"You have no idea what the fuck you're doing. The speech sounds fucking terrible." Miguel snorted a laugh as he crossed his arms over his chest, his legs spread for maximum comfort.

Maria smacked Miguel's leg and shot him a warning glare as he winced. She turned to Cortez and flashed him a warm smile. "It doesn't sound terrible, Cortez. I just don't think a speech is the way to go."

Cortez dropped his hands to his sides, the two pages he had written rustling in his hand as he did so. He slouched into his desk chair with a groan. "Then what am I suppose to do? I can't say everything I need to without it written down or I'll forget."

"Just tell him you're a werewolf and you turned his granddaughter into a werewolf so she is destined to be your captive for the rest of her unfortunate life." Miguel continuously teased with a proud grin on his face.

Again, for the hundredth time since she arrived, Maria landed a hard slap on his leg. "Stop it, Miguel! You're going to have a mate someday too and if you have the same luck as your brother, you'll have to go through something like this. Might as well learn now."

"I doubt my mate will be human." Miguel rolled his eyes. "Cortez is lucky to be an Alpha so all his luck ran out before he found his mate. I, for one, an unlucky every single day. My luck will arrive in the shape of my mate."

"Cortez is not lucky to be an Alpha. That is his birth right as our first born. He was born with the blood of an Alpha." Antonio chimed in lowly. He was a man of few words so when he spoke, everyone listened.

"Doesn't really matter," Miguel shifted his attention to Cortez as his older brother read through his speech once more. "You still struck out with that one."

Cortez's eyes glowed a bright gold at his younger brothers words. He knew his brother was just being annoying and spiteful like he always was, but he didn't like anyone badmouthing his mate. Lee had done the same thing and led Sophie to getting kidnapped and bitten. Although, there was no way something like that would happen with his brother.

Miguel wasn't evil, just an obnoxious younger sibling trying to get under Cortez's skin like he had since he was born.

"Shut up, Miguel." Cortez spat. He slapped his speech down on his desk and looked to his parents. "What do you think I should do? Tell him we're werewolves? I don't know him all that well but he's not exactly discreet with his feelings. And he's old. What if he outs us to a nurse because he's so old, he forgot it was a secret?"

Maria tapped her nails against her crossed leg as she took a moment to think. "Maybe we should talk to him. Maybe he'll understand if we explain everything ourselves."

"You want to tell him we're supernatural creatures?" Cortez cocked an eyebrow, surprised his mother would volunteer for that.

"No! I wouldn't tell him that and I'd advice you not to either." Maria turned to her husband. "I just feel like maybe he'd feel better talking to fellow parents."

"Yeah, otherwise, anything you say will sound like you're trying to ask for her hand in marriage. Your speech already sounds like shitty wedding vows." Miguel butted in.

Cortez rolled his eyes. "I basically am asking for her hand in marriage. She's going to be mine forever, I might as well tell him that so he understands the level of importance this is."

"If he's not okay with his young granddaughter dating an older male, I doubt he'll let her get married to one, honey." Maria frowned.

Cortez groaned in frustrated and threw himself back against his desk chair. Maria continued to brainstorm some things for Cortez to say to Henry but every time she did, she kept offering to do it herself. Cortez, though, insisted that he should be the one to talk to Henry. He had met the man before and respect seemed like a big deal to him. Cortez figures it would be best to speak to the old man himself.

The group went back and forth, back and forth, before Cortez called Jeremiah and Delilah into his office. They, then, reluctantly added in their opinions to the group of higher ranking wolves. Cortez did like what they had to say. Jeremiah and Delilah had actually met Sophie on multiple occasions and even Henry, so their opinions and suggestions were proving very helpful.

"So, in one of these situations, you tell this old man you're a werewolf. You'll have to tell him you turned his granddaughter into one." Miguel began to smirk. "And if you wanna be truthful to the man, you know, gain his trust and whatnot, you should probably add the part where it all happened against her will."

A low rumble sounded within Cortez as he glared at his little brother. "You know, Miguel, it really sounds like you're trying to challenge an Alpha right now."

"Cortez!" Maria scolded.

"Try me, fucker. I was born from the same parents as you. You think you're the only one with some Alpha blood in you?" Miguel grinned.

Maria slapped Miguel again, this time harder. She would've slapped Cortez if he was closer but she didn't want to get up and walk all the way over to him. Miguel winced and finally sat up to rub his hand over the spot that she slapped. Her old, boney fingers had created a solid sting and tingling under his skin.

"I'm joking, ma! He's my brother, we're not serious. It's just potshots." Miguel defended.

"You will not use each other's mates as potshots." Maria angrily declared. "All these years and you still can't get along."

"This is us getting along. We're not actually fighting yet." Miguel pointed out, looking at Cortez.

Maria looked at her eldest son as well and watched as he shrugged and nodded. That was very true. Him and his brother were always bickering. There wasn't really any other form of communication that they used other than bickering. They only took each other seriously when it got physical and they started wrestling in the backyard. But as brothers, they'd always apologize if they hurt the others feelings.

Cortez still always won.

"Whatever. I'll figure it out." Cortez stood and ran his hands through his hair. "Thanks your help, everyone."

Cortez looked to Jeremiah, silently excusing him. Jeremiah took Delilah's hand, said his farewells to Maria and Antonio, and they both left. His parents then stood up and said their goodbye's to Cortez, both wrapping their arms around him and reassuring him that it would all work out and that they loved him. That seemed to help calm him just a little.

When Cortez had hugged both his parents, he turned to Miguel, who was still spread out in one of the chairs. Before Cortez could say anything, Miguel lifted his leg between his older brothers and aimed for his dick. Luckily, Cortez caught his foot and pushed, causing Miguel to fall backwards out of his chair with a cry for help.

Cortez broke out in laughter as he watched his younger brother flail in a panic and then land on the floor. "That's called karma, asshat."

"Your mate is karma." Miguel retorted over the edge of the tipped over chair.

Cortez threateningly barked at his younger brother and charged towards him. Miguel laughed as he jumped up and rushed out of the room. Cortez let him go once Miguel reached the doorway to his office. Maria caught her youngest son and dragged him along with them as he stuck his tongue out at his older brother. All Cortez could do was roll his eyes.

~

Sophie's life hadn't seemed all that different, but now that everything was so calm and quiet, she realized it kind of was. She was back to tending to the farm in the morning sun, listening to Daisy bark at the fence facing the woods, and taking care of her grandfather. Everything was as it used to be and it all seemed so simple.

Of course, she still missed Cortez and thought about him all day. And, she was half wolf so things were slightly different. Pulling weeds wasn't as hard as it used to be, the smell of the flowers were more potent and delicious, the sound of the wind and rustling leaves in the woods was nice. She also discovered that she could smell Cortez's warriors marching along the edge of the woods. They all had different scents but as a group, they definitely just smelt like wolves.

Sophie's entire first day of summer was like that. Like it used to be. Quiet, warm, calm, peaceful.

Henry never mentioned Cortez and made casual conversation with his granddaughter like he always did. When they ate lunch together, there was less tension than there was yesterday or the day before. The only thing difference was Henry's mention of how the assisted living place was coming along with his paperwork. Sophie tried to be enthusiastic when he talked about it but she couldn't deny that she still hated the idea.

After lunch, Sophie cleaned up what she had left in the kitchen and then did the same with the backyard. She then coached Daisy into their upstairs tub and gave her a bath since she had been outside with her for most of the day. Her mind was less on Cortez when she was bathing Daisy and frankly, she was happy for awhile.

All day, she had missed him. But for a short while, she simply laughed as Daisy shook out her fur and splashed water everywhere.

"Wet dog on the loose!" Sophie yelled down the stairs as Daisy ran down and darted into the living room, where Henry was.

"Whoa! Hey, Daisy, girl!" Henry laughed as she watched the golden retriever do laps around the house.

Sophie chuckled and stepped into her room to grab the notebook that Cortez had written. It was about time she caught up on everything. She was nearly done turning and had already met the pack. And now that she had some time to kill before bed that would usually be filed with homework, it seemed like the perfect time.

Sophie sat on the couch, her grandfather reading his own book in his recliner and Daisy laying on the floor after she had finally run out of energy. The only noise in the house was coming from the tv but they had the volume low. They only had it on for light and white noise as the sun started to go down.

Sophie started to read about the ranks within a werewolf pack and was very intrigued. The entire system seemed very formal and strict but she figured that was necessary in such a chaotic world of supernatural creatures. Cortez's writing easily bled from one topic into the next. From ranks, to punishments and rewards, and into rogues.

Cortez explained that rogues were commonly aggressive and reckless wolves but they often lived among humans. Since they had no pack for shelter and food, they had to blend in as normal humans and live in normal human society. But, that didn't stop them from causing trouble within packs they were either kicked out of or rejected from when wanting to join. Or sometimes, they just got bored.

"You know, darlin'," Henry suddenly spoke up. Sophie turned to her grandfather but his eyes remained on the old television. "I only want you to be okay. I've taken care of you your whole life. I don't want to screw up now after having such a solid streak."

Sophie softly laughed at the comical way he had put that but she knew why he was bringing this up all of a sudden. "I know, Chief. But it doesn't have to be your job anymore, to take care of me. I'm almost a grown up."

"Almost." Henry pushed.

"Almost." Sophie rolled her eyes but her smile remained. "I'm just saying, I've been taking care of you more than you've been taking care of me these past couple years. If I can handle taking care of us, I think I can handle a boyfriend a couple years older than me."

Henry grumbled, not wanting to talk directly about him. He liked beating around the bush so he wasn't the bad guy, directly, at least. He would rather lightly influence and nudge her in the right direction, rather than draw out particularly placed lines, if that made sense. Henry wanted her to make the right decision on her own, not tell her what to do as if he had any control at all.

But as Sophie's guardian, he knew he should talk to her truthfully. That was his job after all. He was suppose to guide her and protect her but also listen to her. She was right. She was growing up. He had to seriously consider the things she said. But that was difficult as her grandfather. Sophie would always be his little girl, his princess, his son's beautiful daughter.

How could he not be overly protective of such a girl?

"I have no doubt that you'd fit nicely with a boy older than you. You're mature and you're smart. A boy younger than you or even your age would be too immature. But you're still a high school student. It's incredibly inappropriate. If you were even three years older or he was three years younger, maybe, I'd be more comfortable with this situation." Henry admitted.

Something in there had soothed Sophie's worries, just a tad. "Cortez is willing to wait."

"Is he?" Henry slightly craned his neck to look at Sophie on the couch. She confidently nodded. Henry huffed and shook his head. "That doesn't change the fact that he's attracted to a little girl. If he likes girls in high school, what other kind of sick interests does he have?"

Sophie defeatedly sighed. She knew it sounded strange in the human world. It was something she was still trying to get over herself, but it wasn't like it sounded. He wasn't attracted to young girls, he was attracted to her. He made that known. It was the moon goddess, the mate bond. He hadn't been attracted to another woman in his lifetime, which meant it wasn't a fetish of some sort.

But how could she possibly explain that to her grandfather in any form that he'd believe her?

"Don't you trust me?" Sophie pouted.

"I trust you, darlin', no doubt. I just don't trust him." Henry said. "And as your grandfather, I wish you didn't either. You're still defending him and I wish you weren't."

As Sophie tried to think of some way to explain their situation to her grandfather, Sophie's eyes fell to the notebook in her lap. She wasn't reading it, just thinking. She wondered if she could just be honest and spill everything. No. He probably wouldn't take the news lightly. She sure hadn't when she found out the way she did. Then would she ever tell him? Did she have to life a double life from now on?

The slightest hint of a strange scent made Sophie's eyes lift from the notebook pages. She stared at nothing in particular as she focused on listening to her surroundings. At the sound of a click and then creaking metal and wood, Sophie felt her heart race. It was so close. It was obviously a door. But when she looked at the front door, she saw nothing. There were no houses anywhere near here. It could be no other door but one in the house.

Another sound rang through Sophie's ears and she could only identify it as the sound of someone's shoe slowly brushing against the wood floor. Whoever it was, was taking light and cautious steps. Sophie's heart was hammering so hard at this point that this point that it was distracting her from hearing anything else. She didn't move, only tried to silently debate if what she heard was real or not.

Was it someone walking into her house or just something in the woods that she was somehow picking up? Was it Cortez sneaking in to see her? If it was, it didn't smell like Cortez...

"Hey, Chief, I'm gonna let Daisy outside again." Sophie spoke softly as she got up from the couch. Henry simply nodded, his attention fully locked on to his book.

Sophie snapped her fingers at Daisy to wake her up. When Daisy realized Sophie was going somewhere, she hurried to get up and follow. Now Sophie couldn't hear anything over Daisy's paws falling against the creaking wood floors. She opened the back door and let Daisy run back outside with the same amount of glee as always. She remained by the door, her back to the bathroom and stairwell that led to the basement.

Sophie did notice one thing while standing by the door, though. There was a wolf scent that she didn't recognize. It was very strong where she was standing. Sophie didn't know the smell of all of Cortez's wolves, otherwise she would've identified it and moved on. She knew it wasn't Cortez, though. Was it just the wind carrying a scent into the house from the woods or was there a wolf somewhere around her house recently?

Before Sophie could contemplate anything for too long, there was a louder step just behind her and suddenly there was a cold hand cupping her mouth and another around her waist that pinned her arms down. Sophie's eyes widened, her heart leaping into throat and halting all air flow. She was going to attempt a scream before she felt someone's jaw pressing against her hair and right beside her ear.

"Stay quiet for me, won't you, Sophie? This will all be a lot easier if you keep your pretty mouth quiet." The manly voice hissed a cruel whisper into her ear.

Before she could deny them, the new tears in her eyes rolled down her face and seeped between the man's cold fingers around her mouth. Sophie was so terrified that she couldn't even fight back if she wanted to. Her heart was beating painfully fast in her chest, her body trembling from head to toe, and breath nervously stuttering as she tried to hold back sobs.

The man quietly chuckled at Sophie's terror, satisfied to know just how weak she was and then another male appeared, all dressed in black, and pulled something out of his hoodie pockets. Sophie's watering eyes widened at the sight of two hand grenades sat comfortably in his hands. She began to rapidly shake her head but the man holding her growled and held her tighter to stop her movements.

"You're the Luna of the Destine Moon pack, right? Cortez's mate?" The second man grinned knowingly as he pointed a grenade casually at Sophie.

Sophie couldn't help but flinch at his gesture, but the man holding her forced her to look at him again. She could swear she recognize the mans scent from somewhere but her thoughts were too scattered.

"Long story short, you know, just so we can get this all over with, we're not big fans of Alpha Cortez." The man with the grenades, better known as Rogue Two, whispered. "Unfortunately, for you, you're the perfect ticket to ruining his life."

"And we don't mean we're going to kidnap you, Luna." The man holding her hostage, Rogue One, whispered with a snark tone in her ear.

"No..." Rogue Two chuckled quietly. "That's too easy."

"So, what we want you to do is stand right by your front door like a pretty, obedient girl, and stay silent." Rogue One explained.

Sophie shook her head, fighting him when he tried to keep her still. She finally managed to catch his finger between her teeth and bite down. Rogue One quietly hissed as he shook out his hand.

"Please, no. Don't do this." Sophie whispered, not only because they threatened her to, but because she didn't want to worry her grandfather. "My elderly grandfather is in the house. Please.. I beg you."

"Begging." Rogue Two excitedly gestured with the grenades, causing Sophie to flinch once more. "How pathetically adorable, Little Miss Luna. Unfortunately, we don't really care about you or the old man."

"Just do as we say. And quietly, or this gets messy." Rogue One seethed, obviously hinting at the fact that they weren't afraid to shut her up themselves or harm her grandfather.

"Got it?" Rogue Two popped his eyebrows in question.

"You're going to kill me?" Sophie shook. "Why? When you can take me far away from here and hide me from him?"

Rogue Two's face contorted in shock and confusion. He stared at Rogue One for a moment before his smirk returned and he nodded. "I get it.. You want to protect the old man? You want to keep him away from danger? Well... What a treat it would be to kill him to hurt you and then you to hurt Cortez."

Rogue Two took a step passed Sophie, as if he were about to march into the living room and kill her grandfather. Sophie, with limited movement, caught the sleeve of his black sweatshirt between her fingers. He turned to her with devious curiosity sparkling in his dark eyes.

"Please.. I'll listen. Just don't hurt him." Sophie whispered passed the lump in her throat and the tears pricking at her eyes.

Her eyes closed as she decided to take a moment and clear her head. She had to stop panicking, she had to think of a plan or something. What was she going to do when he set those grenades off? Could she survive grenades? Could werewolves survive grenades? What about her grandfather? An explosion would surely kill her grandfather. And he wouldn't even be able to get out of the house properly since he was so old, on the off chance that he would survive the explosion.

Rogue One pushed Sophie down the hallway a couple fumbling steps, bringing her out of her thoughts. She looked back at them and watched as they glared so evilly, gesturing for her to stand in front of the front door as they had commanded before. More tears rolled down Sophie's face as she obeyed. She tried to think straight as she took her place in front of the door.

There was nothing between the front and back door, besides the staircase that led upstairs, but there was still a hallway leading between them. Sophie followed the length of the hallway until she found the two men stood in the doorway to the backyard, a grenade in either of their hands and smirks broad across their faces. She couldn't believe she was looking them in the eyes; these strangers that wanted her dead.

Why was all of this happening? This was a dream, right? Or like a dramatic movie where Cortez bursts through the door and saves me. No. I can't smell him, hear him, see him. Why won't you save me, Cortez? After all the promises you've made?

"Sophie?" The voice of her grandfather caused more tears to stream down her face. She turned to her grandfather, who sat far into the living room with his reading glasses on the bridge of his nose.

She didn't even get to look at him for long before the two werewolves tossed the grenades and ran outside, slamming the door shut behind them. Sophie did the first thing that came to mind and sprinted for her grandfather. Unfortunately, the grenades were quicker than her and she didn't get the chance.

{ Miguel is back. I personally like Miguel. Which I feel sounds egotistical since I created him... But come on, he's the sweetest little asshole! And wow.. What a way for Sophie to celebrate after graduating Junior year. With grenades..😅 }