It's been a couple of days since I brought Dakota home, and she has taken up napping a lot. Dakota fell asleep for her second nap of the day, and I decided to start to mind link people about the ceremony that's been in the works since Dakota came home. One of the first few people I decided to contact was my mother.

'Mother?'

'Yes, Jax?'

'What have we gotten done so far for the Luna Ceremony?' I could feel my mother's happiness through the link. She was relieved and happy that Dakota and I were working everything out and that she ended up being okay in the end.

'We are deciding on where to put certain decorations. All we really need now is to get Dakota a ceremony dress and you need to pull out one of your nice suits. Food is being prepared and the bakers are making a variety of desserts. Once all of that is done, the ceremony can begin, so you should hurry up and get yourself and Dakota ready.'

'Alright, thank you, mom.'

'You're welcome dear,' I ended the mind link and started to link Jacob and Logan.

'Hey, how are you guys doing getting ready?'

'I am pretty much ready. Destiny is taking her time getting ready but we are both so excited and pumped for you guys.' Logan said and I couldn't help but smile. I could also feel his happiness and honesty through the link.

'I am happy for you guys, Jax. However, Layla is making things extremely difficult. I told her that until she straightens up her act we will not be spending as much time together. And because I said that, she said she will not be attending and it's both your fault as well as Dakota's.' I could feel not only his sadness through the link, but his wolfs. They both knew it was the proper thing to do, even if they both hated it. But at the end of the day, they both knew that their pack and Alpha come first. They have known me longer than her, and she has disrespected his Alpha and friend on more than one occasion. I was there for him in the middle of the night while he was finally shifting into his wolf. I helped him and Logan through both of their first shifts.

'Thank you for letting me know. I will update Dakota and let her know, as well as my mother so we can get the proper amount of seats." I could tell he had mixed emotions, I did too. On one hand, it was probably for the best that Layla didn't come. She might have caused problems, and if Layla were to try and stop the ceremony, then Layla and Dakota would have had to have fought for the title of Luna, and depending on who would have won, Jacob and I would have to fight for the Alpha position. On the other hand, this is a big moment for Dakota, and her sister should be there to support her, no matter how angry she is.

'Is there anything else you need from us, Alpha?' Logan asked and I thought about it for a moment.

'Dakota will need a dress, so have Destiney pause getting ready so she can take her shopping. Tell my mother to go with them.'

'Yes, Alpha.' I cut off the link with everyone and ended up feeling Dakota stir. I looked at the time and saw that half an hour had passed. She opened her eyes and groaned.

"How long was I asleep?"

"Only half an hour." She nodded and I rubbed her back gently.

"We are having the Luna ceremony soon. So you, Destiney, and my mother are going to be dress shopping for you." Dakota nodded and let out a quiet yawn.

Dakota stood and stretched as she spoke. "Shouldn't they worry about getting themselves ready?"

"She was, but she is going to stop for a little bit to help you. It's not for the next several hours, so there is still plenty of time." Dakota nodded and started putting on her shoes while we waited for Destiney to get here. After she put on her shoes, she walked to the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge. She proceeded to eat a banana and the moment she got done Destiney and my mother had arrived.

"I'll see you later, love. I'm going to stay here and help the pack set things up." Dakota gave me a small smile and hugged me tight. I chuckled lightly and quickly froze after she kissed my cheek. I felt my face heat up and I felt my heart race. I saw her face scrunch up and she looked like she was concentrating really hard. I grew a little concerned but felt my heart leap when I finally realized what she'd done.

'Thank you for taking care of me.' I smiled and responded to her mind link.

'Anything for you, my love.' I am so proud of her. She has gained so much strength these past few days and it makes me hopeful that maybe Butter could make an appearance again soon. She leaves with Destiney and my mother and I proceed to go outside and see if the others need help. I walk for a couple minutes before stumbling upon Jacob and Logan.

"Boys, anything that needs to get done?" They both smile at me, clearly excited to see me leave the house for the first time in days.

"Yeah, we need some help hunting for a few deer. We'll also need help preparing them and grilling them afterward," Logan spoke and I nodded.

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"Alright boys, we're hunting then. Go tell the others and I'll go grab shorts for us. After you guys are done getting changed, come back for me with a pair of shorts." The boys became giddy and excited. They bowed their heads and screamed in unison.

"Yes Alpha!" They ran off and I went back to my bedroom and grabbed the shorts and by the time I was done they were outside my house waiting for me.

"Ready?"

"Yes Alpha," With their confirmation, I put the shorts behind a tree closest to the house and we all shifted. I allowed Ryder to take over and he let himself stretch hard before running around. It made me feel bad because it had been several weeks since I had let him out. Ryder took in a deep breath, howled, and ran off. Logan and Jacob howled as well and followed suit. I watched through Ryder's eyes as he ran through the forest in search for deer.

We stumbled upon one and the boys and Ryder went into formation to attack the deer. Jacob went to the left side of the deer, and Logan went to the right side. Ryder stayed in the middle and after staying silent for a few moments, the three of them lunged and attacked the deer. Blood spattered from it's neck, leg, and stomach as the three of them held on for life. The deer put up a fight and thrashed for a few minutes, but it eventually stopped moving. After they confirmed it was dead, Logan switched back and carried the deer back to the pack. Ryder and Jacob continued this pattern until they both found their own deer, Jacob leaving first after another twenty minutes of searching and killing another deer. Ryder and I were last and it took us five minutes to find another deer and to kill it. Ryder made sure it was dead and after he did, he let out one last big stretch and allowed me to have control again. I stayed in wolf form until I saw Jacob come out with shorts in hand.

"One pair of shorts for our Alpha," Jacob laughed as I snorted at him. I went behind a tree and proceeded to shift back and change. I came back out grabbed the deer and threw it over my shoulders. Jacob and I started to walk back to the pack and I could tell he was thinking about Layla.

"Jacob," I started out and he looked at me. I could see the sadness in his eyes and it pained me to look at him.

I sighed before I continued. "I can't imagine what you are going through, and if you'd like after the ceremony is over, you don't have to stay. I understand if you want to go back and see Layla." Jacob looked confused and I could feel his anger.

"But that's the thing, Jax. I - I don't know if I even want to see her right now. She has me so angry at her and it makes my blood boil when I am with her and she starts acting up. But at the same time, I feel like I am suffocating when we are not together. I truly don't know what to do." Jacob sighed and I could tell he wanted to say more, so I just nodded and waited patiently for him to start talking again.

I heard him sniffle and that was when I dropped the deer off my shoulders and gave him my undivided attention.

"Jax, I don't know if I can do this any longer with her. She has changed completely and I am so scared of what is going to happen," Jacob paused and sat against a tree. I knew it was serious because as long as I have known Jacob, he has never cried unless it was something that was truly hurting him. I sat down next to him and patted his shoulders. I knew Jacob wasn't the kind of guy to want to be touched while he was upset, but I know a shoulder pat or two is more than enough.

"Jacob, this decision is truly up to you. I know Layla as much as you do, and I am just as disappointed as you are. She was a kind and sweet girl. I don't understand why this is happening either, but I like to believe that she will get through it and in no time she will be the Layla you once knew and fell in love with. I personally don't care if she never forgives me, even though I did nothing wrong. But, she shouldn't be treating you like this. She shouldn't be mad at your for any reason. If you want space from her, you could always tell her to go back to her dads house for a while to cool down. If there is one thing I know, Jacob, it's that no one here will want her to be around if she keeps this up." Jacob nodded and we decided to sit under the tree for a few extra minutes.

"How is Dakota?" Jacob asked quietly. I smiled at the thought of her.

"She is doing better. We are taking things slow but she is getting used to us being together again quickly." Jacob smiled, and I could feel that he was genuinely happy to hear that.

"I'm glad, Jax." I could tell that talking about Dakota meant thinking about Layla, so I took this opportunity to stand up and stretch.

"C'mon, you're gonna help me prep and grill these deer. Maybe I'll show you a grilling secret or two while we're at it," I laughed as Jacob bolted from the ground and grabbed the deer before I could.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Lead the way, Alpha." Jacob and I walked the rest of the way back to the pack house where the other two deer were already being worked on. Jacob dropped the third one on the table and stretched his back.

"I will never get used to carrying deer like that," I chuckled and I had him start with skinning the deer and putting them of to the side. After the skins were taken off I had a pack member take off the heads so they could be prepped for wall hanging. I started cutting up different pieces of the deer and trimmed the fat off of them. I showed Jacob the ingredients for the dry rub I use and he looked like he had won the lottery. He was so excited and I am so proud of him. This entire time he didn't think of Layla once and that was my end goal the entire time. He needed to have fun in order to forget about her for a little while.

"Now, Jacob, the second secret I will show you is this one. You wrap the meat in the tinfoil and it keeps the meat moist so it doesn't dry out. After sitting in there for a while, you poke it with the meat thermometer and right before it's done, you take them all out of the tinfoil so they can get crispy." Jacob was drooling from looking at the meat. I elbowed him in his ribs and he choked from the shock.

"Hey, eyes up here you mongrel," Jacob and I kackled with our laughter.

"Make me you mangy mutt," I raised the grilling spatula at him and he ran a couple of feet away. I let out a bellowing laugh and the pack members laughed with us. I froze in my spot after hearing Dakota's melodic laugh. I turned around and she, my mother, and Destiney were holding shopping bags.

"I didn't expect you guys to be back so soon," I smiled as she put her bags down and hugged me. I inhaled her scent from atop her head and felt relaxed.

"We've been gone for four hours Jax," Dakota said while chuckling and I looked at the time on my moms phone. Four hours had indeed gone by and I was impressed.

"Well, better not let any more time get away from us. Why don't you go get ready for the ceremony." Dakota smiled and nodded. I kissed the top of her forehead and the three of them walked away to our house. I continued to grill the deer and Jacob was back trying to steal a piece.

"Hey! No means no!" We laughed again and we continued to cook into the evening hours. By the time the sun was setting, the food was all prepped and we were ready to have a ceremony. The only thing left to do was to get myself ready.