Never mind what Jack had previously thought, being pregnant seemed like hell! A few weeks had passed, weeks where Jack had adapted to the pack and settled in quite nicely. Both Kaiden and Jack bonded and let their relationship grow even more until Jack finally agreed on the fact that he could get pregnant.

The slender man could still clearly remember how he had stuttered and blushed his way through his confession, startling his wolf into silence. But then...oh boy, Jack blushed furiously at his recollection of the events of that night.

Let's just say that a certain wolf seemed very eager to become a daddy.

But the reason why Jack was rethinking his decision was the fact that Chris was getting very close to labor. Roman was rushing around the room, packing the last of their stuff while Chris laid on the couch, eyes closed and hands cradling his swollen stomach.

The poor man was clearly suffering from his bloated stomach and from the way Roman shot worried yet resigned glances towards his lover and mate, this wasn't the first time Chris felt this way.

Jack felt uncomfortable as he rubbed over his own stomach, wondering if it was really worth it. Maybe he needed to talk to Verona about this. After all, she was the one who helped the males wolves with their delivery, so Jack was pretty sure she could give him her unbiased opinion.

Luckily, he didn't have to wait very long or had to try and find an excuse to slink off in an attempt to talk with the witch, since she simply walked into the room. It was as if she knew that Jack wanted to talk with her, because she walked straight towards him and plopped down beside the shy boy.

The witch grinned widely and winked at the stunned boy as she said, "Don't worry love, I know you're afraid of this whole pregnancy thing and I could feel Kaiden's anxiousness so I'm hear to sooth those fears."

Jack flushed a bright red before hiding his face when Verona laughed delightfully. "Oh sweet boy, you're so adorable!" She clapped her hands, attracting the attention of Kaiden and Roman before they shared a pointed look and continued packing.

"So, I'm sure everyone has been trying to tell you how this works and that its normal but they haven't told you why males can get pregnant, right?" When Jack nodded, Verona chuckled and tossed her curls to the side, leaning back in the seat with a grin on her lips.

She could almost sense the nerves and confusion pouring of young Jack as she mentally scolded the wolves in the room. The poor kid had only been told about delivering the pup, morning sickness and everything that could go wrong. No wonder he seemed to be seconds away from fainting whenever Chris so much as groaned under his breath.

"Do you know how many werewolves are out there in the world?"

Verona's question confused Jack simply because he hadn't expected it. What did this had to do with males getting pregnant? The witch noticed the confused glance in the boy's eyes before he replied, "I'm....not sure, I mean- I guess there are more packs out there?" He questioned, almost cringing as if preparing to get scolded.

"Spread over the whole world, there are only six packs, Jack. Six packs that add to the total werewolf population of roughly 700 wolves. Humans easily outnumber their kind."

To say Jack was shocked was an understatement. All those horrifying stories that were told around the fire at night, of vicious and bloodthirsty packs of werewolves descending on villages and killing everything in their path...those were lies?

Verona tapped her nail against the couch as her voice lilted, "There once were more wolves; they used to live with the humans without causing any trouble. But humans started to blame the weres for everything going wrong in their life. They searched for the wolves weakness and exploited it until werewolves teetered on the brink of extinction."

"You see, the humans were targeting the female wolves and their pups until there were mostly male wolves left. How it happened, we don't know, but the wolves that were mated with males noticed a change in their mate's behavior."

Jack was silent, listening intently as the witch explained how the first child was born from a same sex mating. Their species had felt the threat of extinction and had found a solution that the humans would overlook.

After a welcomed silence where Jack thought about the subject, he slowly turned back to the witch, who was watching him closely. It seemed that the pack was quite dependent of Verona and her magic, but when the young Jack pointed it out, the woman laughed.

"Oh dear, "She giggled, hiding her smile behind her hand. "No, its not that way, trust me. First of all, I'm repaying a debt to the werewolves, a pack that has saved my life from the witch-hunts. When I heard the wolves were nearing extinction, I simply returned the favor."

Verona flashed her teeth in a bright smile before snapping her fingers. Jack jolted back in his seat as a blue wisp flew through the air, circling Chris' stomach before it disappeared. "Better my dear?" Chris nodded, the frown disappearing from his face as he sighed in relief.

"Lots. Thanks Verona."

Jack only gave her a pointed look, raising an eyebrow as if to stress his point. "Oh, don't you give me the stink eye Jack. If I should ever perish, the pack can care for itself just fine. I just gave them some pointers as to how they should do certain things, herbs they should or shouldn't use."

"What about delivering the pups?" jack softly asked, still frowning deeply. He didn't like talking about the possibility that Verona might die someday, especially not when his mind conjured up the image of the woman strapped to the pyre.

Soft laughter bubbled up from Verona before she threw her head back with a laugh. "Oh, don't you worry. I've taken the necessary precautions Jack. What you see on the outside is just a mirage dear boy. I look like a woman about thirty, maybe forty years old? I'm well over a millennium dear. This old bat knows a trick or two." She said jokingly while patting the side of her nose with a wink.

"But, if it comforts you Jack, know that my powers have allowed me to see the future. I've prepared several potions and recipes of medicines that aren't discovered yet but are extremely effective. The wolves wouldn't be hurt with my passing Jack."

"That's not true!" Jack exclaimed, shaking his head as he glanced from the witch to Kaiden and Rowan in the background. "You're part of the pack, of course it'll hurt them if you'll die."

Verona nodded, seemingly losing her spark of happiness for the moment as she sighed deeply and glanced out of the window. When he glanced at her eyes, Jack could see for the first time that she was indeed very old; her eyes were the only things that betrayed her age.

He saw pain over past loss, a haunted look in Verona's eyes that made him wonder what she had seen in her very long life before he shook his head. He didn't want to know. Hesitating for a moment, he slowly reached out to gently grab Verona's hand, giving it a comforting squeeze.

The old woman didn't look away from the window, only smiled shakily and squeezed back. "I know my passing will hurt them and I'll be missed dearly. But one often meets it fate when taking a path to avoid it Jack. I was extremely lucky to have survived and as I grow older, I slowly come to realize I survived because I needed to help this pack. Now that my job is finished, I'm sure that the Fates will intervene sooner or later."

Jack didn't know what to say to that, or how to react to the torn expressions of the wolves in the room. It was clear that Verona had already informed the pack that her time was coming to an end but still...

Jack looked down at his feet, feeling the soreness in his throat when he thought about Verona's future death. Death had always been a tender subject around Jack, living in a village that doomed him from birth and had sought for an excuse to publicly execute him for his crimes.

It felt surreal to know that Chris was preparing to give life to a child while Verona's life was slowly gearing to its end. She was like a fluttering candle that was running out of wick. Any sudden movement in the air could snuff the flame and prematurely shorten its lifespan.

Verona saw the anguish in Jack's eyes and reached out to hug the teen. She knew that he still hasn't had the time to mourn the loss of his mother. She suspected that Jack had cast the witch in the role of motherhood and now that she had revealed that her days were numbered, his emotions finally broke free.

She quickly cast a look at Kaiden, who dropped the clothes in his hands to scoop up the sobbing Jack before he whispered soothing words in his mate's ears. He sat down on the couch, cuddling Jack to his chest .

"Let it all out Jack. Its okay, I'm here for you. Come on..." Kaiden whispered, nuzzling Jack's head as the boy's slender fingers tangled in Kaiden's shirt, head tucked away in the crook of Kaiden's neck.

They all shared a sober and pained look. Death was a rather unavoidable part of life, even for the immortal beings. Werewolves might be immortal but they could still befriend immortal beings or come to a violent end when their wounds were too great.

All they could do now, was be there for Jack. It would be hard on the young human when Verona passed away but he wasn't alone to cope with the loss. He had a whole new family to cling to; a family that already loved him dearly.