The Luna nodded her head once at me after Thane's introduction, and I gave her and Alpha Cain a weak smile.

The Alpha stepped towards me and reached out his oversized hand. I shook it, despite the fear that made my chest tighten. Unlike Thane's, the Blood Alpha's hands were calloused and rough. After I shook his hand, I shrinked back, closer to Thane, who tightened his arms around me.

The Blood Alphas were looking at each other with a distant look in their eyes, showing that they were probably mindlinking each other. Finally, Alpha Cain spoke to Thane.

Sighing, he told him that Ares wants to go for a walk with me alone.

I felt my heart drop to the floor as my stomach tightened. What are the odds I walk away from this meeting unstabbed? She seemed to have a penchant for throwing knives, and unlike Thane, there was no way I would be able to stop them from sinking into me.

I could feel Thane shrug. "That sounds good to me. Onyx, would you like that?"

What, was I supposed to just say no with the two most powerful people I had ever met staring at me expectantly?

As if reading my mind, Thane mindlinked me. You don't have to say yes, I can come up with an excuse to get you out of it if you're too scared.

I considered his offer, but ultimately decided against it. After all, I better get used to the Blood Lake leaders since they would be around awhile.

Despite how good she was at wielding knives, did the Thane actually trust the Luna enough to let us leave the pack house alone with no guards.

"No guards?" I turned in Thane's arms and asked in surprise, keeping my voice quiet.

His smile turned up coyly. "You won't need them, love," He answered for me, making me frown. How could he trust this girl so much? She looked like she was even younger than I.

Thane tweaked my nose and not-so-subtly gave me a little push towards the Blood Lake members. Ares and Cain got the faraway look in their eyes for a second longer, and then I could see Cain visibly relax.

"Axel, you're going with the females," He commanded, his deep voice nearly making the ground vibrate.

An enormous man with dark blond hair nodded in confirmation. To my surprise, he was nearly as big as Cain. Jesus, how hard do the people in Blood Lake train? All of them looked like they popped steroids daily.

Even though I felt better about a guard coming with us, the man looked almost as frightening as the Blood Alpha.

I turned to look back at Thane, who gave me a reassuring smile and mindlinked me, Don't worry, little one. Ares and Axel won't let any harm come to you. I trust them just as much as I trust my Beta and Gamma.

Oh, Thane. He misunderstood my apprehension. I wasn't worried about external threats, I was worried about the Blood Lake members. They looked so intimidating and unfriendly.

Regardless of my anxiety, I knew I had to just go. I wanted to make Thane proud.

I turned back to the Blood Lake members, and saw the Luna give the Alpha a passionate kiss. As bizarre as it sounds, I could swear I felt the room getting warmer. They finally broke apart, and I could feel myself blushing. Their interactions were so intense. Powerful.

"Be back by noon," Alpha Cain commanded gruffly, and my wolf, no longer feeling Thane's touch, could not resist the command of the Blood Alpha. To my horror, the Luna rolled her eyes. By God, did she have a death wish? I kept my eyes downcast in submission, and subconsciously bared my neck.

"Go ahead and lead the way, Onyx. You probably know the territory better than Ares or I," The buff blond guy suggested. His voice wasn't nearly as hoarse as Alpha Cain's. Maybe he wasn't as mean as he looked.

I was surprised by his suggestion, but nodded anyways. I guided them out of the pack house and towards a field of dandelions and sunflowers that I had found while exploring with Leo before.

We walked in silence for awhile before Axel spoke again. "So, what pack were you from?" He asked, keeping his tone light.

I cringed. "I was a rogue." Ahhh, the shameful rogue admission. To the Luna and Beta of a pack that was known to be brutal to rogues. And by brutal, I mean mercilessly killing them in the most violent and degrading ways.

"You weren't originally from a pack?" Axel pressed, and it began to feel like more of an interrogation than us casually chatting. Ares, of course, stayed silent, but I could tell she was interested in the conversation.

"I don't talk about that," I flatly stated, letting ice creep into my tone. Take the hint.

"Okay! Okay!" He stated, holding his hands up like I was going to attack him. As if. He could break me like a twig. "Ares told me to ask you so don't get mad at me."

I instantly felt bad for letting myself get harsh. That isn't me. Only a few minutes around Blood Lake and I was acting like an uncivilized savage.

I smiled at Axel. "I'm not mad," and I really wasn't, "I just don't talk about it. I'm sure there are plenty of things you wouldn't prefer to talk to me about, which I understand."

Axel was silent for a moment, and I was worried that I offended him until he spoke up again. "Ares said that you can ask her anything and she'll tell you about it," Axel spoke slowly, as if he couldn't believe he was actually saying it.

My eyebrows raised in surprise. "Oh no... I couldn't do that." And I really couldn't because I like my head being attached to my body, because I'm quirky like that.

Axel encouraged me, "Ares will tell you anything you want to know. That is quite an offer from the Blood Luna."

I considered his point. Well, he was right about it being an interesting offer. I doubt she opened up to many people, which made me suspicious of why she was opening up to me.

Greyson always told me so many rumors about the Blood Lake Alpha and Luna, and I couldn't deny my curiosity. Especially about one event in particular.

"The... well...yknow how when..." I decided just to spit it out and instantly regretted saying what I said next. "The whipping!"

My eyes widened. Holy cow, this is how it ends for me. You can't just bring up someone's mate whipping them, Onyx!

Then again, maybe she would tell me it was just a silly rumor spread by jealous wolves. After all, it didn't look like Alpha Cain was violent towards her. Quite the opposite actually.

"Ares offered to take the whipping for someone else," Axel emphasized the last two words for some unclear reason. "And the Alpha had to follow through or he would seem weak."

I was surprised by the admission. I surely had thought that they would say it was made up. Who would allow their mate to abuse them like that? Despite how little I knew Ares, she did not seem like the type of she-wolf to back down from a fight.

So, I told her that I disagreed with that. Axel gave some bullcrud excuse for why Alphas have to assert their dominance in packs, but it honestly still made no sense to me. I couldn't ever imagine Thane harming me in any way, even if I tried to take a beating for someone else, there was no way he would allow that. He barely even lets people lay a hand on me in training.

"We're here," I said in relief, glad for the distraction. The last thing I wanted to do was get into an ethics debate with Blood Lake pack members.

I looked at the sunflowers and dandelions and smiled.

"You like flowers?" Axel asked as if I had just told him I drink a quart of gasoline every day.

My grin widened at the Beta. "Who doesn't like flowers?" Surely even the most brutal of wolves couldn't deny how happy flowers make people.

He opened his mouth, but quickly shut it when the Luna glared at him.

Instead, he surprised me by asking an unrelated, random question. "Ares wants to know why you're scared of Alpha Cain."

I choked on the air in surprise. "Oh, ummm," and continued speaking when he reassured me that it was okay to say whatever I wanted to. "Well... For one, the whipping thing. Two, because Blood Lake kills a lot of rogues. Three, have you seen him? He's enormous." I laughed awkwardly when Ares' expression darkened, and Axel looked guilty. What was that about?

Before I could ask, the two wolves immediately looked alert. The Luna surveyed the field, and I could see her back straighten in preparation. Preparation for what?

"Luna-" Axel began, his eyes widening.

Ares pulled a knife out of midair again, and I knew that I was so, totally screwed.

Hey all! Sorry for the boring filler chapter, the next one will obviously have way more action.

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VVITICUS