Azly’s sweet little face scrunched up as she began to fuss. “She’s hungry,” I said. Liam nodded behind me.

“I’ll have them bring us a bottle,” he said softly.

“I wish you would have spent more time with her,” I whispered. Liam buried his face into the back of my neck. The longer I was awake, the more clearly I could feel our bond again. I could tell Liam was just a maelstrom of conflicting emotions right now.

“The important thing is that I have you back now, and I will not stop until there is nothing that threatens you or our pups ever again, Little Luna,” he said in a low voice.

Azly started fussing a bit more; I bounced her gently in my arms. She seemed to like that, although only slightly. A nurse came into the room, bringing us a bottle for her. I quickly got Azly settled down with her food. She readily drank as we watched her.

“She’s perfect, Little Luna,” Liam murmured. He watched Azly over my shoulder. “You did amazing.”

“We did,” I corrected. Liam kissed my cheek, and I closed my eyes, enjoying the touch. “Liam, I want to know what happened.”

Liam sighed behind me. “If I promise to tell you everything, can we just be tonight?” He sounded so tired.

“I guess if you promise to tell me everything,” I agreed. He snuggled back into me, and I closed my eyes briefly, breathing deeply. I was tired and weak still. My body ached from the surgery and from being in a coma so long, but I desperately wanted to know what I had missed and spend time with Azly and Liam.

We sat there in comfortable silence, watching our little pup eat her bottle. When she was all done, I gently put her up to my shoulder, and she burped almost instantly. Missy was right; she was a perfect baby. After that, she settled down and fell right asleep cradled to me. I could feel Liam’s smile on my shoulder as we watched her sleep.

Time passed too quickly because Doctor Ron was soon back in the room. “I see she is adapting well,” he commented, looking down at Azly sleeping. I nodded. “My apologies, Azalea, but I think it would be best if you let me take her back to the packhouse for the night. You and your mate should get some rest, and I think Azly would be most comfortable back in her crib.”

I frowned, immediately feeling sad. I figured that Azly would need to go back to the packhouse tonight, but I wasn’t ready to let her go just yet. Liam nuzzled the back of my head.

“It’s okay, Little Luna. We can see her first thing in the morning. You are still healing, baby,” he whispered, trying to ease my sadness.

“I’ll personally take her back home,” Doctor Ron smiled. He reached forward, and I gently eased my daughter into his arms. He gave her a fond look as he gently rocked her back and forth. “This will be the last Alpha baby I get to bring into the world,” he sighed. “And she might be the most beautiful one yet. Now, the nurse will be along shortly. I would like you back on just a few monitors for the night. We want to watch everything to make sure nothing else happens. If all is well, you can go home for dinner tomorrow and sleep in your own bed, but I will be checking on you and Azly frequently. Young Missy and Maddox have done a great job bringing her by to see you and be checked up.”

“Thank you,” Liam said. All I could do was nod while I watched my daughter in his arms.

“You both get a good night’s rest. I suspect you will need it before you leave,” he said as he headed toward the door. The curtain was still drawn between Lily and Damien and us. I let out a heavy breath, already feeling incomplete with Azly taken away. Liam’s arms snaked tighter around me.

“I know, baby. But your body still needs some time. I want to take you home. One more night, and she can stay with you all the time,” he consoled. I carefully turned in his arms, conscious of my stitches. Burying my face in his chest, I breathed deeply, letting his scent fill my soul. Liam rubbed the back of my head gently, threading his fingers through my hair. It didn’t take long for his touch to lull me to sleep.

MISSY

Maddox and I left the clinic, beelining back to the packhouse.

“We knew he survived….” I said quietly.

“Yes, but this is worse. We made him angry; he knows you were rescued at least,” Maddox said. I could feel the tension just pouring out of him.

“He can’t get to me as easily, though. He doesn’t have the same chance now that Vlad isn’t helping him….” I tried.

Maddox balled his fist. Every time Vlad was brought up or anything concerning the way Lea and I were taken, he could barely contain his rage. “We are getting to the point where Austin and I can’t handle things,” Maddox said. “We need Liam and Damien back. I’ve never run a pack, Missy. I am only so much help.”

“I know,” I said. “Lea just woke up, so hopefully, we can get his attention soon. I’m sure he is feeling a lot better now that she is awake. Just imagine if it was me.”

“I did, and I never want to again,” Maddox said in a low voice. I grabbed his arm, stopping him. He let out a long sigh and looked at me.

“Things are different now. Warwick won’t get to me again. And I won’t go down without a fight,” I tried to promise. His hand came up to my cheek, his thumb stroking it softly.

“I’ve only had you for a minute. Even if it had been years, it wouldn’t be enough. I was so lost when he had you. The entire world was on its head; nothing made sense. I am going to make sure we kill him this time so no one will ever threaten you again,” he said.

“I’m sorry it all happened like that,” I apologized. “It wasn’t exactly how I expected to be spending my birthday….”

Maddox pulled me close, enveloping me in a hug. I wrapped my arms around his middle and squeezed him tight. Finally, he said, “Let’s get back to the packhouse. We need to start strategizing what comes next. It might not be a bad idea to call Alpha Langston either.” I nodded my head, and we continued our way back to the packhouse.Content rights belong to .

–

“That got us exactly nowhere,” I lamented as we got back to the bedroom. I went straight over to my dresser, where I kept extra bottles and formula for Azly. Doctor Ron brought her to the packhouse as we were wrapping up the meeting about Warwick.

“Langston will come tomorrow and talk to Liam about everything. We’ll get this figured out,” Maddox said, sitting on the bed with a fussing Azly. I grabbed a diaper and wipes and tossed them over to him while I went back to making the bottle. When we first got back and started taking care of Azly, I tried not to let him help. I didn’t want him to be responsible for my baby sister. He vocally insisted until I finally broke down and let him help. It was much easier to manage her and everything else when we worked together.

I finished the bottle and handed it to Maddox, who was already finished changing Azly’s diaper. He scooped her up in one arm and sat back against the headboard to get comfortable and feed her. I ran my fingers through my hair for the millionth time that day. I don’t know how Lea and Liam do all of this. Running a pack was so stressful, and we had the added complication of the vampires to worry about.

Maddox smiled at me. “You’re cute when you’re frazzled,” he joked. I rolled my eyes, earning me a laugh. “Go shower,” he said, jutting his chin toward the bathroom. “I’ll get her fed and settled, and we cuddle when you’re done.”

“Alright,” I said. A shower sounded nice anyway. From arguing this morning to Lea waking up and then Warwick’s threat, I felt wound up. I grabbed a tank top and shorts from the drawer and headed to the bathroom after depositing a quick k**s on Maddox’s cheek.

When I finally stepped into the scalding cascade, I felt a little relief. My shoulders relaxed under the deluge of steaming water, and I felt today’s worries start to wash away. Maddox likes to make fun of me for how hot I like the shower water. When I am done, every inch of me is pink, like I’ve burned all the dirt from my body. He hasn’t gotten into the shower with me, but he did get in after me and almost fell jumping right back out of it. I wouldn’t mind if he did get in the shower with me, and I wondered when we were going to talk about mating. I wasn’t ready when he first rescued me from Warwick’s hold, but as we have settled back into life since, I thought about it on more than one occasion.

I washed my body and let the water whisk the soap off my skin and down the drain. As I scrubbed my scalp with the shampoo, an uncomfortable warmth blossomed in my stomach. When I stepped back under the hot water to rinse my hair, it only got worse. I reached over and lowered the temperature of the water a bit, hoping that stem the borderline unbearable feeling.

As I continued to rinse my hair, the warmth inside me only seemed to grow more. I turned the water temperature down even more, now to a lukewarm setting. My heart started to race a little bit, and I didn’t know what was happening to me. Holland was begging to go to Maddox, and it didn’t make sense. He was right outside the bathroom, waiting for me.

A heavy pounding sounded on the door as a cramping pain shot through my abdomen. “Missy?” Maddox called. He sounded off. “Missy,” he called again, impatiently.

I shut off the water, breathing heavily. “Yea?” I called back. I was hot, too hot.

“Missy, what’s going on?” Maddox yelled. If he was too loud, he was going to wake Azly.

“I-I’m fine. Don’t yell; you’ll wake the baby!” I called back. I clutched my stomach and tried to focus on my breathing.

“Missy, something is going on. Tom is losing it,” Maddox said. His voice was rough. “Tell me what is happening, so I don’t come in there.”

“Come get us. Come get us now,” Holland purred in my head. What is up with her? Why is she acting like this? I stumbled out of the shower and grabbed a towel, trying to wrap it around myself. I was sweating all over.

“I’m fine, Maddox. Just stay out there for a second,” I yelled.

“Holland, what is happening?” I asked her.

“We can’t wait forever, girl. It’s time,” she said.

“Time for what?”

She didn’t have to answer me, though, because Maddox did. “Missy, I think you’re going into heat.”