"Ow ow ow ow ow!" Raymond wines incessantly as I dab a damp cloth over the last remaining sections of his open wounds.

"Oh get over it. You're acting like a whiny child. It's annoying." I spit back at him as I dip the cloth into the water bowl next to me, cleaning and wetting it again.

It's only been a week since we've returned back from the mission. Raymond's pretty much healed up at this point, we are just prolonging the treatment as long as possible. The cuts I'm nursing now are almost as small as paper cuts, but I really don't want to start my job as a maid, and neither does my squad. As for Rina and I, concerning our inhibited ability to shift, Rina can fully shift into her wolf but it looks like the wolf's bane has stuck in my blood stream a bit more. My strength has returned a tad bit, but I'm still not fully up to par. In another day or so, I should be back up to normal.

"You're the worst nurse attendant ever, you know that, right?" Raymond groans as I touch the cloth back to his open chest, "You have absolutely no compassion!"

"Your whining is making me less compassionate, so I suggest you start shutting your trap," I warn him.

His eyes widen in worry as he glances over at me. I frown with a serious face and he realizes I'm not fooling around. He lets out a small-awkward cough, and turns away from me. His silence is my victory.

I tend to his wounds a bit longer before re-bandaging them up. Although they technically don't need to be covered at the moment, we are trying to disguise them, making them look bad so I can continue to watch over him.

A silence falls over us momentarily.

"Thank you..." I quickly add to Raymond as I start cleaning up the bowl and towels I used to tend to him.

"You're thanking me? Why?" He asks.

"For staying in here, cooped up for my sake."

"For your sake? I'm injured!"

I snicker at his comment. "You and I both know you're wounds are not longer serious. Heck, we also both know how badly you are itching to get back outside and start training again. I can't imagine how annoying it must be to stay in here while you know the rest of the team is working hard in training."

He sighs, "Lucia, you're right, I'm itching to get back out there, but more so, I want you to be happy. None of us want you off the squad, and we most certainly don't want you working as a maid. You're our leader, through and through. It doesn't matter how long the Alpha keeps you separated from us. You know where our loyalties lie."

My heart thumps in my chest as a warmth spreads throughout my body. A small smile creeps onto my lips and a feint blush forms on my cheeks. It's one thing to assume you have the loyalty of your squad members, it's another to hear how deep that loyalty goes. It's almost a bit embarrassing.

"Thank you Raymond, but right now I'm being a bad leader."

He frowns, "What do you mean?"

"I should be looking out for what's best for the team, not what's best for me."

"What's best for you is what's best for the team." He informs me quickly.

I gather all the material and stand from the floor. I glance down at Raymond and gently shake my head back and forth, "No, what's best for the team is to grow stronger while I'm not there. You guys need to continue your work until I can return. The more I procrastinate this, the longer it will take for me to get back onto the squad."

I turn away from the bed and head towards the door.

"Lucia, where are you going?"

"To start something I should have started a couple of days ago."

--------------------------------------------------

"So this is our custodian closet, where we keep all our cleaning supplies," Marissa informs me as she takes me on a tour around the large supply closet.

The upper half of the walls are lined with shelves which are covered with cleaning supplies of all shapes and sizes. On the left side of the closet are things like toilet paper, paper towels, extra soap, and other refillable items that will need to be replaced at some point. On the floor are different types of vacuums, sweepers, carpet cleaners, and more large industrial items used to clean. Marissa takes her time showing me exactly where everything is. As we walk through, I uncomfortably pull down the skirt of my dress a bit.

The uniforms are extremely uncomfortable. They are very short, I have no idea how the maids typically work in these outfits. Thankfully they gave me a size too big and it droops down a bit further than it should on my legs, reaching the top of my knees when it is supposed to be mid thigh.

"Tomorrow morning will be your first real training shift. Today was all about teaching you the basics and showing you where everything was. Do you think you got the general gist of everything I showed you today?" She asks me as she notices some stocked items arranged in the wrong way. She hurriedly shuffles them around, making them neat and orderly.

"I mean, I'm pretty sure I got everything you explained."

"Perfect! Then I do believe we are done for the day. You can head on back to your room. I will see you tomorrow for the morning shift!"

I give my best feigned smile, "Yup, the morning shift, see you then."

She waves over her shoulder blindly as she continues organizing the shelf. I take that moment to finally exit the large closet. I take in a breath of fresh air as I get into the hallway, all the cleaning fumes were starting to get to my head, I actually have a small headache. As I walk down the hall, I notice a small pack of males walking past me. They glance over and eye my body up and down.

I glare at them. Once they look up at my face and recognize who I am, they whisper profanities and take off down the hall. Although I wish my infamy got the best of me and they ran because they knew how strong I was, I know they are taking off because no one wants to be caught gawking at the Alpha's son's mate. In this pack, that could mean banishment.

I pull down the short black skirt and huff angrily. It's so embarrassing wearing something like this. I really need to talk to Rina and see if she has and spandex I can borrow. This outfit is certainly not long enough to just wear underwear underneath.

I continue down the hall, as I do I get close to the Alpha's office. The door is cracked open and I'm about to pass it when I hear something interesting. My feet come to a halt near the door and I lean on the wall next to the office.

"-squad has made enough money. I know we can move soon." The Alpha states aloud.

Move? What is he talking about?

"I think that would be ideal. This place has already been infiltrated once. If another pack were to find out where we are and attack while our defense are down, we would be screwed. I think we need to considered moving in a few months or so." The Beta adds.

"We need to slowly migrate the crew. It would be obvious if we shipped everyone at once. I say we start with the least necessary pack members first, test whether or not the new location is worth our time and far enough from civilization that no one will find us."

"I agree, when should we start?"

"I say we gather them in a few weeks and tell them to go to-"

A warm hand with soft almost undetectable sparks lands on my wrist, causing me to jump. I whip around to confront black eyes staring down at me. I glare up at them.

"Oh, it's you." I say with a roll of my eyes.

He glares, "Don't say it like that."

"Oh? How do you want me to say it? 'Oh thank goodness my prince in shinning armor has arrived'!" I say in a pretend girly voice. Damien groans in annoyance at my mocking attitude.

"You know, I can never get used to your defiant ways."

"And your point?"

"Stop being defiant."

"Stop being an asshole? Oh wait, it's in your blood so you can't change that can you? Guess we are stuck in the same boat."

He growls angrily. "You're so annoying," before I can respond he adds, "what were you doing here?"

Crap, I can't tell him that I've been eavesdropping on our fathers... "I just finished my first day of training for the maid services. I was going to stop in to inform the Alpha that I've begun maid work and that Raymond is doing better." I suppose it's not completely lying, I really should keep the Alpha informed on my whereabouts so he doesn't forget about me; you know, if I ever want to return to my duties on the Squad.

"Ah, Raymond's doing well again? I suppose that's good, we have another mission coming up and since we're already missing you, we need all hands on deck."

I frown and square myself off in his direction, straightening my back in the process. "The only reason why we are lacking members is because you," I jab my finger into his chest, "never informed the team of every aspect about the mission. Because you left me in the dark, I was penalized." I remove my finger from his chest, rolling my eyes I take a step back from him. Unfortunately I can't go too far, he still has my wrist in his grasp and if I try to pull away, he will realize my strength isn't up to par.

"You should have wanted that monster dead anyway." An angered feeling bubbles up in my gut. Something deep inside me is enraged that he called the baby a monster.

"It was an innocent child Damien. I didn't realize that the Alpha wanted it dead."

"And if you knew?"

"And if I knew what?"

"If you knew my Dad wanted that little devil extinguished; would you have killed it yourself? You seemed pretty adamant about saving it's life."

I growl lightly. He is questioning my loyalty to the Alpha. Although his assumptions are correct and I probably would have still disobeyed the orders, I can't let Damien know that. "I absolutely would have followed his orders if I had known. I would never blatantly disobey the Alpha like that."

Damien snorts at that. "My father ordered us to be mates, and you blatantly disobey that all the time. Are you saying you've come to your senses and are ready to complete our bond?"

I glare angrily up into his beady black eyes. "He ordered us to be mates, and we are. I have your mark on my neck, don't I? I don't think we need to do anything else. You wanted me for a mate for my strength, but if you want to be with me, you need to learn that I won't allow you to complete the bond nor have children with me and that's final."

The darkness of his eyes deepens. I can see his wolf peeking out angrily. I just told his wolf he will never be able to pass his genes on to another generation. I think any wolf would be pissed to hear that, but one with Alpha blood? He's beyond pissed.

"We're going to have kids."

"Gross."

He growls softly, lifting his hands up to my shoulders and forcefully pushing me against the wall. The force smashes me roughly against the hard wall, causing a bout of pain to shoot through my upper back. I bite my lip to hold back a whimper.

"You and I will have kids. That's the whole point of us being together. Otherwise I would have chosen someone way hotter than you."

"I don't know what to tell you, you should have chosen someone way hotter than me, then. I'm not, nor will I ever do anything with you that would result in children. And that's final."

He growls. His grip on my shoulders tightens and I can feel my human bones straining to keep form under him. I flinch outwardly. Damien's eyes widen. Suddenly, a smirk forms on his devious lips. His grip on my shoulders loosen, and he leans his head down to my level. My eyes widen in shock at his close proximity.

"I think I just discovered something interesting." He comments, his voice low.

Before I can reply, he closes the distance between us. His lips forcefully press against my own. My hands fling up to his shoulders. Desperately I try to push him away from me, but to no avail. I swing my head to the side, managing to escape his lips for a brief moment. I suck in a few sharp breaths.

"Damien, stop-" is all I can say before he grabs my chin with his left hand and turns it back towards his face, crashing his lips back to my own.

I squirm under him, hitting his chest with my hands, and pushing roughly against him. Nothing gets him off of me. I scream under his lips, telling him to stop but it comes out muffled.

I continue batting against his chest, but it's as if he can't feel any of it. Water bubbles in my eyes as I frustratedly push against him. His tongue forcefully shoot into my mouth. I growl as he starts exploring.

An image of Greyson flashes in my eyes, causing them to water even more. My heart pounds in my chest as I continue to struggle. Out of pure instinct, I chomp my jaw down, biting Damien's tongue in the process.

"Shit!" Damien screeches as he breaks the kiss. His grip on me loosens and I bolt away from his grasp.

I run at full speed down the hall.

"Get back here you bitch!" Damien yells from behind me.

My heart jumps and adrenaline runs through my body. I pump my human muscles, straining to stay ahead of Damien; praying I don't get caught.

I bank a left down a side hallway. My legs ache from standing around all day at my new job, but I ignore the pain. I feel the short dress flowing around me, possibly showing my underwear but honestly, at this point I don't care, I'm just trying to get away. My legs pump quickly beneath me.

Where can I go? Who can I turn to?

My squad. They are training today. They must be out back somewhere.

I bank right at the next hallway, heading toward the backyard. My legs make large and quick strides as I race for the back door. I take another hallway, almost getting into the back foyer which leads to the backdoor.

I can see it. It's so close.

Damien's footsteps are right behind me, but I ignore them and push my muscles as fast as they can go.

"Get back here!" Damien growls, I can hear his Alpha tone shaking the walls. Luckily, the lack of wolf in me helps me ignore his demand.

My hands reach the doorknob. I give it a hard twist and whip open the door. As I'm about to race through the doorway, hands land on my hips. With little force, I'm lifted up high and heaved over Damien's shoulder. My lower ribcage resting on his shoulder bone painfully.

"Ow, let me go!" I scream angrily as I formally pound on his back and squirm in his arms.

He closes the back door. Without even acknowledging me pounding on his back, he casually walks away. My eyes widen in shock. I freeze in his arms.

"Damien." I ask.

"Yes."

"Where are you taking me."

"Where do you think?"

My heart drops as my stomach churns uncomfortably. I know exactly where he is taking me... To the room we share. He knows I can't shift. He's going to take advantage of it.

"NO!" I scream and pound on his back. I pound so hard that I can practically feel my hands bruising on his muscles. I scream some more but Damien ignores it promptly.

"LET ME GO!" I scream and pound, wiggling my body, trying to shake out of his steel grip.

"Lucia, enough with your incessant screaming."

"NEVER, PUT ME DOWN!" I holler.

A moment later I get what I asked for. I'm sent flying off Damien's shoulder and collide with the wall to our right. I hit it with a thud, and slide down, landing uncomfortably on my side. I groan as I lean up. My back against the wall and legs sprawled out in front of me. The room spins, sending a bout of nausea through my gut.

"Is that better? Now get your ass up." He screeches, reaches down and grabs hold of my wrist.

My head's still foggy and spinning from the recent collision, honestly, I can barely function. Everything is fuzzy and meshing together. I can't tell up from down. Damien starts to pull me to my feet when-

"What's going on here?" A familiar voice cuts through the air. My head continues its spinning but I manage to peak over my left shoulder.

My eyes struggle to focus. Luckily, they successfully land on a miracle sight. My squad stands close by, Raymond, Derek, and Greyson in the front, Leo, Ruben, and Rina fanned out on the sides. Damien releases my wrist and it falls limp onto the floor by my side and my back collides with the wall behind me. The room spins again so I groan, close my eyes, and lean my head back onto the wall.

"I was just walking Lucia back to our room, she got injured during work."

I peak my eyes open at him and growl, "That's not what happened."

Damien grunts angrily and glares down at me. "Watch what you say." he turns to the group, "Leave us." They all stare at us blankly, "NOW!" He growls, attempting full Alpha tone.

Everyone in the group flinches except for Greyson, Leo and Raymond. Derek struggles but holds his ground as he adds, "Damien, I don't think it would be wise for us to leave."

"Why is that?" Damien growls ferociously.

"Because the Alpha has specifically requested your presence concerning the mission tomorrow. I could go alone, but I believe he will be wondering why our leader hasn't shown. Would you like me to tell him you're too busy to answer his call?" Derek asks.

Damien's eyes widen. I can see the conflict going on in his head. Does he want to finally get what he wants from me and disobey his father which could possibly prove to his dad that he was never a good leader, or does he want to continue his facade and to help guarantee his succession as Alpha?

Guess he wanted the second option, "Fine. I will come..." He glares down at me and angrily whispers, "I better see you later tonight, if not, you will pay."

Angrily my eyes squint up at him. I don't reply verbally before he walks away. Derek follows him as they head to the Alpha's office. As he passes me, Derek's sympathetic eyes explain the pity he feels for me. I give him a small smile and mouth the words "thank you." He nods and hurries off.

A moment later my Squad is surrounding me. Rina collapses onto the ground next to me, grabbing hold of my right hand and cradling it in her own. Leo stands behind her, concern evident in his eyes. Greyson kneels down next to me on my left. He places a concerned hand on my shoulder. Raymond and Ruben stand by my feet and look down at me with shocked eyes. Then, everyone besides Greyson and Rina start firing question after question at me.

"Is she okay?"

"Lucia what happened?"

"Did Damien do this?"

The room is not only spinning but now words are starting to jumble together in my head. I groan and my head falls back and hits the wall again.

"Guys, you need to stop, you're making it worse!" Rina screeches at them, sending a sharp jolt through my head at the pitch of her voice.

I groan and take a slow breath in and exhale. I try to stabilize my pounding head, but nothing is working.

"She needs to rest, Rina can we take her to your room?" Greyson asks, taking leadership of the situation while I'm out of commission.

"Of course."

Greyson's thumb resting on my shoulder rubs back and forth in a soothing manner. I tilt my head to the left and struggle to open my eyes to look at him. His gorgeous green orbs are penetrating into me with a soft sorrow. I can see pain lingering in those beautiful eyes of his.

"Will you be okay if I pick you up and carry you to Rina's room?"

"Pick me up? I can walk." I tell him.

I use my hands which are palm-down on the ground as a base to lift myself. I pull my shaky legs up and underneath me. I try to stand. As I do, I wobble and accidentally lose my balance, flying forward. Greyson reaches out and catches me at my ribcage and Raymond reaches his hands out to catch my shoulders.

"Don't push yourself kid," Raymond whispers to me as he helps me gain my balance. "Let Greyson carry you."

I nod my head. "Okay, you're right..." I give up, realizing just how messed up my head is. The dizziness is really making it hard to walk straight. Once Raymond releases my shoulders and Greyson releases me at my ribcage, I turn to Greyson, "sorry, I won't try to pretend like I can walk this time..."

He gives me a small smile, in an instant he has me scooped up princess style in his arms. My head spins momentarily at the sudden change, but the dizziness dulls quickly. The rest of the group turns and starts heading toward Rina's room.

I glance up at Greyson's face as he follows behind them, carrying me in his arms. I relax in his grip, feeling safe and secure. My pounding head still aches, so I tear my eyes away from his handsome face and close them. I rest my head softly on his shoulder and allow my body to fully unwind in his hold. Finally surrounded by my security blanket.

---------------

Author's Note: 

Sorry I've been so slow with updates! Thank you all for being patient. As a reward I've posted two chapters instead of just one! Hopefully I can get back on track with writing. Thank you all again!

-moonlightmagic444