Swinging the axe around in a wide arc, I let out a heavy breath once it makes contact with the piece of wood, effectively splitting it in two. My chest heaves as I try to catch my breath, and I look around to see that Erik, Jesse, and I have collectively split a large amount of wood. With all of it piled together, it is about a five feet high, six feet wide pile.

My arms ache as I pick up the axe again, but this time I rest it over my shoulder as I walk over to Jesse. He lets out a muted grunt as he swings his own axe around, and the split wood goes flying in opposite directions from how hard he hits it.

I raise an eyebrow at him when he finally lets the ax hang by his side and looks up at me, his blue eyes hard.

Deciding to let his frustration go without question, I nod my head in the direction of the piled wood. "I think we have enough to ride out the storm, don't you think?"

Jesse looks over his shoulder at the haphazard pile, not saying anything for a few seconds before nodding his head. He holds out his hand for my axe and I give it to him without question, watching as he walks over to Erik and mumbles something before taking the alpha's axe as well.

My gaze snaps to the trees as a strong gust of wind causes them to sway so hard that they start to strain under the pressure. Looking up to the sky, it is easy to see the dark clouds rolling towards us, looking more ominous by the second.

"We should probably get this wood inside the garage before it starts to snow," Erik says from beside me, his eyes meeting mine as he looks away from the sky.

He hands me a pair of gloves and I give him a nod of thanks. Together, we start picking the wood up and quickly stacking it into the wheelbarrow that we had brought out earlier just for the purpose of hauling the wood from the edge of the forest back to the house. Jesse is walking back with another wheelbarrow, his arms free of the axes, right when I am placing the final piece of the wood on the one in front of us. Erik walks over to the handles, lifting them up and carefully guiding the overfull wheelbarrow in the direction of the house.

Jesse and I work silently, filling up his wheelbarrow that is slightly larger than the first one. Even if we wanted to talk, it would be a difficult task, seeing as the howling wind is becoming louder as the dark clouds roll closer.

Erik returns a couple minutes after Jesse leaves, and this routine continues until the last piece of wood is picked up. I walk back with the two of them, both guiding full wheelbarrows in the direction of the house.

Splatters of cold rain start to fall when we reach the garage, and I bemoan the fact that I have to go out on patrol tonight. With the combination of a winter storm coming in and it being a full moon tonight, we are fully expecting for the claistes to attack. That's why Alpha Seren, Jesse, Alexis, and I are all going out tonight, and since Alpha Seren has a pretty solid idea where they are going to attack, we are going to be waiting for them.

Taking the empty wheelbarrows, I lean them against the side of the garage next to all the other outside equipment that we use. Jesse is locking the garage door while Erik has already gone inside. The two of them have definitely changed since the kidnapping, not speaking as much as usual, and Erik only ever seems to relax when he is with his small family.

Jesse follows me into the house, locking that door as well. Together, we walk up the stairs to Alpha Seren's office, giving a quick knock on the door once we reach it.

"Come in," he calls, and he looks up at us as we join him in the room. Alexis is already there, sitting in one of the chairs positioned in front of the desk Alpha Seren is sitting behind. The alpha doesn't speak again until Jesse and I are seated.

"Let's go over the plan one more time," he says, pulling out a map of the property. He points to one spot, and taking a closer look, I see that it is the portion of the fence that we specifically weakened yesterday. "This is where we are going to be for the night, and the claistes should hit this spot since we weakened it and they discovered it."

He leans back in his chair, letting his arms rest on the sides. "Alexis and Tate, you two will be up in the trees while Jesse and I will be in the designated spots on the ground. The claistes should strike when the moon is highest in the sky, which is when those who will be experiencing a heat or rut will be at their most vulnerable." He pauses, looking us each in the eye. "Do you all understand the plan, especially what we discussed earlier about the plan of attack?"

"Yes, alpha," we all say, nodding our heads.

Alpha Seren gives a firm shake of his head. "Good, we will be leaving here in ten minutes. That should give you enough time to gather your gear and meet back at the front door."

The alpha gives a dismissive wave of his hand, and we quickly clear out of the room, all of us eager to make the last ten minutes in the house count. Jesse goes in the opposite direction of me and Alexis once we leave the alpha's office, climbing up the stairs at the end of the hall. Alexis follows me down the stairs but continues down to the basement while I head in the direction of the living room.

Soft voices come from the room, and once I step in, I am met with the sight of Micah and Liam sitting on the couch on either side of Taylor. They are both bent close, with Micah whispering something and Liam massaging the bottom of Taylor's back.

My eyebrows scrunch in concern once I see the three of them, and I hurry over to their huddle. The fireplace crackles in the room, and I can feel the heat emanating from the flames as I kneel in front of my lovely.

"What's wrong, lovely?" I ask him, resting my hands on his knees before running them up and down his thighs, trying to help release some of the tension in his body.

Taylor shakes his head, letting out a long breath as he relaxes back into the couch. "Nothing. I'm fine, Tate," he says with a short voice.

Liam mumbles something in Taylor's ear, too low for me to catch, but my boyfriend just shakes his head quickly at whatever Liam had said. A frown comes over Micah's face, and he looks in between me and Taylor, who tightens the hand he has Micah's arm. The other omega has a determined look on his face, though, and he turns to look at me.

"Tate," he manages to get out, but whatever else he was wanting to say is cut off by the loud footsteps coming into the room.

Taylor lets out a relieved breath, and that is when my worry starts to grow. Taylor likes to keep things to himself when he deems it unimportant. But knowing my lovely, whatever he is trying to hide from me is something that is actually important.

Jesse steps into the room, while the Alpha and Alexis continue down the hall to the front door. The beta looks around the room, eyes settling on Micah for a few seconds, but in that brief amount of time, a myriad of emotions cross his face. He gives a slight shake of his head though, and snaps his eyes away from his mate and over to me.

"The moon is almost at its highest peak, so we need to get into position," he says, voice as deep as always. To this day, it still shocks me that he is a beta and not an alpha. He has the disposition and looks of one, so it is an easy mistake to make.

With a heavy sigh, I stand up from the crouch I had been in, leaning down to press a kiss to Taylor's cheek. He leans into the contact, his eyes closing briefly, but they snap open again when I stand up completely.

"You'll be safe, right?" he says, voice strained as he looks up at me with wide eyes.

"Promise, lovely," I say, softly rubbing my finger down his cheek before stepping away completely. Taylor gives me a smile, but it looks strained; he is going to worry the entire time I am gone. For the first time, I hope that the beasts really do attack us, just so that we can finish them off sooner rather than later.

Jesse clears his throat and looking up, I see his nod at the door. With one last look at my lovely, I walk out of the room, trying to block out the insistent whispering coming from the living room. Together, Jesse and I slip on our winter clothes and pick up the weapons we had stashed in the coat closet. Walking into the cold air outside, with the wind howling and tiny bits of snow flying in every direction, I send up a silent prayer that we will not be out here for long.

*****

The tree I am in sways from the ferocity of the wind, and I grip onto the base even tighter. We have been in our respective positions for so long that I have lost count. The moon is high in the sky, shining just enough light that we are able to see the movement of shadows through the forest.

The broken boards of the fence allow just enough room for something to squeeze through, and that is what we have been waiting for, for longer than any of us expected. Alpha Seren and Jesse have been waiting in their positions on the ground, amongst two separate clumps of bushes covered in snow. I can't see them from my position, and Alexis is too far away for me to make out in the dark. The silence of everything but the storm can make a person feel lonely.

Leaning my head against the base of the tree, I close my eyes. My mind drifts off to Taylor, wondering what he could have possibly been hiding from me. He seemed tense during that brief period of time I was with him, and Micah and Liam seemed to be upset with him for some reason. Whatever the secret may be, I hope it isn't something too serious.

My eyes blink open when a flash of light goes across my closed eyelids. Looking around, I see nothing, but then the light comes again, in two quick bursts, going as quick as they came. Adrenaline starts to rush through my body, and I sit up, looking in the direction of the fence. Those two flashes of light were the signal from someone else that the claistes had been spotted.

As quietly as I can, I maneuver my body around, trying to catch a glimpse of the beasts. Something moves by the fence, and squinting my eyes, I am able to see that it is a thin, scarred arm, with long clawed fingers at the end. A head quickly follows the arm through the hole, and my stomach turns at the sight.

The beast looks more terrible than the last one we had encountered. Parts of its body look like they have been chewed off, with the left half of the face devoid of anything but bone. The beast sniffs the air, and I am more than grateful that we wore the scent neutralizers when the beast doesn't seem to catch our scent.

The first beast doesn't seem to care for the second one that comes through the hole, ignoring it completely as it walks further onto the property. Everything is silent except for the wind and the weird growls they emit from their mouths.

The way they are looking at each other and making the sounds makes it seem as if they are communicating, but that would be absurd. They stagger closer to us, walking towards the direction of Alexis' tree. The second one that came through the hole follows close behind the first one as if it is subordinate to the other one. They are only seconds away from stepping into the trap we set, not even sensing that they are walking to their deaths.

A loud cry comes from behind me, and all of us- including the claistes- turn in the direction. Through the darkness, sprinting in our direction, is a heaving Micah.

"Tate!" he yells, looking around frantically and not even seeming to sense the danger he has put himself in.

The claistes let out a loud growl and turn towards Micah, their claws raised for an attack as they snap their jaws at the omega. Micah turns slowly towards the beasts, his body trembling as he takes in the sight of the creatures. He stays frozen in his spot, and that seems to be the only thing keeping the beasts from attacking. The freezing spell is broken, though, by Micah taking a step back, his feet crunching in the snow.

The beasts let out loud roars, charging in the direction of my helpless pack mate. The tree is slippery as I try to climb down, and all I can do is desperately hope that I will make it to Micah in time.

Through the branches, I watch as Micah turns and runs, but it is slow, with the foot-high snow covering the ground. The beasts close the distance quickly, and I push myself to move faster.

A roar comes from the bush ten feet from the tree I am scurrying down and out leaps a large gray wolf. Shock courses through me at the sight, especially since that was the bush that Jesse had been hiding in. I don't seem to be the only surprised one because the claistes freeze in their tracks as well. The wolf doesn't hesitate to step in between them and Micah, baring its teeth at the beasts.

The claistes are clumsy as they try to recover, and the wolf uses that to its advantage, leaping at the first one and ripping out its throat before the second one can respond. Blood covers the muzzle of the wolf, making it look feral as it kills the claiste between his jaws. The second one tries to run away, but the wolf leaps onto it, ripping its head away from its body in one swift jerk.

The two claistes lay lifeless on the ground, their blood staining the snow beneath them red. The wolf sniffs both of them before turning around to look at Micah, the anger and hostility in its eyes melting away into hesitation.

Micah steps forwards, his breaths quick as his eyes remain fixed on the wolf. By the time the wolf is only a few feet away from the omega, I have managed to make it to the ground, and looking around, I see that Alexis and Alpha Seren are also out of their hiding spots. The Alpha has a look of surprise on his face, while Alexis looks as calm as she always does, no clear emotion on her face.

My gaze snaps back over to Micah when I hear a weak "Jesse?" come from his direction.

Before our eyes, the wolf's body shifts abruptly into a shivering Jesse. The beta- or whatever the hell he is, because up until this moment, it has been my understanding that only alphas could transform into full wolves, and that was only when their mate was being threatened-doesn't move from his position, his eyes downcast. Micah doesn't seem to care, though, when he throws his arms around his naked mate, nuzzling into Jesse's chest.

So many thoughts are racing through my head right now. But all my questions about Jesse and the possibilities about what just happened are pushed away when I get a closer look at the claistes lying dead in the snow.

Crouching down low enough that I can see them, but not close enough that I am touching them, I am able to make out a familiar face on the claiste. While it is distorted into the half wolf half human creature that it is, I am able to make out the familiar features of a certain alpha werewolf. One who had clumps of hair missing and a hollowed out face, which it is missing half of: Zalo.

"Holy shit," I mumble.

"What is it?" Alexis asks from behind me.

Standing back up, I gesture at the fallen creature. "The thing is Zalo." I nod over at the other beast lying in the snow. "And I bet you anything that one over there is Bethany."

Alexis crouches down, taking her own look at the claistes. After a minute she nods her head, meeting my eyes as she stands back up. "They are. The question is, how they became these things in the first place."

"Probably were infected by a different claiste before they died." Alpha Seren looks down at the creatures as he continues to speak. "I bet if they would have died without being attacked by the claistes before hand, they probably would have become a werewolf infected after they were killed. But with the claiste infection in their bloodstream, they became one of these creatures instead."

I nod my head. "That makes sense. After kidnapping me, Zalo said that he was attacked by the beasts a couple days before. Bethany was probably hurt as well."

Alexis runs her fingers along her scars, not saying another word, but it isn't hard to understand what must be going on in her mind. If she would have died after being clawed by the claistes, then she would have become one of the creatures as well.

A throat clears from behind me, and turning, I see Micah standing there, Jesse hovering only a couple inches behind him. "Sorry to interrupt, but I did come out here for a reason." He looks over at me, his eyes shining blue in the moonlight. "Tate, Taylor is in labor, and we need to get back to the house as soon as possible. He refused to let us do the procedure without you there."

"H-He's having the baby?" I ask, my voice shaky from the nervousness and anxiety running through my body.

"Yes, and he needs you, come on." Micah grabs my hand, and I look back at the others.

Alpha Seren has a kind smile on his face and he gives me a nod of encouragement. "Go on, you have a boyfriend who needs you and a baby who isn't waiting. We'll take care of everything here."

Those seem to be the words I needed to hear because the next time Micah pulls at my wrist, I don't hesitate to follow, Jesse at our heels as we race back to the house. The thought of my lovely having the baby right now is terrifying, but another emotion is starting to overpower my other ones of hesitance: excitement.