Mary.

That was what I thought as I ran through the woods outside the pack house. I had to see Mary.

Mary. Mary was a vamp-halfie. Half-vampire, half-mortal. No-one quite knew who her father was, but once, when Daniel had first met her, he had whispered "Diallo?" and rushed away as soon as possible.  From what I could tell, Richard Diallo was a vampire. Duh. Mary had fangs. When she wanted to. But Richard Diallo was a dead vampire. He had gone mad a while back, before my time, impregnated a few dozen women, then killed himself. No-one, to this day, knew why. From that day, I saw her as Mary Diallo, even if she was Mary McKenlly. 

Mary was my best friend. We had met at a vampire bite party, one of the special events in a vampire's calendar. A vampire bite party was a way of going "Ha! We have a new swarm member! Suck that, werewolves!" Yeah... Protocol demanded we show up, but werewolves didn't like it all the same. Mary was living in the swarm house downtown from the pack house after her fangs first came through. She was a respected halfie in the supernatural society, mainly because we could smell the Diallo blood in her, even if it wasn't official. Anyway, Mary and I had hit it off splendidly. I gave her my number, and we became best friends. 

Mary McKenlly not only knew lots about vampires but also knew a thing or two about weres. More than your average halfie. That was because she was mated to one. His name was Jude McKenlly. He was alright as far as the dicks in this pack go. They met at the pack party where I survived the bite. They mated a year later. Jude died a couple of months after that. He went out one night for a run, the next morning he was found outside pack border with a silver bullet through his head. He was killed by loners. Packless werewolves. Mary was devastated. The mate bond links the two mated minds together, and if one mate dies, most of the time the other will follow soon enough. 

Only reason Mary didn't kill herself? She was pregnant. She hadn't told anyone except Jude and me. She locked herself in her room, and only let me see her. She moved out of the pack house and rented herself an apartment in town a month after Jude's death. The pack house had too many bad memories. She kept me up to date with what was happening, and she had invited me over to her place a week ago. I hadn't managed to get away from the pack in ages. But now I could. 

I ran. Through the woods and into town. I didn't care if anyone saw me. Due to the law of conservation of mass, my wolf was only as big as my human form. Which wasn't that big at all. I was about the size of a large fox. I could probably pass as the said fox, I was even a similar colour. I had a reddish sandy colour pelt, with a white underbelly and muzzle. Keira had even said that I was pretty. My eyes, however, would give me away. They were an icy blue, just like my human form. Most wolves, weres included, had brownish or tawny eyes that became more yellow once they shifted. But I didn't. Another way I was different. 

Before I knew it, I was in town and running through back alleys to Mary's apartment. She rented a small flat on the fifth floor of a block of council housing. She hoped to get a job and move out as soon as possible. Both the packs and vampire hives had offered her money and shelter, but Mary was an independent woman. She didn't like getting help from other people. I shifted into my human form and wrapped the cloak I've been carrying in my teeth around me for modesty. I walked around to the front of the building and pressed the button for her apartment. I only had to wait a moment before the buzzer replied with a: "Hello? Mary McKenlly here. Who is this?" I smiled sadly at the use of her mate's name. I knew she was still upset about his death and it hurted to use his name. But she was a widow and had no intention of ever re-marrying. So she kept his name. I replied.

"Hey, Mary. It's Wren. I was hoping we could talk?" I heard something shifting around and then she said:

"Wren! Sure, come on up!" she cut the connection and I made my way up the stairs. I was fit enough not to take the elevator. I stood outside her door and pressed the doorbell. I heard her moving, then bumping into something and swearing. I chuckled. She opened the door and grinned at me. She ushered me inside and then gestured to a chair. "Take a seat!" she said. I did. I took a moment to study my surroundings. I hadn't been to Mary's apartment before. It was a quaint little space. There was a bathroom, a kitchen, a dining table and chairs, and a small bedroom door going off to the side. It was nice. Then I looked at Mary.

She was wearing a maternity dress that stretched taut over her large stomach. It was a peachy colour with small flowers embroidered on the hem and sleeves. It was cute. Mary had her fair blond hair up in a simple ponytail and she didn't have any makeup on. She looked tired. I said so. She smiled.

"I am. This baby," she rubbed in a circular motion on her belly. "Is giving me a hard time. They won't stop kicking and shifting!" she sighed and repositioned herself on the couch. "So, what brings you here?" my face fell as I remembered. She noticed. I felt one little, involuntary tear slip down my cheek. Mary took this sadness as the fact that I might just want to see her. She heaved herself up and opened her arms. "I'm not as small as I was before I got pregnant, but I can still hug you" I smiled at her humour and wiped my tear away. I got up and walked to go give her a hug.  She was large, but I could still get my arms around her. As she held me, I felt myself crying some more. I told myself to stop it, that it wasn't necessary. She felt me crying into her shoulder and pulled back. She pulled us both down on the sofa and grabbed a box of tissues from the coffee table. She gave me one. I took it gratefully and dabbed at my eyes. She sighed and said "Wren, what happened at the pack? You never get any free time, so I know that something happened" I also sighed and whispered:

"He said no. Daniel said no" Mary frowned for a second before her face cleared slightly. 

"He thaid no to the mating ball, didn't he?" she said softly. Her slight lisp on the 's' signified that her fangs were out. She had to be angry for her fangs to be out. Either that or she hadn't had her supplements yet today. I nodded. "That bastard! He can't deny a werewolf hiss or her right to their mating ball! It'ss pack protocol! It'ss- it'ss- it'ss" she spluttered, outraged. She made as if to stand, but she cried out in pain and clutched her stomach. She fell down onto the couch and held her baby bump. I was up in a supernatural flash. 

"Mary!" I cried. She groaned and breathed in through her nose sharply. I knew enough to know one thing. "Mary, you're in labour!" she gave me a grimace and gritted her teeth.