Sang's POV:

I woke up dizzy and disoriented, the strong smell of cleaners in the air making my nose twitch.

Looking around myself I saw I was in the infirmary, Kota was sitting in a chair beside my bed, his head resting against the mattress as he slept.

I could see from his disheveled state that he'd worried a lot and even thought I didn't want to interrupt his rest I couldn't resist burying my fingers into his soft looking hair.

His head shot up at the contact and my fingers slipped away, his green eyes going straight to mine, looking at me intently.

"Kota..." I mumbled through a dry throat.

His gaze softened and he smiled gently at me, taking my hand in both of his "Good morning, Sweetie." He said softly, his thumb running over each of my fingers back and forth.

I looked around myself again and asked, "What happened?"

His eyebrows rose and then fell worriedly. "Someone put poison into your food." He said in a grim voice, his gaze promising painful retribution.

I felt my heart drop as my memories came back, the pain, the shock the lack of air, despair.

"Shush, Sweetie." Kota murmured softly as he gazed at me with concerned green eyes when I began to panic, "You are okay now. We are already taking care of it." He promised.

He stood up and moved to the infirmary's door, sticking his head outside to talk with someone. He came back with Sean-san in tow.

"Hello there, Pookie. It's nice of you to grace us with your rousing." He said with a happy smile that tried without success to mask the worry in his green eyes, so like Kota's.

"Sean-san," I greeted him before being caught by a coughing fit.

A cold glass was put into my left hand I raised it to my lips, grateful for the cool liquid that soothed and made speaking easier.

"Better?" the doctor asked as he took the glass from me.

I nodded my head at them and stayed quiet as he went through the motions of checking if all was fine with me.

He was almost done when a sudden, sharp pain hit me in the abdomen before receding like a wave. I had gasped when the pain came and both boys were now keenly focused on me.

The feeling of growing wetness between my legs made my humiliation complete.

Apparently it wasn't enough to have to be the head of a clan and suffer from the attacks of my unknown enemies; fate had also chosen this time for me to have my period, which only seemed to come at the most inconvenient of times.

I closed my eyes shut tight, hoping the boys would disappear while I wasn't looking so I could get up and clean myself in privacy, keeping my dignity intact.

Too bad God didn't give boys the good sense to leave a female alone when she was trying to avoid them.

"Sang?", "Sweetie?" they asked simultaneously and I knew that they wouldn't leave me alone until I gave them an explanation.

"I need a moment alone, boys." I tried to tell them.

"Not before you tell me what is hurting, Pookie." Sean said sternly with Kota nodding his agreement, their serious green eyes demanding an answer.

There was no way I could resist those eyes and the words spilled before I could contain them, "My uterus is hurting, I am having my freaking period, Sean!" I would have shouted that last part if I could, as it was the words barely made it out of my straining throat.

Both boys eyes widened in what could only be shock before their expressions became blank.

They smiled gently at me but for once that smile made me want to hit something instead of melt in a puddle of goo.

I narrowed my eyes at them both and they took a hasty step back, rightfully wary.

"I will get you some painkillers." Sean said quickly and turned over to his medicine' cabinet.

"And I will tell Gabriel to find you new clothes and North to get you a bottle of warm water." Kota told me before he left the room in a hurry.

I remembered that he had mentioned having a mother and sister, which would explain how he knew what I needed and that it is best to avoid an irritable female.

The fact he was throwing his brothers at me was oddly funny and I started laughing.

Sean-san glanced back at me as if I was crazy and I shut up, blushing.

"Sorry." I said, knowing that it was the hormones making me act strange and hoping it wouldn't creep him out.

He smiled at me, "You are not sorry, Pookie. Besides, it is perfectly natural so don't you worry that pretty head of yours." He said as he stepped closer to my bed and gave me a small, white pill along with a glass of water.

I took the painkiller gratefully and drank the whole cup, feeling parched.

Sean watched me intently all the time, taking note of my motions and expressions.

The door to the infirmary opened and Gabriel came in, a load of clothing in his arms and a blush in his cheeks.

"Good to see you are awake, Trouble." He told me as he walked over to the bathroom in the infirmary. "I will drop these there and we will let you do your thing." He paused for a moment, turning his head to look over his shoulder at me, "I can wash your hair if you want." He added, his blue eyes focused on mine with a bit of hope and uncertainty in them.

I nodded my head at him, knowing that a few minutes with Gabriel was all a girl needed to feel better about herself.

He smiled and disappeared into the bathroom, coming back soon after and pulling Sean away with him.

On his way out Sean sent me a smile and a wink that made me blush before closing the door.

I practically jumped out of the cot, and would have fallen in my face from the dizziness if I hadn't been holding tight to the bed's support.

Going to the bathroom took time and my stomach churned in protest with every step that I took, my uterus making itself be know every once in a while with a painful contraction.

Once in the shower I cleaned myself quickly before I got out and dressed myself. I had no idea how Gabriel was going to wash my hair but I didn't care, I just wanted his hands in my head.

"I am done!" was all I had to say before he was hurrying inside the bathroom and pulling me to the sink.

"Bend over, Trouble!" he ordered, his busy hands getting the shampoo and conditioner from the shower, adjusting the temperature of the water in the sink.

Once I had ducked my head under the water he buried his fingers into my hair, combing through the strands and massaging the base of my head. I almost groaned at the feeling. He was good at this.

His touch was relaxing and exactly what I needed after a crisis.

As he washed my hair and applied conditioner I listened to his soft singing and dreamed that he was singing just for me and not as a way of filling the silence which I suspected was the case.

Once he was done he combed and dried my hair, styling it into a simple braid that would keep the strands away from my face.

The medicine Sean-san had given me was taking time to have an effect and I felt miserable, wanting to curl up in bed and eat a gallon of melted chocolate with strawberries.

Gabriel didn't ask me to stand from where I was sitting at the closed toilet lid. Instead, once he was done he picked me up from the floor, and carried me upstairs and straight to my room where he deposited in my bed.

I looked around myself fascinated; the room was beautiful and way more than I had ever hoped for. It brought tears to my eyes and I pulled at Gabriel until he sat beside me and I buried my face between his neck and shoulder.

"Oh, Gabriel. I love it. Thank you, thank you, thank you!" I sobbed into his shoulder.

He carefully pulled me onto his lap and hugged me close to his chest, rocking from side to side slowly as I cried my eyes out.

I was embarrassed for being such a cry-baby, but it had been a rough few days and I was suddenly very tired.

"Shush." Gabriel murmured against my ear, his warm breath tickling my neck. "It's okay, Trouble. We've got you, all is going to be okay, sweetheart."

North came into the room then, a bottle of warm water in one hand and a chocolate bar in another. The blush in his cheeks a testament to the fact he knew what was going on.

He looked me over, taking notice of the tear-tracks in my cheeks and my place on Gabriel's lap before he sat in the bed beside us. "How are you feeling, Baby?" he questioned more softly than I ever heard him before.

I reached for the bottle and laid it against my abdomen, feeling a bit of relief as the warmth spread through me. "Better now." I told him with a wan smile.

He smiled back at me, his eyes soft, before he gave me the chocolate.

I took the bar from him, seeing that the package was open and someone else had taken a bit from it.

I didn't comment, knowing that my food would be tested by someone from now on.

I eat the chocolate quickly and moved out of Gabriel's lap, lying down in bed with my bottle.

Surprisingly the boys moved to either side of the bed and laid down with me, Gabriel's arm going under my head as a pillow, his other hand holding on to one of mine, North spooning against my back, his arm over my waist, holding the bottle in place for me.

This wasn't appropriated but right then I didn't care, my boys were with me and I never felt safer and happier in my life even with all the problems going on around me.

I guess that is what love is all about.

......

North's POV:

Gabriel and I laid silently in bed as Sang slept between us.

She was exhausted, but it was to be expect according to Doc. The poison was going to affect her for a few more days yet.

And then there was the whole... female situation...

I felt my cheeks heat up at that and Gabriel quietly snickered from the other side of Sang.

I glared over at him but didn't say anything, not wanting to disturb the little beauty in our arms.

Lying in bed with Sang and my brother like this should have been disturbing. I had felt plenty of doubts when Blackbourne told me about sharing her but with her curled up against me as she was now it became easy to imagine a life together.

"Oy!" Gabe murmured and I sent him another glare.

If he woke her up I was going to beat the shit out of him.

"Did you find the betrayer?" he asked in a hushed tone of voice.

I narrowed my eyes and nodded my head at him. I had found them, alright.

They were locked in a cell with Blackbourne right now.

I smiled at that thought.

Gabriel gave a little shudder, picking on at my thoughts from the look on my face.

"B-chan is with them, hã?" he whispered.

"B-chan" was a nickname some of my brothers used for Blackbourne that they would never dare uttering where he could hear.

I smirked at him, both as answer to his question and in amusement at his use of the girlish honorific in association with our leader's name.

Sang squirmed a little in our arms before settling back down with a contented sigh; she seemed to be sleeping well this time, no nightmares.

I turned my gaze back to Gabe's, the somber mood returning to me.

"The people we caught couldn't be acting alone, Gabe. I think they weren't the ones behind this, we still have to find their master." I told him and watched his blue eyes go wild, like an animal's as his arm tightened around Sang's waist and he squirmed closer to her.

Gabriel was one of the smallest in our family, but one should never underestimate him, especially when there was a threat to our family.

He was more dangerous than a feral beast, then.

He bared his teeth in a caricature of a smile, "Motherfucker. Just show me to them, I will fucking kill these people."

......

Silas' POV:

Wil had met us at the gate when we were leaving the main house.

His servants had warned him that I'd killed his father and, not surprisingly, he looked relieved as he saw us out.

We rode hard all the way back to the Sorenson Clan and arrived by mid-day.

We were just passing through the village when an old woman, with snow white hair and face lined from years of working the land stepped in front of our horses, halting our progress.

Her eyes were dark pools, wise and full of more life than one saw on younger people.

"Let us pass, Madam. We are in a hurry." Nate ordered her but the woman didn't even glance at him, her eyes firmly locked on mine as I watched her curiously, remaining silent as was my habit.

"Just go ahead, Nate." Luke said to our brother, "Silas and I can handle this."

Nate nodded his head and kicked his horse, making the beast begin a trot past the woman and up the hill that led to the main house, and Sang.

The woman watched him go and then turned back to us, "You boys are the ones watching out for the little shadow?"

"Shadow" was what some of the villagers called Sang-chan, due to her habit of sneaking food and other things out of the main house at night, taking it to the more needy families in the clan.

Luke and I nodded our heads at her, getting down from our horses to talk with her.

She looked us up and down for a moment, assessing "There are snakes living around here, the sort that would poison her."

My muscles tightened at her words. How did she know that? I doubted my brothers would let that information slip.

"Who?" Luke asked.

"The ones who live far too close to your lot." She said sarcastically.

The houses surrounding the main house belonged to the richer families in the clan, the ones who had been loyal to the former lord and his mistress.

Luke narrowed his eyes at the woman, "All of them?" he asked.

"Most of them." She said, "You will have to find out which ones. And there seems to be a few visitors around as well." She added the last with heavy sarcasm in her voice and I knew she meant the bitches we had been hunting.

Luke shot me a frustrated look. We had been idiots. "Anything else?" I asked the woman, speaking up for the first time.

She suddenly smiled, an amused light entering her eyes, "Yes. I want babies."

We blinked at her. What did babies have to do with anything?

"What?" Luke asked sounding perplexed.

The woman huffed irritably, "Kids," she mumbled, "Gotta teach them everything these days..." she focused her serious, black eyes on Luke, "Listen well, boy, I am not going to say this more than once, you must make absolutely sure that she gets some pleasure out of it, or she don't let you try more than once..."

Realizing that the woman was about to give them her version of the bees and birds story, Luke let out a sound that resembled a birds chirp while I fell in my butt laughing at the woman's nerve.

I had to admit, this woman had more balls than some men, I was glad she was looking out for our Aggele.

First she'd fearlessly admitted that there were traitors in the clan now she was implying one of us should have sex with Aggele.

I laughed hard as Luke stood there gaping and she watched us with a serious face, her hands on her hips.

"Humm, that is..." Luke mumbled "Informative... but you see, we are her servants..."

The woman just tisked at him, cutting him off, "I don't give a rat's ass what you are," she said, "We want babies, the more the merrier, so, get to work boys. There is nine of you that I have seen, it should be enough to get some heirs sooner rather than later." She finished and then turned her back to us and marched back to her house, seemly satisfied that she'd given her orders.

"I do know how to pleasure a woman," he mumbled "there was no need for that lesson."

I laughed at him again, "You keep telling yourself that, brother. Actually, maybe you should go back and make a demonstration to that old woman." I added with a smirk at his look of horror.

I laughed all the way back to the house while Luke glared at me, a blush staining his cheeks.

AN: Hello readers! I hope you've enjoyed these updates, I spent the weekend working on them :)

Sadly, I don't have a lot of time to write during my work days, but I hope this triple update will tide you over until next week

Thank you for your votes and comments, they are all deeply treasured ^^