Hey guys! Sorry I'm late. It's been a hectic week. 

This chapter is not edited, so if you notice any mistakes, please let me know. I appreciate it.

Don't forget to vote and comment! 

Much love <3 <3 <3

M.B.

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Albert was on the border the next morning, demanding to see his daughter.

Lillian didn't even want to see the bastard. Noah went to deal with him. Lillian didn't care much about how he would do that. She still worried about him, though. But he'd been an alpha longer than she'd been a wolf, so she figured he could deal with it.

Emily was sworn into the pack and settled in a cabin in the village. Lillian visited her when Noah was off to deal with Albert.

Lillian knocked on the door, the twins running circles around her legs, dressed only in shorts. Lillian sniffed. The weather was growing colder, and she smelled rain in the air. Maybe she should get the twins to start putting on tops to ward off the cold.

Steps echoed inside the cabin before the door was cracked open. Emily peeked through, then she opened the door a little wider. Lillian could feel her in the pack, a small reluctant energy that almost trembled. Her wolf was very submissive. She barely glanced Lillian's way before looking down.

She looked haggard, but her eyes widened when she saw the twins by Lillian's feet.

The twins both looked up at her. "Are you new?" Elijah asked.

Emily opened the door fully. She tucked her hair behind her ears and nodded, smiling softly at the twins.

Lillian just realized it then. Emily was the twins' biological aunt. It wouldn't really make a difference for the twins, they had many aunts in the pack. But it might make a difference to Emily. The young wolf had, after all, left her family, no matter how horrible they were, and her pack. Maybe thinking if the twins as family would make the transition to a new pack, a new life, easier for her.

Lillian didn't want the twins to have anything to do with Ashton. But blaming Emily for her brother's crimes was not fair.

"Ezra, Elijah this is Emily," Lillian said, putting her hands on top of the twins' heads. She looked at Emily. "You'll call her aunt Emily, understood?"

Emily's head snapped up, surprise clear on her face.

"Aunt Emily!" Elijah said with a grin. "We can show you the pack, if you want!"

Ezra nodded. Emily bit her bottom lip, her eyes brimmed with tears. She wiped her eyes and smiled brightly at the twins. "I'd love that. Thank you."

"If you need anything, let me know," Lillian linked her, walking to the side so Emily could step out of the cabin.

Emily nodded.

Lillian watched Emily walk away between Ezra and Elijah, the twins looking proud to be her tour guides. She hesitated at the bottom of the porch steps and glanced back at Lillian. She looked like she wanted to say something but thought better of it, then walked away with the twins.

"Are you sure it's okay?" Eva linked Lillian.

Lillian looked around. Eva was sitting on a rocking chair in the porch of her cabin. Lillian padded over and joined her. "So Emily is your neighbor?"

The pack doctor took a sip of her mug. Lillian's nose picked up a hint of chamomile tea. "She is," Eva said. "Sean wanted to put her somewhere else. But she's part of the pack, and since she didn't go through a trial period, there might be a lot of issues. We should keep her close enough to keep an eye out."

Lillian frowned. Crossing her arms, she leaned on the railing and faced Eva. "Like what?"

"Every pack is different. Her wolf will take time to adjust to a new dynamic," Eva said. "Pack members will also take some time to get used to her, to make a place for her in the pack's hierarchy. She's a submissive, so it won't be as difficult as if she'd been a dominant wolf. But..."

"But?"

"Who she is might make some pack members hostile towards her," Eva said with a sad smile. "She's the sister of someone who hurt one of their pack members."

"It's not her fault," Lillian mumbled.

"It's not. But as wolves, not all our behavior is reasonable," Eva said, wrapping both her hands around the mug. "However, her character and how she deals with life here will play a big role in dissolving any prejudices about her."

Lillian sighed, looking over her shoulder at the pack village. People were out and about. Emily's presence had been explained briefly in the pack link earlier in the morning, but Noah said they'd have a meeting about her later. The lake sparkled between the trees. Lillian squinted. She could see small figures against the water. The twins would probably take her to the lake first, it was the pups' favorite place.

"Don't worry, I have a feeling she'll be fine," Eva said, bringing Lillian's attention back to her. She tipped her head back to look at Lillian, her auburn hair glinting like rubies under the sunlight. "Also, you can do a lot to make her integration easier."

Lillian perked up. "Yeah? How?"

"You were the person hurt by her brother," Eva said. "If the pack sees that you're getting along well, it'll be easier for them to accept her."

Lillian slowly nodded. It made sense. She looked at Eva's belly and grinned, changing the subject. "So, when are you going to pop?"

"It should be soon," Eva said with a heavy sigh. "But Anna first. If she gets any bigger, she'll disappear behind her belly."

Lillian chuckled. Anna was getting huge. But it was expected considering her mate's size.

"If the child inherits Johnson's build, Anna will be ripped open," Eva said with a mischievous grin.

Lillian laughed. "Oh my god, Eva! Don't put pictures in my head!"

Lillian was reminded of her own labor. With twins, she had been huge as well. Giving birth had not been easy.

Lillian felt Noah coming closer. She left Eva's porch and looked around for him. Noah strode through the pack village, looking his usual stoic self. He saw Lillian and veered towards her. Lillian met him halfway. He hugged her and kissed her hair.

"The twins are with Emily?" He asked.

"Yes," Lillian replied. "I told them to call her aunt."

He paused. "That will help her adapt sooner."

"Yes, that's what I thought, too," she replied, pulling away, she looked at his face and inspected the bond. He didn't feel like he was ready to pull someone's head off. "I take it meeting Albert went well?"

He shrugged. "As well as it could go."

He threw his arm around her shoulders and they walked towards the fields. "He was more angry than heartbroken, from what I could see," Noah said. "The fact that his daughter chose us to settle with made him more angry than the fact that she left the pack at all."

"Maybe he was expecting her to leave," Lillian said. "Or maybe he doesn't really care that she did."

"Probably the latter," Noah said, shaking his head. "I can't understand him."

Lillian wrapped her arm around Noah's waist. "I should hope you don't. He's a sick asshole. It's no wonder his son turned out the way he did."

Noah nodded. "The Wolf Council sent a summon. Albert must have contacted them before yesterday for them to act this soon."

Lillian's heart stuttered. She couldn't help it. She knew the chance that the council would take the twins away from her was basically nil, but she still worried.

"I also increased security measures around the pack," Noah said as they stopped under the shade of a tree near the fields. The sun was playing hide and seek. Noah's eyes glowed. "That means no venturing out into the woods on your own until this is behind us."

Lillian sighed and nodded. "Okay."

"I also put the transfer wolves under watch," Noah added. squinting his eyes against the sun, he looked at the sprawling fields.

"Won't that bother them?" Lillian asked.

"They'll deal," Noah said. "We're not going to take another risk like we did with Blake."

"Spoken like an Alpha who expects his every word to be obeyed," Lillian said, rolling her eyes. She would have to make sure to meet with the transfer wolves one by one in order to explain the situation.

"I am an alpha," Noah said, his eyes crinkling.

"Yes, yes, your highness," Lillian said. She kissed his cheek and patted his chest. "I gotta go work. See you later. Love you."

*** **** ***

Noah watched Lillian jog to the shed. Robert waved his hand at Noah, then pulled on his work gloves while screaming something at Lillian. Lillian's laughter rang in the air around them, joining the symphony of the forest.

Noah forced himself to move. He would love to spend the whole day with her, but he had work to do.

First things first, he checked on the pups. Emily and the twins were playing in the shore of the lake near the pack house. Emily crouched on the sand, watching the twins and Elias and Jackson chase another group of pups down the shore. Her huddled form was small, and Noah was reminded again of her young age. She was still a child herself.

"Weren't you supposed to show Emily around the pack?" Noah linked Ezra.

The pup froze and looked left and right, searching for Noah, when he didn't find him, he resumed his chase. "We're showing her the lake!"

Noah smiled to himself. He made his way to his office in the pack house. "Why don't you guys show her the way to my office," he said. "I want to have a word with her."

"Now?" Ezra asked.

"Yes, please," Noah said.

The pup's disappointment through the link was palpable. The twins were now at an age where the pups were initiated into contributing to the pack's everyday life. To build their confidence and sense of community and responsibility, all pups around the age of six were asked to run small errands by random members of the pack.

Lisette was not in his office yet. Noah sat behind his desk after opening the window to let in the morning air.

A few minutes later, footsteps echoed down the hallway. Two small, quick knocks.

"Come in," Noah called, but the door was already pushed open and Ezra and Elijah strode inside. Emily stood uncertain at the doorstep.

"This is Noah's office," Elijah said, jumping on his tip toes next to Ezra.

"We showed her your office," Ezra added.

"Thank you," Noah said. "You can go now-"

The twins sprinted out of his office, their feet scurrying down the hallway.

Emily pushed her hair behind her ears and stepped inside, standing awkwardly.

"Sit," Noah said, waving his hand to the seat in front of his desk. He fired up the computer as Emily perched on the chair, her hands linked tightly in her lap. "Is anyone giving you a hard time?"

She immediately shook her head, her eyes never meeting his. "No. Thank you for taking me in."

Noah knew his pack members wouldn't be openly hostile to her. But some could still find ways to let her know she was the sister of a criminal.

"Give them time," he said. "Right now, they see you as the sister of someone who'd hurt a female member of their pack. Once they get to know you, they'll see past that to the person that you are."

She nodded, clutching the edge of the chair, her knee bouncing. "Okay."

"Alright," he looked at his computer screen. "What did you do in your old pack?"

"I-I was a warrior," she said in a small voice.

Noah stifled a growl. Albert, that bastard. Submissives were not violent wolves compared to dominants. Having a submissive be a warrior went against the instinct of their wolves. It made the submissive ill as time went by, and it screwed with the balance of the pack. No wonder Emily's wolf was overly subdued, she'd been a triangle pushed into a square hole forcibly.

"Do you want to keep being a warrior?" Noah asked, just to see how she'd react.

"I'll do whatever is needed," she said.

"That's not what I asked," Noah said.

Her shoulders hunched. "I don't want to be a warrior," she mumbled.

"Good. That's that," he said, scrolling through the list of vacancies in the pack. There were very few at the moment. "What do you want to do? Do you have a passion? Something you're good at?"

Emily glanced up at him, surprised. "I don't know." She paused. "I like pups. And knitting."

Noah nodded. He clasped his hands on his desk and looked at her. "That's a good start. Winter here is colder and more rough than winter in Texas," he said. "One of seamstresses of the pack is on maternity leave. They're going to need a replacement in order to get clothes and blankets and all that stuff ready for winter."

She nodded, her eyes hopeful. Noah could feel her energy beginning to shift. Being needed and good at something would give her and her wolf a purpose and a sense of self.

"Get the twins to take you to Caroline's home," he said. "I'll let her know you're coming."

"Thank you." She stood up and hesitated. "Thank you for being kind. I'll make sure I'm not holding the pack back."

"No wolf is holding the pack back unless the alpha is incompetent," Noah said. "Your father forced you to be something you're not. Every wolf has a purpose and a role in the pack, it's the alpha's role to make sure they find their place."

Her bottom lip trembled. She pursed her lips and nodded.

"Go. We'll talk later," he said softly.

She left, and the salty tang of her tears remained in the office. Poor kid.

Noah's phone rang. Harvey. He'd been waiting for his call. Noah picked up. "Yes?"

"You were right," Harvey said. "There is a contract on Lillian's head."