When she woke up again she was at home, in her own bed. Leah was asleep at her feet, her breaths deep and even.

Her head ached fiercely, and as she tried to sit up nausea struck again. She ran to the nearest bathroom, stumbling a few times on the way. She had been expecting her wolf form, not her human one. The commotion woke Leah, who came to her side, and pulled her hair back as she retched up the last of what was in her stomach.

"What happened?" Natania asked when she could.

Leah handed her a glass of water from the sink before she answered. "You cracked your skull when you headbutted that wolf. You passed out. Alistair wouldn't accept their medic looking after you so the host got you a private helicopter back here and we carried you home."

"Ouch," she muttered, rinsing her mouth. "Is the other wolf okay?"

"Fine, she was dazed but got up just fine after we got you off stage. They didn't let her fight again though, even though you officially lost that fight, so Iris won it. You lost your title," Leah said with mock sadness.

Natania scoffed. "Fine by me."

Leah tapped her head. "By the time we got you here, there wasn't much for Elise to do. The fracture healed, but she thinks you'll have a wicked headache for a few days."

"How long has it been?" Natania squinted when she stood up, the lights were much too bright. Headache was an understatement. Leah took her hand and led her back to bed.

"Three days."

"That's not so bad," Natania muttered.

"Alistair is pissed, as usual."

Natania snorted. "Well, I'm sure throwing up all over the stage made me look very desirable to everyone else."

Leah laughed. "That's not all you did." Natania raised an eyebrow, then winced. Leah shook her head and shoved her towards the bed. "Get in bed and I'll tell you."

Natania complied, slipping back into the covers. Leah sat on the edge. "Rigaldo broke the no human forms rule to carry you out. No one was willing to fight him on it, especially after you threw up all over him."

"Oh," Natania groaned. "Lovely."

Leah took her hand and laughed. "Yeah, it was gross. He didn't say anything though, just dropped you off, showered and went to claim his title again."

Natania frowned. "We stayed long enough to finish the competition?"

"Took them that long to agree on what to do for you. Tristan was convinced you would die without treatment, but Alistair refused." Leah leaned back with a growl. "I told Tristan, you weren't Alistair's pack, and had a right to be treated, out of his hearing of course, but he didn't want to fight another alpha."

"Remind me not to headbutt anyone, ever again, please," Natania murmured, pressing her fingers against the bridge of her nose.

"Yeah, let's not."

They sat in silence for a few moments until Natania asked, "why am I here? I thought he barred me from home." Her voice was clouded with sleep and she yawned.

Leah squeezed her hand. "He brought you here, dropped you on the bed, and sent Elise here. They didn't want to move you after." She tapped her fingers. "He didn't say anything about me being here, but he hasn't come up to see you."

"I didn't expect him to," Natania murmured.

Her mate leaned forward and kissed her forehead. "Go back to sleep, we can talk more in the morning."

~

The next time Natania woke up the sun was up, her room uncomfortably bright when her head was still pounding. Leah was nowhere to be seen as she slipped out of bed. She showered and changed into fresh clothes before heading downstairs. Alistair was sitting at the table, drinking coffee and reading a newspaper on his laptop.

Natania frowned, it had been a long time since she'd seen him look so normal. She caught the glimpse of a headline that drew her attention. Children Abandoned at Church Reunited with Relatives. She winced at the reminder of what she had done, but at least someone had taken them in.

Natania hesitated in the doorway, unsure if she should make her presence known or just leave. "I can hear you," Alistair said without looking up, making the choice for her.

"I didn't want to interrupt," she murmured.

"How's your head?" he asked.

Natania pulled out a chair and sat before answering. "I'm fine."

Alistair closed his computer and looked at her, raising an eyebrow. "Did you make a choice?"

Natania leaned back in her chair. "No," she said simply, pushing back the urge to say more.

His gaze darkened, irritation creasing his brow. "I wasn't joking," he growled, then paused, contemplating. "I'll give you one more chance, in light of what happened. We're hosting next year, so it will be the perfect time." He scowled. "I expect you to perform better in familiar territory."

Natania sucked in a breath. "We're hosting?" Their territory wasn't exactly a good place to host such a competition, it was a long hike to get anywhere, and they had too many wolves to risk disrupting the territory with hunting competitions.

"Yes, we'll use the valley where the battle took place." Alistair took a sip of his coffee. "I don't like the idea of other packs hunting my territory dry so I might see about bringing in some breeders. They can test their mettle hunting rabbits in this undergrowth."

"You'll want to host in the summer I suppose," Natania said.

He nodded. "Yes, I'm not going to deal with deaths on my land."

Neither of them said anything further. Tension filled the air and Natania stared at her hands. They hadn't had a civil conversation in months and she didn't want to set him off again. She glanced at the time, just after ten am. If she left then, she'd make the second half of classes.

Her head still hurt, but it was better than sitting there, waiting until one of them exploded. Natania slid out of her chair.

"Your room has been cleaned," Alistair said suddenly.

Natania glanced at him, unsure what to say. Was that his way of saying she could come home? As much as she enjoyed sleeping in the same room as Leah, their home was a lot smaller than she was used to, and she always felt like she was intruding on Naomi and Skylar.

She grasped the top of her chair, leaning some of her weight on it. "Am I to stay here then?" She swallowed thickly and turned her gaze to the floor.

"For now," Alistair said. "The pack is getting suspicious." She didn't look, but could feel him glaring at her. "You are not to tell them about any of this. As far as they're concerned, nothing's changed." He flipped his computer open again. "I can't bar you from spending time with your second, but you are not together, you are not mates, and if I see or hear anything to the contrary, her entire family will be on the streets," he growled. "They're not particularly difficult to replace."

Natania swallowed again. "Yes sir," she muttered, shoving off the chair and exiting the house before he could say more.

Natania ran into Leah in the hallway as she headed to accounting. The brunette blinked at her. "You're here? I thought you'd be sleeping until tomorrow at least."

Natania squinted in the overly bright hallway. "I'm awake, and not interested in spending the day doing father/daughter activities," she explained.

"I guess not," Leah said with a sigh. "Are you sure you're okay? Maybe you should just rest outside."

Natania shrugged. "I'm already here. Might as well learn something."

"All right," Leah squeezed her hand, "but call me if you're struggling." She tapped her forehead, indicating the type of "call" she meant.

"I will," Natania promised. "Now go, you're going to be late." She gave Leah a light shove as the first buzzer went off.