I fluttered my eyes open, blinking a few times in order to un-blur my vision, looking around the room sleepily as I took in what had happened last night.

I turned to see Logan snoring away next to me, his arm draped over my stomach protectively, pressing me against his warm chest. I smiled to myself, taking in a deep breath, allowing myself to absorb the tranquil aura fogging the room.

I felt like Logan and I had both accepted each other for what we were, and although I knew I was going to go against his orders tomorrow at The Whipping, I knew it was what he wanted deep down, but was too scared to take the risk. He knew The Whipping was wrong, and I was going to remind him of that. I was going to show him there were other options.

My thoughts turned to Theo, and a wave of sadness instantly rushed through me, causing me to sigh. I needed to go and see him.

I scooted towards the edge of the bed, trying my hardest not to wake Logan up, easing his arm off my slowly, causing him to stir and turn in his sleep. I sighed, slipping on my old clothes, and padding down the steps towards the kitchen.

I was suddenly met with a set of stormy grey eyes, raising her eyebrows at me questionably as she sat at the table, chewing on her breakfast.

"You're here early," said Heather, smirking, shaking her head.

"Um, I didn't hear you come in," I said awkwardly, trying my best to avoid eye contact.

"Millie wanted to see Logan," Heather replied.

"He's still sleeping."

"He must be tired. Busy night?" asked Heather, laughing, causing me to almost choke on my own saliva.

"I better get back to mine to get dressed and shower. I need to check on Theo," I said, ducking my head, making my way to the door.

"So The Whipping is tomorrow," announced Heather, stopping me in my tracks. I turned around, gazing at her awkwardly.

"Yeah, it is."

"Tell me Eliza, why organise another one?" she asked, taking another bite of her toast, her grey stormy eyes boring into my chocolate brown ones.

"I's just, I-" I stuttered.

Heather shook her head, closing her eyes and pinching the bridge of her nose. "No, no, I opened up to you, now it's your turn."

She pushed her chair back, stood up and made her way over to me, towering over my small form. "Why organise another Whipping?"

I studied Heather's face, forcing myself not to blurt out the plan to stop the ugly tradition, not knowing whether she would snitch on me or not. "I guess I just wanted to push the chance of an attack back. I felt guilty, knowing that my arrival would be the reason for the other packs then attacking. I wanted the packs to wait until they heard Logan had found his mate, and I was hoping they'd never find out. I knew they'd attack eventually, but I'd rather they attack later than sooner." I lied, avoiding eye contact, just wanting the conversation to be over.

Heather studied me, squinting her eyes as she took in my expression. "Eliza, wouldn't you rather get the attack over with? And win? Our pack is strong, we train on the daily. If they want a fight, we can give them a fight."

I nodded, secretly agreeing with Heather, but I knew I couldn't give anything away.

"I was supposed to take over this pack when Jordan died, but I didn't. I can never take that decision back. You and I are very different Eliza, however, if it came down to the both of us, I think you could run this pack much better than I ever could. I'm loud and have natural leadership skills, but, I lack emotion, compassion, empathy. You, on the other hand, you have so much potential, and you don't even see it. Your heart is bigger than I could have ever imagined, you proved that when you saved that little girl's life when she was attacked by rogues. That, is one of the best qualities a leader can have. A good heart."

I took in a deep breath, feeling the colour start to drain from my face.

Heather looked at me sadly, shaking her head. "The Whipping is happening, I know that, but to be a good leader, you need to be proud of the pack you're leading. Pride means many different things to many different people, but what pride means to me, Eliza, is not being afraid to show who you really are, no matter the consequences. I don't blame you for the choices you've made, because if I was in your position, maybe I would have made those same choices, but what this really is about, is just doing what you know is right."

I nodded up at Heather as she tucked her short black bob behind her ears. She nodded at the door, offering me a small smile. "Well, you should probably go and check on Theo. I'll let Logan know when he wakes up."

"Thank you," I said, turning and making my way out of the door.

"Oh! And Eliza!" called Heather," trust your gut."

I nodded, making my way down the bath in the autumnal rain, shaking my head and sighing deeply.

Heather spoke sense. She seemed to always have everything sorted out in her mind. She always knew exactly what to do and she never second guessed it. I felt guilty that she was so disappointed in me, and I would be even more disappointed in myself if I couldn't convince Logan to let me go to The Whipping, causing it all to go ahead after all.

I was brought out of my thoughts when I saw Rosalina walking towards me along the village path, her hair soaking wet from the pouring rain.

"What are you doing out here?" I asked her, slightly raising my voice so she could hear me over the sound of the rain hitting the rocky path.

"I needed to take a walk," she replied, gazing up at me.

I nodded. "It's cold. You should go inside."

Rosalina shook her head. "I haven't had a house the majority of my life, Eliza. I'm used to the rain by now."

I bit my lip in angst, pushing my stringy wet hair behind my ears. "Are you okay? I'm sorry about what happened, Logan and I-"

Rosalina softly smiled, sighing. "It's fine, I just thought Theo was your mate, and when I saw Logan kiss you, it sparked up something inside of me. My Dad cheated on my Mom, so I feel strongly about that kind of stuff."

"Your Mom? I thought you said you didn't have a family?"

"I used to. When my Mom found out about my Dad cheating, she couldn't stay in the pack any longer, so she took me and we left. We jumped from hotel to hotel, and state to state. If you name any city here in America, I've probably been there."

I furrowed my brows, cracking my knuckles awkwardly as I tried to think about what questions would be too personal to ask. "So you became rogues?"

Rosalina shrugged. "I don't really like using that term. People think rogues are trouble, we were just two wolves with little to no money who had to fend for themselves for a while."

"What happened to her?" I asked, not knowing if Rosalina would feel comfortable answering.

"She died. She was attacked by rogues last year, and since then, I've been on my own."

"I'm sorry," I whispered, pulling Rosalina into a hug, wrapping my arms around her gently.

"Don't be. You showed me compassion when no one ever did. I never thought I would be cared about again. You made me realise I do have a purpose," whispered Rosalina, pulling back and looking into my eyes, smiling sadly.

I smiled back, stepping out of the hug and shaking my head. "Well, you should go back to your house soon. A storm is brewing."

Rosalina laughed, walking past me as we waved a quick goodbye to each other, causing me to frown to myself. Rosalina was so young, and she had gone through too much. It wasn't fair on her, but then again, life wasn't fair. It never would be.

As I rounded the corner towards the hospital, deciding against going home first, I took in a deep breath, preparing myself for the state that Theo could possibly be in. I was hoping and praying he would be in a stable condition.

I walked through the doors, feeling guilty about the trail of water I was leaving, and made my way to Theo's room, slowly opening the door, seeing a lifeless Theo lying in his bed, still hooked up to multiple machines. The faint beeping noise from the machine was all that could be heard, and I felt tears start to well up in my eyes again as I perched myself on the side of Theo's bed, taking his hand in mine.

"Please wake up," I whispered, allowing the tears to dribble down my cheeks. "Theo, please."

I studied his still scratched and pale face, willing for him to open his eyes so I could see those emerald green orbs again. "You can't be like this forever, please. I can't have you in a coma forever."

More tears fell, dripping down onto Theo's sheets. I sighed deeply, shaking my head as I released Theo's hand, wiping my wet face free of tears.

"I'm going to stop the Whipping Theo. I promise."

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Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, I hope you're ready for some action in the upcoming chapters!

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