-Jack-

I thought it would be nearly impossible to relax and focus on watching movies. I believed we all would be too scared to let our guard down. We were so far away from Blue Moon territory, from our army and all the protective spells and wards, so of course we'd be too tense and anxious to just sit around and watch TV. The thought of Adam and his army would surely keep us on high alert.

Nah.

None of us was able to focus on movies, that part I did get right, but only because no one could stay awake.

I forced an eyelid open just enough to glance around the living room. I heard Natalie quietly speaking on the phone somewhere in her bedroom, but Ben was the only one in our group who was awake and still watching the movie. Everyone else was curled under their blankets. Tilly seemed very comfortable in her very uncomfortable position on the armchair, her feet resting on Ben's armrest. Jaden was in the corner of the couch with Oliver sleeping in his arms. And Arch...

I smiled at him, even though he was fast asleep. He'd made himself comfortable on the couch, using my lap as his pillow, his legs stretched out on Oliver's. I carefully touched his overgrown hair. It felt a little rough, but smooth under my touch. His mohawk was out of control, and the sides had grown quite long already. With a little bit of tidying up, his hair would look great again. Not that there was something wrong with his hair now... Or with him.

And suddenly, my thoughts took me down a path I wasn't sure I wanted to walk... A question I shouldn't have appeared: what it would've been like if my old man had accepted Blue Moon's offer to join their pack? I could almost picture it... I could've been friends with these people all along. Maybe Arch and I would've ended together years ago. Maybe he could've felt the connection with me... Maybe I never would've had to endure all that pain and horror in Henry's hands.

Maybe this war never would've happened.

I shook myself a little, pushing those thoughts out of my head. I was here now. My pack was now part of Blue Moons, safe from fear and possession. These people were my friends now. And Arch... He had feelings for me, even without the bond. And I was free, my strength growing.

I was doing what my father should've done all those years ago. I was fixing his horrible mistakes.

I was taking back the life I should've had.

Arch moved a little on my lap, and my smile returned. This... This was the life I should've had, and somehow, I was still alive to enjoy it. I'd died twice already, but I was still here.

And I was going to enjoy the hell out of this slumber party.

"You know..." I muttered, and Ben turned to me. "I hope Adam knows we're just relaxing and watching movies right now."

Ben laughed shortly. "That would really piss him off for sure."

I turned to take a better look at the peacekeeper. It was still odd to see him as one. I'd run into the guy at school almost every single day. He was supposed to be just a random classmate, not the closest thing to a freaking angel.

"Did you...?" I began, but stopped. I wasn't sure if I wanted to know the answer... But I... I needed to know. "Did you know I was possessed?"

"No, we did not," he said quietly. "Neither did the Spirit Walkers. Someone was using Hades' Shroud to hide themselves. We didn't even know who the enemy was. We only knew bad things were happening here."

"And that's why you were here?" I guessed, and he nodded. "How long have you known you're a peacekeeper?"

"About a year," he said. "It was... A bit of a shock when I found out about it."

"How did you find out?"

The question was mine, but it wasn't me who asked it. Tilly had woken up and was now watching Ben with sleepy eyes.

"They tried to possess me," Ben told us. "A bunch of shadows swarmed me and my friends one night after a football game, but they couldn't get me. I was freaking out. I thought I was hallucinating. My friends suddenly turned against me and tried to chase me. More shadows came, each stronger than the other, but they couldn't get me. It hurt so bad... Like my soul was being ripped apart. I thought I was going to die."

The rest of us had woken up to listen to his story. Ben stared at something we couldn't see, his expression darker than usual. Then he looked up and smiled.

"Aadhil came to my rescue. He got rid of the shadows and freed my friends. He tried to wipe our memories, but I was immune to their spells. He already knew that I would be. They can usually find the reincarnated bodies, and they knew I was one of them. That's why they knew to come get my ass out of trouble so quickly."

"That's so cool," Tilly said quietly. The look on her face told me she would find anything he said cool, even if he was talking about measuring tapes.

I couldn't blame her. If Arch talked about measuring tapes, I'd be just as fascinated.

I looked down at Arch, who had managed to get one eye half open. And that eye was immediately on me, and he smiled.

"Did you sleep well?" I asked quietly.

"I did. Did you?" he asked, opening both eyes to study my face closely.

"I did," I said.

"Good," he said softly. "That's good."

"Yes, good," I agreed.

"Good, yes," he said, smirking.

"I think we need fresh air," I said, chuckling.

"Maybe," he murmured, glancing around. "I wonder if Natalie will let us take a little walk around the building."

"I actually could stretch my legs a bit," Tilly agreed.

"Do I hear mutiny?" Natalie asked when she entered the living room.

"No mutiny," Oliver said with a grin. "But the wolves would like some fresh air."

She peered at us all one at a time, considering it. She was reluctant, of course, but we weren't any safer in here than out there, and I think she came to that same conclusion.

"All right, but we shouldn't go too far," she finally said.

"Awesome, thanks," Oliver said with a smile, but Jaden didn't let him get up yet.

"You sure?" he asked quietly.

"Just a little walk. Maybe fresh air will help," Oliver muttered back.

So he still wasn't feeling well... But I doubted he'd feel well anytime soon.

Ten minutes later, we all stepped outside, and I had to admit, the cool spring air felt nice on my face. I wasn't used to staying in human made houses. The air was dusty and too warm, and the tall white walls made me a little claustrophobic. But I also had to admit that Natalie's home was nice and welcoming. And running hot water was always a plus. So was electricity.

I could probably get used to living in human houses, but I had my own little home back in our territory, and I didn't want to trade it for anything.

"I'm assuming you guys want to go into the forest?" Natalie asked as we started walking.

"You know it," Tilly said with a wide smile, while the rest of us nodded.

Immediately after we stepped behind the first trees, I felt at home. I could tell the others felt the same since their smiles grew wider and step lighter.

"We're not that far away from our territory, right?" I asked.

"Nope. Only like ten or fifteen minutes that way," Tilly said, pointing deeper into the forest.

"We chose to move here mostly because of that," Natalie explained. "And I just loved this area so much. And the bedrooms are large enough so Oliver can have friends staying over."

"Although that friend group got bigger right after that," Oliver said with a grin.

"We can still fit everyone, don't worry," Natalie said with a smile. "There's plenty of room in the living room."

Oliver was going to say something, but he started coughing. It sounded bad enough to draw everyone's attention to him.

"Hey? You all right?" Jaden asked, supporting him gently, while Natalie pressed her hand on Oliver's chest to heal his spirit.

Oliver managed to take a few deep breaths, but his face was turning pale.

"I'm fine..." he muttered. "Do not ask that."

"But–" Jaden started, but Oliver gave him a silencing glare.

"It stopped already. See?" he said and straightened his posture.

We all watched him closely, but he didn't start coughing again. The color was slowly returning to his face, too.

"I just want to get a little fresh air," Oliver said and tried to smile. "Maybe throw a stick or two."

"Maybe we shouldn't be playing fetch today," Jaden suggested.

'Excuse me, what?' Cameron asked.

"Yeah, what?" I said as well, raising my eyebrows at them.

"Come on," Oliver said with a chuckle, and grabbed a branch from the ground. He snapped the smaller twigs off, then threw it.

"Just roll with it, okay?" Arch told me with a grin, and he and Tilly turned into wolves and ran after the stick.

"So you're telling me..." I said slowly, turning to Oliver. "That you guys play fetch? Like you'd play with a dog?"

"We're just having a little fun," Oliver said, while Tilly and Arch fought for the damn stick.

'You call this fun?' Cameron asked, his voice oozing disgust.

"You don't know that until you've tried it," Jaden told him in a warning tone.

'I would never stoop so low!' Cameron exclaimed.

"Right," Jaden said with an evil grin, grabbed another stick from the ground, and handed it to Oliver. "But I would."

I had to laugh a little when Jaden turned into a wolf and started acting like the maddest puppy dog. He jumped around Oliver, barking and swishing his tail. Oliver shook his head in amusement but threw the stick as far as he could, and Jaden went after it.

'I'm so done with you all!' Cameron shouted, his voice fading the further away Jaden ran.

"He's going to kill us, you know?" I asked Oliver.

"Maybe," Oliver said, then raised an eyebrow at me. "So...?"

"So... What?" I asked.

Oliver leaned in to grab yet another stick from the ground and waved it in front of me.

I let out a sigh, then glanced at Arch and Tilly, who had completely forgotten the stick and were now wrestling instead.

"You know I'm a Champion of this world, right?" I asked him.

But damn, I wanted to have fun too, so I started my transformation before Oliver could answer me.

"I won't tell anyone. I promise," he said reassuringly, waited until I was in my wolf form, then threw the stick.

For a brief, brief second, I felt silly, but then my instincts kicked in, and I chased after the damn stick. Silly or not, I did enjoy running. And since no one else except for Cameron seemed to think playing fetch was silly, it was easy to give into the fun. I found the stick and was about to return it to Oliver, but Arch and Tilly decided to try to steal it from me.

That was a no from me, so I ran as fast as I could in a large circle around the trees, trying to lose them. I nearly ran into Jaden, who was already taking his stick back to Oliver for the second time. I heard Cameron's angry mutters as I dodged them, and I had to admit, I found his annoyance amusing, especially since he didn't seem too mad about having to play fetch.

We ran a few more laps around the trees, but then Tilly gave up and went to get the free stick instead. That caused Arch to come to a screeching halt because he couldn't decide which stick he wanted to steal. He chose Tilly and left me alone, finally giving me an opportunity to bring the stick back to Oliver.

"You really are fast," Oliver told me with a smile when he took the stick from me. "Again?"

I barked and jumped a little.

"All right! Here goes!" he said and threw it.

This time, no one tried to chase me, so I was free to return to Oliver. He threw Jaden's stick before turning to me. He seemed out of breath already... When he took my stick, his whole body swayed a little, and he couldn't throw the stick as far as he had before. I hesitated, but went to get it, anyway. I trusted he knew his limits, and Natalie was keeping a close eye on him. He clearly needed to have a little fun, so I didn't want to be the one to ruin it for him.

But it was clear he was far from all right.

He threw the stick for me a few more times, and I brought it to him until Jaden decided his mate needed to rest and turned back to a human.

"Let's sit down for a moment," Jaden told him, gesturing at a fallen log nearby. "I need to catch my breath."

"Sure," Oliver said, knowing perfectly well Jaden didn't need to catch his breath.

I sat down, still holding my stick in my mouth, and watched them as they went to rest. Oliver's step was far from steady... I let out a small whine of concern.

"His broken soul is draining his body," Natalie told me quietly, watching Oliver. "I... I haven't heard of anything like this before, so I could be wrong... My friends are looking for answers as we speak."

I whined again and dropped my stick. Natalie turned to look at me and gave me a small smile.

"Thank you for humoring him," she said gently.

That's what friends were for, right?

"I can throw the stick for you, if you want," Ben offered.

Was I really going to put a freaking peacekeeper to throw a stick for me to fetch?

I suppose yes.

I barked at him and jumped a little, and with a smile, he picked up my stick. And damn, he knew how to throw. I really got to run now, and... It was fun. There was only the stick and my instincts, nothing more. Like I was free from the weight of the world. I suddenly understood why Arch, Jaden, and Tilly enjoyed this. Dodging trees and rocks at high speed was fun. And when I caught the stick before it hit the ground, I was proud of myself. Silly, maybe, but this body had not been mine in so long when I was possessed by Henry, so being able to do all this felt good. This body did what I wanted, and it was stronger than ever before.

I was stronger than ever before.

When I'd had enough, I went to lie down at Oliver's feet to catch my breath. I stayed in my wolf form so I could lie on the ground, and watched as Ben kept playing fetch with Arch and Tilly, who both had sticks of their own now.

It was peaceful to be a silly teenager. It was a new experience for me.

"Did you have fun?" Oliver asked, scratching me behind my ear.

I barked a little and wagged my tail at him. He seemed already better now. Maybe Natalie was right. Maybe his energy was now going to healing his soul. I'd not forgotten how weak I'd been when my soul was still broken and riddled with maggots.

"We can do this again tomorrow, if you want," Oliver said.

I didn't mind that at all. Especially since I got to watch Arch in his magnificent wolf form chasing down the stick. He moved with such grace through the forest... He didn't stumble even once. He moved between the trees like a ghost without touching anything or leaving a trace. And he caught the stick almost every time.

When he was finally satisfied, he stomped over to us and lay down next to me, wagging his tail. I wagged my tail back at him, but it didn't seem to be enough since he lowered his head and let out a playful little howl. And when I couldn't figure out what he wanted, he pawed at my side and barked.

I still didn't really understand... But I barked at him lightly and wagged my tail harder. He seemed satisfied and inched closer to me, his head still held down. I guess he just wanted attention. I didn't mind giving that to him, so I rolled to my back right next to him, and grabbed a mouth full of his fur, which he took as an invitation to play.

I'd never really played like that in years... I forgot myself in our play fight. There were a lot of gentle bites and pawing and flashing teeth and loud snorting going on for a while. We stayed on the ground next to each other, so it never grew into an actual wrestling match, which I was glad about. I preferred this low energy tussle. I actually enjoyed it.

Arch nipped at my paw, and I responded by nipping at his cheek. He reacted by rolling on his back in such a dramatic way he nearly squashed me, and started kicking the air with all four feet. I watched him with a tilted head, and he stopped to grin at me when I didn't do anything. He wagged his tail and rolled back to his stomach, shaking himself a little and acting like he was the most gracious wolf there was.

I stared at him for a moment longer, neither of us moving a muscle. Then I barked at him, and the fight continued.

When we finally decided to head back to Oliver's to continue with our movie marathon, all in our human forms again, I felt content, calm, and happy. Especially since Arch had a soft smile on his lips the entire time, and he walked so close to me his hand kept brushing against mine.

And I felt stronger. Strong enough to take his hand in mine. I didn't really have to even think about it. I just did it. And he immediately rewarded me by taking a gentle hold on my fingers. I looked up at him. He noticed it and smiled at me.

Yeah... I was feeling very happy at that moment. It scared me at first, but... No one came to ruin it for me. There was no one in my head to ruin that moment for me, and I swore to myself I'd never let anyone ruin anything for me ever again.

This was the life I was supposed to have, and I would fight hard to keep it.