The late-night training session exhausted every muscle in my body. My limbs screamed in protest when I crawled out of bed the next morning. I might have stayed in bed, but hunger gnawed persistently in my stomach until I could no longer ignore the urge to eat. Nolan wouldn't be returning to Black Lupis for a few more days, so I did not bother fixing my hair before shuffling down to the kitchen.

I hardly spared a glance to the other pack members in the kitchen. They could whisper as much as they liked. I didn't care. I just wanted food.

I took a cinnamon-raisin bagel from a basket and made for a solitary chair in the corner of the dining area. Never in my life had I felt so alone. I want to go home. I blinked back tears and made to sit down, but a familiar voice called out to me.

"Charlie!" Abby sat at the corner of a table with a bowl of cereal resting on her swollen belly. She patted a seat beside her, and I approached. To my relief, Raegan was nowhere to be seen. I didn't feel like explaining my suspicious behavior from the night before.

"Good morning." She smiled, spooning the grain-cereal into her mouth.

"I don't know how you do it, Abby." I smiled and picked apart my bagel, occasionally popping the bread into my mouth.

"Do what?" She looked up at me with round eyes.

"Keep a smile on your face despite... everything." We locked eyes for a moment. She knew what I meant: How do you convince yourself to be happy in this cold, hate-filled place?

A corner of her lips rose in a sympathetic smile. "It was hard at first. But now, with Raegan, things are looking up. Just be patient, Charlie, you'll see--" The female trailed off.

When I looked up to see what made her quit talking, she delicately took hold of my hands. "Moon Goddess, are you okay?"

My knuckles were cracked and swollen due to last night's strenuous training. I instantly snatched my hands back. I didn't want her to investigate the bruises too carefully.

"I'm fine," I snapped, a bit too hastily. I forced a smile onto my face. "I'm just a bit banged up from training yesterday."

"Oh." She looked unconvinced, and I could guess that Raegan relayed his suspicions to his wife. I couldn't change the subject quick enough, and, luckily for me, Abby jumped at the chance to gush about her baby boy. I asked one hundred frivolous questions and tried my best to listen to her every word. But my mind was elsewhere...

I inhaled another bagel and an apple by the time Raegan entered the dining hall and began rattling off the patrols for the day. Unsurprisingly, he never called my name. Even if I could shift, I doubted he trusted me enough to assign me to a patrol.

"While they are out today, I wondered if you might like to work with me on some baby stuff? I planned on painting his nursery." Abby asked me with a sweet smile.

In truth, those plans sounded terrible. I wanted to train some more. Nonetheless, I nodded. Abby tolerated me, which was more than I could say for the rest of the pack. I didn't want to alienate myself from her, so I offered an eager smile. "Sure, that sounds like fun!"

"I need to pick out things for the baby's room, too. I hope you have good taste." She cast a glance in Raegan's direction, "My mate has no sense of style."

A smirk pulled on his lips as Raegan approached. "I heard that," he warned before kissing the top of Abby's silvery blonde head. "We might be gone longer than usual today because there have been several rogue scents found near the pack house." He looked at me before continuing, "But if you need anything, I can be back in five minutes."

Raegan knew that I was involved with the rogues. I gulped. Maybe it was not a good idea for me to meet up with Dominic, at least not so close to the pack house. Abby, utterly oblivious to my wariness of her mate, ran a hand across her swollen stomach. "I don't think he is going to come today, don't worry."

The Black Lupis Beta said his goodbyes, and the rest of the pack members left for their patrols and duties. Abby and I decided to make ourselves useful by cleaning the dishes.Before I could suggest going outside to train for an hour before helping her, Abby began to drag me outside of the pack house, busily telling me the plans she had for her child's room.

"Wait, where are we going? Aren't your rooms inside of the pack house?"

She laughed at my question and continued to lead me down a stone path that paved the way toward a small yet beautiful cabin in a clearing. "No, Raegan built us a house so that we could raise a family privately."

"Oh... Are there other people who live in houses like this?" I wanted my own home!

"Well, of course Alpha Nolan lives in his own home, and a few other families built cabins in the woods for their own particular use." She pointed in the distance to a cluster of homes separate from the pack house. They circled one another, none more glorious than the next. In a way, the homes seemed... normal? I couldn't help from wonder which one belonged to Nolan.

"Here we are.!" Abby led us to the front door of her own wooden cottage, all the while chatting about the furniture or what she planned to do with the place. I added in appropriate 'It's beautiful' and 'That sounds like a great idea' phrases after each of her small tangents. My mind, on the other hand, strayed to thoughts of Nolan. The thought of his wolf excited me, and I scarcely contained the shiver that crept down my spine.

However, my mind betrayed me, and I thought of Dominic. At least he did not push me away. In fact, Dominic wanted me. I could sense it in his voice-- his touch. My connection with Dominic couldn't be explained, no matter how hard I tried.

"Charlie?" Abby's voice snapped me out of my dream-like state, "Are you okay?"

"Yes! Sorry, I-... I'm just thinking, I guess." I blushed and looked toward the ground.

I expected anger from the silver-haired beauty, but she smiled gently. "I know how hard it is for you. You were forced to leave your old pack, family and friends, to come here without any warning. You were just expected to follow your mate wherever he went. I promise, Black Lupis will warm up to you." She held my hand. "And there are days when all I want to do is see my family again. But then I remember that Raegan is my family now, and he is so perfect for me. So just keep in mind, Charlie, that you are meant to be here with Nolan."

I loosed a long breath. "It probably wouldn't be so hard for me, except for the fact that Sarah came before me. She set the standards so high, and I feel like I'll always be compared to her. They loved her, and I can't live up to their expectations... To Nolan's expectations."

Abby considered this for a few long moments, as if picking her words carefully. "Sarah was his first love, but you will be Nolan's last."

Tears prickled my eyes, and Abby quickly tugged me toward a closed door. "Enough of this depressing topic! Help me decide what color to paint the walls of the nursery."

We picked a light blue color, and spent the next several hours painting and repainting the walls. When we finished, Abby suggested we return to the pack house to decompress and watch a movie. She honestly looked exhausted, a side-effect of a full-term pregnancy. But something felt wrong. Her skin became sickly pale, with splotches of redness coating her swollen cheeks. She swayed on her feet.

"Abby!" I grabbed her hands in an effort to steady her feet and was shocked to feel the iciness of her fingers. "Your hands are freezing! We should go to the nurses..."

"It's just from the cold weather." She insisted, shaking her head and snatching her hands away from me. "I feel fine. Just a little tired from our busy day. Let's go watch the movie."

Despite my protests, the pregnant female eventually convinced me that she was perfectly happy, and subsequently chose the sappiest romance film for us to watch. We settled in to the living room couch, swaddled in blankets and surrounded with pillows as we laughed at the movie.

About mid-way through the movie, Abby smiled over at me. Color had returned to her cheeks, and I felt reassured. "I'm starving! I'll go get some popcorn, will you pause it?"

"Yeah, where's the remo-" A sickening crack interrupted my thoughts. Abby had just stood up to exit the room, but the moment she walked over to the door, her body snapped at the hip. Abby's torso bent in strange angle, and a guttural scream of agony echoed off the walls. Within seconds, she fell to the floor and blood pooled at her pelvis.

I lunged toward her convulsing body, scrambling to find the source of the bleeding. "Abby! " Blood stained her jeans, and I knew something was wrong with the baby. No, no, no... "Help! Somebody! Help!" My voice cracked, but I did not stop my shouts for help.

I did not know what to do besides clutch Abby's hand and offer her comfort. I wouldn't leave her there. Someone had to hear our cries, and soon! Moon Goddess, save her. Gods above... I recited prayer after prayer. Seconds later, members of the pack arrived, and I was pushed out of the way.

"The baby ruptured..." The doctor's voice faded amongst the chaos of the room. "We need to get the baby out, now!"

I watched from the side of the room as the group of trained pack members worked on Abby's writhing body. "Raegan is on his way now. He will be here in five minutes." One of the doctors reassured Abby, but she had lost consciousness.

"Can any untrained pack member please leave the room?" A different, younger girl asked the bystanders politely. Of course I did not want to leave my friend, but somehow I knew that she was in good hands, so I exited the room along with a couple of others.

To pass the time, I exited the huge mansion and sat on the front porch. One hour turned into two while I waited for any news. Soon, the sun set beneath the horizon. As I was watching the last rays of sunshine disappear into shadow, I thought of my meeting with Dominic. I didn't plan on going because I knew that Raegan would be watching me, but now, he would be otherwise occupied.

I debated for a few moments, but my feet quickly carried me to the woods. When I finally reached the designated spot, I called into the darkness: "Dominic...?"

"You're late." Annoyance leaked into his deep voice, and I cringed.

"I-I'm sorry," I pleaded for his understanding, "My friend-"

He cut me off. "Yes, your pregnant friend is having her child. I'm surprised you are not there to support her."

"I wanted to see you." I admitted before I could stop myself. A blush clouded my cheeks, and I knew he could undoubtedly hear my pulse quicken. "I mean, I wanted to train."

I did not ask him how he knew about Abby's pregnancy. I didn't ask how he seemed to know more about the pack than I did. I didn't care. I trusted him.

"You flatter me, child. But you do not know the first thing about me." He chuckled, and the sound felt like I had been drenched in ice. Dominic stepped out of the shadows, a hood still covering his face from my sight, his powerful and dark stature made me tremble slightly.

"I fear that if you did know the true me..." He paused for a second and stepped dangerously close to me. We shared the same breath. "You would not be so keen for my presence."

I shook with anticipation. "Well then show me who you really are..."

Before Dominic could stop me, my hand reached up to his hood and ripped it off of his head. I needed to face my guardian rogue. Dominic snarled, and I cried when he grabbed my hand to keep me from touching him again. "How dare you-..."

For a moment, I thought he might attack me. I prepared myself for his wrath, but paused when I took in Dominic's appearance. He possessed strong, chiseled features, but a thick scar wreaked havoc on an otherwise beautiful face. neck that ran in to broad shoulders. Where flesh had once been torn apart, puffy scar-tissue remained. But even this could not distract from his eyes.

Fear clogged my semblance of reasoning. Dominic's beautiful, piercing blue eyes. He looked just like...

Suddenly, out of the bushes, came a violent snarl that sent a current of electricity through my body. I turned around to face the towering, black shadow. Nolan. My mate's eyes contained one thousand storms within them as he beheld me in the arms of a rogue.

"Run, Dominic!" I cried, but when I looked up to the rogue, he did not appear afraid. In fact, a smirk played on his lips.

"Hello brother."