“If you don’t attack me in the next five seconds I will break every bone in your body.” I hissed at the enforcer in front of me, the enforcer who had been refusing my direct orders for the past minute and I was getting so pissed.

“I will not hurt you luna.” He said defiantly, backing away.

Growling I lunged for him, knocking him over and straddling his waist as I punched him in the face. He growled in pain but didn’t attack me, instead I felt myself being lifted off him. My body instantly heated up and I growled in agitation as they rubbed my stomach and coddled me like a baby.

I was one month pregnant and already I was sick of their shit. I was ready to kill the next person who fussed over me and I was more than ready to leave since the enforcers refused to let me train them in my ‘fragile state’. I was pregnant, not dying.

I mean if I so much as sneezed every male in the vicinity started fussing over me. Granted wolf pregnancies only lasted six months and I was carrying twins but that didn’t mean I was helpless or incapable. I’m hardly even showing anyway! There’s only a small almost unnoticeable bump! Obviously I’m not going to get as big as a whale and I’m glad since it would limit movement in the fourth trimester.

Breaking their hold I spun around and ploughed my fist into Nick’s face. “If you keep touching me, coddling me or undermining my authority then I will leave and you can all die.” I threw my arms up in exasperation as Nick simply reset his nose with a hiss of pain.

“First of all, you are a pregnant female; that means that we are all protective of you, we would be even if you weren’t carrying the next generation of alphas, that means that we’d cut off our right arm than see you hurt in any way, least of all attack you. Second, we are your mates and mates touch each other. And thirdly, we are not trying to ‘coddle you’, we are trying to make life easier and safer for both you and the babies.” Nick stated, the rest of the men nodding.

As I was about to take another swing Hunter approached and held me back, slinging an arm over my shoulder. “Woah slow down there tiger! No more breaking bones!”

Rolling my eyes I pushed his arm off him and turned to face him. “If they actually listened to me then I wouldn’t have to! I want to find weaknesses and correct them but no one will fight me!” I felt so sick of this caring bullshit. Alex and Nick had been acting the part of the doting mates, like nothing had happened and I wanted to pull my hair out in frustration. Marti was also pregnant and Matthias kept her by his side every moment of the day so I had no idea what Rieker was doing and the enforcers weren’t taking me seriously like they had at the start before I’d become pregnant. Before they saw me as more than a breeding machine, they saw me as a hunter who would kick their ass if they took one step out of line. To me it felt like Rieker would attack at any moment and I was always on high alert, I was constantly dodging talks with the women about baby related things, my mates were hounding me 24/7 and I felt ready to snap.

“Rory you are important to the continuation of the alpha blood line and the survival of the entire wolf species, obviously our men aren’t going to attack you.” Nick butted in before Hunter could add his two cents.

I balled my hands into fists as my nails broke skin. I ignored the coppery scent of blood, Nick didn’t and instead poked the bear, or wolf, by unfurling my hands and healing the crescent shaped marks with his saliva. I shoved him away with enough force to knock him on his ass and roared, like a lion.

Nothing I could do at that moment could express my rage, instead I ran in the direction of the lake I’d found on the run a few months back, before the hunters attacked and I was mated. I’m sick of this. They can go shove everything I’ve tried drilling into the minds up their asses and then die when they find that they’re unprepared. If I stay one more moment heads will roll and I will not be held responsible for my actions.

Colours turning into blurs and I was soon approaching the body of water, though  I was frustrated since I was being followed and since I couldn’t shift for the next four months I couldn’t outrun them.

Without stopping at the edge of the lake I dived in fully clothed, Hunter’s wolf watching me from the shadows.

-

“Rory you’re being unreasonable!” Nick pleaded as he caught up to me in the hallway, I had gotten back from the lake with Hunter and had immediately gone to his room for a change of clothes and a towel.

Ignoring him I kept walking, heading for Marti’s room for Rieker’s journal; I feel like there’s something I’ve missed.

“Rory you can’t act like this for the rest of your life! Stop being a depressing bitch and get over what ever happened!” He said exasperated.

Growling I grabbed Nick by his throat and pinned him against the wall over my head with ease, glaring at him. I forced my way into his mind as everyone stopped and I mentally assaulted him with every single memory from the past hundred years in the span of thirty seconds. When I threw him down to the ground he was close to pass out, instead he crawled onto hands and knees and proceeded to throw up everything in his stomach and when he ran out of food to bring up he started dry heaving.

I bent down next to him and pushed him over so he was sprawled on his back. “Don’t tell me to get over it Nicolaos, that’s only the past century; you don’t want to see the rest.” I hissed. “I won’t hesitate to maim or kill you so you best stay in line alpha.” I slammed my foot into his chest and the crack of his ribs along with his pain filled groan was very satisfying. 

“Wow Rory, see I figured that you might become a tiny bit nicer when you got pregnant, but I guess I was wrong.” Hunter said approaching me.

“Shut up Hunter.” I snapped, glaring at him. Ever since my mates, if you could call them that, impregnated me I have been high strung, angry, impatient, frustrated and vengeful.

“Gee and I was thinking that after you’ve broken a few bones you’ll be happy for a while.” He said flinging an arm over my shoulder; something he does a lot.

Growling I shoved his arm off me and continued walking towards the room, I just wanted some peace and quiet for the rest of the day. Since none of the men were going to listen it’s pointless to try teaching them anything.

Hunter wisely shut his mouth and instead followed me to the room.

“Marti open up now.” I growled, knocking on the door.

I could hear the rustling of fabrics and the creak of a bed and the door opened a few moments later and revealed a dishevelled Marti and a shirtless Matthias.

I could see that Matthias was pissed, as was Marti but everyone knew not to mess with me. I grabbed the book quickly from the place I had hidden it and left.

-

“What is this?” Hunter asked looking over my shoulder while I was sitting in the plush chair positioned in the library.

“Nothing.” I muttered, closing the book and holding it close to my chest protectively.

He sighed and sat in front of the chair. “Rory you can tell me anything, I may get on your nerves 99% of the time but I’m there for my friends when they need me.I know I was an ass to you at first but I’m offering a genuine friendship.”

I chose to sit silently, deliberating if I should tell him. Sure he pisses me off, taunts me and just generally makes me want to punch him, but he hasn’t done anything to make me doubt him. On one hand it’s so much easier if you have a few people who you trust with your life, but on the other, once I start a friendship with someone they become my responsibility and Rieker will use them to get to me.

Sighing I opened the book to the page I had been reading and handed it to him. “It’s Rieker’s personal diary, the head of the hunters and personally responsible for the deaths of millions.”

Hunter growled and took the book from my hands gently. “This is the man who you aim to kill?”

Nodding I ran a hand over my midsection and sucked air in through my teeth as I felt a faint flutter inside.

“What’s wrong?” He asked after he finished skimming the journal and looking up to see me frowning.

“They’re moving, barely but I can feel them inside of me.” I admitted, bowing my head a little.

“That is so cool!” He exclaimed, sitting on the floor in front of me.

I shrugged and took the book back, flipping through the pages, reading over every word, trying to see if there were any coded clues that might give me an insight into Rieker’s brain.

We sat like that for hours, I didn’t move and surprisingly Hunter sat next to me, leaning against my leg and watching for any signs of danger.

“Hey Rory?”

“Mmmh?” I asked as I read.

“What did Rieker do to you? Why are you so hateful towards him? Wasn’t it your choice to join?”

Shaking my head I kept reading. “No I was taken as a little girl. They trained me and I killed for them.”

“But why would you do that if they took you? Couldn’t you just leave when they sent you off?” He questioned.

I huffed and stared at him as he looked so confused. “Close your eyes and open your mind.”

He did as I said and I took his face in my hands before doing the same, tapping into his mind.

“No Rory! Get away!”

Screams... screams of my mother, of my sister, of my father, of my brother.

“It’s all your fault!”

‘If you ever disobey me, fail a mission, let someone know your identity, screw up in any way, your family will suffer.’ He spat. ‘I will personally rip your mother’s body to pieces in front of you while you and your father watch, I will have your sister raped and tortured if you fail a mission and I will kill her if you go against me.’

Lauren’s dead body, Dan’s remains, my parent’s corpses.

Blood...

Pain...

Death...

Hate...

Anger...

Sorrow...

So much sorrow...

“It’s all your fault.”

“All your fault.”

“All your fault.”

“All my fault.”

I cleared my throat and pulled away before looking at the book once more. I pushed down the memories that wanted to resurface and tried to focus on the words but my eyesight was blurry.

“Oh Rory.” Hunter wrapped his arms around me but I pushed him away. “None of this is your fault.” He whispered.

I looked over to his face and frowned. “Why are you crying?”

“Because you’re so strong and have so much compassion for the ones you love. I wouldn’t have been able to survive a month like that, let alone a hundred years.”

“I survived for seven centuries Hunter.” I said calmly. “It didn’t do much good in the end though.”

Before he could respond the doors to the library burst open with Nick, Alex, Matthias, Yiannis and many other men who stormed through.

The Knight brothers jumped forward and crouched beside me. “Are you alright?”

I frowned and stared past them to the door where Yiannis, Matthias and Dylan had gathered with many of the men standing behind them. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Someone just bombarded us with images and we wanted to check on you.”

My face paled as I looked up at them. “What did you see?”

Their faces screwed up and it looked like they were in physical pain. “There was so much darkness and pain, so much death, blood and hatred.”

“Who’s memories were those?” Matthias shuddered, looking sick.

“I have to go.” I said quickly, pushing past them and heading to the infirmary; I had an eight week scan for the babies. It was a foreign concept to think that there were two new lives inside me and that they depended on me to live. My life had always been death and destruction, never life. And now, I was the one creating life. It didn’t seem right.

Fate must really have a screwed up sense of humour.