It was the first time in a long time that Cole didn't feel doubt. It almost surprised him. Normally, hearing the news would have sent his entire reality spinning. But it had been a few days, and he still felt confident. He knew that nothing would or even could change. Kaia was his sister. That was just how it was.

That was how it would always be, even if David wasn't her father.

It was strange at first. There had been a horrible moment when Cole had envied her for not having David as a father. But then he realized that she had Jacob, instead. That was definitely not better, and he immediately felt guilty.

The rest of the world was the same. Cole was still spending time at the Mansion. More and more, he was starting to feel more at home there. He felt like Lionel's room was his own. He spent nights there sometimes. While Cole found it slightly frustrating, he and Lionel still hadn't gone farther than kissing. Instead, they just talked. For now, maybe that was enough.

But...Cole was a guy, and he couldn't help wanting more. That was an intriguing realization in and of itself. He'd never wanted more with anyone. But some days, it was all he could think about.

Maybe his mind didn't linger on how he felt about Kaia being only his half-sister because it was so full of Lionel. Or maybe it was because he just didn't think that family had anything to do with biology.

Time kept passing. Cole had somehow come to terms with a lot. He still had questions, but he was beginning to suspect that life was just spun with questions, on and on until the end of time. It was confusing, but if it wasn't, it would all unravel. If they had answers, it would lose its mystery. What is life without mystery? Magic is a lot less amazing when you know how the magician does it.

It was enough that his sister's connection with the Pack wasn't as scary to him any longer. He didn't feel like he was being abandoned by her anymore. It helped that he had Lionel now. Kaia was moving on, but so was he. Plus, there was Albert. As soon as he and Lionel had decided they were somehow going to stay together, Lionel had insisted that Cole meet Albert.

The kid was hilarious. He was the epitome of what a child should be. Albert was curious. He was funny. He was gentle. He was kind. He was sometimes a little bit of a jerk, but kids are selfish and you forgive them for it because they're adorable and don't know any better. "Stop, what are you doing?" Albert said suddenly.

"What?" Cole asked, staring down at Albert who was sitting on his lap. They were on a chair that Cole had positioned in front of a tall mirror.

"You're doing it wrong," Albert said. His little face was contorted in frustration.

"Are you sure?" Cole asked, his hands pausing. He and Albert had been hanging out all day. Lionel had randomly disappeared in the morning and hadn't shown up since. He'd said that he was going to come back, but he hadn't yet. Cole trusted him, though. It had looked important. Besides, he couldn't just leave Albert alone. He didn't mind hanging out with the kid.

"I'm sure. Lion does it better," Albert said. He'd insisted that Cole tie his blonde curls up into a bunch of tiny pony-tails all around his head. It was making him look a little bit crazy, but the kid wanted it, so Cole would deliver.

Cole thought about Lionel and felt this twinge in his chest. It was frustrating that the person he loved so much, the person that he'd only recently entered into a fully dedicated relationship with...well, he had this whole other life that Cole couldn't connect to. Cole wanted to know every part of Lionel, to be able to be close to him. But it was hard when...

He'd never before been bothered by his being human, but Cole was starting to resent it.

"He has more practice, I guess," Cole said. "I'll figure it out, though."

Albert squirmed, twisting around in Cole's lap. "Are you going to stay?"

Cole stared at him. "Stay?"

"You're not going to leave," Albert said, still staring at Cole. Man, he stared a lot. Do all kids do this?

But Cole realized that he was staring like that because he was scared. He seemed a little bit nervous, even insecure. Maybe not having what people deem as 'regular' parents had made him a little bit scared of the world. Not that Lionel did anything wrong. "I'm not going anywhere if that's what you're asking."

"Good," Albert said, settling comfortably on Cole's lap and reaching up to grab Cole's face. Cole was a little surprised at first but went with it. "I like you." Kids are adorably frank.

"Thanks?"

"So does Lion."

Cole found himself smiling. He was a kid, but he was observant. "I like Lion, too," Cole replied.

"Good," Albert said, twisting back around on Cole's lap and grabbing his hair. "Now do it like Lion."

Cole chuckled and set to work at undoing the pink and blue hair ties he'd already fastened so that he could re-do them like Lion. But as he did so, the door opened. It was Lionel, and he looked terrified. Cole was immediately on edge. He felt his body recoil like Lionel's fear was an immediate threat. But his heart lurched forward instead of backward, and he was on his feet immediately with Albert swept up in his arms.

"Are you ok?" Cole asked, approaching Lionel.

Lionel's eyes were panicked. But when he looked at Cole, they cleared for a moment. "You're terrible at that."

"What?" Cole asked.

Lionel gestured to his brother's hair. "It's really bad."

Cole frowned. "Hey, I tried my best. I'm new at it."

Cole watched Lionel exhale deeply and close his eyes. Albert looked at Cole like he was waiting for Cole to say something...or maybe that was just what Cole saw and the boy was just being a curious child.

"Are you ok?" Cole asked, propping Albert up on one arm and reaching out to Lionel. He cupped Lionel's face with one hand.

Lionel sighed and rested his hand on top of Cole's. "Thank god."

"What?" Cole asked.

"Thank god you're still you."

"Are you going to tell me what that means or do I have to ask?" Cole said.

Lionel didn't seem willing to share. He was holding something in. Cole frowned and slowly set Albert down. Albert immediately latched onto Cole's leg. "Tell me, Lionel. I'm here, ok?"

Lionel was afraid. Cole could see that. There was something wrong. But more than that, Lionel was afraid to be vulnerable. It was kind of unfair because Lionel knew that Cole loved him and that he'd do anything for him. It was also odd because Lionel had revealed his deepest secrets to Cole. This hesitance felt like a step backward.

"It's Kaleb," Lionel finally said.

"Kaleb? Please tell me that my dad hasn't shot him again," Cole said. It was mostly a joke, but Cole was secretly terrified of the idea. He was still afraid of his dad...of what he would or wouldn't do.

"He's—something happened to him. That bastard did something, and now he's like a different person," Lionel said.

Cole reached down and covered Albert's ears. The kid tried to fight it, clearly wanting to know what was going on. "By 'that bastard' I assume you mean Jacob."

"Yes, Jacob is that bastard. He did something with the weird mind powers and now we have to try to undo it. If we don't, I don't know what will happen. As it is now, Kaleb can't be Alpha. He can't—"

"Can't be Alpha?" Cole exclaimed. "What the hell did that bastard do?"

"I have no idea. But Cole, he looked me in the eye and basically told me that I shouldn't try and be with you," Lionel said. "That's not something he would ever say to me. He knows how much I...how badly I need you."

It made Cole's blood boil. For a second, he was furious at Kaleb for even insinuating that they shouldn't be together. Why? Because Cole's sister was Lionel's Luna? Because Cole's father was the one who shot Lionel's Alpha? Or...because they were different species.

But it wasn't Kaleb who thought those things. It wasn't Kaleb.

"I don't know if I can do it," Lionel said. He was staring at the floor. He looked up at Cole desperately, like he was searching for some sort of strength. His eyes were glistening. "I don't know."

"Do what?"

"I don't think I can look my best friend—my brother in the eye the way he is now. Worse, what if I can and try to talk him back to himself and fail? What then? Does that mean I'm not good enough?"

"No!" Cole took his hands from Albert and gripped Lionel's arms tightly. Lionel looked scared at the sudden outburst, but then eager like he wanted and was waiting for Cole's words. "This is above our heads. It's really above our heads. My sister has...mind powers." He didn't know what to call them, but Lionel's term seemed to make sense. "My sister has mind powers and lycanthrope can be mated to humans."

"What?" Lionel said. He said it like Cole was speaking in another tongue.

"Look, my point is that weird things happen. Impossible things happen. The best thing we can do is go with it and do our best. And if our best isn't good enough, we tried our hardest. We're only—" Cole stopped short. Human, he was going to say. We're only human.

"He's your best friend. If you don't do what you need to do, you'll regret it forever. So, you do what you can. You go try and help him, even if you don't think you can," Cole said.

Lionel's expression softened. He exhaled. "Ok."

"Ok," Cole repeated, releasing Lionel's arms.

But Lionel latched onto him. "Don't change, ok? Stay your strong, beautiful, brave self for me?"

Cole smiled. "I can do that." Lionel nodded and leaned into Cole, breathing deeply once he was safe in his mate's arms. They stayed like that for a brief moment before Lionel pulled away.

"I'll come with you," Cole said.

"No."

Cole's blood went cold. "What? Why?"

"I want you to stay with Al. I don't want my little brother anywhere near Kaleb until he's been fixed."

"Can't he go with Ben and Rosy? I mean I—"

"Please?" Lionel begged.

Cole hesitated, but Lionel was looking at him with those painfully beautiful blue eyes. If anything in this world was his weakness, it was Lionel's eyes. "Ok. I'll stay. Fine." He tried to make it clear that he wasn't happy about the decision, but Lionel didn't seem to notice. He was too worried about his friend and his Pack. 

"Thank you," Lionel said with an exhalation of relief. He leaned forward and kissed Cole, but it was fast. Before Cole could say anything more, Lionel was back out the door.

Cole stood there with Albert by his feet for a long time. It was the kid who finally said something. "I'm hungry."

Cole took a deep breath and knelt beside Albert. "Me, too. Let's go find something to eat, ok?"

He smiled. "Lion gives me ice cream when I ask for it."

Cole was unconvinced. "That so? Would he tell me the same thing?"

Albert hesitated as Cole picked him up. "Yes, but don't ask him." 

As he walked down the halls with Albert in his arms, Cole started to think. He should have known better. He didn't have a good track record with the whole thinking thing. Usually, it concluded poorly. Usually, Cole's thoughts would go down the darkest road possible. 

This time was no exception, because the more he thought about it, the more he hated being human. He was different. Time and time again, it had stained what should have been happy memories an ugly, dark color. 

Cole remembered his first kiss with Lionel. It had meant so much. Sure, it was just a beginning. But Cole remembered it like it was yesterday. When he thought about it, he could still somehow feel the softness of Lionel's lips on his. He could experience the taste of Lionel's mouth and the electricity of Lionel's hands on his body all over again. 

But then...Lionel's changing had been distorted. No matter how badly Cole wanted to deny it, there was something different about the two of them. Cole was human, and it affected Lionel. It dragged Lionel down. 

Worse, Cole's humanity kept him from truly connecting with the lycanthrope world. The Pack wasn't full of enemies any longer, but it wasn't full of friends either. People treated him like he wasn't there. It was probably because they didn't know what to do about him, and Cole couldn't blame them for that. Most Hunters' reactions to an outsider would have been worse. David's had been worse. 

Cole tried to understand and connect with them, but he had lost faith. He came to the Pack Mansion to see Lionel. They would talk and spend time together, but that was it. Every second they were together, Cole remained vividly aware that Lionel didn't belong to him. He belonged to the Pack, too. Maybe that wouldn't bother him as much if he belonged to the Pack, too. But they didn't want anything to do with him. 

Because--even if he'd refused to go on--to them, he was still a Hunter. 

He was...stuck. Cole thought he could change, but was beginning to realize that just wanting to change wasn't enough. It would cost him more than that. 

There was this bubble, though. Inside of it, nothing could hurt him. If he said anything about how he felt, it would pop. Suddenly, Lionel would have to try to solve all of his problems. Cole didn't want that. He just wanted to be in love. So instead, he'd just remain suspended. He'd hesitate. He'd try to avoid talking to his dad or to Kaia or to Lionel. 

He just wanted to be in love for a little while longer. 

But it's hard to stay in the bubble when your sister decides to visit your dad and your mate collapses into a magical coma. Suddenly, it's a lot harder. It's impossible. 

Hey, loves. Not dead, just in a writing coma. Sorry for the wait. <3
Short chapter and not that satisfying, but the next one will be soon (promise). And the next one will be satisfying. :)