The next morning was cold and crisp. I was glad to have Theodore's arms still firmly around me, keeping me warm but dawn was approaching fast and he soon got up.

At first, he just sat on the edge of the bed, his head in his hands, probably dreading what he was going to have to do today.

I sat quietly watching him, feeling the same dread on his behalf. I felt it for me too. The dread of losing him.

His shirt was still on the floor by the bed where it was discarded last night and for the first time since I saw them on the night of the storm back at home, I noticed the thin scars on his back.

"What happened to your back?" I asked after a few moments of mustering up the balls to question.

He seemed to freeze up and he stayed facing away from me.

"Nothing," he said bluntly.

I shuffled forward and sat behind him before I ran my fingers down his spine, feeling the faint bumps of scar tissue underneath my tips. He tensed even more and sat upright.

"You can tell me," I urged.

With that, he turned around and grabbed my hand, stopping me from touching him. For a moment, he looked into my eyes and I looked into his. His eyebrows sloped down, his lips a few millimetres apart and the warm hazel of his eyes shielding whatever thoughts were swirling behind.

He then quickly looked down, let go off my hand and stood up before abruptly leaving the tent.

Once I was dressed, I headed out of the tent too. The entire camp was bustling with activiy. Soldiers walked backwards and forwards carrying weapons and moving supplies. Some of them were busy patching up wounds and stretching their muscles. Others sharpened their knives and packed their bags.

"How's it going?" I asked Tobias.

He was stood amongst it all with his arms folded as he oversaw everything.

"Well there's only so much prepartion we can do before we know anything about the base but...we're doing the best we can," he said, "We at least can be sure that we're going to need a shit tonne of weapons."

I sighed, "Are you nervous?"

"Of course," he said, "But we can't let nerves get the better of us today."

I nodded before I spotted Rose who had just finished speaking to a group of Nightingale soldiers.

"Esme," she said, "Are you okay?"

I shrugged, "I'm surviving."

"Aren't we all?" she said with a sigh, "Anyway, I need a complete list of all the living Nightingales. We need to know who we've got left to work with. Can you organise that?"

I nodded, "Of course I can but what a dismal task."

She gave a sad smile, "I know. But mind over matter. We will grieve those we've lost when we everything is over."

Just as she finished, I noticed her eyes flicker up to something behind me.

"Esme, I need to talk to you," a gruff voice said.

"Here?" I asked taking my eyes off Rose to turn.

It was Theodore. He wore a serious expression and only fleetingly looked my in the eye.

"No. Come with me," he said before turning away and expecting me to follow him.

He led me to a quiet spot by the lake where he stopped, turned to face me and put his hands either side of my face.

"I want to have you taken to the caves," he said.

I looked into his eyes. They were stern and serious.

"Theodore-" I began.

"Please don't argue with me," he added, "Knowing that you're safe is going to make today much easier."

"I have a duty to help," I said, "Just like every other soldier in the army."

He held my head firmly as he moved his body even closer to mine.

"A duty to who?" he asked, looking deeper into my eyes.

"My pack-"

"Nightingale?"

His eyebrow raised as he waited for my response.

"Yes."

"You aren't a Nightingale anymore," he said, "You're the Luna of Pheonix."

"Then I have a duty to Pheonix," I replied. "And her allies."

"Pheonix women don't fight, especially the Luna," he said, shaking me a little. "And especially when their Alpha forbids it."

His hands had now slipped down to the back of my neck and I couldn't help but lean back as he got uncomfortably close to me.

"Do you understand?" he asked.

I bit my lip and glanced down to our feet. He was so close that his legs were either side of mine, trapping me in the middle. For a second, I felt the urge to just nod and agree but then I remembered that the freedom and safety of two entire packs came down to today. I remembered how weak and outnumbered we were. I remembered all those children and vulnerable people that we had to protect.

"No," I said, "I'm not going to the caves."

I then took his hands and pulled his hands from my neck to my shoulders.

"I'm sorry but I will not stand by and watch. If you force me to, you are breaking the terms of the alliance that still stands until this war is over. And that is the last thing you want to do when today depends so heavily on the Nightingale pack and its leaders."

He glared down at me but my eyes didn't waver.

"You have no authority over me until Alpha Kane has been defeated, Theodore," I said, "You know that."

He then took his hands off my shoulders and stepped back. He glared deep into my eyes for a few moments before turning away.

"Keep enjoying it while it lasts," he grumbled.

He left me feeling a little shaken but I soon pushed him from my mind and instead went about collecting the names of all the Nightingale soldiers I could find. It didn't take me long, there were only fifty-three of us left, so when I was done I headed back to the centre of the camp to find Rose and Tobias.

But the first people I saw were Lou and Theodore. They stood close together with Theodore leaning into Lou's ear as he spoke in a hushed tone.

"Lou, you aren't coming with the patrol," Theodore said, "I need you here. To look out for my Luna."

I ducked behind a nearby tree, just in earshot of them.

"What do you want me to do, Alpha?" he asked.

"Make sure she doesn't get herself killed," Theodore said.

He then glanced around before speaking again, even quieter, "She's stubborn and non-compliant but I don't care what you have to fucking do or how much she doesn't like it. I want her alive at the end of this."

"And Alpha Brynn?" Lou asked, "What if he goes against my attempts to keep her safe?"

"You do not answer to Alpha Brynn," Theodore said in a deep tone, "You answer to me. And I am ordering you to keep my Luna out of harm's way even if you have to drag her kicking or screaming. She has refused to go to caves and because of the fucking alliance I can't make her but if it comes down to the alliance or her life, you know what to choose. And if today goes to plan, we won't need Nightingale any longer and I will deal with Alpha Brynn however necessary."

"Yes Alpha," Lou said before Theodore stood up straight, nodded and marched away.

Lou seemed uncomfortable. He cracked his neck before he shuffled on his feet and looked up to the sky with a deep sigh.

With Theodore now gone, I slipped out from where I was hiding and approached him

"So Theodore's put you on babysitting duty, right?" I asked raising my eyebrow.

He sighed and leant against a tree.

"How do you know?" he questioned.

"I heard you talking," I said.

"Oh fuck," Lou mumbled. "You heard everything?"

"Yes. I liked the part where he completely failed to acknowledge the fact that I am my own person and also the bit where he said he doesn't care how I feel. But the part that I found most interesting was when he said that the alliance with Nightingale doesn't matter after today. I know he doesn't get on with Tobias but I'd like to think that, due to the fact he is mated to his sister, he'd like to keep some degree of civility by not utterly undermining his authority and breaking the terms of the alliance before the war has even ended," I said.

I folded my arms and scowled, feeling an extreme bitterness.

"I want to say it's because he cares about you," Lou replied, "And I believe you do mean a lot to him and he genuinely wants you to be safe but if he really cared about you and not just what you are to him, he wouldn't have asked me to do this."

I nodded.

"Because he would care that it is against my wishes," I replied. "And he would care about my family too."

"Exactly," Lou said, "But he is who he is. And you chose to accept him for that."

"He told me we both have adjustments to make," I said, "But since we mated, he doesn't seem to have made any adjustments. He's gone back to being as controlling and stubborn as he was at the start."

Lou didn't reply. He just stood quietly.

"... Do you think I made a stupid mistake?" I asked.

"Accepting him?" Lou asked.

I nodded.

"You aren't stupid, Esme," he replied, "But he is crafty and manipulative. And I can't say for sure that you made the mistake of falling into one of his traps either. He may surprise us all."

"Is that likely?" I asked.

"All of those warnings I gave you about him were before we knew you were mates. It looked like he was doing to you what he did to all the other women that came before you. But they weren't his mate and you are. Maybe it will be different with you. Like I said, I genuinely think you mean a lot to him and that's not something he's ever shown before."

"He has a funny way of showing it," I said with a short laugh.

Lou smiled.

"Maybe after the war is over, he'll become the man you want him to be and right now he just wants to make sure you live to see that."

"And I want him to live to do that. But do you see me instructing Rose to keep him out the way?" I asked. "He's such a control freak."

Lou laughed, "Yeh, you could say that."

His face then turned serious again.

"And you know that I have to obey his orders, don't you?" he asked.

I nodded, "And you know that I will resist you, right?"

He smiled, "I'd be disappointed if you didn't."

"Well, I better go and find Rose and Tobias. See you when you're dragging me to the caves or whatever, I guess," I said.

He rolled his eyes, "See you later, kid. And talk to your mate. You don't want to part ways with things as they are between you right now."

I nodded, "Thanks, Lou."

I quickly found Rose and we sat down with Tobias to examine the list of soldiers we had left. Out of the surviving fifty-three soldiers, most of them were archers which was the only good news we'd had in a while. Whatever the nature of the base was, we'd be attacking from a distance at first and the best way to do that was shoot.

Half way through our discussion, two young Pheonix soldiers brought four horses through. One of them was large and midnight black and I instantly recognised it as the horse Theodore had always ridden when he dropped off grain in the Nightingale pack.

A few moments later, Theodore, Asher, April and Miles all appeared. They were heavily armed to the teeth with knives. Attached to their belts, in their pockets, up their sleeves, strapped to their legs.

I bit my lip, my focus no longer on whatever Tobias was saying as I just watched Theodore preparing to leave.

"Are you concerned?" Rose asked as I felt a hand on my shoulder.

Tobias had stopped talking to look up at me with a sympathetic smile.

"He'll be okay."

She nodded, "He knows what he's doing. We have to have faith."

I forced a smile.

"There's something else, isn't there?" she asked, "Something else you're worried about."

I shook my head.

"Esme," she said sternly.

I sighed and tilted my head back, "Of course I want the war to end. It has been hell and we are well overdue some peace. But the end of the war also means the end of the alliance and I'm worried I can only be happy with him when he is forced to follow the terms he agreed to."

"You mean when he is forced to recognise your authority as a leader of Nightingale?" she asked.

I nodded, "But as soon as the war is over. I'm not a leader of Nightingale anymore. I'm just his Luna."

"Esme," she said taking my hands, "You will never ever be 'just his Luna'. You are strong and motivated and compassionate and brave. Whether you hold a position as a leader or not doesn't change that."

"But what if it does?" I asked, "What if I had it easy and I'm not really as brave and strong as I thought?"

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"If I wasn't Tobias's sister, I would just be an ordinary pack member. He handed me my position because we are family. I didn't earn it. And it's easy to be brave when you have the two bravest people in the world either side of you. I never could have done it alone, Rose. So what if when I'm living here with Theodore and you two are back at home...what if I can't do it?"

"We were all handed our positions, Es," she said, "You and Tobias got it for being born in the right family and I got it for being mated to the right man. But that doesn't mean you aren't worthy. And take this as your opportunity to prove yourself. Maybe you're right and you did have it easy. Maybe having Tobias and me with you helped you be brave. But I believe you have courage from within too. You just don't know it yet."

I smiled and shook your head, "I want to believe you."

"Don't believe me," she replied, "Believe in yourself, Esme."

I forced another smile and she sighed, "Or at least stop wallowing here and go and spend time with your mate before he has to go," she said.

I nodded and slowly approached him and his stony expression faltered for a slight second as he saw me.

He let out a short grunt to acknowledge me before he went back to strapping the saddle onto his horse.

I approached regardless of his mood which was clearly still foul from our disagreement earlier.

I placed my hand around his waist and rested my head on his shoulder.

After angrily pulling a few more of the buckles tight he finally paused and took a deep breath. He turned to face me, examined my face for a split second before he pulled me into a tight hug.

"I know you don't believe in luck... but I hope it's on your side even so," I said.

He smiled before leaning down to kiss me. As I rested my hands on his chest, I savoured the feeling of his soft lips on mine and the tickle of his fingers as he ran them down my cheeks to my neck.

"Our side," he corrected.

He then withdrew and took my hands before staring deeply into my eyes, "If I had the authority I'd have you taken to the caves to ensure your safety in a heartbeat. But you made it clear I can't stop you fighting so just promise me you'll stay as safe as possible. I've told Lou to keep an eye out for you and I trust all my men will do the same for their Luna."

I nodded, "I'll do my best."

Of course, I knew he'd told Lou to do far more than that but I wasn't going to bring such a futile argument up now. Not minutes before I watch him ride off, potentially to his death.

He watched me for a few moments more before he looked over to his men.

"I have a few minutes to spare," he said, holding my hand firmly, "Come on."

We walked away from the camp until we reached a quiet spot by the stream where he stopped and pulled me into him, not hesitating to kiss me.

I placed my hands on his chest and kissed him back until I felt a tear in my eye.

I quickly wiped it away but of course he noticed.

"I'm sorry," I said, "I'm just thinking about if anything happened to you I just..."

"You'd miss me?" he asked with a smile.

I nodded.

"How times have changed, Esme," he said pulling me into a hug, "Not too long ago you loathed my presence."

"Well I don't feel like the same person as I was then," I said as I rested my head on his chest, "She was happy alone and independent and unsentimental. Now I'm not."

He smiled again and ran his hand over my hair, playing with my curls in his fingers.

"I want to mark you, Esme," he said eventually.

I looked up, "Mark me?"

Marking was an ancient werewolf practice where the male in a pair of mates leaves a permanent scar made by his fangs on the females neck.

In the Nightingale pack we stopped doing it decades ago after she-wolves grew a distaste for their mates marking them like property. The tradition states it's for protection and to strengthen the bond too but us Nightingales just see it as an act of ownership.

"Yes," Theodore said, brushing my hair from my neck.

"Why?" I asked, "You still do that in the Pheonix pack?"

He nodded, "If anything happens to me today and I'm not in the rest of your life, I can die assured that you bear my mark."

I furrowed my eyebrows, still confused.

"But why?" I asked.

He was now running his fingers along the skin of my neck.

"We don't mark in the Nightingale pack," I said.

He sighed, "Of course you don't... but you're the Luna of Pheonix now. You don't have to follow Nightingale laws anymore."

"I know but... I can't help but be unsure," I replied, "It just feels a little old-fashioned."

He now had both hands on my shoulders, my hair fully off my exposed neck.

"It's a werewolf tradition, Esme," he explained, "You will belong to me forever, whether I'm here with you or not. If I die today, I won't be here to remind other men that you are off limits. But my mark will fulfill that job for me."

I bit my lip.

"You want to be my mate forever, don't you?" he asked.

By now, another tear had dripped down my cheek. He mopped it up with his thumb before lifting my chin so I had to look him in the eye.

"Don't you?" he repeated.

I nodded before shifting my gaze away.

But from the corner of my teary eye I saw him smile and lean down. A few seconds later, I felt his cold fangs on my skin and then a piercing sensation.

He gripped me so I couldn't move no matter how unbearable the pain became. The further his teeth sunk, the more it hurt and the more I had to dig my nails into his shoulder blades.

I whimpered but he didn't stop, not until his fangs were as deep as they'd go, at which point he withdrew and a wave of relief swept over me.

I felt his lips kiss the fresh mark before he pulled out a hankerchief and dabbed the blood as I rested my entire weight was in his arms. My legs felt like they'd turned to noodles and my head waxed and waned.

"I have to go," he said a few moments later.

I tried to nod but my head only lolled.

"Why do I feel so weak?" I whispered.

He paused for a moment, "... It's only the shock. You'll recover soon."

I then felt him lift me off my feet into his arms and carry me back towards the camp.

"Lou," Theodore called, "Come here."

"Is she okay, Alpha?" I heard Lou ask.

"She's fine," Theodore replied, handing me over into Lou's arms.

I'd completely lost control of my body and my eyelids had drooped shut but I could still hear crystal clear.

"I just made your job easier," Theodore added.

Lou said nothing and I felt Theodore lean down and kiss me on the forehead.

"She'll start to come around soon but she'll be weak for hours. You should have no trouble keeping her away from the battle," he said, "Alpha Brynn shouldn't be a problem either. Even he should now see that she's not in a fit state to fight."

I then heard Theodore's footsteps walk away before the gallops of the horses which slowly became more and more distant.