Chapter 49

49

" T his way," Avery directs, turning around a corner and waving for me to follow.

I'm slowly getting more familiar with the layout of the squad complex since I've accompanied her here for the past few days, but this is my first time in the dorms. I swing my head back and forth, glancing at the doors lining either side of the brightly-lit hallway until Avery stops in front of one marked with the number twenty-four.

"This is it," she announces, and I step forward and raise a fist to knock.

"Just a second!" Matty calls out in response from the other side, and I hear the sound of his footsteps scrambling across the room before he flips the lock and pulls it open.

"Knox!" he exclaims, blue eyes widening and face splitting into a bright grin. He steps forward to clap an arm around me in a half-hug, then immediately pulls back awkwardly, a blush rising to his cheeks. "Sorry, is that...?"

"All good," I chuckle, moving into the doorway and slinging an arm around his shoulders. "I'm not your commanding officer anymore, we're friends, right? "

"Yeah," he breathes, nodding enthusiastically. "Right."

I slide my arm off his shoulders, glancing past him into the room. "Just came by to check out your new digs, see how you're settling in."

"Come on in, then," he urges, stumbling away from the doorway and gesturing for me and Avery to enter. "Luna, good to see you again," he says politely as she files in behind me, tipping his head to her in deference.

She bats her long eyelashes his way, smiling. "I told you to call me Avery," she admonishes, swatting his arm with the back of a hand as she steps past him.

His blush deepens. "Sorry. Force of habit, I guess."

Avery waves him off with a chuckle as she glances around the interior of his room. "Yikes, this place needs a little love," she comments.

"What do you mean?" Matty asks, brow furrowing as he joins her in glancing around the barren space of his dorm room.

"It doesn't even look lived in," she points out. "At least put up some posters or something."

The crease between his brows deepens. "Posters?"

"Or art, or whatever," she amends, shrugging. "Just something ." She advances further into the room, her perplexed gaze pinging between the neatly made bed and the empty surfaces of the dresser and desk. "You had that big backpack with you, where's all your stuff?" she asks, wrinkling her nose as she turns back to face him.

"Well I put everything away," he replies hesitantly.

I can't help but chuckle at their exchange, moving toward Matty and clapping a hand down on his shoulder. "I think what she's trying to say is that you don't need to abide by The Guild's minimalistic ideals anymore," I explain. "There isn't anyone here to check up on whether you're keeping things neat and organized. "

Matty nods slowly. "I guess I could get a poster or something," he mumbles, swiping a hand over his chin as he glances from one blank wall to the next.

"Whatever you want, man, it's your space," I say, giving his shoulder a squeeze before dropping my arm back down to my side and shuffling backwards to lean against the dresser. "So how's it been going?"

"Good," Matty breathes, nodding. "I mean, I'm still kinda settling in, getting to know people and figuring things out. How about you?"

"Same," I admit, shooting Avery a side-eyed glance. "Well, some things are figured out," I add, a smirk pulling at the corner of my mouth.

"Ready for the big run tonight?" Matty questions.

I turn back to him with a nod. "Definitely. And speaking of, I heard you got recruited to man the security systems during the run."

"I offered to," he replies, shrugging. "I mean, since I'm the only one who can't shift and run with a pack on the full moon, it makes sense for me to do it. I'm just glad there's somewhere for me to help out."

"You sure you're not a secret shifter too?" Avery teases, coming over to lean against the dresser beside me.

Matty snorts a laugh. "Positive. You have no idea how much I wish I was, then I'd at least fit in around here a little more."

"We've never had a human in our ranks before, it'll take some getting used to," Avery comments.

"Yeah, but even then, there's not a whole lot for a human to actually do around here to contribute," he replies, stabbing his fingers through his hair as he blows out a frustrated breath. "I appreciate you guys putting me up, but I wanna earn my keep in some way, ya know? More than just manning the security systems once a month. "

"You leave that to us," she replies cryptically, tossing Matty a wink before swiveling my way and throwing a thumb toward the door. "We'd better head to that meeting if we don't wanna catch shit for being late."

"Probably," I agree, pushing off from the dresser. "I'll come by again tomorrow," I tell Matty as I start edging toward the door. "Now that we've got full access to The Guild's funds, I have some ideas about how we can start disbursing them."

"Sounds good, I'll see ya tomorrow, then," he quips, blue eyes alight with excitement at the prospect of being put to work. With any luck, I'll have more news for him on that front after this meeting we're about to head into.

Avery and I make our way from the dorms over to the adjacent wing of the squad complex, entering the conference room to find that the others are just starting to arrive. Within minutes, all the squad leaders are taking their seats at the table, Avery pointing to the one beside her for me while Madd takes up his post at her opposite side.

"Everyone ready to get down to it?" Madd asks, glancing around at the others. Nobody raises an objection, so he cracks his knuckles and forges on. "Alright, I called this meeting because I wanted to discuss adding a special division to the squad," he begins, sweeping his gaze around the table before landing on his sister beside him. "It was Avery's idea, so I'm gonna turn it over to her to explain."

She sits up a little taller, folding her hands on the table in front of her. "So, just like the special forces that were in place after the shadow pack, I think we should add a squad division to deal with the fallout from the hunters, to ensure nothing like The Guild ever happens again," she states confidently, raising a hand to gesture to me. "Cam has all their contacts and knows everything about their inner workings, so our proposal is that the two of us lead up the new division together, with a few dedicated IT staff and a small team to run missions when needed. "

I nod along with her, glancing at the others to gauge their reactions. Madd is already on board- the three of us discussed it yesterday, and he was surprisingly receptive to the idea of me and Avery putting together a team and running with it- but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little apprehensive about presenting this to the other squad leaders. I'm used to being the one in charge, not relying upon others for approval. Well, except for Jonathan, but most of the time we were in sync. Up until the end, that is.

"How big of a team?" Archer questions.

"Twelve," Avery answers. "Ten squad fighters and two IT staff, one of which would be Matty. Plus me and Cam, and he'll also help out with IT."

"Sounds reasonable," Lo murmurs, nodding. "Who would you want from the IT unit as your other member?"

"We figured we could ask for volunteers and you could make recommendations based on who's interested," Avery replies. "Same goes for the squad fighters, we'll see who's interested and choose a team out of the volunteers."

"Are there enough hunters left out there to warrant an entire division?" Ares asks skeptically, arching a brow in my direction.

"That wouldn't be its sole purpose," I clarify, meeting his stare unblinkingly. "Our first priority will be ensuring that former Guild members don't have a way to regroup, but we'll also be actively searching out the survivors of prior attacks. I just got full access to The Guild's funds, and I think the best way to disburse them is by making restitution to the packs that were hit. It won't bring back what they lost, but at least it'll be something to help them rebuild."

Avery slides her hand over mine, threading our fingers together. "Cam also offered up the remaining funds to the six-pack," she tacks on, beaming a proud smile at me. "We can use them to get the old ski resort up and running again, build out the new territory for Javi's pack, and finally start construction on that new wing of the squad complex we've been talking about adding."

"Shit, how much money are we talking?" Ares scoffs dubiously.

"Enough to do all that and more," I deadpan. "Jonathan was never comfortable if our accounts slipped below seven figures, he found a lot of financial backers."

Iver whistles, flopping back in his chair. "Damn, feel free to throw a little of that my way, I've been promising Cheyenne a lush beach vacation this winter."

Avery snorts a laugh. "Sure, because that's the best use of the funds," she teases.

"Happy mate, happy fate, right?" Iver smirks, shrugging a shoulder.

"Well, I think adding a hunter division is a great idea," Tristan pipes up, steering the meeting back on track and sliding me an encouraging grin. Since he found out we're cousins, he seems determined to become buddies. Not that I'm opposed. He seems like a decent guy, and I could use more friends around here.

"I agree," Archer drawls. "Having a dedicated taskforce in place will allow the rest of the squad to shift their focus to the day-to-day security matters, lighten their load a bit."

"Let us know what we can do to help you get it up and running," Tristan adds.

"So we're all in agreement?" Madd asks, glancing around the conference table for any sign of dissent. Everyone nods and mumbles in affirmation while I breathe a quiet sigh of relief. "Guess it's settled, then," Madd states, his gaze landing on me. "Congrats. You've officially got yourself a new squad division to run."

Avery once told me that the full moon makes our wolves stronger, and there's definitely something to that claim. My inner beast feels more alert; closer to the surface than usual and itching to get out. I've been making major strides lately with accepting my animal side, and Avery said it's only a matter of time before we're fully integrated. I'm just glad shifting doesn't hurt like a bitch anymore.

She made sure I had plenty of practice leading up to the full moon run with her pack, teasingly saying she didn't want me embarrassing her when it came time to shift. But honestly, I don't want to embarrass myself, so I'm thankful for all the practice sessions. They've left me feeling pretty damn confident going into the run tonight, and now all that's left to do is shift like a boss and make my girl proud.

After I give her my gift, of course. Our first full moon run together seems like a monumentous occasion, so I wanted to start things off on a high note- which is why once I gained access to The Guild's funds, I walked into the town of Goldenleaf to pick her up a little something. It isn't much, but if I know my mate, she'll get hearts in her eyes the moment I give it to her.

"Ready to head downstairs?" Avery asks as she finally spins away from the mirror, the hem of her lilac sundress floating around her thighs. She's been primping for the last half hour. I hardly see the point when she'll be spending most of the evening in wolf form, but far be it for me to take the wind out of her sails by calling attention to that fact.

"Yeah. But before we do, I got you something," I say casually, pulling open the top drawer of her dresser to retrieve the bag I stashed in there earlier. She eyes me suspiciously as she approaches and I hand it over to her with a smug grin, watching as she peeks inside.

"What the hell?" Avery laughs, stuffing a hand into the bag and pulling out a fistful of colorful hair ties .

"I still think it's kinda lame for your third wish, but that should be a solid start on a lifetime supply of brushes and hair ties," I say, nodding to the bag.

She grins from ear to ear, dropping them back inside before leaning in to smack a kiss on my lips. "I love it," she declares, hugging the bag to her chest. "And I love you , Cameron Knox."

"Love you too, beastie," I murmur, stealing another kiss.

Avery reaches past me to set the bag down on top of the dresser, frowning. "Now I feel bad that I didn't get you anything," she mutters.

"Don't," I reply, my heated gaze raking up and down her form. "The only thing I want is to get you outta that dress at the end of the night."

"Well that's definitely happening now," she purrs.

"It wasn't before?"

"Eh, fifty-fifty," she teases, winking at me as she spins around to head for the door. "C'mon, it sounds like most of the pack is here already."

I catch up to Avery in a few long strides, following her through the bedroom door and out into the hall. Her hand slips into mine as we start descending the stairs, and as soon as we reach the bottom, we're bombarded with greetings from her pack members. She makes several introductions before Madd spots the two of us and waves us over to join him and Sloane, whistling to get the attention of the crowd and starting in on pre-run announcements.

"I'm sure a lot of you have noticed there's a new face amongst us tonight," he says, curious stares pinging in my direction. "This is Cameron Knox, and he was instrumental in helping us eliminate the hunters. He's got blood ties to the Denver pack, but he's requested to join ours. He's Avery's fated mate."

The crowd erupts in excited chatter and Madd raises a hand to silence them. "You'll all get a chance to meet him after the run, but for now, let's just make him feel welcome, eh?"

A chorus of whoops and cheers breaks out, Avery's hand clasping mine tighter as the two of us bask in the praise and acceptance of her pack. Our bond hums contentedly in my chest, my inner wolf pressing forward with more urgency. I'm not sure if it's the full moon or the sheer amount of energy in this room, but when Madd finishes his announcements to the pack and leads the charge to go outside and begin the run, I'm all too eager to follow.

Avery gave me the rundown on the order for shifting, and as soon as it's our turn, I don't just unlock that cage in my mind. I smash it to pieces, my inner wolf surging forward as the last of my mental barriers come crumbling down. My shift is smooth and fluid, and as soon as my paws hit the earth, I throw back my head with a howl of victory. Avery howls right alongside me, then the two of us tear off into the forest, running side by side through the trees.

It took me a while to come to terms with what I am. At first, I wanted to turn it off somehow; to deny the existence of my animal side and go on being human. Now, running under the light of the full moon with my mate beside me and an entire wolfpack at my back, I finally get it.

All my life, it felt like something was missing, but I could never put my finger on what it was. It's this . My mate. My pack. Giving myself over to my true nature and embracing who I really am; who I was always meant to be.

Adrenaline courses through my veins as my legs pump faster, the cool breeze ruffling my fur and the earthy scent of the forest enveloping me. I've never felt more wild and free; lighter than fucking air, despite the massive size of my wolf. Avery stays right beside me, the two of us like a single unit. Equals in every way.

Her voice suddenly slips into my head through the mind- link forged by our sealed bond, her wolf nipping mine playfully. ‘Let's see if you can catch me this time, warden,' she challenges, pulling ahead as she abruptly picks up speed.

I chuckle back through the mind-link, running faster to catch up. ‘Count on it, Luna.'