The den was much noisier than normal, and that was saying something. The wolves were all conversing excitedly, punctuating their sentences with excited yips and barks.

Not only had the Lunite's revelation gone well, but the enemy had been captured, and a large celebration would be taking place at the beach on Friday. Not that that the first two were in any way related to the third, but still.

Willa sighed contentedly, stretching out over one of the large black rocks that sat throughout the den. She was lying on her back, facing upward towards the intricate carvings and paintings across the stone ceiling. In her hand, she was tossing the stone that Wyatt had given her when they were pups up into the air, and then catching it as it fell back to earth.

Something had been on her mind ever since the previous night, but she couldn't quite put her finger on what was bothering her.

Everything was great. The Lunites were being, thus far, generally well received throughout Seabrook. Her enemy was behind bars. Of course, she would have preferred it more if she'd been the one to fight him rather than Wyatt. But her brother had defended the pack well, and she was proud of him.

She thought back to the conversations that she had been a part of during their girls night, last night, and about what had happened when Addison had announced her engagement to Zed. While everyone else had been looking at Addison, Willa had been looking at Eliza.

She had worn a beautiful, joyous expression on her face, and was clearly so happy for their friend. But, Willa had seen a slight undertone of sadness there, too. She knew that Eliza, despite what people might assume looking at her, had always secretly wanted a big wedding. As a child, Eliza had even kept a notebook hidden under her mattress, filled with dress designs, flower arrangements, and venue ideas. Not even Zed and Bonzo knew about it, so protective was she of her "tough girl" persona.

Unfortunately, weddings were not something that was done in werewolf culture. In fact, Willa and the others had quickly learned that there were many milestones celebrated by humans and zombies that wolves had never paid much thought to at all.

First, there was the elaborate "wedding" ceremony, which symbolized the joining of two mates. This was generally done after one mate presented the other with an engagement ring, to show their loyalty to one another. The mates would dress up in extremely expensive clothes, with the females usually wearing long, white dresses. Then they would eat a large cake, and have a large party with family and friends.

They had other strange celebrations, as well. Each year, zombies and humans held a smaller ceremony, also with cake, to celebrate their yearly aging cycle. Cake, it seemed, was a very important part of their event planning, no matter what the occasion. After eating cake, each person would give the person celebrating a gift, to honor their day of birth.

Willa knew that Eliza loved the idea of having a wedding, and had even joked to her about wearing white dresses together. But until she'd seen Eliza's face last night as Addison showed them her ring, Willa hadn't truly understood how important it really was to her mate.

Suddenly, a clawed hand reached out above Willa, catching the little stone in midair as she tossed it up and down. Willa leaned her head back, grinning at her brother as he held out the little stone over her head.

"Pebble for your thoughts?" Said Wynter on his other side, already laying out across the rock and lying down besides Willa. "You looked so serious, we thought we should come over and see what's on your mind."

Wyatt nodded, carefully handing Willa back her little stone. The tiny diamond in the middle shimmered as she grasped it.

"So, what's up, Willa?" Asked Wyatt, as he too stretched out across the rock on the opposite side, so that the top of his head touched Willa's and Wynter's. Willa resumed tossing the stone up and down as she considered how to answer them.

"I'm thinking," Willa sighed after a moment, "about proposing to Eliza. Having a wedding."

She felt both wolves stiffen for a brief moment, their shock evident by their sudden lack of movement.

"You mean, that mating ritual that humans and zombies do when they choose a mate?" Asked Wyatt. "She's already your mate, why have a big ceremony to announce what everyone already knows?"

Like most of the other wolves, she, Wyatt and Wynter had never given much thought to weddings. It was a weird tradition, to be sure, but not something that the wolves had any interest in. In their culture, there was no ceremony to celebrate choosing a mate. One was not needed; it was simply accepted. Housing arrangements would change, but other than that, it was always business as usual in the wolf den.

"I know, I know." Willa said, once again catching the rock and throwing it towards the ceiling. "But... It would mean so much to Eliza. You guys should have seen her last night, when Addison told everyone Zed proposed to her."

"Zed proposed to Addison?" Wyatt interjected, sounding utterly surprised.

Wynter smacked him lightly on the shoulder. "You guys were literally together half of the night last night. What do guys even talk about?"

Willa and Wynter both laughed as Wyatt rolled his eyes.

"Seriously, though," said Wynter. "If it's that important to Eliza, why not do it? I mean, I know wolves have never had a wedding before. But then, a wolf has never been mated with a zombie, either. Our generation is all about breaking traditions, I think."

Willa considered this as Wyatt raised a shoulder, acknowledging the point his pack mate had made.

"That's true," Wyatt added. "And I suppose a werewolf/zombie wedding could be pretty cool. Plus, you already have a diamond to give her."

"What are you talking about?" Willa asked.

"The one you're currently tossing in the air like a toy, pack leader." Wyatt chuckled. "Wade could take that stone and carve it into something gorgeous overnight, if you wanted."

Willa froze, catching the stone in one hand and staring at it. The smooth, black stone was shiny from years of being held, and the clear white stone in the center sparkled like a little star.

She loved this stone.

It had been a gift from her brother. But Willa had to admit, her brother's idea was a great one. Wade, one of the older pack members, was a gifted carver and stone worker, and could make some of the most amazing jewelry anyone had ever seen. He could easily take the stone and make it into a beautiful, one-of-a-kind ring for Eliza. And Willa knew immediately that Eliza would love both the uniqueness of it, and the sentimentality behind it.

"But..." Willa said, rubbing the stone in her hand. "It was a gift from you, Wyatt. Would it bother you if I gave it to someone else?"

"Honestly, Willa." Wyatt said, and she could her the smile in his voice without looking at him. "I can't think of anything I'd like more. It's basically a family heirloom, and this would be a great way to pass it on to future generations."

Willa smiled too, but the smile almost immediately fell. "The only problem is, I have no idea hoe to propose to someone. Isn't it kind of a big deal for humans and zombies?"

"You're asking the wrong wolf." Wynter said, and she could feel Wyatt shaking his head to indicate his own lack of knowledge. "But lucky for us, we have plenty of human and zombie friends who can tell us what to do!"

"Good point." Willa replied. As alpha, she was still getting used to the concept of asking for help, and not trying to do everything on her own. She had spent most of her life being the one others depended on, and it was hard to relinquish that concept. Eliza, however, was a big help in that arena.

"Plus,"Wynter continued. "You have some awesome pack mates who would also love to help you plan this out. It sounds fun!"

"Well, in that case," Willa said as she rose to a sitting position, "I think I'll go talk to Wade about making the ring. Then, we have a proposal to plan!"

Wyatt yawned. "Let me know if you two need any help. I'm gonna take a nap."

Wynter sat up, clapping and bouncing up and down happily. "This is gonna be great! I have been looking for a reason to use that planner that I found in the lost and found bin in the cheerleader's office."

"Wynter, for the last time," Wyatt groaned. "The Acey's lockers are not the lost an found bin."

Wynter shrugged. "Well, I found it, and they lost it. Sounds like a lost and found bin to me."

Willa rolled her eyes, but she was grinning happily. "You're both impossible." She chuckled as she slid off of the large stone and headed off to find Wade.

She loved her pack mates.

ZzZzZzZ

Addison blew the whistle, calling the team to relax from their positions as they completed the routine. They had been working out any existing weaknesses or kinks for the past hour, though admittedly, there weren't many of those to worry about in the first place. The cheer squad was a well-oiled machine, and her cheerleaders all knew what they needed to do.

In fact, the only person who had been off for the entire practice was Bucky, who was radiating a kind of happy, distracted confusion. Addison watched as he stared off into space, megaphone forgotten at his side. Normally, he would be yelling out instructions, even though it was the end of practice. She couldn't imagine what was going on in his head. But she was determined to find out.

"Okay everyone!" Addison announced into her own megaphone, causing Bucky to jump and nearly drop his own as she approached him. "That's it for practice. You guys were great; we are going to rock this performance at Shore Day!"

The squad erupted into energetic cheers, waving their poms in the air or clapping. Addison watched, with a slight pain in her chest, as Bonzo and Bree hugged each other and jumped up and down with excitement. He gave her a sweet, delicate kiss on the top of her head.

Her friends were such a beautiful couple.

Did they have any notion how tragically linked their pasts actually were? Addison had no idea. Bree had only ever mentioned Bailey a few times. She didn't like to talk about it, and it wasn't hard to understand why. Addison wouldn't have wanted to talk about such a thing, either. But Addison had no way of knowing whether or not Bree was aware that it was her boyfriend's father who was responsible for ending her sister's life.

Surely, if she did know, Bree would have told her. As it was, Addison didn't know whether it was better to talk to her best friend about it, or to leave it well enough alone. For the moment, at least, it seemed like a good idea to keep this knowledge to herself. The last thing Addison wanted to do was cause Bree additional pain, since she had experienced enough the evening before.

Bree's house was in ruins, and her parents were on their way back from their trip. In the meantime, Bree had spent the rest of the night and all day at Addison's house, thought Addison hadn't really been there except to shower and sleep. Looking at her beautiful friend now, one would never know that the night before, she had watched her childhood home burn to the ground.

Bree really was one of the strongest people amongst them.

Addison watched as Bree bounded over to her, grinning broadly.

"Hey, captain!" Bree said with a giggle. "I'm going to go with Bonzo over to Eliza's house for a bit. They're celebrating, since it's the last night before everyone moves back home. Want to come along with us?"

Addison was always up for seeing Zed, but a glance back at her cousin reminded her that she had something else to do, first.

"Go on without me," Addison replied. "I've gotta talk with Bucky for a minute. But I'll meet you over there soon, okay?"

"Great!" Bree said. "See you there."

Bree skipped back to Bonzo's side, and he beamed at her as she approached.

With another smile, Addison turned her attention back to Bucky, who was now sitting on the bleachers and fiddling with the "on/off" switch to his megaphone.

She approached him, once again feeling the combination of happiness and confusion coming off of her cousin in waves.

"Hey, Bucky." Addison said in a casual tone, but Bucky didn't seem to hear her. He just continued to stare forward, absent-mindedly clicking his megaphone off and on again.

"Um, hello?" Addison said, reaching out and poking his shoulder gently. He jumped, and once again nearly lost his grip on the megaphone.

"Earth to Bucky!" Addison said with a slightly exasperated laugh. "You've been on another planet this entire practice, cuz. What's up with you?"

"What?" Bucky said, switching his megaphone off for the hundredth time. "Nothing. Nothing is up with me."

"I don't believe you." Addison said simply, moving to sit next to him on the cool metal seats. She sat her own megaphone on the floor, and then grabbed his and sat it next to hers. "Seriously, you're basically my big brother. I can tell when something is off with you. So spill it."

Addison then crossed her arms, and looked over to him expectantly. Around them, the gymnasium was gradually emptying as their fellow cheerleaders departed the evening practice to head home.

Bucky stared at her with a stern expression, and for a minute, Addison thought that he was going to argue with her. But then, he sighed.

"I think there's something wrong with me." Bucky said, lowering his voice so that any remaining people around them wouldn't hear him.

"What is it?" Addison asked, genuinely concerned. Bucky was not the type of person to ever admit that he was functioning at less than one hundred percent efficiency. She had once seen him win a regional cheer championship while running a fever of one hundred and two degrees, Fahrenheit. So to hear him confess that he thought something was wrong now was slightly disconcerting.

"I just… I can't think straight these past few days." He said, putting his head briefly in his hands and running his fingers through his dark, curly hair. "And it gets even worse when I'm around a certain person. It's like, my brain can't focus on anything else. All I can think about is spending more time with them."

Addison turned her head to the side. That didn't sound like he was sick. That sounded like…

"Bucky?" Addison asked, keeping her voice down with no small amount of effort. She was trying with all of her might to stifle a smile."Do you… have a crush on someone!?"

Bucky leveled her with an attempt at a malicious glare, but it was a sad excuse for his normal sneer.

"Bucky Buchanan," he stated as he raised his head high, "does not get 'crushes'."

Addison was not stymied by this reaction. She had known Bucky for her entire life, and she knew by the tone of his voice that even he didn't believe what he was saying.

"Oh, I think there's a first time for everything." Addison stated with confidence. She elbowed him gently, and he looked over to her again. "Come on Bucky, you can tell me."

Meeting her eyes briefly, he looked away and lowered his head into his hands once again, mumbling something she couldn't understand.

"What?" Addison said, brows dipping down. "I can't hear what you're saying."

"Qamar, okay?" Bucky burst out, causing Zita and another nearby zombie to jump as they strode out of the large room. He winced, and lowered his voice. "I like Qamar."

Addison was momentarily stunned into silence. She had, of course, heard him flirting with Qamar that day in the gym a few days ago. But that was when he was, thanks to her, far more uninhibited than usual.

She had also heard, in passing, Mayar and Aruna joking about the two men during their disastrous sleepover, and what a good couple they would make. Addison hadn't taken it seriously at the time. But now, looking at Bucky as he hung his head in his hands, it all suddenly clicked into place for her.

"Oh my gosh, Bucky!" She said, feeling the broad smile making its way across her own face. "That's so great!"

"How," he asked with a groan, "is that great?"

"Because!" Addison said, nearly jumping up and down in excitement for her cousin. "One, Qamar is, like, totally cute, and a really good guy. And two, I'm almost totally certain that he likes you back."

"What would make you think that?" He asked, but he turned his face sideways so that he was looking directly at her again. The gym was empty now, except for them.

"Because, Bucky. I can feel people's emotions, remember? I've always noticed that he gets really anxious whenever he's around you. And not in a bad, uncomfortable way. In, like, a good and happy way. I just… never really gave much thought to it until now."

Bucky was still watching her, and now lifted his head slightly.

"Do you really think so?" He finally asked. Their voices now echoed slightly off of the walls in the large, empty space. Everyone else seemed to have left the building.

"I really do." Addison replied.

She felt some sympathy for her clearly love-struck cousin. She had never known Bucky to be even remotely interested in anyone before this. Which was probably partially why she hadn't noticed it until now. It was nice to see this side of him, even if he didn't seem to be enjoying the vulnerability.

"Trust me, Bucky." Addison said. "He's great, you're great. This could be awesome for you."

"Or it could be a disaster." He grumbled, and she nudged him again.

"Oh, cut it out, drama king." Addison laughed. "Jeez, I swear, it's like I'm related to a soap opera character, sometimes."

This actually got a chuckle out of him, to her relief, and their laughter reverberated across the gymnasium. After a moment, she smiled at him, again.

"Seriously, though," Addison continued. "Just… take things slow and see what happens. You deserve to be happy, Bucky."

To her surprise, Bucky reached out and pulled her into a quick, one-armed hug.

"Thanks, Baby Cuz." He replied with a genuine grin. "You're the best."

"Nah, Bucky," Addison replied, " You're the best."

She stood up, grabbing her duffel bag and water bottle.

"I'm going over to Eliza's house for a little while. Wanna come along?" Addison said, turning and taking a tentative step towards the door.

"Thanks," Bucky said. "But I'm beat. I'm going home and getting in bed. Gotta be fresh for tomorrow, only one practice left until Shore Day!"

She rolled her eyes. As annoying as it was that he'd scheduled the performance on Shore Day in the first place, Addison had to admit that she was looking forward to it. It combined one of her favorite activities with one of her favorite holidays, after all.

"Okay then. See you tomorrow for practice!" She smiled, and offered Bucky a little wave before striding out the door. Hopefully she could still catch up with Bree and Bonzo.