An incessant ringing pulled me out of my deep sleep, disorientating the hell out of me. Everything in the room was still black, so I was beyond confused about where the ringing was coming from and why it was ringing in the middle of the night. Beneath me, Xavier finally stirred and woke up as well.

"Is that my phone ringing?" Xavier mumbled, his voice husky with sleep.

"I think so?" I groaned, burying my head back into his chest.

"I need to pick it up, then." He sighed, wiggling underneath me as he reached for his phone on the bedside table.

I mumbled something incoherent, confusing even myself with my groggy mumbled replies. I had been sleeping so well lately that I finally had some kind of routine, so I hated being woken up in the middle of the night. Whatever it was, it better be important.

"Hello?" Xavier finally figured out how to answer the phone in his sleepy state, holding it to his ear lazily.

I didn't bother straining to hear whatever replies came to Xavier's greeting, but I didn't have to wait long. Xavier was jumping out of bed in an instant, scrambling to pull jogging bottoms on while I went crashing to the floor. The duvet landed on my head and I had the wind knocked out of me, shocked by my sudden flying through the air.

"Shit, I'm so sorry!" Xavier cried, pulling the duvet off my head so that I could see.

"What happened?" I blinked, looking around in sleepy confusion.

"Gracie's gone into labour." Xavier rushed out, "Get dressed, we've gotta go."

"Now?" I frowned, still confused.

"Yes, now. The baby's coming." Xavier was back to getting dressed, but he threw a hoodie of his in my direction to get me started.

"Bump?" My frown deepened, letting the hoodie hit me in the face as my reaction time was slowed.

"Yes, Bump. Bump's coming." He nodded frantically, tucking his phone in his pocket.

"Shit." I gasped, springing to my feet and pulling the hoodie on.

Together we rushed out of the front door and into the car, Xavier racing all of the way to the pack doctors. My heart was pounding in my chest, but I was pretty excited to finally meet Gracie and Noah's child; I wonder what they'll be like? Overzealous and oblivious like Noah or cautious and warm like Gracie?

We pulled up to the doctor's in no time at all, thanks to Xavier's speedy driving, and jumped out of the car. Of course, the place was dead since it was the middle of the night, so we could hear exactly where all of the commotion was coming from. We rushed towards it and easily found the room where everything was going down.

I had expected chaos, but Gracie was just laying there breathing steadily on her back. All of the clattering noises and frantic yelling was coming from Noah, who was the exact opposite of chill right now. He was freaking out while talking to the doctor, who was just trying to check how dilated Gracie was.

"Noah, calm down." Xavier sighed, guiding Noah away by his shoulders from the busy doctor.

"How you feeling, Gracie?" I smiled, sitting by her beside.

"Not fantastic, but the contractions are still super spaced out, so not bad just yet." Gracie grimaced, resting her hands on her bump.

"Noah made it sound as if you were already pushing Bump out on the phone." Xavier shook his head, "I kicked Cam out of bed I was so surprised."

"The last bruises had just disappeared and now I've got a new one." I sulked playfully.

"Those bruises took forever to fade." Gracie tutted, "I'm glad you're okay, now."

"Just in time for photos with baby Bump too." I grinned.

"He can call you Uncle Cammy." Noah suggested, making me cringe.

"That sounds like a piece of clothing." I shook my head, "How do you know it's going to be a boy?"

"He has a superstition." Gracie groaned, "He's been saying it for the last two weeks now. One of the neighbouring pack members mentioned something about it being a boy if you pick up one end of a spoon over another and he won't shut up about it."

"If he's anything like you, then I hope to god it's a girl." Xavier snickered, nudging Noah with his elbow.

"Me too." Noah chuckled, "There's only room for one Noah in this world."

"How long is it going to be before the baby comes?" Xavier hummed, checking the time.

"There's no telling, really. I'm only four cm dilated." Gracie sighed, "This idiot rang you way too early."

"It's all good, do you want anything from the vending machine?" Xavier offered, rising from his seat.

"I'm okay, thank you." Gracie yawned, "I just wish Bump had waited until morning."

"I'll come with you." I decided to stretch my legs and wake up a little, following behind Xavier as he lead the way.

"It must be strange knowing they've got a baby on the way." I mused, "You've known them since they were kids, so it must be weird to know they're old enough to be parents now."

"It is." Xavier nodded, "I don't feel old enough for a kid, so it freaks me out knowing they're my age and have one."

"Uncle Xavie." I smiled lazily, letting Xavier wrap his arms around my waist.

"Uncle Cam-Cam." Xavier hummed, kissing my cheek softly.

We stayed in that position for a while, just enjoying the tingles that our bodies being in contact created- they were so soothing that it was easy to get caught up in them from time to time. I could spend the rest of my days just holding onto Xavier...

"Alpha!" A voice screeched from down the corridor, the sound of feet frantically slapping against the floor echoing around the hallway.

"She can't be in labour already can she?" I frowned, looking at the clock with confusion.

Not a lot of time had passed- only about five minutes. The person who had been yelling finally rounded the corner and came into view, spouting a fresh cut across the side of his face. The wound was dripping blood, but the guy seemed barely phased as he continued sprinting towards us.

"Rogues." He yelled, "Rogues got into the pack."

My heart dropped to my stomach at those words and my mouth went dry, filling me with dread. Of all times, they came at the exact moment that Gracie went into labour? Something seemed fishy about that...

"How?" Xavier growled, alarm in his eyes.

"A pack member. Smuggled a few in over the past week. They charged the gates from the inside and opened them for the rest to come in." The guy revealed through pants, the blood on his cheek staining his white shirt.

"Fuck!" Xavier cursed, kicking the wall in anger.

"Xavier, calm down." I hissed, "Don't get angry, take action. Let's go tell Noah."

He nodded and took off in a sprint, on his way to tell Noah. By the time I caught up to him, Noah already knew everything and was taking his own turn at freaking out. A rogue attack was the last thing Noah's nerves needed on top of the birth of his first child.

"You should stay here with Gracie." Xavier told him straight, "I don't care how many rogues are here, you should be here for her."

Noah hesitated, glancing back at Gracie, who was still chilling on the bed- probably trying to stay calm so that she didn't stress out the baby. I could tell that nothing Xavier said was going to change his mind: he wanted to come and help.

"It's fine, Noah. Go." Gracie smiled reassuringly, being able to see the same expression as me on Noah's face.

"Are you sure?" He worried, "I don't want to leave either of you stranded."

"The pack needs you more." Gracie shrugged, "You should hurry."

"I love you so damn much." Noah sighed, taking her into his hands for a huge hug.

"If you're sure, then fine." Xavier tutted, "Cameron you'll have to do the drills without Gracie, but then you should come back to Gracie so that she has somebody with her."

"Good plan." I nodded, "Can bump hold out until then?"

"It should be enough time." Gracie nodded, "I'll see you when you're done. Good luck."

After that, we all set off. Noah shifted and sprinted off towards the border the second we stepped outside, but Xavier hung back to talk to me, despite my protests.

"You need to get going, Xavier!" I yelled, "You can't waste any time."

"This isn't time wasted." Xavier shook his head, wrapping me in a tight hug.

"Xavier, I'll be fine." I sighed, hugging him back.

"Promise me you'll be careful?" Xavier pleaded, his eyes tearing up.

"I promise." I nodded, "Please, go."

"I love you, Cameron. I love you to death." His words were emotional, but I knew he meant them.

Hearing that from him made me a little breathless, but extremely giddy. Despite everything going on, it still made a smile stretch onto my face. My salty tears ran over my lips as he leaned towards me, placing a lingering kiss on them.

"I love you too, Xavier." I whispered once he pulled away, making his own watery eyes spill over into tears.

"Be safe." He reminded me, walking away with one longing look over his shoulder.

He wasted no time in shifting and running off into the distance, following in the direction that Noah left in. Trust that idiot to make me all emotional when I needed a level head... I felt like a bundle of anxiety, anger and happiness all rolled into one.

I shook my head and slapped my cheek to regain control over my emotions, heading off in the direction of the first checkpoint for the drill. I couldn't sprint as fast as Xavier, but I was fitter now than I ever had been in the past. Strange how I had gone from running away from Dug and Xavier when they were fighting to running towards people in danger to help save them. Had I become more selfless?

"Luna!" A voice cried, snapping my attention back to reality.

A group of people were cowering behind a garden shed, waiting to be escorted to the pack house. The elderly, weak and children were the top priorities for our drills, since most other pack members were helping out at the borders. They had done a good job of all gathering in the designated place and since I was late, one of them had even done the register that was hidden in the shed, listing everyone in this neighbourhood who should be present.

"All present?" I checked, taking the completed register from the pack member.

They all chorused a 'yes', but I double checked the numbers just in case. With somebody on the inside being a traitor, you could never be too careful. Everyone was in fact present, so we set off to the pack house along the designated route.

The problem we originally had with the lockdown drill was that there weren't enough guards to round up every neighbourhood and escort them all to the pack house simultaneously, so I had to come up with a solution. Instead, I decided the neighbourhoods could round up at individual checkpoints and wait there until a group of guards and I come to collect them. That way we aren't using up too many guards, but we're all still protected.

"Luna Cameron, I'm scared." A little voice stuttered from beside me, a small boy hiding behind my legs and holding onto Xavier's hoodie that I was wearing as we walked.

"It'll all be okay." I promised, "Alpha Xavier is so big and strong that he could squish them all with only his thumb."

"Really?" The small boy perked up.

"Of course." I nodded, "What's your name?"

"Lilah." He mumbled, taking ahold of my extended hand gingerly.

"Nice to meet you, Lilah." I smiled softly, "You can call me Cam if you like."

"My mummy said that you're human, but a special human." Lilah told me, following me closely as we walked.

"Your mummy's right." I nodded, "I'm allowed to know your pack secret because I'm Luna."

"I'm glad you're Luna." Lilah complimented me, "My mummy say's that you're sensible. She likes the drills."

I think that's the first time in my life that I've been called sensible unironically...