Two videos filled the screen, side by side, showing a dark room in the green and black colors of the night vision cameras.

The view shook for a moment before stabilizing. The room was skewed on the screen. Lillian groaned, then the cameras turned upright.

Glowing eyes filled the screen. Half starved males and females, sitting or crouching, looked at the new intruder through blazing eyes.

"Ugh, my head..." Lillian said. Noah's heart raced. Deep growls rumbled as some of the figures in the room stalked toward Lillian.

Lillian scrambled up, the camera view shakily moving up with her. Her breathing was too loud. "It's okay, I'm here to help. I'm not going to hurt you. Amanda, you there?"

Noah hated the fear he heard in her voice. His hands tightened on the device.

"Oh my God," Amanda's voice in the recording sounded as petrified as Lillian's. "Yes, I'm with you."

"What should I do?" Lillian said.

"I-I don't know, just stay alive, help is coming...just-just don't look them in the eyes."

"But-"

The figures crept forward. Their eyes blazed with the intent to defend themselves against an unknown threat. Lillian backed up. "Stop! Please. I'm not going to hurt you. I'm here to help."

The wolves moved closer still, not showing any sign of hearing Lillian's plea.

But then Lillian spoke in a voice that reached deep into Noah's core and ruffled his wolf's fur.

"Stop!" A voice Noah knew belonged to Lillian, but had more authority and dominance than some of the alphas' he knew. "I'm not here to harm you, stop right now. Calm. Down."

Everything froze. Growls ceased and glowing eyes blinked. The wolves stopped moving and cocked their heads to the side.

One of them approached Lillian, movements slow. Noah recognized the small female who'd been stuck to Lillian's side since they left the club.

"Stop!" Lillian said again, her voice shaking.

The female stopped, a heart wrenching whimper escaped her throat as she lowered herself to the ground.

Lillian dropped on the floor with a ragged breath. "It's okay, I'm sorry. It's okay," she said, sympathy choking her voice.

The female slid closer and closer, whimpering and whining, until she reached Lillian. She put her head on Lillian's lap and curled her small body around herself. All the while the wolves in the room watched the interaction with unwavering attention.

"It's going to be okay," Lillian said. "Help is coming."

Noah stopped the video, silently handing Amanda the datapad. His mind churned with all the possible explanations of what he'd just witnessed.

"You felt that, too?" Amanda asked. "Her tone... no normal human being would've been able to wield such a tone."

Noah felt it, alright. The tone of voice Lillian had used to calm those wolves down was that of an alpha. A dominant being ordering others.

But no human would ever have the capacity of ordering immortals around. Humans were at the bottom of the food chain. They were prey.

"She has twin sons, right?" Amanda said. "Do you know who the father is?"

Noah shrugged. "No idea. Why? What are you thinking?"

"I don't know, if the father is an alpha wolf, then the twins will most likely grow up to be alpha wolves, too," Amanda said, running a hand through her hair. "My point is, maybe her sons have passed on something to her during the pregnancy? I don't know, I'm just grasping at straws here, trying to make some sort of sense out of this."

Noah shook his head. "Her entire situation is unheard of. I don't think we'll be able to make sense of anything unusual Lillian is able to do. Why the hell did they throw her with the wolves anyway?"

"She pissed off one of the vampires," Amanda said, a satisfied smile playing on her lips. "Stabbed him in the back. The one you guys found bleeding out? She did that. He's dead now, the silver in the knife found its way to his heart."

Noah's brows raised. He blinked soundlessly for a moment. "Okay."

Amanda laughed. "Anyway, the audio and video feed were blocked for a few minutes before she did that, my guess is it was because of Galvin. You know how some immortals have those anti-technology spells cast on them? Galvin probably had one, which scrambled with the signal when he was near her. But other than that, I have the video of the entire night saved. I'll send it to you."

"Thank you." Noah gestured to the datapad. "Who saw that one?"

"Just Arthur, Harvey and one of my vampires," Amanda said. "Don't worry, we'll keep it a secret for now."

"Appreciate it."

Noah walked out of the building with Amanda. The world was painted in shades of vivid green, the fresh colors of after rainfall. Grateful for the crisp, cold air, Noah took a deep breath. Rain and earth and vampires. Arthur's soldiers.

It was odd smelling vampires so deep in the woods. They mostly kept to big cities and densely populated areas.

He shifted on his feet and glanced at Amanda. Usually, he wouldn't get involved in other people's business, but Harvey was a friend. Also, now that Noah had Lillian, he felt a modicum of sympathy for the man with an angry mate. "Don't be hard on him."

Amanda's brows raised. She sighed deeply, her breath fogging. "I know. He's my mate. But when another woman shares intimate details that no one has business knowing, I think I'm allowed to be a little pissed."

"When you put it that way..."

Amanda chuckled. Minutes later, Arthur, Harvey and Benjamin joined them outside. Harvey kept trying to catch Amanda's eyes as everyone discussed what had been revealed, to no avail.

"We should talk to the victims," Benjamin said. "See if they can tell us anything about any other patrons we don't know of."

"Other than Galvin, the unmated females were the only ones who might know the identity of the man who gave Galvin the spelled dust," Arthur said.

"What are we going to do with the dickheads inside?" Benjamin jerked his head to the building. "The other alphas will want to get a hand in their punishment. And the alpha whose female member was found dead in Alaska would definitely want Galvin's head."

"It's not that simple, and you know it," Arthur said. "This is a complicated affair. Witches, vampires and wolves are involved, which means this falls under the jurisdiction of the High Council. As much as I would like to see them all hunted down and torn to shreds, you know the witches will raise hell.

"And as much as I hate it, I can't just hand over Galvin to the wolves. It will undermine my authority, and the rest of the Five might get involved. I can't do that. We have to go through the High Council."

Noah grunted. He hated politics. His wolf couldn't understand the need for so much power play. In his mind, the matter was simple; just kill the transgressor.

"We'll have to call in a council gathering anyway," Amanda said. "Having several coven heads involved with vampires in a criminal operation of this size will not be overlooked. Especially after the gate scheme."

"The witches will be ostracized again." Arthur sighed. "I'll call the council together. The wolves will probably contact you, Alpha Benjamin. Tell them they're welcome to come here and we'll do our best to answer their questions."

Benjamin laughed. "Good luck with trying to keep them from going after those in the cells. You should also be ready for the witches to come poking their noses in."

"I'll deal with it," Arthur said. "Meanwhile, it would be good to see if the victims know anything."

"I'll see what I can get from the wolves in my pack," Noah said, then looked at Benjamin. "The females are still all in your pack?"

"Yeah, they're in no state to travel, so they'll stay there for a couple of days. I'll see if they want to talk about what they can remember. But I already have a couple of alphas coming to check on their pack members, I'll let them know what we came up with."

Arthur went inside. Benjamin and Noah watched Amanda walk away. Harvey followed her. They must have been linking because abruptly, Amanda whirled around, glaring at Harvey through eyes gone red.

"I said, no!" She snarled and disappeared into the trees.

"Come on, Amy!" Harvey called after her, throwing his hands up.

Benjamin snorted a laugh, then coughed a pathetic attempt to cover it. Harvey looked over his shoulder at him. "What?"

"Nothing," Benjamin waved him off. "Just thinking how fortunate I am that I don't have a mate yet. She looked ready to carve out your heart and shove it down your throat."

Harvey smirked and adjusted the cuffs of his suit. "How naive of you, Benjamin. I like fighting with Amanda. Do you know why?"

"Why?" Benjamin asked. Noah, too, was curious.

"Because that means we're going to make up, and there's nothing better than make up sex." Harvey winked. "Something you'll learn when you grow up."

The vampire zipped into the woods in pursuit of his mate. Benjamin's growl echoed in the quiet morning.

"Idiot," Benjamin muttered, then looked at Noah. "What about you? Made up yet?"

Noah growled at him.

"I'll take that as a no," Benjamin said. "you better hurry up. I saw some of the vampires eying her up earlier. I can't say I blame them, she's eye-catching in a sweet way."

Rolling his eyes, Noah walked away from the friend who was riling him up on purpose. "Harvey is right, Benny. You need to grow up."

Noah shifted, tearing apart the shorts he was wearing, and sprinted home. Benjamin's annoyed curse reverberated in his head. Noah had places to be, a pack to run, twins to check on, and a woman to win back.

*** *** ***

"Are you sure you're okay?"

Eva asked for the hundredth time that morning. Lillian smiled at her, shaking her head in exasperation. "I'm fine. Really, really fine."

Pinching her lips to the side, the red-head gave Lillian another squinted look and nodded, then bent back over the female sleeping soundly on the bed.

"How is she doing?" Lillian asked.

"As expected, I guess," Eva sighed, replacing the empty IV bag with a new one. "Her body is loaded with silver. It's a wonder she's still alive."

Lillian stroked the slender hand she held. The girl hadn't let go of Lillian ever since she'd thrown herself in Lillian's lap in that dingy prison. She was too thin, bones sticking out and pushing against delicate skin. And the light eyes Lillian had glimpsed before the girl went to sleep were dull, empty bruises. Too large for her face.

"She's so young," Lillian mumbled, suppressing another urge of anger at what this wolf and all the others had been through. No one deserved to endure such horror.

Eva brushed her hand over the girl's hair and straightened up. "You should go have a bite. They won't wake up for another hour or so. And I want you to be in full strength when that happens. For some reason, they respond well to you."

"Okay," Lillian didn't argue, she wanted to check on the twins, too. Now that the sun had come up, she no longer worried she'd wake Jennifer up. Most pack members were up and about by the sun.

But first, Lillian went to her own cabin. She showered, changed into her own clothes and brushed away her hair in a ponytail.

Eva had gotten her a change of clothes when she got into the infirmary with the wolves, but Lillian needed to scrub the night off her face and body. She felt tons lighter without the makeup and the smell of blood. But the stench of death and despair still coated her skin and tainted her nose.

When she finally went to Jennifer's, the twins were nowhere to be seen. The older woman ushered her inside to the kitchen, sat her at the island and put a glass of juice in front of her.

"Drink it while I get you something to eat," Jennifer said, moving to the fridge. "You look like hell."

The sweet and tangy juice woke up Lillian's taste buds and her appetite. Her stomach growled. "Thanks. Where are the kids?"

Rolling her eyes, Jennifer moved to the stove, cracked two eggs in a bowl and beat them. "Don't get sassy with me, young woman. So, what in the world is going on? Noah called in a pack meeting."

"He did?" Lillian stared at her drink, trying to ignore the piercing ache in her heart. Even Jennifer's heavy southern accent failed to uplift her spirits as it usually did. "Well, they found the kidnapped girls, and a whole group of tortured lone wolves imprisoned along with them."

"Dear God..." Jennifer breathed out, shaking her head before pouring the eggs in the pan. They both watched the sizzling mixture for a silent moment before Jennifer gave a deep sigh and picked up a wooden spatula. "At least they found them. Getting them back to normal would take some time, though."

"Mhm," Lillian nodded, then smiled at Jennifer's back. "You really aren't going to tell me where the boys are?"

Lillian wasn't really worried. She knew Jennifer cared for the twins as she cared for her own grandchildren, and Lillian could link them whenever she wanted.

Keen blue eyes looked over at Lillian. "If you tell me why you look like you want to curl up in a corner and cry your eyes out, maybe."

Lillian laughed, then her laugh turned watery. Her throat closed up, and all of a sudden she was fighting off tears.

"Oh, sweetheart," Jennifer murmured. Turning off the stove, she came around the island and enclosed Lillian in her arms.

"This is ridiculous," Lillian said, hand covering her wet face. "I shouldn't be crying."

"Shh," Jennifer rubbed Lillian's back. Holding back the dam was useless, so Lillian let the tears fall freely. Hiccups and gasps occasionally jerked her body. At that moment, she missed Lydia so much it made her physically sick. But Jennifer's comforting warmth made it better.

When Lillian finally regained some semblance of control over herself, Jennifer stepped back and handed her a napkin. Lillian pressed it to her burning eyes.

"Want to talk about it?"

"I don't know, it's just..." Lillian sighed, looking into kind blue eyes, the gaze so comforting and concerned. Words sputtered out of her mouth. "It's everything. The whole night was just... Noah was being an ass and he knew everything and I saw all those girls half dead and the vampires were feeding off the humans and- and-" Lillian gasped, eyes wide in terror. "Oh my God, I think I killed someone-"

"Okay." Jennifer put her hand on Lillian's shoulders. "Breathe."

Lillian took a deep, shaky breath.

"Why don't you start from the beginning," Jennifer said. "What did Noah do?"

Noah's words shouldn't have bothered Lillian. Why should she care what some man thought of her? But Lillian didn't want to lie to herself anymore. Noah wasn't just a random man.

Somewhere along the line, something had started taking shape between the two of them. Lillian didn't know if it ran both ways. But she knew herself. Affection, fondness, a seed of a strong emotion was growing roots in her heart, growing with every look, every word, every brush of a finger. Lillian wanted to smother her emotions and act upon them at the same time, she wanted Noah but knew that wolves only ever took one woman seriously; their own mate.

And then they had argued. Worse, she found out he'd known all along about her closely kept secret. The stab of pain she felt was too sharp, too deep for her to brush aside.

Lillian told Jennifer about the situation that had led to her altercation with Noah. Jennifer sat next to her, listening with rapt attention.

When she finished, Jennifer blew a deep breath. "I can't say I'm surprised he was against sending you in. But I am surprised with how he reacted. Noah is the most level headed person I know. I would've never thought he'd lose his temper that way."

Lillian just shrugged, swirling what was left of the juice in the glass. Jennifer went back to the stove, turned it on and resumed making the scrambled eggs.

That was what Lillian loved about Jennifer. She was wise, never quick to judge, and weighed her words carefully.

After plating the eggs, Jennifer toasted some bread then put it all in front of Lillian with a one-worded order. "Eat."

Lillian already felt better. So she ate while Jennifer talked.

"You know, dominant male wolves are pushy, if you give an inch they'd take a mile." Jennifer wrinkled her nose. "Sometimes I wonder why in the world did I settle for one."

Lillian smiled through a mouthful of eggs.

"But that's how they're built, only an idiot will try to change it." Jennifer looked out of the window for a long moment then back at Lillian. "That doesn't mean you have to bend over to their will and let them push you around. For one, dominants love the constant challenge of a mate who could put them back in place. And of course, if you turn into a willing, nodding doll with no spirit the relationship wouldn't be healthy."

Lillian frowned, swallowing the food. "Why are you all talking about relationships? Amanda said so, too. You know there's nothing of the sort between Noah and I."

Jennifer raised an incredulous brow. "Isn't there?"

Lillian almost choked on her eggs. She washed down the food with the leftover juice and looked away. "Well, no. Not really... I don't know."

Lillian put the fork down and faced Jennifer's knowing gaze. "Okay, here's the thing. Maybe there's a possibility of something, but what I know from living with you is that wolves only settle down with their mates. And to be honest, I have no desire of being a fleeting challenge in an alpha's life- Why are you laughing?!"

Jennifer fanned her face, her amused eyes moist with tears and her grin wide. "Oh, sweetheart. What do you think Noah's been doing all this time?"

Lillian blinked, opened her mouth then closed it, her mind going blank.

Jennifer patted Lillian's hand. "I know Anna explained the mating game to you, right?"

An absent nod. Lillian's mind raced, going over Anna's words, over past moments and conversations with Noah. "Uh... that's not..."

Jennifer nodded, looking as if she'd not just dropped a bomb over Lillian's head.

"You can think about it later," she said, pointing to the plate of forgotten eggs. Lillian picked up the fork because no one said no to Jennifer, and numbly put food in her mouth. Her brain was too busy to taste the creamy eggs.

"As I was saying, you can't jump whenever they ask you to, and at the same time you can't change their nature, their instincts. If it was up to them, they'll probably bundle us in bubble wrap and keep us tucked in safely at home. But in every relationship, there are compromises. That's how things work. Now, I know that Noah shouldn't have run his mouth like that, I'm honestly shocked he did. He's not the type. But maybe that shows how terrified he was. You know he didn't mean the things he said, right?"

Lillian lifted a shoulder, avoiding Jennifer's eyes. "I guess."

"Lillian?"

Lillian never thought she'd speak her secret to someone else other than Lydia. She looked at Jennifer, and all she saw was a mother worried about her child, and Lillian knew this woman would never judge her by what had been done to her. Lillian wondered how she could be so lucky to have Jennifer in her life.

"Can I tell you a secret?" Lillian said, looking around the house.

Jennifer frowned. "Of course, sweetheart. No one's here so you can talk freely."

"It's about the twins' father." Lillian bit her lip, her heart racing. "The truth is, I don't know who he is. I-I was...um- raped. I have no idea who the man was, just that he's a wolf and..."

Lillian shrugged. Jennifer sucked in a sharp breath. Her eyes glowed amber, and her hands fisted on the table. Then her face softened and she put a gentle hand on Lillian's, her voice thick when she whispered. "I'm sorry you had to go through that."

"It's okay. I mean I got the twins out of it so it isn't all so bad, right?" Lillian smiled, looking down as she worked on the knot in her throat. "Anyway, Noah apparently had a background check done when I first landed in the pack. He knows about it..."

"And you think his words weren't just angry words," Jennifer said, Lillian nodded. Jennifer leaned closer to Lillian and caught her eyes. "Lillian, you know Noah. Do you really think he's that small-minded?"

Shoulders slumped, Lillian shook her head. Under all that rough exterior, Lillian knew how generous Noah's heart was. She was ravaged by her own insecurities, by memories of rejection and judgment. Before the twins and Lydia, Lillian had been an outcast, someone defined by labels and not an individual identity. She'd been the poor orphan, then the delusional girl, then the slut who'd asked for it.

It had taken her so long to see herself outside of the frame she'd been tucked in since she was a child, and it had taken the twins to do that. But when had she ever thought about herself as an individual, a woman, instead of simply being a mother?

Lillian shook her head, hoping it would shake her out of the woe-is-me mood she'd been in the whole night.

"He apologized, right?" Jennifer asked.

Lillian nodded. Jennifer pushed some stray strands of hair off Lillian's face. "Then it's up to you, sweetheart. No one can tell you whether to forgive him or not, you'll know when you're ready to."

Lillian went back to eating, her head hurting from the lack of sleep and her disorderly thoughts.

"The twins are with Noah," Jennifer said after Lillian finished her breakfast. "He came to check on them first thing in the morning."

Lillian's heart stuttered. "Oh?"

Jennifer smiled knowingly. She patted Lillian's back and stood up.

"He came to check on them. They wanted to go outside so he took them for breakfast in the pack house. The pack meeting is in a few minutes. Let's go." 

--- ---- ---

Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. 

Don't forget to vote and comment! 

Also, for everyone asking about text to speech in Enigma. I contacted Wattpad about it since I can't activate it myself, and I'm still waiting for their response. 

P.S.: If you want to follow me on IG, this is my username: when_mia_writes

Much love <3

M.B.