It was well past midnight when the phone rang, and Conor's name lit up the bedroom. His voice was muffled, and I could hear how hard it was for him to say the words. 

"Automatic weapons?" I asked, confused. Since when did wolf packs need such heavy artillery? The call ended quickly, and I immediately shook Nico, who was sleeping beside me. "Nic, do we still have the bags?" 

 Two narrow slits opened and peered at me, and seconds later, he sat up groggily in bed. "What the fuck Bel, what time is it?" 

 It had been a few months since I was patched up by Conor, and the wolf and I had hung out quite a bit. The fact that Nico and I still spent time together wasn't a problem; he still referred to him as "the cute boyfriend" when he talked about him. Dominic wasn't the jealous type either, and as long as I was happy, he was happy. Things were going a bit too well for me to dare enjoy having both of them in my life. 

It was still a bit tense when we were all in the same room, but for some reason, Nico always took a step back in Conor's presence, and he didn't seem to have any issue with that. "I might have someone who wants to buy them," I replied cautiously. 

 He rubbed his eyes and furrowed his brow when he met my gaze. "Who?"

 "Conor's pack." 

 "Lovely," he sighed tiredly. "But fine by me, we'll finally be rid of them." 

 "Wake Mass and Marie; they're waiting for us." 

 Twenty minutes later, we slid into a poorly lit turnaround with Marie's song of choice blaring through the car windows. The parking lot was dark and desolate. Here and there, a few rusty cars were left behind, a real luxury abode for the creeps that lurked around at night. 

 Nico parked a healthy distance from Conor and the wolves gathered around him. It didn't look very familiar; the atmosphere was tense, and Conor looked restless. I recognized all three of them. The young one I had met a long time ago, Conor's stone-faced dad was there too, and then that idiot whose name I always forgot—the guy who was stuck like glue to his Alfa and radiated little brother complex. 

 Marie and Mass got out first and slowly began walking toward the gathering. Dominic glanced at me as I stopped outside the car to light a cigarette. "Looks serious." 

 "I trust Conor," I replied and started walking toward the wolves, all four of them staring me down. I straightened my back and took long drags on my cigarette, my gaze directed at Conor 

Damn, he looked so fucking hot. I was here for him, and I would behave. "Nice little pack you've got there, Hayes," the idiot teased as Marie and Mass joined Conor. 

 "Be a good boy and learn to sit and speak when he is told," Marianne chirped, showing her sharp fangs before blowing a big pink bubble with her gum. 

The double-sized wolf struggled to restrain himself but received a warning glance from his alpha. The situation must have been worse than I thought if they allowed themselves to be teased by tiny girls. 

 My steps slowly moved toward the group; my long hair fluttered in the wind, and I felt my confidence grow. Dominic walked beside me; Marie and Mass were killing machines, and if they did anything to any of us, they were done for. We all knew that. The young insecure Belmont was no longer there; I was stronger than ever, and I wanted them to see that. 

 Dominic stopped next to Marie, and I stepped forward in front of Conor, who gave me a brief nod and a warning look. The whole situation was absurd; what the hell was going on, really? "What do you need?" I asked curtly, taking another drag on my cigarette without even looking at any of the others. 

 Conor met my gaze but seemed to wait for someone else to say something; maybe it was some rank thing, but I didn't care. He was my alpha; the others could go to hell. 

 "I heard you were back," Ruadh's voice rumbled tiredly. "We don't want to involve you more than necessary, but Conor says you have everything we need. Let's get it over quickly and painlessly for everyone's sake."

The realization that we had the upper hand made me smile. I stepped closer to Conor and grinned slyly up at the man my heart was pounding for. "You don't really have a choice in this matter, Sir. As Mr. Big Mouth just said, we're a quirky little bunch, but we have his back, whether you like it or not." 

 With those words, the three other vampires stepped closer to Conor, who licked his lips and met his father's gaze. "Do you trust them, boy?" he asked, and Conor nodded. 

 "You've seen what I can do," I replied, "and you've seen what he means to me. You're his family, and that matters to us. He helped us, and now we help him." 

 "Bel..." Conor muttered warningly, as if he didn't want me to say too much, but I continued anyway. 

 "I get that you don't trust leeches or whatever the hell you call us. But if you need more people, just say the word." I glanced up at Conor with a glint in my eye. "And we'll follow his orders." 

 My wolf rolled his eyes, and I heard an amused sound from Cian, but the other bastard just looked more and more irritated. "It's simple; you need weapons, and we're pretty bored these days," I grinned, winking at Mass, who grinned back in response. 

 "Do you have them with you?" Ruadh asked, glancing at the car. 

I turned around and nodded at Dominic, who took Alex with him and opened the trunk. 

"You burned a hole in the pot last time you were here, boy," the rather intimidating wolf continued, and I understood why Conor had respect for him. He had a certain aura about him, he was calm yet deadly. "We don't distrust you for what you are, but for what you've done. But we can always change our minds." 

 I nodded slightly; suddenly, I didn't feel so big anymore. I had never wanted to stir the pot in Noxwood; that was never my plan. Both Conor and I had suffered because of Clocksworth's actions, but fundamentally, it was my thirst for blood that had ruined everything. Thanks a lot for the reminder. 

 "Done is done," Conor muttered, taking a step closer to me. "Time to grab the bags and go."  

Ruadh nodded, and the other wolves went to inspect the contents. It didn't take long before they returned, each carrying a bag over their shoulder. "That's more than enough," Cian replied, relieved, and once again I wondered what kind of predicament they had gotten themselves into, but I knew it wasn't the right time or place to ask. Conor would surely inform me eventually. 

 "Are you staying, son?" his father asked before handing me an envelope. 

 Conor shook his head and glanced at me. "Don't do anything stupid, Princess, I'll get in touch," then he turned to follow the other wolves. 

 I watched him wide-eyed, did he really think I would let him do this alone? "Excuse me, Mr. Alpha," I said quickly before Ruadh started walking off. The large wolf turned and looked down at me with an raised eyebrow. "Marianne is an excellent spy, Masson is fast, and Dominic knows quite a bit about explosives." 

 "And you?"

"Belmont is the boss," Masson grinned, "he's learned all about strategy and that kind of stuff from the real big shots."

Ruadh watched us thoughtfully us for a long time, and something told me he needed all the help he could get. "We'll be in touch," he said briefly before leaving us alone in the darkness.

We were ridiculously out of place in the group of wolves and kept to the outskirts. Conor looked distressed, and I wondered if it was because his mom and sister were threatened or because we were here. 

He had given us a quick briefing over the phone; a neighboring pack had started an open war against theirs, and the threats they had made were no joke. A house had already burned down, and they suspected more would happen soon. That was all we were told.

Dominic and Masson were restless; they were uncomfortable, and I knew they felt the same way I did. Marianne, on the other hand, seemed to be handling the situation well and was as unbothered as ever. She had even found someone to chat with.

The weapons they had bought from us were for the guards placed around their borders; no unauthorized person would get in. That didn't explain why we were here, but when Conor finally showed interest in us and walked over, I hoped we would learn more. 

"I want you to keep an eye on what's happening in town. We'll stay within the borders, so you'll be our eyes and ears out there. Understood?" I nodded silently in response and waited for him to continue. "You can go now."

I licked my lips and studied him for a moment; his muscles were tense, and he looked like he hadn't slept in days. "Is that all?"

"Do I need to beg?" he growled, and I couldn't help but feel irritated.

"You know, we don't have to do a damn thing for you. We have money to spend and parties to go to, but we came here because you asked us." Dominic groaned loudly in the background and dragged Marianne and Mass to the car to give us some space.

"You don't have to do a damn thing for me, sweetheart. Do whatever you want; I have other things to think about," Conor muttered, glaring at me. "Get yourself wasted on blood, or whatever the hell you're craving, but don't come crying on my shoulder afterward."

His words were a hard blow, and he knew it. I searched for a hint of remorse in his eyes, but they were icy cold. "I'll call if we see anything," I muttered, "you don't need to worry; we won't come back and disturb you again."

"Do you promise?" he asked bitterly, and I stood speechless for a moment before turning on my heel and walking away.

The car was silent as we drove down the gravel road leading toward the buildings on the horizon. Everyone had heard him. "He's probably just stressed," Masson mumbled comfortingly, and I nodded slightly.

"Whatever," I muttered, "we follow orders. Marianne, you check the pubs; Nic, you take the clubs, and Masson, you can do whatever the hell you want."

Nico's knuckles whitened around the steering wheel, but he didn't say anything. We both knew he would take the hit when we got home. I would brood over everything that had happened for hours, and he would listen patiently until he had enough and yelled at me. 

The funny thing was that Dominic had started to like Conor; he often asked about him nowadays, and there were no ulterior motives behind the questions—mostly curiosity.

"Sure, Boss, sure," Alex sighed, glancing at Marianne, who was staring out the window.

"I think the wolves have bitten off more than they can chew, sweetheart," she mumbled absentmindedly, "and I think your wolf knows it."

"What do you suggest?" Dominic asked curiously, glancing over his shoulder.

"I suggest we take them down before Conor's pack has to do anything," she replied. "I'll find out where they are, and the four of us will sneak in at night, kill their alpha and his closest men, and then the war is over."

War, I muttered to myself. We couldn't escape violence and death even here. "What do you say, Bel?" Nico asked cautiously, placing a hand on my thigh. I took his hand and intertwined my fingers with his while I considered it for a moment.

"We can't do it without asking Conor; I promised to follow his orders."

"So call him?"

I nodded at Mass but already knew what Conor would say. It wasn't our fight, and they probably wanted to solve it themselves. They didn't want to look weak in front of the other packs, and I sighed heavily as I explained this to my little family.

Dominic groaned loudly, "We've done stuff like this before; we've followed codes of honor left and right, but that hasn't helped anyone, has it? Call Conor, hear what he thinks, and if he says no, we'll do it anyway?"

I glanced at my phone and hesitated to call; he hadn't been particularly friendly, but at the same time, I understood why. He was stressed and worried; maybe I could help him and solve the mess before it got out of hand.

"Stop here," I mumbled. The car stopped abruptly, and I got out to find some peace and quiet to collect my thoughts.

Three signals went through before he answered, "What?"

"I have an idea, but I'm not sure you'll like it."

"Probably not, but go ahead, sweetheart. It's not like I have anything else to do."

I sighed heavily and started walking along the gravel road. "Conor, I love you," I began, "don't you understand that we're doing this because we want to help you?"

"You have five minutes, Belmont, then I have to go."

"Thanks," I muttered, pressing down all the emotions that formed in my heart. "We can take them down ourselves—me, Mass, Marie, and Nico. We've done it before. In the dark, without them knowing who we are. We take down their alpha and his closest men, then the others won't dare to do anything. Without a leader, they're just a bunch of losers." 

There was silence on the other end, and I let him think for a moment before I continued, "give me a chance to make up for all the crap you've had to deal with because of me." I fell silent again, allowing the words to sink in for a while, but soon my patience wore thin, and I squeaked out a "please."

"You do what you want, Belmont," he finally replied.

"So...?"

He sighed heavily, and I could almost see him running his fingers through his hair, regretting everything he was about to say next, "When do we leave?"

"We can come and get you now," I answered quickly.

"Stay where you are; I'll come to you."