Grayson's POV

She was not leaving me. Not when I finally just got her.

"You're not leaving and that's final," I said calmly. I turned to leave, but Taylor's harsh voice stopped me in my tracks.

"Yes, I am."

Swiveling on my heel, I scowled at my mate, my eyes darkening. She stood defiantly, crossing her arms and pursed her lips.

"Taylor," I spoke slowly. "you're not. You're my mate and my Luna. I don't give a rat's ass if you break up the packs, but you're staying in mine." I finished the sentence with a growl.

"What? Separate so I'll be your precious, little Luna? Do you know what Lunas even do? Nothing! They're little dolls Alpha's use whenever they please! They don't get to speak at meetings, don't get a say in anything, and they're expected to be the perfect housewife! Tell me, have you ever seen your mom argue with your dad?"

I recalled no memory of it. My silence was answer enough for Taylor. She snorted. "Exactly."

"Then we'll stay as one pack," I comprised. "With our packs combined, we'll remain the strongest and largest werewolf pack on our side of the coast. No other pack would even dare to think about dethroning us."

Taylor snorted and blew her black bangs out of her eyes. "Yeah, and watch our pack members tear each other to shreds? I think not. Even though our packs are now one, there's still incredible amounts of tension between us. One dirty look is all it'll take for our packs to be at war." I sighed, knowing this was true.

"Why can't you just stay? You know I would treat you as my equal. I'll always need your opinion, your approval."

"And who'll run the Silver Moon pack? I've been bred to be the perfect Alpha of the Silver Moon's pack, not Luna of the Silver Woods."

Stumped, I couldn't think of anything to say. Suddenly, I frowned and glared at Taylor. With a voice as cold as ice, I snarled, "Fine. You wish to leave? Then leave. Go ahead and see if I care. I'm done fighting you, Taylor. You obviously don't want to be with me and if this is what it takes to please you, then so be it." And with those words, I left, regret already filling me, heart aching.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"Jason, reports," I demanded, entering the conference room. My dad, Jason's dad, Jason, Delta Gabs, the Silver Moon's Delta, Michael, and Michael's dad were already there. Taylor stood in the corner of the room, silently listening. She didn't look up when I came in, but I saw her stiffen.

You better apologize! My wolf barked. He was absolutely devastated, feeling his mate's hurt.

No. She's the one that wants to abandon us. If that'll make her happy, who am I to stand in her way?

"Well," Jason started. "the rogues have already started to gather at the border of the Silver Wood's territory. Reports say that there have been over a thousand and more to come."

"They've surrounded the Blue Moon territory too," Delta Tran added. "Blue Moon is no longer able to come to our service."

The ex-Beta, John, piped up. "I believe all packs but our's, Golden Falls', and Red Moon have been cut off from all other packs."

My dad groaned, running a hand across his face. "This is just great."

"Numbers," Taylor said from the corner, staring off into space. Everyone but Michael and his dad looked confused.

"Seven hundred, three-fifty, two hundred, and three seventy-five."

Jason raised his hand. "Uh...what?"

Michael rolled his eyes and answered like it was the most obvious thing in the world: "How many members in each pack are free."

"Oh!" Jason cried when he understood. He whipped out a calculator (don't ask me where he got it from, this is Jason...) and typed in the numbers, speaking out loud as he typed. "Seven hundred...three hundred fifty..."

"There's one thousand six hundred twenty-five." Taylor beat him to the punch. Jason paused, mid-touch. He threw the calculator to the side and pouted. "One thousand six hundred twenty-five," Taylor repeated. She stepped out of the shadows and leaned on the table, her bright eyes glowing with...hope? "The rogues have got, what? Two thousand? Three thousand? More than us, right?"

"Was this supposed to motivate us?" I couldn't help but sneer. "Because lemme just say: it's not working." Taylor turned her thundery gaze on me and part of me felt like hiding under the table. The bigger part of me still wounded from her decision to leave, kept the sneer in place.

"What?" She snapped. "Are you scared?"

"Ooh, shit just got real," Jason whispered, glancing back and forth between us, entranced. Michael sensed the tension and placed a hand on Taylor. Jason frowned at the gesture and tugged on Michael's free hand so he could entwine their fingers, but let his mate touch mine.

"Mine!" I growled. Somehow, I was already next to Taylor and pulling her into my arms. My eyes blackened and I could feel my canines lengthening. I was breathing heavily into her hair and my heart was pounding.

I can't lose her. I can't. I love her --

"Gray?" My dad raised an eyebrow at my possessiveness. I blinked a few times, registering what I had just done. I frowned. What my wolf had just done. Stepping back, I turned and left the room.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Why the HELL would you do that? I roared at my wolf.

He snarled in return. You made our mate feel bad!

What the hell did I do?

You're fucking stupid. With that, my wolf blocked me out.

I threw my hands up into the air, muttering. "Great. First Taylor, now you." I slammed my head on the wall of my bedroom, groaning. Sighing, I turned and slid down to the floor. I ran a hand through my hair, thinking over the events of today.

"Fuck everything," I murmured. The door opening had me shooting up, growling and teeth extended. Taylor's mildly amused face met mine and I frowned. "What do you want?" At the look of hurt on my mate's face, my wolf surfaced. But as quickly as it had come, it was gone, replaced by an emptiness.

Better to distance yourself from her now than get hurt even more in the future.

"Your dad wanted me to check up on you."

I gestured towards my body, raising an eyebrow. "As you can already tell: I'm fine."

"Goddammit. Was that supposed to be sexual?"

"...perhaps..."

"Whatever." Taylor rolled her eyebrows. "I'm leaving." I gave her a nod and a two-finger salute. She stuck the middle finger at me and spun around to go. When she touched the doorknob, her whole body went rigid. Though I had literally just told myself to stay away from her, I was still concerned so I rose to my feet and walked toward her.

Placing a hand on her, I gently squeezed her shoulder. "Taylor? Are you OK--" Taylor whirled and threw her arms around me. Like an automatic reflex, my arms curled themselves around her and hugged her as tightly as I could. She wrapped her legs around my stomach, and I easily held her up. I was coming to terms with the fact that my mate was a bit of a snuggler. Taylor buried her head into my neck and her grip tightened. I could feel and hear her heart racing, her breathing become laborious.

All the anger I had felt toward her vanished as I soothingly rubbed her back, murmuring sweet nothings in her ear. If possible, she held me tighter.

"I'm sorry," she whispered into my neck. She pulled back and her eyes looked like mirrors, the silver color making it look like a reflection. Light red dusted her cheeks as she spoke and I smiled. Nudging my nose against her's, I nodded.

"It's alright."

"I don't want to fight with you anymore, Grayson."

"I don't either."

"I don't like it."

"I hate fighting you, baby." I kissed her forehead and walked us over to my bed. When I sat down, she shifted so she was straddling me. "You make it a bit difficult though. You're so strong and independent--don't get me wrong," I soothed. "that's hot as fuck, but sometimes I want you to depend on me. Relationships are a two-way street--don't laugh--it's cheesy, but it's true."

"I'm really sorry," she apologized again. Taylor shut her eyes and rested her head on my shoulder, draping her arms around my neck. "I just...can't be Luna. It reminds me too much of my mom. I can't be like her. Don't get me wrong though, she was wonderful. The most amazing person you'd ever meet. She'd make you feel like everything was about you like you could rule the world. Naturally, she was the best person to be Luna, but her talents were wasted. My dad would tell her to just smile and wave. Smile and wave." She laughed bitterly. "What was she? Penguins of Madagascar? Lunas are only expected to be pretty, and be able to carry a healthy pup. Nothing more, nothing less. That's all Luna's are meant to do: support their Alphas. It drove her crazy. One day, when I came back from Beta John's house, she wasn't there. My dad had a note in his hand. She'd run away. Her exact words were: 'I can't take this anymore. I will no longer be confined in this prison.' That's when my dad sent me away. He's spent the last eleven years searching for her."

I was stunned into silence at her confession. Letting my head fall onto her shoulder, I took it all in. "God, Taylor...I didn't--"

"How could you? My dad was mortified. Whenever someone asked, he'd say rogues had taken her. Everyone else thinks she's d-dead." I closed my eyes, pressing my lips to her shoulder and breathing in her mocha scent.

"You know I'd never leave you, right?" I asked.

She nodded. "Of course, but when you told me to leave...I..." Her voice faltered and I lifted my head. Tilting her head up so she'd face me, I kissed her forehead, her nose, her cheeks, her eyelids, and her lips. A wet laugh escaped her throat. "I'm such a pain in the ass; I was the one who wanted us to be separated in the first place, but now here I am crying over leaving like a big baby."

"I'm so sorry, sweetheart, I was just mad. I thought that's what you wanted and I was just frustrated. I would never want you to leave."

"Okay. I'll...I'll stay." A smile stretched out across her face and she bent closer for another kiss.

"Aw! That's so cute!" We heard from outside of the door.

"Jason!" Michael's voice hissed. "You stupid redhead, shut. Up!"

"Oh!" Jason whispered loudly. "My bad!"

A pause.

"Babe." Jason's whine was low, but thanks to my enhanced senses, it was still audible. "You're so mean to me, me! Your mate - "

"You're an idiot, but my idiot," Michael spoke again, but in his normal voice. "And this whispering is pointless. They can obviously hear us."

"Well, now they can," Archer retorted. Taylor laughed, a beautiful, melodious sound that warmed my insides-out. Her eyes sparkled, rivaling the brightness of the sun.

"We should go before they start fighting." I smiled and nodded, taking her hand as we got up and joined our friends.

~Author's Note~

Very tired. Hope you like.

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