"Well I was just here to see if it was true," Aphrodite said with a smile. Everything she did reminded me of a snake.

"See if what was true?"

There were so many things that could be hard to believe, so many things that people may want proof for. What could she possibly be talking about?

"Well, the baby first of all, and then about your wolf." Her head tilted to the other side and my hand reflexively went to my stomach. I felt bile rise in my throat at her interest in the baby, especially after what I'd seen in the dream.

"It definitely looks like there might be something there, and I can hear its heartbeat already. Are you sure it's even Rafe's? I mean gosh, you've only been here for what? A little over a month. That doesn't seem right."

I wanted to smack her right then and there. She was implying that I'd slept with someone else, that I was pregnant with someone else's child. I knew that the baby was growing fast, the timeline wouldn't seem to match at all, but I still wanted to punch her in the jaw.

"I know it's hard to believe, considering I'm talking to you and well... I know your habits," I said doing my best to keep my voice level. "But not everyone is a whore you know."

Her eyes narrowed at me and I had to fight to suppress a smile.

"What are you anyway?" She snapped.

"I don't smell wolf on you. You smell like nothing, nothing that exists here anyway. There's nothing of it left in you. Can you even be the Luna anymore? How could you possibly take up a position when the very essence of it doesn't even live in you?"

My jaw clenched. She'd hit the sore spot. Aphrodite just had a knack for finding the open nerve and poking at it. One of these days she was going to poke the wrong nerve and it was going to cost her—dearly.

"What does it even matter to you what I have in me?"

"It matters because I'm a part of this pack and if it's going to go to shit and fall apart because of you I want to make sure I can do whatever I can to stop that. I quite like having a safe, secure place and I want to make sure it stays that way."

"Then you'd do best to leave me alone or you'll be out on your own," I said, an edge leaking into my voice.

"You can't do anything about it. Rafe isn't here and you don't have that sort of power on your own."

"I might not, but that doesn't mean I won't kill you," I said tilting my head to the side, my eyes wide and wild. "You did hear what I did to the rogues out there right? How I snapped one's neck and tore out another's heart."

Aphrodite paused for a moment before laughing.

"Darling, you'd need your strength for something like that, and you just don't have that in you. You're as useless as a...well frankly, you're as useless as a baby bird. I don't see how you're going to do anything."

She paused again.

"Do know though, if I find out that this pack is suffering because of you, I will do anything in my power to make sure that it doesn't happen. Got that?"

"Is that a threat?" I asked with a short, bitter laugh.

"No, sweetie. It's a promise, and I always keep good on my promises."

Aphrodite stood up and left, not sparing another glance back.

I found myself wishing that Rafe would come back, that I could talk to him in some way. Our bond was disconnected though, there was no way to get in contact, and he wasn't coming back, not anytime soon at least.

I started to wonder if letting him go had been a good idea in the first place. I'd wanted my space, I'd needed time to think, but now I just had to face everything alone. He wasn't there to hug me or kiss me and tell me that everything was going to be okay. It didn't matter if his words never helped, because they'd at least been something to break up the darkness that my thoughts pulled me into. They had been words that said he believed in me and now I didn't have those.

I stood up and felt a little dizzy. I wobbled slightly until my feet were back under me. That was strange, I'd never felt that way before. The only thing that had changed was...

"Mrs. Greene? Where the heck did you go?" I shouted through the house."

I heard the light clacking of her shoes on the hard floor and she appeared around a corner.

"Yes, dea-" She cut off when she saw the look on my face.

"Oh dear."

"What did you do to me?"

"Well you see, I... I just..."

I bobbed my head forward, my brows raising like I expected her to continue, giving her the prompt.

"He told me to do it. I told him it wouldn't be a good idea. I told him you'd be angry when you found out, but I couldn't just tell him no. You don't just tell him no. I didn't have a choice in the matter."

I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose at her worried blabbering. She was scared of ticking me off because she had to live with me, but she was also scared to go against the Alpha's wishes.

"It's fine, Mrs. Greene. Just please don't do it again. I'm asking you right now, don't make me tell you."

Mrs. Greene's head nodded quickly.

"Yes, yes. I promise, I won't do it again. But will you please get some rest yourself?"

I sighed feeling defeated. I didn't know what to do so I just agreed. I knew I needed to stop being so hard on her and the others around me. I'd just been so hormonal, and everything going on just added on top of it. I knew it wasn't fair to take it out on the others around me, but I was starting to feel like I was trapped in a dark hole. I guess I was just trying to make it so I wasn't trapped alone.

"I promise." I stood there for a moment before speaking up again. "Now I'm going to go get some food. I'm starving."

"Yes, please do. Let's get some food in you."

Mrs. Greene followed me into the kitchen and she started bustling about as I went digging through the fridge. I pulled out some meat, cheese and lettuce and Mrs. Greene frowned slightly.

"What? I'm going to have a sandwich. I have lettuce, that's a vegetable...and there's meat and cheese."

"Fine, fine. Eat your sandwich then," she said waving dismissively. "I'll be around if you need me. And remember what I said."

"Bed rest and no stress. Yes, I know."

"Oh, Katarina. I'll be praying to the goddess for you."

"I think she's pretty much abandoned me at this point," I grumbled as Mrs. Greene walked out of the kitchen.

I started making the sandwich, spreading mayo on the bread, adding some mustard and then the meat, cheese, and lettuce. I stood at the corner, eating it so I would hopefully be able to avoid anyone else. After seeing Aphrodite, I really didn't feel like socializing with anyone else.

When I finished, I walked straight back to the bedroom. I knew no one would bother me there, at least no one that would be annoying.

I tried to relax, but everything Aphrodite had said to me in the living room, and in the dream, kept coming back to me.

I knew it was ridiculous to let a dream rule over me like that, but when her words had echoed so close, I had to wonder if it was really a dream at all, or if I'd somehow gotten a glimpse of the future. A future where Rafe realized how stupid it was to waste his time and energy on something that was going to destroy his pack.

To me, what I had seen had looked like a very real possibility. One day, Rafe would wake up to find that he was weak and that the pack was vulnerable. It may not happen right away, but if they were ever threatened and if he wasn't able to protect them because of me—.

A part of me was sure The Blood Alpha would do what he could to ensure the safety of his people. If he could do that, the solution would be simple.

If that dream had indeed been a glimpse of a possible future, that meant I had just under four months to figure out how to get my wolf back.

My heart started to race and I felt like everything was closing in on me. I was on the verge of a panic attack.