Xander's POV:

I watched Addie tense as we approached the pack house and several pack-members were waiting outside. I knew they'd be anxious to meet their Luna but I was also very aware it was too much to ask of her right now.

I squeezed her hand, causing her to look over at me. "It's going to be fine," I assured her. "I'm right here. Just give me a minute, okay?"

She nodded and I released her hand, getting out of the car. I shut the door and crossed my arms before addressing the pack. "You're going to scare her. Give her space for now. We'll work something out but for the first few nights leave us be. Understood?"

Disappointment was evident on their faces but they obeyed and dispersed. I circled around to open Addie's door and she climbed out, clutching her blanket and Hector's leash. I set my hand on her back and led her up the stairs towards the front door of the pack house.

"Welcome to the pack house," I said.

She looked up at the house with wide eyes. "It's big," she said, her eyes drifting along then length of the covered porch that wrapped around the whole house.

"We do a lot of things here," I explained, opening the front door and waving her through.

She stepped inside, peering around cautiously as she did. I followed after her, placing my hand on her back again. It was nice to touch her again.

"Don't worry. The house doesn't bite," I teased, directing her to the left and into the kitchen. "Kitchen," I said, taking her through the archway leading into the living room. "Living room, and through that door," I said, gesturing to the left. "Is the dining room."

I took us out the living room to the back door, showing her the back porch before taking her down the hallway, pointing out the laundry room and the set of stairs leading down to the basement which we dubbed the gaming room. We ended up back near the front door where the stairs leading up to the bedrooms were. I was about to lead her up there when Gina opened the door, smiling sheepishly.

"Alpha, Luna," she addressed us. "I'm sorry to bother you. Mira had nightmares again. She's asking for you," she said, nodding to me. "Can she come in?"

Shit. I looked down at Addie who was looking between us curiously. Now wasn't the best time but Mira had been through so much, I couldn't let her down.

"Is it all right if we take a quick break from the tour?" I asked Addie.

"Of course," she said. "Is everything okay?"

"It's complicated," I muttered, running my hand through my hair. "I just got in a set of orphans less than two weeks ago, children whose parents were killed by rogues. The youngest is struggling."

"Oh," she frowned. "That's terrible. Um... What are rogues?"

"They're just wolves with no packs," I explained. "But they're not all violent like that. It's the violent ones that get the rest of them in trouble," I sighed in frustration. "Some of them didn't become rogues by choice but still carry the prejudice regardless. Anyway, she just needs a minute with me, do you mind?"

"Of course not," she said, shaking her head.

"Let her in," I nodded to Gina.

Gina stepped back, leaving the door open. It didn't take long to hear the pitter-patter of Mira's feet as she came up on the porch. She was only six so she hadn't learned how to be silent yet. She peeked around the doorway, her blonde curls falling in her face.

"Mira," I addressed, crouching down.

"Alpha," she said, clutching a teddy bear to her chest.

"You had nightmares again?" I asked.

She nodded, tears filing her eyes.

"Come here," I said, opening my arms.

She ran over and I picked her up, cradling her head as she started to cry. The orphans we got this time were in much worse shape than others. Several, including Mira, had actually witnessed their parents being killed.

"Do you want to tell me what happened?" I asked, stroking her hair.

Mira sniffled and wrapped her arms around my neck tightly. "It-it was mama and papa again," she cried. "They were getting hurt and I didn't help."

"Mira," I said softly, bringing her head back to look at me. "It wasn't your fault. You couldn't have done anything."

"I want to shift," she sniffled, tears staining her cheeks.

"You have a few years to go yet, little one. No need to rush it," I said, wiping away the tears. "Do you want to sleep in the pack house with us again?"

Mira darted her eyes away and nodded before sinking back into my chest, holding onto me tightly.

"All right, Tess might not be here tonight but Gina will sleep with you. Does that sound good?"

"Yes, Alpha," she mumbled.

"I think we need some chocolate," I said, cradling her head and looking over at Addie, inclining my head towards the kitchen. She nodded and followed me into the kitchen with Mira.

I opened up the cupboard and pulled out a bag of chocolates, setting Mira on the counter and opening it up. Mira clutched her teddy bear again, glancing over at Addie curiously.

"Hi Luna," she sniffled.

Addie smiled lightly and stepped closer to us. "Hi Mira. What's your bear's name?"

"Freddy," Mira answered, wiping at her eyes.

"Freddy the teddy," I answered, unwrapping a chocolate and holding it out for Mira. Both Mira and Addie smiled at my comment and Mira took the chocolate. "What can we do about these nightmares, little one?"

"I don't know," she frowned, popping the chocolate in her mouth. "I don't want to have them anymore."

"I know you don't," I said, rubbing her back. "You know what I think would help?"

"What?" She asked.

"I think it would help if you were very very brave and told Anna about what happened and let her help you learn ways to deal with it," I said.

Mira frowned and held Freddy tighter. "I don't know," she said softly.

"You don't have to but I think it would help. I think it would help a lot," I said, brushing her hair back. "You want to be a warrior like Tess, don't you?"

"Yes," she nodded fervently.

"Warriors have to be brave, Mira," I said, unwrapping another chocolate. "Sometimes warriors have to face the things that scare them the most. If you can face your fears, you can face anything."

"I don't know if I can," she said quietly, her eyes filling up with tears again.

"I think you can," I said, wiping away the tears that escaped. "I think you're incredibly strong and incredibly brave and you can do whatever you want to do. If you want to be a warrior, you can be."

"You think so, Alpha?" She sniffled.

"I know so, little one," I said, handing her another chocolate. "Why don't you and I go for a run tomorrow, just the two of us?"

"I can't shift yet," she pouted.

"That's okay. We don't have to shift," I shrugged. "We can just run. Running now will help you later and then in six years, when you can shift, you'll be so fast no one will be able to keep up with you."

She smiled a little at that and nodded. "Okay."

"Okay," I said, kissing her head and picking her up, hugging her tightly. "Think about what I said, all right? Anna is nice and very good at helping people."

"Yes, Alpha," Mira muttered, wrapping her little arms around my neck again.

"You all right to go back with the others for lessons?" I asked. She nodded and I smiled, setting her down. "Look at that, already brave," I praised.

She smiled and hugged my legs before running over to Addie and doing the same thing. Addie's eyes widened in surprise but she patted Mira's head before Mira took off for the front door.

"Bye Alpha, bye Luna!" She shouted, nearly running into Tess as she went out and Tess walked in. "Oh, hi Gamma," she said, waving at Tess. "Bye Gamma!"

"Bye," Tess laughed, watching her go out the door before coming in. "She okay? Nightmares again?"

"Yes," I sighed. "She's going to stay with Gina here tonight."

"Should I talk to her?" Tess asked.

"No, I did and I'll talk to her tomorrow too. We're going on a run," I explained, putting the chocolates away.

"Oh, she'll love that," Tess grinned. "Sorry you had drama the first five seconds you were in the house," she added, glancing at Addie.

"Don't be," Addie said, waving her hand dismissively. "You were really good with her," she said, looking at me.

"I try," I said, giving her a half-smile. "We've dealt with these kinds of situations before. I unfortunately have a lot of experience with it."

"Oh," Addie frowned. "I'm sorry."

"It comes with the job," I shrugged.

"Speaking of the job, did you call Lynn?" Tess asked.

"Not yet. I didn't quite finish our tour," I said, nodding to Addie.

"Well, try to do it before dinner. Her dad makes the best food," Tess grinned. "Speaking of dinner, any allergies we should be aware of?" Tess asked, looking at Addie.

"No," Addie said, shaking her head, then her eyes widened. "Oh shit, I almost forgot. I have a rehearsal dinner tonight," she said, looking over at me. "And I'm in a wedding tomorrow."

"I'll get you to both," I assured. "What time tonight?"

"It starts at five-thirty but I'm supposed to go to the bride's house ahead of time to get ready. So I'll need to be there around four," she said, biting her lip.

"I'll get you there," I nodded.

"Someone will have to follow me around though," she said, frowning.

"They'll be discreet," I said. "No one will notice. Probably not even you."

"It's not that," she sighed. "I feel bad someone has to follow me around all night."

"Don't worry about it," I shrugged. "It will feel like an honor to anyone that gets assigned to it."

She frowned but nodded, her eyes darting around. I was beginning to notice it was something she did when she was thinking. She looked up at me and licked her lips briefly before speaking.

"What are you doing tonight?" She asked.

"I have some paperwo-" I started but a link from Tess came in quickly.

She's going to ask you to come with her. Don't fuck it up.

I stopped what I was saying and watched Addie carefully. It was possible. She was definitely more nervous than she had been.

"No, actually, I finished that. Nothing, I suppose. Maybe I'll be the one following you around," I baited.

"Well... I mean, maybe you wouldn't have to hide if you don't want to. Travis was my plus one for the dinner but now he's out of town, so..." She darted her eyes away again before bringing them back to me. "There's a spot open."

Thank you, I linked Tess.

"I'd love to be your plus one," I said, smiling. She returned the smile and nodded, reaching down to pet Hector. "Is it a formal occasion?" I pressed.

"Not really," she shrugged. "We're going to a nice restaurant after the rehearsal but it's not like fancy-fancy. I'm not going to be wearing anything formal."

"What will you be wearing?" I asked.

"Just this dress Tasha picked out for me. Similar in niceness to what I had on last night except it's blue. It's at her house. She's the bride," she explained.

"Blue. I can work with that." Goddess, I bet she looked good in blue with her skin tone. "I see you looking good in blue. She must have good taste."

The compliment had her blushing and she didn't respond, just continued petting Hector. Tess gave me a look and I ignored her. Again we stood there awkwardly. I was not good at this.

Is awkward silence now how you plan to win her over? Tess linked.

I gave her a dirty look and walked over to Addie, setting my hand on her back. "Should we continue the tour?"

"Yeah," she nodded, giving Tess a small wave as we walked out of the kitchen towards the stairs.

I led her up the stairs and gestured to the door on my right. "Kaden's room. Tess's room," I said, gesturing to the door across from Kaden's. "Guest room," I said, nodding to the door next to Tess's. "Your room," I finished, walking to the door across from Tess's.

I pushed the door open and waved her through. Tess and Kaden already brought up her bags and they were sitting on her bed. Addie stepped in and looked around, walking to the bed and setting her blanket down. She took off Hector's leash and walked around the room with him following closely on her heels. Her room mimicked almost every other room in the pack house: a standing dresser on the right next to a wooden desk and chair, a big bed with a dark blue comforter embroidered with black floral designs.

"Is it all right?" I asked.

"All right? Uh, yeah. It's the biggest room I've ever had," she said, biting her lip and gazing at the art on the walls.

Once I found out she was a photographer I sent people out to buy photography from famous artists to decorate her room. I knew nothing about it so I wasn't sure if it was even to her taste or not but I had to try.

"Your bathroom's through there," I said, gesturing to an open door on the right. "There's a balcony right through those glass doors," I said, nodding to the doors next to her bed. "And my bedroom is right next door, should you need me. My office is directly across from my room. It's where you're most likely to find me day to day."

She nodded and smiled, wrapping her arms around herself and slowly spinning around, taking in the room. She looked so nervous but I just wanted her to be comfortable. I walked over and brought my hand up to her hair, tucking it behind her ear and out of her beautiful face.

"I want you to be comfortable here so if there's anything you want to change or add or if there's something missing, tell me," I said, cupping her cheek. "I want it to feel like home."

"It's fine as it is, Xander," she said, giving me another smile that made me want to kiss those perfect lips and throw her on the bed that was so close by. "It's thoughtful. Thank you," she said, clasping her hands together. "I think I just want to settle in."

It was a gentle hint for me to leave but I didn't want to. I stared at her for a few seconds before nodding and stepping back towards the door. "If you need me I'll probably be in my office or outside training. You're free to explore. I can come by in a while and show you around the grounds if you'd like."

"I'll come to you," she said.

I nodded and stepped outside the room, shutting the door behind me. She'll come to me. I just had to be patient. I was fucking terrible at patience. If I was going to survive her being in the house and not doing anything about it I would need a lot of distractions.

It was frustrating because I could feel how much she liked me touching her. I could feel her respond to me and yet she wasn't giving into it. I would respect that, even if I could smell how much she wanted me too.

Yes. Distractions were going to be necessary.

Training in five minutes, I linked the pack before going to my room to change.

I changed and hurried down the stairs, only pausing at Addie's door for a moment before shaking my head and passing by. When I got outside, Kaden and Tess were already there.

"You okay?" Kaden asked.

"Fine," I clipped. "We'll do sparring first."

"Someone's got some sexual frustration to work out," Tess teased.

"Shut the fuck up," I growled, ignoring her and walking to the training area.

It took all my will power to now look at the balcony and hope Addie would come out. I heard how much mate's consumed your thoughts but I wasn't ready for this. I wasn't ready for how badly I craved being close to her, especially now that she was in my house. I put all my energy into sparring with Kaden, keeping my back to the house as much as I could.

A/N: 

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