MAKE SURE YOU'VE READ THE LAST THREE CHAPTERS BEFORE THIS ONE. OTHERWISE YOU'LL BE HIGHLY CONFUSED LMAO (you know who you are;))

"Are you ready to stop being a coward and confront your mate?" Lucas finally asks after we've spent hours basking in the sun.

I sigh, never wanting this moment to end. I feel perfectly content surrounded by nature, letting the sun warm the coldest parts of my soul. "I guess so."

Lucas gets up from where he was laying on the ground, extending a hand for me to take, which I accept. He uses too much strength, and I collide with his chest. "Sorry," He mutters, stepping back and yanking his hand away from me like I had electrocuted him.

"You destroyed the flowers," I point to an area of the field with smushed poppies, showing an outline of his body.

Lucas laughs, and with a wave of his hand, the poppies are upright, leaning towards the sun. A phototropism, he had called it. When flowers lean towards the sun, leaving the darkness behind them.

"So sensitive about your poppies," Lucas teased me, and I scoffed.

"You kill enough plants in your lifetime, and you'll start feeling guilty too," I say, in reference to my Gift. But for the first time, I feel... optimistic that I'll be okay without it. Like Lucas says about the flowers, leaning towards the happiness and away from the sadness.

We walked in silence back to the pack house, and halfway back, I asked quietly, "Do you think it would be better if werewolves didn't have mates? You know... Like humans. They just fall in love with whoever they want, and it's their choice."

Lucas sighed. "I don't know how to answer that, Onyx. Part of me says no, I don't think that would be better. I think... If I had gotten a fair chance with my mate, I would be the happiest man alive. Having your other half... who wouldn't want that? But other times, when I can't sleep at night, feeling so lonely... so haunted by my dead mate's face... I wish I would be able to move on, forget the past, as easily as humans do. Don't... Don't take your mate for granted, Onyx. If I just had one more day with mine..." Lucas swallows loudly, and I can see tears blinked back.

"You deserve more than just surviving, Lucas," I whisper as I grab his hand tightly. "Your mate would have wanted you to be happy, to move on."

Lucas gives me a half-smile. "I know she would have. She was the most kind person on Earth. Never had any ill-will towards anyone. She would have made for an excellent Luna, had her life not been stolen from her."

"I'm so sorry, Lucas," I say hoarsely, and I don't know what else to say besides that. To have your mate, your family taken from you so young...

"Luke," he said, and I cocked my head to the side. "At Wind Walker... They called me Luke. I thought I wouldn't ever want to hear that name again but... you remind me a lot of the people there."

I grin as we approach the pack house. "Well Luke, how good are you at cooking? I'm starving."

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"This is the best mac n cheese ever," I groan as I eat my second bowl.

"It's Kraft mac n cheese from the box, Nyx," Luke rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, but after eating your failed attempt at a grilled cheese sandwich, this tastes like the finest cuisine in Blue Moon," I bring my hand to my mouth, giving a chefs kiss.

"Hey, I tried," Lucas said defensively. "I didn't see you in the kitchen trying to make anything either, Gordon Ramsey."

"Fine, Fine. Next lunch... prepare for your mind to be blown," I say, making an explosion sound as I push my hands out from my head.

Luke rolled his eyes. "I'll remember that, Nyx. Or should I call you Rachel Ray?"

I smack him upside the head, and he just laughs, readjusting his man-bun. "Can I braid your hair?" I plead.

"Absolutely not," He deadpans.

"Oh cmon! I'm going through a really rough time right now and I think if you would just let me braid your hair then it may actually take away some of my sadness. In fact, I recently read a research paper about how braiding hair leads to le-"

Luke interrupted. "Jesus, Onyx, fine, if it gets you to shut up, then you can braid my hair."

I squeal, clapping my hands together. "Go over to the couch and sit on the floor," I order, and he obeys, rolling his eyes.

He sits on the floor in front of the couch, his back resting against it. I kneel on the couch behind him, and undo his bun. "Why do Blood Lake men have so much hair?" I mutter, raking my fingers through his light brown hair.

Luke laughed. "Hey, now. It's better than Cain's mop of a head."

I laugh. "I don't know, I kinda like the long hair. Has anyone ever told you that you look like Thor?"

"I have no idea what that means," He says seriously. "Ouch!" He groans as I yank through a knot.

"Oops, sorry, Luke. In my defense, you should have brushed your hair this morning," I cringe as I run my fingers through another knot.

"I wasn't aware I would be harassed into having my hair braided," He muttered quietly as I began the braiding process.

When I finished, I turned him around so he was facing me. "Ooh, you look like such a pretty princess," I coo, reaching for the braid, and he gently smacks my hand away.

"I'm going to remember this moment the next time we're training, and then we'll see who the real princess is," He rolls his eyes, but the smile on his face contradicts his irate words.

"I think you'll always be the prettiest princess, Luke, I wouldn't worry about me taking your crown," I shrug, and he reaches for a pillow, hitting me in he head with it.

"Oh you little-" I'm about to grab a pillow off of the couch when I hear the front door open. Thane walked through the front door... followed by Ares.

"You've got to be kidding me," I whisper to myself in disbelief.

"Onyx," Thane says, and starts walking over to me, but I avoid him, heading for the stairs.

"Onyx, please don't be upset. Thane and I were just-" I heard Ares' voice say as she takes a step towards me, blocking the staircase.

My voice is deadly quiet. "No offense, Luna, but you are the last person in the world I want to talk about my mate with."

For the first time, I think I see hurt flash across her face, and it's almost enough make me apologize on the spot. But then I think of all the times Thane leaves in the early hours of the morning to be with her, and all I can see is red.

"Excuse me," I say as I walk around her, going upstairs. Unlike last night, Thane is unwilling to leave me alone, and I can hear him following close behind me.

"If you want your room, I'll stay somewhere else," I hiss spitefully at Thane as he closes the door behind him.

"Don't do this, Onyx," He says, his eyes dark and wild. I can hear panic coating every word. "Please, just hear me out, okay? If you still want to be left alone afterwards... I'll give you your space, I promise."

I'm about to shoot him down again when I think of Luke's words. "Fine."

Thane sits on the side of the bed, and asks, "Come sit with me?"

"I'll stand," I say numbly, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Ah- right, okay, that's fine," Thane says quickly, and I can see his leg bouncing nervously. "Let me start from the beginning, okay? Don't get mad when I talk about Ares, I just need you to hear me out, to know where I'm coming from."

I nod, silently confirming that I'll hear him out. "I met Ares last year. In the woods, she was escaping Cain, actually." He laughs at the memory, and I can't help a smile that crosses my face before I remember that I'm supposed to be mad, and wipe it off. "I remember thinking: Dear Goddess, Cain is going to have his hands full with this one. She tried killing me, you know that? The first time she saw me, she pulled a knife and hurled it at me with no questions asked, no hesitation.

Obviously, I took her back to Blue Moon with me. Of course, I didn't tell her that Cain is my cousin, because I knew she'd just make me imprisoning her until he arrived a nightmare. So Cain shows up the next day to collect her, and I can immediately see the chemistry between them, the spark. The mate bond is stronger with those two than I've ever seen in my life. Even as she was trying to kill them... I could see it. Could see why the Moon Goddess had matched them together. Their anger... it's burns hot, even hotter together. It was... incredible to witness, even though I was worried about their future. I mean... How were they supposed to recover from their tumultuous start? Cain has Ares imprisoned for a month before she escaped. I warned him not to do that, that it would make her hate him, and he would never be able to win her back. Of course, because it's Cain, he didn't listen to me, and just did what he wanted anyways.

But they did recover from that. From all of the horrible things they did to each other at the beginning... against all odds... they got through it. Cain was happier than I had ever seen him. He would call me on the phone just to tell me about whatever amazing thing Ares had done that day. For the first time since his parents died... I saw that light in his eyes again, could see him begin to become whole.

They were going to complete the Blood Ceremony the night that Wilson had kidnapped her. Cain almost went insane looking for her, and when Wilson tricked him into thinking she was dead... I saw a part of him die. That was a dark week for Blood Lake, for me. The man who had killed my parents had Ares, the one person who had made Cain human again.

Once Cain had found her, alive, I vowed to myself that I would do whatever it takes to find Wilson, to make sure that Cain and Ares would be able to live a happy, peaceful life together.

But Wilson was an infestation, a plague. Cain told me of Ares' nightmares, brutal dreams that ended with her being pregnant and losing a pup. Traumatic dreams that left her shaking in fear every morning.

When she arrived here, the dreams didn't stop. I could hear her scream in the middle of the night, some nights even throwing up for hours.

I tried to help her out by taking her hunting every morning. She needs violence as a release, and I could see her gradually starting to get a little bit better, the screams became further and fewer in between at night. This last week... Has been harder on her. The Alpha Transition is terrifying, especially going through it alone. Her mind is in complete chaos right now and... and I remember what that was like. To feel like your body isn't your own. To not understand your strength, your power. To be at war with yourself 24/7.

So I've tried to be there to help her, since she has been here for you. If I hadn't asked her to stay to help train you, she would be with her mate right now, and I have no doubt that the transition would be easier for her if her mate was around. But because with you, Onyx, I'm selfish... I'm keeping her from her mate, so she can be here with you. I'm so sorry that I've been distant lately, and I'm even more sorry that it has you doubting my feelings for you. I think... I don't know how to be a good mate. I know that I... spread myself thin. Try to be there for everyone, all at once... forget to be with what, no, who makes me happy. Forget that my mate is my sole purpose for being alive, the source of my happiness, the light of my life." Thane says, and I can hear his voice crack.

"Onyx, I'm so sorry I hurt your feelings, that I wasn't able to see how upset you were sooner. I'm not... the best with reading other people's emotions," He scratches his head uncomfortably. "I-I can do better, I know I can, just please, give me a chance. I will do anything to make you happy," He pleaded.

I can feel myself tremble slightly, my emotions hitting me hard. Thane is at my side in an instant, picking me up and carrying me to the bed, where he sits down, but doesn't stop cradling me, even as I begin to cry. "Shhh, little one," He soothes me, holding me tighter.

"Sorry, I don't know why I'm crying so much lately," I apologize through tears, and Thane wipes away the water with the pad of his thumb.

"Oh, Onyx, you don't have to apologize for anything at all," Thane murmurs. "Just talk to me, okay? What can I do?"

"I thought," I start, and I hate how small and weak my voice sounds. "I thought when I got a mate... everything would immediately fall into place, you know? My Grandmother always talked about her mate like... like he hung the moon and the stars. She told me I would never feel alone once I found him. It feels like since you found me... All I've done is feel alone. I understand you wanting to be there for Ares... I really do. But I need you too," I whimper, completely baring my soul to my other half.

"Little one," Thane coos as he tightens his arms around me, rocking me slightly. "I promise, you'll never feel alone again, okay? For as long as I live, I'll be there, whenever you need me, no matter what."

I finally was able to calm myself, stop the tears, and I slowly relaxed into my mate. Trying to convince myself to trust him, that everything would be okay.

I didn't know what I would do if it wasn't.

A/N:

Sorry for the long/ boring chapter lol, I've gotten some comments that ONYX seems kind of boring, but it's important for these next few chapters that I set up character relations/ thoughts/ feelings, because in a few chapters, everything is going to go topsy-turvy, and everything will make more sense if the characters are properly set up.

I've also had some people complaining that Onyx is too connected to Lethal pero like... that's the whole point. Their lives are extremely intertwined... for reasons that will he explained later ;)

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