"So what was that about!?" I growl at Ryker as I watch Trish pull out of the driveway.

"What?" He replies with a satisfied smirk. Ryker is kicking back on my couch after having spent the last several hours charming Trish and playing nice with the Guardians.

"You know what," Derek grumbles, earning an elbow from Mack. "What!? It's creepy when he's nice and not an asshole."

"He's only an asshole to you 'cause you are to him," she chides.

"Thank you Ma-"

"Seriously, the fuck Ryker!?" She snaps, cutting him off mid-flirt. Their reaction is enough to make me laugh after a long, tense night.

"I can't win," Ryker grumbles, crossing his arms over his chest and frowning. "I keep it business you guys bitch. She tells me to play nice, now I'm a creep..." There's a ghost of a smirk that takes any hurt out of his words, proving this is nothing but a giant game to him.

"I'm too tired for all of this," I sigh, picking up the empty pizza boxes. Mack takes them from me and gives me a nod to send me to bed.

"I've got this and them, go on," she reiterates.

Not needing to be told twice, I take off to the bathroom for a quick shower before bed. Sleeping in my own bed after the craziness of the last few months is a relief and yet... something's missing.

'Mate,' Ember whimpers. Her sadness and longing swamps me, adding to my own.

'Soon,' I whisper back, trying to soothe her and grabbing my phone. Once again, her time was cut short and she was robbed of her carefree time with Cyrus, running through the woods. She seems excited to be Queen; the status feeds her animal pride, making for just one more reason I need to try and muster up some excitement for palace life.

Me: Had pizza with Trish tonight, she asked how serious things had gotten between us...

I can't help the smile that slips on my lips as I hit send and curl up in bed. I'm not expecting an answer, but almost immediately the chat bubbles appear. My eyelids start to get heavy as I stare at the screen for what feels like an eternity.

Chris: Define serious?

My face falls the moment I read the words but I can practically see his tight-lipped ghost of a smirk and amusement dancing in his eyes.

Two can play this game and we know who's the more jealous one.

Me: Oh, maybe I misunderstood... I can always go out to dinner with her and her single friend tomorrow...

A wicked grin slips on my lips and my heart races as I hit send. His possessive, brooding scowl face pops into my mind, the one he wears when he goes all cave man and I can't help the thrill of provoking him running through me.

'You trying to get him to show up on our doorstep?' Ember chides but I can feel her amusement, she loves to tease him as much, if not more then I do!

'And the problem with that? At least we'd sleep good,' I laugh. 'Besides he started it-'

My cell goes off startling me out of my internal conversation. Chris's name pops up on the caller ID and my heart starts to hammer.

Maybe I went a lil' far?

'Too late now,' Ember pipes up.

I push the green icon, accepting the call but can't seem to force a word out, so I just listen.

"Playing a dangerous game there, Kitten," Chris warns, his voice husky and seductive.

"Am I?" I blurt out before covering my mouth. His throaty chuckle makes my stomach tighten and my heart miss him even more.

"You know exactly what you're doing," he presses on.

"Well, if we're not that serious..." I trail off, poking the bear even more.

"You wear my ring, bear my mark, and are carrying my pup," he states flatly with a dangerous edge to his voice. "If another male so much as lays a finger on you, I will happily remove it from his body."

"Now you go all caveman?" I mumble, amused but struggle to keep my eyes open.

"Seems to me you get cranky when I 'go all caveman'," Chris teases.

"And yet..."

"How can you blame me, baby? I will do anything to protect what is mine and you are mine, only mine... as I am yours." The seduction and conviction in his voice makes my heart ache.

How can I miss someone this much in such a short time?

"I miss you..." I whisper.

"I miss you too, baby," he replies and I hear the longing in his voice. "Soon, just a little longer."

I know I'll leave in just a couple days and maybe my hormones are driving my mood, but I just feel sulky and vulnerable without him. Talking does help though and after hearing his voice, I'm at ease and struggling to stay awake.

"Sleep well baby," is the last thing I hear before I slip into a deep dreamless sleep.

-----

Slowly, the days tick by and I keep myself busy with tidying up around my farm and putting the gardens to bed for the winter. Overall I'm doing busy work that just keeps my mind occupied. The closer I get to the weekend and our departure, the more conflicted I feel. I can't wait to see Chris, but the thought of leaving my farm and going into a completely different world leaves me anxious. Not having slept well since he left doesn't help one bit.

I've spent the majority of my day sifting through my clothes and packing what still fits, along with anything else I may want at the palace. Chris has assured me that anything I want or need will be easy to get but I like MY stuff, which apparently barely fills two duffle bags. Knocking on my door draws my attention from the bed to the doorway, where Mack's head pops through.

"Got a minute?" She asks, slipping the door open when I nod.

"Always for you," I reply with a smile. The last several days I've spent with her and Chloe as Derek and Ryker ran patrols with Jude playing referee. The curly haired brunette with bright green eyes is the perfect, bubbly upbeat counter to Derek's dark and broody nature. Seeing the two of them open about their affections has left me smiling, particularly when it makes Ryker scowls.

"Here, I got you something," she says, locking her eyes on mine as she flops on the bed and holds out a black pouch for me.

I take the velvet pouch from her and give the black ribbons a tug before gently prying it open. A strange citrus smell wafts up and makes my nose crinkle. The smile on her face assures me whatever's causing the smell is harmless, so I dump the contents into my palm. A delicate, milky white tear drop-shaped stone on a platinum chain shimmers in my palm.

"It's beautiful," I mumble, examining the sparkling gem closer. Its multifaceted cut captures the light, amplifying and making it look strangely alive with silver flakes. The silver looks to drip out of the top, where the gem connects to the chain.

"It's one of the Vixen relics," Mack replies. "Chris said you guys want to keep your pregnancy under wraps for now and I saw Ryker sniffing around..."

During one of our lengthy late night chats, I had asked Chris about maybe not making a big deal about my pregnancy and was surprised when he easily agreed. Turns out he has the same thought, wanting to let me get my bearings before having to deal with that added interest. Pups are a big deal in his world and Alpha pups in particular because they mean the pack has an heir and future.

I can only imagine what a splash a Royal heir will be.

"The Guardians have all sorts of relics and artifacts, magical or blessed items with different properties, like the necklace you wore at Conference. Vixens have their own collection, of which is this one... It negates pregnancy pheromones, but only in human form," she clarifies.

"Oh!" I say, hastily clicking the necklace into place. "That's your division?" She has mentioned Vixens before but they are very secretive, even Derek said I would have made a good candidate but that Chris would never consent.

"Nell runs it, you'll finally get to meet her when we get to the palace," Mack grins.

All week Mack, Ryker, and even Derek have been dropping lines about how great the Palace is. Derek and Mack have stuck to things like its beauty, space, and whatnot, whereas Ryker talks about all the comfort and amenities.

He makes a point to tell me how much better Palace life is at least three times a day.

No matter what I say, he doesn't seem to get that I like to cook for myself and that I'm not accustomed to being served and waited on hand and foot. Trying to explain that I'm used to my own space and I've always taken care of myself is useless.

He just looks at me like I'm an alien.

By this time tomorrow, I'll be in my new home for the foreseeable future. Not that things have been quiet with the war and everything, but there was always that light at the end of the tunnel saying once the war was over things would settle down and go back to normal.

So much for that.

"Oh good, you're already packed," Ryker says as he barges in without knocking. I clench my teeth and sigh but remind myself that in less then a day we'll be there and he can go do whatever the fuck he does, away from me.

Jude walks in with a frown, glaring at Ryker, who looks completely unphased. "What do you think about heading out tonight?" He asks, turning his back to Ryker.

"Like now?" I gape.

"You're packed, why not?" Ryker pushes on, his brown eyes set in challenge.

"I am ready." I shrug. Tonight or tomorrow isn't much different at this point.

"Perfect!" Ryker gloats, grabbing my bags and his tall, lean, muscular form handling them like they weigh nothing.

"Please don't stick me in a car with him," I groan, locking my eyes on Jude's.

He chuckles and shakes his head, "Don't worry,  Chloe made it clear she'll kill him if he's in the same car with her. He can ride with Derek and Mack."

I follow Jude out to the living room, where Derek is grabbing the last two bags and heading out. A heaviness falls on me as I look around my quaint home one last time.

"It's not forever Jess, it's just for now," Mack assures me, giving my shoulder a squeeze. I simply nod and follow her out, locking up one last time. Ethan left in the second wave with Link and his family and is already settled in at the palace.

"No!" Chloe growls, arms crossed as she bars Ryker's way to the truck.

"The truck holds four. You're the Gamma female, but Jude can't protect both of you in case of attack," he tries to reason with the little bristling shewolf. His comment only earns a growl from Jude.

"Fine. Shotgun," Mack calls, sauntering over to Chloe, who wears a triumphant smirk. Ryker and Derek exchange disgusted looks but before they can say anything, Mack cuts them off. "Try not to kill each other, eh?"

Both men grumble but wisely don't challenge her and get into the other car while we pile into Jude's blue Ram pick up truck. We don't even make it to the highway and I'm out cold.

The smell of smoke and blood fills my nose as I look around the carnage of a battlefield. Instantly, I tense and scan for threats but see nothing.

Something's off...

I recognize the battlefield at Dimitri's pack house but everyone is slaughtered, friend and foe lie dead in the blood soaked grass. My skin crawls and the hairs at the back of my neck stand on end as my heart races. I spin to come face to face with Dimitri once more.

On instinct, I reach behind me and feel the familiar, cold steel of the guardian blade. I have it drawn and pointed at him without hesitation, but he just stands there, uninterested, arms crossed with a bored expression on his face. He locks his icy gaze on mine and takes a threatening step forward.

My body and mind war with each other, leaving me frozen in place. Everything he has done to me is ingrained in my flesh, rendering me useless as my mind screams at me to finish him. Fear overrides logic, I know this is a dream and that he's dead, and yet to be face to face, feeling his energy, being surrounded by his scent, logic goes out the window.

"Give it up Jess," he growls, closing the gap and gripping my wrist. "You can't win!"

I gasp at the unwanted contact, pulling back but making no progress against the giant muscle-bound Alpha. Dimitri delights in my fight and pulls his lips into a sinister grin as he looms over me. My heart hammers and I bring my freehand with the blade in hand towards his exposed neck, but he catches my wrist easily and twists it painfully.

"Such a stubborn, willful bitch!" He sneers.

My skin burns under his touch and my chest tightens painfully as I'm dragged backwards, like a ripcord snaps and pulls me deeper into the abyss. I hit the ground in a crumpled heap, gasping for air as my head hammers.

"Never fucking easy with you is it?" A man growls as fear grips me.

This one is far more dangerous than Dimitri and not dead...