Safely tucked away in my room, my mind was a flurry of different thoughts and scenarios. After the long, hard conversation, the council adjourned for the evening. We were nowhere close to a deal with Ares. He left us no room for negotiations, exhausting all options at this point.

Leaving the contentious meeting, it was hard to ignore the amount of stress fuming not just from my mates but from everyone else. So much had gone down just behind that closed door and the curiosity of other pack members was starting to show. What was said in the room was to remain a secret, a gag order in effect to avoid any possible issues. I wouldn’t be surprised though if everyone knew of my pregnancy by the end of the day. It was just bound to happen with things like that, especially the monumental news of a new pup on the way.

Somebody just end me if that happens.

Quickly as possible, to avoid any more probing questions from the council members, I rushed towards my room, looking for the opportunity to gather myself again. There was a lot of emotional baggage to unpack, and I didn’t want to be around anyone at this point. The Alphas lingered downstairs, talking to their parents. The two wanted answers about what the hell was going on. The conversation seemed tense as I made my retreat.

Escaping into my room, I still hadn’t lived here long enough to feel relief the moment I walked through the door. But it was better than nothing. I kicked off my shoes, but I couldn’t decide what to do with myself.

Today was a lot. Tyrus came back with my supposed long-lost uncle, Ares, in tow. There was an attempted murder by River. Everyone found out I was pregnant, and my birth mom was alive.

Yeah, talk about shit going down.

It didn’t help that everything had hit us at once. Today was supposed to be a joyous one, but it ended up erupting into a firestorm from hell. It was a lot to take in, shifting through the waves of emotions hitting me. All the while trying to stay sane and keep my feelings in check.

Stripping the clothes that clung to my body, I was just thankful that there was at least a safe place I could hide.

‘River?’ My wolf had disappeared into the darkest depths of my mind. He was hurt. I was too. No one was happy. I could tell he was more upset than embarrassed about the whole situation. Clearly whatever he thought happened in the past was wrong, but that didn’t change the fact that he’d kept important secrets from me.

We needed to talk, but I wasn’t exactly ready either. A huge rumble erupted from my empty stomach. It had been too long since my last meal to the point that my intestines were starting to hurt. I was dying to get something to quell my hunger pains. Searching through the walkthrough closet, I copped a huge shirt from Nate’s wardrobe before I changed my jeans for baggy shorts.

Pulling my legs through the pants holes, I couldn’t decide what was the craziest thing that happened today. The discovery of the twins, my mother being alive or my uncle being allowed to stay at this very house with Vince. Call it delusional, but I felt the council wasn’t really thinking about how I would feel about them sleeping in the same house as me.

Kinda fucked up, if I was being honest.

Dwelling on it wasn’t going to make it go away, but being left alone made me have second thoughts. I mean I still had the Alphas to protect me but …

Where were they now?

Those two still hadn’t returned to the room yet. I found it odd since they’ve been practically attached to my hip all summer. I wasn’t being acknowledged, let alone consoled at this very moment. Maybe something had come up, but I couldn’t shake the fact that I was still left alone. Another growl lurched from my belly. The pups were letting me know I needed to get my ass moving to feed them.

“Okay, okay, gosh, you guys are so demanding. I’m going to go eat, alright? So just settle down.” I found myself talking to them now. Wasn’t quite sure if they could hear me or not, but it was this strange connection that made me feel that maybe they could. I was still getting used to this whole thing, but it was comforting to know at least two people were always with me, tucked away from the world.

I wanted to be a good parent to them, and be there when they needed me the most. If I had my way, I’d never leave their side, seeing how chaotic our world was. I just wanted to keep them safe.

Another gurgle interrupted my tangent of thoughts.

“Okay, okay.” I chuckled. A slow-moving smile crept on my face as I made my way to leave. The fine click of the door revealed a presence had been standing behind it all along.

“Ah!” Immediately stepping back, I almost lost my footing as I got another look at the towering figure in front of me. River immediately surfaced, ready to attack.

“Jian?!” After my initial scare, I had overreacted. The tall, silent enforcer just stood by, looming with his menacing presence before he averted his gaze. The brute was subconscious of himself, showing he didn’t intend to mean any harm ‌before. It was a bit endearing to see such a frightening individual show remorse.

“Sorry, you just scared me for a second, but we’re all good.” I reached up to pat his shoulder in reassurance. I didn’t want him to think his Luna was fearful of him. Whenever the Alphas were away, he was always my appointed bodyguard. It was nice, most people didn’t bother me when he was around, and he didn’t yak my ears off like some of the other pack enforcers. Literally hated when Sergio or Kris were assigned to watch me. The fucking worst those two were, going on about stupid stuff just to make small talk and fill the silence.

“I’m kinda hungry, so I’m gonna go to the kitchen,'' I informed him. An attempt was made to leave only to be rejected by the enforcer. A large hand blocked my path from leaving, Jian silently redirecting me back to the room.

“Hey, I said I’m hungry.” I tried to leave again. “Dude, stop it!” The enforcer wouldn’t budge, shaking his head no as he pushed me back inside again.

“Why are you–”

“He’s doing this because he was told to,” a sharp voice answered. Down the hall was Kira, leaning against the wall. She looked perturbed, her mahogany hair gelled back out of her face.

“And it’s best you don’t fight. Just tell us what you want, Luna, and we’ll get it for ya.” Her hands were fidgety in her Dicky pockets as she sighed in frustration. It looked as though she was assigned to be my guard as well. I’d always had to watch myself from staring at her for too long, afraid she would snap and pop off at any moment. It didn’t matter if she was Theo’s sister or Clarie’s mate. She could still be a cold bitch sometimes.

She reminded me of Theo’s mother Tove, at least from the few pictures I saw of her, but she always tried to hide her beauty. Wearing it like a loaded gun, locked and ready to fire the trigger at anyone who dared to call her “pretty.” It was like looking at the girl-version of Theo, her soft facial features hidden by a cold, hardened expression. The Davidsons all had the whole brooding lone wolf thing down for sure. It made me wonder if my child would inherit the same thing.

All things aside, I decided I had had enough of whatever was going on. I looked at Jian before my eyes settled on Kira.

“I don’t want you guys to get anything for me. I can get it myself.” I was stubborn, and I didn’t intend to back down. I was going to leave this room, and no one was going to stop me.

“Tough shit, you're staying right where you are,” Kira said in a threatening tone.

“By whose authority? The council? Fuck that!” I didn't quite appreciate the attitude she was giving me so I gave it right back to her.  Once more, I try to leave, only to be pushed back again by Jian.

“By the Alphas' authority, actually. My brother and Nate want you to stay put. So why don’t you behave like a good little Luna and stay your ass inside?” Kira growled, stepping close to block any escape route. “Jian will fetch whatever food you want.”

The Alphas said this? Seriously!

Flustered, all I could do was let out a helpless growl. Jian, emotionless, looked to Kira for help as I continued to show my dismay.

‘Theo! Nate!’ I mindlinked my mates, only to be left with no answer.

‘Wow, really? So y’all just going to ignore me now?!’ I questioned them once more, but there was nothing. Now I was getting the silent treatment from them and for no reason, too.

“Argh!” I growled. Kira cracked a snotty smile.

“Looks like you've been outranked. Alphas have the final say around here, not some whiny little Luna.” Her little joke was made just to spite me. It made me boil over with anger. In that tense moment, I slammed the door closed right in her face. Uncalled for, but she didn’t have to rub my problems into my face either.

“Why you little,” her muffled voice seemed to go off, but I had stepped away from the door. Still alone, the growls from my empty belly filled the voided silence.

‘I can’t believe this. Are they for real?!’ River had about lost it when the Alphas ignored us. ‘They got me fucked up if they think we're going to stay in this room. Really now? Like they outrank us?! I’ll never forgive them! Just wait, have me in my room like I'm some child.’ The wolf had tufted his fur, growling as he talked himself into an emotional ball of anger.

‘Ok, ok, I get it.’ I groaned. River’s ranting was just making me more tired in the end.

‘It's not like we can change anything now.’ I tried to reason with him, anything to get him off this spiraling session.

‘So what now?’ I didn't feel like going for another round two with those guys out there, and I was still hungry. The question of why the Alphas had decided to ignore me was to be left alone for now. I couldn't even think straight, at least until I got some food in me.

‘Obviously, we aren’t staying here.’ River made his plans known.

‘Well, we can't go through the door,’ I pointed out to him. I was in no mood to help lend my brain power to fix this problem. The wolf pondered over our dilemma some more before he raised his head, a huge smirk upon his muzzle.

‘Leave it to me,’ he said with a sinister laugh.

All I could do was roll my eyes at whatever he was planning. ‘Don’t do anything reckless.’

My body surged with power, my veins coursing with adrenaline as we switched over. Better for me, taking a vacation from actually having to do anything. River put on some shoes before grabbing our keys and phone. He made sure to lock the bedroom door to prevent anyone from discovering what he was about to do next. River strutted his way over to open the large white-trimmed French doors that lead to our hidden balcony.

It had gotten very dark outside. Tonight there was no moon up in the vast sky. The hot, humid air hit us instantly, filled with a wisp of fog. Endless darkness greeted us, lit up by faint faraway stars.

The wolf did the same thing, locking the French doors before making his way onto the concrete porch, looking out over the railing to see if there were any lookouts or lone enforcers patrolling the estate grounds.

‘River…’ I already knew what he was about to do was stupid, and I wasn’t here for it. ‘Hey!’

He ignored me as he swung his leg over the black iron banister railing. The wolf had positioned himself so he could lower his body to the balcony below us.

‘Are you crazy?’ Not only were we five stories off the ground, last time I checked we weren’t some trained ninja either.

‘You're gonna get us killed!’ I was right, he was doing something so dangerous, it made me question again if he even cared about our pups or our lives‌.

‘No, I’m not. Besides, I’ve done this before, so trust me,’ he said with little reassurance.

‘You’ve done this before?! When?!’ I was getting a sense I didn’t quite know him, the real River. He had lived this whole life I had no memory of. If it already wasn’t confusing enough, it pissed me off to know that he didn’t trust that’d I’d understand him either.

‘Ugh. So annoying. Stop your bitching so I can concentrate.’ River pressed on, letting go of our secure grip on the metal railing, landing safely on the balcony below us. He made quick work, shimmying his way through the elaborate obstacle course of intricately latticed porches and rain gutters. It only took five minutes before we made it to the grassy lawn beneath us. The last jump had been a bit dicey, landing wobbly on the dirt with a tumble. It wasn’t as painful as it looked, only a few scratches, but River had made a decent recovery.

‘Where did you learn all this? Oh wait, that’s right you won’t tell me because I can't handle it, right?’ I made sure to give him some of my own sass. After the day we had, I wasn’t even surprised by him anymore. The wolf pulled his shirt off, disrobing so we could shift into wolf form.

‘Remy, I…’ not one to let the moment pass to read someone, the wolf didn’t have any feisty comebacks for me. My attitude had actually caught him off guard.

A somber mood came over us as River ditched our clothes in the bushes on the side of the house as we stood stark naked. We’ve been practicing a lot recently, so shifting was getting a lot better. A flowing coat of umber toffee fur took over my skin, bones breaking, my body twisting before standing on all fours.

‘Let’s just go,’ I grumbled. River nodded in agreement before taking off. Running down a worn dirt path, the wolf made his way towards the forest edge for cover as we made our escape home. River never got to finish that sentence, only the uncomfortable silence wedged its way between us. It didn’t matter now, the truth was bound to come out eventually. Light panting had taken over River’s breath, he was focused on running. I figured I’d give myself a break too from all the stress and enjoy our run, hoping the endorphins and adrenaline could put my mind at ease.

Edited by ArcisOne & Patroklos

A/N Hey guys hope you enjoyed this chapter. I lost to the word count so part two will be tomorrow! So glad to be back. 😊🌸Thanks again for all the support and love I got on break! It means a lot! Love you guys!💕

-Otaku_rose🥀