***

When I awoke, my head was throbbing. I still felt fairly weak but at least I wasn't nauseous anymore.

I looked around and realized I was in a foreign bedroom, but based on the tree based furniture and earthy decor, I knew that I was still in Atonya's house. And Greyson was right next to me with his arm wrapped around me, his thumb lazily rubbing my spine. His eyes were closed.

"How was your sleep, little wolf?" He gently questioned, his eyes still closed.

"How do you always do that?" I asked. "Your eyes are always closed but you know when I'm awake."

"I feel you tense when you wake up," he said as he peeled his eyes open. "But really, how are you feeling? You looked terrified when Atonya pulled you out and it scared me. A lot." He pulled me up on his lap so I was straddling his waist before he swept my hair from my face. "And then you just passed out and your mark wasn't healing...I got so worried. What happened?"

My throat tightened as I recalled what I saw inside him. "I saw everything," I softly said. "The night of the Hunt and everything after...I saw what he saw. Gavin. I heard him and I could feel him longing for me and my blood. I could feel his satisfaction seeing me bloody and crying and I could feel you fighting for control...it was all so much." I sighed, my head hurt just thinking about it. "Then after you regained control...I felt everything you did. The pain. The depression. Everything. I even..." I trailed, tears jumping to my eyes as the horrendous scenes replayed themselves over and over in my head. "I even saw you kill yourself multiple times. It was awful."

Greyson broke eye contact. "I'm sorry you had to see that, little wolf."

I cupped his cheek and made him look at me once more. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't want to worry you or make you blame yourself or something," he said before he sighed. "Look, I was in a dark place. I was depressed and I hated myself immensely for putting you through everything I did, whether it was from Gavin or my own stupidity. I thought you hated me and would hate me forever. I thought you were going to reject me, so, uh..." he trailed as he quickly wiped away the tears that were starting to form.

"I just wanted to inflict as much pain on myself as I could. I deserved it. But I knew I wasn't going to feel it long or stay dead, so I just wanted to keep punishing myself. I felt like it was the least I could do considering the state I had left you in."

My throat tightened and my heart dropped. River was pushing to nurture her mate, but I had to keep her down. "Grey..." I trailed, though I was unable to form a complete sentence, so I merely pressed my forehead to his and closed my eyes. "It's okay. We're okay. I would never want you to inflict that type of pain on yourself. It hurt to see you go through that...please never do that again. Under any circumstances, okay?"

He looked up at me through reddened eyes. "As long as you're happy and safe, then yes."

I sighed. It was the best I was going to get for now.

I used my thumbed to continue wiping away his tears when he suddenly said, "I felt it." I gave him a confused look as he pulled away. "I felt every ounce of pain I caused you from the moment I met you. The pain and fear and...and hatred. I felt it all. Then what Gavin did to you in the Hunt and Convergence...it was scary. Needless to say, I am so thankful that you've given me another chance and I'm so proud that I'm mated to someone so strong, physically and mentally. Honestly, if I were you, I would've rejected me a long time ago."

I readjusted myself on his lap. "I'm not going anywhere Greyson," I said as I stuck out my pinky. "Promise."

He smiled before he linked his pinky with mine before he gently kissed me. We held it for a moment before there was a knock on the door, causing us to pull away as Atonya walked in. Greyson tightly held me. I was acutely aware that he was completely shirtless, and I really didn't like him so exposed in front of another female that wasn't Natalie.

Especially not one as gorgeous as Atonya.

"I need to talk to you two," she said, urgency and confusion evident in her voice. "Meet me downstairs. I uncovered a lot, and to be honest, I'm worried."

My eyebrows furrowed as worry settled within me. "Like what?"

She bit her bottom lip and looked out the darkened window to the evening sky. "Meet me downstairs," she repeated before disappearing out of the room.

I looked at Greyson and could see the concern in his eyes. "I'm scared, Grey," I confessed.

"Me too," he said before he sighed. "But I'll do whatever to keep you safe."

I nodded before I climbed off of him revealing the gown I was now wearing that definitely wasn't mine. "Atonya lent it to you," Greyson said as he got up, revealing that he was only wearing his sweats. He stretched before he offered me his hand. I took it and he led me back to the main level living area where Atonya was looking over at least ten books at once, her eyebrows furrowed as she read over them.

"What's the verdict, Atonya?" Greyson asked as we sat on the couch across from her once more.

"It's not what I expected," she said as she looked up at us. "I found Gavin's root and what he wants, but his method of doing so is interesting and worrisome."

"Please elaborate," Greyson said.

Atonya sighed and moved the book she was reading off her lap before she laced her hands together. "Well his want is very apparent: it's Avery. He wants her in every aspect he could have her: physically, emotionally, sexually, the same way you do Greyson, but the way he assesses it is different than you do.

"Since she is a normal wolf and you have a hyperactive, super-strong lycan, you can't have her in every way, at least not now. Her body wouldn't be able to handle the intensity of baring your mark, especially due to the extreme competitiveness and territorialism lycans have, let alone fully mating with you or baring your pups. So, unlike you Greyson, Gavin sees that as a dangerous weakness. However, Avery's strong will and defiance act as a challenge to Gavin, and once again, due to his competitive and territorial nature, he feels extremely threatened. So though Greyson sees you as his mate and equal, Gavin sees you as a simultaneous threat and weakness. That's why he targets you. He's afraid you'll overthrow him as the alpha."

My eyebrows furrowed. "How could he be threatened by me? I'm like an ant compared to him. I mean, I know he said-"

"Wait, he spoke to you?" Atonya asked in shock and I nodded.

"What did he say?" Greyson tightly asked.

"He said that I was stronger than he thought, but I can't run from him forever. But I still don't understand what's so threatening about me."

Atonya scuffed. "Avery, you don't realize how powerful you really are, physically and subconsciously. You've been through a lot, things that would've killed most wolves, even before you met Greyson. But you're still here and getting stronger by the day. So whether you see it or not, you are a threat to Gavin's power. Greyson's too. Gavin is scared while Greyson sees you as his equal."

I stood there confused, struggling to comprehend what she'd just told me. I'm a threat to them? I couldn't wrap my mind around it.

"So how do we get him to see her the way that I do?" Greyson questioned.

"That's the thing," Atonya sighed. "The solution sounds simple in theory, but in reality, it's complicated and messy."

"What is it?" I pressed, the pressure of not knowing eating me inside out.

"Making her like you," Atonya said. "A lycan."

My mouth became dry as I remembered Greyson telling me his story and how hard it was to contain such a beast inside of you. I couldn't do it.

"No," Greyson said shaking his head. "No. I refuse to put her through that."

I was shaking.

"There's no other choice than to just wait around for Gavin to kill her or for her to kill you."

Silence hung heavy in the room as the truth behind her words began to sink in.

She sighed. "Look, I know it's not what you want to hear, but it's the only way. If she's like you, Gavin will finally feel like he's found his equal and he'll stop being aggressive."

"What about her?" Greyson lowly asked. "If I got to the point of trying to kill myself over this, what's going to stop her from falling to the same fate?"

"When werewolves mate, their inner wolves connect on a subconscious level. They balance each other out and connect in such a way that they take a lot of pressure off the human side. Your wolves will click with each other and keep you two from flying into violent rages. I'll admit, it will be hard for her to get used to her new abilities and the new urges she'll have as a lycan, especially her urges for you Greyson, but like I said, she's strong. Insanely strong. And you two have a great support system. You balance each other out. You calm each other down. I'm fairly confident that you'll make it through without any major hiccups. Like I said, it's all in the transition from werewolf to lycan."

I took a deep breath and looked at Greyson. "Is this something that you want, Avery?" He softly asked. "If it's not, we'll find another way. We always do."

"No. I want this. I'd rather go through this with you than against you," I said before I looked at Atonya. "I'm in."

She smiled. "Good," she said before she looked at Greyson.

"If she's in, I'm in," he said as he held me tighter.

"So what do we have to do?" I asked, mentally preparing myself and River for undoubtedly the biggest challenge of our lives.

Her smile dropped. "That's the thing," she said. "So far, the only way I see how is through dark magic, and that's a big no-no. I practice only natural magic and pure magic. If I go dark, the ancestors will punish me and I will not be able to join them once it's my time to pass on. So I have to find another way."

"How long will that take?" I urgently asked. "My family is going to be under attack any minute now and we need to get back to them."

Atonya instantly shook her head. "I'm not letting you two leave until we have this figured out. It's too dangerous for both of you. It's already bad enough that you two are under attack, the last thing you need is to be worrying about Gavin making a surprise appearance as well. I'll move as quickly as I can so that we can get back to your pack and fight, especially because they have such a powerful witch on their side as well. But we need to focus on this first. I trust that Matthew and Natalie are still in your pack, am I correct?"

Greyson nodded.

"Then your pack is in excellent hands."

Atonya approached me and took my hands in hers. "Trust me, okay Avery? I know this isn't ideal, but it's what must be done." I nodded. "Good. As for Gavin, as long as you're in this house and on my land, he can't present himself. I hexed him while I was within you. He's bound for now. But Avery, keep what I gave you close just in case, alright?" I nodded again, praying to the Moon Goddess that it wouldn't have to come to that.

"Good. I will continue searching. I have a lot of ancient spells, so there has to be something in there. If not, I can always call on the ancestors for help. But for now, you need rest. What we did today took a lot out of both of you. Hopefully, this can be done with by the week's end."

"Thank you, Atonya," Greyson graciously thanked before he got up and hugged her. She tightly embraced him, her body flush against his. I didn't like it.

"No problem Greyson. What are friends for?" He smiled as she turned to me for a hug. I got up and hugged her as well, and though I was truly thankful for her help, I couldn't hug her as tightly as Greyson had due to the jealousy I felt bubbling in my chest.

"Don't worry, Avery," she lowly whispered in my ear. "He's about two thousand years too young for me." I must have had a shocked look on my face, causing her to laugh before she returned to her reading.

Now I was embarrassed, but I tried to hide it as Greyson led me back upstairs.

"Aren't you glad I made us pack these extra clothes?" He pressed as we entered our room, causing me to realize that our clothes were stacked in a chair in the corner, not yet in the dresser.

"Yeah," I admitted as he led me to the connecting bathroom.

"Wait, get the thing Atonya gave you. It's sitting on the nightstand on your side of the bed," Greyson instructed as he turned on the water.

"Grey, I don't think-"

"Avery, you know how emotional you make me, especially in these situations," he said, using his head to motion toward the beautiful shower. "I know Atonya said he was contained but...please? Just for some peace of mind?"

I sighed before I nodded and grabbed the simple, yet dangerous weapon and set it on the sink. Greyson kissed my forehead before we started to strip then climbed into the shower face to face. But instead of making any move to grab a towel and wash me, Greyson just held my hips and rested his forehead on mine, the corners of his lips tugged up in a slight smile.

He looked so peaceful and happy.

He suddenly started humming "Once Upon a Dream" as he slightly started rocking us side to side, bring back memories of when my parents and I watched Sleeping Beauty when I was younger.

We gently swayed in the shower, an odd place to dance, but it felt right with him. Everything did.

"What's going on in your head, Grey?" I asked as I laced my fingers behind his neck and looked up at him.

"It feels so good to be with you and not feel him in the back of my head," he said with a boyish smile. "It feels amazing." His smile slightly dropped. "Avery, just promise me you won't change after all of this is over."

My eyebrows furrowed. "Of course I won't. I know it's going to be hard, but I'll have you, right. We'll have each other to overcome this."

"I know, I just...please don't hate me for doing this to you. Making you into a lycan. I wouldn't wish it on anybody and the fact that I'm the reason the love of my life has to go through it...please don't hate me."

I smiled up at him, the water from the showerhead making his hair darker than it was. "I won't hate you, Greyson. Promise." I lifted myself on my tiptoes and pressed a gentle kiss to his lips. A silent promise.

He held me tight before pulling away and holding me in a hug. I rested my cheek on his chest as he started humming and rocking us again. He was distracting himself and that was okay. Just as long as he was okay, I was okay.

We stayed there for a while, humming and rocking and just being with each other.

I didn't even notice the water turning cold on my back.

***