sexy abs.

A few other people occupied the various facilities the gym provided, but other than that it was practically empty.

The air conditioning was on full blast and I felt the cool rush as I stepped inside. Aiden didn't see me right away and instead he continued to lift his weights up and down. I didn't make my presence known because I kind of loved the way his biceps flexed every time he moved his arms up. That guy will be the death of me, I swear it.

Eventually he paused and set the weights down. He swiped a hand across his sweaty brow and sighed. I saw this as my opportunity to speak to him.

"Aiden," I called out. He looked over immediately and a broad grin overtook his features when he saw that it was me.

He stood up and made his way over. "Babe, hey. What are you doing here?" He asked, moving to hug me. I stepped away; as hot as he looked right now, he smelled of sweat.

"You weren't there when I woke up, so I came to see where you'd gotten to," I explained.

"Oh, sorry about that by the way. Rian called me down for something that was apparently "way important" but it turned out he just needed someone to open the peanut butter jar and was too shy to ask one of the omega women. Anyway, I just found out about the gym and decided to try it out. I'm really sorry," he said, looking like he actually meant it. He was so cute.

I laughed. "Aiden, it's okay. I'm not one of those clingy mates who need their man to be there when they wake up after um... doing what we did. It would have been nice if you were there, but I don't mind."

"Are you sure?" He asked.

"Yes, now go take a shower; you stink," I told him, holding my nose to jokingly emphasize my point. He huffed before nodding.

"Okay."

We left the gym together, but while I went to the living room to see what everyone was up to, Aiden made his way upstairs to shower.

The couches were full. Rian, Mark, and Gail took up one, and Lisa, Logan, Trent and Alec all squished up on the second one. Some girls I didn't know sat on armchairs in the corner gossiping, and a little boy played with his toy train on the floor.

"What are you guys watching?" I asked, but then I heard the familiar creepy music and realized that I was asking a stupid question. I plopped myself down in between Rian and Mark as the show started.

"My god, Hanna's such a bitch," Rian commented, pulling a face.

"Shut up and just watch," I said, elbowing him in the side. He yelped but then quietened down after a while.

We were interrupted halfway through our second episode by Aiden, who stood in the doorway. "Hi guys," he greeted, stepping into the room.

Rian grinned. "Hey. You'll have to sit on the floor because Mark's fat ass is taking up half of this couch."

Mark grunted. "Yeah, of course it's me, when you're the one who's practically lying down here."

Rian stuck his tongue out at him and I chuckled. Aiden reached over, grabbed Rian by the arm, and threw him on the floor, promptly taking his seat. He laughed at Rian, who was sitting on the floor with a massive pout on his face.

I snuggled into Aiden's side. Rian got up with a determined look and spun around, plopping himself in Aiden's lap. Aiden groaned. "Whoa, Rian, just how much of that pizza did you eat last night?"

"Less than you, which is why I'm the one sitting in your lap, not the other way round," Rian replied smugly.

"Hey, I've been at the gym all morning," Aiden said.

"And you had sex all night, so I suppose that must count for something," Rian mused.

I groaned and hit his arm. "Could you shut up about that now?"

He shrugged. "I don't know; it's fun to see your reactions."

Ugh.

We sat watching TV for another while until Dan appeared in the doorway. "Perri, Alpha Liatree wants you in his office." With that, he quickly left the room. Wow, that was probably the most words he's spoken to me in weeks.

I stood up from my seat and motioned to the empty spot. "Here, Rian, you can sit down now."

He grinned at me before sliding off Aiden's lap. Aiden let out a breath of relief that was greatly exaggerated. I smiled at them before beginning the walk up to my dad's office once again.

I knocked once before entering. Dad was sitting at his desk as usual, but he looked even more stressed than he had the last time I'd seen him, and he had his head in his hands.

"Dad?" I asked, to announce my presence.

He looked up. "Oh, hey Perri."

"So why did you call me here?" I said, taking a seat in the chair that sat in front of Dad's desk.

"We had another rogue attack last night," he explained. "We lost two fighters. They're strong, Perri, stronger than we thought at first. I think they're going to attack full-on soon. They can't keep using small groups to take out a few of our members; that way they'd surely lose. We need to prepare for a huge battle sometime soon. It could be any time, and we still don't know all their secrets. We've increased patrols and training, had better security systems installed, and warned everyone not to leave pack territory without a warrior with them. There's nothing else we can do except wait."

"Yeah, I guess," I said. "Who was killed, by the way?"

"A she-wolf named Tina and a male named Keith," he informed me. On one hand, I was glad of the news - it meant that no one I knew had lost their place in the world, but on the other, it was just as devastating as anyone else's death. Perhaps even more, since I hadn't yet gotten the chance to meet either of those people.

I bowed my head as a sign of respect to the dead. "Are we having a memorial service or are they just being buried privately?"

"Privately," said Dad. "Their families are saying goodbye as we speak, and they'll be buried in the local cemetery out of public eyes. The pack will be informed, but the bodies are a bit... mangled, and I don't want to scare anyone any more than I have to."

I nodded in understanding. "So what do we do now?"

"There's nothing we can do," he said, almost despairingly. "Except wait."

~•~•~•~

Unknown POV

I knocked on the door of the room where he was staying with a shaky hand. I didn't know why he had called me here again; I'd done everything he'd asked of me. The only explanation for me being here right now was because I'd messed up, yet I didn't know how. I was scared.

"Come in," his dangerous voice called out. It only crushed the little hope I had of him being gone, even though he was never gone when it came to meeting with people such as myself.

I slowly pushed open the door and stepped inside. The room was sparsely furnished - a bed and a dark wooden dresser were the only objects it possessed. He stood at the window, his back to me.

I stood there in silence, knowing that he'd deal with me when he was ready. It didn't take long before he turned around, facing me.

"They know who I am," he said. There was no emotion in his voice. "They could possibly know who you are, too. Did you let something slip?"

"No," I said, glad that my voice had come out steady. "I was careful."

"Good." He nodded his head. "We're attacking on Saturday. Get everyone ready."

Saturday was a week away. "B-but Sir, are you sure we're prepared?"

"Of course we're prepared," he snapped. "Don't question me again, or I'll take it out on you-know-who. Now get out."

"Okay," I said softly, stepping towards the door. "Just, please... don't hurt Jesse."

~•~•~•~

Okay so know you all know who unknown is and if you don't go back and read the story over again bc you missed like 20 chapters

Also, thanks to anyone who's read, commented, voted, or added this story to a reading list! It always puts a huge smile on my face to see I have a notification to do with this story ♥ Thank you guys!!

And someone please help me come up with a new title. You'll get a dedication in the next chapter!

This update was a long time coming and it's kind of terrible but here it is& I hope you like it.