Picture by SCCourtney!!

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A cold breeze woke me up. Confused, I opened my eyes to see Mikko leaning against my window frame while looking out the, now open, window.

"Are you really standing naked in front of my window?" I asked teasingly.

I didn't get the smirk I expected. He didn't even look over at me. He had something on his mind.

I sat up, holding the blanket over my chest. My back felt instantly frozen. "What's wrong?"

I reached for his sweater, which I couldn't understand how it was still on the bed after last night. It was still too early to be awake.

I pulled on the sweater as he continued to gaze outside. I ignored the cold when I scooted out of bed. I hesitated for a few seconds before I decided to wrap my arms around his waist. "What's wrong?"

He brought one of his hands down to cover mine. "You realize this is probably the only time that we're going to actually get along, right?"

I laughed lightly. "During and after sex?"

He nodded and stood so he wasn't leaning on the window frame anymore. "Precisely." He unwrapped my arms from his body. "I have to go."

"I thought you were here for me."

"I was." He nodded as he quickly dressed. "And I got what I wanted, didn't I?"

All I could do was stand there in shock. He had been so gentle and caring last night. How could he do such a turn around so quickly?

He looked over the sweater I was wearing. "I want that back."

"I'll bring it to you at the alpha’s." I said as everything settled into my mind. Maybe he really just saw me as a whore.

He shook his head, his cold eyes never leaving mine. "I want it now."

"Are you serious?" I asked in disbelief. "I'm wearing it."

He took two menacing steps toward me. In that moment I could see why everyone feared him. "Take it off before I do it for you."

I stared at him for at least twenty seconds. He was serious! I ripped off the sweater and shoved it into his chest. "Fine, take it asshole!" Leaving me there standing naked and humiliated.

"Don't forget who I am Emily." He took the sweater and tossed it on the bed just before he grabbed me by the chin. "I'm not the guy you met at the club. I was just looking for an easy lay, and I happened to have found you."

"Asshole!" I tried to slap him, but he just blocked it, only making me hurt myself.

He pushed me back onto the bed and hovered inches above me. "You're going to have to follow some new rules while I'm gone. If you break them, I'll be back, and I won't be happy."

He brought his legs up and straddled me, being careful of where he put his weight. I covered my boobs. His access had just been revoked. He grabbed my forearms and pinned them to the bed beside my head. Apparently he didn't think his access was revoked. "So long as my children are inside of you, no other man will be."

I struggled against him. "You can't make rules and expect me to follow them."

He leaned down, putting borderline painful pressure on my wrists. "I will do what I want to do with you." He growled. "If you don't think you can handle it, I'll mark you and make sure there's always a protector on you."

I glared at him. "You wouldn't dare."

He leaned down, but I brought my head down to block my neck from wherever he was going.

He looked at me with a smirk, "Fine, I'll choose another spot."

I panicked. Another spot? How many places were there that werewolves could place their claim on someone?

He smiled when I fought against him bringing my wrists together. His hands were large enough that he had no problem keeping both of my wrists pinned to the bed with only one hand. His other hand slid down my arm and came to my right breast, where he squeezed before ending up grabbing hold of my ass.

He was showing me that he was the one in charge here. I couldn't get away from him, even if I gave it my all. He was too strong.

I felt his teeth graze over my right breast as he held me down. His teeth felt sharp against my skin. I did not want him to mark me. Not like this. Not while I was pregnant. Not when he didn't love me.

The spot he found was just below and to the side of my right breast. I had never even heard of anyone being marked anywhere but their neck. It seemed as though I had a lot to learn even though I had lived my entire life around werewolves.

I felt his teeth slowly start applying pressure as he bit down. "Don't do this." I pleaded. "You don't want this."

He growled as the pressure steadily increased.

"Marks aren't meant to be given like this." I tried to reason with him, but the pressure kept increasing. I didn't want to be marked in this kind of situation. "You're not thinking clearly."

I cried out when I felt his teeth break my skin. It felt like there were knives slowly digging into my skin. I bucked, trying to get him off of me, but it didn't work. That only caused him to tug painfully with his teeth to hold on. The grip his teeth had on my flesh was unbreakable.

"You don't want to be stuck with me." I said through my tears. I felt him freeze. "You really don't want to be stuck with me."

He let go of me and pushed himself off the bed. My wrists hurt as I brought them down. I could see blood dripping down my side. I wasn't worried about bleeding out. I wasn't even worried about changing because of the bite. I knew it took a lot more than a half a bite to change me. I was worried that I'd get sick and lose the babies.

I applied pressure to the bite as I sat up. Mikko grabbed his things and left without looking at me or even saying anything. He had nearly marked me and he had nothing to say to me. Not sorry. Not anything.

I went into my bathroom and cleaned off the bite. It stung and it ached. Fortunately it wasn't deep. It wouldn't require any stitches and the pain was okay enough to live with.

I didn't know what excuse I would use to explain the smell of blood to Nikki. She would smell the healing bite and I didn't want to admit to her what had happened.

I'd have to avoid her for a couple of days as it healed enough that I could pass it off as some light bleeding from the pregnancy. Some women bled during their pregnancy. But that wouldn't work since I'd be healing for a long time, the prolonged bleeding would worry her. Maybe as long as I wasn't worried, she wouldn't be.

I knew my dad would be coming home soon. He would have still been very unhappy with me. If he knew I had slept with Mikko last night he'd be even madder. The least I could do was clean and air out the house and have a nice large meal for him to eat. I showered to get any of Mikko's scent off of me before I started cleaning.

I had been alone for a couple of hours before I heard multiple footsteps coming towards the front door. I usually didn't hear anyone approaching. Either they were being very loud, or my hearing had gotten better.

I had been cutting up some vegetables for roasting so I had a knife in my hand which made me feel a bit more secure since I didn't know who was approaching.

I watched the door open and my dad walked in followed by Alpha Jerry and Eddy. My dad's movements looked stiff, like he still ached as he moved. The knife slipped against a wet carrot and sliced my hand instead.

I hissed and put the knife down before turning on the faucet and rinsing off the blood. The cut was long and just deep enough to warrant some concern.

It went from the base knuckle of my thumb across the bottom portion of my right palm and stopped just before the side of my hand. The knife set we owned was a very good quality, and very sharp. I gently opened the cut to see how deep it went. It wasn't stitch worthy, but I would have to bandage it up.

"You okay?" Alpha Jerry asked from beside me.

I nodded as I wrapped a towel tightly around my hand. "I'll be fine. I just slipped."

He looked over the stove. "We'll finish up in here; you take your father to help you fix yourself up."

I went to the living room, where I kept my med bag. Dad had it already out and opened on the couch.

"Thanks Dad." I gave him a small smile. "I need some butterfly bandages."

He nodded and sat down next to the bag, pulling out the package and taking out a few. He grabbed my wrist and pulled me to a sitting position on the couch before he unwrapped the towel. "You should be careful."

I nodded. "I know."

He looked over the wound, just like I had, before securing the skin together with the butterfly bandages. I had three on. He covered the cut with an antibiotic cream before covering it with a couple layers of gauze and wrapping it all so that it would be secure as I moved around.

"I'm sorry I pushed your buttons the other day." I said quietly. I didn't want to brim it up again, but I felt so guilty about it.

He pulled me onto his lap as he leaned back against the couch like he used to when I was growing up. It was a frequent thing after my mother died.

"It's okay." He kissed the crown of my head. "I should've been in control. I'm the one who lost it."

"Mikko beat you up because I acted immature."

He chuckled. "There was a lot of immaturity going on that day. It all just built up to that moment."

"Because you found out..." I let the sentence drift off as I looked towards the kitchen. Because of what Eddy had said about me.

When I looked at my dad, he nodded once. "Among other things."

I sighed. "Usually I'd ask what other things, but right now, I really don't want to know."

He chuckled as he swayed side to side. "The Madill's left an hour ago. Part of the terms agreed to, you need to be around the pack at all times. You're not allowed to go anywhere without protection."

"Fine." I sighed. "It's not like I have much of a choice in the matter."

He continued to sway. It was comforting. I felt safe and secure in my father's arms.

----

The following weeks I juggled work and managing the wolves I was surrounded with. I came up with a bogus excuse about job shadowing so the wolf assigned to me could stay close. The wolf would have stuck close regardless of any given permission. You can't tell a werewolf that they can't go somewhere. There was no way a human was going to stop them from going where they wanted.

The cut on my hand had healed enough that I didn't have to wrap it. It was a healthy pink thin line now.

Mikko's bite was still a little scabbed over, but mostly it was a pink bite mark, almost as pink as the cut on my hand. I had expected it to heal better, into more of a muddled, uneven circle, but the bite mark was obviously a bite to anyone who would've seen it.

I didn't tell anyone about it. I didn't need more drama than I already had. I didn't know if this bite even had any claim over me. Maybe it did since the bite mark was so clearly a bite. I'd have to find a way to look at Nikki's mark to compare the two.

The guards assigned to hover over me had just started to relax...finally. I could take a bath without someone knocking on the door or take a walk without them breathing down my neck.

After coming home from a shift, I knew my time was limited working at the hospital. A wave of dread washed over me when I realized that nothing was ever going to be the same.

Was I supposed to roll over and accept my fate? Or was I supposed to fight for what I thought was right and just have to face the consequences...and there were going to be consequences.

I drew myself a nice hot bubble bath to help me relax. But my mind wouldn't stop running. I couldn't help but think about my situation. How was I supposed to treat one of the most dominate werewolves on the continent like the father of my children? It was not a secret that parents argue over their children. How was I supposed to argue with him without him putting his foot down and stopping the argument?

I knew how to argue with my father. I knew how to bend most wolves in the pack to get them to listen to me. That wouldn't work with Mikko. Everything was dependent on what he wanted to do. Everything had to be ran by him. My bodyguards even reported to the man every day. Mikko knew what I was doing at any given moment of the day, but I knew absolutely nothing about him. He was a stranger. How was I supposed to raise kids with a stranger?

By the time I finished 'relaxing' I was in tears. And that was how I was found two hours after getting into the tub. The water was cold, I was cold, and all I could think was: I'm going to be such a bad mom.

"Emily!" Nikki shrieked as she ran in. In what felt like a dream, she scooped me out of the tub and knocked the bathroom door off its hinges in her haste. She threw a blanket over me to conceal my nakedness from the wolf that was on duty to watch over me.

Nikki held me close and rubbed her hand over my arm to create some friction warmth. "Get Albert." She ordered the wolf in the room. She put her hands on my belly. "Your belly is cold Em."

I slowly looked down at the protrusion in my abdomen and started shaking my head. "I can't do this Nikki."

"Oh Em." She bundled me tighter. "Yes you can. You're the best person I know. You're stronger than you think. It's just the hormones getting to you."

I put my hands on my belly. It truly felt cold. I stood up with the blanket. "I need to get in a warm shower. They're not moving like normal."

Nikki had the water going, literally, a second later. "It's warming up." She shouted.

I made my way over and stared at the cold bath water. "What if I hurt them? Mikko will have my head."

I heard Nikki huff and looked over to see her smiling. "Don't worry about him. You worry about you and those babies." She felt the water. "Now get in."

I dropped the blanket and stepped into the shower. I hissed when my feet were sprinkled. "It's too hot."

She shook her head. "No it's not. It's like eighty degrees. Get in."

I was in the shower for five minutes when Albert arrived. The more time we spent alone, the more moody Nikki got. He slowly walked in, eyeing Nikki for a second before giving me a small smile. "What's going on in here?"

"Someone decided to take a cold bath." Nikki grumbled unhappily.

"It was hot when I got in." I shot back.

"You should've gotten out instead of feeling sorry for yourself."

Albert put his hands up in surrender. "Alright you two. Time out. Nikki, how about you go make some hot chocolate?" We all knew that Albert wasn't really asking. He might not be the dominate wolf in the pack, but everyone listened to the pack doctor.

Nikki nodded and left.

It should've felt weird standing stark naked in front of another man, but it was different. Albert had seen everyone I knew naked a time or two. Nudity was nothing to a werewolf. It was just as common as walking around with clothes on.

"What's wrong with you?" Albert asked as he leaned against the wall.

I sighed and put my face in the stream of water for a moment before looking over at him. "I think I'm having some depression."

He smirked. "A bit. Do you need Mikko here keeping an eye on you?"

"I don't need Mikko." I shot him a dirty look. "I need my life back."

He nodded, understanding where I was going. "The guards."

"The guards." I agreed with a nod.

"They're not going anywhere." He crossed his arms over his chest, looking oddly comfortable against the wall.

"I know." I said in a sigh. "I just wish things were different."

Albert gave me a small smile. "Endangering your children isn't worth your depression. Not to anyone." I nodded. I knew that. "Mikko is on his way back." He smiled at my frown. "His personally chosen guards have failed, so he feels the need to come rectify the situation."

"But everything is fine. It was just a little cold water." I rubbed at the ache I felt on my lower back. It didn't constantly ache, but when it did, it usually brought tears to my eyes.

Albert kept an observant eye on me as I changed position in the shower so the hot water hit the ache in my back instead. "You should rest in bed until Mikko gets back."

I grumbled incoherently as Nikki stuck her head into the bathroom. "Hot cocoa is ready."

Albert looked back at her and nodded. He didn't turn back until she shut the door. He stepped towards the shower door and opened it, reaching in to put his hand on my belly. Albert wasn't an idiot. He knew if I felt uncomfortable around him, Mikko would pick up on that. He wouldn't make any unwanted advances on the woman Mikko had claimed as his. Albert felt my lower, middle, and the top of my belly before he made me turn to feel my back.

Confusion furrowed his brow as his gaze travelled up to my breast. It wasn't a far travel, but his hand touched just below my right breast.

The bite from Mikko! I thought. How could I have forgotten about that? Had Nikki seen it?

As soon as the tip of his fingers grazed over it he pulled back with a hiss and noticeably paled. I felt like I was going to puke. I brought my hand up to my mouth and closed my eyes as I stabilized my stomach.

"Put some clothes on." I heard Mikko's voice clear as day.

He didn't sound happy, which sent my heart beating so fast it felt like I had just sprinted a mile! I looked towards the bathroom door expecting him to be there.

Albert shook his fingers as if he were trying to shake out a fire on his hand. "He's not here." His voice was laced with pain. "It was in your head."

I looked at Albert, completely confused. "What do you mean in my head?"

He stopped shaking his hand and just looked at his fingertips. "Finn has his own telepath at his disposal. She gives him access to his pack's mind. Mikko and quite a few others have access to that means of communication."

I turned off the water and wrapped a towel around my body. I needed to get in some real clothing. If he had access to my mind, I didn't want to give him an excuse to linger around.

"What did he do to you?" I asked, looking at his fingers.

Albert shrugged with a sheepish smile. "He gave me a good shock I'm not going to be forgetting."

"So it's a real mark." I said running my hand over the towel covered bite mark.

Albert shrugged. "It's not as deep as they normally are, but it does the job...obviously."

"How did he know when to shock you?" I asked in curiosity. I wanted to know how it worked.

Albert flexed his hand. He was obviously still feeling the effects. "It's like an alarm. Mikko can feel if you're startled or feel threatened. He can also feel when someone else touches his mark. It gives him the ability to prevent anyone else from marking you."

Mikko had an alarm on me. "If Nikki doesn't know, don't tell her." Maybe I needed one that would shock his dick whenever he was feeling a little frisky.

Albert nodded. "Alright, go get dressed."

And I did. I dressed warmly since I still felt a chill. Albert was with Nikki, in the kitchen, before I even got my clothes out of the closet.