Unconditionally, Inevitably, Forever Yours.

Moonlight.

A/N- A whole lotta cursing in this chapter. Bachelor Evans gets frustrated. Sexually- kidding. My apologies.

--Chapter 39—

Bachelor Evans' POV.

If there was one thing worse than dragging his semi-conscious mate down to her impending torment, then it was confining her in a rather spacious cell that reminded him of his brother's transition. A mate should be treated with the upmost respect; not this- not like a prisoner. Never once had Grayson imagined himself restraining his mate within a dark, concrete cell with a thick observation window where one could gaze at the moon through the gaps of the growing canopies.

Forget that- Grayson had never imagined restraining his mate within anything!

For werewolves, the transition usually represented a time of adolescence- the transition from pup to wolf. Like he'd exclaimed previously, it was a celebratory time. Sure, his hadn't exactly been a 'celebration', but boy did Grayson feel great afterwards. He felt stronger; more powerful.

And that's what worried him about April.

As of right now, she was slumped against the wall, legs pulled close to her chest as she stared out of the window at the sunset- a beautiful kaleidoscope of orange and cerise illuminating the humble smile on her face. Grayson could only imagine she found comfort in such scenery- as did he also. April, thankfully, didn't look to be in as much pain as she had been in before, which relaxed Grayson to some extent.

Her fingers subconsciously traced the claw marks running across the floor, and Grayson observed her throat undulate as she gulped thickly, her faux bravado façade faltering as nerves overwhelmed her once more. Whereas he, completely uselessly, leant against the opposite stone wall, allowing his eyes to roam aimlessly throughout the room- although mainly focused on April. He didn't know what to do. He wasn't going to tell her everything would be all fine and dandy. Grayson doubted he could bear lying to her about anything more; not this, especially.

His heart constricted as he heard the distinct, abrupt intake of breath from across the room. April's eyes had clenched shut and her bottom lip was crushed sharply beneath her teeth. When Grayson truly observed, he was taken aback by the incredibly apparent lengthened, sharp canines that April had adapted.

Maxwell had sauntered into the room at some point- through the door that Grayson had yet to lock, being too conflicted to make his mate any more uncomfortable than she already was. Though, when neither he nor April noticed the Beta's presence, Maxwell obnoxiously cleared his throat, dragging their attention away from the captivating array of colours outside.

"Grayson," He addressed, formally serious for some curious reason, which automatically made Grayson think he must've broken something valuable. Maxwell and a peculiar knack for those things. Despite his muscular posture, Maxwell tended to lumber around like a deranged lumberjack on crack. "Can I speak with you about something? Privately."

Irritably, Grayson sighed. "Privately, my ass. You want me to leave April to have a little chit-chat with you that we could easily have," He tapped his temple. "Up here?"

"Actually, it's something that I want to show you,"

Maxwell then used his head- literally- to say the next part.

'There's a strange marking on the bark of a tree outside. It could be nothing; perhaps made by a bird or something, but, it's just very distinct and intricate for a bird. I thought you should see it before I jumped to conclusions about its origins.'