ELLIE

        I watched as Blake and Jackson loaded their things in the cars which were waiting for us, the boxes taking up pretty much all the space other than that which was in the front.

        Link didn't have anything to pack because he came here with nothing. He was just looking forward to starting again, getting on with his life and looking to the future rather than continuing to live in the past. He hadn't shut up about how proud of me he was and how happy he was for me.

        Nicole had told me that she would visit soon. But she was still waiting for her stubborn ass son to turn up from wherever the hell he had vanished to. I had a feeling that he was mixing with the humans outside the forest which meant he would either be back when he was ready or he wouldn't be back at all.

        Moon Shadow were really suffering without him though. Mollie was barely coping without her mate around, Blake had resigned from the role as Beta and Jackson had also resigned from the role as Third in Command. So, right now at least, it was safe to say that Moon Shadow was well on its way to chaos because there was no one to bring order to the pack.

        I had promised Nicole that I would send some my men out there to look for him by the end of the day. I actually missed him and just wanted him to come back safe, even if he didn't want to talk to anyone and just wanted to hide from the world, I would know he was safe and that would make me happy.

        "Ellie," I jumped slightly at the voice which had dragged me back to reality and I was surprised to see Jamie standing there.

        "Jamie," I replied quietly.

        "Look, I just want to apologize for how I acted yesterday. I had no right to say what I did, I know you're not taking Blake from me on purpose," Jamie sighed. I offered for her to sit down on the sofa and I sat opposite her.

        "You have every right to be angry with me and to hate me. I know I am the reason Lex is dead but I really don't want you to feel like I am deliberately taking Blake from you too," I told her.

        "That's the thing, I don't hate you Ellie. I don't know why but I have never really hated you. Lex and Blake were right when they said you could make people love you without even trying," she muttered and I didn't know whether she was being serious right now or whether this was some trick for her to make her move at revenge.

        I shouldn't have been thinking like that but not twenty-four hours ago, she was telling me that she hated me and reminding Blake that I was the reason Lex was dead before accusing me of taking Blake from her too.

        I think I have every right to be a little suspicious of what's happening right now. Though people do have second thoughts and perhaps this was her second thought after having a week to consider it all.

        "I meant what I told you yesterday. If you want to talk to me, then you can always speak to me, you can even use the time to shout at me and show me how angry you are with me. I won't complain," I smiled gently at her.

        "You don't see it, do you?" Jamie laughed and I looked at her with confusion.

        "See what?" I asked.

        "You've been through your own personal hell and should hate Blake, but I can see that you love him and you really do care for him, even if you don't want to admit it. You should be shouting at me for things I've said about you, but instead you are offering me a shoulder to cry on if I should ever need it. You are too nice, Ellie, but you don't have to try to be nice or try to care because they both come naturally to you. You make people love you, even when they should hate you," Jamie replied.

        "I have spent ten years' of my life hating your father for what he did to me. I then spent another week hating Blake because of what your father to. After that, I spent some time hating James for everything he had done to Link," I told her.

        I did hate people, but I could only hate people who had wronged me on some way, other than Blake. I just hated him because who his father was and I couldn't handle being hurt by him, so hating him was a natural defence in the hope that he would stay the hell away from me.

        Apparently that didn't work out too well for me because he's still here and I know he's not going anywhere near. The more I pushed him away, the more he wanted to be around me and to be there for me.

        Three and a half weeks' later and here we were. I was Alpha of a pack I never wanted, I had my brother back in my life and I knew Blake wasn't going anywhere in a hurry. Not that I minded, Blake made me a better person and he showed me what it was to be able to feel something again, he showed me what it was to be loved and to have someone care for you again.

        "I don't pretend to be perfect and neither do I pretend to be someone I'm not. I have only ever been myself because I would rather be hated for who I am than liked for who I'm not," I sighed when she didn't say anything back to me.

        "It's funny. You always think that you're family are never going to leave you and that they're always going to be there because you never want to think about them dying so, when they're gone, you don't really know what to do with yourself," Jamie muttered.

        "You deal with it the only way you can. You blame all the people you can and push those away who only want to help you because you think you can deal with it. But, trust me, dealing with grief on your own makes it a thousand times worse," I told her and I was talking from experience.

        My grief made me turn to Martin's enemies to seek revenge for what he had done to me. In the end though, only one of those made good on his promise to help me out and he only did that because he wanted to kill me, not because he wanted to help me.

        I was young and I was an idiot. I know that now and I won't be stupid enough to make the same mistakes twice. I want peace over war and that's what I am going to ensure happens with Darkness because I don't want to live in fear that someone is going to attack.

        "I'm not ready to forgive you for Lex but I know you're not trying to take Blake from me to make me suffer. I can see how much you need each other and I would be selfish to try to put a stop to all of that," Jamie said with a slight smile.

        "I understand Jamie. I want you to take your time and I will still be here if you ever want me," I smiled back at her reassuringly.

        "I want to come with you. I mean, if the offer is still there, I want to join you in Darkness because it's not like I have anything left here for me," she sighed, her gaze not quite meeting mine as she looked anywhere other than where I was.

        "Of course the offer is there. You're Blake's sister and I would like to think, one day in the future, we will be able to move on from the past and actually get to know each other properly," I said hopefully.

        Blake had told me some things about her but he hadn't told me enough for me to pretend that I know her. I wanted to get to know her for myself and I wanted to be able to like her based off who she showed me she was, not based off what Blake had told me about her.

        "I also wanted to assure you that, despite what I said, when I shift I won't be killing you. Firstly, you an Alpha which means you could kill me without even thinking about it. Secondly, it would hurt my brother too much and I don't want to lose the only family I have left," Jamie said as she stood up from the sofa and I looked at her with a smile.

        "Good to know you don't plan on murdering me," I chuckled lightly and then remembered that she was going to need to get to Darkness' territory with all her things. "I will have Jackson pick you and your things up in ten minutes."

        "Thank you, Alpha," she smirked as she did a little bow at the end and then walked out of the room just as Blake and Jackson walked in, both of them looking at me like I had just killed a person.

        I couldn't help but think that today was where my new life really started and I could move on from the events which had happened since I arrived in this pack.

        I would always remember my past and the people who had died to keep my alive, but I was tired of living in the past and I was tired of trying to show people I didn't deserve the shit which happened to me. It was time for me to live for the future with the people I had around me.

        "Was that-"

        "-Jamie?" Blake finished Jackson's question for him. The both of them looked confused and it was the funniest thing I had seen in a while, they way they looked at each other and then back to me, anyone would think they didn't want to believe their eyes.

        "Yeah. She is coming to Darkness with us," I shrugged.

        "How did you manage to convince her to do that?" Blake asked as he sat down beside me and pulled me into his side while Jackson sat opposite the both of us.

        "I didn't. She just didn't want to lose the only family she has left. She still doesn't forgive me, which is fine with me and I understand, but she understands why you have to come with me. She needs you Blake," I told him quietly.

        "Has anyone told you how cute you two are together?" Jackson asked suddenly, a huge grin on his face as he clapped his hands happily. I knew he was only twenty, but he was so damn immature and childish at times that it made me think he was younger than he actually was.

        But I guess that's why he was so lovable. He was an idiot and he could be the most immature person you had ever met, but he knew when to be serious and he could easily take control of a situation if it was going too far.

        "Cute? Seriously Jackson? If you call me that again, I may have to kill you and dispose of your body in some lake on the outskirts of the forest," I muttered as Blake interlocked his fingers with my own, our hands resting just below my shoulder as my head was against his arm.

        "It could be worse. I could have called you adorable," Jackson shrugged.

        "Do you even value your life?" I laughed. I was happy that Jackson was coming with us because, just as his life would be empty without me, my life would be boring without him.

        There was something about Jackson Taylor which you just had to love. He was easy going, he could make you smile, he was always there for you, he never saw the worst in a horrible situation, he knew when you needed a hug and he was just amazing.

        He was Jackson and when Jackson was being Jackson, that was the best feeling in the world. Being around him and being able to share in the moment with him, he made you live for the days you still had to live and he could show you the real meaning of friendship.

        "You love me too much to ever hurt me," Jackson smirked and I knew he was right. Even when I had hit him playfully, I had always found myself apologizing in case I hurt him.

        "She might love you too much to hurt you, but you know I will happily hurt you," Blake's laughter filled the room and that was the sound I loved so much, it was amazing and it never failed to make me smile.

        "Bloody hell do I know that. I still haven't forgiven you for what you did to me when I was eighteen," Jackson muttered and I didn't even ask what he was referring to, I didn't really care or want to know because I had seen the two of them messing around with each other to know they could be total idiots.

        "If you don't want it to happen again then you won't ever mention the words 'cute' and 'adorable' in the same sentence as the words 'Blake' and 'Ellie' again," Blake told him and I thought he was being serious until I felt the gently rumble of his chest as he silently laughed to himself.

        "Before you two kill each other, Jackson needs to pick Jamie up. She's travelling with you to Darkness," I told him.

        "Oh. Fun. Conversations about who's hot and who's not," Jackson muttered sarcastically. I knew he would love me for that one because Blake had told me how much Jamie loved being around Jackson, she knew just how to annoy him and that amused me greatly.

        "Should have thought before you opened your mouth then. Shouldn't you?" I grinned victoriously. He stood there for a moment with his mouth open, like he was going to actually say something, but he quickly closed it again before any words could actually come out. "Also, you're going to be my Beta."

        "And there was me thinking we were friends," Jackson finally said as he walked out of the house but, just as soon as the door had slammed shut, he was back again and standing in front on me, his eyes wide in shock and his mouth agape.

        "You'll catch flies if you keep standing like that," Blake teased him.

        "Wait? Did you just say I'm going to be your Beta?" Jackson spoke after a couple of minutes of awkward silence as the cogs in his mind started turning and he registered what it was that I had told him.

        "Yes, Jackson, you are going to be my Beta. Don't you want the position?" I chuckled.

        "You've given it to me now. Try taking it away from me and I won't be afraid to fight you," Jackson replied, his hand on his hip as he tried his best to give me all the sass he could.

        He was never going to be better than me but it was a good attempt. I would probably give him a seven out of ten for effort and then I made a note I was going to have to teach him all the things I knew at some point.

        "You know a thank you would suffice, or even a hug. I don't mind which, though I would prefer both," I told him with a straight face.

        "Hm. Perhaps later. I have a passenger to pick up," he smirked and then he was gone, the door slightly open from where he hadn't shut it properly and I just smiled to myself. Jackson was always going to be Jackson, there was no changing him and I would never want him to change either.

        I loved him the way he was and I loved everything about him. I guess I was lucky that Blake wasn't the jealous type who wanted to stop me from talking to every single male I came across.

        I would be so screwed where Jackson was concerned if that was the case and I would have ended up having several arguments with Blake about him by now, telling him that I was going to be friends with Jackson and there was nothing he could to stop me.

        "Have you heard anything about Jayson?" I asked as Blake and I stood up from the sofa, him taking one last look around the living room of the place he had called home for seven years' now.

        "No. Nicole is going insane and there's only so much Zach can do," Blake sighed. He grabbed hold of my hand, the both of us walking out to where the car was packed with all of Blake's things were.

        I saw him take one last look at the house he had become so used to after he had helped me into the car and closed the door behind me. I was sure this was hard for him but he had told me he was looking forward to a new start with me in his life.

        "I miss him," I sighed when Blake got into the car.

        "I know. I miss him too. But I am sure he will turn up when he's ready, which I hope is sooner rather than later because Mollie is as good as defenceless and there's only so much Jonah is going to be able to do to prevent the pack from falling apart," Blake told me and that's what I was worried about.

        "I'm going to send some men from Darkness to have a look round our borders for him. I am sure Luca can arrange some men for that," I said as I closed my eyes and lent my had against the window.

        "And this why I love you," I heard Blake say but I simply nodded my head with a slight hum rather than saying the words to his face.

        I love you too Blake.