-:Cecelia's POV:-

I felt like an idiot for not having confided in Ashton sooner. Telling him exactly what I felt and had been dealing with without censoring it was a huge weight lifted off my shoulders. I felt freer than I had in ages. I could breathe again.

He listened to everything silently. He was the perfect listener. At one point, I was scared that he would leave me after that. That he would see I was nothing more than a selfish girl who was not worthy of his time and love. But I shut that thought as soon as it formed.

He was there, sitting beside me. He loved me. I trusted him.

Despite all my bravado, I was scared to look at him the entire time I was speaking. I kept staring across the stream to that tree which I thought of as ours. I found comfort in that.

When I finished, he was quiet for so long. I felt myself getting scared again. He would have felt it if I hadn't been actively blocking my thoughts and emotions from him for all these months. 

He reacted in the most 'Ashton' way possible. 

He blamed himself. He said he wished he had been more approachable. I wanted to smack his head upside down to get him to stop. As cute and endearing as he was being, the whole thing was my fault and I refused to let him take the blame for it. We quickly sorted it out.

We talked all night that day. It felt like old times. We addressed all the elephants in the room. We laughed, cried, got mad, and just talked. We caught up with each other. We ended up watching the sunrise sitting there. It was Monday but we decided to skip school. We made plans to spend the day out of the Pack borders.

It's safe to say that that day our relationship became stronger than it ever was before and I couldn't be happier.

****************************

I landed on my back with a loud thud again and groaned.

"Be gentle," Xavier growled.

"She told me to not hold back and you didn't protest then!" 

"That was then. Now I'm telling you to be-"

"Ash, no." I grimaced, getting up. "I'm good."

School had finished and we'd graduated with flying colors. We were training in our spacious front yard and I had asked David to help me.  Ashton couldn't fight me because Xavier kept holding him back. Xavier felt that I was too frail now. It was his instinct to protect. That's why they watched over the training rather than being a part of it. Until Ashton lost control. 

Exhibit A.

I sat up determinedly, climbing back to my feet swiftly.

"See?" David waved a hand towards me. Xavier growled threateningly at him. I coughed loudly to get their attention and glared at them when I succeeded. Xavier scowled but then their eyes cleared and I was met with hazel again. 'Sorry,' he mouthed apologetically and looked away.

I sighed. I'd told him multiple times that he did not have to be here and watch me train. But he still came. Every day for the past month and a half since I got back on the field, he would lurk on the sidelines or watch from afar, wincing every time I was tackled to the ground or get hit. At times, he would lose control and Xavier would come forward. Like today. 

I was still much powerful than an actual human - as I found out when I resumed training again - but a wolf had considerably more strength than me and the fact that I had done next to no physical activity for five months had not been doing me any favors. I was much better than I had been about fifty days ago when I started but I could use a lot of work.

"Again," I said, tearing my eyes away from Ashton's. He had not stopped me from training. In fact, he was encouraging. But I could only imagine what it felt like to watch your mate get beaten to pulp practically every day. I knew me being hurt hurt him, but the training was necessary. I was going to be Luna one day and a Luna should know how to protect herself.

We went on and on till David managed to pin me under him. That's when Ashton lost it again. Xavier took over with a ferocious growl and picked David off of me. David laughed.

I almost snorted at the situation myself. But then I realized my mate might kill Dave so I got up and separated them instead. I placed a hand on Ashton's chest to keep him back and faced David who was simpering idiotically. I shot him a half-hearted glare and he laughed out loud before sauntering away. 

He did it purposefully to irk Ashton. Why was I not surprised? I could bet Aaron put him up to it. 

Yes, Aaron and I were on much better terms. His second chance mate, Vanessa was cool. Aaron had never got a chance to personally meet his first mate. His wolf, Liam, had recognized her on TV one day when they were showing the photos of the deceased victims from a major fire. He had been pretty beaten up about it for a long time and it was okay. He eventually got over it. He already seemed to be in love with Vanessa. They made a good couple.

I had been mending bridges with my family and it was going well. Dad was glad to see his 'little princess' back. I had rolled my eyes at that. The word 'Princess' didn't suit me anymore. But I still gave him a giant hug. Mom was happy to see that I was doing better and had made it a habit to call me over once a week to have lunch/ dinner with her and Vanessa. Grandma was overjoyed to hear from me again. Grandad was quiet and didn't have much to say, but it was expected. He wasn't a man of many words and I had a feeling that his disappointment in me with the way I handled the situation further stopped him from speaking.

"Are you okay?" I faced my mate. He was still staring in the direction where David disappeared with a scowl on his face. He lowered his dark gaze down to me when he registered my voice. He huffed, wordlessly pulling me inside the house. I didn't protest. I knew what was next. 

He lead me upstairs and pointed at the bathroom.

"Have a shower. You smell like him," he said with a frown. "I'll get you something for your wounds and then food for your stomach."

He walked out. I sighed. It was hard on him, I knew it. But everyone had agreed that I needed to train. It was the only thing Xaiver and I had disagreed over. I had won him over by telling him it made me feel more competent and more like my old self.  I felt bad for using that card, but I had to train. I couldn't be an easy target. It would not be good for the pack. 

Ashton had marked me again. I couldn't mark him, not anymore. But we did consummate the bond and it was just like last time. The sparks were brighter and the mate link between us was back. Some part of me had hoped that I would get Serafine back with the bond complete but I didn't. Surprisingly, I was okay with it.

I quickly showered and made it a point to use Ashton's soap and wear Ashton's clothes. It helped calm him down when I smelled more like him. 

I skipped downstairs to see that he had heated last night's soup and was waiting with a first aid kit. Him, not Xavier. I relaxed a little. Xavier was still cross with me. He hated that I allowed them to hit me and he let me know that at every chance he got.

I sat down beside Ashton and he wordlessly cleaned up my wounds - there weren't as many as every day thanks to the fact that David's stunt cut short our training time. Then he handed me the steaming soup and watched me eat.

"You smell nice," he commented. 

"I know," I grinned.

He got up to switch on the TV. I asked him to put on Frozen.

"Date tonight?" I questioned between bites. I wasn't really hungry. I was eating just to please him.

"Where?" He asked, sitting back down.

"Colton's?" I asked, sounding a little excited even to myself. "I'm craving Chinese and it feels like a good place to start. I mean, the last time we went there on a date, we ended up getting caught in the Vincent issue, right? Let's remake a better memory. What say?"

"I'd love to," he finally cracked a smile. My own widened. He opened his arms and I happily snuggled into them. We ended up cuddling on the spacious couch with my back pressed to his chest. We watched the movie and I finished my soup.

"I'll go only if you wear that dress you wore the first time," he said in my ear softly after a while.

"Nice try," I laughed, watching Olaf sing and dance. "But no."

"Why?"

"I tore it, remember?" I reminded him.

"I'll buy you a new one." He offered convincingly.

"No." I snorted.

"Please?" He kissed my neck.

"No," I said less impressively.

"You looked so sexy in that." He tried to seduce me, exploiting my weakness shamelessly.

"Exactly. Do you really want everyone to see me like that?" I countered breathily. I began grinning when he didn't reply for a solid five seconds. He stopped his sweet torture and then he cursed, making me laugh.

"Never mind," he muttered. 

"Hmm, but where were we?" I turned around.

"Remind me," he smirked.

"Gladly," I replied, pressing my lips to his, shifting so that I was straddling him. His arms went around my waist as he reciprocated.

 That escalated quickly.

**********************

"Okay, let's go," I sighed as I pulled my shorts on. Ashton looked up from his phone and nodded, getting up and pocketing it. We locked our fingers together and walked downstairs. We were just getting in the car to leave when another car came up our driveway.

"I say we go before they stop us," Ashton said. I snickered, noting the car.

"It's Bree and Riley, Ash. I don't think they'll let us," I pointed out. "They might end up following us and crashing our date."

"I hate that that made sense," he scowled. I chuckled in amusement, sitting in the passenger seat of his jeep with the door open my legs hanging out while we waited.

"Heyyyy," Riley sang as the four of them parked beside us and got out.

"Hi, Riles," I smiled. "What's up, guys?"

"We are having a friends' night," Bree declared. 

"Bowling Alley!" Noel exclaimed.

"We thought it'd be fun," Hayden added. If looks could kill, Ashton would have a lot of blood on his hands . . . or would it be eyes? 

"Sure," I agreed before Ashton could tell them to piss off.

"You say that but your mate looks like he would butcher us right now if he could," Bree eyed Ashton. I laughed.

"He wouldn't," I defended him. I glanced at him and he did look agitated. He was not helping his case.

"You guys are out here . . . you were about to go on a date, weren't you?" Hayden asked. 

"Well," I shrugged.

"So, you did notice," Ashton burst irritably. That sent everyone into another fit of laughter. I got up and embraced him, pecking his cheek and silently telling him to calm down. We had not had a friends' night in ages. Ashton and I had been on dates, we just hadn't gone to Colton's. We could go there tomorrow.

"C'mon! It'll be fun!" Noel whined. "We haven't gone out together in so long."

"Fine!" Aston huffed, hugging me back. "But we're not driving."

An hour later, we were having a blast in the bowling alley downtown. Even Ashton had cheered up. We were playing in teams of three. Boys vs Girls.

Us girls were winning. But then, honestly speaking, I didn't think Ashton and Hayden were even trying. Noel seemed to be the only person on their team who seemed interested in winning.

I looked around, soaking up all the laughs and mirth. I had missed it. So, so much. I looked at my mate. He'd been smiling genuinely more frequently these days. His eyes were brighter and he seemed to be enjoying himself. There were no dark circles anymore and it no longer looked like the weight of the world rested on his shoulders.

It made my heart burst with joy.

It wasn't an easy journey. In fact, it was pretty testing. But if it weren't, I would have probably not met these five amazing people. They made my world so much happier. They made me feel accepted. And most of all, my mate made me feel like I belonged.

He made me feel at home.

I was glad our journey wasn't simple. We lost a lot, but we gained so much, too. It was complicated that brought us together. And if I were ever given a choice, I'd always choose this complicated over any other simpler alternate universe.

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A/N:-

So, this is the last chapter. The epilogue should be out soon as well. I hope you guys enjoyed this and will like that.

Comment your thoughts. Vote. Share.

Until next time, all my love,
xoxo.