5: Meeting His Folks

Bruno

I watched as she shut the door and I heard her small footsteps as the walked down the hall. I listened as she rounded the corner until the small thumps from her feet faded away completely. I loosened my tie and took it off as I sat down on the fluffy bed. I laid back and relive the moments that I had with Amelia tonight, everything about her fascinated me. Her confidence was intriguing and her loyalty was fierce. I haven't even spent a whole day with her yet...

I couldn't wait to take her home with me I could tell already that she would make an amazing Luna and that the pack was going to love her.

I felt giddy (as girly as that sounds) almost like I was a little boy again, a ridiculous smile had made its way to my face since she left and it wouldn't go away. Derek was jumping around and yipping in my head, I'm gonna go ahead and pin this feeling on him. I stood from the bed and walked into the ensuite bathroom. I did my business and as I washed my hands there was a knock on my door. I grabbed the towel and as I walked to the door, I dried my hands. There was another small knock and I walked quicker, when I opened the door there was a man that was holding my bags. How did they get here?

" I assume these are your bags Alpha...Bruno," he read and when he had finished the line, he visibly tensed. He quickly dropped my bags and ran off in the other direction.

I sighed and grabbed my bags, closing the door behind me. I squeezed the bridge of my nose, thinking about how that was the third person to run from me tonight and how Amelia is the only one to give the benefit of the doubt, but as soon Amelia came to mind I relaxed. I placed my bag down on the bed and opened its hard case. I grabbed my garment bag that I was nicely folded in my suitcase, I hung it on the closet door and grabbed my toiletry bag. I brought it into the bathroom and put it down of the counter next to the sink. I took the toothbrush and toothpaste out. Once my teeth were brushed, I went back into my room and stripped off my clothes. I neatly put my suit away then I grabbed the shirt I had brought for pajamas, which left me in my boxers and a wife beater. Not the most appropriate thing to walk around in but it's all I got. I put it on, pulled back the large cotton comforter and laid down in bed. But I was restless, my mind was to awake for me to ever even think about sleep. There was almost no noise coming from anywhere in the house, other than the small steps I could hear above me. It seemed that whoever was staying above me was pacing.

I rolled over to my side and still no luck, by this point I was sure that I wouldn't be getting any sleep tonight. For the next three hours, I tossed and turned but to no avail, I couldn't get to sleep. I got up from the bed and went into my bag for my computer if I wasn't going to get any sleep I might as well get some work done. I went over to the desk that sat against the far wall and put my laptop down. I opened the screen and entered my password, I went over to the file that said 'Pack Business' and clicked on it. I looked at the number of files that it contained and sighed, I had my work cut out for me...not even Alpha's like paperwork.

Amelia

I closed the door and blocked my view of Bruno, my mind had gone fuzzy since we were left alone in the elevator. I couldn't think straight around that man, his intoxicating scent had me swimming in a sea of cotton balls at least that's what my head felt.

I quickly made my way down the hall to a door that I knew that when opened gave way to a medium-sized wooden staircase that led to my floor. Where I exited and made my way to my bedroom, down the familiar stretch of hallway with the same dark floors and colorful paintings that decorated the walls. I passed the central family room, where I had spent so many quiet days reading on the bay window, that off looked at the dense forest that has kept us safe. When I made it to my room, countless memories had flooded my mind and it was making my prior decision much harder to follow through with. I had only ever known this place, I was born here and I had originally believed that I would die here. I was always told that it was hard to leave home, but I guess I really never understood till now when I am faced with having to leave mine.

I pace up and down the front portion of my bedroom, trying to fight the urge to go back on my word and stay where I know I'm safe...the only connection I have left with my mom. I did really want to get to know Bruno, but I didn't want to leave my father. He has never been alone before and I worry that he won't be able to handle it, no matter how much says he will be ok.

Thoughts of guilt and regret swirl in my head and my pace began to speed up. Even when I sat down, my legs couldn't sit they were bouncing rapidly so that idea didn't last long. I had no idea what I really wanted to do...my declaration at the ball was thoughtless and now I'm sure if I can really go through with it. I don't know anything about Bruno and I didn't know how strong the side, everyone is always talking about, is. There is definitely darkness behind those coppery brown eyes, but when you try to look past the harshness of it you're blocked. He looks away or puts up multiple identical walls that stop from seeing what he is really feeling.

He intrigues me with every moment but I don't know what his secrets are, how can he expect me to go with him and trust him if I don't know the slightest thing about him, other than the rumors that describe him as anathema, even among monsters. I guess I was being louder than I thought because I was torn from thoughts by a knock at my door. My father walked through the door and looked towards me inquisitively.

" What are you still doing in your dress?" he asked. He had retired his formal suit and was wearing pajamas.

" Lost in thought, didn't think much about changing," I said honestly. He walked over to me and we sat down on the foot of my bed.

" What's wrong, Amelia?" he asks.

" How do I know if I'm doing the right thing?... How do I know that going with Bruno isn't going end badly?" I answered.

" Nobody can really say for sure what the "right" thing is...I guess in this case you need to follow what your heart is saying and just have some faith," he said.

" Everything is so jumbled...I don't even know him, Dad. What was I thinking? I should've delayed this, we should've spent the time to get to know each other," I said as a placed my head in my lap.

" If you did all that you both wouldn't be happy, you need to be near each other. That static pull is what makes these bonds so special and it would've felt like...trying to rip apart two porcupines that decided their spines were friends," he joked. Always trying to lighten the mood, he knows how to do that quite well and with me, there is no one else that can make me smile faster.

" Thanks, dad, that makes me feel better," I said my a chuckle and a smile.

" Your mom had a similar conversation with her friends the night she decided to move in with me. Her parents didn't go with her to the ball the night we met, so they hadn't even met me when she went home, so the talk with her father didn't go over that well," he said rubbing his neck nervously.

" I can only imagine how grandpa reacted-wait how did you know what mom talked about with her friends?" I asked genuinely confused.

" They were not known to speak quietly, especially when your mother was stressed or frustrated...and I may have been listening in through a wall," he said.

" I guess that's where I get it from," I said while I laughed softly.

" Yeah definitely...I think you may be just a little bit louder," he said. I playfully slapped him and showed him to the door, suddenly drained of all my energy.

Once I was alone, I went through my normal nighttime rituals and got into bed. Finally, my brain let up from the constant flow of consequences, so I could get some sleep. My dreams were odd and all over the place, my subconscious was just as confused as my conscious mind. The last thing I saw before I woke up was weird...it seemed too real to be a dream but I don't remember ever having any memories with my mom.

I didn't have much time to dwell on my confusing night of sleep because today was my last day here, I wanted to see everything just one last time... so I clicked off my alarm, got dressed in sports gear, grabbed my bag, and then quickly slipped out my window, onto the willow tree that I climbed down to reach the ground. I ran off into the dense forest and straight for the most beautiful place on all of the pack lands. A covered cove that my mother found, it one of the only places I can remember her taking me; it was the only place that I felt truly close to her. There are even some drawings on the walls that we drew one of the many times that we came here.

When I found the familiar covered ruins I slowed my pace, walking towards the vine-covered wall that leads into the cove. The stone arches that once stood and would have towered over my head were in disarray. There were only a few pillars left standing and even that surprised me; the ones that stood had cracks and scratches running throughout. I thought that sometime during all my years of life that they would've fallen but they had stayed standing all this time.

One day while I was away at Alpha School, I drew this whole place on the back of my exam booklet.

No matter what I tried to do and how many times I had tried to stop coming here I couldn't, my father hadn't stepped foot in this place since my mother went missing. For him, it as one of the one places that he could still "see" her. Like the ballroom, he can remember every moment that they spent together as if it was yesterday I found it comforting, he finds it painful. Losing her was hard enough and having to "see" her play over and over again in his mind would be awful.

When I got to the wall, I pulled back the curtain of vines and walked through. There was a short walk in the dark, that lead into the cove. Being that I can see in the dark it was no problem. When I got to the end, I pushed the large boulder away from the entrance, just enough to slip through. The bright sun was jarring and it took my eyes a few seconds to refocus in the light. Once they did I was able to see the mysterious beauty that this hidden place possessed.

Sunlight shone through the gaping hole that was once a ceiling. The roof was sunken and shattered, the shards of colored glass lay in the water below it. The calm, cool, blue waters of the small pond shine all the colors of the rainbow in the sun and the glass bottom had become smooth after all the years of being there. Growing up all the walls were vines and scattered left some of the areas shaded. The wild grasses and flowers grew unkempt and wild, just how I liked them. The distinctive sounds of bees buzzing, birds chirping and the thumping sounds of bounding hares made this place alive. I looked around for the perfect place to sit and just as my memories served me, the largest tree in the back right. The corner had the best lighting, it was the clearest of foliage, and it was where my mother loved to sit.

I walked over to the spot and sat down, leaning against the tree. I placed my bag next to me and looked around. The walls, in this spot, were covered in the many drawings that we had created and in the middle of the wall, where my drawings didn't go near, was a beautiful piece that my mother had done. It was a portrait of us, sitting under this tree with a picnic. My love of art and my talent came directly from my mother, my father, on the other hand, didn't have an artistic bone in his body. The ground was littered with painted rocks and smooth pieces of colored glass from the pond. I took out my sketchbook, a small box, and my bag of art supplies; I placed them all on the ground around me. I picked up a few of the larger pieces of glass and put them in the box, along with three of the painted rocks. This way I can always remember and go back to this place no matter where I end up. I pulled out my pastels and charcoals and set them down next to the wall. I sketched what I wanted to create, under what my mother drew and began to fill it in.

Once it was finished I stepped back to look at it. It was a large picture of me and my father, my mother was done all in yellows and light browns, inside a cloud making it look like she watching us from above. I put all of our names down at the bottom and packed up my bag. I had been gone too long, Bruno might start to think that I left him. Not that I ever would but you know everyone does run away, so the thought wouldn't surprise me. I strolled out of the garden taking long looks of this place knowing that it may be a while before I ever to get to see it again. I pulled the vine screen and went out the same way I went in.

I ran back to the pack house, keeping a hold on the strap of my bag so I didn't lose anything. I took my muddied shoes off at the back door and slid the sliding glass doors open. Inside the usual cooking staff was making breakfast and didn't even look up from what they were doing when I came in, this had been a usual occurrence. I put my bag down on the dining room table and walked into the kitchen. I went past each of the women carefully, grabbing a few strawberries, an apple, a piece of bacon, and a bottle of water. After I finished the piece of bacon, I put the apple in my mouth to give myself a free hand. I went straight to the elevator and hit the third-floor button. I contently went on eating my apple, when the elevator jolted to a stop on the second floor. I watched as Bruno's Beta walked onto the elevator giving me a small smile and a stifling a chuckle out of respect. We both got off at the third floor and I quickly went up the side stairs to my room.

When my door was closed, I leaned up against it and laughed at myself a bit. I'm sure I looked pretty ridiculous to anyone outside of my pack wouldn't understand what I had been doing.

Once I was decent again, I went to catch the elevator. Standing in front of the ascending elevator was a familiar head of brown, curly hair.

" Janae!" I said as the door opened.

" Hey, Amelia! How's it going with Mr. dark and scary?" she asked.

" Just fine thanks. Haven't seen him yet, I went on an early morning run before anyone else got up," I replied as I stepped onto the elevator. She smiled even brighter and put her hand over mouth to stifle her laughter.

" Well then this will be a treat," she said then clicked the first-floor button.

Oh, brother, I can't wait to see what my mate has been up to this morning. I wondered if he had noticed me being gone so long I guess he had. I thought to myself as the lift descended floors. Even before the doors opened, I could hear people speaking loudly. The reinforced steel doors made it impossible for me to hear what they were saying but I knew it had to be something about me. When the doors did open, I could hear every word being spoken clearly.

" How can nobody know where she is? She is the Alpha's daughter! Don't you guys have eyes on her at all times?" Bruno yelled.

" There are a few places on the territory that all guards have been instructed to never follow her into or to be anywhere near. She is my daughter. Don't you think I would be upset too if there was anything to worry about?" my father asked calmly.

"Awww, he's worried about us," Annabelle said.

" I don't know! All I know is that I would like to know where she is. What if she was in danger right now and nobody knew about it?" Bruno asked.

" Well if would so kindly look to your left then you would know exactly where Amelia is," my father said as Janae and I walked into the room.

Bruno's eyes snapped in my direction and I could see the tension drain from his face. His whole body relaxed at the sight of an uninjured me and he walked over to wrap his arms around me. He put his chin on the top of my head and sighed a breath of relief.

" Where did you disappear to this morning?" he asked me quietly.

" There was something that I had to do before I left. Sorry that I worried you," I replied.

" Visit the cove after I've left. There is something there you need to see," I linked my father.

" I will try," he linked back.

" I was worried that you had run away from me," Bruno said. I pulled my head from under his chin and looked up at him. There was genuine fear in his eyes probably believing that he had lost someone else.

"I meant what I said last night, I'm not going to let the rumors decide for me how I feel about you and your reputation. I'm not going to leave you because some grandmother is telling stories to the pups, calling you monster. I will decide on my own what I am going to do," I said sincerely.

" Why don't you two eat some breakfast so you get on your way?" my father asked drawing us from our own little world.

I stepped away from Bruno and walked around him to get to the breakfast buffet. I grabbed a plate and piled it high with breakfast foods. All the comfort foods that the pack cooks having been making me for breakfast since I was a child. I sat down at the large dining room table alongside my pack members, soaking in the feeling of having them by my side. People that I trust with my life and that had trusted me to lead them when my time to rein finally came. They look to me now to find a way to still be their leader even though I am leaving. Tomorrow, I imagine will be eating much differently and nothing can replace the comfort of home cooked meals.

Bruno sat down at the other end of the table with Tyler and Janae. I looked to him and he nodded understanding that I needed this last meal with my pack without them restraining their tongues because he was around. He finished quickly and I watched as he got up from the table and was forced to hand his plate to the kitchen staff. He smiled at me as he left the room and made his way towards the elevators. I relished the warmth coming from my pack for a few more minutes then I too got up and left the breakfast area for the elevator. I went back up to my room where guards had placed boxes, tape, and bubble wrap so that I could pack all my things. I walked to my stereo and set up my phone to play through Bluetooth. The melodic voice of James TW came rushing through the speakers and I began to sing along to his song "Suitcase." Which is really ironic considering I was about pack my room up. I folded the first box, taped the bottom so nothing would fall out, and labeled it decorations.

The next few hours I packed up all of my things and listened to my favorite songs that blasted out of my stereo into the house. Anything that I thought I would need or knew that I wanted I packed carefully into labeled boxes. All of my clothes went into suitcases but everything else was in boxes that would be mailed to Bruno's pack house after we left. I had finished a little while ago and now I was sitting in my bedroom staring at the blank walls.

There were dust stains on the walls where pictures hung and thing sat on shelves because they hadn't moved in so long. My bed was stripped of its lilac covers and sheets. My vanity was totally clear of makeup and hair products which never happened. My built shelves that surround my bay window were empty of the books that usually filled them to the brim. I was stunned. Seeing everything so empty felt wrong...there was a sinking feeling in my chest just thinking about leaving home. A knock on my open door broke from the trance that I had found myself in.

" I guess your done packing huh?" my dad said.

" Yeah, I just finished. Dad...why does it feel like I'm doing something bad? That I'm doing something wrong?" I asked.

" You're scared of leaving home. Everyone is even if they tell you they aren't. This is the only home you have known, Amelia, it's ok to feel bad about leaving," he replied. A few tears leaked out of my eyes and rolled down my cheeks as I went back to looking at the emptiness.

" Amelia, there will always be a home here for you. Just because you're leaving doesn't mean that you aren't allowed to come back and visit us. The pack will always see you as their Alpha even if you don't rule as one and I will always see you as my little girl...my little moon," he said as a few tears fell.

He came and sat beside me on the floor and hugged me to his side. I hugged him back and we cried together. It felt good to be held by him again and I knew that his words were true but that if I came back it wouldn't be the same. I will have a home somewhere else this would just become my father's house, not my house. Another knock fell on my open door and this time Bruno stood at my door. My father turned to look at who it was.

" I will leave you two to talk alone," he said as left my room.

Once my father was gone, Bruno walked into my room towards me. I stood up from the ground and met him halfway. I knew that he could see my red puffy eyes and my tear stained cheeks but he didn't comment on them. He stared down at the floor as he began to speak.

" Amelia if you're not ready to leave I understand. I'm asking a lot of you and we've only met. I can go back to the pack myself and come get you..." he began. I put my hands on his cheeks and made him look into my eyes.

" I belong by your side, no matter where that leads us. I'm a little jarred by this whole thing but I'm coming into the concept of a new home," I said.

" You are unbelievably strong, Amelia," he said and I blushed a little at his words.

" What time are we leaving?" I asked wanting to change the subject.

" Whenever you are ready," he replied.

" Well I'm ready now, somebody just needs to help me carry my bags," I said.

" I can certainly help with that," he stated.

He grabbed four of my bags, two duffles, and two suitcases; and I grabbed the three others. We met Janae and Tyler at the elevator going down together. When we got outside the entire pack was waiting for us. They stood lined up on either side of the front door. Tyler and Bruno took my bags to the awaiting car and Janae followed quickly behind them.

The pack made a circle around me with the people closest to me is my father, my personal guards, and my trainer from my first years of combat training. They all reached out touching my shoulders, my arms, and my hands than the people in the rows behind them touched them. My whole pack was connected to me one way or another. My father stood right in front of me and I could see the tears in his eyes.

" We have all gathered here today to say goodbye to our future Alpha, Amelia Lune. To relinquish any of her duties to this pack as its leader so that she may join her mate's pack and lead fairly as their Luna. We have all watched her grow and change into the women that we see here now. She has made the hardest choice imaginable. She has decided to leave the only home she has ever known and that hold the only memories she has of her mother. She is the bravest of us all today and we honor her for the sacrifices she is making to better that lives of another pack. We are here to remind her that there is always a home here for her, that we will always hold love for her in our hearts, and that in our hearts she will always be remembered as our Alpha," my father said through the pack link.

" Let all able-bodied wolves follow her to the airport as a final farewell to Amelia. To honor her departure and to make sure that she gets there safely," my father links.

The circle closes and they all hold me tight in their arms. This giant group hug that makes me cry again. Then we break and they run into the forest shifting into their other halves. The mothers and young children make their way back into the house waving to me as they go. I turn around to face Bruno and see that he is really confused. No other pack honors departing members as we do and the tradition is held closely to the belt so that no other pack really knows about it. I get into the car and buckle myself in. The driver pulls away from the house and I waved to it until I can no longer see it. I can see in the treeline near the road the flashes of the colored coats of my pack members.

As the tradition states the run beside the car the whole way to the airfield. When I get out of the car, they come out of the forest clothed walking towards me. They all stop in line behind my father and staring right at me.

" Goodbye Full Moon. Thank you all for coming here and for honoring me as I leave you all. It has been my pleasure to spend my life basking in all the love and trust that I could ever ask from a pack. I am going to miss everything about the warmth and familiarity that all of you bring to me, but I know that this is what I was meant to do. I promise that this is not goodbye forever and that I will see you all again. Please take of my father and never forget me," I say to the crowd. They all get to their knees and bow before me, placing their foreheads on the asphalt runway.

The tears fall freely now staring at them. This is the highest honor anyone in my pack can receive and I was so worried that they would hate for leaving them, but they don't. A hand falls on my shoulder and from the sparks, I know that it's Bruno.

"We have to get going," he said sadly. I nod my head and look once more at the pack.

I follow him up the steps of the private jet and duck my head under the low entry of the door. My eyes took a minute to readjust in the darker interior of the jet and when they did I could see how beautiful it was. I took my seat in one of the chairs near the window and buckled up. I looked out my window and my seat I had a perfect view of the bowing group of wolves.

" This is your pilot speaking, we are going to be taking off in a few minutes so please find your seats," came over the intercom.

Bruno came over and sat in the seat in front of me. I gave him a small smile then went back to staring outside the window. Throughout the whole take-off process, the pack stayed where they and when we got into the air they howled into the sky making sure I could hear them clearly.

" Goodbye for now Daddy," I linked him through a private link.

" Goodbye for now Amelia. Don't forget to come and visit us," he linked back.

When we finally landed after a four-hour flight from John Glenn Columbus International Airport, in Ohio; to Ithaca Tompkins Regional Airport, in New York; I was anxious for the chance to see the ground again. My natural instinct to keep my feet on the ground and my fear of heights made the longer flight kind of uncomfortable for me. Bruno had gotten up halfway through the flight to talk on the phone without waking Janae and Tyler who were sleeping. He hadn't come back till the pilot announced that we would landing soon. When we pulled up onto the safe place to get out of the jet, I was the first one out. I took a deep breath of the fresh air and relished the feeling of having my feet on the ground.

There were two SUVs surrounded by six muscular men waiting for us. When they notice my presence, they all immediately drop their eyes to the ground and bow their necks in submission. I have never felt more awkward then I do right now. I knew that it was a tradition for pack members to bow to Lunas and Alphas but my pack never did. Bruno came up behind me, then men dispersed and went to grab the bags from the pilot as he took them out from under the plane. They carried them to the trunks of the SUVs and put them in carefully.

" This was why you were on the phone for so long on the plane?" I asked over my shoulder.

" Yes, I wanted I make sure that they were prepared for our arrival," Bruno replied.

" How long will it take us to get to the pack house?" I asked.

" Around three hours," he replied. He placed his hand in the small of my back and we walked over to one of the SUVs. I shivered at the pleasurable sparks that climbed up my back from the motion and a light blush crept up my cheeks from the thoughts that Annabelle was having.

Bruno got into the SUV first then stuck out his hand for me grab. I took it happily then climbed my way into the raised cabin of the car. I put seat belt and got comfortable, Tyler and Janae got into the other SUV. Two guards sat in each of the driver and passenger seats then the other shifted and ran into the woods to follow us in the treeline. Staring out the window at the passing trees was quite relaxing and before I knew it I fell asleep. I dreamed about the cove and the painting that I created this morning. That my mother was really sitting a cloud above us watching everything that we were doing and I hoped that she was proud of me. My head hitting something really hard broke me from my dreamland and I held my head in pain. I opened my eyes and looked around at the forest and it was much denser than before. I had to focus really hard to see the guards that were still running beside our car.

" I told you to be careful, Michel," Bruno snarled at the driver.

" Sorry Alpha," he whimpered.

" Don't let it happen again," Bruno said.

My head wasn't leaning up against the window anymore though my head was snuggled into Bruno's shoulder and I realized that I woke because my head hit his chin.

" Where are we?" I asked sleepily.

" We are almost to the pack house. Sorry that you woke up like that," he replied, emphasizing the end so that the driver definitely heard it.

" Wow, I can't believe I slept that long," I said with a yawn.

" Well you did get up pretty early this morning didn't you?" he asked.

" Yeah, I guess you're right," I said.

" Alpha, we are pulling up on the perimeter gate now," the guard in the passenger seat said.

We the SUV slowed to a stop and a warrior came to the driver's window. The window was rolled down and the driver handed the warrior a tablet.

" Alpha Bruno welcome home," the warrior said as he handed the tablet back.

" Thank you," Bruno said in his deep Alpha tone voice.

Two metal gates opened and we drove through along with Tyler's SUV behind us. We drove for another few minutes before we pulled onto a gravel, circular driveway. The pack house that we pulled up in front of was beautiful. The brick walls with ivy growing up the sides gave the place a rustic feel, but it had been kept very well. There was immaculate landscaping and even the ivy was tamed not as unruly as I had usually seen it. The metal gates that we had seen before were clean and had no signs of aging, such as rusting or having moss growing from it.

There were more warriors guarding the door and when we pulled up a few other men rushed around to our cars. They went into the back and pulled our bags from the trunk walking off without a word. I unbuckled my seatbelt and got down out of the car my feet crunching down into the small rocks. I walked around the car and met Bruno at his door. The warriors that stood at the doors put their arms across their chest and bowed low.

" Welcome back Alpha Bruno and welcome to the pack Luna," the female warriors said as she bowed before me.

" Thank you," I said in a regal voice.

Then they stepped out of our way and allowed us into the door. We walked up the stairs side-by-side and doors were opened for us from the inside. The interior of this place was just as magnificent as the exterior. It was updated but still held the flare of the old construction and the color scheme was a beautiful grouping of deep garnet with gold accents.

This felt totally different than my pack, everything was so clean and polished. I could see how after a while there could be a homey feeling, but I felt so out of place here. Coming out of the kitchen was a woman in an apron with flour in her hair. She stopped when she saw me and Bruno then a huge smile spread across her face.

" Honey, get in here! They're here. She's is so gorgeous!" the women yelled.

A man came out of the kitchen holding a spatula that had some thick on it. He quickly put the spatula behind his back and stood behind his wife. Bruno laughed at them then went to give the two of them hugs. He turned back to look at me with a smile spread across his face.

" Amelia, these are parents. Brian and Debra Anderson," he said and I waved at them. His mother came over to me and gave me a bone-crushing me.

" Debra give the poor girl a break, she is practically blue in the face," Bruno's father said with a laugh.

" Sorry Amelia, I have just been waiting for my boy to find his mate for so long that I was a little excited," she said.

" It's fine," I said in a strained voice because she had yet to let me go. She released me and the stepped back into her husband's arms. They immediately wrapped around her waist and hang there comfortably.

" Welcome to Blood Moon Amelia," Brian said.

" Thank you. It's so beautiful here I can't wait to see the rest of the territory," I said.

" Why don't we go now?" Brun asked.

" Go where?" I inquired.

" On a run around the territory. So that I can give you a tour of the grounds," he replied.

" Ok, just let me go change into some other clothes," I said.