Greyson led Gena to the Alpha's office, a quiet place where she would be safe. Lucy was already there waiting, having heard the rumors from the patrol wolves. Her eyes lit up when she saw Gena's hand around Greyson's arm. She jumped up from the chair and scurried towards the pair.
"I'm so happy you're here!" Lucy grinned, bouncing up and down in front of her brother.
"Lucy, relax." Greyson shook his head, sounding annoyed with his sister.
"You're Lucy?" Gena asked.
"That's me!" Lucy said,
"It's nice to meet you." Gena offered Lucy her hand who shoved it away and hugged her instead. Gena stiffened, not used to people wanting to touch her.
"Sorry about her, she's overexcited." Greyson mumbled in Gena's ear, gently removing her from Lucy's grip.
"Oh, I'm sorry, don't you like hugs?" Lucy's expression suddenly looked concerned.
"Just not used to them, is all. Most people don't want to be near me." Gena shrugged.
"That's silly." Lucy snorted.
"Dracula has really given us a bad rap." Gena made a joke, but her tone and expression remained unchanged. Lucy and Greyson exchanged a look, like they were trying to decide if she was being serious or not.
"Wait, is Dracula real?" Lucy gasped. Gena couldn't help but laugh,
"No, I was joking." She said, and Lucy and Greyson relaxed then.
Greyson was looking intently at his mate, having heard her laugh for the very first time. He was enthralled by it. Like her scent, it drew him in like a bee to honey. Gena looked startled when she noticed his attention, shaking her head at him in question. His expression changed to a cocky smile and mischievous eyes as he winked at her.
"Are you staying here, now?" Lucy asked.
"No, we're going to go away for a while." Greyson replied. Lucy frowned,
"Go away?" She sounded upset.
"We need some time to ourselves, Lucy, without the pressure from the pack or the vampire kingdom. Not everyone is as understanding as you." Greyson tried to make his voice sound soft, but really, he was just annoyed with his little sister's questions.
"Not forever though." It wasn't a question, Lucy's voice was stern and almost threatening.
"Just for now." Greyson's answer was vague.
The door opened and Luna Evie walked in, gliding gracefully across the office. She grinned at Greyson happily and then at Gena.
"I'm sorry about your welcome, Gena." Evie said,
"It's okay." Gena shrugged.
"It's not okay and it won't happen again." Evie's voice was stern.
"Evie," Greyson sighed, looking at his Luna, "Did Noah tell you what's going on?"
"He did and I offer you my full support, Grey, you know that." Evie laid her hand gently on Greyson's arm.
"I don't want to abandon you." Greyson frowned and Evie quickly shook her head,
"You're not abandoning us. I'll only be mad at you if you drop off the face of the Earth and forget to check in." Evie said with a smirk.
"I wouldn't dream of it, Luna." Greyson chuckled. Evie dropped her hand from his arm and turned towards Gena,
"I wanted to thank you, again, for helping me." Evie said,
"It was the right thing to do." Gena replied.
"Where will you two go?" Evie asked, looking between the two.
"That's what we were hoping to discuss today." Greyson said,
"You'll go to Florida." Noah had entered the room silently, his voice startling everyone but Evie, who always seemed to know what her mate was up to.
"Florida?" Greyson asked.
"There's a pack in the Florida Keys, the Alpha is a good friend of mine. They run things differently there, their pack is spread out all over instead of living in a pack village. They have a packhouse for their ranked members, and to offer protection and support. I've already reached out to him and he's agreed to have you both in his territory. There's a house waiting for you as far away from the packhouse as possible, right on the edge of their territory. The pack will only be there if you need support." Noah explained, standing next to Evie with his arm tightly around her waist.
"You didn't have to do that." Greyson said, looking astonished.
"Grey, you're my brother." Noah stated obviously.
Greyson turned towards Gena and cocked an eyebrow at her in question.
"What do you think?" He asked her.
"I suppose so, if you think it's a good idea." Gena shrugged. Greyson smiled and lightly brushed his fingers over Gena's bare arm before looking back at his brother,
"Okay." He nodded.
"Brady is the Alpha of the pack, he's waiting for you." Noah said,
"I'm ready to go when you are, princess." Greyson said to his mate. She felt her stomach twist nervously, embarrassed at how carelessly he threw her little pet name around.
"Me too." She mumbled quietly.
"We're going to miss you, Greyson." Evie's eyes were red as she blinked away her unshed tears.
She grabbed Greyson's hand and yanked him towards her with impressive strength for a human. Greyson chuckled as Evie hugged him tightly, rubbing her back soothingly.
"I'll miss you, too, Evie. Keep my brother in line while I'm gone." Greyson said,
"I will, don't worry." Evie smiled, pulling away, "Just worry about taking care of yourself."
"If you need anything, don't hesitate to call me. Especially where the Council is concerned." Greyson said sternly, looking over Evie's head and towards Noah.
"We'll see you around, brother." Noah nodded, giving Greyson a quick hug.
Evie and Noah smiled at their Beta one last time before walking out of the office hand in hand. Greyson turned to face his mate, taking her hand gently.
"Are you ready?" He asked and she nodded, biting her lip.
"Ready as I'll ever be." She said with a disturbing lack of confidence. Greyson couldn't help but laugh at her expression,
"Don't sound so excited, princess." He mocked her.
"I'm skeptical." Gena clarified.
"Imagine that." Greyson said, tugging at her hand and pulling her along behind him.
"Are you sure you're okay with Florida? We can go somewhere else, anywhere else." Greyson said as they walked through the halls of the packhouse.
"I don't care where we go, honestly." Gena said,
"It's quite sunny in Florida." Greyson mumbled, earning a confused look from Gena.
"Is it?"
"I wasn't sure what your opinions were on the sun." Greyson went on. Gena startled them both by bursting out laughing. She stumbled to a stop as she attempted to control herself.
"My opinions on the sun?" She said between fits of laughter. Greyson blushed deeply, embarrassed by his ignorance, "It's sunny in Louisiana, too." She added.
"I know." Greyson muttered.
"I'm a royal vampire, the sun doesn't bother me. It's the newborns, the younglings, who burn up. That's true for most of vampire lore." Gena explained, taking pity on Greyson and settling her laughter.
"We aren't really taught much about vampires. It's forbidden. I guess I know about as much as the humans do." Greyson shrugged.
"It's okay, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have laughed." Gena sighed.
"You should always laugh. I love listening to you laugh." Greyson disagreed, touching her cheek softly with his hand.
"Let's go." Gena said, stepping out of his grasp and walking ahead of him. She heard Greyson sigh behind her.
Gena and Greyson took their things to Greyson's car after saying their final goodbyes. They piled into the midsize SUV and punched the coordinates to Florida's packhouse into the GPS. It was a thirteen hour drive to the Florida Keys and Greyson was determined to make good use of their time alone together.
"Passenger mans the radio." Greyson said, nodding towards the car's touchscreen display.
"Oh, it's alright." Gena shrugged, fidgeting uncomfortably in her seat. Greyson sighed,
"Listen, Gena, I know this is a little awkward for both of us but the only way it'll work is if we try." He said. Gena glanced sideways at him, seeming to be arguing with herself, before she spoke,
"You're right. I'm not usually this shy." Gena mumbled.
"I know, I remember you were very opinionated when we first met." Greyson smirked.
"Have it your way then." Gena said with a mocking tone.
She started punching things into the screen until some ridiculously loud and obnoxious screamo music was raging inside the car. Gena looked at Greyson expectantly, waiting for him to argue. Greyson laughed and started nodding his head to the music, pretending that he enjoyed it.
"Oh, yeah, this is my jam." Greyson yelled over the bass. Gena couldn't help but giggle at his reaction,
"You think so?" She teased.
"For sure." Greyson nodded.
After another couple of minutes, Greyson's head started to pound and his fingers tightened on the steering wheel. But, still, he didn't complain.
"Alright, alright, enough, you win." Gena laughed, her own headache forming. She quickly switched the music to something more enjoyable.