{Alpha Tyler}

The next morning I felt happy that I could help Mary get back to sleep without resorting to extreme measures. When I woke up I was still in my wolf form and when I looked over at Mary sleeping I couldn't help but think about how adorable she is when she's asleep.

Damn, too bad we can't stay for longer. Jacob thought.

I know as much as I would love to stay here and watch Mary sleep all day, I am an Alpha and I have a pack to run. I thought.

I ran back to the pack house to my room and shifted into my human form and got ready for the day.

As I walked down the hallway to get to the dining room for breakfast I heard a familiar sound of a certain someone masturbating. That certain someone was Sasha and she was chanting Mary's name, "Mary! Mary! Mary! Yes Mary!"

I practically gagged when I heard it and I tried to run down the hallway past Sasha's room but it was almost as if on cue right when I was almost down the hallway Sasha called out, "Hey Tyler where's Mary at?"

I turned around to see Sasha standing in the hallway dressed in a bathrobe and her hair was a mess.

"She's still asleep when I last saw her," I said. I narrowed my eyes. "I'm warning you Sasha, no funny business with my mate!"

"Funny business?" Sasha asked. She looked at me as if she had no idea what I was talking about. "You mean you want me to teach her how to be a stand up comedian?"

"You know what I mean Sasha!" I hissed. "And for your information she's not gay."

"You something you don't own her at least not yet because I don't see a mark on her," Sasha said. "Although it would be an interesting experiment to see if two she-wolves can mark each other." She gave me a mischievous grin. "Or are you afraid that my sexy body will lower her away from you?"

"Yeah I doubt that's going to happen any time soon Sasha!" I heard Theo say.

She tilted her head. "What do you mean by that?"

"What I mean is Mary has accepted Tyler as her mate!" Theo said.

"When did that happen?" Sasha said.

I smiled. "Yesterday and I already got to sleep in her bed. No I didn't have sex with her, she's not ready for that yet. But I did cuddle with her."

"Aww how cute!" Theo said, "Well the first part of your mission is complete. So I doubt Sasha is competition for you Tyler. Don't worry I'll make sure her mate keeps her in line."

Sasha snorted. "Yeah good luck with that! Max can barely control me so what makes you think that you can control me?"

"Because I'm-" Theo started to say.

"Would you three stop arguing like you're children and get your breakfast already!" I heard mom snap.

"Yes ma'am!" Sasha, Theo and I said.

When we got to the dining room and sat down Sasha mind linked to me, If I were you I'd watch out for me because I'll find a way to get Mary in my bed. Mark my words on that because that's a promise!

I couldn't help but chuckle at that. Yeah good luck with that and like I said Mary's not gay and I already cuddled with her in her bed today!

Yeah right just because you cuddled with her and she's accepted you as her mate doesn't mean she's yours! She still doesn't have a mark! Sasha thought.

Yeah, yeah whatever you say Sasha, whatever you say! I thought.

"Ahem, I have no idea what you two are arguing about via mindlink but you'd better snap out of it now!" Mother growled. It was the type of growl that if you heard you knew she meant business. She turned her attention to Sasha and said, "And if you even think about trying to get back together with Tyler when you already have a mate I swear young lady I will have no problem making an example out of you!"

I looked over at Theo and Lauren and rolled my eyes when I heard them cover their mouths to stifle a laugh. Mother looked up at them and frowned. "Why is this so funny?"

Lauren shook her head rapidly. "It's nothing mom! Nothing at all!"

"Let's just say it's not what you think it is…" Theo said with a smirk on his face.

Mother paused. "Huh?"

Dad seemed to catch onto what Theo was implying and he had an amused look on his face. He looked over and gave me a 'I think I know what this about' look and smiled. He nudged mother on the shoulder and whispered something into her ear. The look on her face was priceless and since the dining room is about one of the few places that I don't have cameras in, I wish I had a camera to record what she looked like. At that moment I tried my best to keep a straight face but I really wanted to laugh so bad. When I looked over at Theo and Lauren they were trying to hold in a laugh too. When I looked over at Sasha that made it even harder to keep a straight face because her face was as red as a tomato!

At that time breakfast was served. Honestly I had never been so happy to see a meal being served in my life and it wasn't because I was hungry. It was mostly because the food would probably help keep me from laughing to my heart's content at the situation.

"By the way, when are we going to have our next Luna sit at the table and have a meal with us?" Lauren asked. Even though I knew she was changing the subject, I was wondering about that too.

Although I am the Alpha of the pack I didn't really think that far ahead because I didn't think that I would get Mary to accept me as her mate just yet.

Dad looked up at me when Lauren said that. "Hmm, that is a good question, what are you going to do about it, son?"

I scratched the back of my neck and thought about it. "Why don't we have her join us for dinner tonight?"

Dad nodded. "Sounds good to me!"

I looked around the table to see everyone else nodding in agreement. I couldn't help but feel excited about dinner just because Mary was going to be there.

***

{Mary}

The next time I woke up I looked over at the clock on my nightstand and I was surprised to see that it was almost noon! It surprised me because I usually don't sleep that late unless I have a flashback again. Of course Tyler wasn't there, he had a pack to run because he's an Alpha so it's a given that he won't be around me all the time. That's fine by me because I don't want to be one of those girlfriends that's too clingy and can't bear to be alone. Actually I just accepted the idea of having a mate and that alone is going to take some getting used to.

Usually before I even set a foot out of bed I figure out what to do for the day. So I sat up against the headrest thinking about what to do for the day. I thought I could go for a run and then work on Lauren's story some more. I mean that is why I'm here in the first place. Even though I'm here on business it kind of feels like I'm on vacation in a way. I never thought I'd find a boyfriend while working for someone.

Before I could even get started on my day I heard a knock at the door. When I opened it I saw Sasha standing there holding a tray of food in her hands smiling at me.

"Hi there! How's it going, new friend?" Sasha said with excitement.

I blinked. "Okay hi, nice to see you again-"

I don't like this woman! Danger declared.

Well I'm not going to let her just stand outside and be rude for no reason. I thought.

I looked at Sasha. "Okay why don't you come inside and put the food in the kitchen?"

She nodded. "Sure."

It's a good thing I don't sleep naked. I usually wear pajamas. Before I went to the kitchen I at least made sure to brush my hair and look somewhat presentable. I kind of felt a little creeped out when I sat down at the kitchen table and saw Sasha smiling at me as if I did something awesome in front of her.

"Man, I wish I had your hair, it's so beautiful!" Sasha beamed, "And where did you get your pajamas? They're adorable!"

I paused and then narrowed my eyes. "Okay first of all, do I look stupid to you?"

She blinked and seemed taken aback by what I just said. "I'm sorry, what did you just say?"

"I said, do I look stupid to you? Because in my experience if someone pays me compliments one after the other like that it means that they want something." I said.

She chuckled, "I came on too strong didn't I? Sorry about that but I do want something. It's a positive thing though."

I raised an eyebrow. "Uh-huh yeah I'm just going to be upfront with you, and say I don't believe you. But I'll humor you, what do you want?"

"Wow, someone has trust issues," Sasha said.

I nodded. "Oh yeah, I do and I learned a lot of hard lessons growing up but that's a story for another day. So what do you want?"

"Like I said, it's positive!" Sasha said, "I just want to be your friend, and your best friend!"

"Okay we can be friends but as far as a best friend goes that spots already taken," I said. "I have a friend that I grew up with who's my best friend."

Sasha nodded. "Okay then that's fine I can settle with just being a regular friend. While you're here at least we can have sleepovers and share our deepest darkest secrets with each other. Okay maybe not go that far but the sleepover wouldn't be a bad idea, what do you think?"

Before I could answer I heard Danger think, I don't like this woman! Something about her seems a bit off! Absolutely NO SLEEPOVERS!

I bit my tongue trying not to laugh at Danger being uneasy about Sasha but I disagreed because she just seemed to have good intentions by wanting to be a friend.

I reached for the food that Sasha brought me and it tasted delicious! The food Sasha brought me was pancakes, served with eggs and bacon and orange juice to drink. She even brought syrup for the pancakes along with blueberries and that made them extra yummy!

After I finished eating Sasha looked up at me and said, "So what are you planning on doing today?"

"Well I was planning on going for a run and then work on Lauren's story that she hired me to edit for her," I responded.

She snorted. "Lauren's writing sucks doesn't it?"

I nodded. "Oh yeah and I kind of felt bad telling that to her. I had to do a couple of developmental editing sessions with her to at least make it clear who the main characters are."

Sasha laughed at that thought. "Oh you poor thing, well at least she gave you a long deadline for that."

"Yeah-" I started to say. I couldn't finish my thought when I heard someone growl.

I looked up and frowned when I saw Tyler standing in the doorway glaring at Sasha. "Sasha what the-"

"Tyler, Sasha was just bringing me breakfast, she's not doing anything wrong so it's cool," I said.

"Alright then," said Tyler, "as long as you're fine with it."

I nodded but before I could say something else I heard my phone rang. "Uh, could you excuse me for a moment?"

Tyler and Sasha nodded and I went into the bedroom and got my phone. I saw that it was Ariel my sister calling me and I picked it up. "Hey there, what's up?"

"I have some good news!" Ariel said in a sing-song voice.

"Ah, okay? What's the news?" I said.

"You know the Black Lotto Ceremony coming up in October?" Ariel said.

My blood ran cold when I heard that, usually the person picked for the Black Lotto happens months in advance before the ceremony that is held in October every two years. When that ceremony happens a human sacrifice is done.

I kept my composure as best as I could. "Okay what about it?"

"Steven is getting sacrificed this time around!" Ariel said with excitement and she said it with a little too much excitement for my taste.

I gasped. "Steven's getting sacrificed! Isn't he supposed to start college next year?"

"Yeah I know," Ariel said. "He's always wanted to do this, college was just a backup plan! He's very excited about it too!"

"You're joking right?" I said, "Please tell me you're joking!"

"Nope! I'm not joking," said Ariel. "Will you please come to the ceremony this time? Please?"

"NO!" I shouted, "NO I'M NOT GOING! I'M NOT GOING TO SHOW MY RESPECT TOWARDS SOMETHING I DON'T AGREE WITH! I DIDN'T GO LAST TIME AND I WON'T GO THIS TIME! I WOULD SAY I'M HAPPY FOR YOU BUT I'M NOT! THIS IS BULLSHIT AND YOU KNOW IT!"

"It's not bullshit Mary!" Ariel snapped, "You'd better be there this time around or I'll be very disappointed in you and I'll never speak to you ever again!"

"Well fine then so be it!" I snarled, "If you don't talk to me again that means you can't try to guilt trip ever again!"

"Fine then," Ariel hissed. "If you don't show up this time I'll make sure mom sends the hunters after you again!"

"Hunters? Wow, you really know how to strike fear into my heart Ariel. Did you forget that every time mom's sent hunters after me that I killed every single one of them?" I said with an evil laugh. "So if mom sends her little minions how many will she send after me this time?"

"Hmm I'll tell her to up the ante to fifty," Ariel responded.

I snorted. "Alrighty then, don't be surprised when I send every single one of them back to the IronClad Coven in a body bag, that is if I leave enough body parts to put them in a body bag. Actually I might just burn all of the bodies and send the ashes to the coven! This should be a lot of fun, at least for me, I need a good workout anyway. So this is goodbye since you're probably never going to see me again."

"Don't-" Ariel started to say but I hung up the phone. I didn't want to hear what else she had to say.

"Are you okay?" I heard Tyler say.

I turned around and shook my head when I saw him. "Nope! I'm not okay, not one little bit!"

I explained to Tyler what the conversation between me and my sister was about and he looked shocked by this and I don't blame him for that either.

"Okay I think you should stay on pack grounds as much as possible," Tyler said. "And exactly how did you manage to kill all of the hunters that were sent after you last time?"

I smiled. "Simple, disable them all with hand to hand combat training and using my magic for weapons detection. Once I've detected a weapon I destroy their weapons leaving them as sitting ducks."

That statement seemed to pique Tyler's curiosity, "I've seen werewolves and their combat training of course, but I'm curious to see what a witch's combat training looks like."

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"Oh?" I said, "Well this is a werewolf pack I'm living amongst and I'm going to assume that you have a training area that I can go to?"

Tyler nodded. "Oh yeah we do, after you get dressed come with me and I'll show you!"

***

{Alpha Tyler}

I was very curious as to how a witch trains for combat. When I took Mary to the training ground she was eager to get started. I smiled at that because from what I've seen when a warrior is eager to start training that means they have more motivation. Warriors that are more motivated to fight usually tend to become the best warriors in the pack.

I smiled when I stopped by a fighting ring that wasn't being used at the moment. "Alright this ring isn't being used, the thing is you need an opponent."

Mary rolled her eyes. "Well duh! I can't do combat training by myself you know!"

I nodded. "Why not take me on?"

"Are you sure about that?" She asked.

I nodded again. "Yup! I'm sure and don't think I'll go easy on you just because I'm your boyfriend."

She snorted. "Alrighty then, I won't go easy on you just because I'm your girlfriend!"

"Okay then," I said. I climbed into the ring and Mary followed suit.

The fight started with us circling each other like sharks sizing up their prey in the water. Something I noticed before Mary made the first move was that she seemed to be calculating what her first move would be. I barely managed to block her punch that she was aiming for my jaw.

Her next couple of moves landed exactly where she aimed them at. Her kicks landed in my stomach and her punches landed one on my face and the other on my side. I was having a hard time landing my moves on her but I did manage to land a couple of good hits on her. The fight ended with her grabbing my wrist and flipping me over her head. I laid on the ground trying to catch my breath and once I did I smiled. "Well I always wanted to get my ass kicked by my girlfriend!" Then I added with sarcasm, "Yay! It's a dream come true!"

Mary was doubled over in laughter and she was laughing so hard she fell on her butt laughing. When she regained her composure she gave me a stern look. "Okay all jokes aside did you let me win that fight? Because that would be rather offensive if you did just because I'm a woman."

My jaw dropped. "Are you kidding me! Why the hell would I throw a match just because you're a woman? That is the dumbest thing I've ever heard!"

"He's right Mary!" Sasha said, "Tyler's never thrown a fight and he sure didn't throw the fight this time."

"Alright maybe that was just a fluke then?" Mary asked.

I shrugged. "Maybe, wanna go again?"

Mary nodded. "Sure."

So we started the fight the same way we did before circling each other like sharks sizing up their prey in the water. This time I made the first move and tried to land a kick to the stomach but she blocked it with ease. The next couple of punches I threw at her she blocked those with ease too and it started to get on my nerves. That's because there's no way that a fighter can be that perfect at fighting that they can block every move an opponent puts out. Especially if their opponent is an Alpha.

Just about every kick and every punch I put out she blocked and returned by throwing out punches and kicks that hit the mark. Once again Mary ended the fight by flipping me over her and body slamming me on the ground.

After I caught my breath I growled, "There's no way someone is that perfect of a fighter! No way, especially if their opponent is an Alpha!"

When I heard Sasha laughing my eye twitched.

"See what'd I tell you Mary!" Sasha laughed, "Tyler never throws a fight for anyone! Wow Tyler, maybe if you had spent more time training than stalking your girlfriend you wouldn't be so easy to beat!"

"Nah I don't think that's what happened," said Theo. "I think she's just stronger."

"Honestly, I'm surprised I won the fight that easily," Mary said.

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

"I'm actually out of practice the last time I actually used my hand to hand combat was two years ago the last time mom sent hunters after me," said Mary. "And that was right before I quit being a cop."

Once I heard that my jaw dropped to the ground so low that I could taste it. Out of practice? Seriously? She hasn't done combat training for two years and she's out of practice? She sure didn't look out of practice if she could beat me that easily!

"Looks like you could use a tougher opponent!" I heard Dad declare.

I knew exactly what he meant by that. He wanted to fight Mary just to see how strong she was.

"Ah, okay?" Mary said, "Who do you suggest I fight?"

Dad smiled. "I'll take you on!"

Mary cracked her knuckles and nodded. "Works for me!"

After I climbed out of the ring, Dad climbed in ready to face her. The fight started much like the fight I had with her. Mary and Dad circled each other like sharks sizing up their prey in the water. Dad was the one to make the first move by throwing a punch that Mary barely managed to dodge. Mary threw out a couple of punches and managed to land a kick to the stomach. That kick she landed knocked the wind out of him.

The kick might've knocked the wind out of Dad but that didn't stop him. Dad was known for being a strong fighter so a kick like that wasn't enough to knock him down. As the fight dragged on it seemed like they were evenly matched and it looked like Mary was starting to run out of steam.

But it didn't look like she was going to give up so easily. Even though she looked like she was running out of steam she had a smile on her face! She looked like she was having fun and she had a twinkle in her eye.

Right when I thought Dad was going to win because he managed to trip her, she got right back up and grabbed his arm and flipped him over her head, slamming him on the ground.

Dad laughed when Mary helped him get to his feet. "My goodness you're strong! I haven't had my ass beat like that in a long time! And I got my ass handed to me by a woman!"

"Um… Thank you?" Mary said, "Honestly I don't think I'm that strong, like I said I haven't done combat training in two years! So yeah…"

Dad's jaw dropped. "Seriously? You haven't done combat training in two years?"

Mary nodded and looked at Dad as if he were crazy. "Yes I haven't done combat training in two years. But don't worry I'll get it back up to par-"

Mary didn't get a chance to finish her sentence because her bracelet that Grandma Sorceress gave her started glowing. Within moments of the bracelet glowing Mary disappeared. I wasn't worried about where she went to because I knew she was in Grandma Sorceress's realm.

***

{Mary}

The next time I opened my eyes I immediately sat up and looked around. It looked like I was in someone's living room. I looked in front and saw a red brick fireplace that had a flat screen Tv hanging on top of it. I looked down to see that I was sitting on a simple red rug but before I could look around again the carpet took to flight with me hanging on for dear life. The carpet flew through a door and into what looked like a garden. Once the carpet entered the garden it tipped over and dropped me flat on my ass on the ground.

I looked up and frowned when I heard Grandma Sorceress laughing. "Took you long enough to get here!"

"Uh, okay?" I said.

After the carpet that dumped me on the ground it went over to Grandma Sorceress and sat down like it was a dog. My eyes went wide in shock when I saw the carpet stick out its tongue. That's right I shit you not the carpet stuck out its tongue and panted like a dog!

Okay… That's weird! At the same moment that Danger thought that I said it out loud.

Grandma Sorceress couldn't contain her laughter at this point. After a moment or two she composed herself, "Yeah I know this realm can surprise you. Although I am a witch and when it comes down to witches you really should brace yourself for the unexpected!" She looked over at the carpet and scratched it under its chin or at least I think it had a chin. "Good boy, yes you are! You're such a good carpet! Yes you are!"

"Okay," I said, "So why did you summon me so early? I thought you were going to give me two months to think about everything you told me."

"Ah yeah I'm sorry I changed my mind because I saw a nice little vision about you last night about your mom sending her minions after you," She responded.

I raised an eyebrow. "Oh? You know I can take care of those-"

"Nope! Not this time!" She cut me off.

"But why?" I asked.

"Because it's not going to just be your mother's minions chasing after you," said Grandma Sorceress. "It's going to be a combination of your mom's minions and No Name's minions that will be chasing after you! So they will be a combination of celestial beings and humans after you! They won't harm the pack that you're staying with; their only goal is to bring you back to the coven alive. I have no idea what No Name wants with you but whenever a god's minions are involved it can't be anything good!"

"No kidding," I said. "So what's going to happen now?"

She smiled at me. "Do you know the basic rules of combat training as a witch?"

I nodded.

"Well what are they?" She asked.

"Rule number one, stay grounded. You need to do this in order to center attacks because your body is your weapon. Rule number two during combat is never give your enemy an opening by letting your guard down. And finally rule number three is keep fighting until your enemy is disabled or your enemy has disabled you," I said.

"Good and by the way I saw your fight with Alpha Tyler and his Dad that was very entertaining!" Grandma Sorceress chuckled.

I blinked. "Ah, how? You weren't even there!"

"I have my ways, I'm over one thousand years old so this old lady has a few tricks up her sleeve and I broadcasted those fights to the rest of the pack," Grandma Sorceress said. "Anyway, think of this fight we're about to do as an evaluation fight and don't worry, I'll send you back before dinner time."

"Huh?" I said.

"Never mind," said Grandma Sorceress, "Get up, we're going to fight as soon as I say begin."

I blinked. "Wait what? I'm going to fight you?"

She nodded. "Oh yeah, just because I'm over a thousand years old doesn't mean I'm fragile. I'm a lot tougher than you think! So we're going to fight and you're going to give me everything you got, hand to hand combat and magic, give me your all and nothing less! Got it?"

I nodded and got to my feet. Just like how I fought Tyler and his Dad, we circled each other like sharks circling each other in the water. Before I could make the first move Grandma Sorceress lunged at me and landed a kick to the stomach that sent me flying at least ten feet up in the air. When I landed face first on the ground I pretty much had the wind knocked out of me.

But that punch didn't stop me. I got back up and ran towards her at full speed and managed to land a kick to the back. As the fight dragged on I could see that Grandma Sorceress was indeed the stronger fighter. Within minutes of fighting I was starting to run out of steam but at the same time even though I was beginning to become a punching bag I was having fun.

Grandma Sorceress on the other hand was getting rather annoyed with me.

"Seriously!" She growled. "I know you're stronger than this child! The problem here is that you seemed to have forgotten the rules of combat already!"

"Huh?" I said. She grabbed my arm and flipped me over her shoulder. It happened so fast that I didn't have time to blink.

"Get up!" She barked.

I groaned, rolled over and she tried to land a punch to my face and I got to my feet. The next couple of punches I managed to block but barely. I could tell that I was pushing my body to the max on strength because my body shook with every move I put out. Grandma Sorceress ended the fight by flipping me over her head and grabbing my arms pinning me down with my arms behind my back.

When she let me go she helped me get to my feet. She sighed, "I know you're stronger than this Mary! I guess this is what happens when you don't do any type of combat training for two years! But don't worry we'll get you up to par and I have a feeling that you're going to be up to par very soon. Like you said, you're just out of practice. Know this all a rusty tool needs is to be cleaned and sharpened again and when that happens the tool will once again perform at its best!"

I nodded. Grandma Sorceress smiled. "Even though you're weak you will become strong, and whatever you do don't let any insults bruise your ego."

I tilted my head. "What do you mean by that?"

"What I mean is I will be sending you a trainer by the end of the week and I'll make sure he throws some insults your way," Grandma Sorceress said.

"Why?" I asked.

"Because from my experience in training people the more hurt a fighter is the more determined they are to prove the insult wrong," She said. "And right now you are the weakest fighter I've ever trained."

I blinked. "Did I hear you correctly? I'm the weakest fighter you've trained?"

She nodded. "At the moment, yes you are. Does that bother you?"

Although I knew what she was saying, it did bother me but not as much as it should. I smiled. "It does bother me but not that much. Trust me, I've heard worse."

"I see," Grandma Sorceress said. "Well that is a taste of what might possibly happen. Anyway, it's time for you to go back, your boyfriend's waiting for you."

***

{Alpha Tyler}

I was super proud to have someone as strong as Mary as my mate. Of course I've always been proud of that fact, the woman is every Alpha's dream mate. Before I got her to accept me I wasn't the only Alpha pinning after her. Many of them had tried to win her heart even before I found out she was my mate. I have no doubt that once word gets out about how strong Mary is there will be other Alpha's after her again.

As soon as Mary got back from Grandma Sorceress's realm I went to go greet her at the guest house where she's staying while she's on pack grounds.

I found it kind of interesting how Grandma Sorceress is able to broadcast their fight by summoning a huge mirror above pack grounds. Okay Mary got her ass kicked this time but it was still an awesome fight to watch!

So once I found Mary at the guest house I hugged her. "Wow Mary, that fight was awesome!"

She looked at me and frowned when I let her go. "I just got my ass kicked by a woman who's over a thousand years old and that fight was awesome?"

"Oh come on," I said. "She's over a thousand years old so of course you're not going to win on the first fight you have with her! I mean the woman has trained Gods to control their powers!"

Mary's jaw dropped when she heard that. "Wait, she's trained Gods to help them control their power?"

I nodded. "Anyway, it's almost dinner time and I would like you to be present at the dinner table this time around."

"Why?" Mary asked.

"So I can introduce you to the rest of the family," I said. "It's a tradition every time I have a girlfriend they get introduced to the family that way. But you're not just a girlfriend to me. You're also my mate! Not to mention everyone else has been wanting to meet you so bringing you to dinner would give everyone a chance to meet you."

"Ah, okay then sure," Mary said. "When is dinner time?"

"It's in two hours so that'll give you plenty of time to get ready to go and you don't have to dress up or anything like that. You can wear casual clothing for it," I said.

She nodded. "Alright then. Although it really doesn't take me that long to get ready but sure that's fine."

***

{Mary}

True to my word it didn't take me long to get ready for dinner. I was on time too. When I arrived at the dinner table I was greeted by Tyler, Tyler's Dad and his Mother.

"Well it's about time Tyler got his mate to the dinner table!" Mr. Amoria said.

Mrs. Amoria nodded. "Uh-huh yeah I totally agree! It's so nice to have you here darling."

She purred at the word darling and I'm going to assume that since Tyler is an Alpha that him bringing his girlfriend to the dinner was a big deal for some reason.

After I sat down next to Tyler the food was served. Once the food was served I was kind of confused because everyone, including Tyler's parents looked at me as if they were waiting for me to do something. "Okay, what is everyone waiting for?"

"Oh they're waiting on you to take the first bite of food," Tyler said.

I nodded and once I did as I told everyone started eating as if they've never eaten before! I turned my attention back to my food and finished eating it. When I finished my food Mrs. Amoria looked at me and said, "So I saw your fight with Grandma Sorceress and I must say for someone who's apparently out of practice you looked like you held your own against her!"

"Um, thank you but I pretty much got my butt handed to me on a silver platter," I said.

"Well you're not going to win every fight you know!" Mrs. Amoria said, "Not to mention you're going to get into fights where you wind up utterly and totally defeated. Every warrior has those types of fights and besides it was your first time going up against her."

"Ah, well if you say so," I said. I looked at Sasha when I noticed her out of the corner of my eye glaring at Tyler. What the hell is her deal? If she's after Tyler she can't have him! He's mine!

I told you there was something off about her! I bet that's what it is, she's after Tyler and she's trying to get close to you enough to use whatever dirt she can find on you to get rid of you! Danger thought. Watch your back and don't let your guard down around her! She's got nothing but ill intentions. Your cop instincts aren't wrong!

I'm not going to stay away from her if that's what you want me to do. I thought. You know the old saying: keep your friends close but your enemies closer? That's what I intend to do. I'm not going to let her have a chance to get with Tyler! He's mine and I'm going to make sure she knows that!

You're jealous, that's good! Make sure your feelings towards Sasha stay that way! Danger thought.

I was perplexed when I heard Sasha's voice inside my head. Why are you glaring at me? If you think I'm going to take Tyler away from you it's not what you think it is.

I looked up and saw Sasha go from glaring at Tyler to smiling at me. I raised an eyebrow. What are you talking about?

You will become my best friend soon enough! And Tyler won't be allowed to be with you when I'm done with him. Sasha thought.

Tyler's mine and there's nothing that's going to change that! I thought.

Like I said, it's not what you think it is and I think it's cute that you're jealous of me! But sure let the games begin because this is going to be fun… Sasha thought.

At that moment my anger just about hit the roof and I wanted to reach over and strangle Sasha. No scratch that I wanted to snap her neck. What the hell did she mean by it's not what I think it is? I'm sorry when I worked as a cop and every time someone said it's not what I thought it was, things turned out to be exactly what I thought it was. She must really think that I'm an idiot! Well two can play at that game!

It took everything in my being not to reach over the table and beat her to a bloody pulp. I bit the inside of my cheek and clenched my hand into a fist underneath the table to keep my composure the best I possibly could.

Mrs. Amoria must've caught onto the tension between me and Sasha because she cleared her throat to get our attention. "Okay while whatever conversation between you two is happening via mindlink don't do that at the dinner table and I'm looking at you Sasha because you know better than that!"

Sasha looked away. "Sorry about that Luna. It won't happen again."

Mrs. Amoria nodded. "Good see that it doesn't. I don't want to have to discipline you again for doing that."

Sasha looked back at Mrs. Amoria and nodded. "Yes ma'am!"

"You know what? I think I'm done with dinner for the night, may I be excused?" I said.

Mr. Amoria nodded. "Yes, you can go now."

"Thanks," I said. I got up from the table and left the room as fast as I could.

***

{Sasha}

I couldn't help but think about how cute Mary is being jealous of me! She's not the first woman that thought I was going after their man when I was actually going after them. Mary's a feisty one and that's the way I like them!

Once Mary left the dinner table and dinner was finished, I saw her go into the bathroom. Thankfully because this is the main pack house the bathrooms have more than one stall in them. I just so happened to catch Mary as she was coming out of a bathroom stall and started to wash her hands when she reached the sink.

I walked over to her and whispered into her ear, "Like I said it's not what you think it is!"

"You must really think I'm an idiot!" Mary snapped, "I worked as a cop as soon as I was old enough to and I was in the field for over a decade before I quit! Every time someone told me it wasn't what I thought it was it turned out to be exactly what I thought it was! So far my instincts haven't been wrong and I'm only going to tell you this once, try any funny business with my mate and I won't hesitate to hurt you!"

I snorted. "Wow you're just as clueless as Tyler is! But okay, you want me to show you something?"

I smiled when her eyes went wide. I know it wasn't from shock because I haven't done anything to her that one would consider shocking yet. Her eyes were wide with anger because I saw her nose flare. Wow, she's even more adorable when she's angry! Why is this woman so sexy to me? It's not fair why does the Moon Goddess only pair females with males all the time? Not fair at all!

Before she could react I pulled her into my arms and grabbed her ass. I could feel my panties getting wet just by doing that. I smirked when I saw I had taken her by surprise. "Listen I don't know how it goes when two women in a witch coven become friends but when two women become friends in a werewolf pack what I just did is completely normal."

Mary slapped me as hard as she could and pushed me away. As soon as she pushed me away she ran out the door as fast as she could. I grinned when I saw that. So that's the way it's going to be huh? Don't worry my love, I'll have you. I'll steal you from your mate and you will be mine! I have started the games and the victory shall be mine! This is going to be a lot of fun…