"Is this really necessary?" I panted.

Desmond thought it'd be a great idea to get me conditioned and trained. He thought I should know how to defend myself since I had never been properly trained. I thought to mention that getting trained was up to me back at my pack but I figured he already knew that.

I honestly looked forward to training but that was with the assumption that Desmond would be the one training me, not Ivy.

"Do you want to be easy prey?" I shook my head causing her to smirk. "Then yes, this is all very necessary." She tapped her sparing stick against my hip capturing my attention. "Now focus."

I swung the wooden staff I held towards her missing her completely. "What do you think I've been doing?" I was exasperated, I was giving it my all and I hadn't improved a bit and as Ivy struck my in the back with her stick from my lack of defense I grew aggravated.

I see why my pack never trained me, I was practically untrainable.

"You're mind is somewhere else." She said matter-of-factly putting her hand on her hip.

She wasn't wrong, I was more than distracted. Every thought I had revolved around Osiris. I couldn't forget his words from the other night, and I never brought myself to bring it up to Desmond. I'm sure he knew that I overheard everything but he too was avoiding the subject.

I knew that getting a second opinion would cause me some distress but I never thought that it would cause me to become angry. It was Osiris's fault though. He was so controlling, though I shouldn't have expected anything else form an alpha. I just didn't expect him to take out his aggression on his brother.

"Can I ask you something?"

Ivy tightened the glove on her hand as she replied. "If it's to end the training session early the answer is no."

"No, I wasn't going to ask that." Her eyebrow rose with curiosity. "Do they argue a lot?"

"The brothers?" She inquired with a smirk as I nodded. "They don't see eye to eye very often. Why do you ask?"

I looked around the empty gym listening and watching for other people. I didn't need more issues if someone decided to take this conversation elsewhere.

Satisfied with the silence I answered her. "I heard them the other day." I kept the details to a minimum. If I gave Ivy an inch she'd take a mile with this kind of information.

"You, heard them?" Her eyes looked curious, begging me to give more.

I ran my fingers over the grooves of the wood evading my eyes.

"I'm sure Desmond did something to piss Osiris off. It's nothing new boy has shits for brains." She rolled her eyes like it was a common occurrence putting the stick back against the wall. "As long as they don't get physical they usually can work their shit out."

I blinked recalling the loud commotion I heard that night. They had definitely got physical and though I couldn't see to confirm it the Desmond's coughs did. My fearful self crawled right back into bed that night too. I didn't want to be apart of whatever tantrum Osiris was in the midst of.

Now that I thought about it Desmond had clearly heard me but didn't come to check on me, not that I wanted him to. He had left too, shortly after I tucked myself back in.

Did he go after Osiris?

My apprehension must have been obvious on my face. I didn't want to get in between the brothers and the thought of me pushing a wedge between them made me sick.

"Fuck." Ivy hissed realizing my silence. "I should tell Aspen."

She started waking to the door. I threw my stick against the wall and ran to catch up.

"Wait, Ivy are they okay? Is Desmond, okay?" If something happened to him I wouldn't know what I'd do. He was the only reason I came here. I hoped more than ever that Ivy's words rang true, that Osiris was a kind, and understanding person.

"Of course they're okay. It's just they can get out of hand when they both loss their temper." She pushed the door open and I followed close behind.

"Will Desmond be okay?"

"Desmond isn't the one I'm worried about. Osiris is." She started jogging towards a cabin but she halted in her steps whirling around to face me. "You need to go back to the cabin."

"What? Why?"

I want to make sure for myself that he was okay. There was underlying feeling that had me impatient to know he was alright. The irregular beat of my heart racing against my rib cage amplified my concern.

Ivy shoved me in the direction of the cabin effortlessly even though I dug my heel in the dirt.

"Osiris will kill me if something happened to you." She said making me confused.

"You mean Desmond." I corrected.

"Yea, yea, whatever, same thing. Just go inside for now, I'll come over once I talk to Aspen." She gave me one last push before I turned around. We stared at one another for a brief moment before she pointed at the cabin. "Go, Sera. If anything happens I'll come get you, I promise." She pushed.

I wanted to tell her no, that I was going with her, but I held back knowing I would only be a burden. I was human, I reminded myself. I weak, feeble human.

With reluctance, I nodded my head and headed inside. What more could I do? I wasn't going to fight her on this, and as much as Ivy was less then conventional she hadn't yet given me a reason to second guess her.

I sat alone for what felt like hours. My brain tore through every possible thought, image, dark and light, anything that could possible happen or had already happened.

Ivy's words repetitively vibrated in my head while I wandered into the living room. I fell onto the sofa, gazing up at the log cabin ceiling. My eyes squeezed shut as I waited in silence.

The silence was the only peace I could get.

I was so tense, wired and worried. It made sense why I felt like this when it came to Desmond but my mind kept inadvertently shifting to Osiris. My feelings of worry getting ever more heavier when I thought about him, when I imagined him.

Sinful, that's what it felt like every-time I thought of him. I blamed it on the fact that he was family to Desmond and Ivy mentioned she was more concerned for Osiris than Desmond.

Groaning I sat up rubbing my face with annoyance. I needed to get him off my mind it was making me feel all wrong.

"Need a glass of water, angel?" I jolted to my feet at the raspy voice. Turning around a short man stood by the doorway.

He was old, well over seventy years old and from the bald patch on his head and white hair I'd say he was pushing eighty. He was wearing a vintage style sweater and tan trousers, his wise eyes held such warmth it left me speechless.

He took a couple more steps into the room stretching his arm out in front of him revealing a glass of water. "Here."

"Uh- thank you." I stared awkwardly as I took the glass.

He smiled softly as he sighed catching my attention. "The boys have you stressed?"

Swallowing the water I sipped, I nodded my head. "Yea, I guess you could say that." I didn't know how much he knew about the brothers so I kept the reasons for my stress far from my lips.

"I remember when they used to stress me out daily. Turned my gray hair white I might add." He moved to sit on the sofa next to me, his movement slow and shaky with age. "I'm Mr. Chap, but you may call me Lucky."

So this was Mr. Chap. For some reason I had always imagined him to be younger and not fragile like he was. I pulled my legs on the sofa to face him more comfortably. "Nice to met you Lucky. I'm Seraphina."

"I know who you are, Desmond told me all about you." My heart sped up at his words though it was short lived as his once smiling face dissipated. "You're the girl with no wolf."

His tone gave nothing away. There was no way to tell if the statement was prejudice or rhetorical, either way the words left me speechless. The last couple days have revolved around the broken part of me, and I've spend more time hear taking about it since I arrived than I had in the last five years combined.

"Has Desmond marked you yet?" His question threw me off as I stared deadpanned.

Desmond and I had just met a few day ago and had hardly spend more than a few hours together a day. We hadn't exactly gotten to know one another very well, but it's common for mates to mark one another soon after finding each other. I never thought someone would ask that question especially to me.

Now the question was asked and I felt stuck. Nothing sounded right in my head because I honestly didn't know the answer. I never asked Desmond and now I felt like slapping myself in the face for not thinking about it sooner.

"No." I chocked out.

He hummed at my reply, his index finger rubbed against his thumb as he thought. I didn't know what his intentions were and though Desmond told me he was a kind man I still didn't know him. I didn't trust him.

Licking my lip as I asked I turned to him. "Why do you ask?"

"I've always known the boy to be rather strange. He had always told me how in love he'd be when he found his other half. It's my fault for assuming he'd mark you on sight." He admitted with a huff standing up and walking back toward the kitchen.

I found myself stuck staring at the back of his head as he retreated into the next room. I wasn't sure how to take his words. Were they meant to be taken with a grain of salt?

Once he was out of sight I downed my glass of water finding my mouth and throat parched from the conversation.

His words echoed in my head. Desmond would have marked his mate right away if he'd found them? Why hadn't he done that when he discovered me?

The million questions that built up in my head felt like a balloon inflating nearing it's point of popping under the pressure. But I wanted to know. I wanted to know why he had made an exception for me.

Staring at the empty glass I thought how I could ask him, how I would bring up the subject. Desmond didn't seem like the type to be dishonest, if I asked him he'd tell me I told myself. It would take an extreme about of patience and the more I thought about it, the task grew more haunting.

Reaching the answer I so badly wanted to know would be like searching for treasure in the darkest cave deep underwater. Sure, it was possible but at what risk. Would he see me asking such a question as provocation?

So many question.

Then came the hurt that stole any concentration I had from my mind. Did he not claim me because I was embarrassing? Is that why I've been holed up in the cabin most of the day? Did he see me as someone tarnishing his reputation?

My stomach churched painfully. What if he was trying to figure out how to reject me? He was just buying himself time, I thought.

Just when I thought my life was turning around, that I wasn't hated and found a place that people didn't despise me, I could enjoy it. I felt foolish for ever thinking I belonged somewhere, that I'd be excepted by my mate.

It was all too good to be true.

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