Word Count: 4454

Celie was having the most wonderful dream of being held by her mate on a sunny beach when the scent of a familiar siren reached her. Celie instinctively rolled off the air mattress and shifted seamlessly into her wolf. She rose to her paws in front of a startled Sana who had been trying to sneak past them and toward the healing tank.

A low warning growl rumbled out of her, waking Eden who quickly jumped to his feet to see Celie's wolf form backing a terrified Sana into the wall.

"Get it off me!" Sana cried to Eden who just crossed his arms over his chest and made no move to help her.

"Eden!" Sana whimpered, which only served to enrage Sira, who roared loud enough to shake the entire house.

How dare this bitch call out to her mate for help?

Sira bared viciously sharp teeth and snapped in front of Sana's face. Sana started screaming and cowered on the floor at the feet of the snarling wolf.

Porter ran into the room, taking in the scene and understanding the situation immediately. He was tempted to step in but decided to let it play out. He didn't think Sira would kill the siren, but he didn't really care if she did.

"Help me!" Sana begged.

"You got yourself into this mess, lady," Porter snorted. "You should have listened to us when we tried to warn you not to fuck with a wolf."

Sana tried to stand but Sira snapped again, causing her to cower lower and press herself further into the wall.

The others finally arrived, Sira's roar had woken them, and brought them running from upstairs.

"What is going on here?" Mena demanded, staring at Sana.

"She's attacking me!" Sana whimpered.

"If she were attacking you, you'd be spread around this room in bloody chunks," Harper snapped.

"She snuck in here a few seconds ago, and Celie heard her and shifted into her wolf to protect the baby," Eden replied, looking at the other sirens accusingly. "Did you know she would try to kill the baby and say nothing? Did you encourage her to?"

"What?!" Hera exclaimed, shocked. "No!"

"We would never hurt a young one!" Mena said.

"Apparently your sister would," Matt snapped.

"I wasn't going to kill it," Sana whispered. "I was just checking on it."

"Yeah, right! I believe that about as much as I believe the moon's made out of blue cheese!" Harper scoffed. "You just don't strike me as the concerned motherly type, especially since you tried to get us to kill him a few hours ago!"

"Sira, please back off," Porter said softly. "We're not going to let her hurt the baby."

Sira growled again, her lips peeled back from her teeth as she menacingly stared Sana down.

"Don't look her in the eyes, you idiot!" Porter snapped at Sana. "A wolf takes that as a challenge! Do you want to die tonight?"

Sana immediately lowered her eyes and stared at the floor, terrified tears leaking down her face as she cowered.

"Sira, please," Porter tried again, he didn't want to use his alpha voice on her.

Sira finally took a step back and stopped growling, though it was clear she wasn't happy.

"That has got to be one of the stupidest chics I've ever seen in my life," Porter rolled his eyes.

"Without a doubt," Matt said, disgusted. "Did you really think you could sneak past a wolf?"

"What did you think you were going to do if you did manage to accomplish it?" Harper asked, shaking her head. "Did you think we'd all just like, 'gee wonder what happened to the baby?' and not do anything? News flash, you won't get away with killing an infant around here. If you'd managed to get past Sira, I would have torn your head off myself!"

"If you could beat me to it," Eden snorted.

The sound of a haunting little cry came from the tank and they turn to see the baby wiggling around, trying to swim. It's little tail flapped and it's tiny arms waved but he wasn't strong enough to move his body through the water.

Harper immediately went to the tank and lifted the baby out, while Sira paced back and forth between the tank and the others, growling softly to anyone who thought to approach. Sira trusted no one with the baby now, she was worked up and wasn't calm enough to think rationally. She would protect the baby from everyone but Harper.

"Sira, calm down, we're not going to hurt the baby," Porter tried to soothe her, but she just glared at him and growled low.

"Ok, Sira," Porter held up his hands in a non-threatening manager. He knew when to back off from an upset wolf, even an alpha didn't want to start shit with a she-wolf protecting a pup.

"Can one of you get that bitch out of here before Sira loses her shit again?" Harper asked, watching the agitated wolf pace the room. "I'm really not inclined to try and save her sorry ass if Sira decides to kill her."

"Me either," Porter said. "And I'm the only one with the power to command her to stop."

Mena and Hera rushed forward and grabbed Sana by the arms and dragged her from the room. Laro and Javen stayed behind for a moment.

"Do you really think she was going to kill the child?" Javen asked.

"What other reason could there be for her trying to sneak past us and get to the tank in the middle of the night?" Eden asked, never taking his eyes of Sira.

Laro just nodded, his face grim. He wasn't looking forward to his mate's reaction to this, but they were right, Sana had no reason to be sneaking in here, and she had expressed a desire to kill the young one earlier. He didn't want to believe his mate's twin sister was capable of such a heinous act, but he couldn't argue that it was the most likely explanation. He sighed and left with Javen to follow his mate, he knew they had to make sure Sana was secured, he wanted no issues with these wolves. Seeing Celie in her pissed off wolf form was enough to convince him they needed to take serious heed to the warnings they'd been given.

"Porter, Matt, could you guys step out? I think fewer people in here will calm Sira down." Harper said, rocking the baby gently. "Maybe make me some fish for Levi, it's about time for a feeding anyway."

"Sure, I'll get it," Matt said, as he and Porter left the room.

"Eden, has Sira accepted you as her mate?" Harper asked. "If she has, you'll be able to calm her down by touching her. BUT if she hasn't, you don't want to approach her until she calms down on her own."

Eden watched Sira pace the room for a few minutes, then he walked slowly toward her and knelt down on the floor. He held his hand out toward her, trying to draw her to him.

"It's alright, mate," Eden said softly. "We won't let anyone hurt the baby, it's ok, you can calm down now and relax. We're here with you, all will be well."

Sira stared into Eden's eyes for a few seconds, then took a hesitant step toward him, then another, then another, until she was right in front of him. Her muzzle lifted and she sniffed for several seconds, then nudged his hand with her nose.

Eden let out the breath he'd been holding and smiled. He reached forward and petted her soft fur; she tilted her head so he could get behind her ear and he couldn't help but chuckle.

"You're very beautiful, Sira," Eden whispered to her. "You did an amazing job of protecting the baby, you were wonderful."

Sira snorted.

"You were," Eden smiled. "I'm very proud of you. But I need you to let Celie come back, alright? We need her to help take care of the baby."

Sira took a step back and gazed at him for a moment, Eden was awed at the intelligence and emotion he could see in her eyes. He could never have imagined such a magical creature. Then she quickly and easily shifted back into Celie, who was kneeling naked on the floor.

Eden jumped up and grabbed a robe for her and she slipped it over her shoulders as Matt returned carrying the glass with the fish puree in it.

"Hey Cel, good to have you back," Matt said.

"Cel, can you feed him for me?" Harper asked, her nose wrinkled. "The smell of that fish puree is killing me, if I have to sit here and smell it for the next twenty minutes I'm going to puke."

"Of course!" Celie smiled; she would never turn down holding a baby.

"Thank god," Porter said, sticking his head around the corner before coming back in the room. "I thought you were going to take a chunk out of my ass for a few minutes there."

"Sira thought about it," Celie chuckled.

"I gotta say, you were all kinds of impressive, Cel." Porter said, grinning at her proudly. "I didn't know you had it in you, I've always thought you were one of the most docile wolves I'd ever met. But girl, you've got teeth!"

"Harper's intensive training kicking in," Celie smiled.

"That didn't have anything to do with me," Harper said. "That was all you and Sira. Your instincts kicked in and you stepped up to eliminate the threat. I know you always doubted yourself when it came to being able to fight, I hope this puts that insecurity to rest. Your Dad will be so proud when he hears about this."

Celie smiled, there was even a tear in her eye thinking about how her dad would react. He'd tried to get her to train with him when she was young, but she was not interested then and he worried about her being able to protect herself. He always assured her she had what it took to be a warrior, despite being a short 5'5, but she always doubted herself because of the bullying.

Eden put his arm around her and pulled her close and kissed her hair.

-

"What were you doing, Sana?" Hera shouted as she and Mena dragged a crying Sana up to her room.

"She attacked me!" Sana blubbered.

"Which would not have happened if you'd been sleeping in your room as you should have been!" Mena snapped, shoving Sana so hard she stumbled and nearly fell at the foot of the bed.

"I wasn't doing anything wrong!" Sana argued.

"What were you doing down there, Sana? Tell me now!" Mena said, advancing on her sister.

"I was just checking on him!" But the moment the words came out of her mouth Mena slapped her hard in the face, knocking her to the floor.

"You think you can lie to me, sister?" Mena shouted at her, as Laro and Javen entered the room behind them and shut the door. "You don't think I know you well enough to know when you are lying? You think you can fool me? The one who shared the womb with you? No, sister, you cannot fool me."

"What were you doing down there, Sana?" Laro said, as he put his arm around Mena, trying to calm her down. "You had no reason to be in there, did you truly intend to kill the child?"

Sana pressed her lips together and scowled at the floor, refusing to say a word.

"How could you do such a thing?" Hera said in a horrified voice.

"I did nothing!" Sana snapped.

"Only because the wolf stopped you!" Javen said.

"Did you hear nothing they said to us?" Laro asked. "Did you take no warning at all from their words? You put us all at risk with your actions, Sana! If you had succeeded in killing that baby, they could have turned on us, all of us!"

"And if you think for one second they couldn't have succeeded in killing us," Javen shook his head. "Then you are truly as stupid as they say you are. Those creatures are dangerous!"

"She could have easily killed you!" Mena said.

"I didn't know she would do that!" Sana said. "I thought her weak."

"Then you are an even bigger fool than I ever thought you could be," Laro snorted.

"An arrogant fool," Hera agreed.

"What were you thinking, Sana?" Mena said, losing some of her anger. "WHY were you trying to kill that child?"

"It's a triton!" Sana snapped.

"Are you so good you can look down on tritons?" Hera asked. "You, who would kill a helpless infant? You are acting like a triton, you are no better than they are, that is what one of them would do. Why should you be allowed to live, when you would commit such an atrocity?"

"You have forgotten who we are," Laro said. "You have done nothing but betray our heritage since we got here. You pursue a mated male, despite being repeatedly rebuffed by that male, you insult our hosts, our allies, then you stoop so low as to try and kill an innocent. I cannot stand beside you anymore, Sana."

"Nor can I." Javen agreed.

"Nor I." Hera said.

Mena just shook her head sadly, her chin quivering.

"You cannot turn your back on me!" Sana cried. "We are family, sisters!"

"We are nothing," Mena said, tears leaking from her eyes. "I abjure you, Sana. From here, you swim alone."

"You can't cast me out into triton infested waters!" Sana said, desperately. Finally understanding just how precarious her situation was.

"You should have thought about that before you tried to kill an infant!" Javen shouted at her. "You brought all of this on yourself!"

"Did you really think we would support your actions?" Hera looked at her in disbelief. "Have you truly strayed so far from your people that you would think something so horrific to be justified?"

"I just wanted a mate!" Sana cried. "He is a triton hunter! He should have been glad for me to get rid of one!"

"If you did all this because you thought it would get you a mate, you are truly misguided, Sana." Mena said. "Did we not just learn tonight that seven male sirens showed up today? And more are likely on their way, you could have had your pick of many unmated males if you had just waited."

"I don't want any other male!" Sana said.

"Well, that's just too bad." Hera said. "Because he has chosen his mate, and it is not you!"

-

"What are we gonna do with Sana?" Porter asked, blinking tiredly. "I'm assuming you don't have a basement with cells for rogues, right?"

"Right," Celie snorted. "The one amenity Mattie didn't build into this house."

"She technically did nothing," Eden sighed. "Bad intentions are not enough to convict someone in our world. Sirens tend to be very generous when it comes to punishment of others. We can't prove what she intended to do, and therefore we can't justify imprisonment or harm to her."

"Yes, that is unfortunately true." Matt agreed. "In our world it takes a lot get severe punishment, and she will never admit she intended to kill the baby. Some might even agree that the child should be killed because it is a triton."

"I don't think there are any sirens who would agree with that, I was truly shocked that she even suggested it." Eden disagreed. "Such a thing would be considered an atrocity among our people, especially since the child is half human. We would never sanction the killing of a human, under any circumstances."

"Most likely she will be banished though," Matt said. "Sent out into the ocean alone."

"Like that is a punishment!" Celie exploded. "Sirens are solitary creatures anyway, that's nothing."

"Females tend to stay with a pod until they find a mate," Eden said. "The fact that Sana is still with her sister shows she doesn't want to be alone. She wanted a mate, but not enough to venture away from her sister to go find one."

"Which is why she was so pissed about Eden choosing you over her," Harper said. "She thought this might be her one shot for a while. It's weird she wasn't considering we were calling others to help us fight. She would have many males to choose from if she had just acted right."

"She will likely never find a mate now," Matt said. "Word of her actions will travel through our people pretty fast; no male will want a female who would kill a child."

"So she will spend the rest of her life out in the ocean alone, with no hope of a companion." Eden said.

"That's if she decides to live in the ocean," Celie scoffed. "She can find a human man and live her life just fine."

Porter snorted, agreeing with Celie.

"So she will get away with it, and there's not much we can do." Porter said. "Do we have to keep her around or can we just throw her out now?"

"We should wait to get rid of her until the others get here, having two old ones to pass judgement will be best." Eden said.

"So I just have to keep looking at that bitch like nothing happened?" Celie exploded, slamming her hands down on the countertop with such force it rattled the dishes, her eyes flickered amber as her wolf rose inside her. Sira was still in a rage, she wanted to run upstairs and rip the woman's heart out.

"No!" Matt said quickly, trying to calm Sira. "We'll send her to one of the safe houses, we won't let her just stay here freely."

Eden jumped off his stool and went to her, wrapping his arm around her waist and leaning into her. His touch soothed her, and Sira faded back into Celie's mind.

"We'll send her away first thing in the morning," Matt said after a moment. "We'll tell her she can either go to the safehouse or go out in the ocean. If her sister chooses to stay with her, that's her decision, but we'll let them know she needs to leave, one way or another."

"Well, I'm seriously exhausted guys," Harper rubbed her eyes. "I haven't been this tired since my residency, so I'm going back to bed. The sun will start coming up in an hour, I'm going to take what little time I can get for some sleep."

"I heard that," Porter agreed. "We've got a big day ahead of us too, with your pack initiation and welcoming party. That will last until at least one or two in the morning."

"Oh god," Celie grouched, dropping her head into her hands. "I'm starting to regret agreeing to this already."

"Oh yeah," Harper said, yawning.

"Harp, are you sure you're ok?" Celie looked up, concern creasing her forehead. "You've been tired a lot lately, and your stomach has been upset for days. You smell fish all the time but it's bothering you now out of the blue? That's not normal."

"Your stomach is upset?" Matt turned to Harper, who gave Celie a look before answering.

"No, I'm fine, I felt a little queasy the other day, it's just stress." Harper assured him. "And I'm tired because we've had a ton of shit dropped on us that we've been dealing with that has kept me from being able to sleep a full night in almost two weeks."

"Maybe you should see the pack doctor while we're out there tomorrow," Celie suggested. "It wouldn't hurt to just talk to him for a minute."

"I'm going to bed," Harper dismissed them with a wave of her hand as she went out of the kitchen.

**

"What's up Harp?" Celie asked, as she walked into the kitchen where Harper was staring out into space over her cereal.

"I'm thinking about Levi, we need to spend more time with him." Harper said, her eyes focusing on Celie. "He needs physical contact, cuddling, talking, being held and loved on. We can't just let him stay in the tank alone."

"I was actually thinking something along those lines too when I was sitting next to the tank holding his hand a few minutes ago," Celie nodded. "I'll go get into my suit and take him into the big tank and hang out with him."

"We'll take shifts, and we should see if we can get a siren in there with him, so he can hear their water voices," Harper said. "That will comfort him too, I'll see if Matt or Eden minds getting in there."

"See if Matt or Eden minds what?" Eden said as he entered the kitchen with Matt.