[Austin]I helped my father up when it was my parents’ turn to swear their oath to the pack. Gemma stayed with my brother. I went with them to do the ceremony. While I was watching them take their oaths, my wolf growled at me. ‘This is our mate’s pack. We should be joining it, too. Our family is here. The whole of our family. Our Gemma is here. This is our pack.’ ‘I was ready and watching my whole family do it makes me feel like I’m just making excuses at this point. Are you ready to join this pack, then?’ I asked him. ‘More than ready. We can stay with the troll and his mate for a while longer, get stronger, show our mate we can be independent. Then we come back here and join the pack in more than name,’ he told me. After my parents were sworn in, I stepped forward and put my hand out to Alpha Trent. He froze and looked at me with wide eyes. “Are you really ready, or is this because you felt like you should with everyone else doing it?” he asked. “I’m ready. My wolf is ready. I’ll stay in the fae lands until spring still, but I want to be a member of this pack, Alpha.” He took my hand and smiled. I knew they’d been hoping I would accept the pack. Gemma’s emotions flooded into me. She was proud and happy. She really wanted me to be part of the pack, too. “Austin Lewis, do you promise to uphold all the values and traditions of the Hallowed Moon Pack? Following our laws, accepting our punishments, and carrying on in a way that honors our pack and its leaders,” Alpha Trent said. “I do,” I replied. “Do you promise to care for its members as if they were your own family? Joining with their happiness and helping heal them in their sorrow.” “I do.” “Will you lay down your life to protect your pack and its Alpha? Using your claw and tooth to ensure the lives and wellbeing of all our people.” “I will.” A feeling of peace and belonging came over me as our blood mixed together. I never felt that in my old pack. It was as if the pack was accepting me already. I could feel Alpha Trent’s pride in me and it felt like the first approval I’d ever gotten in my life. “Welcome to the Hallowed Moon Pack, Austin. We’re very happy to have you and your family here. Thank you for joining us.” “Thank you for accepting me, Alpha. I’ll do my very best to protect the pack and everyone in it,” I vowed. “We’re counting on you to take care of Gemma and become a great photographer for the pack. You’ve already given us an abundant blessing in all of these new members. Let’s get them settled. I have the pack doing a used item drive. We’ll make sure they have everything they could possibly need to start out here.” I shook his hand. This was where I belonged. I finally felt it. Gemma came over and kissed me. I had thought about waiting until after the wedding to join the pack, but this felt right and I wanted to do it while it was feeling right. I didn’t want to second-guess myself too much. We gave the information for my parents to Ben and Mike, then went to go sit down. It was time to wait, but it didn’t take long. Several people entered the meeting room and started taking members of my family away. Everyone was assured that they were heading to their new homes. When my parents were called, Gemma and I went with them. We were led to the front of the packhouse where a minivan was waiting. The person in the driver’s seat turned and smiled. “I’m Chrissy and I’m going to take you to your new home. We have it furnished, but you can, of course, move anything if you don’t like how it looks. You were pretty lucky. We just had an opening in our building.” She talked so cheerfully, it was hard not to smile. She drove us through the pack lands and I started to recognize the neighborhood. This was where Gemma’s apartment was. We pulled into the parking area and I knew I was right. This was the building right next to Gemma’s building! She looked over at me and reached for my hand. When we got out, I helped my father into the building. The apartment was on the ground floor. Chrissy unlocked the door that said 102A and opened it for us. The whole thing was furnished with a couch and loveseat in the living room, a dining table in the little dining area, boxes of dishes on the kitchen counters, and everything they needed in the bedrooms. My mother and father looked completely shocked. This had to be leagues above wherever they were living before. “This is all for us?” my mother asked. “Yep. Everyone in the building found something to help you out and some of our families had extra furniture. The living room set is from my parents. They decided it was time for a new set in their living room and you just happened to luck out. That set is barely five years old and Mom is a real beast about people treating her furniture right,” Chrissy laughed. “Our apartment is in the next building over,” Gemma told my parents. “Once Austin is ready to move to the pack lands, that’s where you can find us.” “Where are you living now?” my father asked. “The fae lands. I live with Gemma’s best friend and her mate, Rock, who is a troll, and probably my best friend at this point,” I chuckled. “Isn’t it dangerous to live with a troll?” my brother asked. “No. He only eats bad people.” I winked at him. “I’ll let you all settle in. I’m just down the hall in 103A. Come to me if you need any help or rides. I get bored easily, so I’m always up for doing something to relieve it,” Chrissy said and waved before heading out. We wandered around the house, looking at everything. There were sheets and blankets for the beds, towels and new washcloths for the bathroom. The little pantry and refrigerator were stocked up as well. The apartment came with a washer and dryer. It was perfect. Just small enough that they didn’t feel overwhelmed, and big enough that they had their own space. I watched my brother walk into his room and set his bag on his bed. It was probably the first time he’d had his own room. A lot of families shared a single room in the packhouse at Radiant Moon. Gemma came over and hugged me as I went back into the living room where my parents were gushing over the living room set and how pretty it was. It hadn’t happened like I planned, but we’d saved my family. My whole family. Now I had everyone who was important to me by my side. All I had left was to marry my mate and I could start my new life as a member of Hallowed Moon and the husband of Gemma Holden. -[Carmen]-My phone chimed that there was a message. Rock groaned and went to where it was sitting on the nightstand. It was our deal, if I couldn’t reach my phone he had to check it. “Who is it?” I asked. “Hush…. It’s Gemma. She said she and Austin are going to stay the night in the pack lands. It looks like he joined the pack. You want me to reply?” “Tell her congrats and we’ll see them when they come back.” I listened while he tapped out the answer, grumbling about how small the buttons were. I giggled as he finished up and sent the message. He put the phone back and came over to where I was tied up. My arms were hooked above my head and the ropes were the perfect tightness. I wasn’t allowed to use my magic to see him when he had me tied up. I felt him use a paint brush to put more of the edible body paint on me. I didn’t know what he was painting, but it felt amazing. The soft bristles went up the center line of my body, then he dipped it in more and painted down my breast, circling my nіpple gently. I moaned and he stopped. “I told you to be quiet or the gag is going in. I can’t concentrate when you’re making noise like that,” Rock warned. “Sorry, Alpha,” I murmured and pressed my lips together. Rock and I had been trying new things, when he heard someone in the crew at work talking about flavored body paints their mate had bought for their anniversary. He liked the idea of being able to paint on me and lick it all off. I was eager to try it too. The flavors in the pack were strawberry, milk chocolate, and vanilla. Rock bought paint brushes from the craft store so he could keep it off his fingers. It was edible, but not safe to go in other places and if he wanted to use his fingers on me, he wanted to be sure he was being safe. He dipped it in the paint again and I soon felt it on my breast, going down then around to outline the curve of my breast. It was hard not to moan or anything. That was why Rock got the gag. He said if I was going to try to entice him with my sounds, he was going to stop me in any way he could. In all honesty, the gag turned me on even more. The brush against my skin was like a feather. He painted a few swirls on my breasts, then down my body, circling my belly button.Rock lifted the brush and I felt it on my mouth. He painted over my lips, then licked the paint off, making it really hard for me not to make any noise. He painted a line down my neck and over my mark, then followed with his tongue, sucking on my mark as I writhed and tried not to moan. He pulled away and I could feel his breath going lower over my body. I thought he was going to lick off the paint from earlier, then I felt him pulling my legs apart. I knew I didn’t have to warn him not to put the paint in sensitive places, but I worried for a moment, then I felt him start to paint the insides of my thighs. The damp brush felt heavenly. This time, I knew he was painting words instead of random symbols. I could feel the unmistakable strokes of him writing ‘wolf ѕlut’ on my thighs. I moved a little and he slapped my ass. “Don’t move. If I have to start over, you’re going to be in trouble,” Rock grumbled. I froze and after a few minutes, Rock was done. His strokes were still fresh, though, and the paint felt cool and a little wet. He stood back up and went back to my head, planting a kiss on my forehead.“It’s missing something.... Ah, I know.” He started painting more words on my stomach, and I was trying to figure out what they were. When he was done, he painted an arrow pointing down. I suddenly put together what the strokes spelled out. ‘Alpha only.’ I felt his fingers start stroking over me. He started teasing me with his fingers and tongue, painting me with my own wetness. “You’re fuсking beautiful, Carmen,” Rock murmured. He stroked over my clit, then teased my entrance. I whimpered at the feeling. I was helpless to stop him or control the scenario, but I didn’t miss it. I loved every moment of his mouth and hands on me. Rock licked all of the paint off my chest, making sure my nіpples were especially clean. He left the writing behind, but I was afraid I had ruined some of it because of how wet I was. After he was done, he unhooked my arms from the wall and pulled me to my knees. I waited patiently for whatever he was going to do next. I heard his pants unzip and wiggled eagerly. “You know what’s happening next?” he asked. “Yes, Alpha.” “Hmm.” It felt like an eternity before I felt him grab my chin. I let him pull me up so I was standing on my knees instead of sitting. “Who does this mouth belong to?” Rock asked. “You, Alpha,” I replied. “And what does that mean?” “It’s yours to do with as you please, Alpha.” “Good girl. Now open and get your treat.” I opened my mouth for him and I felt his tip enter it. It tasted like chocolate and strawberries. He’d used the paint on it. I sucked it into my mouth and swirled my tongue around it, tasting the flavors of the paint mixed with the flavor of my mate. He gripped my hair and pushed his hips forward. I took it all in, loving the feel of him in my mouth, his cоck on my tongue as he fuсked my mouth. He hit the back of my throat and I relaxed, letting him do what he wanted, knowing he would give me what I needed.I heard Rock’s breathing get heavy, but he was still holding back. He pulled out suddenly and I tried to catch my breath as I waited for whatever he wanted next. Rock grabbed the rope that bound my wrists and pulled me to standing. With one swift moment, he put my bound hands around his neck and picked me up off the ground. I wrapped my legs around him as he pressed me into the wall. His hands went to my hips, gripping them as he lowered me onto the tip of his cоck. Slowly, he moved me up and down, barely even letting me reach his shaft. I tried to pull myself onto him with my legs, but it didn’t work. He held me tight. “Naughty little wolf ѕlut. Only I decide when and how you get fuсked,” Rock growled. I bit my lower lip and tried to keep myself from thrusting my hips into his. I whimpered a little as he slid me down onto him. He was going so slow I was losing my mind.“You want it faster, wolf ѕlut?”“Yes, Alpha.”“Beg for it,” Rock ordered.“Please, Alpha, please. I need you to go faster. I need you to fuсk me harder.”“Good girl. I’ll fuсk you how you want.”It was like a switch had been flipped. Rock thrust all the way up into me and held me against the wall. He pulled my hips down to meet each of his powerful thrusts. I moaned loudly, loving the feeling of him finally giving me what I needed.My оrgasm was coming fast and my head was spinning. I could feel my muscles tightening around him. I moaned his name as I came, feeling my body tremble as I came.At one point, my head banged against the wall, but I didn’t care. Rock was pounding into me so hard I could barely stay on his cоck. He was forcing his way into me as my body was gripping and pushing against him. I heard him groan as his hands tighten on my hips. He growled as he thrust up into me. I felt him release, filling me with his hot seed.He leaned against the wall, cradling my ass with his hands. My legs were weak from trying to hold on to him as he rammed me. We panted together. This was only the first round of the day and he was already wearing me out. Rock carefully removed my arms from around his neck. He gently sat me on the bed and started untying my arms. Once the rope was off, he kissed the marks the rope left, like always. “Are you okay, Carmen?” he asked. “I am. Are you?” He chuckled. “Of course I am. How about a nice slow fuсk in the bath, then we’ll have lunch and I’ll have you again on the dining room table?” “You’re really committed to the whole having me in every way you can think of today thing, aren’t you?” I laughed. “It’s because of how much I love you. I want to be with you in every possible way, not just ѕexual. This whole day is for us, and I plan to worship your sweet little body in every way I can imagine and remind you of how much I love and need you.” I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him to me, kissing him tenderly. Rock never let me forget how much I meant to him. I would never let him forget how much he meant to me either. “Let’s go have that bath,” I murmured against his lips. Rock picked me up as he stood and twirled me around. I held on to him until he stopped spinning. It was easy to let all of the things we were dealing with take over, but finding time for each other made everything better.