"You don't know me, and you NEVER will!"

He slashes the wall with his long claws, tearing through the drywall with little effort. I can see his canines protruding through his gums. His eyes shine like eerie yellow beams of bright light. His wolf is at the surface, anticipating the moment to rip me to shreds.

This shouldn't be how I die.

The crackling of bones echoes in my ears as a large black wolf stands in the place of where Maverick once stood. It's eyes glow, seemingly piercing my flesh through to my very soul.

I try to run, but my legs aren't moving. It's as though he's controlling my body with those damned eyes.

Is this really Maverick? Or is his wolf taking over him?

The brutish wolf slowly makes its way over towards me, eyeing me up as its next victim. Once it reaches my face, it opens its mouth, bearing the long and incredibly sharp teeth. I can't move or even scream.

As it's about to clamp down into my face, a voice lingers in the air.

"Elora." The wolf is talking to me, but it isn't moving its mouth. Is he speaking to me through the bond?

Is that even possible when I'm not in wolf form?

"Elora. Wake up."

What? Wake up?

"Elora! Babe!"

Blinking repeatedly, I sit up, gasping at the horrendous nightmare. As I sly my upper body forward, I manage to whack my head on Maverick's head. We both grimace in pain.

"Oh god! Ow!" I groan, rubbing my forehead. Maverick gives me a questioning look as he rubs his forehead as well.

"Are you alright? And damn that kinda hurt..." he stands up, still rubbing his head.

Tough Alpha, my ass.

Tougher than you, bit-

I nod, pulling the covers away, mentally shutting off my wolf's mean remarks. She's becoming insanely annoying, and I know it's because she's too cranky that Maverick and I haven't completed the mating bond.

Getting up, I walk towards my closet, to pick out my outfit for the day. As I grab a pair of nice jeans with a grey blouse, I respond back to Maverick.

"Yeah... just had a nightmare."

"Again?"

I turn around, facing him while quirking an eyebrow. "What do you mean again?"

"Well, sometimes at night you tend to shake and cry in your sleep... I figured you were having nightmares. Do you want to talk about it?"

Slipping out of my pajamas and into my clothes for the day, I let out a, "nah."

Since the night after the pack dinner, we've been sleeping together. Just sleeping...nothing more. But, ever since we have been sharing a bed, I've been getting horrible nightmares. You would think it would be opposite considering you're supposed to feel at peace and safe when by your mate.

The thing is, Maverick has been oddly well "behaved".

He's still somewhat of a narcissist, but nothing I can't handle. He hasn't yelled at me since the night of the pack dinner, which is good, but I think he's confining some sort of energy. For some strange reason, I feel like this energy is somehow contributing to my overly realistic nightmares.

Strange, I know, but I've never experienced this before. Like, it is absolutely crazy how real these dreams keep getting...and worse too.

"Okay, well I'm going to go eat breakfast. Then we are heading out to the Eclipse pack. I have scheduled a meeting with her and her Beta."

I give him a thumbs up as I'm putting on my socks.

He then walks out of the room. Making my way to the bathroom, I quickly straighten my hair, clipping a section in the front with a bobby pin. Putting on some makeup and ending my daily routine with some lip balm, I make my way down the stairs.

I walk towards the kitchen, where Maverick and Miss Adelaide were kindly conversing as she places bacon and eggs on two plates for us.

"Good morning, Miss Adelaide!" I exclaim cheerfully, plopping down on the stool beside Maverick.

"Good Morning, Elora. I hope you don't mind that there isn't cheese on the eggs. I—um—ran out..." She seems as though she's lying about running out of cheese which I find extremely odd, but I quickly brush it off with a smile.

"Oh, that's alright. I prefer just salt and pepper anyway. Will you be here later? I'd like to bake some cookies with you." She smiles before glancing at Maverick. He seems to nod in approval.

Why does she need his permission?

"How about some chocolate chunk cookies? It's my grandkids' favorite." I nod with a huge grin.

I didn't realize she has grandchildren. I mean, she does act like a typical sweet grandma, but she never has mentioned them before.

"You have grandchildren? Sorry, if I didn't know before," I ask, and both her and Maverick laugh.

"Yes. Maverick and his twin sister, Millie, are my grandchildren." I furrow my eyebrows at them.

That would've been nice to know.

"Oh. Then why does he call you, Miss Adelaide?" I question again, grabbing another piece of bacon. My mind is swirling with questions now.

Why wouldn't they tell me about this?

"She hates the word grandma. Makes her feel old," Maverick says before she can reply. Miss Adelaide nods along with a wink.

I laugh, and then I remember her saying Maverick's twin sister.

Millie is his twin?

"What happened to Millie?" My question slips out before I have time to stop myself.

Miss Adelaide's smile falls, and she hurriedly walks out looking as though she is about to cry. Maverick, on the other hand, clenches onto his fork, and I swear it bends.

"Let's get going." He jolts up out of his seat, grabbing his phone and wallet.

I sit there for a couple seconds, registering everything. Maybe, I should ask Miss Adelaide later when making cookies with her about Millie. Clearly something bad happened that involved her. Whether it was her leaving the pack or ...worse.

Getting up from my seat, I place both mine and Maverick's dishes in the dishwasher. I grab my phone and purse before making my way out of the house. As I make a mental note of adding this information to my journal, I'm met with a very stoic Maverick seated in the driver's seat.

I open the passenger's side door and slip in. Without a word, Maverick waits for me to buckle up before pressing on the gas. My body jerks back, and he begins to easily go twenty over the speed limit.

"Maverick. The speed limit is only fifty-five here..." I say hesitantly. Clutching onto my seat for dear life.

"It's merely a suggestion. Plus, I'm the Alpha... what are they going do about it?"

Did he always have to use the "I'm the Alpha" card?

"Yeah, well...for my sake, could you slow down a bit?" I timidly plead. To answer my request, he slows down so he's only going seventy-five instead of eighty.

If I die today, please make sure my funeral has a good buffet for the guests. Thanks.

"Elora, I'm a good driver. You don't need to dig your claws in the sides of your seat like that." His voice has a hint of amusement, but I don't budge.

That's what my mom has always said, but she honestly is the worse driver. She would look—look—at me and talk while driving! Like, do you know how unsafe that is? She did manage to only hit a duck, a mailbox, and a kid so far.

I'm kidding about the kid. She almost hit a kid though!

After about thirty more minutes of us bickering about his speeding and my fear for my life, we finally make it to Eclipse's pack-house. Their pack-house is almost identical to Valient Ula's, but the layout is more formal whereas our pack-house is more cabin-like and informal.

As Maverick parks the car, a couple wolves approach the car. One is a burgundy color and the other is a mix of both gold and brown fur. They are fairly bigger wolves indicating they're most likely male warriors.

"I'm Alpha Maverick and this is my mate and soon-to-be Luna, Elora. We're here to see Luna Opal and Beta Reese," Maverick says to the wolves. 

The wolves, clearly registering what Maverick has said, lead us to the front door. We are, then, led into a long hallway that has a fairly spacious room at the end. The wolves bow their heads slightly before returning back outside. 

As we walk into the room, there sits a very elegant woman. Her features are darker; her hair is as dark as her eyes. She looks as though she is from Middle-Eastern descent. She's absolutely gorgeous.  

She also has to be around the same age as Maverick. 

She casts an irritated glance towards my mate then giving me a questionable look. Her aura doesn't just scream Luna; my wolf and I are getting extreme Alpha vibes from her.  

My eyes flicker to the person seated next to her. It must be her Beta. Reese. He smiles as we walk over towards them; Opal crosses her arms, giving us an expressionless face.

I smile politely, bowing my head as I take a seat next to Maverick.

"Alpha Maverick." Her tone is sharp, matching her gaze.

Maverick nods. "Luna Opal." I notice her mouth drops slightly at that. 

"So, this is your mate?" She looks over at me, her expression changing significantly. "It's nice to meet you, Elora." Opal sticks her hand out, and I take it, shaking it. 

Reese waves awkwardly with a nod of his head, to which I return just as awkwardly. Opal and Reese both are dark brunettes with beautifully tanned complexions. Except Opal has these deep brown eyes while Reese's are a pale green color.

"It's nice to meet you as well. I've always wanted to meet a female Alpha!" I exclaim, quickly covering my hands with my mouth. Since she is a female, she's still  only considered a Luna, even though she basically has the role of the Alpha.

"Well, thank you. For once, someone gets the idea!" Opal says with a smile in my direction, then shooting a glare at Maverick. "Unfortunately, some people are close-minded and only think males can have such a high position."

Maverick lets out a sigh, crossing his arms while leaning further back in his chair.

"May I ask how you got the position?"

She gives me a sad smile with a slight nod. "My father was Alpha and passed away unexpectedly about two years ago from a heart attack. Since my mother died during child birth, I was the next in line for the position. I haven't found my mate yet, but I think we're doing pretty well without a male leader. If I do say so myself." 

She glances over at Maverick with a raise of her brows before returning her gaze to mine. 

I really like her. She's so confident in herself and is funny, too.

"Well, I'm sorry about your father. That's incredibly hard...but, you are doing a wonderful job with your pack. It's one of the strongest in the areas." 

She nods along. "It is." 

"And since it's one of the strongest in the area, I'm sure many are jumping on the opportunity to join an alliance with you." 

With this she leans back in her chair, raising her eyebrows. "Yes, you are correct. Is that what this is about?" 

I smile with a nod. Maverick has remained quiet thus far which is for the betterment of everyone. 

"I've already made it clear to your mate--" she doesn't refer to Maverick's name which I know is to slightly piss him off. "--I am not joining an alliance with Valient Ula. I'm sure you already know the reasoning behind it." 

"I know Maverick already asked you and you declined due to his sexist viewpoint." Maverick lets out a deep growl in warning, but I place a hand on his arm to reassure him that I'm trying to help us. The corner of Opal's mouth perks up at my comment. 

"I don't think he reiterated the fact enough that you have a very powerful pack, and we need your help." Opal's smile grows at my compliment. I'm being very sincere. The Eclipse pack is known throughout the area to be one of the strongest and most powerful packs.

"Maverick. You have yourself a wonderful mate and Luna." My smile widens at her compliments.  "I may rethink my stance from prior. But there is one thing I must hear first..." Opal turns her head, quirking an eyebrow at Maverick. He shifts in his seat, sitting up more. 

"I need you to tell me you need my help. I also need an apology." 

He lets out a long sigh. 

"I need your help, Luna--" I squeeze his arm. "--Alpha Opal, and I am sorry." 

Wow. Maverick apologized. The second time I've heard an apology from him.

Opal's mouth curls up into a proud smile before nodding. "Apology accepted. Alright. Shall we sign an alliance agreement? Then you two are more than welcome to stay for lunch. I have other things to attend to, but Reese is happy to guide you around."

Reese nods, still with the same friendly smile. So far, he hasn't spoken a word yet, but I really like him. He appears to be super sweet and friendly.

"Sounds good. I brought an alliance form with me. I also would like to schedule a meeting with all of us Alphas about the Dracs as soon as possible."

Maverick takes out his briefcase, which I don't remember him bringing in but, then again, I'm quite oblivious to such things. Grabbing a packet from it, he hands it to Opal, who clicks her pen and scans the document. 

"You must be very confident in Elora's ability to negotiate," Opal remarks, glancing up at me with a small smile before writing her name down.

"I'm very confident, yes," Maverick replies, placing his hand on mine while looking at me. I feel a blush creeping onto my face at his words. 

Opal finishes signing her name and hands him the form. "Good. An Alpha must be confident in those that they work closely with." 

"And I'm very confident in this alliance." She looks over at me. "Thank you again, Elora... you are an amazing young woman. Maverick is lucky to have you as his Luna." I blush at Opal's sweet words. "I must leave now, but Reese will lead you to the pack dining hall for lunch."

"It was a pleasure meeting you, Alpha Opal," I say while Maverick nods as she gets up from her seat. 

Opal waves as she exits out the back door, swaying her hips which makes her long figure flow gracefully out of the room. We then follow Reese down the hallway where we came from earlier. Her Beta is a shorter, young man, but he holds himself up as if he were the same height as Maverick.

"I should warn you... her pack are very--how do I put this--skeptical to strangers. They're not as warm as our pack, " Maverick bends down and whispers in my ear, making sure Reese is further ahead of us so he can't hear it entirely. He probably hears some of it due to our intense hearing though.

"Really? So far they seem nothing but friendly." 

"Beta Reese is an exception. He's friendly towards everyone." 

After a few more minutes of walking and taking in the beautiful architecture of the Eclipse pack-house, we make it to their main dining hall. There are already a few wolves beginning to fill their plates. It's a buffet style of tacos; my favorite.

Reese turns around, finally, and bows with his hand ushering us towards the buffet line. I thank him. He only replies with a smile and nod of the head before walking out of the room.

He has yet to say something to us. 

As we each grab a plate, I watch as Maverick takes five taco shells and begins piling each up with every single topping. From tomatoes, to onions, to sour cream and some hot sauce. I smirk and put the same amount on my plate. I begin to pile more on my plate knowing Maverick is watching with playful eyes. As we both finish stacking the food on our plates, we make our way to a table where a couple others are seated.

As we sit down, I can't help but to ask Maverick something.

"Maverick." He continues to chomp down on his tacos. "Maverick!" I say a little louder, and he still continue to eat, already on his second taco. "Alpha Maverick." At this he looks up, wiping the extra sour cream off his mouth.

"Yes?" His eyes meet mine, his third taco in hand. 

"How come Reese doesn't talk?"

Maverick wipes his mouth. "I'm not sure. I personally have never heard him speak, so I thought maybe he's mute, but his wolf does growl and communicate like normal. He might just be someone who doesn't want to waste the breath."

I nod along, still puzzled. He seems very nice, just really quiet. I'm someone that needs answers though, hence, why this whole thing with Maverick is literally killing me.

As we finish eating, both of us completing our heaving pile of tacos that could have fed four others, we discard our plates in the "to be washed" bucket before exiting the dining hall.

I notice not many of the pack members take notice to us, but a few did mumble a few things that were more derogatory towards Maverick. I lowly growl at them, making them shut right up. 

I mean to be honest they're things that I mentally call him, so it basically is just my wolf overreacting.

Walking to the main hall where we first walked in, I see Reese smiling at us again. He bows his head, and we nod back graciously.

Maverick is out the door in no time, but before I can exit too, Reese pulls me aside.

"I do talk. Just to let you know." His voice is deep for his leaner body, and I nearly laugh out loud. No wonder he doesn't talk...well, talk much. It's as though his voice doesn't belong to him. I just give him a smirk, trying to maintain my composure.

"I knew it. Well, thank you again, Reese. Hopefully I'll see you and Alpha Opal again very soon." He smiles warmly back as I walk out the door. Maverick is already in his car, buckled up and ready to go.

As I get in , I shoot Maverick a sly smile, buckling in my seatbelt. "Reese talked to me. I think we're BFFs now."

Maverick responds with a roll of his eyes and his foot slamming onto the gas pedal.

Round two of us bickering and me gripping the seat for my life begins shortly afterwards.

———————-
A/N

Hey guys!

What do you think the Dracs are?

Why is Elora getting these horrible nightmares?

And how do you like Opal and Reese? 

Hope you all are having a wonderful day/night!

Much love <3
~Madelyn Joy