Finn gazed at me from across the table with his mouth full of food. He left no time for air breathing as he swallowed his eggplant ravioli and shovelled in yet another piece, flagging our waiter down to ask him to bring us over more cheese. He had been taking advantage of the unlimited topping.

"Imagine eating like this every night." Kassandra sighed in contentment, taking another sip of her cocktail, gesturing around to the lanterns hanging from the ceiling and the many plant pots decorated with blossoming flowers inside of the fancy restaurant.

It was busy- everyone around us chatting, laughing and drinking wine. My eyes practically watered whenever a waiter walked past us with platefuls of steaming food, the scent of the meat and vegetables wafting up my nostrils. I had never smelled a place so incredible.

The food at the pack was delicious, but there was something about this restaurant that screamed luxury. I just knew that all of the ingredients were sourced from somewhere fancy. It was the reason the price was so high.

"Yeah, if you can afford it," I responded to Kassandra, laughing, pushing my empty plate away from me. I finished it in record time.

Kassandra shrugged. "True, but if I lived here, I would have no problem working my ass off everyday to be able to afford to come to a place like this. I can't believe it's real."

I understood where Kassandra was coming from. I still felt as if I was going to wake up any second and this was all going to have been one crazy cruel dream.

"I'd get an apartment right in the centre," Kassandra continued, her eyes glazing over as she stared off into the distance, focusing on the cream coloured wall behind me. "I'd want the top room with the best view. The furniture would be orange. I'm not one for subtlety."

Finn continued to eat, humming in agreement whenever Kassandra mentioned something to him about how their days would be filled with lazily strolling through the parks and shopping for clothes and household products. He stole a few glances at me, his mouth turning down into a frown for a split second before he composed himself and cleared his throat awkwardly.

"If you lived here, what kind of job would you get?" Kassandra's question was directed at my father and he looked surprised to have been asked such a question. For most of the meal, he had remained quiet. He appeared content chewing on his food and studying the menu with bold intrigued eyes.

"Oh," stumbled my father, thinking. "Well, I'm strong and have experience with training, so that would come in handy when working a job that requires physical labour. Construction possibly?"

We had seen a few workers on the walk here. They wore bright orange vests and helmets, and drilled in the tarmac loudly, causing all of us to cringe at the sound. The job appeared to require someone fit and healthy, and I knew it was a career my father would most likely thrive in.

He was middle aged, but still ran every morning. I had spotted him swimming at the pack a few times too, and he had even made some friends down by the beach who were impressed by his dedication for the sport.

He had never been overly great at meeting new people, but now that he wasn't trying to impress Markus all the time, my father was actually enjoyable to be around. He no longer had a chip on his shoulder.

"And yourself?" questioned my father, nodding towards Kassandra.

She hummed in response, tapping at her chin. "That's a tough one. I can see myself doing personal training to be honest."

"You'd be great at that, babe," Finn told his girlfriend, and she beamed in response, turning his attention to me. "Reya, what about you? I know moving here isn't an option for you, but hypothetically, if you were to come here and live a somewhat normal life, what do you think you'd do?"

I frowned. I hadn't really ever put much thought into it since I knew that it was never going to happen. There wasn't much point in longing for things that weren't possible. I loved Cole, and I loved the pack, but I would have been lying if I said that the human city didn't intrigue me. Everybody seemed so happy here. Shaking my head, I took a tentative sip of my water, stalling. "I really don't know. Probably something that would help others. I'd like to be making a difference."

Everyone nodded, and my father smiled at me. "Whatever you decide to do, you'll be great at it."

The jobs back at the pack were limited though. We had a village right in the middle with some stalls and shops, but it was nowhere near as big as this city and didn't offer anywhere near the same amount of variety.

I didn't want to go back to working in the kitchen. I enjoyed cooking, but it was no longer the job for me. All of my good memories there involved Cassia, and I was pregnant. Working in an overheating sweaty kitchen was no place for someone carrying a child. There were too many risks.

I had considered asking Amara and Tirus for some help. They always had great advice and would be able to help me find something to do. That was, if I had time after birthing mine and Cole's child. I had a feeling I was going to be run off my feet.

I place my hand over my bump. As frightened as I was, I was also ecstatic. I was going to be a mother very soon.

We paid the check, our eyes bulging out of our heads at the price, and we left in a hurry before any of us could collapse from the amount of money we had just handed over willingly. I sent Kassandra a smirk, and she rolled her eyes, laughing, letting me know that perhaps that restaurant wasn't going to be her first choice every night.

She loved it here, and I knew it was only a matter of time before she convinced Finn to move here. They liked the pack, but they weren't surrounded by their own. This was a place they were really going to flourish. I knew that.

Cole was due to pick us up soon, and we needed to make our way to the outskirts so he could find us, but Kassandra wanted to make the most of the trip, and even though she had just spent a fortune on the most delicious food she had ever put in her mouth according to her, she dragged us into a clothing store anyway.

—------------------------------------

Cole's face had lit up when he had seen us, and we had all clambered into the car with full bellies and bags of shopping. Everybody bar me was a little bit drunk, and they had immediately fallen asleep in the back of the car, snoring away like angels.

"Did you have a good time?" Cole asked, his jaw a little taut, and I smiled.

"It was really good. Kind of overwhelming." I laughed, but a frown masked my face when I took another glance at Cole to see his eyebrows slightly furrowed.

"I suppose heading back to the pack is going to be a massive downgrade now." He stated, and I sighed.

"Is that what you're worried about? That I'm going to be disappointed coming home and I won't enjoy it with you anymore?"

Cole bit down on his bottom lip. "Truthfully, yes. I wanted to give you the experience of visiting the human city though. I wasn't going to keep it from you out of fear that it would make you feel unsatisfied with your life with me. It's just tough, because this was the life you could have had. You could have been surrounded by your own and you could have met a nice human man who you would-"

The metal of the steering wheel groaned as Cole gripped onto it harshly, his knuckles white. I placed my hand over his, shaking my head. "Cole. I loved the human city. I did, and yes, if things were different, then perhaps I would want to live there. But my life is with you at the pack. I want that life. I like the way it's changed me. It's made me fearless and more confident. I was supposed to meet you. I was supposed to be carrying your child. I was supposed to share a life with you."

Cole inhaled deeply, his nostrils flaring as he took in as much oxygen as he could. "You know that I would love for us to live there together if it were possible."

I nodded. "It's not though, and I'm not disappointed or unsatisfied. I love you and I love the pack. It's where I belong."

"I love you so much," Cole said, his hand on my thigh, squeezing it gently. "You are the best thing to have ever happened to me, and I promise you that I will give you the world- or as much of it as I can."

I smiled. "I know."

I was the truth. Meeting the wolves was the best thing to have ever happened to me. It had allowed me to escape a life of fear and manipulation. I wasn't the old Reya anymore. She was a distant memory. I had changed for the better.

"Did the others like it there?"

"Oh, yes," I responded, stealing a glance at the unconscious travellers in the back. "Kassandra the most. I'm almost certain she'll move there, which means Finn will too. He looked uncomfortable talking about it though, but I know that's just because he doesn't want to upset me."

"Would you be upset?" Cole asked.

I shrugged. "Of course, but it's not like they're halfway across the country. I would still be able to visit them and I would hate the idea of keeping them at the pack and not letting them live up to their potential. They were trapped in that colony much like I was, and they deserve to live out their dreams."

Cole nodded. "As do you."

I chuckled and placed a quick kiss on his cheek. His grip on my thigh tightened, a low growl of approval emitting from his chest. "Trust me, I'm living it."

•••

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