I wake up in my mate's warm embrace. My head is on his bare muscular chest, listening to his heart beat. He has one arm wrapped around my waist, his other is tucked under his head.

I turn, craning my head to place a kiss on his neck. His eyes snap open immediately.

"Is that a good morning kiss or did you have something else in mind?" he asks. A shudder runs down my spine at his husky voice. I roll over so that I am laying on top of him with a smirk.

"I had something else in mind," I chuckle, leaning down to kiss him. His hands grip my hips tightly, pulling my nearly-bare body against his. All I am wearing is a pair of lace underwear, but I might as well be wearing nothing with how much of our skin is touching.

I bite his lip and he lets out a low growl, flipping us over so that he is hovering above me. I let out a moan as his lips touch my mark, pleasure ripping through my body. A sudden knock at our door has him pulling away with a groan.

"Come in," Xavier says, laying down and holding me against him so that my body is covered. A man walks in and I recognize him as Maya's second.

"Alphas, there is news from May Silver and Alpha Blackthorn called, he wishes to speak with Alpha Raven regarding the prisoner Shadow White," he says, keeping his eyes respectfully on the floor.

"Thank you, tell May I will speak with her downstairs," I say. He bows before leaving.

I sigh, climbing out of the bed and my mate's arms. I walk over to my closet and pull on a sports bra and running shorts.

Xavier walks up behind me, clad in only a pair of tight fitting boxer shorts. I can't help looking over his handsome, muscular body with a grin.

"What?" He asks.

"Nothing, just thinking about how amazing it is that I can call you all mine," I whisper in his ear, running my hands over his toned and tattooed chest. He growls, kissing my lips hard.

"That's all I think about," he says making me smirk.

"Good, now put some pants on," I growl. He chuckles at me, shaking his head.

"Yes, Alpha." I head downstairs, smirk still in place.

My mother is waiting at the foot of the stairs.

"It's about damn time," she mutters. I roll my eyes.

"I was in the middle of something. Now what brings you out of the mountain?" I ask.

"Lily and I have a birthday surprise for you and Shadow," she tells me. My eyes widen in shock.

"I forgot it was that time of year. Well Shade recently was hospitalized so I will go get her, we should be there in an hour or so," I say. She nods.

"I heard about what happened, Lily is pissed so I would tread carefully around her," she says quietly. I nod in understanding and she glances behind me before showing herself out.

I turn around to see Xavier coming down the stairs. He looks at me expectantly.

"I'm going to get Shade and then we are going to the mountain, I guess my mother and Lily have a birthday surprise for Shade and I," I tell him. He nods.

"Alright, I need to speak with your brother so I will meet you at the garage," he tells me. After I nod in agreement he places a chaste kiss on my lips and then leaves.

I let out a heavy breath before walking out the door and heading towards the hospital. Most of the pack is already working and I smile at how big it is now. They give me respectful nods as I pass.

I push open the doors to the hospital and smile. The number of Lycans in the hospital has gone down considerably, little remains of the war we fought. The only ones left in the hospital are the ones who had injuries involving silver.

I head down the hall to Shade's room and see the door open. My eyebrows furrow in confusion as I hear shouting for a moment.

"Rosa is everything-" I start to say but Shade's scream cuts me off. I am standing in the doorway when she screams. I look up, my eyes narrowing into a glare.

"Raven, stop, if you cause her anymore panic she might just faint again," Roas says in a calm but firm voice. Shade stares at me in fear, pinning herself against the wall in fear.

"No! Stay away! Get away from me Alpha!" she screams, her voice distorted. I can feel Ira pushing to the surface, making my presence even more powerful. I can see Shade start to sway, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Raven, stop!" Rosa yells and it startles Ira enough for me to gain back control. Shade snaps out of her fearful trance and reconnects her IV that is beside the bed.

"Shade our mothers have a birthday surprise for us, be ready to leave in 30 minutes," I mutter, a growl slipping into my voice. I turn around, throwing a warning glare at Rosa as I leave.

Don't you dare command me again, I snarl at her through a mind link.

Yes Alpha, she replies, her voice a mixed tone. Her wolf is whimpering but I can hear Rosa's determination. It makes me smile but it makes Ira pissed to the point where she wants Rosa dead.

I wait in the clearing outside the hospital, close my eyes and try to calm Ira down. My eyes snap open when I hear somebody suddenly walk up to me. A young man nods deeply before giving me a smile.

"Is everything alright Alpha?" I hear a small voice ask. I look down at little boy who lightly touches my leg.

"Yes everything is fine, what is your name?" I ask, picking him up and balancing him on my hip.

"Jayden, and this is my dad," he says. I look at the man with a small smile.

"Are you both okay? What were you in the hospital for?" I ask him.

"Well Jayden decided that running into the forest without me was a good idea, and he scratched himself trying to climb up a tree," he chuckles.

I glance at Jayden who is looking down guiltily.

"Jayden, I want you to promise me that next time you decide to go running through the forest you bring someone with you. Its not safe for you to go by yourself, you could get lost and I would hate for that to happen," I tell him.

He nods quickly and smiles.

"Yes Alpha I promise." I smile back and open my mouth to speak but a sharp scream from the forest distracts me. I look over at the young man but it doesn't look like he heard it.

"Okay I have to go Jayden, stay with your father," I instruct, setting him down. I head through the trees, looking around for signs of movement.

I follow the faint sound of footsteps until I end up behind my house. A figure is sitting on the wooden deck, illuminated by the sunlight.

"Shadow?!" I yell, narrowing my eyes in confusion.

"Y-yeah? What do you need Alpha?" she calls back in a shaky voice.

"Did you see anyone come this way?" I ask, stepping out of the trees. She shakes her head, sitting up. I peer at her carefully, searching her face for any telltale signs of a lie. I sense her hiding something but decide to let it go.

"Fine, are you ready to go?" I ask. She nods quickly, lowering her head in submission. "Good, let's get going then," I say before walking in the direction of our garage.

*********

I slide out the black Range Rover and order my guards to get Shade who is chained in the backseat. Xavier gets out of the driver's seat and walks beside me toward the mountain.

My mother and Lily's giant bobcats step away from the entrance to the mountain to follow us into the dark tunnels.

"A few more of my former alliances want to join the pack, they'll be here about a week before the next full moon," Xavier says.

"Okay, but I want Ira to see if we can actually trust them," I tell him. He sighs before nodding.

My mother's cat leads us down to the main room and Lily's cat walks with Shade. We stop and I can instantly sense Shade's fear increase.

Xavier turns around but Lily's cat stands between him and Shade. It growls when he tries to step closer.

"Raven, get this animal under control will you?" He says, growling back back at the bobcat.

The cat swipes a massive paw at him and he jumps back, narrowly avoiding its outstretched claws. The door suddenly slams open and Lily appears.

She calls her cat back and it rubs its head against her.

"Hey baby, it's okay, I know he's new. It's okay," she whispers softly, immediately calming it.

"Sorry, she isn't a fan of new people," she says, throwing an apologetic smile at Xavier.

"Come in, come in. Do you guys want anything to eat? Shadow dear, you look like skin and bones, lets get you some food," she says cheerfully, but the worries undertone is clear.

"U-uh. No thank you mom, I'm actually training to live on smaller meal sizes, the pack is going to Antarctica in a few weeks and we need to learn to ration food," Shade lies, glancing sideways at Xavier.

We walk inside, leaving the cats in the tunnel. My mother is waiting in the living room.

"We'll be right back," Shade says, and I watch as she leaves with Lily to go to the medical wing. I throw her a warning glare as she leaves.

I sit down on the couch with Xavier and my mother sits down in a chair across from us.

"It seems to be going okay as far as breaking Venatrix," she says.

"It's hard, I think she's okay but Ira is seriously holding a grudge. It takes everything I have to keep her from killing Shade, among other members of our pack," I mutter.

"I thought you got her under control?"

"Xavier can control her, that's about the closest I can get."

"H-hey mom! I'm going to go to my room really quick!" Shade calls from the hall.

"I should probably go watch her," Xavier says, starting to stand up. Lily storms over to him and forces him to sit back down.

"A girl doesn't need a guard everywhere she goes Xavier," she warns, her eyes filled with a deadly fire. Even Ira, I think, would sit down with the force behind her voice.

"Yes of course," he growls bitterly. Lily glares at him once more before heading to Shade's room.

"What's up with Lily? I've never seen her so on edge," I ask my mother.

"She is worried about Shadow, she'd do anything to protect her and you've seen how bad of shape she's in," she says, shrugging.

My eyebrows furrow for a moment, and Ira suddenly starts growling at me. She's escaping! She snarls.

My eyes widen and I leap to my feet.

"Did you know about this?" I growl at my mother.

She stands up, glaring at me in warning but says nothing. Xavier jumps up, storming towards Shade's room, with me hot on his heels. He slams the door open to reveal Lily standing alone in the room.

"Where is she?! Where did she go?" He snarls.

"Don't get between a wolf and her pup bitch!" Lily growls, starting to shift. I quickly get between them, holding my mate back.

"Lily you don't understand! You just let one of the most dangerous wolves go free!" I growl, Ira starting to take over.

Xavier starts to shift as well but I place my hand on his chest and he instantly relaxes. I whip around to face Lily again.

"I understand she's your daughter but she is being controlled by a Lycan that was created to kill me and destroy my pack! By letting her go, you just put hundreds of wolves in danger!" I snarl.

Ira is nearly in full control and my power is so strong that Lily steps back, her eyes wide.

"You were killing her Raven, what else was I supposed to do?" She growls. I grit my teeth and my mate's hand on my shoulder is the only thing keeping me from shifting.

"Well you just killed my pack. Their blood is on your hands."