Chapter 66

**ARIA**

"You're a fucking Luna! You're the best! You know your stuff and you're going to tear it up!"

"Who are you talking to?" Austin asks from behind me. Shit, I hadn't heard him come into the room and I feel a little stupid.

"Myself," I reply, taking one last look at myself in the mirror.

He's standing behind me, resting his head on top of mine and his hands on my biceps.

"Don't stress about it. I know it's your first official outing, but you'll be fine. You just have to be yourself and everything will be fine."

"Thanks, but your judgment's a little off."

"Ask anyone. Alex and Fares like you, Garrett too. The kids in the pack, the headmistress at the school and I can name lots of others. "

I sigh, shaking my head. "I know, but I can't help not feeling legitimate," I growl in frustration. "I'm not like you, I wasn't born this way."

"So what?" He asks me, frowning. "The Moon Goddess chose you to be my mate and therefore become the Luna of my pack. I don't know what could be more legitimate than that." He pauses, looking at me suspiciously. "Did someone say something to you?"

I look at him in the mirror and know he's reading me like an open book, and I know he won't give up until I've told him everything out loud.

"Some of the women in the pack... I heard them talking about me, about us, about our situation and they said everything would have been easier if you'd been with one of them."

He snorts, shaking his head. "No shit? Turn around and look at me." I comply and he takes my face in his hands. "I can't believe I have to say this to a girl as smart as you, but it's just jealousy. You're my mate and you're holding me in the palm of your hand. I'd give you my life without an ounce of hesitation, I want you by my side for the rest of my life even if it's to know no end, I want to start a family with you and if I have to put up with Adam for that... well I'm willing to do that." He adds with a smirk.

He must have heard it before I did. He moves his head slightly to dodge a shoe.

"Hey don't talk about me like that. I, too, put up with you only for my dear beloved mate." Adam says as he approaches us. He kisses me on the temple. "So, are you ready?" He asks us both.

Austin looks at me with a raised eyebrow. "Yes, I'm ready despite my little moment of stress," I confess.

"You'll do great. You're the best." He reassures me in turn. He brings his mouth close to my ear to whisper. "No woman comes close to you." He sticks behind me and I feel his erection. "It's the way you make me feel, every time I see you."

Austin suddenly claps his hands. "Well we're going to go now or we'll never leave."

"You both know the purpose of this meeting," Adam tells us, immediately regaining his seriousness. We both nod. "Well good luck in that case and bring me back some bagels, I hear they make the best around."

Is he asking for bagels? I must have heard wrong. He gives me a big smile as he reads the incomprehension on my face.

**AUSTIN**

"Ever since Cassius was bitten by Leila I can't stop thinking that our deadline is approaching too." I confide in Aria as soon as we're alone in the car.

"Undoubtedly yes." She replies. My eyes remain fixed on the road but I feel her gaze on me. "Are you having doubts? Are you no longer sure you want to go all the way?"

I tighten my hands on the steering wheel. I know how I feel, and yet even though I know I shouldn't be ashamed of it, admitting it out loud and to my mate seems complicated.

"I'm scared. Afraid of the unknown, afraid of the person I might become. Will I lose my humanity? Will I still be respected by my kind?"

She places her hand gently on mine. "I've asked myself the same questions, and at the end of the day I'm certain that Adam will be with us all the way, and he won't let us become anything other than what we should be. I trust him, as I trust you and as Cassius trusts Leila. That's what makes me know that everything will be okay." She pauses. "As for the pack... I can't say because I don't know, but you can always count on us."

"I know, thank you." I sigh, shaking my head. "I think I needed to hear it from you to believe it." I bring her hand to my lips to kiss her.

"Can I ask you a question?" She asks and I nod. "Why do you call me Love? It's strange but I never thought it would be the pet name you'd call me."

I burst out laughing and she tries to pull her hand away from mine but I squeeze harder.

"I'm not laughing at you. I'm laughing because you know me well. I call you that because my dad used to call my mom that. It just came out honestly."

"Well, now I know."

The realization hits me. "You don't call me by a pet name or Adam for that matter."

She sighs. "My dad used to call my mom Mia Cara and I almost told you one day... well Mio Caro because you're a boy." She giggles. "And I almost called Adam Mio Tesoro but I don't know... it came naturally but my mouth froze at the last moment." She turns her head toward the window. "It reminds me of my parents and in my life, I've never seen two people love each other so much."

"Same with my parents."