~Dakota~

My father allowed me to go out into the forest tonight to meet Jax. I wandered in the woods and looked up at the sky. The moon had lit up the entire forest through the trees. It was almost a full moon, and it was very beautiful. Especially since the sky was clear of clouds. As I walked through the woods, I started to feel anxious. I was excited yet nervous to meet up with Jax. I couldn't stop thinking about what we would do when we meet, or who else would be with him. I smiled as I walked over a log. I then heard a twig snap behind me and turned around quickly. Since my cat had come out, I'm a lot more sensitive to sound and light. I can see pretty damn well in the dark, my hearing feels like I can hear a bunny eat grass from five miles away, and my smell is also pretty good as well. I can smell the water from the lake that's about two miles into the woods, and I'm not even going in that direction. I heard another twig break and now I was on alert. I tried using my senses to help me. My nose smelled something familiar. It was amazing and when I used my night vision, I saw Jax in wolf form hiding behind a few trees. I breathed a sigh of relief and giggled.

"Jax, don't you try and scare me like that!" He shifted back and slipped on some shorts as he chuckled.

"I wanted to see how fast you'd be able to figure out it was me. I'm glad the first thing you did was use your sense of smell. Very smart." He smiled and he pulled me into a hug. I sighed and took in a breath of his scent. It was mesmerizing. He growled lowly in approval and pulled me closer to himself. I snuggled into his warmth and kissed his chest softly. I heard his growl and I giggled.

"I missed you." I sigh as Jax hugged me.

"I missed you too." I looked up at him and kissed his cheek gently. He kissed my forehead and I sighed. Jax led us over to a big tree and we sat down beneath it. He, however, decided to place me on his lap the last second and I laughed at him. He chuckled as he pulled me closer to him. I laid my head on his shoulder as we stared at the moon. Jax grew a bit uneasy and tugged at his hair a bit.

"Jax? What's wrong baby?" He shivered and growled in approval.

"There's something we need to discuss." He was serious, and it made me feel like I did something wrong.

"Don't worry, I feel your panic darling. You haven't done anything wrong. What I'm talking about concerns the full moon." I sighed in relief and nodded.

"I'm assuming you're going to ask for me not to be around you."

"On the contrary, I'm actually going to need you with me so I don't end up killing someone." I looked at him with wide eyes before he started to explain.

"Before I knew you were my mate, whenever the full moon would come around, I would have to isolate myself to prevent from going crazy. However, now that I know I have a mate, my wolf will think of doing nothing but wanting to protect you. Anything could happen to you, and I can't let that happen. And it will never happen as long as I am around. I can promise you that." I smiled at him but grew worried.

"Your wolf won't hurt me?" He kissed my forehead and pulled me closer to him.

"No. He wouldn't dare." I nodded and we sat in comfortable silence before I started falling asleep on Jax.

'Dakota? Where are you?' I heard my brother in a mind link.

'I'm with Jax in the forest. I'm safe, I can assure you.' I practically heard the relief in his voice.

'Okay. That's good. Dad says if you want him to come inside he can, just don't do anything you'd regret.' I chuckled.

'Yes, sir.' I gave him my best solute voice and he laughed.

"What's so funny?" Jax questioned and my face went red.

"Nothing, my brother was talking to me that's all. Would you like to go back to the house? My dad said you're able to stay for the night." Jax smiled and kissed my head.

"I'd love to darling." He picked me up and walked us to my room. He laid me on the bed before he got under the covers with me. I sighed and laid my head on his chest.

"Sleep well beautiful." I giggled.

"You too handsome." He chuckled before he fell asleep. And the sleep that was to follow, was determined to be the best damn sleep I've ever gotten in my life.

———

I woke up with an arm around my waist, and a face in the crook of my neck. I smiled and snuggled closer to Jax, only to have him growl in return. I giggled and sighed as I looked out the window. The sun was shining and I heard birds chirping. I tried to sit up and look outside the window more, but Jax pulled me down into him.

Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

"Stay." I laughed as I kissed his nose.

"Calm down baby, I just wanna look outside the window." He growled low and kept me close to him. I groaned and then got the terrible urge to pee. I gasped and tried hard to get out of Jax's embrace.

"Jax please, I beg you, please let go I really have to pee!" He chuckled before letting me go and I practically stumbled to the bathroom. I shut the door and was satisfied as I was able to do my business. I washed my hands and then went back out to Jax and pounced onto him. I laughed as he groaned and then growled.

"Oh, you wanna play, mate?" He got up and I got scared. I couldn't tell if he was mad until he gave me a look of mischief in his eyes. I giggled and bolted out of my room and down the stairs. I laughed as I heard Jax right behind me. I rounded the corner only to bump into my dad. I fell to the floor and groaned.

"Oh god, my butt!" My dad helps me up and chuckles. Then proceeds to immediately get out of the way.

"Well, don't stop! He's right behind you!" I turn around and yes, he is behind me. I make a sound of pure panic and dash away to outside. We were laughing as we tumble to the ground and lay in a tangled mess. We're still laughing a lot when Destiny and Layla come out.

"No fair! How come he got to stay but Jacob couldn't?" Layla whined.

"Probably because you're only fifteen and Dakota is eighteen." Layla only groaned in frustration as there was a knock on the door and ran back inside. Jax helped me up and we walked back inside to see who was there. We heard and saw. She squealed when she saw it was Jacob and hugged him. Logan was behind him as well and Destiny waited for him to come through the door. I quickly went into the kitchen to help make breakfast with my dad. Also to try and get away from Jax.

"This isn't over, little mate," Jax whispered to me while nipping my ear lobe. I blushed furiously and quickly started making eggs, bacon, sausage, and toast. Jax stood behind me and kept his arms wrapped around my waist. I smiled and leaned into him while cooking. Whenever my father wasn't looking, he would nip at my neck and press up against me. I couldn't help but feel a strong sense of arousal. Jax pulled away and went to help my brother set the table. I looked into the living room and saw that Layla was on Jacob's lap and Destiny was sitting next to Logan. I smiled and finished up plating the food on plates and gave them to Jax. I sighed and started washing my hands and cleaning the pans when I heard something from outside. I looked up and growled. I couldn't smell much except for the meat inside.

"Dakota? What's wrong?" My father looked concerned but I didn't answer him. I walked outside and felt my cat on alert. Jax and Sean followed and only Jax calmed down.

"Dakota, love it's aright. It's just some people from my pack." I sighed and nodded, but Buttercup wasn't backing down until she saw it for herself. Slowly but surely, people in their wolf forms started emerging from the trees. I sighed and started to go back inside, expecting them to follow. Instead, they just sat outside waiting for something. I looked at Jax confused.

"What, do they think they aren't allowed inside?" Jax growled at them and they bowed their heads.

"No. Worse. One is Logan's dad and the other is Jacob's. They know they aren't welcome here. The other is Sean's mate. Don't know what she wants." I growled in anger and turned around. You could see the guilt in their eyes.

"How can you live with yourself? Knowing you killed someone's mate? The mother of three children!" I was on the verge of shifting, as Butter was starting to come out. Jax sensed this and held me.

"You need to calm down. If they die, you die. That's the law." I growled and looked over to Riley.

"And what do you want? Come to hurt my brother again?" She showed her neck to me and I growled.

"It's not me you have to kiss up to. It's my brother." I stormed inside and huffed as I sat down on the table. Jax opened the door and sighed.

"They want to know if they can come in and explain themselves. Also, there are a few other people from the pack that came cause they smelled the food while on a run. Is that alright?" I rubbed my face, trying my best not to cry.

"Not up to me. Ask Sean. The others though, sure why not." He nodded and then suddenly a lot of half-naked men and women came inside. They all bowed to me and muttered one word.

"Luna." They all sat down and loaded their plates and then just waited. I looked around confused.

"You guys can eat, you know." They all had wide eyes.

"Are you sure?" I was beyond confused now.

"Yeah, why the fuck wouldn't you eat? What, do you have to wait on the Alpha or something?" They rubbed their necks and nodded.

"We always wait for the Alpha to start eating. Sometimes we have to wait a long time for him to even come down to meals because of paperwork. Even then, we have to wait for him to tell us the okay to start eating." A girl around my age told me and I growled.

"Well, there's now a new rule. When you guys are here, eat whenever the fuck you're hungry. No waiting on anyone. Now, I'm going to eat my food on the porch outside. There are drinks in the fridge. Just save some food for my family and we'll be fine." I grabbed my plate of food and my glass of milk and headed to sit outside. I growled lowly as Riley, Sean, the two dads, and Jax were talking a couple of feet away. Riley accidentally made eye contact with me and I gave her my best glare. She showed her neck, still trying to keep a conversation going with Sean. After a few more moments of them talking, I had finished my food and my milk. Now I was just waiting. Sean growled at them all before walking over to me and sitting down.

"They want to talk about everything. Apparently, the pack that's being run by Jax's father is running like shit. They want to explain everything." I knew he was talking about Logan and Jacob's dads.

"And what about the mutt?" He growled softly but leaned back in his chair with a huff.

"She wants to talk to me privately about what happened yesterday." I hummed in an annoyed agreeance.

"Oh, so is she going to turn you down again in a nicer manner?" I felt my fangs come forward just thinking about how she humiliated my brother like that. He growled louder.

"Shut up Dakota. She just wants to talk and apologize." I gave my best sarcastic 'mhm' and walked inside to put the plates away. The five of them came inside and Riley and the two dads sat on the couch, while Jax and I shared a chair, Layla and Jacob the loveseat, and Destiny and Logan another chair. Sean stood the entire time behind me and Jax. They all looked so guilty. I sighed and chose to be the first to speak.

"Well. Who wants to start first?"