A week flew by with no news of the rogues. Training was as harsh as ever and every night the wolves who patrolled the pack borders came back tired and sometimes soaked, if it rained. Dad stayed holed up in his office or taking his turn at patrolling.

Aiden and I's relationship had slightly progressed, and each make out session in my bedroom got a little more handsy. It didn't help that my wolf sometimes broke through and nearly jumped Aiden's bones. I needed to learn to control her a little more.

The full moon was fast approaching, and that was the time when every wolf would be at their strongest point. Which wouldn't bode well for me, since mine had very... sexual urges from time to time.

Today we would be training in wolf form as a change from the enormous amounts of human training we'd done. I felt as if I could be an underground fighter at this point.

Two warriors stood at the front of the large group of young wolves. You had to be sixteen and up to take part today because your sixteenth birthday was when you experienced your first shift. Anyone younger than that was separated out and taken to go through a set of different drills in the gym inside the pack house. I envied them - the weather was quite uncharacteristically cold and I was shivering in my tank top and loose shorts. I knew I'd warm up once we got going but right now I was ready to run inside to my bed and sleep.

"Okay!" The pack warrior who was going to be training us today shouted, and immediately the crowd of rowdy teenagers quietened down so that we could hear what he had to say. "Today we're going to be training in wolf form. All of you will shift and we'll do a short run to warm up, then we'll get down to business. Sound good?"

There was a chorus of yeses and some of the less conservative people began taking off items of clothing so that they wouldn't rip when the person shifted. I wasn't really bothered about my own clothes; I could always get more, and besides, I didn't want to be colder than I already was.

Lisa was beside me, wearing a thick woolly jumper that was completely unsuitable for training - human or otherwise. She shrugged at me before taking it off to reveal an ordinary green t-shirt underneath.

I shut my eyes so that I wouldn't have to see everyone's naked bodies before they shifted into their wolves. I felt like it was an invasion of privacy, in a way, even though there was no such thing as privacy around here.

When I began to hear the cracking of bones as people shifted, I opened my eyes and do the same, turning into my usual dark brown wolf. I was larger than everyone except for Aiden because he had Alpha blood as well, which was probably the reason we were paired together by the Moon Goddess in the first place.

A few people were staring at him because no one had stopped to think that maybe the rogue would be stronger than them in wolf form.

One of the warriors that stayed at the front of the group was still in human form, whilst the other one had shifted into a black wolf with a white-tipped ear. The wolf motioned with his head for us to follow as he trotted off into the woods. He didn't speak through the mind link for my friends' benefit, seeing as they wouldn't be able to hear what was said.

We all followed in a straggly line. The lazier people stayed towards the back and the energetic ones zoomed to the front, which happens every time a group of people go running, werewolf or not.

The warrior who stayed in human form yelled at us to run in twos and I soon found myself beside Aiden. He sent me a wolfy grin which I returned, and then suddenly he veered off the path and into the trees.

I faltered in my steps, confused. The next couple of pairs passed me out, not sparing a glance to the side. I made a split-second decision to head after Aiden, if only to make sure he was okay.

His scent was quite easy to follow and I tracked him for a few minutes before I came to the same spot where we had our date last week. He was sitting in front of the pond, facing the water. I knew he was aware of my presence because his whole form tensed and immediately relaxed when I neared.

I padded over to the spot beside him and sat down. I wanted to ask why he'd ditched training to come here, but instead I sat in silence and waited for him to speak - through our mind link, of course - first.

'This is only the second time I've seen you in wolf form,' he remarked suddenly, turning his shaggy head to face me.

'I guess...' I replied, a little confused as to why he was bringing up that particular point.

'We should run,' he said, and before I could protest, he darted forward, licked my nose in an intimate gesture and then practically galloped towards the trees. Once there, he tilted his head as if to say come on, and disappeared into the darkness.

I somewhat felt as if I had no choice in this matter and besides, I needed a little fun right now. And so I bounded after him, heading straight back into the trees.

It wasn't long before I saw the outline of his huge wolf in front of me. He turned his head, flashed me a wolfy grin, and scampered off down the faint trail that had been worn over the years.

I'd never seen this side to Aiden before, but it was obvious he wanted a chase. So I would give him one.

I caught up to him after a while - he wasn't that hard to find. He didn't seem to notice me as he weaved in and out through the trees. I took a step back and then sprinted up to him before jumping on his back. He growled playfully at me and shook me off. I fell to the ground but it didn't hurt seeing as I landed on grass and wolves are a little stronger than humans.

When I stood up, Aiden stared at me expectantly. My wolf smirked inside my head as she realized what I was supposed to do. I darted forward, licked his nose, then turned and sped off into the trees.

In wolf language, if such a thing existed, if you licked a fellow wolf on the nose it equalled a kiss in human form.

I ran as fast as I could, trying to last as long as possible before Aiden would inevitably catch me. I could hear him crashing through the leaves of trees and bushes, not at all holding back. My senses told me that the group we were training with were a safe distance away. They were probably done their warm-up run by now.

Eventually I stopped heating the sounds of Aiden running behind me so I slowed my paces only to be tackled to the ground by a large dark brown wolf. Aiden's eyes glittered with mischief as he kept me pinned to the ground. 'I win,' he said.

I shook my head. 'No, I caught you before, remember?'

He stilled, apparently deep in thought. Then his eyes brightened again. He didn't say anything back and instead, he leaned forward and licked my noise in one swift move. Then he was suddenly gone from my sight.

~•~

Our game of chase went on for a while. It was fun - I felt free for the first time in a long while. It was a lot better than the gruelling training the others were probably going through, as well.

Aiden and I lay side by side at the pond. I had my head on my paws and my eyes were closed. It was peaceful, and a lot better than what I'd first thought when I followed Aiden here after he decided to ditch everyone else.

I didn't think Dad would even find out, let alone care. He knew that I was capable of defending myself and Aiden had been a rogue since he was a young child - he could take care of himself.

'You wanna go back?' he asked, turning to look at me.

'Sure,' I said, standing up and shaking out my fur. 'Race you!'

I took off once again, but this time Aiden caught up a lot faster. He overtook me and I growled, speeding up even more. We were neck and neck until we came to the pack house, where we practically skidded to a stop because Rian, Mark, Lisa and Gail were all standing there with their arms folded.

I would have found the situation funny had it not been for the intimidating figure who stood at the front of the group.

Mom.

I ducked my head sheepishly, glad I was still in wolf form so that I didn't have to speak. Obviously someone had told Mom - the only person that would care - that I had disappeared in the middle of training and now she was here.

There was always the excuse that I was eighteen now and could do whatever I wanted, but then she would use the typical "I'm only looking out for you" thing. So the best thing to do would be to shift, apologize and then hide in my room until she went back to her little studio room.

I nudged Aiden in the direction of the huge baskets that were filled with clothes in case anyone needed them. It appeared like he got the message because he trotted over and took a pair of sweatpants in his teeth.

I spared one last glance at my mom and friends before following suit. I changed into the sweatpants and t-shirt behind a tree and when I came out, Aiden was standing there awkwardly and no one else had moved.

"Uh... hi!" I chirped, hoping my enthusiastic greeting would be returned.

I was met with flat expressions. I guessed that my friends were pissed because they had to go through training and we didn't - all of them looked pretty tired. I stifled a laugh.

"Perri!" said Mom. "Where have you been?"

"In the woods," I said, pointing.

"When you were supposed to be training?" Rian asked, a sly smile threatening to break through. I think he just wanted to see Aiden and I get in trouble even though we were legal adults.

"Not to mention you worried us sick!" Mark said convincingly. Aiden narrowed his eyes. He knew as well as I did that all our friends were messing with us. Mom, however, was an entirely different story.

"Well... sorry," I trailed, glaring at Lisa, who was openly grinning when Mom wasn't looking.

"I can't believe you're being so irresponsible!" Mom chided. "With these rogues around and all. You could have died!"

"We were on pack territory," I said with a roll of my eyes.

"I don't have time for this," she mumbled, turning to go back inside. "Just take care of yourselves and don't get into any more trouble. And no skipping training!"

When she was gone I turned accusingly to the guys. "Why did you do that? Now Mom will be on my case for weeks."

"Oh well," Rian said with a shrug. "So who's up for a game of COD?"

~•~•~•~

Later that night, I was in the bathroom going through my nightly routine. We'd played Call Of Duty for the last few hours after dinner. Well, everyone else played, and Gail and I chose to watch.

"Perri?" Aiden asked, knocking on the door. "Are you almost finished? I need to pee."

"I didn't really need to know that," I called back, spitting out my toothpaste. "Just go and pee in another bathroom. I'm almost done, anyway."

"Okay," he said, and I heard the sounds of him leaving the room.

I gargled the mouthwash and spat it out, then wiped my mouth. I washed my face with the cloth to the side and brushed my hair so that it would be less tangled when I woke up. I already had my pyjamas on, so I just exited the bathroom.

I was quite tired tonight. I got into bed but left the one of the lamps on to create a golden glow for Aiden to see by when he came back.

When he did, he just pulled off his shirt to reveal his sexy abs. He stripped off his sweatpants because apparently he was more comfortable sleeping like that. Well, I wasn't complaining, the less clothes on him the better.

Wait, I did not just think that.

Oh yes you did.

Oh no I didn't.

Okay, my mind is not a pantomime.

Aiden climbed into bed beside me. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah... yeah, I'm fine," I said.

He leaned forward and pressed his lips to mine. I kissed back eagerly and he slipped his tongue into my mouth. The kiss got more heated when Aiden sat up and lifted me so that I was straddling him.

I soon found myself short of breath and Aiden seemed to sense that as he moved his lips to my jaw and kissed his way down to my neck. When he reached my mark I couldn't help the lust-filled moan that erupted from me.

Aiden continued kissing lower and lower until he reached up and, with a little help, he pulled my top over my head. This was the farthest we'd ever gone, but this time I wanted more.

"Aiden..." I panted, "I... want... you."

I was finding it difficult to speak because of the things he was doing to me. He suddenly flipped us is that he was hovering over me. "Are you sure?" He asked, his eyes roaming my face as if to check for any signs of uncertainty.

He found none. I hadn't realized before, but I was completely ready to go all the way with him. Yeah, I was slightly nervous, but I loved him and I knew he loved me. This was what I wanted.

So when Aiden reached behind me and unclipped my bra, I didn't protest. When he looked over my body I didn't shy away. And when he told me he loved me and that we could wait if I really wanted, I smiled and leaned up, pulling him in for a deep kiss to show him that there were no doubts at all in my mind.

~•~•~•~

yes they went all the way and no there won't be a sex scene