"So not only do we have a shadow man lurking about, that no one can find a trace of, but there's a dark witch too?!" I gasp at the increasing severity of our situation.

"Calm down baby. You're safe here, we just need to be vigilant," Chris tries to reason with me. "And before you ask, yes everyone is aware and the Guardians have tripled their guard on Ethan."

"Why is there always something," I groan and squeeze my eyes tightly shut.

I can't even manage a simple shopping outing.

Chris hugs me tighter and kisses the top of my head. I can feel his apprehension through the bond, he's no more happy about this than I am. In his loving embrace and with a full stomach, sleep eventually takes me once more.

-----

The next morning, I wake up alone. As the sleepy haze recedes, I remember Chris slipping out and telling me to rest more and that he'll see me at lunch. Rubbing the sleep out of my eyes, I blink my surroundings into focus and notice a cart sitting not far from the bed with a note.

Morning Beautiful, I came to check on you but you were sleeping peacefully. Eat up and take it easy. Jude will be by to grab you for lunch.

'Now that's love, letting us sleep,' Ember snickers.

I lift the cover and see a platter covered in fruit, bacon, and blueberry waffles. I grab it, head over to the sofa, and pick up my phone, checking the texts with a big smile on my face. Just a couple quick ones from Jason and Trish, checking in to see how the project is coming, and how I like it here. After fabricating a colourful response, I finish breakfast and link Chris.

'Thanks for breakfast.'

'You're very welcome, though I have to admit I was tempted to crawl back into bed with you,' he muses.

'You should have,' I tease. 'After the last morning wake up reward, you set the bar high.'

'God, you test me, little one,' he growls. 'Unfortunately duty called.'

'Find anything?' I ask, knowing they're still trying to dig to the bottom of what happened.

'Nothing new. You're right. They were human, the rogue clothing hid their scent,' he admits.

'But?' I prompt, feeling his hesitation.

'Something doesn't feel right...,' he sighs. 'Aiden and Barron are satisfied to call it chaos, but they haven't had a single incident since the last royal family was assassinated. We're here for just over a week and someone magically shows up and makes a pass at you. Why?'

'Same as always, to get at you?' I offer. In this world, mates are viewed as a weakness. With Ember living deeper within me then other wolves, she's not easily detected, leaving me appearing weak. The Guardians worked on training me before we ever found out I was a wolf and I was a good archer before I met any of them, so I'm far from defenseless.

'That doesn't answer why though... If someone wanted to take out the throne, they should have done it before we came... The pack was less than half the size it is now and there were just old royal rank wolves. Now there's three Royals, the entire Guardian force, and young, new rank wolves prime out of war. We're missing something...' he trials off, the concern clear in his voice.

'I hate it when you make sense like that,' I grumble.

'I don't want you to worry baby,' he stresses. 'I promised no more secrets. I want you to be aware and vigilant, but until we know more there really isn't anything we can do.'

Knowing there's a problem and not being able to do anything about it is the worst feeling. My nature is to want to do something to try and help, not sit around and wait for someone else to fix everything for me.

'We can talk more at lunch, Derek's calling me,' he says apologetically.

'Go, I'm good,' I say, closing the link.

After setting everything back on the cart and slipping it back out the door, I notice all the bags from shopping and set to work putting everything away. I set the Satsuma body wash and lotion to the side and dig for the onesie I picked up for Claire, determined to visit quickly after I shower up.

I make the quick walk to the far end of the hall where the Delta quarters are and, after linking Jude, he assures me that both Xavier and Claire are there like every other day. My soft knock is met with a frustrated 'Come in.'

Claire is seated on the sofa and Xavier on the floor with baby crib parts everywhere like a jigsaw puzzle. Their room is like ours, a suite with a bedroom, combined living room and kitchenette, and door I assume leads to an additional bedroom, or future nursery in this case.

"Jess!" Claire cheers from her seat, one hand outstretched to me and the other rubbing the side of her swollen belly. Even seated, her stomach takes up most of the view of her upper body and she's balancing what looks like crib instructions on it like a table.

"Hey," I greet with a smile, taking her hand and looking down at Xavier. By the frustrated look in his eyes, he's out of his element. "How goes the battle?"

"Give me electronics, or engines, I'm good. Carpentry?! Not so much," he groans, palming his forehead before running his hand through his short black hair.

"You'll get it hun," Claire coos. "You're just getting worked up. Here, let me give you a hand." She shifts in her seat, intending to get up but he raises a hand to stop her.

"You will not," he grumbles, locking his dark eyes on her. "Doc said no bending, you're not even supposed to be out of bed!"

"Sitting in bed or on a sofa is the same thing," she sighs, rolling her eyes but makes no further move to get up.

"Let me look," I say, picking up the instructions. A quick look shows him trying to put the end rail into the brace slot. I can't help my small laugh when I see that he's got everything mixed around and still has pieces in the box.

"Shoo for a second." Xavier only frowns but eventually moves as I wave him off.

I chew my bottom lip as I mentally sort all pieces before bending down and grouping them together to make sure they have all the parts according to the instructions. He grumbles off to the side as I disassemble the one piece he had already assembled, incorrectly, and start to reorganize them into the proper spots.

Before long, Jude shows up and the three of us make quick work of the crib. He and Xavier carry it into the nursery while I sit next to Claire before they join us.

"I want to be mad about this, but at the rate I was going, the baby was going to be here before I was done," Xavier sighs.

"Trish loves Ikea but can't build them to save her life. I can build an entire house of this type of stuff," I laugh. "Oh, before I forget! I picked you up something small... You were missed."

Claire takes the bag from me and, after a quick look, starts to tear up. "They're awful, aren't they," she states more than asks.

"Jenna doesn't seem bad, but ugh, Rebecca and Leah... I thought I left that type behind in highschool," I admit with a shudder. "Nothing I can't handle, though I think Mira and Sara are running a pool for when I break someone's nose."

"I think I want in on that action," Xavier chuckles.

"There are still a few slots open," Jude whispers with a crooked grin.

"Really?!" I scoff, quirking a brow at him.

"What? I can't let Nex or Jace win," he shrugs.

"Unbelievable," I growl.

"On that note... We have a lunch to get to," Jude prompts, nodding to the door.

"The best part of this is room service," Claire replies weakly. She's putting on a brave face but I can feel how weary she is.

"I'll be back soon," I assure her, giving her a hug before waving to Xavier and following Jude out.

"That might not seem like much but you made a difference there," Jude says, locking his blue eyes on mine. "Xavier's worried sick that she's going to start cramping and bleeding again... The man is going to be gray before the baby gets here, if he even has any hair left."

This pregnancy hasn't been easy for Claire. She's had a range of challenges, from extreme morning sickness that lasted all day to pinched nerves, anemia, and apparently now bedrest.

But I've never met a woman more committed to being a mother in my life.

"I'll make a point of staying with her maybe tomorrow night, you guys should get him out to destress," I suggest as we make our way down the hall from their room.

"I'll talk to the guys," Jude says with a smile. "Hell, even get him on a run... Speaking of which, when's the last time Ember got out?"

"Too long," I sigh. Ember hasn't put up a fuss but I'm sure she'd like to go for a run. Unfortunately, the necklace Mack gave me to mask the pregnancy scent only works in my human form. "Maybe I'll try and get Derek to take me out somewhere safe..."

"Right," Jude scoffs.

"Something else I should know?" I ask, grabbing his arm to draw his attention.

"No, but this place..." he trails off, his crystal blue eyes hardening as he struggles to find the words. "It's like no one gives a damn! They've already written off that attack as nothing more than some lone humans trying to cause trouble!"

Jude's outrage and concern hit me in waves, making me take a step back.

"Shit, sorry Jess," he says, taking a deep breath and reeling in his emotions. "I just don't get it... They already lost one royal family, you'd think they'd learn from it, but no. It's beyond lazy, it's reckless."

"Relax Jude," I say, laying my hands once more on his arms and taking a deep breath. "I've never once put my faith in anyone else. I know we'll get to the bottom of this, and until we do, I'll be extra careful."

Jude seems to visibly relax under my touch in an instant, letting out a final sigh before nodding. "You're right. At least the Guardians are taking this seriously. Lord knows none of us can do anything about the shadow. Sounds like the last of them will be here by the weekend, so we'll have both the warrior rank trials and the Guardian challenge, Chloe is strangely excited for this," he says, twisting his expression to one mixed with concern and confusion.

"Maybe people are finally starting to respect Sara and she's running out of work?" I say with a laugh.

"Nah, still sending a steady stream... though there are fewer each day. Chloe figures at this rate she'll have gone through the entire pack within a couple weeks," he chuckles but the laugh doesn't reach his eyes. Jude doesn't like the way the royal pack is treating Sara, but also knows better than to step in. Even Nex is letting her run her course.

"So what did Chris tell the others about my absence?" I cautiously ask, not wanting to mess things up.

"The truth," he shrugs. "That the stress triggered a full blown migraine and the medication kept you out." I nod, grateful for an easy cover. What Jude said is not technically wrong, they just left out the energy bit.

"Fair enough," I admit.

Lord knows I won't be able to hide that I get migraines for long.

"Speaking of which, you good?" He asks with a tight lipped frown as he looks me over. "Apparently they're quite amped up already."

"Oh goodie," I say, rolling my eyes. "Yeah I'm fine, sleep helps, and Doc's kept me topped up meds-wise."

"You sure?" he asks, raising a brow. "Not too late, you can still save yourself."

I can't help but laugh at his theatrics. "I've got this, no one's gonna make me run and hide anymore."

There's a look of pride in Jude's eyes as he nods and opens the private dining room door for me. Muffled sounds increase in volume the further open he pulls the door. Both of us stop dead in our tracks inside the doorway as we take in the chaotic scene in front of us. Waves of emotions like frustration and irritation crash into me and I clutch onto Jude's arm.

Sara and Mira stand shoulder to shoulder, arguing with Rebecca, Leah, and another woman I don't recognize, while Chloe and Jace hold them back. Nex is palming his face to cover a laugh and Chris is rubbing his eyes, looking like he's about to start sprouting grey hairs at any moment. Barron, of course, is backing his mate as is Evans while Merrick and Jenna stay out of the way.

"Oh good, she's here," Rebecca says, crossing her arms over her chest and locking her hungry green eyes on mine.

Her very voice makes me grit my teeth to keep my temper in check.

Well, fuck...