April first had come and gone under Millie's nose. With everything that had been happening with Beck and her health, March had slipped away. Usually, she liked to prank her mother, but life felt hadn't felt normal and honestly, she had forgotten all about her tradition. Sunday marked the second day of April, which meant she had just about a month left of high school. Sunday also meant she was going to Beck's house for dinner.

Millie was absolutely petrified to go to his home. It wasn't a sickening fear that plagued her but instead a stomach rolling nervousness. An army of butterflies were marching around her stomach, making her heart palpitate worse than it usually did. The irregular rhythm had calmed slightly from the day before, but it still stuttered every few beats. She could feel it as clear as anything. No matter how normal she tried to make her morning, nothing settled her. Millie got up, showered, dressed, made coffee, took her medications, and tried to do the paper she didn't finish the day before. It was becoming impossible to focus on anything but dinner.

"What's your plan today?" Sandra poked her head into the living room where Millie lounged on the couch as she looked over her math text.

Millie shrugged, looking back down to her book and flipping the page idly.

Sandra's eyes immediately narrowed. "You're not telling me something. And it's big."

Millie laughed a little too nervously. "It's nothing mom, don't worry."

"Not funny, Mill. Spill it."

With a huffed sigh, Millie closed the massive book and shoved it off her lap onto one of the cushions. "I may be going on a... date tonight." She wasn't sure if date was necessarily the right word. She vaguely hoped that it was. He was her soulmate after all, he said that he was wooing her, Beck probably considered it a date too. But it was also a meeting, they were finally going to start figuring out what had happened to her.

"A date?" Sandra perked up. It had been over two months and the only boy Millie had mentioned was Mitch. She wanted her daughter to have some normalcy in her life after all the bad shit she had dealt with. Sandra hoped for Millie to be able to find some little boy flings at this school. Sandra worried about her in Wyoming where she struggled to find a single good friend.

"Technically?" Millie squinted one eye and shrugged a little in an attempt to hide her excitement and keep her mother's interrogation to a minimum. "You know, it's hard to label things so early."

"Of course," Sandra smiled, seeing right through her daughter's front. "Where is your date at?"

"His place," Millie responded.

"Does he go to your school?"

"He graduated..."

"How long ago?"

"Not long," Millie tried to quell her mother's obvious skepticism with a smile.

"Is he nice?"

"Nicest person I've ever met," Millie said, and this time she was entirely honest.

"Well, I want to meet him." Sandra folded her arms over her chest.

"Mom," she groaned.

"I do! Don't argue, you just told me you're going to some older boy's house for a date. I would like to meet him, it would make me more comfortable with you going off to his place." Sandra scolded her, the dark line of her brows pulled together on her forehead. She was deadly serious.

"Mom," Millie tried as she rolled her head back. Her eyes closed against the pounding that began in her head.

"For christ's sake, Millie. You were already kidnapped once, I don't want it to happen again." Sandra snapped, Millie's eyes darted to her, suddenly sober from her complaining. Her mother suddenly looked very tired. "Please, just have him come pick you up so I can meet him. Okay?"

"Okay," Millie whispered. She felt extremely guilty and also a little unnerved from her mother bringing up the most traumatic experience in her life at such a random time. Her cheeks flamed in embarrassment and a little anger. Millie understood her mother's concerns but hated the way she sometimes pitted her experience against her daughter's. "Sorry, mom."

"Don't be. I'll be in my room, come get me when he gets here." With that, Sandra retreated to her room and closed the door softly behind her.

Millie remained where her mother left her for a good five minutes. She was tying to breathe through the familiar but uncomfortable feelings that flushed through her whenever someone brought up her trauma. Numbness, shock, some anger, and a lick of denial tickled the back of her mind. Once again her cheeks flushed and she felt unreasonably hot. With another huff, she stood from the couch and went back to her room. Millie had always felt a minor dissonance between her and her mother. It might have been different before the accident, but that was too long ago to remember. Things had always been the same since: Millie tried to cope, and Sandra acted mostly like nothing happened. Until it benefitted her.

Shutting her door behind her, Millie went and flopped down on her bed. She tried to calm the racing of her heart from the change in position. Distantly she reached for her phone on the bedside table and lifted it over her face to peer at the screen. There were no missed calls or texts, and the battery was half full.

For some reason Millie was once again struck by the feeling of disconnection between her and the world around her. She never felt as if she fit in, no matter where she went. Granted they moved a lot, and it had only been a little over two months since she came to Montana. Millie was unbearably lonely all the time but never had the urge to complain about it. She was a resilient girl, strong and set in her footing. She wasn't a complainer, instead she lived with it or fixed it. But even that couldn't stop the feelings. If she really was a wolf, it seemed to be her last hope at fitting in. Especially since... She couldn't think that far. Her time felt unbelievably limited and it was beginning to scare her.

Just as she was about to set the phone down and work up what she would say to Beck, it began to buzz. Her heart stuttered when she thought it might be him calling her. But instead, it was Tara's number flashing across the screen. Millie debated for a moment before accepting the call and pressing it to her ear.

"Bitch," Tara greeted fondly. "Where have you been?"

"At home?" Millie answered, messing with a loose thread on her sweater.

"We had plans last night," Tara laughed.

"Oh shit," Millie laughed, pressing her palm to her forehead as she proceeded to lie. "I fell asleep on the couch and pretty much slept through the night. I was exhausted. I'm sorry."

"No problem, I just wanted to call you and see if you were going to make it up to me tonight instead. Mitch and I were going to watch a movie and make cookies."

Millie mulled it over, she supposed she could go over after her date. She didn't want to tell Tara what her plans for tonight were quite yet. But at the same time she wanted to spill all the tea. Tara would make a big deal out of the whole thing, Millie didn't know how to handle that. A boyfriend had never been a thing for Millie.

"Soo... You're coming right?" Tara filled the silence.

"I have a dinner and then I could come over after?"

"That sounds like a great idea. Bring your school stuff, you can just sleepover after. Text me when you're on your way."

Millie smiled a little, she really liked Tara when she was inadvertently a softie. It was rare to see her in that form. "Okay, I will."

They hung up and Millie dropped her phone. Rolling over, she smothered her face in her pillows and groaned. She had to tell Beck that he had to pick her up and meet her mother before he could take her to his house. A little anxiousness creeped up on Millie, she wasn't usually insecure, but something about him had her worried that any little mess up would end their connection. It was a stupid thought, he was her soulmate. But sometimes her brain played tricks on her.

"Fuck," Millie sighed, sitting up and grabbing her phone again. After a second of self encouragement, she dialed Beck's number. Her heart throbbed wildly in her chest.

Beck picked up on the second ring, "Millie," he greeted. His deep voice sounded a little rougher than it usually did. She wondered what he had been doing.

"Hi, Beck." Millie said, picking at a hang nail on her left hand.

"You're not cancelling on me, are you?"

A breathless laugh escaped her, "Of course not. But I have to ask you something."

"Ask away."

"Well, I kind of told my mother that I was going on a date to your house, I hope that's okay—"

"Completely okay." Beck interjected without hesitation.

"Oh, well good... But my mom said she needs to meet you before I can do that. Probably so she could pick you out of a lineup if you..." She almost said kidnapped but felt a twinge in her chest. "Murder me or something."

Beck laughed a little. "I could never murder you."

"That's good," Millie smiled to herself. "So, do you think you could pick me up? You don't have to stay long, just say hi, shake her hand, that sort of thing."

"I can do that, Millie." He responded. Millie still got a shiver whenever he said her name. The feeling of their lips touching once again rushed her mind and she swallowed thickly.

"And can you drop me off at my friend's house after?"

The silence couldn't have lasted more than a few seconds, but it was loud and felt like an hour to Millie. It gave her enough time to wonder if she was being too needy too soon. But then Beck laughed loudly into the phone. Despite the fact she couldn't even see him, her cheeks warmed and she found herself smiling. Millie desperately wanted to see what his face looked like when he laughed like that. The realization that she had never wanted anything more hit her with the force of a tidal wave.

"If it gives me an extra minute with you, Millie, then yes. I can drop you off wherever you need to go."

Millie nibbled on her lower lip, trying to dampen the everlasting smile that had her cheeks cramping. "Do you ever turn off the charm?"

"I'm wooing you, remember?" Beck's low voice rumbled through the phone.

"It's unfair," Millie playfully whined.

"You mean it's working," he teased.

"Cheeky bastard." She grumbled with a role of her eyes.

"I'll pick you up at five," Beck told her after a moment.

"Can't wait, cutie."

They hung up soon after and Millie rolled over in her bed, pressing her face into the pillow as she let out a squeal of excitement. The butterflies in her belly were going insane.

After she let out enough of her jitters, Millie figured she should go talk to her mother about her plan for the evening. It took much convincing that she was actually going to Tara's tonight and not staying at his house. She promised her mother she would send a picture of her making cookies with Tara and Mitch so she would know she wasn't lying.

An hour before Beck was due to pick her up, she packed a bag and then settled to distract herself with some homework. It was unbelievably hard to focus on math problems when she couldn't stop thinking about Beck's lips on hers.

The nervous jitters slowly sank in her belly until they formed a pit. The uneven beating of her heart reminded her that she had things to tell him. Millie had decided to trust him with her entire story and it was nerve racking. She had no idea how he would take it or where they would go from there. All she could do was hope he was worth his word.

Deep down, she knew he was.

- - -

Jerome and Ruth were running. Their very lives depended on them finding the girl and killing her for good. Alpha Jaro was worth his word; he would kill them without hesitation if they didn't succeed. He didn't like being lied to just as much as the next man. Only, he really would take matters into his own hands. Jaro was good at getting exactly what he wanted. Jerome and Ruth were cunning, but they were no match for his brute strength and brilliant mind. There was a reason the desert compounds they created were rarely found. Lyle was an exception. A costly exception.

The fact that Ruth had been lying for nearly a decade was bothering Jerome enough that he could barely look at her. They had hardly talked their whole run and they were nearly halfway through Utah. Jerome felt unbelievably betrayed by her. He couldn't even think back to those days with a clear head. Everything was so emotional, they had been so stressed out, learning their trade and dealing with Ruth's inability to conceive. Jaro would have never got behind their idea, so they hid it. But Ruth was a bleeding heart, and the couple couldn't hide forever.

No one but Ruth knew what happened when the girl was supposed to be disposed of. Jerome never thought to ask. If she was even so much as thought of, Ruth would break down and scream at him. It tore her to shreds. Jerome knew he should have taken care of the girl himself. He had the stronger stomach of the two. He had always been the enforcer to her brain when they went on jobs. The combination of strengths and team work was why they were known so well across the states by desperate Alphas who struggled to keep their enemies straight.

When Jaro knocked out Lyle, he had left the entire task of fixing the situation to the couple. He was so angry he went completely silent, nothing could ever be scarier than his quiet. Immediately, they drug Lyle back to the road he had come in on. His old truck sat there in the dust, waiting for his return. They tossed him into the driver's seat and made sure to slip him a heavy dose of sedatives to make sure he stayed out for a while. They weren't going to kill him, yet. Jerome wanted to track down the girl as soon as possible, her father wasn't a threat. He could wait. Plus, if their leads fell through, the father would definitely lead them right to the girl.

Ruth felt entirely sick with the turn of events. She had hoped the girl would be able to return to her life and live normally. But of course, fate was never that kind. The girl was screwed from the moment they stole her all those years ago. Ruth didn't want to find her and considered throwing their search off in order to let her go.

"Jerome, please," she whimpered outside of Lyle's truck, grabbing onto his forearms.

Jerome tore away from her angrily, "Are you fucking kidding me, Ruth?"

"Please, just let her go. She deserves to live." Tears began to run down her cheeks.

"You decided she was going to die when you decided we should kidnap her, Ruth." Her mate shook his head sadly. "You have to choose us now. We are going to be slaughtered if we don't fix this. Do you want that?"

Ruth was silent, her lower lip trembling.

"Do you?" He shouted at her. He never shouted at her, but he was at his brink about the situation. When she stayed silent, he sighed. "Let's go."

Within four hours, Ruth had hacked into the public-school database in the town they had picked the girl up from. They had stopped at their flat in Northern Texas to regroup. Ruth had made one single call to a popular hacker that was used by many rich Alphas. The trackers had worked with her closely over the years in a mutually beneficial relationship. It took her less than five minutes to grant Ruth access to the databases. From the school database, it was evident she had moved years ago from the address they had found her name under. Millie Sarcos, transfer to Kaycee, Wyoming 2013. Ruth was less than convinced they were still there. If they had moved so soon after her return, odds were they moved again. More interesting was a contact list. Sandra Sarcos, mother, Registered Nurse at River Valley Medical Center. Within another thirty minutes, Ruth had searched up where Sandra had renewed her nursing licenses, her stomach dropped when the search became entirely too easy. Sandra Sarcos, Kalispell Medical, 2022.

Again, Ruth considered throwing off the search. She could act like she couldn't get in or pretend like she was forced out before she could write down a list of locations. However, Jerome appeared over her shoulder just before she could make a move.

"Montana it is, then. There's a couple packs up there and not to mention a shit ton of hunters." Jerome sighed, running a hand over his stubbled chin.

"Maybe she's dead already," Ruth tried. "They could probably smell a trespasser if she got to close to any of them."

Jerome met her eyes with his own hard ones. "Only one way to find out," he growled. "Let's go."

And so they left their flat and started Northwest towards Montana to bury Ruth's mistake once and for all. 

sorry about the delay. im about to start winter break and hopefully can cook through some more updates. the writers block, stress, school, etc... its a lot and i fell behind. but this story is not dead! thank you for still being here, you are much appreciated. <3 

LS