Kane was exhausted. The party had lasted for hours. The only thing that made it worth it was seeing how happy Nora had been. She had been in her element with those she loved around her. He had been lying on the couch since they had all left, he and Nora together on one and Jade and her little brother next to her. His parents had gone to bed hours ago, exhausted from the party just as Kane was.

He wasn't really paying attention to the movie Jade had turned on, instead his mind was on how he was going to tackle that night. He couldn't help but think back to his first time. His first time had been with Kai, after a few weeks of seeing each other. It had been desperate and passionate, with long kisses and the high of adrenaline coursing through their veins at the thought of his parents hearing them. It was rushed but it was incredible. Kane wanted Nora to look back on her first time with the same fondness. He wanted to give her that.

He glanced from the screen to his side, where Nora was lying against his side. Her hand was pressed to his chest and her eyes were on the screen. He placed his hand over hers. Her eyes flickered towards him and a small smile graced her lips.

"I really appreciate you coming here, Kane," she said softly. "Thank you."

Kane shook his head. "I've hardly done anything. You've been living in my house, right in the middle of all the crazy stuff going on in this pack. I should be thanking you."

Nora just smiled softly. "I'd do anything for you."

I don't deserve her, he thought. "There's another thing I really need to thank you for."

"What is it?" she asked.

"Deciding to move to my pack."

Nora pushed her elbow under herself so that she could look Kane in the eye. "You need to be there. You'll be running that place with Adam in no time."

Kane glanced around the room. "You have to leave this place. Your whole family and friends. That can't be easy for you."

Nora smiled sadly over at her cousins who were both still watching the movie. "I'm going to miss my family so much, but you are my family now."

Kane squeezed her hand. "I guess I just didn't ever think about what my mate would have to give up. I just knew that my place was in my pack and my mate would join me there, but today, seeing all of these people, it just showed me how much you really are giving up."

Nora shrugged. "It's not like I didn't know this was a possibility. I'm not upset about it. Together we can really make a difference in your pack. My pack will be okay here."

"You know, if you were upset about it, or anything else, you could tell me, right?"

Nora tilted her head. She glanced at Jade. That was where Kane saw his mistake. She knew that Jade had talked to him. Nora was silent. She took a small breath and nodded. "I know," she whispered and put her head back down on his shoulder.

Kane held back a sigh. He shouldn't have said that.

His phone started buzzing. Kane reached across Nora to pick it up. The second he saw Adam's name on the screen he realised that he hadn't replied to his last message. Kane excused himself and took the phone into the kitchen.

"Hey Adam," he said.

Adam sounded relieved. "Thank the Moon God's. I thought you were ignoring me."

"It's been a busy day, sorry."

"Don't be sorry," Adam told him. "I was such a jerk, I deserve to be ignored."

"You were right though," Kane admitted. He didn't want to admit that Adam had been right, but after his talk with Jade, he knew exactly how right Adam had really been. He sat down at the same bench stool he had been sitting at earlier in the day. "I didn't think about how my actions were hurting Nora, and now I know. Her cousin gave me a lecture today and I can't stop thinking about it."

"What did her cousin say?"

"A lot of things, but basically her side of the bond is there and its killing her that my side isn't."

"That isn't your fault," Adam told him.

"I know, but when we kissed the day of the attack, things changed."

"What do you mean?"

"It felt," he tried to think back to that moment when they kissed, "clearer. Almost as if there had been something blocking the bond and it got lifted a little, just for a moment."

"That's incredible," Adam exclaimed. "That must be a good sign."

"I think I need to sleep with her."

"What?" Adam asked. He sounded surprised.

"Well, if a kiss could clear up the bond on my side, then imagine what sex would do."

"I guess," Adam said.

That wasn't what Kane had been expecting to hear. "I thought you would be all for the idea. You said I should be making more of an effort with her."

Adam was silent for a moment. "I just don't want you to force yourself into something that you don't want to do. I'm happy that you want to be with her, but you should wait if you're not ready."

"I don't think I'll ever be ready at the rate I'm going. I need to step up."

"Kane-"

He didn't want to be talked out of it and if he talked to Adam for too long, he would. "I need to go," Kane told him. "I really should be with Nora."

"Okay, I'll see you tomorrow. If you do have sex, let me know how it goes. I don't want details though."

Kane laughed. "Okay then. Bye."

"Thanks for not hating me."

"You're my best friend, Adam. I could never."

"Bye. Good luck."

Kane made his way back to the couch. He sat down next to Nora and slipped an arm over her head.

"Everything okay?" she asked.

Kane nodded. "Yeah, was just Adam checking in."

"Did you two make up?"

Kane tilted his head. "How did you know we had a fight?"

"You wouldn't look at him at all when you guys came to Tyler's house after the lock down. I guessed as much."

"Oh. Well, yeah, but we are okay now."

"It wasn't about me, was it?" she asked.

Kane didn't want to lie to her, so he didn't. "Kind of. He was mad that I wasn't treating you right, and I agree with him. I need to step up and be better mate to you."

Nora's mouth hung open in surprise for a few seconds. "You haven't been a bad mate-"

"I have, but I'll be better."

Nora seemed to not know what to say to that. She started leaning towards Kane. The moment her lips touched his skin those tingles ran up and down his body. The bond suddenly felt so real and right and he suddenly knew that he could go through with it. He wanted to love her so badly that he was willing to do anything to keep this feeling going. As he pulled back he wondered if that was how Nora felt about him all the time. She had once told him that the bond, to her, felt warm and comforting. He knew what she was talking about now. That warmth was there when they kissed, in a way he hadn't felt before.

The screen in front of them turned to black. "We should all head to bed," Jade said, followed by a yawn. "We've got an early morning ahead of us considering you two are heading home tomorrow." She hoisted her brother off the couch by his hand.

Kane waited for Nora to sit up before following suit. They said goodnight to the other two at the top of the staircase. Nora held his hand as she led him towards the door at the end of the hallway.

"This is my room," she told him with her hand on the doorknob.

Kane smiled as she let him into the room. Her bedroom was the brightest room he had ever been in. She had a rainbow coloured bedspread with bright pillows. Her walls were lined with fairy lights of every colour.

"Don't laugh at it," Nora said with a smile. "I like bright colours."

Kane couldn't help but laugh at her. "It looks like it was designed by a three-year-old!"

Nora pushed him lightly towards the door. "You can sleep on the couch with this attitude!" she said to him. She started laughing herself.

Kane wrapped his arms around her. "Okay, okay, I apologise. I love it. It's the best room I've ever been in."

"Thank you." Nora slid her arm around his back and looked up at him with her big eyes. "I would have toned it down if I had known you'd be here to see it next time I came home."

Kane shook his head. "I wouldn't have wanted you to. Does this mean my bedroom is going to get a few colourful additions after this?"

"Oh, now you've given me some ideas!"

Kane groaned.

"Perhaps a unicorn pillow?" she asked with a smirk.

He groaned again and Nora laughed.

Kane walked towards the bed, Nora still pressed to his chest. She looked at him with confused eyes. "What's going on?" she asked.

"I think I know a way to fix the bond," he said as they sat down on the side of the bed.

Nora's eyes widened. "You do? What is it?"

Kane pressed his lips to hers for a moment. "This."

Nora pulled back from him. She pulled her legs up onto the bed and looked him square in the eye. "Are you sure?"

"The mate bond changes when we kiss. I can feel it. I know that's the key to fixing it."

"I didn't mean it like that. I meant are you sure that's what you want?" Nora looked so vulnerable sitting there. He wanted to hold onto her and tell her how hard he was willing to fight for her. He was willing to give up all he had known about himself to be with her, for them both to share the bond on the same level she had.

"I want you." He reached across and grabbed her hand. "I want to be with you, Nora."

"Okay. Let's do it."

AAhh screaming on the inside and I'm the author haha What do you think will happen next?