Lillian watched the scarred man- Noah- leave with a hard glare.

He was obviously the alpha of the territory they'd landed on. And he was the scariest man she had ever met. She kept her emotions well locked up, though, refusing to let her fear show.

It wasn't the scars that made him so terrifying- three claw marks beginning in the right temple then spanning down to the bottom of his cheek, barely missing his eye and touching the side of his lip, leaving gaps in his jet black beard. Not counting the ones on his bare chest and arms.

No. His sheer presence radiated authority and power. And when the amber of his eyes glowed, she could feel the waves of power choking her. Even her boys turned meek, clutching her shirt with tight, tiny fists.

She wondered where her torn sweater ended up. She was only thankful the doctor was a woman, she couldn't bear the thought of a man's hands on her while she was unconscious and defenseless.

"Mommy, are we going back to get granny?"

Lillian looked at the naked four year olds she treasured more than life itself. She couldn't think about Lydia. Not now. She needed to be strong and Lydia's final moments threatened to drown her in a well of grief.

Also, telling the kids they'd never see their granny again didn't seem prudent. Not mere hours after they'd been chased by a group of ill-intending men.

So she distracted them. She asked about what happened when she hadn't been awake. The boys were more than happy to recount every detail. She tucked them under the blanket even though they didn't look cold, and listened. She stifled a shudder when they told her she was carried by a man. Considering the half-dressed state of the two males she'd seen so far, she didn't particularly appreciate the fact she was plastered to a naked male chest all the way here.

At least they were alive.

A knock on the door interrupted the boys' story. The doctor, Eva. She brought a stack of clothes and blankets. Lillian apologized after seeing the state of the bed. The sheets were damp and streaked with mud.

"Don't worry about it. We'll get them cleaned tomorrow. You can use the other beds." Eva pointed vaguely around the room. "You can also use the shower, there's hot water and everything you may need."

"Thanks." Lillian attempted a smile at the woman. She needed to have at least one friendly person in her corner if she wanted to survive.

"You're safe here tonight. Just have a good rest and we'll talk tomorrow."

They kept saying that. Eva left shortly afterwards. Lillian stumbled to the bathroom with Elijah and Ezra. Unlike the room- which was all wood- the bathroom was tiled in shades of white and cream. It was a basic bathtub with a shower, a sink, a mirror and some cabinets.

She took care of the kids first. After giving them a good scrub in the bath, she bundled them in the clothes Eva brought. They fit perfectly. Then as the boys waited inside the bathroom, she took a shower.

The hot water felt like heaven. But it was still a stranger's bathroom. She wasn't comfortable in it. She couldn't savor the shower as much as she would've liked.

"Baby?" Lillian asked Ezra later when the kids were tucked inside the blanket with her. Elijah was already snoring. The single bed was crowded but she needed the comfort of their warm bodies more than they needed hers. Lillian kept the bedside lamp on. "Do you know how you guys did that trick? when you spoke in my head."

Shadow and light played on Ezra's face as he yawned.

"We do that all the time," he replied off-handedly, as if it was something everyone could do.

"Since when?" Lillian asked as if it wasn't a big deal.

A sleepy frown on Ezra's face. "I don't know..."

His eyes closed. Lillian listened to her kids' even breathing and let a tear escape. She was so grateful to have her children alive that she didn't care if they could do some weird telepathic trick. She released a deep breath, but it failed to dislodge the rock on her chest. At least, the twins would be safe here even if she was killed or kicked out tomorrow.

No. She couldn't even fathom life without the twins. She had been barely existing before them. To not have them in her life...

She shuddered as the black void of her teenage years threatened to open and swallow her whole.

Sleep wouldn't come, unsurprisingly. Lydia's bloodied body was etched to the back of Lillian's eyelids, waiting to rip her heart to pieces every time she closed her eyes. Lillian jumped at the sound of the wind outside. She kept a watchful gaze on the door and the dark windows.

According to the faint light outside, it was almost dawn when there was movement outside the room. The boys stirred but remained asleep. She slowly sat up and sneaked out of the bed, her head pounding and her entire body sore, either from lack of sleep or from the car accident, probably both.

She perched on another bed, facing the door, and thought about her situation. One thing was for certain, the wolves did not like having her on their land. If they let her go, she wasn't sure they'd let her keep Elijah and Ezra.

Besides, even if they let her and the boys leave, where would she go? Right now, being in a human city seemed more dangerous. And wasn't that just insane? She would never have thought she'd feel safer on immortal land. Not safe, just safer.

However, Lillian was sure of one thing. She would never willingly let Elijah and Ezra go. She'd lived her entire life yearning for a family, and she wouldn't easily give it up now that she had it.

"Over my dead body," she mumbled under her breath, meaning the words quite literally, when the door opened. Standing up straight, she lifted her chin and locked her fear and apprehension behind a mask of tenacity.

It was the alpha who graced her with his presence. The light from the lamp barely reached his face. But not even darkness could cloak his immense built and bare chest. He was sculpted from rocky mountains, his entire body bunching muscles and scars that spoke of a world so different from hers.

They stared at each other. His amber eyes glowed for a fleeting moment before their light dimmed again. The alpha crooked a finger, indicating for her to follow him.

She narrowed her eyes at the order, but moved towards the door.

"I won't leave my kids here alone," she whispered.

She barely reached his breastbone. Up close he was even bigger, wider. He glanced over her shoulder at the snoring twins then looked back at her.

"It wasn't a request," he said in a perfectly calm tone. "You don't have a choice. You'll come out either way."

Asshole. Lillian glared at him. He was right though, she didn't have much of a choice. And she'd do best to remember that antagonizing the leader of a wolf pack wasn't in the best interest of her survival. Looking at the size of those muscles, he could break her like a twig.

Lillian stiffened at the thought of being under his mercy. She nodded anyway, following after him when he walked out without a word.

The hallway was a short trip to the main door of the log cabin. Outside, the world was in the dawn shades of blue and gray, the sun having yet to make an appearance.

There were werewolves outside the cabin, men and women who stood around the place, their bodies corded in muscle. They all looked at Lillian with expressions ranging from curiosity to hostility.

It wasn't raining, but the cold was a shock to her body. Dressed in only a white sweatshirt and black sweats, her feet were bare to the freezing wet grass.

The alpha's gravelly voice disturbed the early morning."Why were the humans chasing you?"

"They wanted the kids." Lillian's throat closed up at the thought of the previous night's horrors. "I don't know how they knew they were wolves. They killed the woman we were living with. She warned me before she died."

Lydia's final moments flashed in her head again, choking her. Not now.

The scarred wolf leading the way didn't reply. He also didn't seem to feel anything while she was freezing her butt off. He was dressed in a pair of shorts, bare chested and barefoot, but he strode through the forest like it was a sunny shore.

Cursing him in her mind, she almost jogged to keep up with his giant steps. He led her through the trees surrounding the lone cabin. Lillian stole a glance over her shoulders, the thick trees quickly swallowed the cabin where her children slept.

The fact that the alpha, Noah, was walking in front meant he was very confident she wouldn't- and couldn't- escape.

His jet black hair fell in thick and glossy waves until it curled at the back of his neck. His back displayed an array of muscles Lillian had never before seen. It spoke of a strength born of necessity and not of pressing weights in the gym.

Lillian crossed her arms to ward off the chill. Deep down, she was terrified of what awaited her. But as he'd so kindly pointed out earlier, she had no choice in the matter.

She almost ran into him when he abruptly stopped. Tripping to a halt, she took in the place.

It was a small, lush clearing. In the middle of it stood Eva, still dressed in a plain t-shirt and jeans despite the cold. Sean, still glaring daggers at her in his impressive half dressed state, and a woman she didn't recognize.

Lillian felt that the woman wasn't a werewolf, just as she'd felt that Eva and the two males weren't humans when she first laid eyes on them.

But since she didn't have much experience in telling apart different immortal races, she couldn't tell what the woman was.

Her long orange maxi dress and white fur coat did nothing to hide her tall, curvy figure. Long black hair waved down her back to her hips, a tan skin that almost exuded light, and catlike blue eyes that watched Noah in unmistakable appreciation.

Eva was beautiful, with her smooth red hair and hazel eyes, heads would turn if she walked down a street in Lillian's little town. But this woman? This woman was on a whole different level. It was as if she radiated seductiveness. She had the kind of beauty that made men go to war.

Noah looked back at Lillian and frowned harder. She sniffed, clenching her teeth to keep them from chattering. She could barely feel her feet anymore.

"Let's go," he mumbled, then led her to the awaiting three immortals. The stunning woman beamed at Noah with eyes full of hunger and possessiveness. It made Lillian want to take a step away from him. He was all hers for all Lillian cared.

"Noah, my dear." Her voice was husky, a siren's call coming out of full cherry red lips. "You have no idea how delighted I was to know you've asked for me so early in the day."

Noah's expression was as stoic as ever. Eva indiscreetly rolled her eyes.

"Karina, this is the human," Noah said, indicating Lillian with a jerk of his head.

"Oh." Karina scanned Lillian from head to toe. Lillian could only imagine the shivering mess she was right now. Her hair was all over the place, her lips must be turning blue and her face was a pale, scratched mess.

Lillian's gaze clashed with Karina's. The woman tilted her head, the blue of her eyes seeming to gleam.

Lillian had the sudden urge to drop to her knees and worship the woman. How could she be so beautiful, so perfect? Looking at her felt like the sun shining after a long, dreary winter. Lillian would abandon everything for the woman-

No!

Lillian shook her head at that foreign thought. She wouldn't be abandoning anything, not for anyone and certainly not for this strange woman. A haze that Lillian didn't realize had taken over her mind cleared up with a pop, her ears rang. Lillian frowned, blinking rapidly.

Karina narrowed her eyes as they gleamed brighter. Lillian shrugged her stiff shoulders, shaking off the unreasonable thoughts that lingered at the periphery of her mind.

"What..." Karina murmured, her eyes returning to normal. Lillian could breathe easily again.

"Wow," Eva said with a grin. "It really didn't work."

Karina's face turned hard as she glared at Lillian. "What is she? She feels like a human, but humans are the most vulnerable species to me."

Realization dawned on Lillian in unrepentant fury. "You were in my head," she said through gritted teeth.

Karina dismissed Lillian with a flick of her wrist. The beautiful woman ranked lower than Noah on Lillian's list of favorite people. And Noah was at the very bottom.

"That's why you're here," Noah told Karina. "She says she mothered wolf pups. Can you know for sure?"

Karina laughed out loud, the sound purely musical. But now that Lillian was aware of the woman's nature, she wasn't affected. She knew immortals had some tricks up their sleeves, that was why they stayed at the top of the world. But living it first hand made her skin crawl.

"Oh, this is very amusing." Karina looked at Lillian as if she was a bug she could crush with a clap of her hands. "Yes, of course I can. But since she's immune to my powers, there's a chance she's not truly human."

Lillian doubted that. Sure, she'd been a bit of an odd human all her life. But that was what she was, a human. Eva and Sean looked skeptical. Noah was as impassive as ever.

"Can you check?" the alpha asked again. Lillian looked at him like he sprouted another head.

"You can't be serious," Lillian said, her eyes wide in disbelief. "Just because her little trick didn't work on me doesn't mean I'm not human."

"You're also supposed to be the mother of two wolf pups," Sean said, making Lillian look away from Noah's probing gaze.

"Still," Lillian persisted. "I mean, you guys can't tell if I'm human or not? can't you, like, tell by the way I smell or something?"

"You do smell awfully human," Sean replied, a slightly disgusted expression as he looked her over. "But magic can do all sorts of things. We can never be too sure."

"Especially after the fiasco with Arthur's mate months ago," Eva said. "Elle lived as a human, too, for some years, and no one suspected anything until she came in contact with her mate."

Lillian was vaguely aware of the fact that Lord Arthur, the vampire who ruled over the Americas, had taken a mate. She hadn't been too invested in the news that made a buzz a few months ago.

"True," Karina said. "Elle's existence is an oddity on so many levels. After she came to light, we learned that anything is possible. So yes, this... human, could very well be something else. I just need a little blood to check."

Lillian took a step back. She wasn't ready to bleed for anyone anytime soon.

"Do it," Noah said. Lillian gaped at him. Sure, they weren't buddies, but that didn't mean he had to jump at the chance of cutting her.

"Just a drop of blood will do, human," Karina said, crouching to scoop a handful of wet soil in her palm. "Your blood isn't of much interest to me. Yet."

That wasn't reassuring. Lillian stifled the sarcastic reply. Eva approached Lillian, her nails turning into claws. Elijah and Ezra did that sometimes, too. It hadn't been odd for claws or fangs to occasionally make an appearance in their household.

The red-headed wolf took Lillian's hand in her own, pricked her index finger with the sharp tip of one claw, then squeezed the bleeding skin on top of the soil Karina held in her palm.

"More," Karina said. Lillian didn't register Eva squeezing more of her blood because she was too busy staring at Karina. Black consumed her eyes, churning with darkness.

Lillian gulped. She was having a hard time keeping her fear locked in. But she gritted her teeth and kept her expression in check. Predators fed on the fear of their prey. And Lillian had no illusions, she was the prey here.

"Enough," Karina said.

Lillian cradled her hand to her chest and watched with the wolves as Karina- who Lillian was starting to believe was a witch- put her other palm over the soil. She chanted words under her breath, it sounded like a foreign language to Lillian's ears. A creepy foreign language.

The soil, wet with Lillian's blood, turned into mud. Then it bubbled, steam rose out of it before it fizzled out with a hiss. Seconds later, Karina's eyes turned into their original blue. A scowl twisted her perfect features.

"She's human." Karina dropped the soil to the ground with a disgusted expression. "She is definitely human."

Well, that was anticlimactic. After that show and the gripping anticipation, Lillian thought there would be some sort of revelation about her secret ancestry.

Not really. She knew she was human. These people were just too damn paranoid.

Noah looked at Lillian, clearly confused. A very rare display of emotion on that cold mask.

"Are you certain?" Sean asked, obviously disappointed.

"Blood does not lie, wolf," Karina said, dusting her hands.

"Okay," Eva said with a raised brow. "That leaves the matter of pups."

"Yes. Although I don't see how a human can possibly carry immortal pups in her womb," Karina sighed. "But I can check. I only need the blood of the pups."

"What's with her and blood," Lillian whispered under her breath.

Eva's cough sounded suspiciously close to a snort. Her eyes were amused when she met Lillian's gaze. Lillian had a feeling she wasn't the only one who didn't like the witch.

"They'll be here in a minute," Noah said.

"So what's going to happen afterward?" Lillian asked.

"You're human," Sean said. "You have no business staying on wolf land."

Lillian fisted her hands, meeting the wolf's eyes head on. "You're not taking my kids away from me."

"They're not yours," Sean said through gritted teeth.

"Whatever you say." Lillian scoffed. She was tired of repeating herself. She carried the twins in her belly for nine long months, she gave birth to them in an agonizing eight-hour labor, she nursed them to health and worked her butt off to feed them. She was their mother whether the hard headed wolf agreed or not.

A deep growl filled the clearing. Sean's eyes, a soft brown, turned amber as he took a step towards Lillian. In an instant Eva was in front of him, her hands on his forearms. She murmured something Lillian couldn't hear. Whatever it was, it made him relatively calmer. His eyes lost the amber edge.

Karina looked more than amused. And although Lillian kept her eyes on Sean's in a glare, she could feel the weight of Noah's gaze all the time.

The twins' excited chatter broke the tension. Lillian looked over her shoulders at Elijah and Ezra. The sun rays broke through the clouds, illuminating their beautiful features, the strands of gold in their brown hair shimmered under the morning light.

They were followed by a man. Just like Sean and Noah, he was heavily built, with skin that spoke of hours under the sun and rich brown hair. His brown gaze was playful and light as he watched the boys.

"Mommy!" Elijah ran to her, barefoot, followed by Ezra. The twin grins on their faces refueled Lillian's desperation to keep them safe with her.

Lillian chuckled when Elijah bumped into her with a force too big for a boy his age. Except that he wasn't a normal boy, he was a wolf pup.

"Easy, tiger." She crouched to hug her sons. They wrapped their little arms around her neck and Lillian felt whole again. She swallowed the knot in her throat.

No. She wouldn't be able to let go of her boys. She had led a lonely life before them, stained with darkness and despair. Having them brought color back to her gray existence. She found a reason to live in them, and she would die if she let them go.

Lillian looked up to meet the gaze of the wolf who accompanied her boys. She nodded at him, and he surprisingly nodded back, though his expression remained neutral.

With Sean a safe distance away from them, holding Eva to his chest with a hand on her stomach, Karina stepped forward again. The new wolf, whose name was Jake, was the one who pricked the boys' fingers. Lillian just squeezed hers since the cut was still fresh.

Karina repeated the same process, holding a handful of soil under the blood of Lillian and her boys until it was soaked. Elijah and Ezra bravely winced when Jake's claw broke the skin, but other than that they were fine. Their cuts started healing only seconds later.

That was one of the things she had been pleasantly surprised to learn. It wasn't public knowledge, according to what Lillian knew, but wolves could heal at an alarmingly fast rate compared to humans. She first found that out after her boys first shifted. They would repeatedly scrape themselves, but by the time she sat them down to disinfect the wound, it was already sealed.

She'd been shocked the first time it happened. But, like every mother in her shoes would, she considered it a blessing.

Only Karina's unintelligible words were heard in the clearing. Intense anticipation gripped everyone.

This time there was no bubbling. A bright, pure blue flame unlike anything Lillian ever saw erupted on Karina's palm. Elijah and Ezra gasped, Lillian pulled them behind her as she took a step back.

Karina barked a word and the flame instantly died down, leaving behind burnt soil remains in the witch's palm.

Whatever it was that had just happened, Karina wasn't pleased. She frowned at Lillian and the boys.

"So?" Jake asked from where he stood next to Noah.

Karina gave a stiff nod. "The human speaks the truth. The pups are hers."

Lillian had the childish urge to yell 'I told you so'. She didn't. She just took in the wide eyed gazes around her.

"Karina," Noah said. "Jake will escort you to the border. The coven will receive payment as agreed upon."

"I was hoping to spend more time with you," Karina pouted, actually pouted, those red lips. "But oh, well. I see you have a mess to take care of."

As she passed Noah, she basically rubbed against him as if the clearing wasn't a hundred feet wide. Noah didn't even react until Jake and Karina disappeared.

Sean's teeth were gritted when he spoke. "She can't stay here."

"I didn't ask to stay," Lillian replied, tightening her hold on her children's shoulders. They stayed put as if they could sense the severity of the situation. "I'll take my kids and go." Although she didn't know where.

"You can't just leave," Sean snapped. "You've been raising two wolf pups for five years. You know some things that aren't for human ears. Besides, we can't trust a human to raise two of our own. Your race always screws things up."

"Sean..." Eva said, turning in the man's arms.

"Eva," Sean growled. "She's human. We won't just let her leave as if she was strolling into a damn human park!"

"Don't growl at me," Eva growled back, putting her hands on her hips. "The fact that she's human comes second to the fact she's the pups' mother. You can't take them away from her."

"She can't live here," Sean said through gritted teeth. "And she can't leave here alive with our secrets. Either way, she has to die."

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M.B.