Beside is a picture of Rainie'e necklace. I'm jealous. I want it.

Dedicated to _Zelycha480_ for her beautiful message. You're beautiful, thank you ♥

Chapter Thirty Eight

The past two days had been a blur of party preparations and training. I was back at home, having only spent one night at Nicky's, we didn't want to take the risk with me still being in heat.

My mom and I still hadn't spoken about what happened at the pack meeting. There was no point, it wasn't something that we were going to agree on nor was it something either of us wanted to face yet. My dad was trying to compensate for what happened. He had taken it upon himself to sort out her mess, going to the Harbor Pack house and personally apologizing to Alpha Vermont.

I was pretty sure things wouldn't have gone as smoothly as they did had it not been for Mason. He had told his father there was no need for any punishment as my mom knew she had done wrong in disrespecting them both the way she did. Well, that's what he told me anyway. Personally I think more was said but never the less, I was thankful.

"Rain!" My name being called tore me away from my thoughts. "Are you ok?" Turning around to face Mason, an instant smile lifted my lips. "Daydreaming about me again, little kitten?" I rolled my eyes at his cocky smirk.

I snorted, "You wish."

"I don't need to wish for it." He said, as he wrapped his arm around my waist.

Playfully shoving him away, I continued to arrange the bouquets of flowers. "Your mom has overdone it a little, don't you think?"

Mason leaned forward and plucked a single red rose from the bouquet before lifting it to his nose. "She's excited," He shrugged, dropping it back on to the counter. "It's not every day her son and his mate have their announcement ceremony."

He had a point. Today was the day of the ceremony and everyone was busy doing their own tasks that Sara had set. I was sorting out the flowers; Mason had chosen roses and sweet autumn clematis, which held a vanilla scent that didn't escape my attention. Mason and Jake were busy fixing the lights whilst Ray and Bella were setting up the seating arrangements. Emma was helping Nellie and Delilah with the food, and Nicky and Cole were grouped with Richard and Alpha Vermont searching the ground, making sure all was clear with no sign of the Redbloods.

The imminent threat of them was never more at the forefront of my mind, but I tried my best not to focus on it too much. I didn't want anything to spoil tonight and that included my mood.

"They smell beautiful." I commented as I placed a bunch of sweet autumn clematis in the center of the rose bouquet. It was a gesture – like the vanillas scented candles and roses in the diner – from Mason that made my heart swell.

Mason chuckled, "I already know." He kissed my cheek. I pressed my lips together and dipped my head to hide the sudden rush of redness that covered my cheeks. "Don't hide your smile from me, mate." Mason whispered, his lips brushing the nape of my neck. This time I didn't, I spun on my heel, flowers in hand and wrapped my arms around his neck crashing my lips to his. His brief jolt of surprise left me smiling in a small victory.

The clearing of someone's throat had me taking a step back, though Mason kept his arms firmly wrapped around me. "Sorry Rainie," Nicky said, awkwardly running his fingers through his hair, before turning his attention to Mason, "We've checked the house and there's nothing. A few out of place scents around the woods, but we've sent a couple of the guys to check it out."

"And Richard?" Mason asked, both guys fully emerged into their Alpha tones and duties.

"He's prepping everyone as we speak." Nicky replied, "Ray has taken over the search with Cole and I'm going to head back out there."

Mason unwrapped one of his arms from around my waist and held it out for Nicky. "Thanks, man." With a firm handshake and a sharp nod from Nicky, he shot me a smile before leaving through the kitchen door.

There was a heavy dread that had firmly settled itself in my stomach. I looked up to Mason, "Everything's going to be okay tonight, isn't it?" I said, needing his reassurance if nothing else.

Staring into my eyes, he pulled me closer to his body. "I promise, nothing's going to happen tonight. We've taken precautions like this every day since we found out about the fight, we're just being more open about it tonight, that's all."

Despite his relaxed voice and nonchalant words, I knew it wasn't just the simple matter of being extra careful. The fight was getting closer every day and no one knew exactly when it was going to happen.

Tonight, only our packs were invited. Normally, an announcing ceremony would bring together packs from all around the area in a show of respect for the Alpha and Luna, but there was no way that could happen. It was too much of a risk.

Cupping my face in his strong, calloused hands, Mason dipped his head until it was inches from my face. "I should follow Nicky out into the woods, are you going to be okay here?" I nodded. "My mom will have you running around like crazy, but I don't want you to tire yourself out before tonight."

I smiled, "I won't." His lips gently touched the tip of my nose with a light kiss. "I'm actually going to see Jude." I said a little nervously. Jude and his mom were still living at the Harbor House, but for how much longer, I wasn't sure.

Mason's expression and tone gave away the fact he was less than happy with my plan. "What for?"

"I want to invite them to the party." I told him.

His brows creased. "Them?"

"Yeah." I took a deep breath, "Jude and Carmen." I held up my hand before he could say anything. "I know you don't like them, but Jude is my friend and I want him to be there tonight. It's important to me Mason." I left out the part that I was intended to ask Jude about Michael being Carmen's mate.

Giving a heavy sigh, he bowed his head for a couple of seconds before his eyes met mine again. "You've got me wrapped around your finger, little kitten." He said with a defeated shake of his head.

My smile widened. "It'll be our little secret, I promise." I pressed my lips against his with three kisses. "Be careful." I warned before kissing him again.

"Always, baby."

* * *

As Sara and Bella had planned, there would be white wooden tables for the guests to sit and eat, placed around the garden. So with vases filled with a mixture of red, pink and yellow roses, as well as the fragrant sweet autumn clematis, I had finally finished my task.

Letting Emma know where I was going, I set off for Nicky's house. I had called Jude to let him know I was on my way. Alpha Tom had said that Jude and Carmen could stay with them until they had to leave in a few days so, yesterday, with a car full of their belongings, they moved into Nicky's house.  

"Hey Harper," Jude greeted. 

Without hesitating, I wrapped my arms around him as soon as I reached the door. "I missed you, Taylor."

He chuckled, "I've missed you too." Stepping back from him, my eyes scanned over his face. He was still the beautiful boy who walked into class that day. "I hear congratulations are in order."

I nodded, giving him a small smile, "Yeah, about that," I had no idea where to begin. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you, it kind of happened all at once and before I knew it, everyone knew and Mason's garden was being decorated with white garden furniture, flowers and lights." I gave a small smile.

He waved my explanation off. "Don't worry about it short stuff, I'm happy as long as you're happy."

"I am." I admitted, with a coy blush on my cheeks. The mere thought of Mason bringing a smile to my face. "I'm actually here about that."

"Hold on," He held out his hand, "I don't want to hear any tales of romance between you two." His words were said with a straight face, but there was an amused tone to his voice.

I laughed, "Shut up.

Taking a step back, he motioned his hand for me to follow him in to the house. "Here," he said, handing me a bottled water. "So what did you want to talk about?"

I decided to get to the point. "Tonight is our announcement ceremony and I really want you and your mom to be there."

Swallowing the mouthful of water, he lowered the bottle slowly, his eyes trained on me. "And what does Mason want?"

I shrugged. "That doesn't matter. He knows I'm here and he's fine with it." Fine may have been an exaggeration and the look I received told me Jude knew that too.

"Can I..." He cleared his throat, nervously rubbing the back off his neck. "Would it be okay if I brought someone with me?"

I was a little surprised. "Who?"

He gave a one-shoulder shrug. "Just someone I've kind of been..." he trailed off. 

"Dating?" I offered, not bothering to hide my smile. He nodded, his neck blushing a light scarlet. "Who is she and why haven't I heard about this?"

He rolled his eyes, "It hasn't been going on that long and besides I haven't seen you."

Okay, so he had me there. "Come on," I whined.

"It's—" He was cut off by someone walking into the kitchen.

"Jude, don't forget the..." Her eyes landed on me, "Oh, hi Rainie, sorry I didn't mean to interrupt." Almost as if her confidence had suddenly vanished at the sight of me, she shrunk back into herself.

Despite the shock at seeing her here, I smiled, hoping it would make her feel a little better. "You weren't interrupting, I was just inviting Jude to the announcement ceremony tonight." She blinked. "You're coming too, right?"

The look of uncertainty took me by surprise. I had assumed because she was part of Mason's pack that would automatically mean that she was coming. My attention was too focused on her to notice that Jude had moved to stand next to her. "Actually Harper, this is the someone I was talking about." His arm snaked around her waist and I didn't miss the subtle movement to bring her closer to him.

My eyes darted between them both.

Jude and Sophia. Sophia and Jude.

Together.

A smile big enough to hurt my cheeks spread across my lips. I was stuck between cooing and squealing. "Of course you should come together." I practically yelled, continuing to blurt out, "You're such a cute couple."

Jude chuckled and Sophia turned the colour of a clown's nose. I felt bad for embarrassing her, but I couldn't help it. "How did this happen?" I asked, gesturing my hand between the two of them.

"We watched a movie." Sophia offered, his voice small.

With his eyes solely focused on her, he smiled and kissed her temple. "More like I was forced to watch a movie with some, in her words, 'sex god' in."

I thought back to when I first met Sophia and she took me to Carmen's room. She had seemed so closed off and everything about her screamed sadness. I also remembered realizing that she had been rejected by her mate, though we never spoke about it. Now, I could see the happiness radiating from her, despite the fact she was still withdrawn, I sensed that was different when it was just her and Jude alone.

"Um, I got you a gift, you know, for tonight," Sophia said, "Do you want it now?"

I should probably have waited so Mason and I could open it together, but my first thought was screw him and so I smiled, nodded and watched as she skipped out of the kitchen.

Without hesitation, I pulled Jude to the kitchen table and pushed him down on to the chair. "So how long have you two been together?" I couldn't contain my excitement.

"Harper, we're not together," He smiled and then added, "yet."

Again, I was caught between a coo and a squeal. "It's good to see you happy, Jude." I said honestly, gently squeezing his hand in mine.

"You too, pretty girl."

For a moment, we just stared at each other. Now wasn't the time to ask questions, it wasn't the time to pry into their past, it was our time to be what we were. Even though I hadn't known Jude for that long, I considered him to be one of my closest friends. It was a little strange to think there was a time when Jude and I could have been more than just friends, but now, seeing him with Sophia and me being with Mason, I knew there wasn't a better ending for us than this.

Jude and Rainie. Rainie and Jude.

Best friends.

As if those thoughts were mirrored in Jude's mind, he smiled and pulled me in to his chest, wrapping his arms around me. "I'm always here for you, Harper, even if your jerk-hole of a mate doesn't like it." He winked, causing me to chuckle. "I mean it though, you were my first friend here and that's not going to change, okay?"

A lump formed in my throat, "Okay, but only if you promise that I'll be the first to know when you finally man up and make her your girlfriend."

He laughed that deep, velvety laugh that I loved. "You can guarantee it, pretty girl."

* * *

"That smells incredible, Nell." I leaned over her shoulder and breathed in the incredible scent of chocolate and mint cake mix.

She smiled, "Only the best for the both of you."

Her words warmed my heart and the fondness I had for Nell grew. "Is Mason back yet?"

"He's upstairs with Cole and Jake doing whatever it is boys do."

After a quick stop to see how Emma, Bella and Harmony were getting on with no doubt more tasks set by Sara, I made my way up the winding stairs to Mason's bedroom. Thankfully, his scent was still strong enough in the air for me to follow it without losing my way or relying on my wolf to lead the way. The last thing I wanted was to miss tonight because I was lost somewhere in this house.

As I got closer to the oak door leading to his room, I could hear the guys talking. "You should have told her about him." I stopped dead at Cole's words. I don't know why, but a small part of my mind told me he was referring to Jude.

Pressing my ear against Mason's bedroom door wasn't exactly what I had planned when I came up here and yet here I was.

"What was I supposed to say?" Mason asked his voice a little raised so I knew his temper was slowly getting the better of him. "I told her to stay away from him, but she wouldn't listen." His frustration was obvious and he continued, "If I say anything now, it will only hurt her."

The silence that followed had me frozen to the spot. I half expected the door to swing open and me to fall through it. "The pack isn't going to like this, Mas." Hearing Jake continue the conversation relaxed me slightly. "I get that he's her friend, but even with her being their future Luna, they won't forgive him for what he did."

I held my breath.  

There were those words again. The words that brought that same question. What had Jude done that was so bad?

A quiet growl rumbled and I knew it was from Mason, "You don't think I know that? I hate him for what he did to this pack, to my family, but that doesn't change the fact that I don't want Rain to get hurt."

Another stretch of silence followed and I was half temped to knock and walk in; every part of my body telling me that I had heard enough, but I couldn't. I just couldn't seem to raise my hand.

"What did your dad say?" Cole asked.

Mason scoffed, I could picture him shaking his head. "What he always says," I could hear footsteps and I knew he had started pacing back and forth, "According to him there was more to it. He's full of crap, he's only doing it for her."

Cole next words had me pressed harder against the door trying to get as close as possible. "Has he told you what happened? I mean, we know because of what everyone in the pack was saying, but did your dad actually tell you himself?"

It felt like I waited an eternity for the answer. Surely if Alpha Peter hadn't told anyone, then whatever the pack thought they knew, might not have been true. My head pulsed with the confusion of it all. I finally heard Mason's mumbled voice, "No."

"What are you doing?" The voice startled me causing me to jump back and bang my elbow on the door.

My hand covered my chest to feel the heavy thump of my heart, "Nell, you scared me." I said a little breathless.

"Rain?" The sudden sound of his voice behind me sent my heart into a wild frenzy and made me jump again. Now, not only was I pretty sure I was having a heart attack, I also had two very sore elbows. Dammit.

Slowly turning, I came face to face with those heart-breaking cerulean eyes. All I could muster was a small, pathetic – and slightly painful – wave. "Nell." He greeted, his eyes briefly leaving mine, but not for long. "Are you okay?" He asked me. I could hear in his voice what he was truly asking. He wanted to know what I had heard.

Do I tell him?

That idea quickly vanished. What would I say? Oh yeah, I overheard everything you said about Jude because I was pressed against your door eavesdropping like a creeper.

Even my own wolf shook her head at me.

"Fine, just looking for you." I smiled. "I was thinking we should start getting ready," I added, "We don't want to be late for our own party."

"She's right." Nell spoke up. I turned to find her eyes were burning into me. Why was she looking at me like that? Did she know I had been listening in on Mason? "We've got everything taken care of so you don't have to worry yourselves." Her eyes left mine, "Big, strapping boys like you two should be helping," She motioned her hand for Cole and Jake to follow her, "Come on now, Mason and Rainie need some time to be a young couple." With that she turned and walked away, Cole and Jake following close behind her.

I was left confused and wondering what the hell has just happened.

* * *

"Did you invite the pup?"

We were in Mason's room lying on his bed. Propped up on his elbow, he lay on his side facing me whilst I was on my back looking up at the ceiling.

I rolled my eyes. "Your terms of endearment for Jude really are heartfelt."

"And your sarcasm is a pain in my tail, baby." The glint of amusement in his eyes told me to jump off the bed as quickly as humanly possible and run for my life.

Unlucky for me, Mason had heard my thoughts and quickly wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me closer to him as his fingers roamed my body, tickling me. "Mason, stop!" I cried through my splutters of laughter. 

His laughter and tickling torture soon subsided and I was left breathless, my chest rising and falling heavily. I playfully slapped his chest, "You're an idiot."

Quickly grabbing my hand, he pulled it against his chest, "You love it." He winked, dropping a kiss on to the tip of my nose.

I did. "I feel bad for your wolf having to do deal with that huge ego of yours."

He chuckled, inching his face closer until his lips brushed against mine. "My ego is all part of the charm, babe."

"Is that so?" I teased, smiling as his lips pressed against mine with a brief kiss.

"Mhmm," He murmured, giving me another kiss, "and when that fails," another kiss, "there's always this." With one final kiss he placed a black, velvet box on my stomach.

My heart stopped.

Glancing between the large, square box on my stomach and the face of my mate, who wore an expression mixed of happiness and apprehension, I had no idea what to do. "What is it?"

The corner of his lips lifted giving me that heart-breaking smile of his. "Open it and you'll find out."

My fingers brushed the soft silk material of the silver bow, slowly untying it and I noticed my hands were shaking