Lillian and Noah ran together to the border in their fur.

Rain soaked Lillian's fur, weighing her down, and her paws splashed in the puddles already forming on the ground. She didn't feel good about this visit. What would alpha Albert possibly want? Did he know that his son had raped Lillian? He probably did.

A couple of weeks after Lillian and the pups were rescued and Blazius was caught, all sorts of rumors about Blazius' experiments exploded in the immortal community. Talks about the rapes, the forced pregnancies and the artificial wombs made the rounds, despite Arthur's best efforts to contain the matter. There were just too many people involved.

Lillian and her pups became prime subjects for gossip. Their partial immunity to silver was hot news. And the fact that she was a result of Blazius' experiments, as well as the way the twins had been conceived, was now an open secret.

No one in the pack brought it up to Lillian or the twins. But Lillian knew that her past was no longer a secret. It didn't bother her anymore. She had made peace with it. It was the fact that the twins might hear about how they were brought to the world one day that was still a source of anxiety.

Albert must have gotten news somehow. The nerves of him to come here after knowing full well what his son had done.

Lillian shook her head, flinging water around, and pushed her paws harder. Noah ran along. She'd seen him run, and he was much faster than this. He was holding back for her sake.

"What do you think he wants?" She asked him.

Noah glanced at her, his wolf's eyes so familiar. "You're worrying too much. Whatever it is, we'll handle it."

Lillian huffed and bumped her side to his. It wasn't like she could help worrying!

By the time they reached the border, the pouring shower had lessened to a drizzle.

Sean and Kate, who had been on patrol, were standing in a small clearing with three werewolves.

Sean and Kate were in wolf form, their amber eyes set on the three individuals. Alpha Albert and two women stood across the clearing from them. Lillian sucked in a deep breath, trying to pin down the relationship between the three. One of the women was Albert's mate, Lillian could tell from the way their scents were intertwined. She stood tall and proud, with dark blonde hair and deep set gray eyes that looked to be permanently squinting.

The other female looked like Albert's mate, but she had Albert's almond shaped eyes. The same almond shape that Ashton had, and that the twins had. She must be their daughter. She stood behind them, her shoulders hunched. She looked like she was barely an adult.

Noah and Lillian shifted out of sight. Noah found a bag with some clothes they kept in tree burrows around their territory, and they dressed before joining the party.

"Alpha Albert," Noah said, moving to stand in front of Sean and Kate. Lillian stood next to him. "You're a long way from home."

Albert's eyes shifted to Lillian. Lillian kept her gaze firmly on his, her lips twitching up in a quiet snarl.

"Yes, I heard some news about my son," Albert said.

Lillian crossed her arms. Noah cocked his head aside. When Alert realized they wouldn't be speaking any time soon, he continued, "Is he dead?"

"Yes," Noah replied. Albert and his mate froze, an amber sheen rolling over their eyes. Their daughter's shoulders slumped. Lillian frowned. She looked... relieved? No, Lillian must be mistaken. Why would the girl be relieved her brother was dead?

"Who killed him?" Albert's mate said, taking a step forward.

Albert put a hand on her arm, pulling her back. "Jolene," he rumbled.

"What do you want alpha Albert?" Noah repeated.

Albert took a deep breath. "I want to see my grandsons."

When hell freezes over. Lillian snorted out loud. She couldn't help it. She could feel Kate and Sean's amusement at her reaction. Noah was not amused. His need to tear Albert's throat out for his words was a physical weight across their bond.

Albert and his mate looked purple from outrage, looking at Lillian like she had dared step on the queen's toes.

She cleared her throat. "I'm sorry. In what world did you think that uttering those words was okay? Are you high or something?"

"They are my grand-"

"They are not your grandsons," Lillian said, her mood dimming. "You're not their grandfather, and your son is certainly not their father."

Alpha Albert opened his mouth. Noah took a step forward, his dominance shoving forward like a wave that flattened the grass and distorted the air. Lillian blinked the blur from her eyes. Wow. She had never seen him so pissed off before. Everyone in the clearing froze. Albert's daughter whimpered. Lillian's wolf almost purred.

"Go home Alpha Albert," Noah said, his voice laced with death.

Albert bared his teeth, though his eyes never met Noah's. He stepped backward. "You will hear from us again."

He ran into the trees with his mate. The daughter lingered a second, glancing at Lillian, but eventually joined her parents.

"Well. That went well," Lillian said, looking into the trees. Her wolf wanted to run after them and teach them a lesson for daring to bring up her pups. Lillian held her back. She still wasn't a match for an alpha wolf in a fight.

She put her hand on Noah's forearm, he looked more angry than she was. He would have shredded Albert to pieces if the bastard had lingered any longer.

Lillian looked over her shoulder at Kate and Sean and smiled. "I'll make sure he doesn't go after Albert and cause a diplomatic crisis, Sean."

Sean huffed. He shook his fur and gave her a big grin. "Good. We'll go back to patrol, then."

After Sean and Kate left, Lillian and Noah shifted and ran back home in silence.

Lillian wasn't particularly worried about what Albert said, but she could feel Noah's concern through the bond and that unsettled her. Once they were home and dressed, Lillian turned to him.

"Why are you worried?" She asked, sitting on their bed.

He paced in front of her, his gaze focused inward. His black hair was getting longer again. The twins would need another trim soon, too.

"I don't like it," he said.

"I don't like it either," Lillian said. "But he can run his mouth all he wants. It's not like he's going to take the twins away from us."

When Noah didn't answer, Lillian's heart dropped to her stomach. "Right, Noah?"

"He can't take the twins away from their mother," he said, stopping to face her. "But he might try to find a way to see them regularly."

Lillian's heart raced. "How?"

"It's not certain," he said. "But you're still their mother. Every decision in their life is yours as long as they're pups."

She heard his words, but her heart was still heavy. Noah crouched in front of her and held her hands. "The twins are ours. No one will take them away from us."

Lillian nodded, but the unease she felt was mirrored in his gaze.

*** **** ***

It was the middle of the night when Johnson linked Noah. "Someone is here to see you."

Lillian was sleeping next to him. He could feel her restless sleep through the bond.

"Who?" Noah asked. If it was Albert again, he would not be leaving whole.

"Alpha Albert's daughter."

Noah frowned. What could she possibly want? She had been very quiet during their earlier visit.

Noah sat up and glanced at Lillian. Her hair was highlighted by the silver moonlight filtering in through the window. He didn't want to wake her up, but he knew that whatever Albert's daughter wanted, it might have to do with the twins.

He gently woke her up. Her eyes blinked open and she sat up, her heart racing. "What's wrong?"

"Shh, it's okay," he said, putting his hand on her shoulder. "Albert's daughter wants to see me. Do you want to come?"

Sleep vanished from her eyes. She quickly nodded and scrambled out of bed. "Yes."

"Escort her into the pack," Noah told Johnson. "We'll meet you by the creek near the northern border."

Noah and Lillian ran there on foot. The cold wind of the night painted Lillian's nose and cheeks a glowing red.

Albert's daughter was leaning against a tree near the creek, her arms crossed around her middle. Her heartbeat sounded loud to Noah's ears, defying even the rush of water.

"I got it from here, Johnson," Noah linked the massive dark blond wolf standing nearby. The wolf nodded and disappeared into the trees with a stealth that contradicted his size.

Albert's daughter straightened, her eyes flickering between Noah and Lillian.

"Miss..."

"Emily," she said, tugging on the long blond braid on her shoulder. Her eyes flickered everywhere but at them. She wasn't a dominant wolf, which was odd considering both her parents were. Odd but not unheard of. While dominance is usually passed down through blood, it isn't a general rule.

"Emily," Noah nodded. "You wanted to talk? Did your father send you with a message."

"No." Her eyes widened. She gulped. "No. I- he doesn't know I'm here. We're staying in an inn at a nearby town and I snuck out without his knowledge."

Noah raised his brow. He shared a look with Lillian. "True?"

"Yes," she linked him, her eyes on the woman. "She seems truthful to me, but you never know."

Noah agreed. Albert's daughter seemed too nervous to be here without her father's knowledge. Even earlier today, her body language indicated that she wasn't comfortable with her parents.

"Why are you here, then?" Noah asked.

"I wanted to tell you that-" she hesitated, tugging on her braid again. "That my father is going to file a petition to the Werewolf Council."

Noah growled. He had a feeling Albert might do something like this, but he was moving too fast.

"A petition for what?" Lillian asked, her eyes gone wolf, glowing amber in the darkness.

"To have access to the twins," Albert's daughter replied.

Lillian turned to Noah. "Can he do it?"

"He can," Noah said. "it doesn't mean the werewolf council will accept. In fact, I know they won't accept the petition. As I told you before, you're their mother, and you're a good mother, they have no reason to involve themselves in this."

Lillian nodded, though her concern was still evident.

"Why are you telling us this?" Noah asked.

Emily tried her best to stand taller. "I-I want refuge in your pack."

Noah frowned, suspicious of her motives.

"Why?" Lillian asked first.

"Because..." Emily trailed off, tugging on her braid more roughly. She would rip that thing off if she didn't stop.

"Because?" Lillian urged.

"My parents are... not very fond of me," she whispered.

"That's not enough reason," Noah said. Lillian shot him a glare.

He looked at her. "What?"

"There's something else she's not saying," she linked him.

"How do you know?"

"I just do," Lillian said. She stepped closer to Emily. Noah wanted to yank her back. Dominant or not, Emily was still a werewolf who'd been trained much longer than Lillian.

Emily glanced at Lillian and took a small step back, bumping into the tree. Lillian raised her hands with a smile. "Want to tell us more?"

Emily chewed on her lip. "He's... my father and my mother aren't happy that I'm not dominant. They've been trying to force my wolf to become more dominant."

"Is that even possible?" Lillian frowned.

Emily shrugged, and Noah was hit by how young she actually was. She couldn't be older than twenty. Barely an adult in their world.

"There are always theories and old superstitions, but in the end they're just fairytales," Noah said. "A wolf's dominance is set once they're teenagers."

"How were they trying to make you more dominant?" Lillian asked.

Emily squeezed her hand around her other forearm, bunching the sweatshirt she was wearing. She hesitated for a few seconds before raising her sleeve.

Scars.

Even in the darkness of the night, they were clear. Prominent scars, old and new. Long horizontal lines across her forearm. Silver must have been used.

"Who did that?" Lillian whispered.

"My parents," Emily said. Rolling her sleeve down hurriedly.

Noah's wolf wanted to run to wherever Albert's is sleeping and teach him a lesson. No one should lay their hands on their child that way. Still, he was wary. He didn't know whether he could trust Emily or not. She was Albert's daughter, they could be using her as a way to achieve some nefarious goal.

Lillian glanced at him. "You don't believe her."

"I want to," he said. "But I can't afford to trust an outsider, especially Albert's daughter."

Emily was looking between the two of them. Her eyes shimmered with unshed tears. "You don't believe me."

Noah sighed. Emily pursed her trembling lips, turned around and pulled off her sweatshirt.

Lillian sucked in a sharp breath. Her entire back was laid with scars, fresh and old. The once pale skin was pink and mangled, a gruesome sight.

"They did this," Emily said, still facing away. "They whip me every Monday and pour silvered water over my back so the wounds don't heal quickly. They'll continue to do this until they lose hope of my wolf."

And then who knew what they might do when that happened. An image of Noah's father popped in his head. After his mother died, his father became harsh on the pack wolves, especially submissive ones.

Noah's scars itched. He resisted the urge to scratch his face. It seemed his father and Albert had a lot in common.

"I believe her, Noah," Lillian said. "I have a feeling she's telling the truth."

Noah looked at Lillian for a long time. She'd been beside him at the top of the pack for months. Even before the mate bond snapped into place, she would never have done anything to put the pack in danger.

He trusted her instincts, and he trusted his. He, too, had a feeling Emily was not lying.

Emily quickly pulled on her sweater and turned towards them, shoulders hunched and arms crossed.

"Are you ready to leave your pack right now?" He asked the young woman.

Her eyes sparkled with hope. She nodded vigorously.

Most wolves were reluctant to leave their original packs before getting to know the new one. Emily must be desperate to escape her father's clutches.

"Why did you chose our pack?" He asked her.

"Because you're strong enough to keep my father from coming for me."

"You're an adult," Lillian said. "He can't come for you if you chose to stay in another pack."

"He can and he will," Emily said, sniffing. "He won't take it lightly that a child of his is under someone else's thumb. Any other alpha wouldn't have accepted me because my father is too strong. But Alpha Noah is from the Original Born Shifters' line, too. So my father won't be able to easily challenge him."

Noah looked at her. Albert was still her father. "You realize that I might have to kill your father in the future if he keeps being a threat to my family. Will you have a problem with that?"

She shrugged. "If he dies, then he dies. I know the laws of our world. I think it'll be better for our pack anyway," she whispered the last part, as if to herself.

Lillian raised her hand as if in a classroom. "Oh, since we're coming clean. I killed your brother. Do you have a problem with that, too?"

For the first time, Emily's eyes shone with hatred. "Ashton was... I'm glad that he's gone. Thank you."

Lillian blinked and slowly lowered her hand. "Uh...You're welcome, I guess?"

"Alright," Noah said, stepping forward. His claws sticking out. "I assume you know how the ceremony goes?"

Emily stared at him. "Are you really going to accept me into the pack?"

"Yes."

"I-" she swallowed. "Thank you. I thought you wouldn't and... I had information that might be useful to you."

"Information?"

She nodded. "My father knows that the Werewolf Council will probably deny his petition. So he has a plan in place."

"What plan?" Noah asked.

She glanced at Lillian. "He only has a chance to get the twins if he's their only living blood relative."

Noah growled when pieces clicked into place.

Lillian laughed, incredulous. "He wants to get rid of me. That bastrad."

Emily nodded. "Yes."

"Well," Lillian said with a smile. "We'll just have to teach him a lesson, then."

--- ---- ---

Hey guys! long time no see!

I hope you're doing well. How did you like this chapter?

This chapter is unedited, so excuse any mistakes. 

Much love <3 <3 <3

M.B.