Saying good bye to Mara is easy. There's no tears, because it isn't actually goodbye. I can still see her whenever I want to. I could see her tomorrow. Nothing has changed between the two of us.

The three of us sneak out my bedroom window, jumping off the roof and landing on the ground softly. My back pack thumps against my back at the impact. We start walking to the edge of the forest, and I turn around to look at the back of my house. I almost start crying again.

"You two be on your best behavior," Mara warns with a smirk, and I move my gaze from my house to her.

"Highly unlikely," Max smirks back, and I swat at his arm with a grin. Mara laughs.

"I'll see you guys later," she says, hugging me. "If you need anything, you let me know. Okay?" she says quietly. "If you forgot something and want me to sneak in and grab it, I'll do it."

"I know you will. Thank you for everything," I reply, pulling away. She waves goodbye to Max and shifts, taking off in the woods to head back to her home.

"Ready to go?" Max asks me.

I shake my head, looking back at my house. "I'll never be ready for something like this."

He wraps his arms around me, and out of the corner of my eye, I see a face staring out one of the first floor windows.

Lacey.

She doesn't notice that I see her, and I don't make any abrupt moves to make her notice. Her eyes are set in a hard glare, her lips in a thin line.

Lacey's peeking through the window, I mind link Max. She does not look happy.

Flick her off.

I start laughing, and so does Max. "Come on, lets get out of here," he grins, holding me at arms length. "Do you want to ride on my back? You look exhausted."

"Yeah, I do actually," I say, and I watch him as he shifts into his wolf. He extends his front legs forward, his belly on the ground. I swing a leg over and hop on, laying my stomach flat against his back and clinging onto the black fur. He takes off into the woods, and I bury my face into his fur, getting drunk off his scent as he takes us home.

It's the first night we've spent together that we haven't made love. We take a relaxing bath that I very much needed, and other than holding me close to him, Max keeps his hands to himself. I fall even more in love with him, because we don't have to share words for him to know that I just need to be close to him tonight.

After our bath, I pull on a pair of panties and Max's t-shirt, and he slips a fresh pair of boxers on. We curl up in his unmade bed, pulling the blankets over our entwined bodies for added comfort. It's barely past ten, but I'm more than exhausted after the day we just had. It's hard to believe that I woke up this morning with no problems besides deciding what cereal I wanted to eat for breakfast. Now, an entire pack had been wiped out, we know where the hybrid's base is located, I told my family about Max and being a hybrid, and I was kicked out of my house.

I nuzzle my face into the crook of Max's neck until the only thing I can smell is him. It's the only drug I need right now to make me forget about everything for the night. In the morning, I'll feel better after more time has passed. For now, I just want to be with Max and get lost in him.

"I love you," he whispers, breaking the silence that settled over us.

I smile, keeping my eyes closed. "I love you too," I hum.

"B?"

"Mmm?"

"You should take a pregnancy test tomorrow."

My eyes fly open and I lift my head up, staring at Max and his lazy grin. I love that grin. It looks perfect on his face. It's his signature look, but something about it changes when he looks at me. His eyes light up and grow darker all at once, and the corners of his lips turn up just a little bit more.

"Of all things," I tease, "Why was that what you were thinking about?" I rest my chin on his bare chest, waiting for him to respond.

He scoffs, like the answer should be obvious. "Do you not remember when I told you the thought of you carrying my child is a huge turn on? I've been counting down the days until it's acceptable for you to take a pregnancy test."

"You have?" I ask softly, and I want to start crying all over again. The sweetest guy in the entire world is right in front of me, and he's all mine.

He chuckles and says, "Of course I have, B. I can't wait to have a baby with you. Babies, eventually, but I suppose one will do for now." I laugh at his goofiness, reaching up to plant my lips on his. It's short and sweet, and neither of us makes a move to go any farther.

"Why not tonight?" I ask.

"Two reasons. One, we're already very comfortably in bed." He tightens his arms around me, just to prove his point. "And two, you may have just had the worst day of your life. I don't want you finding out we're going to have a baby on the same day. I want it to be a brand new day only remembered for that."

My heart starts pouring out of my chest at his words. "Max," I say slowly, taking a deep breath. "You are the most thoughtful, amazing, sweetest, selfless, goofiest-"

"Don't forget sexiest."

"-and sexiest guy I have ever met. How did I get so lucky?"

"I think I should be the one asking that question. B, you are quite literally the strongest, bravest, funniest, cutest, most badass-"

"Don't forget sexiest."

"-and sexiest woman on this entire planet. I fucking love you."

I smile wide. I reach up and brush my lips against his as I say, "I fucking love you, too."

And then we're making out like we never have before. I move my body so I'm completely on top of him, straddling his waist between my thighs. My hair is falling around our faces, but Max flips it back and out of the way, tangling his fingers in the still-damp strands. I tangle one hand in his hair and let my other hand hold his face.

We kiss and kiss and kiss, and then we kiss some more. The unspoken agreement of no-sex-tonight seems to remain, so kissing him knowing it's not going any farther is exhilarating in a way. With us, it's never been just kissing. We're too addicted to each other for that to be possible on a normal night. Tonight is not normal, though.

Everything has changed, and I don't know what tomorrow is going to bring. What I do know is Max will still be by my side no matter what happens, and he will keep me standing. That is the only thing that matters.