**Make sure you read chapter 45 first!**

Finding Reuben in my arms the next morning felt like a dream I didn't want to wake up from. He looked peaceful as he slept which only added to my good mood.

My eyes drifted past his disheveled hair and down toward his neck where my mark sat clear as day. A deep feeling of pride swelled inside of me and I couldn't help but lean down and press a kiss against it. Reuben shifted slightly, his head moving to make the mark clearer to my naked eye. It was beautiful. I hadn't been expecting him to let me mark him, but the fact that he had...filled me with so much joy I didn't know what to do with it all.

Reuben shifted again and this time he let out a mixture of a groan and a yawn.

"Good morning," I spoke softly and his eyes fluttered open.

"Morning."

"How are you feeling?"

His head dropped against my arm. "Sore, but I'll be okay."

Memories of last night replayed in my head and I couldn't stop the grin from taking over my face.

"I really enjoyed last night," I told Reuben through our newly formed bond, causing him to jump slightly.

"That's going to take some time to get used to," he muttered.

"Now I can talk to you even when we aren't together," I smiled.

He shot me a side glance. "Now I really can't get rid of you."

"Nope, you can't trick me anymore, Reu. The bond doesn't lie, I know how you feel about me," I teased.

He rolled his eyes. "We haven't even had our bond for a full day and you're already using it against me."

"I'm just speaking facts," I countered.

"You're annoying," he muttered.

"And yet, you're dating me so what does that say about you?"

"That there's something wrong with me."

I shook my head. "I think you're perfect."

He pulled the covers over his head.

I laughed at his behavior as I pried myself away from him and headed toward the bathroom to get ready for the day. I glanced in the mirror, my eyes trailing over the marks Reuben had left on my body, mostly my neck. Some had already started to fade to my disappointment. It was one of the abilities that came with being a werewolf, but I wouldn't have minded if some stayed.

I took a quick shower, attempted to detangle my hair, and brushed my teeth before drying off and wrapping a towel around my waist. I wasn't surprised to see Reuben was still in bed, but he was sitting up this time. His eyes trailed across my body and he groaned.

"I'm topping you next time," he grumbled.

I smiled at that. "I'll be looking forward to it."

"Eli," Tatum suddenly linked. "Can you come see me? You can bring Reed and your parents as well."

My brows knitted together. "Sure, but what is this about?"

"The results of your DNA test came back, but they revealed more than we were expecting."

"What do you mean by more?"

"More about Willa."

He didn't have to say anything else. "I'm on the way."

...

When Reed and I arrived at the office building, my parents and Nixon were already there, but Tatum was nowhere in sight.

"Where's Tatum?" I asked Nixon.

His eyes drifted toward the door and I could see the worried expression on his face. "He needed a minute. Let's go ahead and get started."

He handed a folded paper to me and I held my breath. "This is...?"

"It is," he confirmed.

My eyes drifted over to Reed and he nodded stiffly, eyes glued to the sheet in my hands. I carefully unfolded the paper and my eyes skimmed across it. There was a lot of information on it, but I was more interested in the bottom part where it said, "statement of results".

"The likelihood of full siblingship is 99.8%," I read out loud.

"Shit," I heard Reed whisper.

"We're brothers."

"I have another brother."

"We have a sister."

Our eyes connected and I wasted no time pulling him into a tight hug. Out of the corner of my eyes, I could see my dads full-on grinning.

The door to the room opened and Tatum emerged. He glanced around the table and then toward Nixon.

"They know?" He asked Nixon nodded. "Did you tell them about...?"

"Not yet."

"Tell us what?" I questioned.

Tatum took a seat beside his mate. "Firstly, let me congratulate you on the results."

"Thanks, Tatum," I replied.

"I'm glad that you three were able to be reunited, but unfortunately, not all the news we received was happy."

"You said it was something about Willa."

He nodded. "Since you wanted to learn more, Dr. Moore also ran the samples through some of the other systems we have to see if we could find anything about how you were split up, but we came across something else." He took a breath. "I don't know how much you know about the feral situation and the former alpha Demos, Reed—"

"I know the gist of it. The artificial ferals and the...breeding labs, right?"

Tatum nodded.

"Are you trying to tell me that Willa was..."

"She wasn't injected with anything to our knowledge, but she is listed in Demos' records as being transferred to the breeding lap from another facility, but she never arrived."

My brows knitted together. "What does that mean?"

"We did some digging and we're pretty sure Willa came from the first feral facility created by Michael Cain. For whatever reason, he agreed to send some wolves to Demos and given where the two facilities were located, to get to Demos' facility they would've had to cross through Oakwood," Tatum explained.

"So, we dug back to the last reported date when the transfer was supposed to take place and it seems that there was an accident that occurred just outside of Oakwood and the wolves in the truck managed to escape which is why she never arrived. If I had to guess, she took off toward the woods in Oakwood and hid there until we found her."

"That would explain her skittish behavior," I mumbled.

"And her fear of hospitals," Nixon added with a frown.

"What happened to the other wolves who escaped? Do we know?" Reed spoke up.

Tatum exhaled and I could see Nixon grip his hand. "Some were recaptured and others managed to get away. Not all of them were found so it's likely that some are still out there."

My eyes met his. "Your mate..."

He nodded silently.

A frown fell over my face and I thought back to the small, brown-eyed girl. My sister. She was my sister and knowing that she had come from such a terrible place filled me with a pain I never experienced before. I glanced over at Reed and I could tell from his face alone that he felt the same.

Our eyes connected and though neither of us said it out loud, I knew we were thinking the same thing.

Never again.

We'd never let her be hurt like that ever again.

...

I returned to my house a few hours later with Reed in tow. After learning about Willa, both of us were more than ready to see her again. I unlocked the door and was surprised to find Willa sitting on the floor with Reuben.

"Let's try again," I heard him say to her. "Hi, my name is Reuben. What's your name?"

"Willa," she spoke clearly with a smile on her face.

Her eyes shifted from my mate and the moment she spotted Reed and me, she stood up and hurried toward us.

"Hi, Willa," Reed smiled. "I missed you."

"How'd it go?" Reuben questioned through our link.

"Well, the good news is that we are siblings."

"There's bad news?"

"Yes, but I'll tell you about it when we're alone."

Reuben didn't fight me over it. He just nodded and moved toward the rest of us. Once he was in reach, I pulled him against me and Reed's eyes drifted from Willa to Reuben and me—specifically to our mate marks.

"With poor Willa in the house?" He shook his head. "You horny fucks."

"Shut up," Reuben rolled his eyes, but I could see a shadow of a smile on his face. "Congrats on the results, by the way."

Reed smiled. "Thanks."

"Now you have three siblings instead of one. Welcome to my world."

"How many do you have?"

"Five annoying older brothers," Reuben grumbled.

"Have they met Eli yet?"

"No."

"I want to meet them," I interrupted.

"I don't know why," Reuben shook his head.

"I want to know where you came from and meet your family. Is that such a bad thing?"

"My family's annoying," he deadpanned.

"You say I'm annoying all the time."

"Yeah, but you're...you."

Reed snorted. "What does that even mean?"

"It means let's change the subject," Reuben declared. "How long are you staying for?"

"Trying to kick me out already?" Reed raised a brow.

"You caught me," Reuben sarcastically replied.

Reed laughed. "Cronan's coming to get me later today."

"How is he doing?" I asked.

He shrugged. "To be honest with you, I don't really know. Trying to get Cronan to talk about his emotions can be like pulling teeth. It's better to just let him come to you when he's ready."

I frowned but nodded. I knew Cronan wasn't the overly sentimental type, but that just made me worry more.

The sound of Reuben's phone ringing caught all of our attention. He pulled the device from his pocket and I saw the name "Tyson" show on the screen.

"I'll be back," Reuben said as he answered the call and disappeared upstairs.

Reed's eyes followed his movements and he only glanced away once he was sure Reuben was out of sight and heard the door close.

"So, how does it feel to officially be a bonded pair?"

"Amazing," I spoke, a smile pulling itself onto my lips.

"You two fit well together," he complimented.

"He makes me happy. He makes me really fucking happy," I admitted.

Being around Reuben always seemed to bring a smile to my face. Waking up and knowing that he was there made me feel good inside. I loved having his company and I loved him.

I loved him. I really did and I knew he loved me too, so maybe it was time.

"What are you guys talking about?" Reuben questioned as he reemerged from upstairs.

"Nothing," Reed said and switched topics.

The two went back and forth, but my attention was no longer on the conversation at hand. My eyes were glued to my mate and I watched as he laughed, smiled, and joked around with Reed. He looked peaceful. More than he ever did in Oakwood.

I tried to pay attention to the conversation, but there was only one thought going through my mind: I had to ask him to transfer packs.