"What's it like?" Olivia asked as Indianna sat down on her towel and dried herself off.
"What?"
"The kiss. I've always wondered what kissing underwater is like," Olivia admitted.
"I guess you'll have to wait and find out with Janson," Indianna smiled.
Olivia went red and hurriedly shook her head.
"N-No!"
Indianna chuckled.
"You seemed to be having fun earlier. I think you might have smiled at him instead of glaring."
"Shut up," Olivia grumbled.
She glanced at Indianna's wrist.
"That's really pretty."
Indianna looked at the charm bracelet and smiled.
"Greyson gave it to me."
"What's the occasion?"
"My birthday. Today."
"Today!" Olivia gasped. "Oh God, happy birthday!"
"Thanks," Indianna smiled and played with the bracelet.
"I'm sorry you had to deal with me on your birthday of all days," Olivia said softly.
"Don't be," Indianna said kindly. "I'm glad I could help you and Janson."
Olivia shifted uncomfortably at the mention of Janson and lay back on the towel. She looked up at Indianna and frowned when she noticed the mark on her thigh.
"You're Greyson's Luna, aren't you?"
"Yes," Indianna nodded.
"So you've completed the mating process? He's marked you? And you've been intimate?"
Indianna blushed at Olivia's forwardness but nodded.
"Yes."
"Where's your brand?" Olivia questioned.
"My what?" Indianna frowned.
"The branding mark of your pack," Olivia explained. "Every pack member has to have the brand. It's like when a guy marks his mate, but it's a pack version. It shows which pack you belong to."
"I have no idea what you're talking about," Indianna admitted.
"So Greyson hasn't told you?" Olivia gasped. "It's a pretty serious ceremony in the werewolf world. I'm surprised you don't know about it."
"Ceremony?" Indianna murmured.
She thought back to when Ellie, the girl they had rescued, mentioned something called a branding ceremony.
"I've heard of the branding ceremony, but I never knew what it was."
"Whenever a new wolf joins a pack, they aren't a full member until the branding ceremony. That's when you receive the pack brand. The whole pack is present and participates. It's a pretty barbaric ceremony, to be honest, especially for high-ranking wolves," Olivia said quietly.
"Barbaric?" Indianna repeated. "What do you mean?"
"You seriously don't know?" Olivia frowned.
She gulped when she realised she might have accidentally revealed something Greyson was purposely keeping from Indianna.
Indianna swallowed nervously when Olivia didn't say anything.
"Olivia, what is it?"
"The branding ceremony is when you receive the pack brand. How did they brand people in the olden days?"
Indianna frowned.
"You're not talking about when they used to burn the brand into people's flesh..."
Olivia's face answered Indianna's question.
Indianna gasped.
"That's horrible! What the hell? That can't be true!"
"That's not all," Olivia said. "Like I said, it's worse for high-ranking wolves."
"How?"
Olivia glanced around, but none of the guys were nearby.
"For a normal pack member, the Alpha gives the mark," Olivia explained. "For a higher-ranking pack member, more than one person gives the mark. For any high-ranking pack member other than the Alpha and Luna, the mark is given by every high-ranking member."
"You mean the mark is burned into the skin more than once?" Indianna exclaimed.
Olivia nodded.
"It's even worse for the Alpha and Luna. The Alpha's mark is first given by the previous Alpha, but then the mark is administered by every single pack member, one after another, until everyone has taken part."
Indianna's hand went to her mouth in horror.
"That can't be true! What about the Luna?"
"The Luna's branding ceremony is a big event. It's viewed as the most important branding ceremony because the introduction of the Luna into the pack means that the pack will continue. Sooner or later, the Luna will bear pups.
"The branding is started by the previous Luna, and then everyone over eighteen in the pack takes part. Children don't. The final mark is given by the Alpha. Then..."
"Olivia," Indianna said, her voice shaking.
She was scared by this sudden revelation, but she was also furious that Greyson hadn't told her. It was another huge secret he had kept from her.
"Olivia, w-what else?"
"There are two parts to the Luna's branding ceremony," Olivia said lowly. "First, there's the branding, and then there's the final completion of the mating bond."
"The what?" Indianna gasped.
"The Elders of the werewolf world, along with the previous Alpha and Luna, have to witness the final part of the Alpha couple's ceremony."
"Why?" Indianna exclaimed.
"The Elders need proof that the Alpha couple will fulfil their duties and provide an heir, or at least proof that they're trying. The branding ceremony has always been that way. It used to happen after marriage, but for werewolves, it's part of the branding ceremony."
"So what you're saying is that all the adult pack members are going to individually press a burning branding rod against me, and then Greyson's parents, as well as a group of people I don't know, are going to witness the private completion of our bond?" Indianna said in shock.
She held a hand to her head, unsure how to react to this new information.
She was horrified.
Mortified.
And angry.
"He has never mentioned a bloody word of this to me!" Indianna hissed. "How dare he? This is huge!"
"I'm sorry," Olivia whispered.
Indianna laughed humourlessly.
"I'm not surprised," she muttered bitterly. "Of course he doesn't tell me something major that concerns me. Anything important, he keeps from me! He doesn't think I can handle knowing anything, but him not telling me only makes it worse. He's such an asshole!"
Sugar, I can feel your anger. What's wrong? Greyson asked.
Indianna squeezed her eyes shut, wishing she could push Greyson from her mind.
Get out! she yelled. I do not want to talk to you!
What the fuck have I done?
You've kept secrets! Indianna snapped.
She wished she could build a wall in her mind and block Greyson out.
Sugar, what—
Greyson suddenly vanished from Indianna's mind, and she gasped in surprise.
As soon as her mind wandered from the wall blocking her thoughts, she felt Greyson again.
Did you just block me? Greyson said slowly.
Indianna frowned.
It couldn't be that simple.
Indianna closed her eyes and imagined a large stone wall surrounding her mind and blocking Greyson out.
It worked.
Greyson was pushed from her mind, and for the first time in a long time, she was the only person inside her head.
Indianna couldn't believe she had done it. After all this time, she could finally block Greyson.
Her head started to hurt, and she realised that it took a lot of effort to keep the wall in place. She could hear Olivia talking to her, but she knew the wall would crumble if she didn't focus her entire attention on it.
Indianna gritted her teeth as she struggled to keep the wall standing. Then she realised Greyson was pushing through, breaking down the wall she was desperately trying to hold up.
Indianna gasped in defeat when Greyson broke through.
She looked up just as Greyson walked towards her, his body wet from the water.
"Piss off!" Indianna yelled. "Don't speak to me!"
"Why are you so angry at me?" Greyson demanded as he stopped beside the two girls and looked down at his mate.
"You promised me you wouldn't hide anything!" Indianna said. "Why the hell haven't you told me about the branding ceremony?"
Greyson stiffened and sent a cold look towards Olivia, who shrank back.
"Don't glare at her!" Indianna gasped. "She assumed I knew about it! When I didn't, she told me! Greyson, how could you not tell me?"
"I was going to, but with everything going on, I didn't want to tell you something else that would make you panic," Greyson said calmly. "I never had the chance."
"I mentioned it to you before, when Ellie told me about it!" Indianna snapped. "You had the chance to tell me then!"
"I knew you would react like this," Greyson shrugged.
"I'm reacting like this because I'm angry!" Indianna fumed. "Just piss off, Greyson. I don't want to see you!"
"Sugar, stop yelling at me."
"Go away!"
"No. We're going to sort this out," Greyson said. "What do you want to know about the branding ceremony? I'll tell you what you want."
"Don't worry about it," Indianna growled and stood up. "Olivia did what you failed to do."
"Don't walk away from me, sugar," Greyson called.
He grabbed Indianna's wrist and pulled her back when she tried to leave.
"Just so you know, I think you're sick and disgusting for going through with this ceremony!" Indianna hissed and shoved against Greyson's chest. "It's barbaric and horrible, and I refuse to go through with it!"
Greyson's eyes darkened as he looked down at Indianna.
"You will take part in the ceremony, no matter how badly you dislike the idea of it," he said sternly.
"To hell I will! It's insane!"
"It's part of werewolf tradition, Indianna," Greyson said. "Just because you don't like it doesn't mean I'm going to let you refuse thousands of years of tradition."
"Let me?" Indianna gasped. "What happened to you not telling me what to do?"
"This is different," Greyson said sharply. "This has to happen. You can't fight it. It will happen whether you want it to or not."
"No!" Indianna gasped. "It will not!"
"You don't have a choice. Sugar, this ceremony has to happen for you to become the proper Luna."
"I don't care about being Luna," Indianna said. "I honestly couldn't care less."
"Tough. You're my Luna, and you can't change that. You never will," Greyson said sternly.
Indianna looked up at Greyson and narrowed her eyes.
"Get off me."
"No."
"Greyson, I'm not in the mood to be around you right now!" Indianna warned.
With her free hand, she tried to shove Greyson away.
"Stop it," Greyson said.
Indianna growled angrily and hit his chest.
"Get off me!"
"Stop hitting me!" Greyson ordered.
He grabbed Indianna's wrists in both hands and pulled her arms behind her back, bringing her against his chest.
"Calm the hell down, sugar."
"Calm down?" Indianna exclaimed. "How can I be calm when I've just found out about a horrifying ceremony that my mate neglected to tell me about? When were you going to tell me, Greyson? The day it happened?"
"I was going to tell you soon," Greyson said.
Indianna pushed her way into Greyson's mind.
You bloody liar! she gasped. You had no intention of telling me anytime soon!
"Fine," Greyson snapped. "I wasn't going to tell you soon, but only because I know you, sugar. I know you wouldn't feel comfortable with the idea of the ceremony."
"That's a freaking understatement!" Indianna seethed. "Greyson, I will not do it, and you most certainly will not make me."
"If you refuse, then I'll have no choice," Greyson said firmly.
Indianna gaped at him.
"So I get no say in this?" she asked. "What I want doesn't matter to you?"
"Of course it fucking does," Greyson muttered. "But in this case, it doesn't. I'm sorry, sugar, but the branding ceremony will happen."
Indianna tried to focus her anger on Greyson, but the sparks she felt from his touch made her want to forgive him immediately.
A small voice in the back of her mind wanted her to forget about Greyson keeping the ceremony secret and enjoy being near him.
But Indianna was stubborn, and she fought the feelings caused by the mate bond.
"Greyson, let go of me," Indianna said sternly. "Get the fuck off me."
"No," Greyson said. "You find it difficult to fight the bond when you're near me, so until your anger calms down, you aren't going anywhere, sugar."
"You dick!" Indianna yelled in frustration and struggled against Greyson's firm grip. "You can't force me to stay with you when I want nothing more than to punch you in the face!"
"I can do exactly that."
"I'm not a prisoner! You can't stop me from doing what I want!" Indianna groaned and sighed in frustration when Greyson's hold didn't budge.
"No, you're not a prisoner," Greyson said, "but I'll keep you here for as long as I need to until you calm down."
Indianna glared at Greyson and brought her knee up.
Before she could make contact, Greyson spun her around, wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her arms behind her back.
"Greyson!" Indianna yelled angrily.
"Close your eyes," Greyson instructed, his lips brushing Indianna's ear. "Calm your breathing. I understand that you're annoyed with me, sugar, but you need to calm down. Your heart is racing, and your emotions are all over the place."
Indianna wriggled and tried her hardest to free herself, but it was no use.
She was trapped.
"My emotions aren't all over the place," she scowled. "I don't need to calm down."
"On the contrary, you do," Greyson said. "I'm in your head, remember."
Indianna closed her eyes and tried to imagine the wall again, blocking Greyson out.
"Don't block me," she heard Greyson say, but she was too busy concentrating on building the wall higher and higher.
"Sugar!"
Indianna ignored Greyson and successfully built the wall. Now she had to figure out how to hold it for a long period of time.
"Indianna!"
Greyson cupped Indianna's face. The intensity of the sparks made her eyes fly open, and the wall crumbled.
She pursed her lips.
"Greyson, leave me be," she said sternly. "I'm annoyed, pissed off and slightly worried right now. I don't want you being a demanding ass. It will only anger me further."
Indianna placed her hands over his and lowered them before taking a step back.
Greyson narrowed his eyes but nodded sharply.
"Indianna, there's no hiding from this. I apologise for not telling you, but it's going to happen."
"I don't want to hear it," Indianna said and sat back down on her towel. "Leave, Greyson."
"Don't do anything stupid," Greyson said. "And if you try to block me out again, I'll assume the worst and come straight to you. I won't let you out of my sight. Am I clear?"
"Fuck off."
Greyson gave Indianna a stern look before slowly walking away and jumping off the waterfall.
"Oh God!" Indianna groaned and lay down, covering her face with her hands. "I want to be so fucking angry with him, but I can't!"
Olivia frowned.
"Why not? He's a dick."
"The bond," Indianna sighed. "My head may be angry with him, but every fibre in my body craves being near him. The bond makes it so hard to stay angry at him. It's infuriating!"
"That sounds awful," Olivia murmured. "The bond with Janson is practically nonexistent at the moment, so I can hate him all I want."
"It's one of the downsides of having an annoying mate," Indianna grumbled. "It's so hard to stay angry at him."
"What are you going to do?" Olivia wondered.
"Right now, I'm going to sunbathe and try to get my head around the whole idea of the branding ceremony," Indianna said slowly. "Then I'm going to figure out a way to stop it from happening. I'll also show Greyson how pissed off I am with him and make him suffer for keeping more secrets from me."
"Good luck," Olivia said with a small chuckle.
"I'm going to need it. Just dealing with Greyson is going to be a nightmare."