"Look at you boys! Right on time!" Sophie sang playfully as she hopped out of her truck.

Cortez smiled at his beautiful mate as his eyes looked her up and down. She was dressed adorably. Cowboy boots, a peachy-pink colored sundress, a denim vest, and a little sun hat. It was very soft and innocent but so was Sophie. The best part was her sparkling green eyes, bright and pearly smile, and her short, wavy brown hair. That would always be his favorite parts of her.

"Where did you just come back from, Gorgeous?" Cortez asked as he watched Sophie walk to the back of her truck.

"I went to grab some food since you said you'd bring as many as you could." Sophie grabbed two bags in her hands and looked up.

Although she had just said, she didn't expect there to be so many. Behind Cortez stood a whole crowd of men, all varying in ethnicity and style but all similar in height in muscles. There were so many of them. The crowd was the size of one of her classes. She instantly wondered where Cortez had found all these men. She didn't recognize a single one of them.

"Let me help you." Cortez invaded her thoughts as he took her grocery bags out of her hands.

Cortez then looked at the guys and nodded his head once towards her truck. Instantly, all of them surrounded the bed of her truck and reached for bags of food, ice, and endless beverages. Sophie marveled in amazement as she walked towards the house, holding her sunhat on her head since the wind was relentless today.

"And how do you know all of them?" Sophie turned to Cortez as they walked inside.

"Remember when I said I was a manager?"

"Oh, so they're employees?"

"They listen to me, yes." Cortez shrugged.

"You never give me clear answers." Sophie shot Cortez a playful glare as she opened her fridge.

She knelt down and started clearing space for everything she had just bought. Cortez watched as his pack members flooded into the house with bags in hand. He took them and placed them on the table as the line of delivers kept moving. The kitchen wasn't all that big so they passed their bags to Cortez and returned to the foyer.

"Do you want us to start painting now?" A familiar voice asked. Sophie leant back from the fridge to see Jeremiah in front of the crowd in the doorway.

"Oh hello, Jeremiah. Nice to see you again. The cans of paint are on the left side of the house and there are ladders and brushes and rags and everything out there as well." Sophie smiled.

Jeremiah gave a thumbs up and gestured for everyone to funnel outside again. Cortez curiously started peeking inside Sophie's grocery bags to see what she had bought. He was happy to see one bag was full of raw, ground up beef. As werewolves, they naturally ate a lot of meat. He was glad she had provided them with some without even knowing.

"What are you planning on cooking?" Cortez asked.

Sophie moved a few last things and jumped from the fridge. "I'm gonna make sloppy joes for lunch but I also bought a bunch of popsicles and ice cream since it's really hot out today. I also bought stuff for lemonade and maybe fruit punch or something. There are watermelons somewhere in there, more water bottles, chips, tons of stuff really."

Cortez smiled with pride as he watched Sophie dig through her grocery bags. She really went above and beyond just for a bunch of guys she didn't even know. He could tell she wanted to make sure that everyone was taken care of and it was that very quality that made her perfect Luna material. His pack may be skeptical because of her age and size but she was perfect whether they knew it or not.

"Do you wanna help me grab some card tables and chairs from the basement?" Sophie asked as she looked up at a very happy Cortez.

"Absolutely." Cortez nodded.

Sophie excitedly stared through the house but suddenly through the back door to the house open. She peeked her head outside to see her grandfather exactly where she left him when she went to buy food. He was lounging in a rocking chair, in the shade, on the deck, with Daisy. He could not have looked anymore content with life.

"Staying cool?" Sophie smiled at her grandfather.

"Very cool." Henry craned his stiff neck to look at his granddaughter in the doorway. "You know, those bunch of boys came marching out of the woods like a mini army. That was pretty cool."

Sophie looked over her shoulder at Cortez with a bright smile. He easily reflected it. "I think they're pretty cool too. If you need anything, Chief, just yell for me."

"Alright, dear. Tell the boys I say thank you for the help." Henry grumbled as he relaxed back in his rocking chair.

Sophie shut the door and led Cortez into the basement. There wasn't much down there but her parents and grandparents old things. But along one of he walls were four card tables and a bunch of metal folding chairs. Their family used to be very big in throwing parties in the backyard but that was before everyone moved away and/or passed away.

But luckily, all that stuff came in handy today.

Sophie and Cortez placed the tables and chairs in the yard, Cortez soon calling Jeremiah to help as the others began painting. It didn't take long to set up everything outside before Sophie headed in to start cooking. She wanted to say she was surprised that Cortez was following her around but part of her knew exactly why he hadn't left her side.

"You didn't come to paint?" Sophie smirked knowingly as Cortez helped her pull all the things she bought out of the bags on the table.

"That's why I brought as many as I could, so I didn't have to." Cortez cocked a mischievous eyebrow that made Sophie giggle.

"You don't need to help me cook. I've got everything. If you help paint, it will be done quicker." Sophie said as she took the watermelon out of Cortez's hands. He gave her a frozen expression, obviously not wanting to leave. "Go! Go paint. You're not allowed in here for the rest of the day. Go!"

Sophie playfully kicked Cortez out of the kitchen and when he turned around to protest, she put a finger to her lips and then pointed it towards the door.

Cortez couldn't help but smile. She was like a tiny little mother. She pulled off that warning glare so perfectly. The littlest things she did kept on convincing him of how great of a Luna she'd be. He couldn't wait to see her shine in her true position in life.

~

With a lemonade in one hand and two boxes of popsicles under her arm, Sophie made her way outside. She stepped off the porch and looked up at the house, seeing a few boys painting the second floor while standing very dangerously on the roof. She walked around the house to see even more boys painting the first and second floor.

The sun was hot and bright, coating everyone in sweat. Sophie noticed some of the boys had their shirts off and thrown in the grass or hung over their shoulders. It didn't really shock or startle her. It wasn't everyday she saw a bunch of shirtless boys but she also wasn't a sex driven teenager. Yes, they were attractive with all their muscles and sweat but it wasn't overwhelming. That was until she spotted Cortez.

Of course, he had his shirt off as well but it had a completely different effect on Sophie. She was frozen in shock. He was gorgeous. His shoulders looked even broad than usual, which was shocking in itself.

His skin was a beautiful olive, brown mix and glowed beautifully in the bright sun. Cortez wasn't dripping with sweat but she could tell a thin layer of it sat over his skin. He seemed bigger than the others, stronger, more superior even.

She's staring. Jeremiah whispered, despite the fact that he was exclusively mind linking Cortez.

From where? Cortez asked, not bothering to stop painting. He stretched his arm with even more emphasize just to show off, causing his muscles to dramatically flex.

The left side of the house. Jeremiah answered and snickered as he watched Sophie shamelessly stare up at Cortez.

Cortez carefully peeked over his shoulder to see Sophie stood in the grass, her mouth parted and eyes glued on him. A low chuckled rumbled in his chest as he stood up. He set his brush down and started across the roof of the house to get to Sophie. Now that he was facing her, she could see all his abs and his broad chest as he got closer.

She was convinced he was sculpted by a Greek god. Or maybe he was a Greek god.

In the blink of an eye, Cortez jumped off the roof and landed in the grass in front of Sophie. She softly gasped in shock and watched him rise to his full height. He wasn't real. He was like an athletic monster only here on earth to show off how weak humans were. Sophie couldn't stop staring.

"You're drooling, gorgeous." Cortez grinned as he gently flicked his finger under Sophie's chin to close her mouth.

A shot of tingles erupted under her skin again and made her heart rage instantly pick up. She quickly dropped her gaze with a nervous gulp to collect her thoughts. Why did she walk out here? What was she doing? What day was it?

"Oh, right! These are for you and the boys to cool down a little while I bring the food out." Sophie said as she handed Cortez the two boxes of popsicles.

"Perfect." Cortez turned towards the house. "Trevor! Pass these around, will ya?" He yelled to the boy on the roof before throwing one box up. The boy, Trevor, easily caught it before Cortez tossed up the second one. He caught the second one too.

"So you're all super athletes or something?" Sophie asked as she took a sip of her lemonade, her eyelashes flattering as she maintained eye contact.

"We vary in ability but yes, basically." Cortez shrugged. He casually reached to run his fingers through his wet black hair, which made Sophie swoon for a millisecond before she reminded herself not to.

"And I'm assuming you rank the highest out of all of them?" Sophie jokingly asked, attempting to inflate his ego to see what he'd say.

"Is it that obvious?" Cortez cockily rolled his broad shoulders, puffed out his chest, and flexed every muscle he could.

Sophie rolled her eyes and snorted a laugh. "Euuhhg.." She taunted, pushing Cortez with her hand on his bare chest. When her palm got soaked in sweat, she quickly shook it off. "Eww!"

Cortez bursted in a booming laughter, incredibly amused by her change in tone from mocking him to being disgusted by him. Sophie smiled at Cortez's laughter and took a moment to admire him. He was endlessly handsome and incredibly charming. He made her feel very comfortable for someone she only knew for a few weeks now.

It was too bad she wasn't older and he wasn't younger because she knew she was growing more and more fond of him every time they saw each other.

Cortez noticed Sophie walking away and hurried to catch up with her. "Need help bringing everything out?"

Sophie smiled contently up at Cortez. "Sure."

Side by side, Sophie and Cortez filled the four card tables with food. Drinks and cut watermelon and fruit were nearly piled on one table. Sloppy joes, a variety of chips and fries, and plates and cups were laid out on another. The third table had bowls of ice with popsicles, bottled water, and ice cream to keep cool. The four was full of any other essentials like plastic utensils, napkins, and other small snacks.

Sophie made sure everything was outside and there was enough before she allowed Cortez to collect all his boys. It didn't take long before there was a crowd around the table Sophie was stood beside. All eyes stared intensely at the small brunette. Some hadn't gotten a good look at her yet and she could tell she was being examined and studied by those around her. It was making her a little self conscious.

"Take whatever you'd like and don't be modest. I reckon Chief and I won't know what to do with all this if you boys don't eat it." Sophie nervously smiled at the boys as they continued to stare at her. She looked up at Cortez, waiting for him to do something since she had nothing else to say.

Cortez caught Sophie's desperate stare and turned to his pack members. "Listen to her. Eat." Cortez demanded.

Instantly, all hands were reaching for food as if they hadn't eaten in months. Sophie chuckled and pulled her hands against her chest to avoid being clawed by any of them. The boys served themselves some sloppy joes and grabbed obnoxious handfuls of chips and fries. They all spread out to take a seat and eat after also grabbing something to eat. Sophie happily looked around as the boys ate and casually chatted amongst themselves.

"Do you mind if I use your bathroom?" Someone asked from Sophie's right.

"Not at all. It's inside to your immediate right. Not to stairs but the door next to the stairs." Sophie instructed.

The boy thanked her and walked off. Sophie felt oddly satisfied as she looked around. She felt like she was hosting a party and everyone looked rather satisfied. Even Daisy was trotting around the backyard, looking for someone that would give her some food. Which reminded her, she had to make a plate for her grandfather who had made his way inside since it was so hot outside.

~

"Your employees are very funny." Sophie glanced behind her as she said it.

Her eyes landed on the two boys play fighting by the shed while others casually laid in the grass and cheered them on. All of them were shirtless at this point. A couple guys were finishing up the paint on the house but it wasn't a big enough job to require all of them at this point. The sun was nearly setting, still sat atop the tree line but painting the sky pink and orange.

"They're misbehaving." Cortez huffed as he collected all the plates piled messily on top of each other.

"Misbehaving? They're having fun. It's not like they're at work, right?" Sophie frowned.

"That's what they came for. Painting was work." Cortez deadpanned. And whenever they are in my or your company, they are working.

"Well, they're not painting, now are they?" Sophie retorted as she grabbed the big pot full of sloppy joe and stared towards the house.

Cortez watched his mate walk off, his hands eventually slowly until he wasn't picking up anymore. He just stared. Even as she disappeared into the house, he didn't look away. She invaded his thoughts and trapped him in them too often.

"You're seriously letting our Luna be a seventeen year old human girl?" Lee suddenly appeared beside Cortez.

Cortez's eyes narrowed as he turned towards Lee and folded his arms over his chest. "Do you have a problem with Sophie?"

"She's a child." Lee complained.

"Hardly! And she's not going to be one forever." Cortez spat. Lee rolled his eyes and let them sit on his fellow peck members for a moment. He was obviously sulking. "You're going to treat her like your Luna. You have no other choice, Lee."

"I'll treat her like a Luna when she is one. She can't take care of us when she's easily breakable and working on science projects for school." Lee grumbled bitterly.

Lee was about to walk away before Cortez caught him by the collar of his shirt and forced him in place. His eyes flashed a bright gold only for a second in pure anger. "What did I say, Lee? You have no choice. Your Alpha and your Luna come first. If you don't like it, I suggest you find another pack."

Cortez and Lee held each other's stare in silence. It didn't take long for Lee to look away first because if he didn't, that would be considered challenging the Alpha. Lee may not have agreed with him on the subject of their future Luna but that didn't mean he wanted to start a war over it. He had seen Cortez's abilities in combat and in no scenario did he want to be apart of that.

"Is everything alright?" Sophie's quiet, deserved voice reluctantly chimed in. She looked between Cortez and his employee, specifically eyeing where Cortez had his shirt in his fist.

Cortez let go of Lee's shirt and turned towards Sophie, wiping all evidence of anger off his face. "Everything fine, Gorgeous."

Sophie's green eyes shifted towards his employee as he scratched the back of his neck and trudged away. She wondered how serious their altercation was for Cortez to have a fistful of his shirt. Was it just Cortez that was in a bad mood and that's why he had him by the collar of his shirt? Or had Cortez been provoked? She wanted to know and make sure Cortez wasn't in the wrong.

"Sophie." Cortez quietly called for the little brunettes attention. Her eyes were slightly glazed over, revealing that she was still trapped in her thoughts. "Everything's fine."

"Huh?" Sophie blinked.

"Everything's fine." He repeated.

"Okay..."

Cortez continued to clean. Sophie did so as well, stealing obvious glances at Cortez. The past couple times she had with him, he was nothing but sweet. He was always smiling and joking with her. He was nice and generous every time. But what she had just saw, wasn't any of those things. He was mad. Throughout the day, even, he had been growing more and more rigid. She just didn't imagine he'd take it out on one of his employees.

The air was suddenly very tense between them as they both got trapped in their thoughts. Sophie wondered if work always got him tense and angry. Maybe he didn't like being around his employees for so long. It made her feel guilty that she had asked him to do all this in the first place. She didn't like being around Cortez when there was a dark atmosphere surrounding him, aka, right now.

Jeremiah, take them home. Cortez commanded as he stayed focused on cleaning. He didn't usually clean up after his pack members, they did the cleaning. It was doing to his frustration.

Of course, Alpha. Jeremiah cut off his mind link with Cortez and mind linked with the rest of them. Everyone out.

The amount of moving bodies caused Sophie to look up and see all the guys getting up from their relaxed positions in the grass. She stopped and frowned as she watched them throw their shirts on and gather by the fair end of the fence. Loud thuds behind her caused her to turn and see a couple boys hopping off the roof.

Literally everyone was leaving as if there was some kind of internal alarm in all of them that went off. They moved as one, like they were apart of a hive mind.

"Thanks for the food and the wonderful evening, Sophie." Jeremiah smiled as he slapped his hand on Cortez's shoulder. Cortez didn't falter.

"No, thank you! The house looks beautiful." Sophie forced a smile at the tall, curly haired boy.

"We're gonna head out now and get out of your hair. Sorry if we made too much of a mess."

"No, it's not problem." Sophie turned towards the house to see the boys had left brushes on the roof. "I'll get up there and grab those somehow."

"I'll do it." Cortez groaned and marched off.

Sophie frowned and averted her eyes from his as he marched away so angrily. She met Jeremiah's brown eyes and leant across the table to whisper to him. "Do you know why he's so upset so suddenly?"

Jeremiah nervously scratched the back of his neck. He had a couple guesses up his sleeve. "We tend to stress him out in situations like this. He's not used to seeing us so relaxed."

"Well, you're only enjoying yourself. It's not like you're at work or anything. He can't expect you to be professional in a situation like this. I didn't expect you to." Sophie defended.

Jeremiah halfheartedly smiled, liking the fact that his Luna blindly had her packs back. "Don't worry about us or Cortez, Sophie. He's only acting like this because he cares about us."

"Is that true?" Sophie looked up at Jeremiah through her lashes, a suspicious glint in her eyes.

"Yes." Jeremiah grinned, softening Sophie's mood. "He's like an older brother. We might piss him off and he might piss us off but we've always got each other's backs and it will all be forgotten tomorrow."

Sophie nodded and nibble on her thumbnail as she thought about it. She didn't have siblings so she couldn't relate to that feeling but she could understand. "Okay. I'm happy to hear that. Have a goodnight, Jeremiah. Tell the others I say thank you as well."

Jeremiah nodded and turned to leave. He gestured for the boys to go ahead and Sophie watched as they began jumping over the fence like Cortez had before. Two at a time, three at a time, they hopped the fence with no problem. She couldn't help but snorted a laugh and shake her head. Not only was Cortez was weird about his athleticism, so were his employees. Maybe they were really like brothers.

Sophie made a mental note that they needed a gate in their fence so the boys didn't have to do that if they ever came back.

"Here." Cortez turned to the small brunette to see her holding a couple bills in hand. From the way they were positioned, he could see a fifty, some twenties, and fives.

"I'm not taking that." Cortez refused.

Sophie huffed in shock. "Take it! You guys worked all day in the hot sun just for us."

"I didn't do it to get paid, Sophie." Cortez crosses his arms over his chest, signifying he had no interest in taking her money.

"What about the guys? They did more work than you, give it to them." Sophie teased with a hint of a smirk on her face.

Cortez narrowed his eyes at the small brunette. "I don't want your money."

"It's for them." Sophie emphasized, waving the money in between them.

"No. I'm not taking it. They're my employees, I'll pay them for it." Cortez shrugged.

Finally, Sophie gave up with a defeated sigh and slapped it down on the counter. "Fine. Don't take it. You can't resent me or hold it over my head later."

"I wouldn't do that." Cortez smiled.

Sophie leant back against the doorway of the kitchen and stared up at Cortez, her thoughts wondering. Cortez leant against the kitchen table, perfectly reflecting his mate.

"Don't be mad your employees." Sophie whispered. "They were only having fun. I hope they did, anyways."

Cortez nodded. "I know they did. You don't have to worry, Sophie. I could never be that upset by them."

"Jeremiah said you guys are like brothers."

"Yeah. Kinda."

"Don't fight with your brothers." Sophie frowned, her green eyes big and glossy. "I don't like when you're angry. It's scary."

Cortez didn't want to smile so he tried his best to fight it. He couldn't help but find it adorable that she would admit something like that. He was angry, he'd admit that, but that kind of anger passed quickly. He just needed a moment to calm down and remind himself that they were doing nothing wrong.

Cortez simply wasn't used to seeing them so relaxed, especially when they were around their new Luna. He wanted them to be active in protecting and taking care of her, not laying around and leaving messes everywhere for her to clean up. But luckily, as Cortez cleaned up after them, he slowly gathered himself and let the anger fade away. Lee's comments still bothered him but he could deal with that later.

"I won't be angry anymore." Cortez smirked as he pushed off the table.

It only took a small step for him to be in front of Sophie. He reached towards her, his finger placing gently under her chin as he tilted her head upwards. He stared into her bright emerald eyes for a moment before leaning towards her forehead. The sound of Sophie's heart skipping a beat caused him to stop.

Even something as simple as a kiss on the forehead may be out of line. He hadn't really considered it beforehand, his body just started moving.

Cortez removed his finger from under her chin, causing just as many tingles as when he initially touched her. Sophie's gaze dropped. She was too nervous to meet his eyes. She could never really read him and right now, she even even want to try. She didn't and to know if he was actually going to kiss her or not. It was information she would gladly live without. She was too nervous.

"Goodnight, Sophie." Cortez whispered.

"Goodnight." Sophie's voice was so small and quiet, it barely caught his ears.

Cortez didn't want to leave her, just like always. He wished he could plant a kiss on her forehead like he intended, but he knew not to. Instead, Cortez sidestepped her and walked through the foyer. Sophie didn't turn but simply listened as his footsteps furthered and the door opened and shut.

The house was silent again. She was alone.

Sophie's head instantly fell into her hands as she took a deep breath. She could feel her heart hammering against her chest. The tingling in her chin was fading but she still didn't understand how that kept happening. Why did he have such a strong effect on her? Was he really about to kiss her? What would she have done? All she could imagine doing is blush and melting into a puddle on the ground.

Cortez was dangerous. Her heart couldn't handle him sometimes.

{ Fuckkkkkk meeee!! I've had to rewrite/edit this chapter like 4 times already! I hate this! }