Lillian put her hand on Noah's forearm and pulled him back. It took several seconds before he let himself be uprooted from his spot. Lillian had never seen his eyes so bright. She could feel his wolf so close it was a wonder he didn't shift yet. Her own wolf was not far behind.

"Why did you do it?" Lillian asked once Noah was standing by the door. It cost him to let her so close to the bastard, she knew. She could feel the fire of his own anger and thirst for blood in her veins.

Ashton snickered again. "I wanted to. They offered a nice piece of ass. Who would've said no?"

"I see," Lillian said, slowly walking around him. He didn't turn his head her way, his focus on the bigger predator in the room. Perhaps Noah was bigger and stronger. But Ashton should learn that there were fewer things in life scarier than a vengeful woman.

There was a cold peace within her. She came to terms with the fact that she had had no hand in what had happened to her, no matter what others tried to make her believe back then. She finally accepted her wolf's red fury and violent craving for retribution as her own. She finally accepted that she had every right in wiping him out of existence without a shred of guilt.

Those emotions were liberating, and she embraced her wolf's instincts as her own.

"Who was involved?" She asked Ashton.

He rolled his head this way and that. "Can't tell you that, doll," he said in a sing-song voice.

"Can't or won't?"

He chuckled. "Does it matter?"

"I guess it doesn't since we already know," Lillian said, finally stopping to stand behind him. She wrinkled her nose. His scent was sour from sweat and silver.

"Ooooh, I'm glad the bastard finally got what he deserves." He tusked. "Serves him right. I told him I want to see the kid I helped create. But I heard they're twins, eh? That makes me proud."

Lillian stared at the back of his head, her veins running cold. The image of his hands on the twins snapped something in her. Everything else turned into background noise. Her senses sharpened, focusing on him. His scent, his pulse, the sound of his breathing, the rustle of his clothing, the outline of his body, the rise and fall of his shoulders. The predator in her rose to the surface.

"Do you need him for something else, Harvey?" Lillian asked, her eyes on the pulse of the bastard's neck. It sounded so loud and lush to her ears. Her skin prickled.

"No, we had Mariano look into his head while he was under," Harvey said. "Nothing we don't know."

"What the fuck?" Ashton snarled, looking at Harvey. "Why in the world did you have someone in my head-"

"Good. Let him go," she said, her voice cold.

"What?" Ashton asked, swinging his head to her. Harvey's brows raised.

But Noah understood. "Let him go, Harvey."

Harvey gave Noah a look, but proceeded to unlock the chains around Ashton. He started laughing, looking between Lillian and Harvey. "Are you serious? Are you really letting me go?"

Harvey let the last of the chains drop. It clanged on the floor. Lillian was shaking, barely holding her wolf back.

He slowly stood up and looked over his shoulder at her. His smile froze. His heart beat increased.

"You shouldn't have brought up the twins," Lillian told him, her voice rough and growly as the shift took over her. "Run."

He bolted through the door, and Lillian's wolf burst forward, uninhibited and wild, driven by the dangerous instinct of a mother to protect her pups.

Her surroundings blurred, and she saw the world as a wolf. For the first time since she'd shifted, Lillian surrendered completely to her wolf. The lastest of her hesitations at accepting the beast inside as herself vanished in a blaze of vengeful fury.

She was out of the door and up the tight flight of stairs in a second, the smell of her prey tugging her forward, a thread connecting them.

He had been a wolf longer than her. He was older and more experienced and a better fighter, no doubt. But he couldn't shift, he was impaired by silver, and he didn't have her drive.

She would tear him to pieces. She believed it as much as she believed the sky was blue. How dare he bring up her babies?

The vampires outside didn't stop him, and didn't follow Lillian as she dashed through the trees after him, light on her paws.

She was faster than him.

Unknowingly, he was heading towards Noah's territory. Lillian's wolf picked up her pace, a blur of brown and white. She didn't want patrol catching him. He was her prey. Hers to catch. Hers to punish.

Lillian caught up to him. His feet pumped the ground and his sweat trickled in the air. Instead of jumping on him, she ran parallel to him and looked at him. He met her eyes, his own wide and his teeth set as he tried in vain to outrun her.

Lillian put in a last burst of speed and jumped in front of him, blocking his way. His feet skidded on the dirt as he veered away, changing trajectory. Lillian went after him again. And every time he got close to the pack territory, she herded him away. The thrill of the chase and the upcoming fight heated her blood, burning through her veins.

Enough. The smell of his blood was so thick in the air she could taste it on her tongue.

Lillian jumped on his back and they both rolled on the ground. Lillian closed her jaws on his leg and bit down. Crack. Now he couldn't run.

She jumped to her feet. He dragged himself up, his leg dragging.

He bared his teeth in a feral grin, his chest heaving. "I can take a little human. You didn't fight then, and you won't win now."

Lillian's wolf bared her teeth in a feral grin. He was right. She didn't want to win.

She wanted to kill him.

Noah stayed close.

Having Lillian so close to that monster put him on edge. Then he mentioned the twins and Noah was a second away from breaking him until he wished he was dead.

When Lillian told them to let him go, Noah knew what she had in mind. He was so close to losing control. But he didn't. Life had taken away any chance of justice years ago from Lillian, and he would not do the same. He would give her the chance to avenge herself and he would make sure she was safe doing it.

He was just glad the debilitating fear and shame she'd been feeling had vanished, swallowed by a cold anger and a hunger for retribution. And it freed her from the guilt the past had shackled her with.

Noah followed them as she chased the bastard through the woods, the weather so bright and clear, the blood would look brilliant against the forest ground.

It was the first time Lillian and her wolf felt one and the same. She was in tune with her beast, hunting him down with such ease and skill, as if she'd done it a hundred times before.

Lillian toyed with him, catching up to him and letting him go, never allowing him to get too close to the pack border.

Then she was done and she lunged at him, breaking his leg with her jaws. The loud crack echoed, birds fluttered away, rustling the trees. No creature would come close by. It would be bloody and ugly and painful, and she would do it herself.

She rolled to her feet, a magnificent sight of brown and white fur, curled lips stained in crimson.

Ashton dragged himself up and stood in a crouch impaired by his broken leg. Noah kept his distance, proud she'd made the smart decision of immobilizing him first. With silver in his blood, he wouldn't be healing anytime soon.

Lillian lunged again and bit his shoulder. Ashton caught her sides with his hands, digging his fingers in, and threw her aside. She hit a tree. But Lillian's jaws on his shoulder and her claws on his chest had drawn blood, painting the grass scarlet.

Blood dripped from her jaws, thick and vivid, as she slowly circled him. Ashton put his hand on his shoulder and winced. Lillian feinted a lunge. He jumped and cursed. It must not feel good to be tricked by a wolf barely made.

Before he recovered, she jumped on him again. She was fast, Noah realized. Even without the silver crippling his body, she would have been faster than him. Lillian closed her jaws on his middle. He cried out and punched her side. Noah felt an echo of pain and barely stopped himself from moving forward. Her ribs cracked. But Lillian didn't let go of him. She shook her head viciously and held onto him despite the continuous blows he dealt her, until she tore a chunk of his flesh that she spat aside.

Ashton's eyes turned wide with insanity. He screamed and jumped on her back, wrapping his arms around her neck and choking her. Noah's entire body strung tight with the need to intervene. But Lillian stood on her back legs and dropped back, threw her weight on her back, trapping him between her body and the ground.

Ashton's body crunched under her weight.

Lillian freed herself from his grip and righted her body, swaying slightly. Ashton growled, blood sputtering from his mouth and nose. But he struggled up to his feet. His side bled, his leg was useless, and a bloody hole gaped at his side. His arm hung limp and Noah heard a crunching noise when the bastard moved. Lillian must have broken a lot when she fell on him. Good.

Noah watched, amazed, as she started circling him again. A wolf in her element. Looking at her, he could tell she would become a magnificent werewolf if she kept the kind of unity she had with her beast right now.

He could feel her trepidation, even some fear. But she powered through, her anger drowning everything else.

The first mistake Ashton made was threatening the twins. In Noah's three decades of life, a mother wolf scared for her pups was one of the few things that still scared him. And Lillian was one.

The two lunged at each other. Lillian tangled with the bastard, not hesitating, her jaws closed on his other leg and bit down. He punched his two fists on her ears, her head, her sides. He closed his mouth around her neck, but his teeth wouldn't be able to bite through the fur and thick skin. That didn't mean it wouldn't hurt. Lillian whined but kept her ruthless bite and shook her head until the bone snapped.

She let go and he dropped to the ground, both legs broken. His eyes were wild on Lillian, no doubt realizing she was actually capable of ending him. Underestimating her was his second mistake.

Ashton tried crawling away. As he did, he caught Noah's eyes from a distance and froze. Lillian pounced on him. Her wolf's killing instincts took over. Her brown fur stained red, she bit his neck and shook her head, tearing the tendons and the muscles and snapping the bones until he went still. She changed her angle and bit another side of his neck. Again and again, until his head was severed from his body.

Lillian stepped back, heaving. The crimson on her wolf's fur glimmered under the sun like red silk.

Noah breathed out in relief.

He approached. Lillian's eyes snapped to him. The shift rolled over her body, smooth and quick. Noah was beside her, taking off his t-shirt.

She stood there, naked and bloodied and shaking, her eyes on the dead man. Noah slipped the shirt over her head.

"He's dead," she whispered.

She turned, leaned down and heaved, throwing up on the grass. Noah rubbed her back until she finished. She wiped her mouth. "I killed him."

"You did," Noah said. She took a deep, shuddering breath, then gagged again, covering her nose. Noah pulled her to him and hugged her, surrounding her entirely with his arms. "His death was too quick."

She shook her head. "I'm just glad we're finally rid of him," she whispered. "I don't want him around anymore."

Noah rubbed her back, smelling the salty tang of her tears and feeling wetness on his chest. For a race of immortals, death came too easily to them. He knew that sooner or later, Lillian would have had to make her first kill, whether it was a decade or a century from now. He was only sorry he couldn't shield her from it for a while longer.

But maybe it was for the best. Her first kill was a necessary one. It was not for territory or for rank. It was for justice, for punishment, for protection. It was a noble kill, one that shouldn't weigh too heavily on her shoulders. He hoped it wouldn't.

After several minutes, she calmed down and pulled away. "Thank you."

He wiped her cheek with the back of his fingers. Her lips were stained with blood and tear tracks sparkled down her cheeks. "What for?"

"For staying close by," she said, then smiled a little, her spirit peeking through. "And for letting me do this on my own. I know how difficult it was for you."

He shook his head. "I don't think you know."

Her smile widened. Then she grimaced and wiped her mouth, only smearing the blood further. She was a magnificent sight.

"He was crazy," she said. "He wasn't normal."

"No." Noah put his hands on her shoulders and squeezed. "The twins are nothing like him."

She gave a shaky nod. "I know."

Lillian took a shower in Noah's place. They had both shifted and ran to his cabin, where she immediately went into the shower. The moment she saw herself in the mirror, covered in blood and dirt, her stomach upended and she threw up in the toilet, heaving until she felt like her organs would come up her throat.

Noah held her hair and rubbed her back, turned on the shower and left after making sure she was steady on her feet. Lillian stared after him as he closed the door. Her heart yearned for a decision she needed to make.

She let the water run over her body and faced the stream, rubbing her face and gurgling water.

She had killed a man.

No. She had killed her rapist.

Did she feel guilty? Under the turmoil of emotions she had been through the past few days, all she felt was... relief. Impossibly liberating relief.

Did that make her a bad person? She didn't know, and at this point, it didn't matter to her. Perhaps when everything settled down, it would catch up to her. But right now, she didn't want to think about it too much.

After her skin was raw and wrinkled, she peeked out of the curtain. Only then did she notice the clean white tiles, the gray curtain, the double sink counter, on top of which was a stack of clothes. Noah must've left it there. She hadn't even noticed him getting in, probably because the entire place smelled like him anyway.

Noah's clothes. She looked ridiculous in the t-shirt and shorts that reached down her shins. She tugged on the top's collar, feeling naked without a bra.

She left the bathroom, escorted by a cloud of steam. It was Noah's room.

Now that she wasn't eager to wash off the blood, she could admire the little details she'd missed before. Like the neatly made bed with unexpectedly bright blue sheets and pillow cases, the soft gray rug near the bed that was covered in black fur; he must sleep there in his wolf. The picture frames on the bedside table, one of Sean and Eva, and the other of all the pack pups on Game Day.

Another picture made her smile. It was on Game Day, too. A picture of her and the twins, taken without her knowledge, when they were cheering for Johnson in the eating competition. Someone must've been tasked with taking pictures for the day.

Lillian's ears pricked, hearing familiar voices. She smiled, her heart lifting as she hurried out of the bedroom and into the open living room. They were exactly what she needed right now.

Noah and the twins were setting the table. The smell of Jennifer's chicken pie tickled Lillian's nose and made her mouth water.

"Mommy, Nana Jennifer made us peanut butter cups," Elijah said as soon as he saw her, running toward her with his little legs, a fork and a knife in his hands.

Lillian scooped him up and hugged him. "Did you keep some for me?"

His smell pushed back the memories of blood and death. She kissed his cheek and took a deep breath of it.

"I don't know," Elijah said. "I think we ate it all. But it wasn't just us. Elias and Jackson were there, too."

Ezra finished setting his spot at the table before he joined them. He hugged her leg. Lillian sat down on the floor and gathered them both in her arms. Tears sprang to her eyes. She pushed them back and hugged the twins tightly.

She was so grateful for them. She didn't know how she would've turned out if the twins weren't in her life. No matter how they came into this life, she wouldn't exchange them for the world.

She peppered them with kisses until their squeals rang in the cabin. The oven dinged, and Noah took out the chicken pie and set it on the table. He caught her eyes over the twins' heads and winked. She smiled.

"Thank you for bringing them," she linked him.

"You're welcome," he replied. "I needed them close, too."

Lillian's heart melted a little.

They devoured the pie, polishing the crumbs off the oven tray. In the pack, full and clean and surrounded by people she loved, Lillian felt more like herself. Whether it was the visit to her old town or ridding the world of Ashton, the ghosts of her past seemed smaller in her mind, less bleak. She hoped with time they would fade.

She did the dishes with Noah, and then the four of them went to Arthur and Elle's cabin. The twins skipped in front of them, bumping into each other.

Lillian slipped her hand into Noah's and pressed herself to his side. He smiled. A stray ray of sunshine broke through the tree canopy and caught his lashes, his eyes sparkling like molten gold.

She was suddenly hit by an immense sense of longing. Her blood felt like it was boiling, in a good way. She squeezed his hand until her own hurt. They locked eyes, the knowledge in his reflecting her own. He leaned down and pressed a kiss to her hair, and they kept walking.

This was what she loved about him. There were no expectations. He never let her feel the weight of the impending decision about their mating. He let her lead the game at her own pace.

But Lillian knew now. She was finally ready to give him and herself what they'd both wanted for so long.

They found the Seer sitting outside on the porch steps. And a pure white fox laying on the ground next to her.

"Mommy! She has so many tails!" Elijah said. Ezra was counting under his breath as they drew nearer.

Irene's fur looked like it was glowing from within under the sun. Lillian frowned. No. It wasn't a trick of the sun. Her fur was actually glowing, and the clear blue of her eyes looked almost startling. She looked like an apparition. She yawned, showing sharp canines, and her tails raised, dancing to a silent tune behind her.

"Nine!" Ezra said, looking back at his mother with shimmering wide eyes. "Mommy, is she a nine-tailed fox?"

It was Noah who replied as they stopped in front of the fox and the Seer. "Yes. Did you hear about them in school?"

"Yes, Aunt Mia told us all about them," Elijah said, his eyes on the white fox turning amber.

Irene stood on all fours and shook her white fur, it flowed like water over her body, the translucent strands and the fluffy white tails moving to a wind that existed only for her.

Elle appeared in the doorway to the cabin and waved at them.

"Hey, there," she said, skipping down the stairs next to the Seer. "I take it you didn't need my help, after all."

Lillian couldn't help her smile. "No, I handled it. Although I didn't get to cut off that particular body part," she whispered the last part. "Too disgusting."

Noah choked next to her. Lillian and Elle both turned to look at him. "What?" They said as one.

"Is that what you're discussing in your free time?" He asked.

Elle chuckled. "Yes, so you better watch your back."

Noah shook his head. "Is Arthur inside?"

"Yes, come in, we were about to call you anyway," Elle said, going inside. Lillian didn't want to be close to that mess. Not just yet. She plopped down next to the Seer.

Irene sat down and let the twins look their fill, which they did, going around her in circles, sniffing and gingerly touching her fur.

The Seer hadn't made a sound, but a few seconds after Lillian sat down, the Seer looked at the twins as they slipped off their pants and shifted. Their fluffy brown wolves jumped on Irene, almost disappearing in her fur, and she tumbled on the ground with them.

"Children are a blessing."

Lillian almost jumped at the soft whisper of the Seer. She nodded, her smile soft. "Yeah, they are."

The Seer turned to look at Lillian and cocked her head to the side. "You feel... different."

"How so?"

"You are less..." she frowned, looking for a proper word, "haunted. Yes. That is the word. You are less haunted."

Lillian chuckled. "Yeah. I guess facing my past had a good effect on me, then. All thanks to you."

The Seer shook her head and looked back at the twins. "I only deliver the message. That's the easiest part of it all."

Something had been niggling at Lillian since she first met the Seer. "What's your name?" She asked the pale woman. "If you don't mind me asking."

"I have no name," she said, looking down at her hands. She stretched them before her, the scars sharp against her translucent skin. "I used to have one before, when I was human. But I am no longer human. I am no longer that woman. I'm just The Seer now."

Lillian hummed, feeling an odd sense of kinship to the woman. Ezra and Elijah ran after Irene through the trees. She slowed her pace considerably to let them catch up to her, and fell dramatically when they did. After a few minutes, Lillian said, "I used to see myself as only a mother. But that changed. I'm a mother, a mate, a member of the pack, a friend. But that's who I am to other people, and we can't live our lives defined by our status in other people's lives, no matter how much we love them."

Lillian paused, looking up at the clear blue sky. A few clouds floated overhead, one of them shaped like a little wolf. She smiled and looked at The Seer, to find her watching her, her eyes alight. "You're the Seer to other people," Lillian said. "Who are you to yourself?"

The Seer blinked. "Perhaps... I don't know who I am."

"It's okay," Lillian winked. "You have an eternity to find out."

She slowly nodded. "Yes." She grinned, then touched the corners of her mouth, as if surprised. Dropping her hand, she met Lillian's eyes. "When I do, I will let you know."

"You do that," Lillian said. 

--- ---- ---

Hey guys! New chapter!

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