"Come on, try again." 

"No, I can't do it. This is stupid." 

"Come on, just try one more time." 

Luca sighed, re-focusing his attention on the small acorn that lay in the palm of his hand. 

He stared for a moment before squinting at it, and then letting out a very loud, frustrated noise. 

"I can't do it, Celia! This is pointless!" He said. 

"Here, I'll help you." I laughed. 

I placed my hand under his, and focused on the acorn as well. 

"Look at it, what do you see?" I asked him.

"An acorn." He said in a bored tone. 

"No no no." I replied. "When you really look at it, the details, every speck of dirt, every line. You have to take it all in. You have to focus on the feeling of it in your hand. Feel the energy in it, the life." I told him, nodding at it.  

"Now try again." I said quietly. 

He looked at it again, but differently this time. A few seconds passed, when finally, a small crack began to form. Slowly, a small green stem grew from the crack, and grew a small leaf. 

"I did it.." He whispered. "I did it!" 

"I knew you could do it." I laughed, giving him a quick kiss. "Come on, lets go see what everyones up to." I said, grabbing his hand and pulling him away from his desk and down the halls. 

Two weeks had passed, and they had been amazing. Everyone was getting along great with Belle, and me and Luca were much closer now. We had promised each other we would stop worrying about all the 'what-ifs' but also that we would both be careful, now aware of the dangers that surrounded us. 

We hadn't had any more incidents since my attempted kidnapping, but we were careful to never let our guard down. We had increased the number of guards around the pack house, and the border was patrolled twice as often. Training was now much more intense, but everyone seemed to be doing very well. 

We found Nick, Belle, and Alice in the kitchen. Alice was at the stove making pancakes and Nick and Belle were seated at the island. Belle smiled as we entered the kitchen. 

"He did it guys!" I said proudly, displaying the sprouting acorn in the air for them all to see. 

They all put their arms in the air, cheering, and Luca and I laughed. 

"Here." Said Alice, handing Luca and I each a plate of pancakes topped with butter and syrup. 

"Thanks Al." Luca said, pulling me out the door. 

"Where are we going?" I laughed, trying not to drop my food. 

"Theres a picnic table near the garden, you'll love it." He smiled. 

We sat at the table, eating our food in silence. 

"Hey look." Said Luca, pointing to the edge of the woods where a small red fox was sniffing around. 

"Wait here." I smiled, leaving the table. 

I approached the fox, careful not to frighten it. Once I was directly in front of it, I crouched down, extending my hand towards its little face. 

It gave my hand a quick sniff, and I softly petted its head. 

Now that I felt it trusted me, I scooped it up into my arms and walked back to where a stunned Luca sat at the picnic table. 

"Wanna pet him?" I asked Luca. 

"Yeah, sure." He mumbled staring at the fox. 

He cautiously reached his hand toward the fox, as if it may bite him. I laughed, "He won't hurt you Luca." 

"I'm not afraid of him." He frowned at me. 

"If you say sooo.." I sang. 

He finally touched the top of its head, scratching its ear. "Wow.." He whispered. 

"This is pretty cool." He said, smiling at me. 

"Its always been my favorite part of my Gift." I replied, sitting the fox on the ground and shooing it back towards the woods. 

"So.. I have something I wanted to ask you.." Said Luca. 

"Yeah?" I replied. 

"I know you understand the kind of danger were all in, and me not being able to mind-link you doesn't help the situation. I was wondering,  if maybe, you'd be ok with me marking you? I know when you got here I didn't treat you the way you deserved, and I made some terrible mistakes, I know that now, but I do want you here. I want you here forever." He smiled at me. 

"I want to be here forever." I replied, returning his smile. 

"Its probably going to hurt a little, I mean you're committing yourself to this pack, and losing your connection with your old pack. You'll be officially taking the role of Luna. Are you sure you're ready?" He asked me seriously. 

I thought it over, my heart racing. I was scared. Was I ready for this? To help lead an entire pack who would soon be at war with rogues? Could I do it? I would also be losing my ability to mind-link with my  friends from my pack. I would still be able to talk to my dad, since were blood related, but not Leah, which made me sad.  

I'd kept up with Leah through mind-link, the entire time I'd been here. I told her about the progress I'd made with Luca, about Belle and Alice, everything. She was like my living diary, but also always providing me with encouragement when I needed it. 

I thought about the things I remembered my mother telling me when I was young. She told me I would do great things, and she'd be proud of me no matter what. She told me my Gift was special, and that I would someday use it to do something amazing, but I never thought that something would be defending an entire pack. My pack. 

I was ready. I could feel it now. This pack was strong, and though other packs thought them heartless, they were kind as well. I smiled, proud I would become the Luna to this great pack. 

"I'm sure." I replied. 

He stepped closer to me, and kissed my forehead softly. "I'm sorry, but this will hurt." He said, his eyes looking into mine concerned. 

"Its ok." I whispered, even though I was somewhat terrified. 

He moved gently my hair from the right side of my neck, to the left. When he bit into my neck, I was shaking, scared of what it would feel like to lose my connection to my old pack, and form a new connection with this one. 

I winced, as my neck felt like it was lit on fire. I felt dizzy as the sound of a hundred different voices began to echo in my head. All at once it was as though they felt me in their minds, and the voices grew louder and louder, until my vision faded to black, and I was submerged in a calming silence. 

A/N

I don't know why it took me so long to write this chapter, ugh. Anyway, hope you like it! :) I can't believe how many reads this book has got, every comment and vote makes me so incredibly happy. :) I usually click on you guys' profiles when you comment, and read your bio's. Lol I love hearing about my readers! Comment and tell me about yourselves! I'll tell you a little about me. :) 

I'm 17, I live in Missouri pretty much out in the middle of the woods. Lol I love love love it here. I love taking walks to a beautiful little stream that runs behind my house. I have 3 fur babies. Winnie and Oreo, both shitzus. Although Winnie thinks she is an actual human baby. And my newest baby, Sage, a German Shepherd. She is a total monster, but she's a cute monster. 

I'm homeschooled, because a couple years ago I got Lyme's Disease (Its something you get from a tick bite that totally sucks.) It started my sophomore year. I was walking with my friends, and it got really hard to move my legs, so I called my mom once I got to class, and she came and got me. From there it got to the point where for months I could barely walk at all, had terrible migraines, was super tired, and all kinds of other stuff. I'm doing a lot better now, but I still get exhausted really easy and get really bad leg aches, so I haven't been able to return to school yet. 

I did get to go to my junior prom because one of my friend's friend's didn't have a date, and it was one of the best days I ever had. It was so fun. I do hope I can go back to school next year, because I want to graduate and all that fun senior stuff. :) 

A couple months ago, I started working as a makeup artist. I started working out of a salon in a town near me, but now I've been able to book 3 weddings outside of the salon. It was an amazing experience to have people come up to me at prom and tell me they'd heard of me through my makeup jobs. It was so cool.  

I would honestly LOVE to hear about you guys! :) Anyway, hope you liked the chapter! :D