"I've never kissed before," I began. "I've never wanted to kiss before, Auri. But for some reason, I wanted to kiss you. You're the first person who's ever made me feel this way. I- I know we just met like, last week, but there's something about you that makes me... I don't know... All- All my life, I kept my head low and went with the flow, but you... light up my life in a way I've never imagined life could. Every day, I just want to find you and talk to you, to help you in everything you do, to hear about your day, your thoughts. I'm not sure why, and- and I know it's too fast, but I like you a lot, Auri. If there's anybody I wanna mate with in the world, it'll be you."

My heart was beating out of my chest. This was more nerve-wracking than the fight with my father. Auri was still smiling, but I was still overcome with panic.

"Again, I'm so sorry I marked you like that," I continued frantically. "I- I understand you might not be feeling the same way towards me at all. If- If you give me some time, I'll look into how to reverse it. It's possible. It's rare, but it's possible."

Auri's hand closed on mine, and our fingers entwined. I did not realize just how sweaty my hands were. Why was I sweating so much?

"I like you a lot too, Bodie," Auri said with a shy smile. "How about this? Let's give this relationship a shot for a few months. And if it doesn't work out, then you can remove this mark from me."

I felt as though I was flying in the air. The grin on my face must be so stupidly big right now, that I wanted to bury my head into my pillow. "I've... never been in a relationship before, Auri. I don't know if I can... I don't know if I'm..."

"Hey, as long as you try. As long as we try. And I like you enough to try." She lifted her hand, bringing mine up along with hers. "This mark on me will act as a promise between us. A promise that we'll try our hardest to make this work. Deal?"

I nodded. There were a lot of things in life I had never done and never wanted to do. But staring at Auri's glistening eyes and cheerful smile, I finally wanted to experience more in life. With her.

I guessed I had a particular soft spot for her.

"And having this mark has been nice," Auri admitted sheepishly. "Everyone here has been listening to my every word. I didn't even need to try to be charming, or nice."

"Yeah, being an Alpha's mate has its perk, definitely. Don't push them too much though," I reminded her, remembering how easily she made Celine and Max break down.

"I won't." She winked. Then, she leaned forward and gave me a quick peck on my cheeks. My body warmed; this was even better than a blanket.

"So, are you ready to meet some people now?" Auri asked. "Celine is outside, probably pacing so much the floor has a hole on it. She has been so worried about you. Do you want to talk to her?"

"Oh, of course."

Auri hopped out of her chair and opened the door. The next thing I knew, Celine sprinted into the room and crushed me in her bear hug.

"Bodie! You're alright!"

"Ouch ouch ouch," I cried out. "Celine, be gentle."

"S- Sorry." She let me go with a loud sniff.

Sitting next to Auri and wiping her tears, Celine made for a rather comical sight—a much taller, bigger werewolf crying next to a smaller but calmer wererabbit. It seemed that my sister-in-law had opened up a lot after hanging out with Auri these past few days.

Heaving a sigh of relief, I adjusted my body on the bed. "How are you, Celine? And... how is he, by the way?"

Celine blinked, shocked that I would ask about my father. "I'm fine. And he's... fine, too. Recovering. He's actually not as hurt as you are. I don't know how you could fight him off with the injuries you had."

I shrugged. "I don't even know how I had the strength to fight him in the first place. You and I both know that I've never won a fight before. Something must have possessed me."

"That was different from a practice fight. It was a real fight and compared to him, you had something to fight for." She cast a knowing look at Auri, and the two women giggled when their eyes met. Since when did they become such good friends?

"You know, Bodie," Celine continued, "You're so much like Victor. I can't believe I didn't see it before."

That took me by surprise. "I am?"

"You commanded the whole pack to stop fighting."

That had been unexpected, but I had been so consumed with anger that I had not paid too much attention then.

"You had enough conviction to get everyone to listen to you. You may not know it, but you're ready to be an Alpha," Celine pointed out. "Well, I mean, you are the Alpha, now."

I slumped back to the pillow and looked up at the ceiling. The lamp above me was way too bright, but the more I blinked, the more my eyes adjusted to it.

It had not been long since Victor's death, and I had become the new Alpha. No matter how much I didn't want this title, I had it now, and I had to accept it now. What if I botched this job? What would happen to my pack?

"Victor would be proud of you, Bodie," Celine said, jolting me out of my thoughts.

I could not help but chuckle in disbelief. "You think so?"

"Of course. I'm proud. The whole pack is... very pleasantly surprised."

As long as they did not despise me for taking this position, I was good with that. "Will you help me?" I asked. "I'm still new to all this. I'd need some guidance."

Celine looked taken aback, but she broke into a wide smile. "And I thought you'd never ask." Giving me a gentle squeeze on my shoulder, she added, "We'll all help you. Me, Max and the other betas, and Auri here, too."

Auri winked. "I still have my duties to my department, but of course, I'll be helping my mate whenever I can."

Hearing Auri say that so confidently in front of Celine made my heart combust into flames.

"Mate?" Celine repeated. "Wait, you two decided to keep the mark?"

"Yep! Bodie and I decided to give this a shot for now." Auri raised her hand and placed it against Celine's marked hand. "We're tattoo buddies now!"

Celine roared in laughter. "Oh, you are way too cute!"

With a scoop, she lifted Auri off the floor before jumping at me for a forced group hug.

This time, I let her embrace me. After all, a group hug with Auri was worth my bones crushing.