"So, Matteo isn't actually going to die?" I asked, walking back and forth. I'm pretty sure my pacing was creating a draft.

"He's not supposed to," Taylor responded, her body slumped back in the chair. I felt the beat of my heart skip a bit. He's not supposed to. What kind of reassuring response was that?

"Because the bullets aren't actual silver," I reminded myself. The bullets in Barron's gun weren't actual silver. They just looked like it.

"Of course not." Well, at least she didn't say, 'they aren't supposed to be.'

"And, Barron is bringing him here?"

"Yes."

"And, wait, why couldn't they just kill Adrian while they were there, again?" My brain was on an information overload. We'd gone through all the details twice, and, for some reason, I still couldn't wrap my head around it all.

"For starters, they'd never make it out of the pack house alive," Taylor explained, raising a finger for each point. "Second, every alliance that Adrian formed would come for you guys. The goal was to avoid as much blood shed as possible."

"Right, right. Protecting me, but also the pack." I sighed. My head was pounding. If there were little people up there, they'd be running around mad, trying to sort and organize the files of information I'd just taken in. It was a lot. "I just feel like they could have taken him out, especially with Barron's help." It was more of an outward thought than a response. Taylor, however, responded anyway.

"Kaia, you're forgetting Barron's incentive." Matteo's pack. Right. He couldn't have Caedes if Matteo was still 'alive'.

Taylor had explained Barron's thought process. His alliance with Adrian was built on the basis that when this was all said and done, Adrian would assist him in his efforts to take Caedes, allowing Barron to murder my mate at the earliest convenience. It didn't quite make much sense to me why Adrian wouldn't want Caedes for himself, but I suppose his bloodlust and desire for revenge was greater than his greed. Barron and Matteo then made an agreement that if Barron provided Matteo and I with safety, Matteo would willingly hand over Caedes. It would provide the pack safety being in Barron's hands and provide Matteo and I safety, as well, in Barron's land. It was the easiest, safest way to go about it.

"Oh," I mumbled, "right."

"Anything else?" I could tell by Taylor's tone that she was becoming bored and a bit irritable.

"This is my house." My statement was quick as I stopped my pacing and pointed at the floor.

"Yes." She was definitely annoyed.

"Barron is taking Caedes."

"Yes." She was going to kill me.

"Am I missing anything?" I asked, believing I'd managed to cover all of my bases.

"You're a Canadian citizen, now," she reminded.

"Well, yeah. That's just understood."

"Then, no. I don't think so."

I sighed, relief flooding me. It had been about an hour of running through it all, and I just wanted to take a nap. There was no way in hell that I was actually going to be falling asleep until Matteo walked himself through the front door, though. My body was tired, but my mind was restless.

"Do you know when they will be here?" I asked, plopping myself down on the couch. Taylor dragged her hand tiredly down her face. She looked due for a nap, as well.

"No idea," she shrugged. "The last message I got from Barron was before we got on the plane—said he and Matteo were just arriving at Vindicta's pack house." I bit the inside of my lip, thinking of just how long ago that had been. The problem was, I had absolutely no idea how long ago that was.

"When was that?"

"Yesterday evening." I couldn't stop myself from gaping at her response. Was I knocked out for that long?

"Yesterday?" I repeated in disbelief. "I slept through all of that?"

Shaking her head, Taylor said, "No? Don't you remember getting off the plane?"

"No?" I didn't. Not one bit.

"You walked off by yourself—well, barely. You passed back out the minute we got in the Uber."

I wanted to ask her if she was joking. There was not a single memory in my mind of us leaving the plane. The last thing I remembered was the bits and pieces of our conversation as we boarded our flight, and the rest was a blank slate.

Did those pills give me some weird-ass, partial amnesia?

What even were those pills?

"What medication did I take on the flight?" I asked, connecting the dots that whatever issues I was having with my memory were from those pills. Taylor laughed nervously, scratching the back of her neck.

"Yeah, that was my fault," she admitted. "Matteo told me to give you one, but I told you two. I figured one extra would do you good. Didn't realize it would knock you out for a day." I wasn't a doctor, but I didn't think you should double up on medication.

"What if I would have died!" I accused. Taylor's hands shot up in a form of surrender.

"Hey, hey! You wouldn't have died! I was listening to your heart rate the whole time. It only got sketchy twice." Again, I couldn't stop myself from gaping at her. Twice?

This bitch could have killed me.

An uncomfortable rumble bellowed in my stomach, catching both Taylor's and my attention. I hadn't gone several hours without food in months, and my body was not taking it lightly.

"Is there any food here?" I asked, standing up from the couch. This was my house, and I didn't even know if there was food in my kitchen. I didn't even know where my kitchen was.

"Uh, yeah. Farrah stocked this place up for you guys," Taylor said, as another sickening noise left my monstrous stomach. God, she was pissed. Taylor stood up from the chair, telling me to follow her.

"Farrah was in on this?" I trailed behind Taylor who took us directly into an immaculate, new kitchen with shiny, steel appliances, black cupboards, and a grand granite island in the center. It still wasn't sinking in that this was all mine now.

"Yeah." She made her way over to a pantry, opening it to reveal five stocked shelves. God, I'll eat that in three days max. "Despite how absolutely vicious their relationship is, Barron doesn't do much of anything without her—you want chips?" She was holding two bags, one in each hand. I eyed them both, feeling the grumble of hunger in my stomach building.

"Salt and vinegar," I chose. She tossed them to me, and I caught them easily. "F—k me up," I whispered, ripping the bag open. "So wait, what is their problem?" I was always a sucker for some gossip. Taylor shrugged, clearly not too involved in their personal lives.

"I don't really know. Farrah came from a fairly large pack in Australia, Beta's daughter. Barron obviously isn't the most serious guy, and Farrah is more of a cut-throat buzzkill. They don't really mix well." I munched down several chips as she explained the dynamic of the two. I'd only ever interacted with the both of them a handful of times. Knowing Barron, he was a coy motherf—ker, though. You could never take anything he said too seriously.

"How long have they been together?" I asked making Taylor furrow her brows in thought.

"Uh, it was last August." So, it was only a few months before I met Matteo. Not too long ago, but definitely a long time for mates to get along and in some type of rhythm.

"I met Matteo in November," I recalled, mentally counting back the months. "Seven months ago." It felt like so much longer.

"How'd that go?" Taylor snatched a handful of chips from my bag and tossed one into her mouth.

I snorted, recalling the memory—the escape, the murder, the bar, Jack, the neck-snapping, the immaculate shower. It was a lot to remember, but it made me laugh.

"Uh, I was going to f—k his Beta, and he walked in," I remembered, watching Taylor's face morph into an expression that screamed 'what the f—k'. "The first month or two were," I paused, searching for the right word, "different." Nope, wrong word. "We figured out our shit, though. I worked through my issues with pack-life, and he...well, I don't—I mean, I guess he learned to accept my stupidity."

"I heard rumors that the two of you were a little f—ked up, but I hadn't imagined the Beta thing." She was still stuck on that?

"Yeah, he and I aren't on the best terms right now," I admitted, making a pang hit my heard like a mallet slamming into a gong. The feeling reverberated through me, settling into my veins like ice.

"I don't know if I should be happy about that or feel bad for you," Taylor said, munching through another chip. Right, this girl was Jack's mate.

"Bad," I affirmed, thinking back on the friendship we shared before my past came and royally f—ked it up. "Jack was like my first real best friend."

"Was?"

"Yeah, this shit really screwed it up." Silence settled between the two of us. I didn't want to take another bite for fear that the crunch would be way too awkward as Taylor just stared at me.

"He doesn't even know about this," Taylor finally spoke up. My eyes widened in shock. Matteo's own Beta and best friend didn't know what was happening? "As far as he knows, his Alpha is dead, and his Luna is missing."

"Why didn't anyone tell him?" I could practically see Jack's face of disappointment and sadness. I'd never seen the kid cry, but I had a feeling he was a crier.

"Damage control. Matteo figured Jack would want to stop the plan, and Barron agreed. Apparently, he's a very passionate guy." I nodded, agreeing with her final statement. He was one of the most passionate people I'd ever met, but I'd admired him for it. He was truly a Beta, in that sense.

"Are you going back to him?" A smile crept to Taylor's lips at my question.

"Oh, yeah. For sure," she said, eagerly. "When Matteo gets here, I'm out. Barron will be controlling Caedes, so I'll be free to go wherever I want in the territory." I smiled, happy for her and Jack. They deserved each other, truly. They were incredible people, despite her almost killing me by overdose.

Oh, God. If Matteo knew I almost went out the same way that his mother did, he would wring Taylor's neck on the spot.

I guess that'll be our little secret.

Our conversation was interrupted by the loudest, most-frightening slam I'd ever heard. The bang echoed off the walls, making both Taylor and I jump in fear. We each were immediately on alert.

Shit, I thought, they found me.

"Kai?"

My heart stopped. Tears that hadn't been even remotely present seconds ago lined my eyes, threatening to be released. The deep, husky baritone of the voice ignited all of the nerve endings in my body, urging my legs to move before my mind had the opportunity to tell them to. I bounded out of the kitchen, leaving the chips on the island.

Entering the living room, my eyes connected with the same dark ones that I had grown to love and melt me on the spot. I felt a heat surge throughout my body, anticipating the warmth of his touch. I raced into his arms that opened to catch me as I flung myself into his grasp.

"You're okay," I sighed, breathing in Matteo's scent. My face was crushed into the crook of his neck, his hand holding the back of my head as the other supported me. A tear slipped down my cheek. The relief I felt was uncontrollable, and my desire to never let him go was even greater. My legs wrapped around his waist like a seatbelt.

"I was more worried about you," he admitted, making me hold him tighter.

"I literally can't believe this worked," Barron's untimely voice chimed in. He truly had a way of ruining everything. I pulled back to glare at Barron, but Matteo's face caught my attention first. The hand that had been holding my head, now wiped away another fallen tear.

"Why are you crying," he asked softly, the concern not only appearing in his voice but on his face, as well.

I shook my head. "I'm okay. Just happy."

"I'm f—king starving," Barron stated. The sound of his footsteps followed as he exited toward the kitchen. Thank God.

I was going to make a comment about Barron, but Matteo stopped me. Cupping my cheek, he placed a soft kiss to my lips, erasing any irritable thought I'd had. It was, as cheesy as it sounded, like electricity. Like lightning had coursed it's way through our lips. An absolutely euphoric feeling that had my fingers feeling numb.

He pulled back before I had the opportunity to deepen the kiss, our eyes connecting to just stare at one another. The love I felt for this man could not be expressed in words or actions or any type of realistic way.

He'd given up absolutely everything for me.

My eyes widened at the thought. Matteo's brows furrowed, his eyes narrowing as I fidgeted out of his grasp.

"What's wrong?" He asked, allowing my feet to return to the floor. My hand roamed my back pocket, feeling for the packet of papers that I'd stuck in there before Taylor and I left the house. Not responding, I pulled them out. They were folded several times and a little bit mangled, but I'm sure the look of them was irrelevant at this point. I turned on my heel and walked into the kitchen, feeling Matteo's presence follow me.

Standing with the door of our fridge open, Barron's attention snapped around to stare at me as I held out the crumpled mess of papers.

"I think these belong to you."

A sick smirk evaded his features as his gaze settled upon the contract.

"This is awesome."