Three weeks.

It took me three weeks to start calling Matteo 'Nathaniel'. I hated it, and every time the name left my lips, it felt wrong, but I was learning to just accept it.

Matteo was much better than I was, and I blame it on the fact that he'd had several weeks of knowing my new name to practice it. However, he occasionally did slip up. He'd never once called me Elyse while having sex, either, but it was mutual. I still couldn't will myself to say another man's name while I was getting to business.

Barron had begun his reign of terror immediately. He'd been filling us in on all of the highs and lows of what our former pack had been going through as Matteo and I lived our lives as close to being human as possible.

Jack tried to challenge Barron to keep Caedes the stand-alone pack that it was. Stupid boy. Luckily, a few days with his mate changed his mind. Taylor certainly had a way with words, and by the mark on her neck that appeared only two days after returning to Caedes territory, she had a way with her body, too. Barron allowed Jack to keep his authority in the pack, allotting him control of the territory under his jurisdiction. Basically, he was still the Beta just under different circumstances.

The pack had a service for the loss of their Alpha. The news of Matteo's death ripped like a tornado through the werewolf community, bringing out a bad side of my mate for a few days. It was like he was mourning his own death.

Vindicta tried waging war with Uirium for the premature murder of Matteo, claiming that he was a traitor and a danger to all. With Uirium now having more territory and numbers than even Ducem Pack, not a single Alpha took the chance. Adrian was forced to back down and submit to Barron. Barron's ego was at an all time high.

Adrian's hunt for me, nevertheless, was still ongoing. He was searching for me across the southern border of Mexico, believing I'd fled to South America. Not a single suspicion had been raised that Matteo and I were hiding in Uirium. It was a miracle.

Amid the merge of the pack, Daniella found her mate. She was a high-ranking Warrior from Uirium.

Yeah, she.

Barron showed me a few pictures of the 5'11 woman with the build of a line backer. I'd never been more attracted to a woman in my life. Brown hair only a few shades darker than her skin, green eyes, and an androgynous look that made me drool.

I could just imagine Daniella and the godly human being together—immaculate.

I did feel bad, however, that the poor girl had to deal with Dan for the rest of her life. It was probably going to be torturous.

A rapid knock on the front door startled me, making me jump. It sounded like someone was unloading an assault rifle on the exterior of my house.

"Let me in," a gruff voice grunted as the heavy pounding persisted. I groaned, wiping my wet hands off on a towel. Every time I tried washing dishes, something just had to interrupt me.

"Stop pounding on it like that!" I hollered, rounding the corner of the kitchen and walking to the front door. The pounding slowed down but didn't cease. I was going to kill him.

I ripped the door open, watching the Alpha walk past me. His body was tense, riddled with anxiety, the source unknown to me.

"I've already told you to just come in," I reprimanded, watching Barron dramatically flop onto my couch. It had been about two months since Matteo and I had gone into hiding, and Barron made a visit to our home about three times a week. Conveniently, when Matteo was at work.

"She's f—king pregnant," he all but spat, running his hands down his face. My lips formed an 'o'. I wasn't too surprised. Matteo and I had been betting on it since we got here. It was only a matter of time before she wound up pregnant the way the two of them went at it. I was surprised that the normally smug Alpha seemed defeated, though.

Shutting the door, I walked over to the couch and took a seat beside Barron.

"Why's it bad?" Matteo and I both had an unspoken agreement that a child was never going to be a part of our future, but it was hard for me to imagine Barron not wanting a little spawn of his own.

"I'm twenty-six, Elle. I'm not father material," he complained. I rolled my eyes. Dramatic.

"We could start making a list of names," I offered, jokingly. He was not the least bit amused and eyed me nastily.

"Not the time."

"I'll start. Kai." Again, not amused.

Having enough of my banter already, he pushed himself off the couch and in the direction of the kitchen. I didn't bother to follow him.

"There's Fireball on top of the fridge," I called out, hoping he'd bring it in with him.

"I already know." If a tone of voice could kill, I'd be six feet under. The familiar sound of glasses tinking together echoed into the room as I heard Barron scrape the handle of Fireball off of the fridge. "Malakai," I continued, seeing Barron stomp back into the living room with two glasses and the liquor in his hands.

"No," he said darkly, opening the liquor before he'd even sat back down. He handed me my glass and poured the drink inside. The scent of cinnamon enveloped me. No matter how many times this shit made me throw up, it still got me so excited. He didn't bother pouring any into his own. He just took a massive gulp from the handle instead. I grimaced. Matteo was going to be pissed.

"Cup," I reminded, pointing to the glass in his hand. Rolling his eyes, he poured the Fireball in it. "Kylie."

"Kaia, I swear to God—"

"Ope, Elyse," I corrected. It felt good to finally be the one correcting other people. Barron returned my rectification with a bored expression that I'd become accustomed to over the past few months.

"You're not funny," he deadpanned.

Looking him dead in the eyes, I said, "Kyler."

Barron and I had graduated to friends. With his constant visits and gossip sessions on my new phone, I found myself becoming Barron's friend. Seemingly, his only friend. Apparently, the egocentric Alpha had a hard time keeping people around. Wonder why.

Matteo wasn't fond of the friendship, but I think he was starting to warm up to it. Barron and I were never going to happen. It was merely a figment of Barron's wild imagination. Clearly, he was going to be stuck with Farrah for a long time.

I'd be lying, however, if I said that the new friendship didn't have a positive impact on me. I finally had someone else to talk to other than Matteo. I'd also become acquainted with Farrah. She was exactly what Taylor described her to be—a buzzkill. Elle, don't do this. Don't do that. Do it like this. Eat quieter. It was exhausting.

Regardless, I enjoyed her company from time to time.

It counteracted mine and Barron's drunken stupidity.

Barron took another massive gulp of the Fireball, and I smiled as his face scrunched up from the burn. It had become our drink of choice because of its punch. We only allowed ourselves to drink tequila on Tuesdays.

"My son will not be named after you," he growled, pouring a little more alcohol into his glass.

"But your daughter?" Barron gritted his teeth as I continued to pester him with the thought of his future child.

"Elle," he warned, making me put up my hands in feigned surrender.

"Alright, alright. I get it," I sighed, pretending to give up. Barron's body visibly relaxed, sinking into the couch with his eyes shut. "You'd rather name it after Matteo, instead."

Instantly, his eyes snapped open. "Kaia!" He snarled just as the front door was opened. Our attention snapped to the devilishly handsome man standing in the doorway.

I could hardly stop myself from drooling at my mate. He was a working man now, clad in dirtied jeans, a t-shirt plastered with dark grease, and tanned Timberlands that had seen better days. There was something about a dirty man that give me dirty thoughts.

"Why are you shouting at my mate?" Matteo scowled, kicking off his work boots. I hated when he tracked dirt through the house.

"She won't stop being a pest," Barron grumbled, eyeing me with a vicious glare. Matteo walked over to me and picked me up from the couch so that he could sit. He pulled me back into his lap, not caring to change out of his soiled clothing. I did my best not to think about it.

"My Elle? Never." The disbelief in his tone was clearly fake, but I didn't mind. I was aware that I was a pest. I liked it that way.

"Alpha Mendax just graduated to Dad status," I explained. I didn't need to see his face to know that he was just as smug as I had been. Like I said, we had been waiting.

"No kidding," Matteo mused as we each watched Barron slump back into his seat and let out the most childish whine ever. Maybe he wasn't ready to be a father.

"Oh, come on. You'll be fine." I tried to be comforting, but it came out as more of a mocking statement.

"I like my sleep schedule," Barron exasperated. "I like going to bars, and going to the gym, and seeing my friend, and f—king Farrah wherever and whenever I want. I can't do that with a smaller version of her running around. I'll be told off by a toddler twenty-four-seven." I thought by the end of his rant he was going to have a breakdown. His argument, nonetheless, was sort of valid.

"My parents still did whatever they wanted after having my brother and I," I countered.

"Isn't your dad in a pack prison?"

"Barron," Matteo growled lowly. I rolled my eyes at his antics. My dad being put in a prison was a sore spot for me, but not nearly in the way that it used to be.

"Yeah, but I put him there," I said, leaning further into Matteo's chest. His arms tightened around me. If he strangled me to death right then and there, I would have died happily.

"Oh, God," Barron grimaced. He looked at the alcohol in his glass as he swirled it. "Farrah's child would absolutely put me in a prison." His wallowing was interrupted by the obnoxious ringing of his phone. With another toddler-like whine, he pulled the phone out and answered it. "Hello?" Impatience was seeping through his greeting.

The call was short. Barron said a whole three words: where, when, and fine. Dramatically, he ended the call, downed the rest of his liquor, and stood up. My brow quirked, silently questioning his motive.

"I'm needed," he huffed, making a grand exit to the door.

"Bye, Dad," I waved which earned me the bird. Matteo chuckled, his warm chest vibrating against my back. Butterflies. Butterflies everywhere. I hardly noticed Barron slam the door shut behind him because of them.

"F—king idiot," Matteo laughed, placing a soft kiss to the back of my neck. Cheeky bastard. Not being tied to pack responsibilities gave us a lot of alone time. We'd never been closer, and our relationship had never been healthier.

"I wasn't even surprised when he told me. Not after he texted me last week saying they went at it for a whole eight hours," I admitted as Matteo continued peppering kisses down my neck. He was the worst to gossip with sometimes. Barron truly did trump him in that department. I pulled away from him, turning so that I could see his face. With a lopsided smile, I tried rubbing away some of the dirt on his forehead. His eyes watched me, a smile forming at his own lips.

"Did you ever think about having kids?" He asked. I almost threw up. Immediately, I stopped rubbing away at his forehead, and my smile faltered.

"Uh," I stuttered, "I didn't think you wanted any." It was the honest truth. Matteo had never said about wanting kids, and he seemed honestly revolted by them. It never occurred to me that deep down Matteo may have actually wanted some.

"Do you not?" I didn't particularly enjoy his tactic of answering me with the same question that I just tried to avoid.

"No," I drug out slowly. I expected his facial expression to change, maybe even get a little angry, but he didn't. He just shrugged as if I'd told him something completely lackluster.

"We could get a dog." My mate was an absolute heaven sent.

"So no kids?" I asked hesitantly.

"No kids," he repeated, seemingly unfazed. "Condoms will remain my best friend." I could have married him right then and there.

I leaned in to meet his lips. He responded without an ounce of hesitation. The familiar fire ignited throughout every nerve ending within my body as our lips moved in sync with one another.

His hand ran up my back, to my neck, and settled in my hair. His fingers wound through the strands and pulled them into a fist making me moan in his mouth. I could feel his smirk through the kiss making me want to stop and punch him. He was spending a little too much time with Barron.

I rolled my hips teasingly, grinding down on him. As he groaned, I could feel him stiffen under me. Now, it was my turn to smirk.

"Well, why don't you go put one on?" It took him a moment to figure out what I was talking about, but his eyes lit up when he finally did.

"Okay," he breathed, allowing me to get off of him. He quickly padded away towards our bedroom, but stopped in the hallway to where I could still see him. He turned around to look at me. "Do you want me to take a shower first?"

"Nope," I denied, biting my lip. "I'll follow you in." The giddy look in his eyes lit up like a match, and he booked it into our room like a kid running for candy.

Damn, I thought, pushing myself up from the couch, I love this man.