"So... Did you have fun with Cortez's family today? They seem to really like you." Delilah beamed as she looked at Sophie through the mirror.

Sophie shyly laughed. "It was nice, actually. Looking through old photos was really cool. And then Maria showed me all the things she had already prepared for the mate ceremony, which is a lot of stuff. If I would've known there was so much, I would've offered to help a little more."

"I'm sure she doesn't mind. Luna Maria used to love to throw parties in the pack house so this is kind of her specialty." Delilah reassured. She gathered some of Sophie's hair between her fingers and snipped it away. "What about your dress and all that? Do you have anything to wear?"

"No. We all decided to go into the city for a shopping trip. I can finally get some of my own clothes and also pick out a dress for the ceremony." Sophie explained.

Delilah couldn't stop beaming as she continued to cut Sophie's hair. "I'm so happy we finally get to have our Luna. The whole pack is happy. This mate ceremony is going to amazing."

Sophie blushed. She hadn't gotten used to all of this yet. Having so many people admire her and look up to her was odd after being so secluded all her life. But it certainly gave her more confidence. She felt more comfortable leading a group of people when they liked her opposed to the latter. And she knew Cortez would always be around to help.

A sudden spark of pain in the pit of Sophie's gut made her gasp and clench her abdomen. "Oh! Ow! Ow, ow, ow, ow ow!" Sophie hissed through the hot, sharp pain.

"What? What is it? Are you alright?" Delilah panicked.

"No, it's nothing.." Sophie breathed through the pain and straightened her posture. She looked in the mirror to see half her hair cut and Delilah staring at her with worry. "We might wanna hurry this up before I vomit or something. I really wanna lay down."

"Okay.."

Delilah hesitated and continued to cut Sophie's hair so it all stopped flat at her jawline. She couldn't help but stare at Sophie in the mirror. She looked alright. Sophie was simply sitting and breathing, trying to brainstorm why she felt so weird. There was a sore spot somewhere in her gut, which was odd. She had felt sore muscles in her legs or arms but never inside her.

Sophie wanted Cortez. He always made her feel better, physically and mentally. She liked touching him. She liked when he touched her. God, did she want to him to touch her. The memories of kissing him and feeling his hands on her instantly brought another sharp pain through her core. She tried to fight it and ignore it. She figured she was just sick.

"You really don't look good, Luna. Are you sure you're alright?" Delilah asked.

"I'm fine. Really. I think I just miss Cortez. It's been like..." Sophie paused to think. "Wow.. It's only been like three hours." Sophie groaned and slapped her hands over her face. "What is wrong with me? I can't be away from him for three hours?"

"I know how you feel, Luna. I can't be away from Jeremiah for too long either. It's torture."

"I think I was missing him in my sleep last night as well. I had this super graphic dream about him. I even woke him up because I was moaning. God, it's so embarrassing." Sophie blushed.

"I get those kinds of dreams when my heat comes around." Delilah said as she ran a comb through Sophie's hair. She pulled back the short locks and looked at Sophie's neck. "But you haven't even been marked yet so you shouldn't be in heat."

"My heat.." Sophie breathed the words as it hit her. She remembered what Miguel had told her after asking if she had been marked yet.

You've been connected for too long to not have mated yet. The mate bond is going to get sick of waiting and force you into heat, which usually wouldn't happen until you're marked.

"Uhm.. Delilah.." Sophie reluctantly spoke up as she began fanning herself. Their eyes met in the mirror. "So I've been really hot all day long, and the dream thing, plus, I came on to Cortez more than I usually would this morning.. You don't think I'm going into a forced heat, do you?"

Delilah froze, the scissors in her hand open and comb frozen in Sophie's hair. "A forced heat? I don't know, Luna. That kind of thing doesn't just happen."

"Alright. Then I won't worry about it too much." Sophie's eyes fell as she began nibbling on her thumb nail.

Delilah was slow to return to cutting Sophie's hair. They were both engaging in nice and causal conversation but now that Sophie was anxious and Delilah was worried, the tension hung low in the air. Delilah cut Sophie's hair in silence, noticing when some hair got caught in the beaded sweat on the back of Sophie's neck.

There was no way, Delilah thought. The Moon Goddess wouldn't put her through that. Sophie had a werewolf mate as a human and survived a bite. There was no way the Moon Goddess would throw another rarity at her.

"Delilah, I really don't feel so good." Sophie muttered as her hand cupped her stomach and shifted uncomfortably in her chair. The slightest brush of her shorts against her clit suddenly felt like Cortez's tongue and she instantly had to bit back a moan.

"What's wrong? Are you gonna be sick?" Delilah panicked as she popped the lid of the toilet up since they were already in the bathroom. "You can vomit right here, Luna."

"No, no. I'm not gonna puke." Sophie took a couple deep breathes and let her eyes fall shut. She forced Cortez off her brain, which was a battle in itself. "I'm fine. Sorry, Delilah. I'm fine."

"You're getting to nervous and anxious, Luna. Just relax, okay?" Delilah coached as she reassuringly rubbed Sophie's arm.

Sophie gulped and nodded. "You're right. I just need a nap after you cut my hair."

"Okay. I'll go quick."

Delilah did as promised and quickly clicked some last pieces of Sophie's hair. She made sure it was all even, lining up with her jaw on either side of her face. Sophie sat with her eyes closed the entire time. Delilah combed through Sophie's hair to make sure everything looked good no matter how her hair was styled. She paid close attention to Sophie's heart as she did so, silently worried for her Luna.

"I'm done. Tell me how you like it." Delilah sang happily as she guided Sophie up and off the chair she was sat on in front of the mirror.

Sophie stood and opened her eyes. She only got to see herself for a moment before her stomach twisted and her head went dizzy. Her body nearly went tumbling towards the floor before Delilah caught her. Delilah dumped her scissors and comb to help Sophie out of the bathroom and back into her and Cortez's room.

"Luna? Are you alright?" Delilah asked. She held Sophie upright and brushed her hair back to see her face.

Sophie could barely hold her head up, or her own body for that matter, and her eyes wouldn't open. Delilah gently shook her, begging for her to answer. Sophie only groaned and pushed Delilah's hands off of her. Her hands felt prickly against her skin and she hated it. She didn't want anyone touching her. She just wanted Cortez and that was it. Everybody else could fall dead for all she cared.

"Luna, you're totally burning up." Delilah exclaimed as she felt Sophie's hot skin. Sophie continued to push her away.

"Don't touch me! Stop touching me." Sophie exclaimed. She brushed her hair back with both hands and finally opened her eyes again. "I want Cortez. I want him now. Where is he?"

Delilah froze and stared at her Luna. Her soft green eyes were glazed over, her eyelids heavy. "Why, Sophie? Why do you want Cortez?"

She had to ask just to make sure.

"Please, Delilah. I need him. I need him to touch me again." Sophie desperately begged.

Another spark of pain made Sophie double over. She breath through it, groaning from the pain but moaning as she imagined all the ways Cortez would pleasure her. Sophie crazed him. She was hungry, starving, for his touch. She wanted to kiss him, touch him, have him kiss her and touch her. He wanted his hands where she felt like she was burning, his lips where she was crying, and cock slamming into her.

A tear rolled down her cheeks and Delilah knew. She could smell it, the slightest hint of Sophie's arousal. It was usually mates that could smell each other's arousal, not so much other wolves, which convinced Delilah that it was real and it was happening. Sophie was going into a forced heat.

"Stay here, Luna. Please, just give me one minute." Delilah insisted as she stepped away. She didn't get far before Sophie caught her wrist.

"Wait! Bring me with. I need to find Cortez. I need him." Sophie stated with big green eyes.

Delilah coached Sophie's hands off of her. "Yes, I know. I'm going to bring him to you. Don't worry. Just stay here."

Delilah gently guided Sophie to lay down in bed before she took off. She tried to pet her hot skin to comfort her but Sophie refused her, curling up in a ball as she clenched her lower abdomen. Delilah mentally cursed a thousand times as she rushed out of the room and through the pack house. She bursted into Cortez's office without knocking, spotting Cortez and Jeremiah casually talking at his desk.

Cortez's eyes landed on Delilah and he could tell by her wide green eyes, that were filled with pure panic, that something was wrong. "It's Sophie.. She's in heat." Delilah panted from the run.

Jeremiah looked to Cortez. His Alpha hadn't moved a muscle and his expression was flat and unreadable. He was obviously in shock. "But I thought you hadn't marked her yet."

"I haven't." Cortez growled lowly, his expression pulling in tight with anger. His eyes were glued to Delilah. "You're lying."

Delilah gulped and reluctantly shook her head. "She told me about the dream last night. And how she has been really hot all day. Now she's in pain and she... wants you."

Cortez's first instinct was to jump and run to Sophie, naturally. But he couldn't. It took every fiber of his being to not move himself out of his desk chair. The amount of restraint made him violently bury his hands in his hair out of pure frustration.

"I-I can't.. I can't go up there." Cortez stressed as he took a labored breath. "If I go up there and see her like that.. If I smell her.. If she begs for me.."

"I thought you said she was okay with you two being together a couple days ago. What would be the harm in..." Before Jeremiah could continue, Cortez lowly and threateningly growled.

"That was before her grandfather died!" Cortez hissed between his teeth. "Ever since, she's been hesitant. She doesn't want to touch me. She doesn't want me to touch her. I can't use her heat as some kind of excuse! She's not in her right mind!"

"So you're going to leave her like that?" Delilah exclaimed in shock and anger.

As a female wolf, she knew very well how painful her first heat was. She couldn't imagine how Sophie felt going through a forced heat. She didn't even care that she was yelling at her Alpha. At least, she was yelling at him about her Luna. That gave her something of a pass in this situation. Just like when Sophie was bitten.

"She still has a very human mindset. If I went up there and dealt with this, she'd hate me. She's basically drugged and any human man would be put in jail for having sex with an underage and drugged up girl."

"You have to do something!" Delilah demanded. She didn't care about Cortez rationalizing and rambling. All she cared about was that Sophie was in pain and she knew the feeling.

Cortez jumped up, slamming his hands against his desk and nearly breaking it in half. Delilah flinched but stood strong. "I CANT BE RECKLESS ABOUT THIS, DELILAH!" Cortez roared.

Delilah gulped, feeling her Alpha's angry scold run rigid through her bones. Jeremiah visibly fidgeted as he tried not to get upset over the Alpha yelling at his mate. Naturally, he was protective of her and wouldn't allow anyone to treat her like that. But Cortez was their Alpha. If Jeremiah made any move against him, it would be considered a challenge.

Sophie's heat was throwing everyone into a mess.

"Please, Alpha. You must do something." Delilah whispered.

"You two seemed fine looking at photos earlier today. You were touching then." Jeremiah pointed out.

"That's the first time she's been comfortable with me in days, Jeremiah! I can't just take the inch she gave me and run a mile!" Cortez retorted.

He finally stood up and began pacing. Delilah and Jeremiah waited, impatiently, as Cortez contemplated the right thing to do. It was hard to focus when he knew Sophie was just upstairs, probably in more pain than he could predict. Every dirty thought that slipped into his thoughts, he aggressively shoved passed. But his wolf and his animalistic instincts were fighting him.

There was a chance that Cortez could help Sophie through her heat, successfully mark her, finally, and she'd be thankful that he got her through it. Or, she would completely resent him for having sex with her when she wasn't in her right mind. But Cortez highly, highly doubted that the first scenario would ever come true. That wasn't like Sophie. She had been jumpy and hesitant when they touched since the very beginning.

"No. I can't do it." Cortez decided.

Delilah felt her heart sink. "I will help her through it. Meanwhile, I advise you leave the house, Alpha."

"I will accompany you." Jeremiah added.

Cortez nodded and started for the door to his office, Jeremiah in fast tow. Jeremiah kissed his mate's forehead as he walked passed, wishing her luck. As the boys left the pack house, Delilah ran back upstairs to tend to her Luna.

Delilah wished Cortez had chosen differently but that was only because she knew how she felt when Jeremiah had taken all the pain away. Sophie may be different, though. Cortez was obviously making his decision based off of Sophie's wants and he was convinced he was making the right decision. Maybe Sophie would be grateful after the pain passed. Still, Delilah couldn't imagine. As a man, Cortez simply wouldn't understand how this worked to it's fullest.

Sophie cried beside Delilah for hours. Delilah couldn't touch her to comfort her even if she wanted to, Sophie would just get more upset and cry even harder. All Delilah could do was coach her through the pain and sit idly by. It broke her heart. Tears were pouring down her Luna's face and she could do nothing. It wasn't fair.

The pain was unlike anything Sophie had ever felt. The sharp, digging pain that would be similar to extremely bad period cramps ran through her entire body. Everything hurt. Every single muscle, every nerve, every bone. Sophie tried to shift to get out of her skin but Delilah refused her of doing so. But she couldn't think of anything else that would soothe the pain.

At one point, Sophie's canines and claws extended as she cried out in pain. She ripped through the damp sheets that were covered in her sweat. No amount of aggression helped soothe the pain. Even her head was spinning and she couldn't open her eyes because she would get sick from the dizziness.

All Sophie could think about was Cortez. Cortez could fix this. She just wanted his touch. She imagined his hands on her skin, calming very jittery nerve and relaxing every muscle. She imagined him kissing her and embracing her. It was all so nice. And then she imagined him devouring her, taking her as his with beastly instincts. It made her salivate and sweat.

But she never got that release of comfort. Cortez never came to save her from the pain.

The only good thing that came from that night was that Sophie and Delilah managed to mind link. Delilah was flattered to have Sophie accept her into her head. Wolves could only mind link each other when they gave each other full trust, if they weren't mates, of course. Delilah was honored to mind link with her Luna during such a hard time so she used the opportunity to softly coach and comfort her through the night.

~

The next morning, Sophie was finally back to normal. Or had, at least, recovered a bit. She had gotten no sleep but was overwhelmingly exhausted from fighting the endless pain and crying her eyes out for almost ten hours straight. She hadn't even showered. The stench of sweat lingered on her skin and her clothes but she didn't care. The call for food and water was more important than sleep or showering.

Sophie stuffed her face and downed a water bottle as she stood in the middle of the kitchen. Delilah carefully watched, an expression full of concern contorting her features as she watched her Luna. Sophie aggressively opened the fridge, grabbed food, and slammed the fridge shut. Delilah slightly flinched from the loud impact.

"How do you feel?" Delilah reluctantly asked.

Sophie looked up, her soft green eyes no longer soft or full of innocence. She had murder in her eyes. They were bloodshot to all hell. Her short hair was a mess as she ran her fingers through it and tossed it from one side to the other. With her new, shorter haircut, the redness taking over the her left side of her neck was right in view. Sophie could feel that spot on her neck burn and pulsate. She hated it.

"I'm pissed." Sophie growled.

"You wished he would've stayed?" Delilah continued.

"Fuck him." Sophie spat. "I'll rip his throat out."

Sophie threw more food in her mouth and took in as much water as her mouth to hold, causing her cheeks to blow up like a pufferfish. Cortez's voice could suddenly be heard yelling for Sophie through the pack house. Delilah's eyes shifted from the door of the kitchen and to Sophie, who was glaring at the door with so much hate.

"Just call for me if you need anything." Delilah chimed as she walked towards the door.

Sophie didn't say anything, but simply watched Delilah leave her in the kitchen. She could hear Delilah inform Cortez that she was in the kitchen. He thanked her and then his footsteps grew quick and louder as he approached. Sophie plucked the biggest knife from the knife block nearby and examined it's sharp edge.

Cortez bursted into the kitchen and instantly spotted his mate. He was slightly shocked to see a giant knife in her hand, her eyes glued to the sharp edge as she slowly spun it between her fingers. Cortez gulped. He could see she had that same glazed over look in her eyes as when she used her claw to draw blood from her thumb. That was a bad sign.

"Sophie.. How are you feeling?" Cortez asked, still stood on the other side of the kitchen.

Sophie took in a long breath and let out a long sigh, her eyes never meeting Cortez's. "You know.. For the last couple hours I've been wondering, why me? Haven't I been through enough? What exactly does this moon goddess want out of me? Why is it never you?" Sophie pointed the knife towards Cortez, her eyes darker than ever before.

Cortez nervously squirmed. "I'm sorry, Sophie. I know you've had it rough and it's not exactly fair."

"Not exactly fair?" Sophie bitterly laughed. She slightly turned over her arm to see the bite mark Gabriel left. "That sounds like the understatement of the century."

"If I would've picked up the clues from yesterday, I would've tried to come up with a better plan. I would've tried to talk to you before it clouded too much of your rational decision making."

"But you didn't. So you just decided to leave me."

Cortez felt his heart painfully clench in his chest. He didn't like her putting it like that. He didn't do it to be heartless or selfish. He was trying to look out for her.

"For once, Sophie, I was trying to make the right decision. I've let you down a thousand times. I figured this might be the one time that you'd be proud of the decision I made." Cortez desperately confessed.

"You left me to suffer." Sophie's voice came out weak and broken, paining Cortez even more. Her bloodshot eyes pooled with tears but they didn't fall.

"I wasn't sure if you were comfortable with me yet. I didn't want to be the bad guy. I thought I was doing the right thing!" Cortez defended as he started towards Sophie. He reached for her but she quickly placed the big knife between them, keeping him at a safe distance.

With her eyes on the knife, Sophie whispered, "I used to feel guilty touching you. Then, a couple hours ago, I thought the only thing that could save me was your touch. Now, here we are, and I never want to be touched by you ever again."

"No. Please, Sophie. Let me explain." Cortez softly begged.

Sophie ignored him, set down the knife, and tried to sidestep him. Cortez caught Sophie's arm and the slightest spark of joy and warm under her skin made her instantly rage with pure anger. She yanked her arm out of Cortez's reach with an aggressive growl and met his desperate stare. He could see her extended canines glisten between her slightly parted lips. Even Cortez was intimidated by his small mate's anger.

"You come from a background where I would be jailed for jumping on a young girl when she isn't in her right mind. I couldn't let you think of me like that." Cortez whispered.

"Things are different here! Those rules don't apply. Those rules stopped applying to us the moment you walked into my life." Sophie stated, firm and harsh.

Before Cortez could say anything, Sophie stormed off. Cortez was hesitant to follow but he couldn't think of any reason that would stop him. Just because she was angry? She was bound to be angry multiple times in their lives together and he didn't plan on ever leaving her side during those times either. He wanted to talk things out with Sophie. He saw no other option.

So Cortez rushed through the pack house to catch up with Sophie as she stormed into their bedroom. She nearly slammed the door in his face before he caught it, feeling a harsh sting radiated through his hand from how hard she threw the door shut.

"I didn't want you angry at me! I didn't want you to resent me and never want to be in bed with me ever again!" Cortez defended as he slammed their bedroom door shut behind him.

"Wow! How ironic! That's exactly what's happening right now." Sophie bitterly laughed again as she wildly gestures between them.

"What other option did I have? The same thing would've happened either way, apparently!"

"You're the Alpha of an entire pack and you can only come up with two possible options during a critical moment?! Instead of doing literally anything, you just left!" Sophie yelled.

Cortez's teeth gritted at her words. He didn't like anybody questioning his position as Alpha in any way, shape, or form. "Watch yourself, Sophie. Don't run your mouth about how I run my pack."

Sophie seethed at Cortez's arrogant, haughty tone. "Your pack? Last time I checked, I was the Luna of this pack. You made me the Luna of this pack! I didn't choose any of this, Cortez! It's on you!"

"What do you want me to fucking do about it, Sophie?" Cortez barked.

"Take responsibility!" Sophie demanded with just as much anger and frustration.

Fine, if it will get you to shut the hell up. Cortez growled as he took long strides across the room.

Before Sophie could comprehend what he was doing, Cortez picked Sophie off the ground, wrapped her legs around his waist, and slammed his lips against hers.

He was going to take responsibility.

No rules.
No moral compasses.
No principles.
Just love and sex.