THANE'S POV (Surprise motherfuckas):

Don't worry, we're almost back. Your mate is asleep in the back seat, I'm not sure I can stop Gwen from smacking her awake, the lack of attention is killing her, Ares mindlinked me in response to me asking where they were.

Tell Gwendolyn that I will tell Leo that she's been talking about him nonstop the whole time she's been here, I threaten, only half-kidding.

I pace anxiously in the garage, waiting for them to return. Despite my indifferent attitude about their little trip, I couldn't deny that releasing Onyx into the wild made me more than apprehensive. Which is why I had pack members scattered through the mall, watching the girls, just in case if anything went wrong. I'm assuming since I didn't get an angry mindlink from Ares, she had no idea that my pack members were keeping tabs on them.

After what seems like hours, they finally pull into the garage, and I can't help the slight exhale that escapes me as my wolf relaxes for the first time in hours.

I can see my mate sleeping in the backseat as Gwen and Ares get out of the car, popping to trunk to reveal a copious amount of bags.

"If you tell Leo I was talking about him, I will end you," Gwen threatened, whispering so she didn't wake up my sleeping Nyx.

"Duly noted," I mock-solute, and she flips me off. So polite, that young lady.

I quietly unbuckle Onyx's seatbelt, and scoop her into my arms gently, careful not to wake her. When I bring her close to my chest, her small fits clench around my shirt and she breathes in deeply, but her slow heartbeat tells me she's still asleep.

I head into the house after Ares and Gwen, and before I go upstairs, Gwen tells me with a wicked grin, "I charged everything to your card, hope that's not a problem."

"I'll see you in court," I sarcastically mutter, too preoccupied with getting my mate into her bed to deal with Gwen's antics. She knows it's nearly impossible to make me lose my cool, but fuck if she didn't spend every minute trying. I didn't mind, to be honest, I found her frustration quite amusing.

When we reach our room, I hold her to my chest with one arm, and use the other one to pull down the covers to properly tuck her in. When I pull the covers over her, I see her hand reaching out as she's still fully asleep.

I grin like a damn idiot as I slide in next to her, and she sighs contentedly as she places her head on my chest, and her arm haphazardly thrown over my abdomen.

I run my hand through her hair as she rests, kissing her head every few minutes softly. After about an hour, I feel her begin to stir as she awakens. She opens her wide blue eyes, and the first thing she does is smile.

Suddenly, her smile faltered and she looked around in confusion. "I just had the weirdest dream that I went shopping with the Blood Luna and Gwen."

I chuckled. "I'm afraid whatever tortures they subjected you to, did in fact happen. You fell asleep in the car, I carried you up here. I didn't want to disturb you."

"Oh," she said, her cheeks painted with the lovely blush I loved to see, and even more, loved to cause.

"Are you hungry?" I ask, unable to suppress my primal need to provide for her, to care for her.

She put her head back on my chest, and wrapped her arm around me once more. "Maybe we could just stay like this a little bit longer."

I grinned widely, knowing she couldn't see the idiotic look on my face.

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"So we're walking right?" Gwen starts the story for what must have been the hundredth or hundredth and one time. "And this human has the nerve to try swinging on me, right? Mind you, Ares and I had already worked out who would be the one who would get to break his face. So imagine my shock, when Onyx, tiny little Onyx, leaps in front of me, like Superman, like this:" Gwen- drunkenly, may I add- jumped to the side, sloshing some of her drink on to my new rug, which makes me sigh.

"She punches him in the face! No hesitation, not a single fuck given!" Gwen laughs, as do Ares, Axel, Lucas, Leo, and Jason. "And I can LITERALLY hear, like, half his teeth shatter, right? And this crazy bitch still isn't done with him yet!"

Onyx groans, pressing herself closer into me, my arm wrapped protectively around her, though nothing could protect my mate from the banshee in front of me.

"And then she goes, 'No means no, douchebag!' Pow!" Gwen made punching sound effects as she fell to the floor and fought the invisible assailant. We all laughed at her antics, except for Onyx, who covered her blushing face with her hands.

"Oh my gosh, I'm begging you Gwen, stop telling this story," My poor little mate pleaded.

Snorting, Gwen responded, "No way, buttercup. That was way too legendary! Pow! Haha." Gwen laughed at herself, still throwing punches at the air, and tears were streaming down your face.

Control your woman, I tease Leo through our mindlink.

He rolls his eyes and responds, No thank you Alpha, I'm going to respectfully decline that offer and let you deal with it.

"It seems I made a mistake in assuming that Ares would be the bodyguard for the trip," I chuckle as I pink Onyx's burning cheek, and she swats my hand away but not before granting me a sheepish smile.

"Maybe you should be training me, Nyx," Axel says as he howls in laughter. Ares chokes on her drink, coughing through her laughter.

What truly surprised me was Ares' good mood, although Cain did happen to mention her little alcohol problem, and I told him I would be a good influence on her. Unfortunately, my good influence was cancelled out by Hurricane Gwen.

Nyx facepalmed, and hid her face in my shirt. "I will never live that down."

"Absolutely not," Leo agreed with a laugh, setting his nearly empty bottle down. I had no doubt that Gwen was responsible for getting him drunk. "I can't wait until you and Thane have pups and we can tell them about how their mother assaulted a human."

I can feel Onyx's cheeks burning a hole in my shirt, but I can also feel her smile as I wrap both arms around her tightly. Pictures of tiny pups, a combination of me and my better half, flooded my mind, and it took nearly all of my self-control not to whisk her away upstairs to get started now.

When I refocused my attention, I saw Ares discard an empty bottle to the side, and grab another unopened one. Whatever smile she had a few moments earlier was long gone.

I'm going to bed, goodnight everyone, she curtly said, turning abruptly around with the bottle clutched so tightly, her knuckles were paper white.

"Boo," Gwen whined, stomping her foot. "It's only midnight, you're such a bore."

Ares flipped her off, not turning around as she went upstairs.

Nobody else seemed bothered by her sudden departure, but it bothered me for some reason.

"Fuck," I muttered, realizing our mistake. Leo mentioned pups, having no clue what the Luna was struggling with. Although Ares never mentioned it to me, Cain had informed me of their inability to conceive, although he didn't tell me any details.

In addition to finding Wilson, getting Onyx her Gift back, and making sure Onyx wins her Challenge, I added one more task on my list.

Helping the Blood Luna and Alpha procure an heir.