Council-member Finlay’s P.O.V. I just send two female Deltas to pick up a member from the Yellow Mountain Pack and right now I am reading the report Aziza send me. Armas and Vivyanna are discussing what Aziza might find out, but so far all we have been able to do is speculate. I roar out loud as I read what they did to Tayla and I startle Armas and Vivyanna. I push the tablet towards them and once they have read the sam thing I did, Armas sends his chair flying through the room. Vivyanna is struggling hard to restrain her Wolf from pushing forward. A knock on the door pulls my head out of the contents of the report and I open the door to see Barin and Xandros on the other side. Xandros looks at the smashed chair and mumbles “Looks like we have bad timing, Dad.” Armas stops roaring as he hears Xandros’ words and asks Xandros why he called Barin that. “Apparently I annoy him as much as his own Sons.” We both laugh at his remark. Xandros notices that Vivyanna is holding on to the table with white knuckles, he walks over to her and puts his hand on her shoulder as he asks if she is okay. I see a knowing smile on Barin’s face and I look a little closer at the interaction between Xandros and Vivyanna. She doesn’t answer him, but it is clear that he is calming down her Wolf for some reason. I look at Armas to see if he is seeing what I am seeing and it sinks in for us at the same time. We just stare at the two of them for a little bit longer and then Armas asks what the reason for their visit is. “I have been helping Xandros getting familiar with protocol and the Royal Family. However he has a question I don’t have an answer to, I don’t think I ever heard or read anything on it. So we were hoping that one of you might be able to answer it.” Vivyanna gets up from her seat and asks Xandros “Will you walk with me? I can use the distraction and I might have the answer or know where to look for it.” They leave our work-office and Barin looks at me questioningly, I just shake my head and Armas says “Barin, hearing this once will be bad enough.” Xandros’ P.O.V. Seeing the chair in pieces on the floor told me that someone lost his shit and I have a feeling I know who is responsible for it. I see Vivyanna struggling to control her Wolf and all I want to do is help her calm down, so I walk over to her and put my hand on her shoulder. I feel her calming down little by little and I am glad that I could help. She asks me to accompany her and I follow her out of the office, glad I will be able to spend some time with her. I feel at ease around her, she doesn’t look at me as if I am a prize she needs to have. We talk about my adaptation to my new life, living at the Palace and my Sister. Not once do I feel as if I want to run, like I felt in the past around women and I let my mind wander. I would like to have a Mate like Vivyanna one day, someone that wants me for me and not for my title. “Vivyanna, there is something I want to share with you.” I gesture to a bench and we both sit down. “What is it, Xandros?” She asks and I can tell that she really wants to know what I have to say, it is not a fake interest as most women in my past. “Taliyah has asked me to be her Gamma.” I say and she hugs me as she congratulates me. “You will make an excellent Gamma, Xandros. Your Sister made a smart choice.” Vivyanna’s P.O.V. I feel his hand on my shoulder as I am trying to calm down Steffy, she is so enraged with what we read that it was difficult. But the second his hand touched me, Steffy started to calm down and I think back on something I read a few decades ago. It is easy to talk to him and I feel safe and comfortable with him around. Ever since the first time I saw him, he has been on my mind and I have wondered if it had been a onetime thing. When he tells me that he will be Taliyah’s Gamma, I see a look on his face I haven’t seen before. He looks at ease and comfortable with this new position in life. As I hug him, I know that I want to tell him, that I have to tell him. “Xandros, I need to tell you something. Just promise that you will hear me out before you say anything.” I say and he promises that he will hear me out. “Before I joined the Council, I taught History in my Pack. I had been allowed to study the Council’s Archives and there was one thing that peaked my interest, something that has stuck with me ever since. It was a research on fated Mates and if there were signs that could indicate that they were fated Mates, before the Full Moon. I have watched family and friends over the years to see if the research had some merit. I never saw or heard anything that was similar to the research and for a long time I even thought that it had been fabricated. That was until I met you, you make me feel safe and I know that I can be myself around you.Ever since we met, I have trouble with Steffy and what I experience with her was described in the research. After I read that report, I thought that it would take me forever to calm her down and all you did was put your hand on my shoulder. I want to wait for the Full Moon to find out for sure, but I would like to spent more time with you.” I turn my head towards him and Xandros is staring straight ahead. He doesn’t say a word, he just sits there and after a while I fear that he might just ignore what I told him. My heart starts to sink when he says “Vivyanna, for as long as I can remember women have only been interested in me because of my status.” I get up and are about to walk away when he grabs my hand and says “You never gave me that feeling. My Wolf has been acting up as well and I didn’t have an explanation for it. I want to spend time with you, I want to get to know you and I hope that the research you found is actually correct.” He steps closer to me and whispers in my ear “I would like to have you as my Mate.” A shiver runs down my spine as I feel his breath on my ear, his lips touch my neck as his arms slide around my waist and I press myself against his body. His lips travel down my neck and as he reaches my marking-spot, I quietly moan. He pulls me closer to his body and I wrap my arms around his neck, pulling his head more against my neck. He sucks and nips my marking-spot as he pushes his hips forward. “Xandros, please.” I whisper and I know that if he keeps going, I will not stop him. This feels so good, I feel the heat building in my body and I whimper as he pulls back. “Vivyanna, I don’t want to stop, but I want to know that you are my Mate before we take this any further.” He whispers and I know that he is right, we need to know for sure.