《Luna Dakota》


 Luna Dakota

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    Not ready to post an actual chapter yet, just wanted to get this part out of the way and see how you guys like this, or if you think I should add anything to it.


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 Chapter One - Jax

    I''m scared at this point. Dakota doesn''t remember me. I can''t believe I let this happen. If only I hadn''t left her side. She would still be okay. She would remember me. She would remember our mate bond. Would Butter remember me? Was Butter okay?


    I let out a shaky breath and sat down slowly in my chair that was next to her bed. Everyone stood quietly. No one dared to make a sound. Everyone could feel the tension in the room. We could all also sense the confusion radiating off of Dakota. Dakota took this time to take a look at everyone in the room.


    "I don''t know half of these people, who are they?" Dakota asked while looking at her brother for help. He sighed and took a seat at the end of her bed.


    "Dakota, believe it or not, these are our friends." Dakota shook her head.


    "They might be your friends, I have no idea who they are," Dakota spoke calmly, but you could hear the suspicion in her voice.


    "Dakota, you are here in the hospital. You were in a bad accident and it''s obviously caused some amnesia. You say you are sixteen, but you''re actually eighteen." Sean paused for a breath before he started to point out people.


    "This is Logan. Destiney''s boyfriend," He moves to Jacob.


    "This is Jacob, Layla''s boyfriend," He moves to my mother.


    "This is Mary, dad''s girlfriend," He turns to Riley.


    "This is Riley, my girlfriend," He had finally turned to me.


    "And this is Jax, your boyfriend." Dakota looked shocked when she saw me. I noticed her staring holes into my body. I knew she could feel the mate bond, but I knew she was also taking in my appearance.


    "What happened to you?" Dakota whispered. I could feel her worry. She technically didn''t know me, yet she still cared.


    "The accident was over a week ago. I haven''t moved from this location in that entire week. Today was the first time I had eaten any food." I mumbled quietly, but loud enough for her to hear. She let out a small gasp.


    "Why did you stay here all this time?"


    "Because I didn''t want to leave and have something happen to you. When you woke up, I wanted to be the first person you saw. I ended up failing you today. Today you were attacked by someone. We have no idea who. But it only happened when I left the room to go get food. The food the hospital staff brought to me was not enough. The reason you have amnesia is because of me. If I hadn''t left, none of this wouldn''t have happened." I felt like I was about to cry. This was entirely my fault. Dakota''s eyes started watering.


    "If what you say is true, you did nothing wrong. You seem to care a lot for me, but you also need to care for yourself." I let out a dry chuckle while looking at Layla. She grumbled and looked down. I could feel her rage flowing out of her. Dakota looked startled as she looked over to Layla.


    "Why do I feel so much anger coming off of you? I shouldn''t be able to feel that!" Dakota was getting more worried. She doesn''t know Buttercup exists. I shared a look with Sean, and then her father.


    "We have a lot of things to catch you up on, Dakota," John spoke up. Dakota looked at her father with a worried look.


    ''Why don''t you all leave, so John, Sean, and I can talk to Dakota about this.''  I sent out a mind link to Logan, Jacob, and my mother. They made their leave with Destiney, Layla, and Riley. I ran my fingers through my hair and I let out a sigh. John and Sean were sitting at either side of her feet on the hospital bed. There was a little bit of awkward silence in the room before Sean cleared it.


    "So, what do you think you should know about first?" Sean asked her and she thought for a moment before answering.


    "What happened to me to where I needed to be hospitalized?" Sean sighed and cleared his throat.


    "Before we answer that, there needs to be some background information shared first." Sean rubbed the back of his neck and Dakota nodded, waiting patiently for someone to speak up first.


    "Dakota, I know it may be hard to believe, and I apologize in advance because I''m going to be blunt and straight to the point," I paused to take in a breath and give her a moment to prepare herself mentally. "I am a werewolf. You, your brother, and your sister are werecats. Your mother was also a werecat." I started off slowly, letting her take it all in.


    "They don''t exist," Dakota didn''t hesitate with her response. I sighed and mind-linked a doctor to send me the video from the cameras of Dakota shifting into Buttercup. Within seconds, the video was sent to me and I turned my phone toward Dakota.


    "I need you to watch this video, okay? Nothing was altered in this video. This is all you and your werecat, okay?" I told her and she nodded slowly, taking the phone from me and pressing play. After a few seconds, she gasped and covered her mouth. I knew she just saw Buttercup coming out of her body, screaming at her sister.


    "What was that?" Dakota looked at me with fear in her eyes.


    "That is your werecat. Her name is Buttercup, and likes to be called butter for short." I spoke softly, trying not to scare her even further.


    "I believe you, but this still doesn''t answer the question I asked about why I am here." Dakota handed me the phone back and I nodded.


    "Yes, I know. We just needed to get that out of the way first." Dakota nodded her head and tried to get comfortable.


    "The next thing you should probably know is that you and I are mates. A mate, in human terms, is essentially a soul mate. You are bound together with a bond for the rest of your life. Mates can either accept or reject one another, but you risk the death of either the other person or both people in someone is to reject their mate. You didn''t reject me, and I sure as hell didn''t want to reject you. Now, if both mates accept each other, they continue on with the mate bond. And by that, it means that both mates have to mark and mate with each other when they see fit." I paused once again to let her sink in the information. She thinks for a moment but her eyes go wide.


    "Wait, so you mean to tell me we had-"


    "Yes! And I would really rather not discuss that part any further in front of your father and brother if that is alright with you." I cleared my throat nervously. Her face turned a deep crimson color and she nodded her head.


    "Okay, so we are mates. You marked me and we continued with the mate bond. Why does this tie in with me being here?" I frowned at the point and put her hand in mine. She gasped quickly and pulled her hand back.


    "I think my hand fell asleep, it got all tingly," Dakota said, the crimson color returning to her face once again. I chuckled and smiled.


    "That''s the mate bond. You feel tingles wherever your mate touches you." I spoke and she nodded.


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    "Anyway, I suppose a little bit more information is needed before I continue," I paused for a breath and took a sip of water from my glass. "When I found out you were my mate, the only person who somewhat disagreed was my father. He wanted a pure bloodline, and he didn''t really want a human mixed in, but he was still okay with it. However, when he found out you were a werecat, he was furious. He said that you would be contaminating our bloodline, and tried to get another Alpha to let his daughter mate with me, even though we were not mates."


    "Alpha?" Dakota questioned quickly.


    "Yes, there are packs. You''ve heard of those, yes?" I question and she nodded.


    "Good. There''s the Alpha, Beta, Third in Command, and then the rest of the pack members. Along with the elders, warriors, pack doctors, which is where we currently are - the pack hospital. I am the Alpha of this pack. Jacob is my Beta, and Logan is my third. That means you are my Luna, Layla is the Beta female, and Destiney is the Third female."


    "And, a Luna is someone who helps the Alpha lead the pack?" Dakota asked and I nodded. Dakota nodded and leant back in her bed.


    ''I hope he answers my question soon,'' Dakota thought to herself.


    "I''m getting there, don''t worry," I said out loud and Dakota looked worried.


    "Because we are mates, we can read each others minds and communicate through them."


    ''You just have to reach out to me. You also have the ability to cut me out of your mind if you wish not to talk.'' I spoke to her in her mind and her eyes went wide.


    ''Okay,'' She spoke back and I smiled wide. She was strong enough to send a mind link. This was good news.


    "Now, because my father was so angry with the fact that you are my mate, you both agreed to a legal battle. The terms of the fight were if you won against him, he could not interfere with out relationship, and he would step down as Alpha. If he won, you and I were not to mate and I would be forced to mate with another woman. The only bad thing about this fight, is that its a battle to the death. Now, when a mate dies, the other mate slowly dies. However, this can be changed if the person is deemed a second chance mate." I let Dakota think for a couple minutes. She shed a few tears as she spoke.


    "I killed your father, didn''t I?" I nodded slowly.


    "Yes. And I''m glad you did. He was a terrible father, and a terrible mate to my mother. My mother was graced with a second chance mate, who just so happens to be your father."


    "And my father didn''t die when my mother died because he''s a human?" I nodded.


    "Your father might not have died, but he felt like he was dying every single day without his mate." This made Dakota cry quietly some more. Not knowing what your parent is truly going through, and finding out just how much pain they are actually in, it just kills you.


    "That''s another thing," I cleared my throat and grabbed her hands.


    "You avenged your mothers murder," I spoke sadly and looked her in her eyes.


    "No," Dakota shook her head.


    "No, my mother fell from like forty feet in the air, she wasn''t-" She was cut off by her sob. It killed me to see her like this.


    "I know. I didn''t know either. I had no clue. My father organized the death of you rmother, and was the main murderer."


    "Main? How many were there?" Dakota raised her voice at this point. I could feel the anger and heart break radiating off of her.


    "Logan and Jacob''s parents. They apologized for it a while ago. They explained that they were forced into partaking, and did not want to kill a harmless werecat. I was disgusted when I found out why he killed her." I growled quietly a little after speaking.


    ''Why?''


    Your mother would let him have his way with her,'' I said and she let out a louder sob. I quickly joined her on her bed and held her as she cried. She needed this. I hated seeing her go through this information a second time, but it needed to happen. She needs to know this stuff so she can possibly remember some things. I held her for about ten minutes before she stopped crying. At this point, Sean and John had left the room to give us some privacy.


    "I''m sorry. It was painful enough when we first found out this information. It kills me to see you go through it a second time." I kissed her head and rubbed her back. She slowly calmed down, but her breathing was still irregular.


    "So, when I killed your father, tour mother started to die too?" I sighed.


    "For a moment, yes. It didn''t last long, though. Your father saved her when he realized they were mates. It instantly healed both your father and my mother." She nodded and laid her head on my chest.


    "Jax?" Dakota whispered.


    "Yes, Dakota?"


    "Why was Layla so angry?" I growled unintentionally and Dakota jumped. She could feel my anger for her sister coming off of me in waves.


    "What did she do?" Dakota whispered. She was terrified. I could feel it.


    "She started a fight with me." I tried to leave it at that, but Dakota wouldn''t let me.


    "Jax, you seem like the kind of man to be cool headed unless its serious. I know my sister. What did she do?"


    "She was angry that you almost died. That''s why you are here. You killed my father, and in turn he took his last few moments and breaths to try and kill you. It almost worked. You had actually died a few times while in surgery, and I ended up having to mark you again to speed up your healing process. Marking one another has healing properties. Even that almost killed you," I let out a breath and continued.


    "So, she was angry that I didn''t try and stop a legal fight. If I did, it would have been against werewolf law. I could have been killed for it, and what you had done would have been in vain. She didn''t understand, and lashed out at me and threatened me for not saving you." Dakota gasped.


    "I sat in that chaiar for a week. I didn''t move. I didn''t sleep. I didn''t drink. I didn''t eat. A whole week. We tricked Layla into visiting, which, by the way, she didn''t visit you once because I was here. She was that much of a stubborn bitch." Dakota elbowed me and I groaned in annoyance.


    "Anyway, she said that I was a horrible mate, and that your best choice was to leave me when you woke up. She said she was going to convince you when you woke up. At some point, while in your week long coma, you were conscious enough to mind link me, and we were hoping with the help of Buttercup. And we were right. You and Butter heard Layla and I screaming at one another. That was the video I showed you. There was no sound, but you shifted into Butter and let her take control. She forced you out of your coma. And because you are older than her, as well as her Luna, you are able to command people with your Luna tone. Anyone part of your pack will have no choice but to abide to whatever you had told them to do. That was what Butter had done with Layla. It forced her cat to obey, as well as Layla. but Layla was much too stubborn and hasn''t forgiven me. She even tried to talk to Logan, Destiney, and Jacob about her plan. They obviously were against it. The boys more so because they know werewolf law. If anyone intereferes with the Alpha and Luna''s relationship, it automatically results in death. It had gotten to the point where Jacob was about to leave Layla for a while until she came to her senses. Everyone yelled at her and she still believes that you should leave me. That''s why she was so angry earlier when you said that I need to take care of myself, and that you weren''t upset that I left to get food, an din turn you got attacked." I finally finished and let out a sigh. Dakota had started to quietly cry again. I could feel the torment going through her. She loved her sister, but she was angry with her.


    "She really didn''t care about my happiness?"


    "She thought you would be happier without me." I replied. She nodded and leaned more into me. We were silent for a while. She didn''t know how to reply to the information I had given her. After about ten minutes of silence she spoke up.


    "What''s your wolf''s name?" I smiled and I felt Ryder become excited. Even though she didn''t remember him, she was still interested.


    "Ryder," I spoke and I could feel the tiny shiver that went through her. She nodded her head and tried to play it off by pulling the blanket up. After she had done that, there was a knock on the door. The doctor walked in and smiled after he bowed to us.


    "Luna, you''re awake! How do you feel? Any pain?"


    "I have a little head ache, and my body feels a little sore. That''s really it." The doctor nodded and wrote it down in his notes.


    "Well, that''s better than what you were going through before. I''m glad you are feeling better Luna. We will need to keep you here for another couple of days, however, just to monitor your condition." The doctor bowed and made his way out of the room.


    "This is a lot to take in," Dakota spoke up.


    "I know. It was a lot the first time you went through it. I know I''ve already said it before, but it really does hurt to see you go through it again." I could tell that she felt the hurt coming off of me.


    "I''m okay now. You don''t have to worry," Dakota turned her head to look up at me.


    "Dakota, you have amnesia. You don''t remember the memories we have made together."


    "Then we make new ones. Better ones," Dakota whispered and I could feel the love coming off of her. I knew in turn she felt mine. I placed my hand on her cheek and she leaned into my touch.


    "Dakota, may I kiss you?" Dakota smiled wide and nodded.


    "Yes," I smiled as well and leant in. Our lips touched and we both felt the tingles shoot through us. I was happy I was able to kiss my beautiful mate again. After a couple of seconds we ended the kiss and Dakota had a beaming smile on her face. I was happy that I was able to make my beautiful mate happy.


    "It''s late. We should probably sleep a little." I spoke up and she nodded, noticing that the time was around ten at night. We both got comfortable on her bed and she yawned.


    "Goodnight Jax," I yawned in turn and pulled her closer to me.


    "Goodnight Dakota," Things don''t seem as bad as they were before. I hope that they get better and she gets her memory back.


    No one will get to her this time.

 Chapter Two - Dakota

    It''s been about four days since I''ve been in the hospital. I still haven''t been able to remember anything, and Layla has yet to visit me. Honestly, I don''t care that she hasn''t visited yet. It shows how much she actually cares, and it''s not much. I understand that she cares that I got hurt, but she needs to accept the fact that it was apparently a legally abiding fight. Even if I did forget everything that happened, I know that Jax wouldn''t lie to me about something like this.


    Jax still hasn''t left my side. He keeps going on about not letting anything else happening to me. I understand where he is coming from, but he needs to also take care of himself. He can''t just keep worrying about me and stop taking care of himself entirely. I know when I end up being able to leave the hospital things will change but I''m just very worried about him right now.


    We were currently watching the tv when the doctor came in.


    "Luna, Alpha, I have some good news." Jax perked up and gave the doctor his full attention.


    "Can Dakota leave?" The doctor smiled and nodded.


    "Yes! She is healthy enough to leave and go back to your home. I will get the release papers." The doctor bowed before he left and I grew nervous. I was going to see a lot of people I don''t even remember. Jax looked at me with a sympathetic smile.


    "It''ll be alright. I can let everyone know that you have amnesia, and let you rest mentally for a few days." I nodded and sighed. The doctor came back with the papers and I signed them. Jax had his sister bring me some clothes a couple of days ago, so I didn''t have to worry about getting clothes. I really liked his sister, she was really nice and we got along great. I got dressed and Jax and I left the hospital. It felt weird to walk again since I was laying down in a bed for so long. It felt nice to be able to properly stretch though. Jax and I piled into a car that was brought to the hospital and we drove back to his house.


    I saw the outside of it and was surprised. I couldn''t remember if I had seen it before, but it was really a spectacular home. There was a nice garden and it was fairly big, definitely bigger than my house. We stepped out of the car and made our way inside. The inside was even better than the outside. Jax had pictures hanging up everywhere, there was really nice furniture in the living room, there was a really big kitchen, the fireplace was beautiful, I absolutely loved it.


    "So, at some point, I will be living here with you?" I looked up at Jax and he smiled and nodded.


    "Yes, this will be our home when you decide you are ready to move in with me." Jax kissed my head and I felt the tingles linger as my heart fluttered. I couldn''t think of any reason why Layla would want me to reject him. He''s very sweet and he obviously cares about my well-being. He watched me as I walked around the main floor of the house. He watched me as I inspected every little thing. I ended up stumbling upon a picture that had who I assumed to be was his father.


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    "Was this your father?" I asked and he sighed as he walked up behind me to gaze at the picture.


    "Yes, it was." Jax obviously didn''t like talking about it, so I cut the conversation there. I didn''t want to upset him in any way. I would like to ask him if he has grieved for his father, but from what he has told me, they didn''t have the best relationship. I lean into Jax while staring at the photo and sigh. After what I was told, I wish things had gone differently. I wish everyone was on better terms.


    "Come on, Dakota, please don''t feel bad. I do not miss him. I grieved when he died and now I am fine." I looked at him in confusion. Jax chuckled dryly.


    "Sorry, mind-reading," He rubbed the back of his neck and I blushed a deep crimson.


    "Don''t be afraid to ask me any kind of question. I will gladly answer it." Jax kissed my forehead and walked away from the photos.


    "Alright, I will." I walked around the house with him. He showed me the upstairs and I felt happy while spending time with him. After the tour, he took me back downstairs and we sat on the couch. There was a type of awkward silence that surrounded us.


    I started to think about my werecat.


    Was she okay? Jax had said something about being able to feel his wolf in the back of his mind, and I am able to do the same for Butter. I focused on feeling something, but I didn''t feel anything. I also remember Jax telling me that we are able to communicate with our cats and wolves and I tried.


    ''Butter?'' I waited for a response.


    Nothing.


    ''Butter? Can you hear me?''


    Still nothing.


    I sighed and laid back on the couch.


    "What''s wrong?"


    "I remembered how you told me I could talk to Butter, and I tried and she didn''t answer. I don''t even feel her." Jax pulled me into a hug.


    "It''s alright. She will come out when she is stronger. She''s pretty weak right now, so try not to expect anything for at least another week."


    "But it''s already been almost a week. How long does it take for werecats to heal?"


    "The same amount of time as werewolves, but it all depends on the injury. Obviously, the worst injuries will take longer to heal. You need to remember that you both almost died in the fight with my father, and you both flatlined after the fight a couple of times. then you were in a coma, and then she forcibly woke you up which takes an ungodly amount of strength. Then you were attacked and now you have amnesia. Both of you have been through a lot, and she is probably in her own little coma or some kind of hibernation to heal herself. Just give her time, she will come out when she is better. I promise. If anything were to happen to her, Ryder and I would know, and so would you." Jax kissed the top of my head and I felt the tingles shoot through my head. I snuggled into him and sighed again, but this time out of content. Jax really is a wonderful mate.


    I grabbed a blanket that was on the back of the couch and decided I wanted to take a nap.


    "Sleep well, Dakota." He kissed my cheek, laid down, and pulled me into his chest while adjusting the blanket on my back.

 Chapter Three - Jax

    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.