Amanda was a breath of fresh air. Lillian knew why Harvey was smitten with her. The woman was pure sunshine with a mischievous streak that popped out regularly.

They met the twins halfway to Lillian's cabin. The two little hellions separated from a group of pups and dashed toward Lillian. She braced for the impact.

"Hey, boys," Lillian patted their heads. Their arms wrapped around Lillian's legs, and they looked up at a smiling Amanda with wide eyes.

"Mommy, she smells weird."

That was Elijah. Amanda laughed out loud while Lillian groaned. "Baby, you don't go around telling people they smell weird."

"But she does!" Elijah said.

"She doesn't smell like us," Ezra added more thoughtfully, his nostrils flaring. "And she doesn't smell like aunt Anna, or like you."

Amanda crouched down to their level. "That's because I'm not a wolf. I'm a vampire."

The twins perked up.

"Really!"

"Miss Liv told us about vampires!"

"Do you really drink blood?"

"Can we see your fangs?"

Amanda laughed. "Aren't you adorable?"

She grinned, and the twins watched mesmerized as Amanda's canines elongated to thin, long fangs. Lillian remembered seeing the same sleek fangs the night before under far less friendly circumstances.

"Oooh!" Elijah and Ezra stepped closer to Amanda.

"I have another trick," Amanda said, then the blue of her eyes turned into a bright red. The twins gasped.

"That's so cool!"

"Mommy, her eyes turned red!"

"I can see that, sweetie," Lillian said. "Your eyes change color too."

"Yes, but they don't turn red!" Elijah replied, watching Amanda's eyes with a reverent expression. "Red is cool..."

Amanda chuckled, ruffling the twins' heads. The rest of the way to the cabin was an assault of questions from the twins.

The sun was setting, and Lillian's living room was mottled with shadows of tree branches and the orange glow of sunset.

"You're so lucky," Amanda said with a deep sigh. Her warm eyes followed the twins' roughhousing on the floor. They had shifted into their fur a few minutes after they got in, rubbed their lengths against Lillian and licked her face when she bent down to pet them.

Lillian put the mug of coffee on the island in front of Amanda with a smile, nodding her agreement. She really was lucky. A question played in her head. "Can vampires have kids?"

Amanda sipped on her coffee and crossed her legs. Clad in an elegant beige chiffon shirt and casual dress pants, her feet in a pair of dusty pink moccasin, Lillian wondered how in the world the vampire managed to keep her clothes spotless when she had run through the woods.

"We can't," she finally replied. Her hair glinted golden when she shifted her head to watch the twins again. Her smile was sad. "Vampires can't reproduce. Nature's way of ensuring we don't ravage the planet, I guess."

"What do you mean?" Lillian asked, sitting on the stool next to her.

Amanda faced Lillian. "You know that humans live much shorter lives than immortals."

Lillian nodded.

"With their short lifespan comes a high reproduction rate. Witches and fae come in second place after humans. Then shapeshifters.

"The reason is to keep the balance of the world. Witches and fae can't increase their numbers except by breeding. Shapeshifters, on the other hand, can do that by turning humans, although the process is usually painful and rarely successful."

Lillian understood. "And vampires can't reproduce because they can turn others into vampires rather easily."

"Yes. Ever since turning humans into shapeshifters has been banned, the birth rate of shifters across the world has increased. Again, nature balances itself."

"That's fascinating," Lillian mumbled. "But wait, I thought the survival rate of humans turning into vampires was very low, too."

Amanda shook her head. "That's a lie we fashioned for the sake of humans. Already, a great number of them apply to become a vampire, lured by the promise of immortality. If they know that vampirism is actually very survivable..."

Lillian could only imagine if this tidbit of information made it to human ears. People would be lining up left and right to be turned into vampires. She breathed out a laugh. "Right, I can imagine."

Amanda sipped on her coffee. "Mhm. Even without that knowledge, there are a lot of humans who turn every year. And I mean a lot." Amanda raised her brows. "Mostly, we try to stay out of human business. But, well, you understand that can be a bit challenging since our diet requires human blood. We need to keep the number of humans steady. So you see, there's no born vampire. Well, except the Five, and maybe Elle, although she's not really a vampire."

Lillian's brows knotted. "Elle is Arthur's mate, right? What do you mean? I thought she was fae?"

"She is fae, but...it's a long story, but she does need blood to survive."

Well, then. Lillian learned something new everyday.

From the look in Amanda's eyes as she watched the twins, Lillian could tell her inability to bear children bothered her. There was deep sadness there, a history of pain and loss.

It wasn't fair, Lillian thought, for Amanda to be denied the gift of motherhood. For any female to be denied that gift. It was the most wonderful feeling to hold a little life you helped create in your arms, feel the unconditional love pour out of you, feel the fierce will to protect it and care for it.

Lillian smiled at Amanda and leaned forward. "So, do I smell delicious?"

Amanda almost choked on her coffee. She threw back her head and laughed.

"Oh my God, Lillian." She shook her head, and the twinkle was back in her eyes much to Lillian's relief. "Well, yes, you do smell quite delectable."

Lillian wrinkled her nose. "I don't know if I should feel complimented or not."

Chuckles still flowed out of Amanda's lips. "Oh, I do like you, Lillian. I really needed this laugh."

"Is something wrong?" Lillian asked, suddenly worried. She hadn't noticed anything amiss with Amanda, but she didn't know her well enough to. Besides, not everyone wore their hearts on their sleeves.

Amanda waved a hand dismissively. "I'm just giving Harvey a bit of a hard time."

Under Lillian's curious prodding, Amanda told Lillian about what had happened with Katrina.

"I can't believe she said that! That's so low." Lillian gasped, wide eyed, leaning toward Amanda in interest.

Amanda sighed. "I was livid, as you can imagine. Of course, I know it's illogical to be angry with him, but I was, so he can deal with it until I don't feel like skewering him with my heels. Which will be quite soon. I can't stay mad at him for long, especially for something that was before I came into his life."

Lillian squeezed Amanda's hand, her mind wandering to unfamiliar territory. The thought of Noah with someone else was a blow to her chest. When in the world had she fallen so deep?

"Enough about me." Amanda put her mug down and crossed her arms on the island. Her expression meant business. "What's going on with you and Noah?"

The last time Lillian had talked to Amanda, Jennifer hadn't yet forced her to face the truth of her relationship with Noah. But Amanda knew. Lillian narrowed her eyes.

"You knew about Noah and I. how?"

Amanda quirked a brow. "His scent is all over you darling, and yours is all over him, in a way that only means you are mates."

Lillian shifted in her seat. "Well, we're not really mates yet..."

"Pff," Amanda rolled her eyes, "the only thing still missing is the physical part. That will come."

"How can you be so sure?" Lillian scowled, "from what I know, until the mating game is over, there's always a possibility the mating won't come to existence."

"The way you look at each other," Amanda pointed out with a grin. "But even without seeing you two together, the possibility you'll end up mated is high according to statistics. When the mating game starts, it ends with a mating more often than not."

"Is it the same for vampires?"

"The game? There are differences, but the essence is the same. One thing that is common to all races is the outcome; when a mating game begins, it usually ends with a mating." Amanda smiled, looking down at Elijah who came sniffing at her feet. "There's actually a theory, one that says that all mates are predestined."

Lillian's brows climbed up her forehead. "No kidding."

"Hmm," Amanda gave him her palm, he sniffed at it, joined by Ezra. "It's an old wives' tale. But no one can deny that there could be some truth in it."

"Interesting," Lillian said, thinking about all the events in her life that had led her here. Fate definitely played a part in dropping her right into Noah's strong arms.

Lillian jumped at Amanda's squeak. The twins apparently thought her fingers made a good chewing toy.

"You little beasts have sharp teeth," Amanda said, though by the smile on her face and the fact she hadn't moved her hand out of reach, she didn't mind so much.

Elijah and Ezra wagged their tails, proudly baring their sharp little teeth. Lillian smiled. She sure was a lucky girl.

While Lillian made dinner, Amanda made chocolate chip cookies for the twins. The two pups loved the vampire, and the cookies only elevated her rank to the 'best aunt ever'. The three of them were saddened to watch her leave after dinner, and prized her promise to visit again and often.

Lillian got the boys to bathe, brush their teeth and into their beds in record time. Considering the amount of chocolate they wolfed down, it was a wonder they fell asleep so quickly. The cabin was quiet and dark after they were tucked in, and Lillian showered and dropped on her own bed, eyes wide open.

She was afraid to close her eyes. The image of the vampire she'd killed laying on the ground was etched to her eyelids. She was afraid of what she'd see once sleep took over. Nightmares sucked.

She blinked at the dark ceiling of her room. In the faint glow that seeped in from the window, the colors of her room were nothing but shades of black and gray. Lillian shifted her sight to the door, behind which hung a fluffy pink robe that Jennifer had gifted her. The robe looked like a man staring at her through a dark face, Lillian blinked and the robe was itself once again.

Lillian blew out a breath and looked back at the ceiling. She was too old to fear monsters under her bed. She hadn't even feared them when she lived alone in a dingy room of an orphanage. Blowing out a breath, Lillian sat up and turned on the bedside lamp.

The colorful quilt rustled when she rolled out of bed, dropping her feet to the cold floor. She needed a rug for her bedroom.

Her legs drove her outside, fueled by an instinct she couldn't name. The night was still, the shadowed trees reaching with dark fingers to the ground. She blinked, her sight getting used to the muted lights from the lampposts scattered through the village.

Closing the front door, Lillian leaned on the wall, crossing her arms against the chill. Her flannel pajamas were a meager protection against the cold. She sniffed. Her nose would be turning red by now. She should've worn the fluffy pink robe.

The sleeping forest breathed around her, soothing her muddled thoughts. She took a long, deep breath, and when she let it out, she felt him come close like she knew he would.

"Your behavior is bordering on stalking, you know," she whispered, knowing he could hear her. He emerged from the trees a second later, all gleaming black fur and rippling muscle underneath. His amber eyes, so familiar, blazed in the darkness. Lillian walked down the porch steps, meeting him halfway.

"How did you know I'm awake?"

The black wolf bent his scarred face and gently nudged her belly with his muzzle. Lillian smiled. "Your gut?"

The wolf grinned, his sharp teeth a glistening white. Chuckling, Lillian put her hand on top of his head, scratched between his ears. Eyelids lowered, his eyes amber slits on his face. Lillian shivered when a gust of crisp wind blew, pebbles broke over her skin. The wolf's ears twitched and his eyes opened. He nudged Lillian's hand.

"What?"

He nudged her shoulder, making a noise in the back of his throat. When Lillian continued to look at him in confusion, he huffed, stomping his paw on the ground. Lillian almost laughed.

The wolf looked over her shoulder at her house, looked at her, then lowered his face and tugged at the hem of her top with his teeth.

"Oh." Lillian sighed in understanding. "Well, I am cold."

She walked side by side with the gigantic wolf. She could never get used to his impressive size. The aura of power he wore like a second skin seemed to swell when he was in wolf form.

The wolf stopped at her doorsteps. Lillian walked inside, holding the door open. She didn't want to go to sleep, and she certainly didn't want to stay on her own when her mind was threatening to drift to bloody territories.

"Want to come in?"

The wolf looked up, surprised. His head dipped before he stepped in. She closed the door after him, and sat down on the carpet, her back against the foot of the couch. The wolf laid down beside her, putting his head on her lap.

With a deep, contented sigh, she leaned her head back on the couch and buried her fingers in the thick fur of his neck. It felt nice not to be alone.

Heavy. Warm. Reassuring. The rise and fall of his breath weighed down Lillian's eyelids. She didn't remember when she fell asleep, but at some point, she faintly heard a door squeak open and soft paws hitting the floor. When two bodies joined the one already on top of her, Lillian fell back into deep slumber, feeling whole.

*** **** ***

Hot.

Lillian groaned. Was it summer already? Why was it so damn hot? She tried to move, but a heavy boulder weighed down her body. Squinting her eyes open, it took her a moment to realize she was looking at the ceiling of her living room. Raising her head a fraction, the reason for the sudden change of weather became clear.

She was laying on her back on the carpet, one entire brown pup spread across her chest, another one curled with his head on her shoulder. But the heaviest weight was that of the black wolf, his head on her stomach, his paws on either side of her and his length pressing down on the rest of her body.

Lillian dropped her head back with a groan. Judging by the light filtering from the windows, it was much later than their usual waking time.

"Guys," she croaked out, her voice broken with sleep, "wake up. You're crushing me."

The twins didn't even stir. Fortunately, the bulky black wolf lifted his head from her poor stomach. His jaws parted in a big yawn, revealing impressively sharp canines. Shaking his head, his eyes met hers as he stood up, imprisoning her underneath his legs, then proceeded to lick the heck out of the twin pups, startling a chuckle out of her when the twins growled, annoyed, and grumpily tried to crawl away.

They got off Lillian's body, but that was as far as they got. Noah's wolf picked up Elijah between his jaws, set him under a paw of his, then did the same to Ezra. The twins struggled, fluffy ears pinned back. Lillian curled up on her side and watched, amused, as the twins' escape attempts failed and they surrendered to the ministrations of the bigger wolves with a huff. Noah licked them thoroughly, until their fur dampened and stood up in odd angles by the time he was finished.

Then he looked at her with intent.

Oh, no. Lillian sat up, pointing a finger at him. "Don't you dare. I don't have fur for you to clea-Eeeh!"

She squealed when his wet tongue made contact with her cheek. The twins, who were shaking their bodies to settle their fur, paused at her sounds of protests. The alpha licked her cheeks, hair, and forehead. Her feeble muscles were unable to push him away. The pups yipped, their amusement palpable in the way they grinned, tongues lolling out. He finally stopped when she caught hold of his head.

"Okay, boys," she said, out of breath. "Go get ready, we're already late."

The twins ran to their room, their paws skidding on the floor as they took a fast turn. The wolf tried to pull his head away.

"Enough." She scolded him, looking into amber eyes. Lillian narrowed her eyes at him. He suddenly whimpered, a sound so pained it tore Lillian's heart.

"What?" she mumbled, then she saw his gaze trained on her neck. She let go of him, touching her skin with the tips of her fingers.

"It's not as sore as yesterday," she said. Hopefully, the twins hadn't noticed it.

A cold muzzle gingerly brushed the side of her neck, followed by his tongue. Lillian sighed, letting him do what he needed to. For some absurd reason, her neck actually felt better by the time he was finished.

"Thank you," she said, petting his head. "You know, I would tell you to stay for breakfast, but I don't have any clothes that fit you."

Her lips twitched before stretching into a full grin. "Unless you don't mind wearing my leggings. They're quite stretchy."

He actually snarled, his chest rumbling with a growl as he lunged at her. Lillian giggled, dropping on the carpet while trying to fight off a wolf three times her size. Her laughter and the wolf's playful growls brought the twins out of their room running. They were in their skin, butt naked and grinning wide as they jumped on top of the black wolf, who was on top of Lillian.

Crushed and turning her head this way and that to avoid being nipped, her boys having the time of their lives, Lillian laughed, thinking that life wasn't so bad after all.

*** **** ***

Three hours later, Lillian was on her way to the infirmary.

Noah had left, still in wolf form, shortly after she ran out of breath from laughing so hard tears streamed down her face.

After dropping the twins in their lesson, she went to the field where she spent the morning helping Robert.

She wanted to visit the wolves in the infirmary before lunch. The day before, they had listened in rapt attention while she told them how she'd ended up in a wolf pack.

The heavy shadows clouding their eyes lifted as they listened to her story, a momentary relief that made Lillian hopeful for their future.

Lillian waved at the guards outside the infirmary then walked inside to find Noah and Eva standing in the hallway with a tablet.

Their gaze swung her way. Lillian waited for the feeling of embarrassment to creep up. After all, she had basically slept under Noah the whole night, teased him and played around with him that morning. But all she felt was an odd sense of rightness that settled over her heart.

"Hi," she greeted, walking in to stand beside them. "What's up?"

"'Morning," Eva said, her hand rubbing her baby bump. "We were just looking over the list of vampires the wolves inside singled out."

Nodding, Lillian inched closer to see the screen. The list they were scrolling through had ID pictures with names underneath. "How many?"

"Around forty."

Noah handed the tablet to Eva. "Send the final list to Lisette. She'll forward it to Harvey."

"Alright." Eva tilted her head to the door down the hallway where the wolves were. "When are they going to shift? The silver is mostly gone."

"I already worked out a schedule. Jake, Sean or I will come to get each group separately." Noah looked at Lillian. "You should also come. Anything that puts their wolves at ease is good."

Lillian nodded. Noah nodded back, his amber eyes boring into hers. Lillian felt her heart stutter. She looked away to find Eva grinning like a Cheshire cat.

Noah cleared his throat and put a hand between Lillian's shoulder blades. His touch seared her skin through the thick barrier of her sweatshirt. "Let's go."

"Have fun, you two," Eva called after them. Lillian threw the doctor a quelling look over her shoulder.

The wolves looked much better, and when Noah told them four would get to shift, their spirits rose even higher.

Violet was one of the four. When Lillian asked, Noah told her the order was decided by how long they were imprisoned and how bad the silver had affected them. Apparently, shifting to wolf could hasten the healing process in certain cases.

Noah, Lillian, two pack warriors and the four wolves went a short distance from the infirmary. Violet's hand was a vice around Lillian's, but Lillian didn't protest.

Violet's big eyes flickered around, drinking in the firs that reached for the sky, the pure blue overhead and the vivid green of the grass. A soft breeze blew, carrying the smell of the woods and the pack village. She froze when one of the warriors slipped off his shorts and shifted in a crackle of bones and magic. A gray wolf stood in his stead, shaking his head.

She was so young. The innocence with which she took in everything was childlike. She had been imprisoned for years, ever since she was a child according to the wolves' words the day before.

Lillian's heart seized for the girl. Anger and sadness warred within her. Anger for the monsters who stripped a child of her best years, and sadness for the girl who grew up without the sun and wind in her fur, as every wolf should.

Noah gave them permission to shift. The three male wolves stripped and shifted. Their shift was slower than the warrior's, as if their bodies had forgotten how to wear their fur after spending so long in their skin.

The wolves shook their heads, then their entire bodies, shifting on their legs.

Lillian looked at Violet. The young girl's body was hunched over, closing on itself. She blinked at Lillian. "Do you want to shift back there?" Lillian asked, pointing to some bushes by the side.

Violet nodded, her body losing its tension. Lillian smiled at Violet when they were finally behind the covers of the bushes, and turned her back.

"I'll wait until you shift, okay? Take your time."

It took a few seconds before clothes rustled and bones cracked, painfully slow. A cold, damp muzzle nudged Lillian's palm. Looking over her shoulder, she smiled at the little wolf with fur of golden brown so similar to Violet's hair.

Compared to the juvenile wolves Lillian had seen around the pack, Violet's wolf was small and thin. Her ribs pushed against the delicate coat of her sides.

"Hey, you." Lillian crouched, petting her head. She stayed close to the ground, as if afraid of standing up straight. A weak whine escaped the wolf's throat, she pushed her head into Lillian's palm, rubbing against it.

"Want to go out there? Take a run?"

The wolf whined louder, tucking her tail between her legs and making her body as small as possible. Lillian swallowed past the knot in her throat.

"Alright, you don't have to. We can just stay here, hmm?"

The wolf curled around herself, tucking her body as close to Lillian's as possible. Lillian battled down tears and sat down next to the wolf.

The fire of her fury ate up the guilt she'd been feeling for killing the vampire. If it meant freeing Violet and other innocents from that prison, she'd kill him all over again.

Violet stayed that way for a while. Then her body slowly unfurled and her head lifted, ears pricking at the sound of the wolves beyond the cover of bushes. She glanced at Lillian then at the bushes. Lillian stood up and the little wolf rose with her, tail still tucked in. They ventured from behind their cover, Violet carefully putting one paw after the other, to find the three wolves and the warrior running around the clearing under Noah's watchful gaze. The wolves looked thinner and more desolate than the warrior's healthy form, but the way they playfully bumped each other and their wolfy grins made Lillian smile.

Violet stopped at the edge of the clearing and Lillian stopped with her, watching the others.

One of the wolves separated from the others and approached Noah, his head lowered and eyes locked on Noah's. Noah growled, a sound that shook the pebbles by Lillian's feet. The wolf then looked away, making a sound in his throat as he closed the distance to Noah, his belly close to the ground.

Noah petted the wolf's head, murmuring something to him before the wolf stood tall again and joined his two friends.

Wolves were playful creatures, so when Lillian saw the ones who had been locked up for so long play and joke around with each other, her heart lifted, knowing that somehow, someway, they would find a way to heal.

Even Violet seemed to feel better. She didn't stray far from Lillian's side. But she shook her head, yipped and jumped on Lillian playfully. Lillian laughed and hugged the wolf's slender neck to her side, tugging on her ear.

Noah and the others were busy watching the wolves or playing with them, but Lillian could feel Noah's attention. The lines of his body were tense and coiled to spring at a second's notice her way; he was no doubt uneasy with leaving her alone with Violet, but Lillian appreciated the fact he quashed his overprotective tendencies and left them on their own.

A couple of hours later, they made their way back with three bright eyed men and a glowing Violet. She still hadn't said a word, but her namesake eyes seemed to have lightened up, no longer two purple bruises on her thin face.

The wolves in the infirmary were having lunch outside when Lillian and her company finally reached the infirmary. They were all sitting cross legged on the grass as Jennifer and the pack's cook served them from a table filled with all kinds of dishes. Violet and the three wolves took seats amongst them.

Lillian could see the bonds of friendship and love forged between those wolves in the most unexpected place. A tight knit group that cared for each other. It was one thing that no one would ever take away from them.

A hand brushed her own. Noah. He leaned closer until his breath was a hot caress in her ear. "Come with me for a second."

Lillian followed him into the trees. Her eyes latched onto the smooth planes of his back and the ripple of his muscles. It was difficult to look away.

Noah glanced back then, one brow raised over amused eyes. Ugh, he caught her looking. Lillian huffed a breath and hurried her steps to walk beside him, her face warm.

Jake was waiting for them, leaning against a tree with his arms crossed over his chest. The lanky man gave her his signature grin. "'Sup, Lillian?"

"'Sup, Jake." Lillian smiled back.

"Remember what we talked about yesterday?" Noah asked Lillian. "About the tone of voice you used on the wolves?"

He was talking about what Lydia had dubbed her Alpha voice. Right. He'd said something about seeing how it worked. Lillian nodded.

"I want you to try it on Jake."

Wide-eyed, Lillian looked at Jake. For some reason, it felt wrong to do it.

"Do I have to?" she asked.

"I want to see it for myself." Noah squinted his eyes at her. "Why? What's wrong?"

Lillian crossed her arms. "I don't know, it just feels wrong, you know... to force him to do something. I only use it when I really need to."

The twins had their days when they just didn't cooperate, when they were too tired or too grumpy from lack of sleep, or when their behavior had put them in danger of exposure to humans. With the exception of those occasions, Lillian never used that tone of voice on them. It always left a bad taste in her mouth.

Jake smiled and straightened from the tree. "You're that confident it'll work on me?"

When he put it that way... Lillian felt her cheeks heat up, she scowled at Jake. "Maybe I won't feel too bad about making you chase your tail."

Jake laughed. Noah shook his head. "Just try it, please. I explained to Jake what happened, and he'll try his best not to be affected."

Reluctantly, Lillian dropped her arms and rubbed her hands down her thighs. "Okay.... What should I tell him to do?"

Noah looked at Jake, who shrugged, then looked back at Lillian. "Tell him to shift."

Jake's brows shot up. "Whoa, even some alphas can't do that, shifting is..."

Lillian looked from Noah's expecting gaze to Jake's astonished one, then cleared her throat.

"Um, okay?" She took a deep breath, looked Jake in the eyes and drew from that place deep inside of her, the part of her she'd gleaned after giving birth to the twins. Then she said in a voice no louder than a whisper, power suffusing the very word. "Shift."

Jake's eyes blazed amber. He gritted his teeth, his body strung tight to the point of shaking. Then he growled and hunched over as the shift took over. His sweat pants shredded, and a wolf stood in place of the man. Lillian shook her head, clearing the odd haze that took over for a second there. Exhaustion wore her down, sudden and heavy.

Jake's wolf shook his head, a growl peeling his lips off his teeth. Noah growled louder, shifting to shield Lillian from sight. They were silent for a second, an unheard conversation taking place before Jake huffed, looking around Noah at Lillian with a wolfish grin.

Lillian grinned back, relieved he hadn't taken insult. After the time she spent in the pack, she was well aware of the importance of rank and dominance. Being able to give orders that couldn't be disobeyed definitely threw things off.

"Alright, Jake," Noah said, ruffling the wolf's head. "You may go."

The wolf dipped his head, closed the distance between him and Lillian, licked her cheek before sprinting away, throwing a mischievous glance over his shoulder at Noah. Noah scowled, grumbling something under his breath that sounded suspiciously close to 'kill that wolf someday'.

The alpha faced her, his head canted. Amber eyes bore into hers, two jewels brighter than the day around them. Lillian's heart fluttered.

"What?" she asked when he didn't say a word. Noah shook his head. His hand came up halfway before dropping to his side.

"Nothing." He sighed, a deep breath he drew from deep within. "You haven't had lunch yet, right?"

"Not yet," Lillian replied. They started walking toward the pack village as one. "I was planning on dropping by the house after the infirmary."

"It's too late to fix anything now," Noah said. "Why don't we have it at the pack house?"

"Sure." Their pace was leisurely, both of them loath to leave the peaceful secludedness of the forest and get back to the village. Just when had she begun treasuring Noah's company?

"How are things going?" Lillian asked after a beat of silence. "The girls are in Benjamin's pack, right?"

"Some of them already went home," Noah said. "Their alphas came yesterday to take them back. The ones who are too unstable for travel are still there, though."

Poor women. "What about the prisoners? Katrina and everyone else..."

"Arthur called a meeting of the High Council. We don't know yet when it'll be, but the prisoners are under Arthur's watch for now. They're not going anywhere." Noah frowned. "Although the witches aren't happy about their own being under lock and key without a trial."

"Won't they stir trouble?"

Noah made a noise of disgust and challenge. "Let them try. I'd like to see them face down Arthur. After what happened six months ago, they'd be idiots to stir trouble."

"What about that thing that keeps Galvin from talking?"

"The hex?"

"Yeah, the hex. Is there someone who can break it?"

Noah nodded. "We faced something like that six months ago. Venus told us back then that she'd be able to break the hex given enough time. I don't know what came out of that, honesty. I should ask Arthur or Elle."

Venus was one of the Five, Lillian knew. A sibling of Arthur. Lillian frowned. They kept bringing up what happened six months ago. As a human, she didn't have a clear idea about what had transpired. "What the hell happened six months ago?"

Noah heaved a deep sigh and scratched his bear. It was getting longer. "A lot. It started with a woman everyone thought was human, and ended in a bloodbath. Why don't I tell you over lunch?"

--- ---- ---

Hey guys! I'm early today!

I hope you enjoyed the pretty long chapter. Comment and vote if you did! I appreciate it.

Also, if you guys are on Radish, check out a new story I'm publishing there. It's called Homeless. The first chapter was out Wednesday, and I'll be posting chapters every Wednesday and Saturday. I hope you check it out! Your support means a great deal.

P.S.:Don't worry, Enigma will be sticking to its update schedule every two days.

Much love <3

M.B.