Everything was essentially put on hold in terms of the presenting, the way Dean put it...No point in having a presentation to show the new chain of command when the chain of command could change in a matter of days.

I hated to think about him losing, more so since he hasn't mentioned if he'd considered fighting to submission or not, and I really didn't want to harp on it.

"You look like shit." Steph said as we walked to lunch together.

"I feel like shit." I admitted with a sigh. "This whole Challenge thing has me so stressed out, you wouldn't even believe how my body is reacting to just thinking about it."

"Maybe you should go see the doctor."

I sighed once again, "I'll be good once this is all over...I have no choice but to think Dean and Jax will win, and when they do we can get the presenting out of the way and things will finally settle down for a while."

She looked at me worried, "I just want you to take care of yourself...Luna or not, you're still just one person and your body needs rest."

"I'm fine...to be honest I haven't been sleeping that well, when I can fall into a deep sleep I have the worst nightmares, I've even woken up to a few nosebleeds which scared the shit out of Dean."

"Yeah I don't know what's going on but hopefully you're okay...I still think you need to go to the doctor." She said as she grabbed a tray, I followed suit and grabbed my own tray before we paid and found our usual table.

"So when's the Alpha gonna let the pack know about the challenge?"

"Tonight... with it taking place tomorrow already He knew he couldn't hold it off much longer, He didn't want to let everyone know any sooner because he didn't want to cause a panic or worry anyone too much."

"Well it's definitely worrisome, but unavoidable."

I nodded, "Yeah, and after the challenge is over, if he wins we will be having the presenting take place that next morning because the last thing we want is another challenge."

"That's smart." She said.

We ate and talked a little more, but mostly about school work."

"Sooo." I smiled, "You've been neglecting to tell me about you and your mate."

Stephanie blushed a little, "What's to tell?"

"Have you talked to him, have you seen him, what's he like?"

"Well, we've talked everyday... I text him when I'm out of school, and he usually calls me once he's off work...he's a firefighter." She smiled.

"Oooh." I smiled alongside her.

"He's actually really sweet and very caring, I've even talked to Jaxon about him...he told me as an Alpha he is a very smart and always puts his packs best interests first."

"That's good to hear." I said.

She nodded, He asked me to visit his pack this weekend...I'm planning on going on Friday night."

"Wait...Have you told your parents?"

"Yeah...mate or not Dad's still concerned about me dating."

I rolled my eyes but smiled, "Of course he is." Her parents had always been overprotective when it came to dating, they always said she couldn't date, that there was no point when she had a mate out there somewhere...but go figure they'd still have aversions to her dating her mate.

"Mom's better about it...honestly I think it's just a control thing for them, I don't think they're ready to admit to themselves that I'm not a kid anymore."

I nodded, "crazy huh...when the hell did we grow up?" I asked jokingly, but in the back of my mind I really did wonder when everything seemed to change for Steph and I.

_____

Steph graciously dropped me off at the Lumberyard on her way to the mall after school and I smiled, I knew Dean would be here this evening as He said he had some budget reports he had to sort through. But I wanted to bring him some dinner and I figured I could do my homework while he got his work out of the way.

"Hey Love" he sounded as I walked into the store.

I smiled, I hadn't expected him to be on the sales floor but rather in his office. "Hi." I said cheerfully, clearly happy to see him. Then he kissed me and the girls at the registers giggled. "I thought I'd stop by and bring you dinner."

"And I was going to surprise you by picking you up for a date night."

I smiled, I loved this man so much. "Well raincheck on the date night?"

"Absolutely." He said as he took the food from me, "Actually come with me." He said as he grabbed my hand and led me back out of the store....on the way out he actually grabbed a flannel style blanket before he continued.

We went through the lumber yard and sort of into the opening of the woods when we came to a large gazebo.

"Oh wow..."

He smiled, "Like it?"

I nodded, "Of course...I didn't know this was here."

He shrugged nonchalantly, "No one does...or maybe they do, but yeah...I built it a few years back."

"You built this?" I asked in awe of him and his many talents.

He nodded, "Yeah...uh as pathetic as it sounds, you know my parents didn't let me date before...and when your friends are out with their girlfriends on dates, and you pretty much are stuck at work just to kill time you find shit to do...so while they were out having fun I was busy making money and building things with scrap wood from the lumberyard."

"What else did you make?"

He shrugged, "I made stuff for kids mostly...I know the lumberyard isn't the most fun place to come, so Just small things like baseball bats and dollhouses, around Christmas time I made a few wooden ornaments...I made my mom a rocking chair one year...but this, this one took more than a few years."

"Why?" I wondered.

"Well it was just kinda a hobby, and so I only worked on it when I wasn't at school, or practice, or actually on the clock at work, plus like I said earlier, I only used scrap lumber...the stuff my dad was getting rid of because it didn't sell or wasn't in the best condition...so it took a while and that's why it's still here, I finished it up, sealed it so it's weather proof and it's been here every since."