In the end, her fears proved to be justified.

"I need to stop by the pack house. It shouldn’t be more than half an hour," he said as he came back inside. "I’m very, very sorry." Angie had to admit his expression confirmed his words.

"Don’t worry." Kenny waved a hand. "You wanted us to get to know each other. We can do it even without you," he assured him.

"Yeah." Beth immediately joined in. "Don’t keep them waiting."

Although both of his betas assured him everything would be fine, Hunter automatically turned to Angie and waited for her decision. Another reason she decided to give it a chance, even though she really, really didn’t want to.

"Go," she told him. "I’ll be here." He still didn’t look convinced, so she added, "I’m sure we’ll be fine."

Hunter seemed to consider the situation for a moment longer, but then he nodded and—with a promise to hurry—left, leaving the three of them alone.

"You don’t have to worry." Beth immediately turned to Angie. "It’s normal. Alpha Lucas tries to involve Hunter in as many decisions as possible so he learns everything gradually. I’m sure it’s nothing dangerous."

Angie nodded, though that wasn’t the reason for her concern.

"It took Juliette a while to get used to it all, too." Kenny moved the conversation in a slightly different direction. "She was worried at first, but I tried to take her with me whenever I could so she’d find out it wasn’t nearly as dangerous as she thought."

Angie decided to take advantage of him mentioning his girlfriend and followed up with, "You and her have been together a long time, right?"

Neither beta seemed to notice her desperate attempt to steer the conversation back to casual territory. And judging by the way Kenny had literally lit up, she’d picked the right question.

"We got together in our sophomore year," he revealed. "We’ve been together for four years."

"They’ve been lucky," Beth commented.

"Soon you’ll have a mate of your own, too," Kenny immediately assured her.

"I wouldn’t be the first person who didn’t find their mate when they turned eighteen," the blonde pointed out, and Angie would almost have been sorry when she saw her disappointed expression, if their conversation hadn’t continued in a style that evoked different emotions in her.

"Michael doesn’t count." Kenny rolled his eyes. "He probably has some sort of disease that repels mates."

Angie couldn’t believe her own ears.

"If I were as unlucky as he is, I’d probably kill myself," Beth declared. "And he was trying to be an enforcer." She said it in a tone that suggested the fact Michael hadn’t found his mate meant he was incapable of doing anything for the pack.

Angie had had enough.

"Funny," she stated in a tone that suggested otherwise. "He doesn’t have a mate, and I’d still trust him with my life more than I’d trust you two."

Automatically, she stood up, ready not to listen to any excuses she was sure were coming.

The two betas looked alarmed. "We didn’t mean..." Kenny started, but Angie quickly stopped him with a raised hand.

"I don’t care," she assured him, turning to leave. The betas quickly got to their feet as well and tried to stop her.

"Either you move or we’re going to have a problem," she told them as they stood directly in front of the door.

"Angie," Beth addressed her, but the brunette didn’t want to hear any salvaging of the situation.

"Move away from the door if you want me to give Hunter a real chance," she told them.

Hunter’s remark yesterday about humans, and now the behavior of his two betas... It was too much for her. She needed to think with a clear head. But she couldn’t do that here.

"Move!"

Neither of them were prepared for her to raise her voice at them. She no longer wanted to make a good impression. Thankfully, they understood and finally let her get to the door.

"I hope you’ll tell Hunter what happened," was the last thing she said to them before she left, her feet automatically leading her in one direction.

Her footsteps quickly turned into a run, and when she was finally far enough out of earshot, she allowed the tears that had been burning in her eyes to run down her cheeks.

She gasped once, and the only reason she didn’t burst into sobs fully was because the wind was burning her throat as she ran. When she stopped in front of the familiar front door, however, she couldn’t take it anymore. Luckily, even in her state of mind, she managed to knock.

Before she could recover, a pair of hands pulled her into their arms, and she quickly determined by the person’s height and scent that it was Michael.

He didn’t ask what was wrong. He simply held her and slowly moved them both to his room. He sat down on the bed with her and then adjusted her in his arms so he could hold her tightly and give her support.

"I was hoping it would be you," she uttered something she thought would never leave the space of her mind. "Why couldn’t it have been you," she whispered, more to herself than to him. Her question sparked another wave of sadness inside her, and she didn’t hesitate to let it out.

Michael didn’t respond to her words, though he must have been aware of their meaning. He simply held her and waited for her to calm down.

"Angie," he addressed her when he felt her begin to shake less, and instead of sobbing loudly, she only occasionally sniffed.

She couldn’t look him in the face.

"Angie," he tried again. His tone was soft, and she had no idea if she’d ever heard him speak like that.

"Tell me—" She finally lifted her head, and he eased his grip to allow her to move. "Tell me you’ve never thought the same thing."

"Angie—" His tone was more hesitant now, and his brow furrowed.

"I wished it would be you," she cut him off, and this time her confession was spoken in a whisper, as if she were afraid someone else would overhear.

"I’ll always be here for you," Michael assured her. His words would have sounded like a rejection, if they weren’t followed by him moving his hand to her cheek and running his thumb tenderly over it while his gaze told her everything she needed to know.

"I’m sorry," she told him, and their intense eye contact ended in that moment. Michael quickly moved his hand back while she cleared her throat and averted her gaze.

"Do you want to talk about what happened?" he asked her after a few seconds.

Angie wasn’t sure if that was a good idea, but after all, he’d said he’d always be there for her—and that was exactly what she needed right now. So she nodded. "If you have time."

"I always have time for you," he assured her. "Princess Dumbass." A soft, playful smile appeared on his face, and she immediately returned it.

It quickly diminished, however, when she realized what she actually needed to talk about.

"I don’t think I’m going to be a good Luna," she said first.

"You don’t know that yet." Michael frowned.

Angie was surprised by his answer, since someone like Michael, who cared deeply about the pack and its functioning, must have known exactly what was expected of a Luna. And she wasn't meeting any of it.

"I didn't even know who the next alpha was," she reminded him.

"And you didn't know who the first president was until you learned it in school," Michael argued without hesitation. "No one becomes Luna without training."

But Angie wasn't giving up either and remained skeptical. "I'm sure there are still some prerequisites I should meet."

"Yes," he confirmed with a nod of his head. "Luna's the one who listens to pack members' problems, offers support and advice when needed. Kind of like what you did in Evan's case, helping him give Ryan a chance. And look where they are now."

Judging by his tone, the ink-haired boy meant it, and Angie couldn't take her eyes off him; she hadn't expected that.

"Since when were you so nice to me?"

"It's a one-time thing, don't worry," he immediately assured her.

His answer finally brought a smile to the brunette's face. Maybe she should have been ashamed after the way she'd indirectly confessed her feelings for him, but she couldn't bring herself to be. She simply needed to do it so she could move on, and maybe Michael needed it too.

"Since I'm supposed to be Luna and offer advice, I guess I need someone to offer advice to me," she said. "We both know that Evan isn't the right person for that," she added in a serious tone that amused Michael, and now they were both smiling.

"Actually, I have some good advice for you. I think," he replied.

"I'm listening."

"Introduce Hunter to your friends," he surprised her with his suggestion. The dark-haired boy immediately noticed her puzzled expression and explained, "He introduced you to his betas, and they talked about their world. Let Hunter get to know your world. Show him that there are a lot more humans in it than he's ever met before."

Angie laughed, even though it was probably true. Hunter seemed to prefer surrounding himself with wolves, if that was possible.

"And if he's not going to be nice to them?" she allowed herself to voice her concern.

"Make him. It never stopped you from changing someone's mind. Your mate shouldn't be an exception," Michael replied without hesitation. "You convinced Evan to want a mate. You convinced me to trust humans with my secret. You're Princess Dumbass, there's nothing you can't do."

His words would have been almost touching if he hadn't used that nickname, at the sound of which Angie punched him in the shoulder to let him know what she thought of it.

"You know, when I'm Luna, you're going to have to stop calling me that," she warned him.

"I'll try," he replied, his tone suggesting the exact opposite of his words. Still, Angie couldn't stop smiling. Michael had managed to calm her down with his remarks faster than the two stupid betas had managed to anger her.

"Thanks for staying home for me." She had more to thank him for, but without that, he couldn't have offered her advice and a hug, so that was the most important thing.

"Whatever," he murmured, rolling his eyes. "You should call Hunter," he advised, surprising her. "You want him to hear your side of the story, though I think he'd be more interested in it anyway."

"I'll call him," she promised, taking her phone out of her pocket. She stood up from the bed, but before she left the room to make the call, she turned to Michael. "I'll tell him we'll talk tomorrow. I'm not in the mood for serious talk. Got any good movies?"

Michael was obviously surprised by her words, but after a few seconds, he nodded.

An ordinary wolf would have favored their mate, but she'd never been an ordinary wolf. Besides, while Hunter had a whole pack of wolves, her little pack worked differently. And today, she wanted to spend time with them, since she had no doubt Evan would come here first before going to his own home.

Until then, she planned to annoy Michael as much as she could.