Sally pushed her consciousness into Jen and sought out the fast fluttering heartbeat. She was amazed at the little life growing inside of her friend, how perfect every little part was. Sally honestly didn’t have a clue what a baby should look like at seven and half months, but Jen’s baby was fully developed. Sally noticed that her lungs looked small, but from what she could remember from health class, those were what took the longest to mature. As she watched the perfect little life moving in the safe little home, she felt honored to get to be a part of it. Her little hands were moving; one had even made it to her mouth. Her toes curled and her foot flexed. Amazing was the only word that Sally could think. Amazing, amazing, amazing, and she knew that if she could cry she would have tears streaming down her face. This perfect, amazing life was set to end the minute she took her first breath. She would have no first moments after that. No first smiles, or first noises, no first roll over or first crawl. Her life was over before it would even begin. How could that possibly be the payment for Jen’s life, to take something so innocent in place of someone else. She wondered if the Fates would consider a different sacrifice, a different life in place of the child’s. There had to be another way. As she pushed warmth and hope towards the child, letting her know just how loved she was, she vowed then and there that Jen and Dec’s baby would live. She would allow no other outcome. She was the healer of their pack, the one meant to protect and care for the wolves. As such, she could not allow a new life to be taken from them.

“Do you hear me little one,” she whispered into her mind, “you are loved, and no one will take you from us.”

Sally slipped her consciousness slowly from the child and then back out of Jen, pulling herself back into her own body. As her eyes opened she blinked several times to regain her bearings. Finally, when she felt like she had her wits about her, she looked down at Jen.

“I’m not sure how a baby should look at seven and half months, but from what I could tell she has all her parts, her lungs looked small, but other than that she is absolutely perfect.”

Jen’s eyes filled with tears as she pulled herself up and flung herself into Jacque’s arms. She wept for the news that her child was healthy. She wept for being trapped in a horrific place, away from any form of medical help, and she wept for the loss of her mate. It was just too much. And for once, she didn’t have anything smart to say; she didn’t have a joke or sarcastic comment; all she had was a broken heart and an empty place where her mate’s spirit should have been. She heard the sniffles behind her and knew that the others were crying right along with her. They felt her pain; they knew her fears and they would stand by her through it all. That realization only made her cry harder. She didn’t know how long she sat there holding onto her best friend, but she was so grateful that Jacque just let her get it out. And then finally she took some deep breaths and the tears subsided.

“Um, guys, not to interrupt this difficult moment, but we sort of have company.” The waver in Crinas’ voice and the fear that caused it had everyone turning to face her. The eyes of every one of them widened and multiple gasps rippled across them.

“Could someone explain why there is a massive white wolf staring at us from about twenty five feet away? Which I will add is not near far enough for me.” Lilly attempted to move in front of Jacque and the others as if she had a chance in hell of protecting them against a wolf that large.

“He’s not just a wolf,” Alina answered and her voice was filled with what sounded like shock, sadness, and guilt.

“He’s a were?” Jen asked as she wiped the last of the tears away.

Alina nodded as she continued to stare at the wolf. He lifted his nose into the air sniffing, and suddenly he froze. His head slowly lowered and his narrowed, glowing eyes landed on Alina. He took a slow step towards them as his lip lifted in a snarl.

“Alina, why is he staring you down like that? And a better question would be... why does he look like he’s about to rip your throat out?” Cynthia asked.

“I imagine that after what he’s been through, he might want to rip me apart and then some,” she answered calmly.

“So I take that to mean that you know who he is?” Jen asked.

“I do.”

“Okay,” Jen drew the word out as she continued to watch the wolf. “I also take it that by your first reaction of shock you weren’t expecting to see him.”

“I wasn’t.”

“Bloody hell, like pulling freaking teeth,” Jacque muttered.

“I thought he was dead,” Alina elaborated. “We all did. Would you agree Elle?” Alina did not disconnect the eye contact she had with the wolf, feeling that it was the only thing keeping him from attacking.

“We did not believe there could be anyway he survived,” Elle answered.

“Alright, are you going to tell us who he is anytime this year?” Jen’s impatience and earlier emotions were not helping her keep the sarcasm out of her voice.

“He should not be here; he should not have survived. If they had known, they would have done something. They never would have left him to this fate, they would have…,”

“Alina!” Cynthia interrupted the Alpha, attempting to keep her from getting any more out of control than she was in that moment. “Who is he?”

“He is…he was Vasile’s brother.”

Chapter 18

“I’ve seen a horsefly; I’ve seen a dragonfly; I’ve even seen housefly, but I ain’t never seen an elephant fly. For some reason I don’t think this possibility is so farfetched, not any more. In fact at this point an elephant flying would be the most uneventful sight in my day.” ~Lilly