When Kegan woke up the following morning, he was alone. The other side of the bed, where Calix had been, was cold and bare. He climbed out of bed and wrapped himself in one of the throw blankets folded in the corner before venturing out of the room.

Calix never said anything about staying in the room now that his heat was over, and from what Kegan had learned from the Alpha so far, he didn't think he'd be in trouble for it.

He walked down the hall to the kitchen, but before he entered the room, he heard yelling.

"I'm fine!" Astra's voice yelled, but her voice cracked, making it sound like she'd been crying.

Kai's growl resonated from the kitchen, making Kegan step back, getting away from the snarl. "You're not okay, Astra! The doctor said you should be on bed rest as much as possible, and you haven't been! Go lay down!"

"No! I'm fine!" Astra growled back.

Kai snarled loudly, the sound and her scent that filled the house oozing dominance and anger. "I don't want to have to force you, Omega," she snapped.

From the tone, Kegan could tell that Kai's wolf was attempting to take control.

Astra didn't stand down, her own angry scent filling the room. "Then don't!" she snapped, then screamed, terrifying Kegan.

Against all instinct telling him to hide or find Calix, he ran out into the kitchen, finding Astra being held against the wall with Kai growling at her, eyes flashing between gold and brown.

"Kai!" Kegan yelled, a strange sense of protectiveness coming over him. "Stop!"

Kai turned and snarled at him, but Kegan couldn't find the urge to back away.

"You're scaring your mate! Is that what you want, Kai?! She needs you to protect her and support her or it could hurt the babies!" he yelled, making the gold in Kai's eyes fade.

Kai blinked for a few seconds before shaking her head, seeming dazed. She turned to see Astra still pressed against the wall, tears in her eyes.

"Astra?" she asked, touching her mate's cheek and lifting her chin up.

Astra took in a shaky breath. "I'm going to lie down," she whispered, stepping away from Kai, trembling slightly. "You need to go run or do something to calm down."

"Astra-"

"Please, Kai?"

Kai didn't respond. She stepped away from Astra and hung her head as the Omega walked away, before turning on Kegan.

Kegan suddenly realized that he had not only interfered with an argument between two mates, but he also yelled at an Alpha and accused her of potentially hurting her future children.

Alphas were extremely protective of their pups and mate during pregnancy, and oftentimes wouldn't stand to be told that they were doing something wrong or could be the source of a problem. A bad dynamic between mates often resulted in higher chances of miscarriage and abuse as a result of it.

"K-Kai," Kegan stuttered out as the Alpha gazed at him with an indescribable expression.

"I'm sorry, it wasn't my place to interfere! Please don't blame Astra, any punishment or anger you have to take out I'm willing to deal with and-"

"Thank you, Luna," Kai said, a smile ghosting over her face.

Kegan furrowed his eyebrows. "What?"

"Thank you for interfering. The last thing I want to do is cause Astra any form of stress or panic, but sometimes my wolf gets pissed off and tries to take over to stop Astra form doing anything that could exhaust her or get her hurt. Especially now that she's pregnant," Kai explained, pouring herself a mug of coffee and offering one to Kegan.

"I understand," Kegan said, grateful that he wasn't in any trouble.

Kai smiled, bringing her coffee to the kitchen table. "Can I ask a favor, Luna?"

Kegan shrugged and nodded at the same time. "Sure? I don't have much experience with anything so I don't really know if I'll be helpful."

"Can you go speak to Astra for me? I think it'll be easier to confide in an Omega than an Alpha who's her mate. Right now she needs space from me and you're the future Luna, so it only makes sense that she'll be willing to speak with you," Kai said, taking a sip of her coffee. "If you aren't comfortable with it, I understand."

Kegan stood up and left his mug of coffee on the table. "I'll go talk to her. Your room is upstairs, right?" he asked, already trying to sense Astra's scent.

Kai nodded, thanking Kegan once more as he left the room. She saw Calix standing in the corner of the room, not stopping his mate as Kegan vanished up the stairs, in search of his fellow Omega.

"You heard?" Kai asked, taking a sip of her coffee and trying to keep her tears from falling.

Calix nodded, sitting beside Kai. The two were as close as siblings, having grown up together and trained together. There was no one Calix trusted more to be his Beta, even if she lost control of her emotions sometimes.

"I don't know whether I'm angry with you for losing control or happy, since it seemed to let Kegan's protective Omega side come out," Calix said, resting his head in his palms. "I think it's good that he talk to her."

"He'll make an amazing Luna," Kai said with a forced smile. "I know I should be better with her, but I can't help but want to tie her down so she can't move until the damn pups are born."

"I thought it was only one?" Calix asked.

Kai shrugged. "We won't know for sure until they or it is born. Last time we thought it was only one..." she trailed off, looking down at her half drunk mug, the tears finally trailing down her face.

"It was neither of your fault, Kai," Calix said, taking his friend's hand in his own. "You know that."

"She blames herself, Calix. Even now, two years later," Kai said, dropping her face into her palm that wasn't being held by Calix. "She doesn't even know how many we lost. She thinks it was only one, and she was so broken over it. Imagine if I had to tell her that she lost four!"

Calix shuddered at what Astra would do or feel if she knew that she'd miscarried four pups. He leaned back in his chair, resting his head on the back of the seat.

"She's doing better now, Kai. We can't change what happened, but we can impact what will happen in the future," Calix said, standing up in his seat. "And it starts with you going and calming down before you see your mate. She can read you like a book and she'll know and manage to pick up on what you're feeling."

Kai shrugged. "Wanna go on a run?"

"Sure. I'll invite Tan, since I need to speak with him anyway," Calix said as Kai stood up to clean her dishes and get ready to run. "And, Kai?"

"Huh?"

"Maybe you should talk with Astra about how the loss of your pups hurt you."

Kai narrowed her eyes. "What're you talking about?" she asked, scowling at Calix.

Calix didn't waver at her snarl. "You've managed to hide your feelings from everyone expect me. I can see how much it hurts you, but you want to be strong for Astra," he said, ignoring Kai's growl. "I get it, Kai. I've only known Kegan for a few weeks, but I'd do anything to keep him safe and stay strong so he feels protected."

"So why even bring it up?"

"Astra is stronger than you think," Calix stated, crossing his arms. "You've known her a long time and you've been mated for long enough that she can handle your feelings as much as you handle hers. You need to confide in her."

Kai didn't respond, shifting into her wolf and walking out the back door. She knew Calix was right, but she didn't want to break her mate all over again.