“Hey, Jake's hurt,” Jared said. He's supposed to be second in command, but he really isn't a fan of bossing others around, so he let Paul be second in command.

“What?” I asked. “How bad?”

“We don't know yet,” he said. “We're waiting on Dr. Leech to come check him out. He's the only doctor Jake can see.”

“What-” I started to ask, but was cut short.

“Dest, will you stay with Claire please?” She asked. I knew Embry would need Alex because of how close Embry and Jake are to each other.

“I, uh, sure,” I said.

“Thank you,” she said. “Jared, tell them I'll be down in a few minutes with food for the pack.”

“Thanks, Em,” he said. She nodded and we all started clearing the table and helping Em pack food for the guys and Leah.

“Tell Paul I love him. Please,” I said. I knew he needed to focus on the pack right now, but I wanted nothing more than to be there with him. I started just trying to stay calm and hoped that the imprint bond would be enough to get us through the next few hours.

“Yeah, of course. Love you, Rose,” Alex said as he left.

“Love you two Xander,” I said.

“Dessy,” Claire said. She ran over to me and started yawning.

“Uh oh, looks like someone's tired,” I joked.

“No. Not tired,” she said, but cuddled into my side.

I looked at the clock noticing it was almost 8:00. I knew Em had changed Claire so she was completely ready for bed. I mentally thanked her and I held the child in my arms.

“Wanna go cuddle on Aunt Dessy’s bed?” I asked. She nodded tiredly. I carried her up to my bedroom and laid her on my bed. I grabbed some sweats and a hoodie before heading to the bathroom to change. I changed quickly and walked back to my room.

“Aunt Dessy,” Claire's tired voice broke the silence of the room as I sat down on my bed.

“Yes, Claire Bear?” I asked. I was working on getting my prosthetic off so I could lay down with Claire and at least try to sleep.

“Who's hurt?” She asked.

“A friend of Sam's,” I said. I laid down beside her and she wiggled her way to me and cuddled up to me.

“Claire Bear,” I giggled. “You've gotta share the bed, sweetheart.”

“My bed,” she said. I picked her up and slid over to the middle of the bed before I laid her back down.

“Goodnight Claire Bear. I love you,” I said.

“Love you too, Dessy,” she said.

Within minutes, her body had relaxed completely and she started snoring.

I laid in the almost pitch black, thankful for the small amount of light the moon was letting in. I glanced over at my cell phone, considering texting Paul to check up on everything, but I noticed that Paul's phone was laying next to mine. I sent Emily a text instead, letting her know that Claire was asleep, so the boys better keep it down or they'd be staying up with her.

I laid on my back just starting at the white ceiling that was barely visible for what felt like hours. I glanced at the red numbers on the old digital alarm clock and noticed it was nearing 10:00. I knew I wouldn't be able to fall asleep without Paul here. I heard a car pull up out front and a bunch of ruckus as the boys made their way inside. I heard Emily yelled at them to keep it down and smiled at her even though she wouldn't see it.

“I'm goin upstairs,” Paul said. I heard him taking the stairs two at a time to get to my room. The door was still open, so he tapped on it gently before stopping to wait for me to respond.

I turned to look at him and he smiled at me. It seemed genuine, but still affected by the sadness of his pack mate getting hurt.

“Can I join you?” He asked.

“I suppose so, but Claire's here too,” I said.

“Well, I can always go back downstairs,” he joked.

“No, please don't. I wanna get some sleep,” I said, already feeling more drowsy as he crawled into the bed and held me.

“Go to sleep, babygirl,” he said, kissing my shoulder gently. “I'm here now. You're safe.”

“I love you Paul,” I said.

“I love you too, Dest,” he said and I was asleep instantly.