The white stone circle shone bright white under the full moon.

Diana stood, toeing the gravel, waiting for Felix to cross with her. For once, she was wearing a pretty summer dress instead of her usual combats, hoping to make Felix understand what she wanted from him.
For three weeks, up untill tonight, their relationship had been low key and unofficial. The deltas knew, but apart from some really good dates, Felix hadn't made any moves towards a permanent deal.  

The more time they spent together, and the more she got to know him, the more Diana felt sure they belonged together.

A clearing of a throat woke her from her worries. She lifted her gaze from the ground to see the delta troops lined up in an honour guard, leading towards the white stones. At the path towards the delta barracks, Pete was giving Felix a friendly slap on the back before taking his position with the rest of the deltas.
Diana stared at Felix. He was dressed in a pair of pressed slacks and a white shirt, rolled up to the elbows. In his hand he held a pink rose.
With a shy smile, he approached Diana.

"I was explained the significance of these stones and told to get my head out of my ass before the delta prime got upset," he grinned and handed her the rose.
Diana shot the amused looking deltas a suspicious look before looking back at Felix.

"In a few weeks we're moving into the valley, together. To start our life, together. We have your family's approval. I want to show the pack how much you mean to me, so will you cross the moonstones with me?" He said in a shaky voice.

Diana looked between him and the rose, unsure what was going on.

"Go on, Prime. Put the poor boy out of his misery," Pete grinned.

Felix took another small step closer.

"Pete tells me that the way I always want to smile when you're near, and the way my heart skips a beat when you smile, and the way I always feel invincible when we kiss, is called love. I think I love you, Diana," he said carefully.

Diana spontaneously threw herself at him, laughing into his hug, when she realised what he had said, and feeling through their link how much he cared.

"Mine!" Felix murmured into her ear, making her spine shiver with happiness.
Once her feet were on the ground again, she grabbed Felix' hand and together they walked through the delta honour guard. Diana emerged feeling slightly self conscious until Felix stepped over the stones with her and she realised the magnitude of what he had just done. The entire pack was looking at them.
Her parents amused by the whole ceremony that Felix had arranged with the deltas. To the side Abel and Zion were trying not to laugh while Nia, her best friend, wore a smirk. 

Before anything else could happen a commotion broke out in the woods and from the area of the North West border burst two pack members holding a redhaired stranger by the shoulders.

"We found this guy at the north border. He says he has a deal with the Luna," one of the guards said.

"Rhody?" Felix said.

"Hey dude," the stranger grinned once he'd located Felix in the crowd.

Diana immediately left all the previous romantic distractions and approached the newcomer.

"What is your business with the shadow mountain pack?" She asked full of authority.

Gently, Felix placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Diana. This is Rhody. Without him I would not have gotten my sisters free. He got hold of the fox pee to hide Akela's scent and helped me carry Kira across the border," he said.

Diana nodded, picking up a lot more through their bond.

"Rhody. Meet my mate, the beautiful female made for me, Delta Prime Diana Connor, the Alpha's sister," Felix told Rhody.

"Oh wow! In which case, My pleasure!" Rhody nodded. The two pack members released him just as Kira came over and to everyone's surprise gave him a hug.

"Luna!" Rhody smiled.

"I'm no longer Luna, but I'm pleased to see you. What are you doing here?" She laughed.

"Well... Cairon and Griff wanted to form a rogue pack, but I kinda felt there was something else waiting for me here. I was hoping you'd put in a good word," he shrugged.

Kira nodded and turned to Alpha Gerry.

"He gave me the knife I killed Preston with! He's good," she smirked.

Felix nodded in agreement.

"He's been my best friend since we both were recruits," he agreed.

Gerry looked him up and down before offering a hand.

"Are you alone?" The alpha asked.

"Yep. Alone and at your mercy," Rhody nodded his head and took the Alphas offered hand with a serious look on his face. A few seconds later his head whipped up from his respectfully downturned pose to look around the crowd.

"Mine?" He breathed as his eyes fixed on Nia.

She stood there with her arms crossed over her chest with a surprised look on her face.

Rhody looked at the Alpha who gave him an amused "Go on"- motion of his head.

As Rhody approached Nia, her face changing between confused, annoyed and relieved as she took in the red hair and freckles.

"And, of course I have to end up with the ginger," she huffed.

Rhody's grin turned up a notch before he politely took her hand.

"Yep! Only the best for you!" He grinned.

Nia visibly relaxed the moment they touched and burst into laughter.

"Looks like you're not the only one to get a white mark tonight," Felix whispered into Diana's ear, giving her shivery goosebumps.

She turned to look at him and his cheeky grin before deciding to make their relationship official by giving him a kiss.

Once people had dispersed and Gerry was satisfied that Rhody was a safe addition to the pack, Zion dragged Akela to a quiet area and sat her down on a bench. They had crossed the stones with Abel and Kira earlier and watched the pack gather.

Now that the pack members were back to focusing on the full moon celebration, Zion could finally tell her what he'd been worrying about for the past week.

Akela sat and waited for him to speak. The look of worry on his face matched the way she felt his heart beat harder.
Finally he sat next to her and took her hands between his.

"You know we said about pups and stuff?" Zion asked carefully.

Akela nodded, not sure what he was going to suggest.

"Would you mind if we waited? I mean... I'd love to have pups with you, it's just that Maddox phoned the other day. He's retiring," Zion said quietly.

"Okay?" Akela asked.

"And I was thinking. I want to get a full veterinary degree and take over the surgery," he explained, looking down at their joined hands.

Akela nodded while considering the implications. It made sense. She was still young. And they had only just started their lives together.

"Now that I can look like a human, I kinda wanna... experience it," he grinned shyly.

"Sure. We can travel too. Se the human world," Akela nodded.

Zion's tail picked up speed behind him, revealing the gratitude for her accepting his suggestion.

"I don't know what education you want, but it makes sense to wait anyway, right?" He said.

Akela nodded again, feeling the smile spread across her face.

"I was going to tell you, but I was accepted to a course in animal training. I want to keep working with the fire dogs and uncle Zeke signed me up," she chuckled.

Zion finally lifted his eyes to look at her with a wide grin.

"I might even do a vetrinary nurse course... online. Like you did," she smiled back.

A second later Zion had pulled her into his lap and was squeezing her tight. His tail polishing the seat behind him.

Behind them Kira and Abel started laughing.

"So what you're saying is that I spent all that time building you a home just to have you move into the valley?" An amused Abel grinned.

"Nah. We'll eventually be living up here and working in the valley," Akela grinned.

"It's only until we're ready for pups," Zion grinned at Akela.

Kira chuckled at her sister.

"Akela was born ready for pups! She's been wanting her mate and their brood since we were toddlers!" She teased.

Akela smirked back.

"And whose bed keeps bouncing off the walls?" She teased and watched her sister's mortified blush cover her face as she tried to hide in Abel's shirt, behind Helios' sleeping body.

"Not like you guys are all quiet!" Abel fired back and stroked his mate's hair protectivly.

"And now you can do what you want a while we're in the valley... and we have to consider Zeke and his pack!" Zion laughed and gave Akela an overly enthusiastic kiss.

"As long as that Nia-girl and Rhody don't move into Akela's half of the house, I'm good!" Kira grumbled.

Nia had on several occasions rubbed her past with Abel in Kira's face.

"I spoke to Gerry. They will get the old Giles-cabin. According to Felix, Rhody is able to fix it up, and Gerry is kinda keen to get Nia out of his and River's house," Abel smiled.

Kira relaxed a bit and adjusted Helios sleeping position with his head on Abel's shoulder.
The little tyke had settled in better than anyone had expected. He was gaining weight and had even started crawling since moving into the duplex house. Akela kept finding him in their half once he had discovered the secret passage under the stairs.

She leaned in on her mate's chest and tilted her face up to look at him. He was in his human appearance, not counting the tail, and Akela realised she had never been so happy in her life. Zion looked down at her, his hands were stroking her back. She felt safe, loved and immeasurably grateful to have finally found the other half of her soul. Her very own soulmate. Who looked at her as if she was his sunshine. Just like her dad used to look at her mum.

Sat down on the next bench over was her twin, safe and healthy, with her own mate and her pup. There were still days when Kira hardly managed to get out of bed, or when sudden sounds or movements made her panic. But somehow, the connection between her and Abel was now Kira's lifeline. He made her feel like a goddess, and never left her side unless Akela or River was there.

Kira looked up from her sleeping son, safely resting in the arms of his adoptive father.

"I wish mum and dad were here," Kira said and let her eyes roam the celebration.

Akela nodded.

A second later it felt as if the wind altered direction and to Akela it carried, almost like a whisper, something that sounded a lot like the lullaby Lexi used to sing to them.
Kira's eyes widened in awe and the twins looked at each other in surprise.

"You're hearing it too?" Akela asked, but Kira shook her head.

"Smell!" Kira said and that's when Akela caught a whiff on the air, very similar to the safest scent of their childhood.

They were unsure of when hed arrived, but suddenly Felix was stood with them, staring at the edge of the forest, his arms tightly holding Diana.

The twins both turned to look and just where the evening mist was gathering over the small creek, it almost looked like a large malamute-coloured wolf was standing guard over a smaller dark female.
The next draft of the breeze dispersed the mist into it's familiar spirals while the sound of song fell away together  with the hints of scented memories.
And as if nothing had ever been anything but joyful, the full moon was again smiling down on them.

(The end)

****

Thank you for reading my story! I think it has run it's course and it has taken me a long two years to write.

I have a half-hearted epilogue describing Zion and Akela's first proper Date... But it's a tad cheesy.
I might edit and post at one point.

Thank you for being patient.
I don't think there will be a third "best" unless I suddenly get a bolt of inspiration.

But Second Best is finished.

Did I leave any loose ends?

(For those who wonder... off page, Aimee and Solomon will live happily ever after.
They met when Solomon and Ezekiel were hosting a party to celebrate signing a lucrative business contract, combining Ezekiel's forests and Solomon's designer furniture range. Aimee was supposed to "just" be their accountant, but now she's basically the CEO.
Hunter Jr fell in love with Solomon's sister, who thought they were too young, so Hunter decided to get his engineering degree in forest management while building on the business partnership with Solomon in a ardent hope that she will take him seriously...
And Finn decided to live a Rogue life for a few years so little Blossom is acting Beta for Hunter... And we all know she's really the boss of the valley pack.
Felan chose Helios as his Beta. Neither of them are aware that Helios is of North blood...)