The fireplace crackled with embers drifting from the flickering colors of yellow, red, and orange. In my family’s living room, I was seated on the couch and Emory was asleep beside me, his head in my lap. He’d cried for a good while and I could only provide enough comfort to him by brushing his hair. He fell asleep shortly after.

As for Vicky, she was leaned back against the wall at the entrance of the room with her arms crossed. Her hardened gaze focused on the fire.

Wade was on the opposite side of the room with his arms crossed, too. Even though he was as upset as the rest of my family, I couldn’t help notice the way my brother kept glancing at Vicky. He wasn’t too obvious other than peering over at her a little too long.

Sawyer and Cece were on the other couch. Sawyer’s arm draped over my sister’s shoulder and tucked her close. My sister rested her head on his chest, dried streaks of tears on her face.

On the floor, Nikko was sitting closer to the fire with my baby brother beside him. Cody’s head was draped on the older boy’s shoulder and stared off. His nose and eyes red from crying.

As for my parents, they were settled on the couch beside me. My mom had not stopped sobbing the past hour since leaving the meeting hall. Though now, Mom was more calm. Her face still pinched in distraught and was curled up against Dad. He stroked her hair, resting his head on hers.

It was too quiet for me, and so I looked at my family to fill them in on my month-long disappearance. After, it was their turn to fill in the gaps of why my mate was acting like he didn’t know me.

Ridge suffered a severe head injury. He’d taken a bad hit when he collided with the ground, and he’d knocked it with enough force. After seeking medical treatment from a doctor in town, Ridge had gone into a two-week coma. And when he’d awoken and his dad asked what his son could remember, Ridge didn’t remember me. Or, I should say, Ridge didn’t remember we were together.

Ridge’s memories were back to when he loved Molly. Before he started to seek me out. His memories were jumbled though, scattered in different parts of the timeline. He apparently remembered Molly’s announcement of her “pregnancy” but missed the gaps of me in those memories.

To make it worse, Mr. Beaumont—as acting alpha at the time— gave out an order to not intervene with their alpha’s confusion. That in order to let Ridge heal, the alpha was going to let Ridge think that everything Ridge and I had experienced together was actually with Molly.

My parents had argued that wasn’t right but Mr. Beaumont instructed them that if they were smart, they’d stay quiet. That it was because of their daughter that the acting alpha’s son was suffering from memory loss. But my parents pushed, even trying to reach out to Mrs. Beaumont.

Mrs. Beaumont had sided with my parents, asking her husband to think about what he was doing. She tried to reason that lying to Ridge was only going to make things worse. She pointed out that no one in the pack respected Molly for what she did and so how could the acting alpha really try and convince their son to go along with such a deceitful plan.

I’m not sure if it was grief that Mr. Beaumont was going through; from banishing me to letting Molly take my place by Ridge’s side but I knew it didn’t matter. It was wrong. And the man knew it was wrong. There were different ways to deal with things and what Mr. Beaumont was doing was definitely not anywhere close to being a suggestion.

He listened to no one, according to my family. Mr. Beaumont had brainwashed his son to believe Molly was still engaged to him, that the couple had been expecting but lost said child because of the attacks from the Quail Wolf hidden in the pack. Mr. Beaumont had fueled Ridge’s disbelief by emphasizing that the Quail Wolf had gone after Molly out of jealousy and Ridge was caught in the crossfire.

I frowned, the familiar ache in my chest hearing all this. It was astounding how much Mr. Beaumont hated me. He’d do anything to get me out of his life—especially his son’s.

Though Dad was nowhere allowed near the alpha family, he was expected to still uphold his Warrior responsibilities. (The nerve, okay?) The only reason Dad still did his job was to get updates on Ridge’s condition from the Warriors. They hadn’t thought twice to provide details to their Commander.

Unfortunately, it was in these stolen moments of information that Dad had found out about Molly being moved into the back part of the alpha property which was set up as a full fledged home alone. It came equipped with a living room, bedrooms, kitchen, bathrooms, you name it. And it was here that Molly was residing with Ridge.

Dad couldn’t meet my gaze when he relayed that warriors would be stationed outside the alpha’s home for protection but one of the warriors had overhead a conversation the Alpha Female had with a friend. The Alpha Female was giddy in her new status and she was with the man she loved despite the circumstances.

I think I knew what my dad was trying to get out and I softly told him it was OK. That he could just… tell me. So he did.

The reason the alpha’s home was being so heavily guarded was because of Molly’s ‘heat period’.

A ‘heat period’ was something a she-wolf goes through every nine months from the age of sixteen well into their fifties or sixties. It was a hormonal female body thing usually was an indication of needing to be “sated” for a lack of a better word. The chances of pregnancy was higher during this time period but not guaranteed.

And Ridge was helping Molly with her ‘heat’.

When my brother, Cody, asked if I had felt any indication of what Ridge was doing, I shook my head, my gaze on my hands in my lap. I bit my lip, the numbness in my fingers slipping through my veins and up to my chest.

I swallowed hard, shaking my head and couldn’t meet their eyes when I confessed to having accepted Ridge’s rejection. The room was silent and I further admitted that the bond gifted by the Spirit World was broken. There was no way of getting that back. Not really.

That week when Ridge and I fell in love with one another was based purely on us getting to know each other. The Mate bond wasn’t there. We had no reason to feel connected to one another but we did. It was different for Ridge and me, I think, because we had been so open to seeing one another for who we were beyond what people saw us as.

And even though we loved each other, very much, the bond we shared as True Mates had mended but it wasn’t welded together. There was no way of me sensing Ridge’s feelings and vice-versa.

It made sense now, actually, why he reacted the way he did at the meeting hall. Without a mate bond to connect us, Ridge and I were just… human. Our wolves didn’t have that secondary bond to strengthen their connection. Perhaps if I’d been claimed fully, my bond with Ridge would have been reestablished. But the odds of that now were… Well, none.

After I finished speaking, it got quiet for a few seconds before Cece scowled that she wanted to rip Mr. Beaumont apart when he had the audacity to come to the house deliberately to announced to my family that Ridge and Molly were together again and the couple were to be introduced to the pack in a few days as Alpha Male and Female.

“He just forgave her!” Cece spat, sitting up.

Sawyer frowned, rubbing her back because of how worked up my sister was getting. But Cece just fumed.

She threw her arms, hissing, “Just like that! Just like that, that miserable good for nothing asshole lets that manipulative bitch back into Ridge’s life! He had the nerve to tell Dad and us that Molly was a better prospective as a daughter-in-law than a Quail Wolf!”

My mother interjected that my family got the feeling that Molly’s cruel behavior was encouraged by her family… and Mr. Beaumont. They weren’t able to prove it but everything leading up to this point regarding Molly was just forgotten or forgiven by Mr. Beaumont. There was something off there, my family believed.

I cried a lot then. I broke out into full blown sobs, shaking as I covered my face. My body wracked with trembles which assured me I’d be sore tomorrow. It was just so frustrating to me that nothing was panning out like it was supposed to! Everything was going from bad to worse, and I always ended up somewhere in the equation.

Once I sobered, sniffling and lightly brushed Emory’s hair and touched his cheek, I mumbled, “You were right, Vicky…”

I could feel everyone looking at me again.

Without breaking focus on Emory, my voice trembled and directed to the Caretaker that I ruined everything. Everything had been my fault and now I was going to die and perhaps it’d be better that way.

My family immediately scolded me, telling me that wasn’t true!

I groaned, shaking my head and growled back at them that it was true! That had I not existed then everything would be normal! But because of what I was born as, I now had to pay the price along with everyone I loved.

When they fell quiet, I thought they’d let it go. That they’d agree with me. And for a moment I thought they did until one of them spoke up in a quiet mutter.

“No, you don’t…”

My brows furrowed, looking to the side when Vicky glanced at us all before sighing heavily and dropped her arms to her sides. She shook her head that I was not at fault for anything.

“I only said those things to you, Shorty, because I was grieving. I’m not the best with dealing with deaths and so I was taking it out on you. You didn’t do anything… and I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said those things to you.”

The blonde pursed her mouth to the side, tucking her hair behind her ear.

“You can’t help who you were born as. None of us can. But you, especially. And Emory. You didn’t ask to be a Quail Wolf. It’s not something requested, but given. It’s given to those who are thought to be worthy.”

I lowered a brow, finding it odd to hear her sound so much like Iota. It wasn’t like Vicky who was more moody than wise.

“You’re the only female Quail Wolf in history,” Vicky reminded me. I glanced at my family who looked surprised at this.

Vicky pushed herself off the wall and sat on the arm of the couch. She crossed her arms again and shrugged, “That’s meant to say something, I think. You have a bigger purpose in all this mess. And with Madilynn coming our way, it’s only a matter of time before this pack of yours realizes they need you.”

My Caretaker sighed, looking down. Vicky told me that it was her responsibility to protect me, along with Emory. She was our Caretaker and that I better believe that in three days’ time when the alpha came looking for me to see out my punishment, Vicky would be giving my alpha the fight of his life. She could see me ready to argue but the she-wolf sneered that even if I told her not to, it was her job. No ifs, ands, or buts.

Vicky gave me a small smile and then looked over at the fire again. She whispered, “Iota would have expected nothing less of me.”

When Vicky looked at me again, we shared a moment of understanding that the past twenty-four hours had been forgiven. We were on a fresh clean slate. I couldn’t be more grateful to have Vicky still around.

My dad brought everyone’s attention to him, frowning as he changed the topic towards the invaders heading our way.

“We have to tell the pack somehow, Button. And especially about Alpha Hannibal’s involvement.”

My mother frowned, shaking her head as she told Dad that no one will listen to me. That I was just someone they were supposed to avoid and they’d only be following orders.

We fell silent again. The crackling of the fire all that was heard for a short time. Anything we thought of to warn the pack and the alpha family always came to some sort of dead end.

“Mr. Beaumont is only going to be on Molly’s side,” Sawyer frowned. “He probably would take Alpha Hannibal’s side before Gigi’s, considering the circumstances. The manipulation on both Mr. Beaumont and Molly is going to get the pack killed.”

Cece shook her head, grumbling, “Like poison.”

I sighed, looking upward after laying back on the couch.

My mom had gotten up to go make coffee and was bringing back a glass of lemonade and a snack for Emory if he woke up hungry. I was sure he’d be sleeping the rest of the night but I just let Mom talk. I was too drained to argue with anyone.

I lowered my gaze to my lap, Emory still sound asleep. He was lying on his back, his little chest was rising and falling slowly. His mouth hanging open again which made me smile. I brushed his hair and as I studied his sleeping face, I knew that I had to do something. I couldn’t leave Emory behind. Not when he needed me. Just as much as I needed him.

“He’s quite attached to you, isn’t he?”

Dad was staring down at Emory when I looked up. He had this softness in his face. His brown eyes filled with a sorrow for the eight year old whose backstory was provided to my family by Vicky.

“I have to keep him safe, Dad. I… I can’t let that woman take control of him the way she wants. She will be more successful with Emory because he’s a child. He’s more vulnerable. And… and I won’t let her. I won’t let her take away more than what has already been taken from him.”

My eyes followed as my dad as he knelt in front of me. He just stared at me. Those brown eyes matching my own taking in my face. Dad’s eyes turned misty and I narrowed my eyes slightly before he raised his hand and touched my cheek.

“The Darkness has little chance of taking you, Button. Not when you are so open to giving your everything for a stranger. You lost out on a childhood, yourself, that you want so badly to give one to Emory. And after all this is over… he will have it. Because of you.”

I smiled a little, shaking my head that he always knew how to make me feel better.

My dad laughed, glancing at Emory whose brows furrowed before he flipped onto his side—face pressed against my stomach—and returned to his sleep. After waiting a moment to see the boy fall back into deep sleep, my dad looked up to say he would go check on my mom.

He stood up, exiting the room just as Vicky was returning into it.

I hadn’t seen her leave and she noticed this. She said she was using the restroom. Vicky returned to sitting beside me on the arm of the couch. Again, Vicky crossed her arms and then narrowed her gaze.

“What the hell’s up with your brother?” Vicky growled, lip curled. She was staring across the way.

I raised a brow, glancing to where I now had four brothers, and asked, “Which one?”

Vicky pursed her mouth, lifting her eyes up and nodded discreetly, “The one over there by himself. He keeps staring at me. Since getting here, your brother has been throwing me these weird looks but I don’t understand why. Is there something on my face?”

I looked over at Wade. He was leaning back against the wall, his chin lowered and a frown on his face. His crossed arms trembled they were crossed so tightly. In the middle of eyeing Vicky, Wade kept fidgeting around; shifting from one foot to the other.

I slowly looked back to my Caretaker. Her eyes were on me already, brows raised as she was awaiting my response.

When Vicky leaned forward and shrugged, “Well?” I did a quick glance at my brother again.

Wade was still fidgeting around and I had only seen that three times before. Once, when I first experienced it with sensing Ridge, the second time around with Cece and Sawyer, and then when Nikko sensed Cody.

The only problem was that if my brother was sensing Vicky as his mate… why wasn’t Vicky sensing him? It worked both ways. Vicky should have been fidgeting around like my brother was trying not to do. But she wasn’t.

I scanned what she was wearing; the tank top and jeans she had were simple, and the boots she wore were worn and had dried mud along the bottom of them. My eyes dropped to her arms where a white scrunchie was around her wrist.

Vicky raised a brow and glanced once at her scrunchie before looking up at me. “What…?”

“Is that yours?” I asked, nodding at the scrunchie.

Vicky’s eyes softened and looked down at her wrist. She toyed with it a little, her fingers running along the edge of white material. She shook her head, shrugging a shoulder that it was her sister’s.

“I had gotten it from her bag. I couldn’t find any of mine because Emory was using them as sling-shots. So I snagged this from Iota and had it on me for your training session. As you know, I learned that putting my hair up was a necessary precaution otherwise you’d pull on it again.”

I grinned a little, remembering that I did pull her hair the first time Vicky tried to get in my face when my wolf was in control. Then my grin faltered as realization hit me.

“Have you worn it at all?” I asked her, brows furrowed.

I was already carefully removing Emory onto the couch. Vicky shook her head, saying that Iota used it when she would go to sleep. Something about not wanting to drool on her hair.

“Vicky… let me see your scrunchie.”

I held out my hand for it and waited for the she-wolf to warily remove it from her wrist.

“What are you doing?” she frowned as I snagged it from her and started walking across the room. I ignored her, heading straight for my older brother.

Wade looked up from staring at the floor when I stopped in front of him. He sighed, “Hey, Gigi…”

I smiled a little, muttering the greeting back before asking him if he would do me a favor.

My brother’s brow shot up and replied, “Depends… what is it?”

Raising the hand with the scrunchie, I stuck it in front of his face and ordered, “Smell this.”

Wade’s nose scrunched, craning his neck back as he was switching between me and the hair tie. He muttered that he rather not.

Not giving him room to argue, I stepped closer and sternly growled, “Wade.” then shook the hair tie closer. “Smell. It.”

“What the hell for?”

“Just do it, Wade!”

“Well al-fuckin’-righty then! Just for shits and giggles, let’s smell the hair tie!” He grumbled as he leaned forward and then took a quick sniff of the scrunchie.

The moment he did, however, was when my brother’s hazel eyes widened and straightened to snatch the hair tie out of my hand. This time, he smelled it a little longer, a little deeper against his nose. He shut his eyes, taking it in and then stared at it in his hands.

When my brother looked up at me, Wade frowned, “Where did you get this…?” He blinked repeatedly at it, swallowing hard as he muttered, “Gigi… This is her. My mate.”

My heart dropped at the brightness in my brother’s eyes. The excitement bloomed into his eyes and was already looking over my head.

I immediately put my hand on his. “Wade…”

Wade glanced at me then saw the look I was giving him before he frowned. Wade tilted his head, asking what was wrong; why I was looking at him like that.

His hazel eyes glanced behind me again before asking, “Is… is this not hers…?”

I shook my head.

Biting my lip, I placed my hands on top of my brother’s as I sighed out a long breath. “Wade… This hair tie belonged to Vicky’s older sister, Iota.”

My brother blinked. His brows furrowed, squinting at me. “Belonged…?”

Scrunching my nose, I nodded.

Seeing the light leave my brother’s face hurt so much. My chest ached as I saw my strong older brother’s chin quiver as he stared down at the hair tie.

Wade swallowed hard, fingering the scrunchie while trying to put a small smile on his face. The hazel color of his eyes were a lighter shade with the tears brimming them, as he tried to grin and shrugged a shoulder.

“It would turn out this way… wouldn’t it? I was the only one who something bad hadn’t happened to yet. So the Spirit World decides taking away the mate I never met would be ideal.”

“Oh, Wade…” I whispered, shoulders sagged. “I’m so sorry…”

Wade swallowed again. His face turned into a frown as he shook his head. He sniffled, grinning at me again. “It’s alright… Don’t worry about me, Gigi. I’ll be able to get past this. It hurts, sure… but… but probably not for long.”

He shrugged a shoulder again while staring at the scrunchie. He toyed with it a little and mumbled, “I never met her. It shouldn’t…. won’t… be as painful.”

My brother let out a slow breath, his eyes glassy when he looked at me and asked, while holding up the scrunchie, “Can I keep this…? Please…?”

I nodded, not even thinking of asking Vicky first. I know he was trying to hide it, but I knew from experience that losing a mate—even if it was a different situation—was painful to bottle up. And I honestly feel like Wade’s loss of mate was worse because he never met Iota. All he had was her scrunchie.

My thoughts went to the woman I had gotten to know for a short amount of time. She was so beautiful, and Wade wouldn’t ever get to know that for himself. I wonder what Iota would have thought on the idea that her mate was younger than her. I don’t think my brother would have minded.

“Are you going to be alright, Wade?” I asked doubtfully, touching his arm.

The way my brother stared so longingly at the scrunchie, I had my doubts that his reply of “Yes, I’ll be just fine.” was actually true. After reassuring me a few more times, he said that he just wanted to be left a lone for a bit. I hesitated then nodded before I returned to the couch.

Vicky’s gaze went to my hands, frowning at them being empty. She narrowed her eyes at me and snipped, “Where’s my scrunchie?”

I told her that I gave it to my brother.

“And why the hell would you do that? That was my sister’s!”

“I know…” I sighed, swallowing hard.

“Aaaaaand you just thought that it was OK without telling me?” Vicky growled. She raised a brow, pointing out, “That’s all I have of her, ya know?”

I nodded, looking over at my brother for a moment before I nodded, “Yes. But you have memories of Iota. A scrunchie is all my brother has of his mate.”

The silence made me look at her. Vicky was blinking one too many times and shifted her gaze to where my brother was toying around with the hair tie again. Vicky’s shoulders sulked while continuing to watch Wade.

“Iota was his…?”

“Yes,” I agreed before she could finish.

I sighed, explaining that Wade had sensed Iota just by her hair tie. Because it had yet to be used by Vicky, Iota’s scent still lingered. I frowned, saying how surprised I was that the rain hadn’t washed the scent from the hair tie.

We both sat quietly, taking turns of looking at my brother before my parents returned with a tray of coffee mugs and snacks. They had just rested the tray on the coffee table when my mom looked up and over at Wade. She noticed the despair and quickly became concerned.

“Wade, dear… What’s the matter?”

Mom had brought everyone’s attention to my older brother now. I wasn’t sure if Wade was going to say anything but even though he seemed hesitant about it, Wade’s glossy eyes looked up at us all and held up the hair tie. He swallowed hard, saying out loud that he’d been wondering about the woman the hair tie belonged to.

My parents glanced at one another. My siblings all watched Wade let out shaky breath before he crumpled to his knees.

My older brother hunched forward with his mate’s hair tie gripped in his fist, his arms crossed against his stomach as he cried, “She’s—she’s gone! And I—I didn’t know her!”

Mom ran over to him, holding onto her son. Wade hugged her, sobbing into her shoulder that his mate was dead and he never got the chance to meet her. Everyone stared over at me when my dad asked quietly what my brother was talking about.

Vicky was the one to explain.

“My sister… Iota, the one who had distracted Madilynn… she was your son’s mate. He sensed her from the scrunchie I wore.”

My dad let out a long breath, running his fingers through his hair. He shut his eyes, rubbing the back of his neck and frowned, “Fate has truly been unkind to this family… hasn’t it?”

Despite Wade’s sobs, Dad encouraged the rest of us to go up to bed. That we had a lot to take in from tonight, and it was best to deal with everything tomorrow morning when we could all think a little clearer. Then he walked over to help my mother with my older brother.

Dad knelt down with Mom, muttering soft words of comfort to his son. Wade just cried harder, holding onto Dad.

The rest of my siblings had quietly left the room, giving us silent nods to bid us goodnight. I reached down to pick up Emory, grunting from his weight.

Dad was walking Wade upstairs, nodding as he mumbled something to my hurting brother. I felt sorry for Wade who was always so put together emotionally.

I turned to my mom walking the tray of refreshments and snacks back to the kitchen. She stopped at the entryway, looked down at the tray and then shook her head to look at Vicky and me.

“If the Spirit World didn’t think we wouldn’t be strong enough to go through this… they wouldn’t have done it, you know?”

Vicky and I glanced at each other. Then I frowned, “Mom…?”

Mom looked at me. She nodded that she meant what she said.

“This all comes down to the Spirit World assuring themselves that they picked the right young woman to be a Quail Wolf. That she comes from such a strong family already, but also a family that knows what it is like to hurt… even in the smallest measurement. And instead of raging about it… we grow from it. We tend to see the light in everything.”

Vicky frowned, tilting her head. She squinted and asked, “And you think your son will see the light in losing a mate he never met?”

My mother’s small smile appeared, though her eyes were sad. “I do, Vicky. Everything happens for a reason, after all.”

We watched her exit the room and Vicky huffed, shaking her head that this whole situation was ridiculous.

“It’s unfair, Shorty! I barely know your brother and I feel so sorry for him. And I don’t see how he will ever find the light of losing Iota.”

I pursed my mouth to the side, thinking over my mother’s words. I pointed out, “You have the memories, Vicky. Perhaps by you spending time with him… telling him everything about your sister… he’ll be able to see her a little. Even if it’s not in person.”

My Caretaker closed her eyes, turning away with a shake of her head.

“Sure… just not any time soon. I don’t think he or I are ready for that. It’s still fresh, you know?”

“Understandable,” I nodded, grunting as I adjusted Emory in my arms.

Leading the way, Vicky followed me upstairs to my bedroom that was just as I left it. There were a few clothes scattered about, and my bed unmade. But though it didn’t look that messy, Vicky thought otherwise as she raised a brow and eyed the room.

“Messy little thing, aren’t you?” Her nose scrunching as she eyed everything.

I narrowed my eyes at her.

Deciding to ignore her, I walked over to my bed and placed Emory on it. I gently scooted him over to make room for me on the side closest to the floor to keep him from rolling off. I made sure there was enough room for Vicky on the other side but when I told this to her, Vicky shook her head that she would be alright on the floor.

My puzzled look made her grin, “I got too used to it.”

I shrugged a shoulder then changed after handing sleeping clothes to Vicky. However, because she was way taller than me, I had to run and grab a t-shirt and shorts from my sister. Vicky was currently patting down the pillow I tossed her and then she laid back on the comforter I handed her earlier.

Her blue eyes focused on the ceiling. They squinted, a look of contemplation on her face now.

“Not tired?” I asked her, sitting on the bed. I had just finished tucking Emory in. He stole my pillow already.

Vicky shrugged, not looking away from the ceiling.

“Not really. All I can think about is what my twisted sister did to Iota. If I know Madilynn… Iota didn’t go quickly.”

I winced, watching Vicky a bit before she rolled onto her side, back to me. I pursed my mouth to the side, unsure of what I could say to make Vicky feel any better.

Slowly sinking back into the mattress, I switched off the light and rolled onto my side, facing Emory. He was so deep in sleep. I pushed back his hair from his forehead.

A moment later, I softly spoke my Caretaker’s name.

“What…” It was very monotone.

I hesitated a moment, unsure if I would be wrong for giving her false hope when I suggested, “Maybe she’s OK. Maybe… Maybe she—”

“Don’t do that, Shorty,” Vicky growled. “Don’t use your instinctual kindness to comfort me. Iota and I lived a hard life enough as it is. I’m not use to ‘hope’ of any kind. I learned that quickly growing up. So just… just let it go.”

There was a shuffling movement on her part, finalizing that she was done talking, and I bit my lip after she sighed again, “Just let it go.”