Thank you belem_loves_1D for making this cover!

---

The next morning, it wasn't a surprise that as soon as it was time to clean up the mess from the party, Nikki was nowhere to be found.  

I knew she was just with her mate, but she was the one who arranged most of the mess! 

I slept surprisingly well, considering that I had to sleep in Mikko's bed. My back didn't hurt as much anymore and I felt weirdly energetic.  

That's probably why I had a huge breakfast made before I started cleaning.  

"What are you doing, super mom?" I spun around when I heard JJ's voice.  

"Um, just cleaning," I said slowly. I wasn't sure why he was still here. After Mikko's little altercation with the alpha, his pack had been forced to leave, JJ included.  

"Can I help?" he asked with a charming smile. Years ago it would've worked, not so much now. "It's the least I can do seeing as nothing went over smoothly yesterday." 

I thought about telling him to go shove it, but the mess was really overwhelming.  

I threw the roll of garbage bags at him. "Sure." 

It was nice having JJ helping. Once the inside of the house was clean, we moved to the outside.  

The weather was awesome in April. It was warm and sunny. It felt amazing to be outside without having to keep an eye on the kids and just enjoy the time alone.  

Well... almost alone.  

"Are you daydreaming?" JJ asked with a laugh.  

I shrugged and started tossing garbage from the tables into my bag. "Maybe. Maybe not." 

"I know what you look like when you do most things," he teased.  

I rolled my eyes and stopped cleaning the mess. It had been a long time since I had seen JJ. I was a different person now. "So then, what do I look like when I daydream?" 

"Well, it's a little different now," he stopped shoving cans into the bag he had to look at me, "but you still get that look in your eyes. You get a serene expression whenever you're gone." 

I scoffed. "Does that line usually work with women?" I couldn't help but laugh. "A serene expression with weird eyes," I mimicked the dreamy voice he had been going for.  

JJ shrugged sheepishly and cleared his throat before returning to his task, double time. "Doesn't make it any less true." He was defensive now.  

His pride was wounded. That kind of sweet talk probably worked most of the time for him.  

I stopped laughing and composed myself. "I'm sorry JJ, I didn't mean to offend, or anything." 

He let out a short laugh that sounded real, but felt fake. "It's okay, Em. Things are different now." 

I nodded once and felt like our little conversation was over, so I started to pick up things again.  

He gave a frustrated growl and dropped his bag. "Look, Emily, I've just missed you, okay?" 

I sent out a short plea that he wouldn't confess his undying love and want to run away together. That would just piss Mikko off even more and I did not need his drama right now.  

"JJ, I've changed so much while you've been gone. We're not the same people anymore." I tried to let him down as easily as I could.  

He reluctantly looked down at his shoes and nodded. "I know that. It's just..." He stopped himself. I could tell he was trying to think about what he wanted to say, which was a very good sign. Wolves aren't good at thinking under pressure, they always just reacted, however illogical their instincts. That's why most of them ended up being killed.  

He let out one more frustrated growl before looking up with determination and walking straight up to me.  

I was going to step back, but he held my waist. I didn't like the feeling of him touching me. It felt wrong. Before I could stop him, or push away, his lips were on mine.  

It felt familiar but uncomfortable. Kissing JJ had been comforting and homey when I was with him, but now he just felt like a stranger.  

I shook my head and tried to get him to get a grip on his control. He abandoned my mouth for my neck.  

"JJ stop," I said as forcefully as I could. I felt a tingling on my rib cage that reminded me of Mikko's bond.  

I pushed away from JJ as hard as I could. I knew Mikko would be here very soon and I didn't need to be in the middle of a fight.  

"What's going on out here?" Mikko asked behind us, startling JJ enough that I was able to scramble away, and put distance between JJ and me.  

Mikko was carrying Cass, one look and I knew that she felt absolutely miserable. She clung to her daddy tightly with her face buried in his chest, blocking out the world. That cold Mikko had sniffed out was finally making its appearance. It had taken so long to show up that I doubted it would surface.  

"What did I tell you Jones?" Mikko's voice was low and threatening. It just made Cass tighten her grip and squirm against him. My heart broke for my baby.  

JJ stayed stubbornly quiet, even though I could tell he was itching to get into it with Mikko. There was a violent tension between the two and I couldn't understand why. I wasn't Mikko's wife or girlfriend. Even if I hadn't wanted JJ to kiss me, it wasn't any of Mikko's business. It wasn't like JJ was going to rip off my clothes and take me in Finn's backyard.  

I rubbed my hand over Cass's back and instantly felt her heat. She was running a fever. I needed to get her in a bath to cool her down.  

"You don't want to do that," Mikko said as I reached for my baby. I had assumed he had been warning JJ, not me.  

I tried to take her from Mikko so that he and JJ could settle their issues, but she would not let go of her dad. She tilted her little head up and screamed like I had stabbed her when I pulled her a inch from Mikko. 

I got a good look at her as she wailed. Her face was blotchy and sweaty. Her hair stuck to her face. Her eyes were swollen and red from crying. Her nose was red and runny from the sickness and her rubbing. My heart really broke when I saw how miserable she was.  

Guilt cut deep as I tried to soothe her. I had let Mikko get them for the day. I should've been the one who held Cass when she felt horrible. It was my job as her mom.  

Mikko bounced a little and swayed as he replaced my hand with his. His hand covered most of her tiny back. She settled and rubbed her snotty face all over Mikko's shirt as she settled in to how she was before.  

Mikko and JJ kept their eyes on each other. I wished they would've already whipped out their parts and compared them so this macho bull would be over. No one had time for this right now.  

"She needs to get in a bath, Mikko. She has a fever," I said gently, never taking my eyes from my baby.  

He nodded and kept his glare on JJ. "I was going to do that before I felt your pull." 

"I didn't call out to you," I said confused. I mean, there came a point where I could call out for him, but I was handling JJ.  

"Your distress called out to me." His eyes narrowed on JJ. "Count your blessings that I have a sick child to deal with. Next time you try to pull a stunt like that, you'll be eating through a straw," Mikko warned.

Mikko ushered me into the house. I glanced back at JJ to see him returning Mikko's glare. Either he was stupid, or he was stronger than I thought he was. No one played dominance games with Mikko, not even Philip.

---

Once in the bath, Cass let Mikko go. She loved the water so much that she didn't even notice when he stood up to leave the bathroom. 

"Where are you going? She'll start crying if you leave." 

He gave me a small smile. "I think you have this handled. I'm going to go settle a few things. I'll be with the other two once I'm done." 

He left without waiting for me to reply. "Okay," I whispered sarcastically to the door. He was going to go stir up the tension between him and JJ.  

I kept the water warm to slowly bring down her body temperature. When she was comfortable in the bath, I added a little cold water for her to settle into again.  

I couldn't have given her a cold bath because that would just shock her system and make her tight and uncomfortable.  

Once her fever subsided, she clung to me. I kept away from the other two babies as long as I had Cass. Having all three of them sick at once would have been the worst thing I could've imagined. I did not need a cold bouncing back and forth between them.  

We decided to stay at Finn's house for the extra help. My dad and Nikki were more than willing to help out with the triplets. Being secluded with Cass meant that I was secluded from everyone else. 

It was peaceful and relaxing. People kept dropping in to check in on us, but that wasn't more than once or twice an hour.  

Right after my dad left Cass and me, the door opened slowly and quietly again. I rocked Cass side to side as she finally started to sleep again. She needed to rest.  

I figured my dad just forgot something, so I didn't bother to look over. 

"It's a shame," I quickly looked over to see the alpha's daughter, Megan, standing maybe four feet away from me. I didn't trust any woman who had her eyes on Mikko. "I wouldn't want to be away from my children if another pack of wolves was here." 

Once the initial shock wore off, I was left with a simmering anger. "Luckily for me, my children are backed by a huge pack. I have nothing to worry about in a pack being on Finn's land." 

She shrugged and stepped closer. I didn't like that she was getting closer to my sick child.  

"What are you doing in here?" I didn't bother to keep my distaste from her.  

"Just checking in." She smiled. "It seems the baby maker has everyone concerned. Your condition obviously makes you vulnerable." 

I narrowed my eyes on her.  

She met my eyes and I could see mischief in them. "It would be a shame if someone swooped in and stole everything out from under you."  

This bitch, I thought to myself.  

I stood up and rocked Cass before setting her down. Once the triplets were completely out, it was hard to wake them. I stroked the side of her face as Megan stepped up to the side of the bed. Luckily, the incident with her father left me paranoid, so my gun was available in the bedside table.  

I didn't need it with her though, she wasn't a wolf. She was just some spoiled nineteen-year-old.  

I grabbed her by her hair when she wasn't expecting it and shoved her against the wall. She squeaked like I knew she would.  

"It would be a shame if someone ended up with a wrecked face," I threatened. I was too damn old to have this chick threaten my way of life. "Now you're going to go back downstairs, or wherever the hell your daddy is, and you're going to stay there." 

"Screw you bitch," she said as intimidating as she could.  

I pulled her up by her hair, making her get onto her tippy toes. 

"Be nice and be quiet. There's a baby sleeping." I tried to remain calm and not let my anger get the best of me.  

"I don't give a fuck if your kid's asleep. You're assaulting me." 

I chuckled and pulled her towards the door by her hair. "I'll promise you something sweetheart, if you ever come around me or my children running your mouth and making threats, then I'll assault you." 

I opened the door and threw her skinny ass through it. She glared at me as she stood up. I could see the tears in her eyes from the pain in her scalp. It hurts getting tugged around by your hair.  

She opened her mouth, but I held up a warning finger to make her stop. "Don't make me prove it." 

I shut her door and turned around to see Cass crawling towards me (and the edge of the bed) with her face bunched up in a silent cry.  

I sighed and rushed over to her. I scooped her up and sat down on the bed with her. I opened the dresser drawer and took out my gun.  

I lay down with Cass as she whimpered and eventually started to close her eyes.  

Mikko came in the room maybe a half an hour after I threw Megan by her hair. The look on his face told me that he knew about my little altercation with the whore. Cass lifted her head when she saw him and managed a tired smile for him. She was definitely a daddy's girl.

Mikko eyed the gun as he walked over. He lay down so that Cass was in between us.  

"Can you put that away?" He glanced at the gun and scrunched his nose. "The silver is very strong." 

I put it back in the drawer and closed it. The drawer was insulated and snug, so it blocked the silver smell. As long as Mikko was around, I wouldn't need the gun.  

"Why is it out?" He asked gently as he flattened out Cass' messy hair.  

"Because I won't be threatened around my kids." I kept my voice down to insure that Cass wouldn't wake up. 

Mikko smirked, but didn't look away from his daughter. "Megan is throwing a fit. She says you assaulted her." 

Big baby can't even keep her mouth shut, I thought angrily to myself. With a sigh, I nodded. "I wouldn't have had to if she had kept her mouth shut," I muttered unhappily.  

He smiled when he looked up at me. "No need to get defensive. You're only violent when you have to be." He kept his eyes on mine as he moved his hand to my belly. "Just be careful. I don't want to give the alpha a reason to cause problems because his daughter has an issue with you." 

I rolled my eyes. "She should put on her big girl panties then." 

His hand moved all around my swollen belly. "You just need to be the bigger person here. What did she say to you that made you rip her hair out?" 

I looked down at the toddler sleeping beside me. "She wants to take everything away from me." I shook my head at the thought of losing my kids. "I don't know why she came up here and said something like that, but if she does it again, it won't be her hair that takes the beating." 

Mikko nodded and pushed himself onto his hands and knees. He lightly kissed Cass' head then kissed the baby bump. "I'm going to keep the bond open for as long as this pack is here. When you're in distress, I'll know it and come for you." 

"That's probably a good idea." 

He nodded and got off the bed. "Take the gun out when I'm gone." 

"Maybe I should start wearing the pendant," I suggested.  

He stopped a few feet from the door and stood there for a few seconds. "Russo will be able to sense the magic in it. I don't want him to assume that you're a witch." 

I dismissed the idea with a wave of my hand. "Then I'll show it to him and tell him to watch his back." 

He turned around and stared at me.  

"It's a joke," I half lied.  

"Don't go around threatening alphas." He walked to my jewelry box and quickly found the pendant. 

The pendant was a stone that held the magic of a death spell. Once the spell locked inside the stone was used, it would return to its old color and to being just a necklace. As long as I really wanted the person I directed the spell at dead, the magic would kill them; nearly instantly, from what I've heard.  

I got the necklace from a dying witch. The only reason she did was because that's what her sister would have wanted. Her sister had been Mikko's wife, before she was killed. The necklace had been hers while she was alive.  

He held it for a while and stared at it. "He knew who and what my wife was," he admitted quietly. "He'll bring it up and I don't want you hurt by whatever he says." 

"I doubt that the alpha could hurt my feelings. I've been around Abigail too long to let some words hurt me." 

He reluctantly smiled and came towards me with the necklace. "The alpha must respect you as mine. You, also, must demand that respect."  

When he was close enough, I held my hand out for the necklace. He slowly eased it to my hand. The necklace brought back a lot of memories and emotions for Mikko. He wasn't used to dealing with feelings, so they rocked his world.  

"Keep it under your shirt. If there's an emergency and you have to use it, you need skin on stone contact to make it work." 

I nodded for his peace of mind. I remembered every detail about this pendant. That had been a pretty traumatic night for me.

Mikko jerked the necklace out of my palm. "Remember the words?"

I put my hand down. I didn't want him to think I was going to try to kill him. "Bás a thagann dó."

He nodded and gave me the necklace. "Remember, skin on stone."

"And I have to mean it," I added.

He shook his head. "You don't have to mean it. Saying the spell is enough."

I nodded and kept my eyes on the stone. It was really beautiful.

"Don't lose it," he muttered as he walked out of the room.

I was safe enough alone with my gun and pendant. No one would bother us tonight.