"Ellen," Levi says, stepping forward. Gently, he places his hand on the woman, making her flinch slightly at the contact. "Come on, let's take a step back so we can all figure this out."

The woman looks like she wants to protest, but the scowl falls from her face, replaced by a look of genuine sadness. Her eyes fixate on Noah and wetness starts to gather in them.

"Alright." Alpha Seren rubs his hand over his face, looking exhausted. "Liam, why don't you and Taylor get everyone settled into their rooms. The rest of you, come with me up to my office."

Taylor hands over the sleeping babies to me, both of them snuffling a little bit, but settling once they catch my scent. He gives me a reassuring smile, pulling me into a careful hug before following Liam and a majority of the newcomers out of the room.

Alpha Seren gestures for all of us to follow him out of the living room. We stay silent as we walk through the house and up the stairs. He holds the door open for us as we walk into his office, offering me a small smile and Jesse a comforting pat on the back. Levi and Ellen take the two chairs directly in from of Alpha Seren's desk, while Jesse and I sit on the small couch placed against the wall. Instead of sitting behind his desk, Alpha Seren carries his chair over into the open space, setting it down directly across from me and Jesse.

"Come on in and take a seat, Jane," Jesse calls out.

Confused as to who he is talking to, I look up at the doorway, where a young woman is standing. She has dark hair and eyes but doesn't show the slightest bit of discomfort as she comes into the room. She takes a seat on the couch, leaving about a foot of space in between her and Jesse.

"Who is she?" I whisper to Jesse, leaning against his side in comfort.

"She's the one who rescued Noah."

My eyes widen marginally when I look back over at the girl, taking a closer look at her. She raises a dark brow at me but doesn't say anything as I watch her. Now that she is closer, I can see that she has a spattering of freckles on her face, making her skin look even paler. She is beautiful but seems to be the kind of person who doesn't care about her looks. Immediately, she reminds me of Alexis.

"Let's get started so we can get this over with before my headache reaches its full potential." Alpha Seren lets out a long sigh, sitting back in his seat and crossing his arms. He looks over at Ellen, whose eyes are bright with tears. "So, you believe that Noah is your son."

"I don't believe, I know," she says, her words a bit shaky. "He looks exactly like my mate."

"I thought you said that his birth mother was dead?" Jesse says, looking over at Jane with scrutinizing eyes. "That the humans had killed her once she failed to shift when they took him away."

"That's what I was told," Jane says, her voice softer than I was expecting. "I wasn't in the room when they threatened her. I was just handed the baby and told to dispose of him since the mother had been taken care of."

"She wasn't killed, obviously," Levi says, "but it is true that she didn't shift once the baby was born."

"They threatened my mate," Ellen says, eyes focused on her hands. "And eventually I shifted."

"She didn't want Noah when she was pregnant with him, that's why threatening him when he was born didn't work," Levi says, sitting back in his chair.

"How do you know all of this, Levi?" I ask, readjusting the babies so that they are in a more comfortable position.

"We were brought in on the same truck, and sitting in cramped quarters for over two days makes you learn a lot about people," he says. "And when she shifted, we all learned why through the bond."

"That's real?" Alpha Seren says while the rest of us look at him in confusion.

"What the hell is 'the bond'," I say. "It sounds like something from a cheesy fanfic or something."

"What the hell are you talking about, Micah?" Levi says. "What is a fanfic?"

"Hey, I asked a question first. Answer that one before you critique my reading material."

Levi keeps looking at me with confusion before giving his head a small shake and turning back to look at Alpha Seren.

"Yes, it's real, but not nearly as powerful as the old stories led us to believe," he says. His eyes wander a bit as if he is someplace other than this room. "It's like, you get pictures from your pack mates, only when they are in extreme distress. Through those pictures, we were able to put the pieces together of what happened to Ellen."

"What made you shift?" Jesse asks, looking at his oldest friend in curiosity and sympathy.

Pain comes over Levi's face, immediately making me want to reach over and comfort him.

"I- I would rather not talk about that," he murmurs, seeming to have trouble getting the words out.

"It's alright. You don't have to tell us unless you want to," I say, giving him a small smile. It takes a few seconds, but he returns the gesture.

Alpha Seren clears his throat, drawing all of our attention back to him. His brows are scrunched, looking like he is trying to put together an intricate puzzle and he just can't find a missing piece.

"So, let me get this straight," he says, finally looking up. "You didn't want the baby, so you didn't shift when they threatened him?" He pauses, waiting for Ellen to give a small nod of her head. "We'll get back to that point in a second, but," he looks over at Jane, "why in the hell would you risk your life to save a werewolf baby? Not that we aren't grateful."

"So grateful," I say, pulling Noah a bit closer to me. It makes me hurt to think of how close we were to not having him here with us.

"It wasn't like I could just stand by and watch an innocent baby be killed," she says, sounding a bit offended. "I'm a bitch, but not that big of one."

"Plus she is half werewolf," Levi says.

Jane looks up at Levi quickly, looking like she is about to protest before slumping down against the couch.

"Yeah, my father was a werewolf," she says. "He stayed with my mother long enough for her to have me and my sister before ditching to go back to his pack."

We are all silent, not knowing what to say about her news. I have never heard of a werewolf being with a human, let alone having children with them. Most humans thought werewolves were a part of a secret cult since we all live on pack lands and don't tend to associate much with those outside our pack.

But I guess it isn't impossible for a wolf to be with a human. Just unusual. Part of me wants to ask her questions to see how many werewolf abilities she has, or if she has more human characteristics. Now is not the time for that, though, so I swallow back the growing curiosity.

Alpha Seren is the one who finally breaks the silence. "Thank you for sharing," he says, and Jane nods her head. He looks over at Ellen, then, his eyes pursed in confusion. "I have to say I am a little confused as to why you think I should make Micah and Jesse hand over Noah, whom they have raised for the last five months. Especially since you didn't want him in the first place."

Ellen doesn't say anything until an exasperated Levi nudges her with his elbow. She finally starts to talk, her voice low. "My mate and I got together when we were only seventeen. We didn't intend on having children, especially since we were barely surviving in this world on our own."

She raises a shaky hand, wiping away a stray tear. "And then I got pregnant during one of the heat moons. It was a surprise, but my mate decided that we had survived everything else the world had thrown at us, so we could survive this too. But, I wasn't so sure. We were barely making it. There was no way we would be able to raise a baby. So I forced myself to not get attached, seeing the baby as a burden instead of a blessing.

"Then the humans came when I was a little over seven months. They were more excited about the prospect that my mate had a pregnant mate than I have ever seen before. It was obvious that they were going to use that against him, especially since he was so protective over the both of us.

"When I went into labor, they tied him to a chair in the corner of the room, forced him to watch me in pain. It only made me not want the baby even more. Because of him, we were both suffering."

She pauses, her tears falling heavier than before. It is obvious that she is finding it hard to speak through the tears.

"When he was born, the humans threatened to take away the baby from me, but I already came to the conclusion that the baby wasn't mine, so the threat didn't work. But when they threatened my mate... I couldn't risk losing him, too, so I shifted. I tried to attack them, but they were able to subdue me. As punishment for trying to hurt them, they made me watched as they killed my mate and then handed my baby to her, where she was waiting outside-" Ellen's eyes cut over to Jane- "and told her to get rid of him, too."

She glances over at Noah, looking as if she is barely restraining herself from coming over and snapping up the sleeping babe. My arms tighten marginally, making the babies let out a little snuffle before settling again.

"I had lost every part of my mate that day, and I thought I would die from despair. The other wolves kept me moving, pushing me when I felt like giving up. That's the only reason I am still alive today."

Looking over at Alpha Seren, I can see the look of deep understanding on his face. I know that he lost his mate and that he thought he had lost his sons as well. But he got them back. The similar situations make discomfort settle in my stomach. He looks like he is going to side with her, and I don't think I will be able to make my arms cooperate if he tells me I have to hand over Noah.

"He's the only part of my mate I have," Ellen says, words struggling to come out as she tries to hold back her tears. "I- I can't lose him, again."

Levi sits forward when none of us talk, taking Ellen's hand in his own. His eyes look at me, and I know he can see the pain on my face and the way I am holding both of my babies tightly to me. He has always been perceptive, but especially so when it comes to me. That's what happens when you practically raise someone.

"Ellen," he says, words soft. He ducks down, catching her eyes with his own. "Micah and Jesse have raised him for the past five months. Without them, he probably wouldn't be here right now. You can't ask for them to hand him over indefinitely. You would be taking away the only family he has known."

She looks up, looking over at me with bloodshot eyes.

"Please," I say, my own eyes tearing up at the prospect of having to hand Noah over. Already, I am prepping for a fight, and the tense body of Jesse against me tells me that he is feeling the same way. "Please, don't take our baby away."

"I- I don't want to take him away," she says, voice cracking. "Can I just have him, once a week or something? I just want to be able to see him, too."

Alpha Seren looks over at me and Jesse, clearly leaving the decision up to us. Jesse wraps his arm around my waist, and I look up at my mate, seeing that he is already watching me with those familiar gray eyes.

So many thoughts are racing through my mind, it is hard to focus on just one. The thought of handing Noah over is painful and I will never have someone else take him from me. But, she is his birth mom and has already lost her mate. I know that is painful, and I couldn't imagine losing Jesse and then having someone else raise Beckett.

Putting my self in Ellen's shoes makes my heart ache because I know that allowing her to see Noah for one day a week isn't irrational or undoable. Especially since I would be asking for more if our positions were switched.

Jesse seems to see the decision on my face and leans down to give me a reassuring kiss. Pulling back, I look over at Ellen, who is watching us with wide eyes.

"Only one day a week," I say, words shaky as I force the words out. "But only during the day. He has to come back at night."

"Thank you," Ellen says, looking impossibly young as she curls in on herself.

"And he is still nursing," I say, looking down at where my babies are curled around each other. "I don't have any milk saved, so he has to come to me when he is hungry."

Ellen looks confused at my words for a second. "I still have milk, I never dried up. I'll be able to feed him."

Just the thought of someone else nursing my baby has me quickly shaking my head. "No, that's alright," I say, trying to find a polite way of turning her offer down. "Besides, he won't nurse from anyone else."

She looks like she is about to put up a fight, but Levi gives her hand a tight squeeze, making the fight run out of her.

"Alright," she whispers.

"I'm happy we were able to solve this problem amicably," Alpha Seren says, standing up. "How about Ellen takes Noah tomorrow, that way everyone can get situated."

We nod our heads, Jesse pulling me up from the couch and keeping me close to his side as we walk out of the room. Liam and Taylor are waiting for us in the hallway, quickly making their way over to me when they see us.

"What happened?" Taylor says, his concern clear on his face. "Is she really his birth mom?"

"Yeah," I say, allowing both of them to pull me into a comforting hug. "But she isn't taking him away. She just gets to spend the day with him once a week."

"That's... That's not so bad," Liam says, his blue eyes full of sympathy. "At least she isn't threatening to run away with him."

His words make me tense up, the fear that I had been trying to keep silent becoming louder.

"Jesus, Liam," Taylor says, shooting him a harsh glare. "Why would you say something like that?"

A look of contrite comes over the other omega's face. "Oh god, I'm sorry. Sometimes I just say things without thinking."

"It- It's alright," I say, forcing the words out. "But I think I am going to go up to the room, lay the boys down."

It is easy to see that Liam is upset with what he said, but he and Taylor nod their heads.

"Jesse," Alpha Seren calls out, walking over to us. "Can I steal you away for a moment? I would like to go over some things while everyone is still getting settled."

Jesse looks like he is about to protest, his arm tightening around me. Knowing that he is worried about leaving me alone after the emotional turmoil we just went through, I lean up, pressing a kiss to the underside of his jaw.

"It's alright, we'll be waiting for you when you get back."

After a minute, he finally gives a slow nod of his head, giving me a chaste kiss before leaving to follow Alpha Seren back into his office. Looking around, I see that Taylor and Liam are chatting with the others, leading them downstairs and leaving me to wander up to my room in peace

Despite the boys having their bassinet to sleep in, it makes me anxious to be away from them. As gently as I can, I set them down on the bed, stripping down to my boxers and t-shirt before slipping in beside them.

They are both still fast asleep, most likely will stay that way until one of them wakes up hungry. Looking at them, it is easy to see that they are like night and day. Noah's hair is coming in dark, the few wispy strands curling around his ears, and his eyes are becoming darker with every passing day. His skin is a few shades darker than Beckett's pale complexion that is so similar to my own. Beckett still looks so small when he lays next to his brother, only about a month old. He is losing his scrunched up alien look and starting to look a lot more human. His eyes are still newborn blue but are marginally lighter than what Noah's had been. His hair is barely there, but enough for me to see that he is going to have my hair color.

Despite their differences, I can't help but think both of these boys are mine and Jesse's. It doesn't matter what genetics say or that Noah will grow up without our features. Both of these babies fill my heart, and to lose either of them would break me.

Leaning down, I press a soft kiss against each of their cheeks, pulling them closer as I relax against the mattress. It doesn't matter how tired I am; I can't fall asleep. My eyes remain fixed on my babies, hands brushing along their cheeks and hair. Jesse joins me a little bit later, silently climbing into bed. It is only when he wipes away the moisture on my cheeks that I realize I am crying.

Not saying a word, he wraps his arms around me, keeping our babies safe between us. This is how it should always be, the four of us together as a family.

Because I don't know if I can survive losing anyone else, and I will fight till my dying breath if someone tries to destroy us.