---- Talk: Communication by spoken words; conversation or discussion. ----

"Here we are..." Max's voice snapped me out of my drowsiness. I blinked a couple of times, a little disoriented. "The Frost Moon Pack."

I nodded and stood straight on my back, looking out the window. As expected, it was just another normal pack. Streets, cars, houses, stores, people roaming around... However, I could not get rid of the heavy feeling on my shoulders.

"What did your boyfriend say about the visit, now that you guys are the real deal?" His mocking tone increased when saying some words and

I rolled my eyes, decided to ignore him. During the past week, he had made several times more than clear that he was not happy about the turn of events. And I was not in the mood to argue about it again.

"Let's get this over with." I reached for the door handle and stepped out of the car with my backpack in tow. The air was cold, but it felt good against my skin.

Father, Max and Noah joined me soon after and we walked to the pack house, where five people were waiting for us with different levels of curiosity on their faces.

I assumed the guy with the smirk in the middle was Alpha Neil. His attitude and height gave away he was the guy with the upper hand.

Next to him I recognized a familiar face, she must be Beta Harper. We both had changed quite a bit, but I remembered having enjoyed her conversation that one time in the Moon Goddess festival. Especially when, compared to what the boys had to say trying to prove who was the manliest of them, she gave me some normal conversation.

I assumed the handsome man whose hand was placed around her waist was her mate, though there was no mark visible. She also looked a bit stiff next to him. Probably they found each other not so long ago. Nonetheless, her Nordic European features contrasted pretty much with the slanted eyes and black hair of her Asian partner making a beautiful couple. They would probably have the cutest puppies.

To the other side of Alpha Neil I assumed were Gamma Brendan and his mate, both of them clearly marked. I didn't have any special recollection of him so I simply bowed slightly to him when our eyes met.

"Welcome to the Frost Moon Pack. Alpha Donovan, Maximilian, Noah..." Alpha Neil's gaze traveled from person to person and finally landed on me. "Riley." He scanned me shamelessly and nodded in approval after a few seconds. I felt cold all of a sudden but I didn't show any reaction. This was a battle I wasn't going to lose. "These are my second and third. Beta Harper and her mate, Kaito." Both of them bowed formally and so did we." Gamma Brendan and his mate, Judith."

After some more formalities, we entered the pack house and were led to the living room, where we were briefed on the schedule for our stay: tour of the pack today and business talks the next one. Pretty down to the point.

Once we got over that, the respective mates were dismissed and we were guided to our rooms. When we reached the second floor, Gamma Brendan signaled Max and Noah towards the corridor in the left while Beta Harper escorted me to the one on the right. The two Alphas continued their way up to the third floor.

We had a bit of a break to freshen up and rest before we started the tour of the pack, so I decided to take a quick shower to organize my thoughts on how to get rid of Alpha Neal without damaging the ongoing relations between our packs.

I had just gotten out of the en-suite bathroom when I heard a knock on my door. I placed the towel I was using to dry my head on the table and opened the door to find a smiling blond girl waiting patiently.

"May I come in?" She winked at me, amused at I don't know at what. By her outer appearance and behavior, I would have never guessed she was 27 y.o.

"Sure, Beta Harper." I forced a smile and stepped back to let her in. She lunged inside the room and sat on the bed, looking around. I closed the door and tucked some hair behind my ear feeling uncomfortable. I was not used to such familiarity from a stranger, especially coming from a female.

"It's been a while girl." She blatantly ignored my awkwardness and looked at me directly in the eyes. "Time has treated you well but, after our first meeting, I was expecting you to grow into much more of a badass..." She raised one eyebrow and tilted a corner of her mouth upwards.

As direct as one gets them. The woman definitely had a pair, and I liked it. I resisted the impulse to smirk. Instead, I moved back to pick up the towel and continued with the drying. The beta waited patiently with her smile growing wider by the moment.

"If you remember our first meeting," I put the towel down and tousled my hair a bit, satisfied with the result. I turned to her and threw the piece of cloth into the laundry basket next to the bathroom door, "then you must already know I am an expert on putting up a show."

"Yes you are..." Her eyes softened and finally gave me a sincere smile. "Alpha Matthew really needed someone to take the wind out of his sails."

"What happened afterwards?" I leaned against the wall in front of her. Now it was my turn to study her. "As you already know, I have been pretty much secluded in my pack since and no one cared to update me."

"Alpha Donovan is quite the worrywart, ain't he? The question is: who was he protecting? You or us?" I crossed my hands over my chest, obviously refusing to answer. She chuckled and stood up, approaching me and standing silent for a couple of seconds. "Nothing much happened. He indeed woke up to be not such a huge prick. We all owe you a big thanks."

She extended her hand to me and I took it, shaking it a couple of times.

"My pleasure."

She let go of my hand and tilted her head to the door with a questioning look. I nodded and followed her as she opened the door for me. She closed the door behind and we started walking down the corridor.

"Girl, I knew I would like you from the very beginning." She was a couple of inches taller than me, so she could throw her arm around my shoulders without problems. "We need more of your kind in these parts, testosterone riddles everywhere and blocks the cock-minds of most of our leaders..."

I couldn't help but chuckle as she winked at me and squeezed me tighter. I definitely liked this girl.

We finished the pack tour a little earlier than expected and Alpha Donovan suggested they could use the time for handling the business he had come to do. Alpha Neil and Max agreed on it and Beta Harper proposed for the rest of us to go for dinner at her favourite pizza place, which was a little far from the pack house.

Without further debate, we separated into two groups and while the Alphas and Max entered the pack house, we followed Gamma Brendan and Beta Harper to a nearby annex, where they parked some cars.

We hopped into an SUV and before Gamma Brendan could turn on the gas, Kaito opened the door next to Beta Harper and jumped inside, flashing her a captivating smile but getting a rolling of eyes for a reaction.

"Let him be, Harps." Gamma Brendan's voice didn't hide his amusement while he drove off the garage. "You shouldn't have picked him up if you didn't want to deal with the whole mate deal."

"I don't even know why I went to that damn convention anyways..." She mumbled under her breath and crossed her arms in a pout, but couldn't hide the shiver that overcame her when Kaito put his hand on her tight and caressed it lightly.

"That is because you're a computer nerd and I love you so much more for that." The growl she had started to emit choked in her throat when Kaito leaned on her and gave her a peck on the cheek. "You should start getting used to me because I am not going anywhere."

"Flirt... Enough of this!" She skipped on her seat, leaning towards me and putting a few inches between her and her newly acquainted mate. Instead of being disappointed, Kaito's face muffled a grin. "What about you guys? If I remember correctly, you Noah haven't found your mate yet, did you?"

"Nope, but seeing you got yourself such a nice catch at the age of 27, gives me hope to keep looking."

"Thanks man!" Kaito leaned forward to the front seat and offered Noah a fist bump, which he answered, earning an exasperated whine from the Beta.

"And you Riley, are you serious on not waiting for 5 years?" Gamma Brendan's question was followed by a harsh silence.

After a few seconds, I opened my mouth to answer but Noah beat me to it.

"4 years." Everyone turned to him with a confused look. He shrugged and faced to the front. "She turned 23 y.o. last week, so she technically has another 4 years."

The following events happened in slow motion. Beta Harper snapped her head towards me with her eyes about to bulge out of her face and trapped me in a bear hug, blocking my vision. Shortly after, I could feel Kaito's arms surrounding us.
The guy really didn't waste an opportunity to hover over his girl.

"Congratulatiooooons!" The girl's scream on my ear nearly deafened me and I could hear the rest of the passengers bursting into laughter. "We have to celebrate!"

She was still literally screaming to my ear, so I pushed both mates away from me and allowed my lungs to catch a breath again.

"No need, we kind of celebrated on the day..."

"No-sense, Rie." Noah had turned to me with a beaming smile. "I was so busy with work I couldn't join. If your future Beta is not in the celebration, then it is not a celebration!"

"But..."

"You better give up," this time it was Gamma Brendan the one who turned to me, after pulling over the parking spot, "Harps hardly ever bends her mind."

I perched an eyebrow and faced the beta, who was still grinning at me, too focused on me that she hadn't even bothered to remove her mate's hands from her hips.

"No?" I tilted my head and pointed at Kaito, who furrowed his brow trying to look threatening. I felt a mischievous smile grow on my face as I continued talking. "And what about him?"

The colour drained from Beta Harper's face and she darted her hands to her hips, tearing off his grip in one try.

"I am still working on it..."

Kaito cursed under his breath loud enough for me to hear it too and everyone laughed again. I gave him an apologetic look and got a venomous glare in return, making me chuckle a bit more before I finally calmed down.

"Anyways... It's not like Alpha Donovan will be allowing us to extend our visit..." I stated, sure that I was right. I opened the door of the car feeling a little disappointed. I would have liked to spend some more time with Beta Harper, I kind of needed more female friends.

When we were about to enter the restaurant, Noah and Beta Harper approached me, one from each side, and leaned over me with playful smiles whirling in their faces.

"Do not be so sure about that, Rie." Noah grabbed me from my shoulders and nodded to the beta.

"We have a plan..." The blond girl winked at me and then hooked her arm with mine, pulling me into to the pizzeria.

A/N
Hello nice people! I had planned this chapter to be much shorter. Let's say: literally I planned to write this content and the one from chapter 17 together, but I got a little excited making friends... Hahaha!

Well, that only means, I am very ahead with next chapter too, which means, another update soon ;)

I hope you liked this chapter enough to vote and comment!
Lots of love, Koe