Song: Lord of the Rings Ambiance by Ambient Worlds

After spending the day running around with Alpha Draco's kids, I was exhausted. Never before had five pups managed to slaughter all of my energy with their games and trickery. I was almost ashamed to say it, but I felt like an asthmatic by the time the moon decided to show her face.

I blamed the injuries.

Flora, Sky, and I were silent witnesses to their pranks and silver tongued thievery of sweets. It was beautiful and somewhat comforting to see how untouched the Lycan Pack was by the ongoing war. Known for their brutal savagery, it came as no surprise to learn only one band of fools were brave enough to attack. Any future assaults were halted when the Lycan Pack dismembered their invaders. Their body parts were scattered at their borders as an unspoken warning.

A warning that had more than worked judging by the carefree nature of every Werewolf in this Pack. I was a little envious to see how weightless their shoulders were compared to my group. On the other hand, I was over the moon to finally be among a Pack that wasn't uptight about Dark Witches or prophecies. This place gave us the shred of normalcy we'd all been missing for so long. It felt good to be able to recover somewhere that brought back the nostalgia of old Pack life.

I'd almost forgotten how safe I could feel when I wasn't worrying about everything and everyone.

"Bye, Vivi!" Little Lucy, the youngest of the five pups, waved at me for the fifth time since her mother came to take her pups home. I watched as she wriggled in her mother's arms, trying to get a better angle to wave goodbye for the sixth time. The blue eyed pup was resilient. Testing her mothers patience to the last straw while she worked to wrangle her four other rowdy pups. All five of their silver heads shined wonderfully under the moonlight. I watched them fondly as if they were my own. "Bye, Florie! Bye Sky!"

To the delight of the fair pup, we waved goodbye for the sixth time. She finally stopped struggling in Luna Cora's arms and slumped into her motherly embrace.

Alpha Draco emerged from the shadows, growling playfully as he nipped at his pup's feet. The large black wolf dropped to his stomach, swishing his tail side to side and bared his teeth. The older four boys screamed, shoving each other out of the way to run home like their mother told them to.

"I threaten them with no dessert and they barely flinch," Luna Cora grumbled. "Big Bad Wolf does a few tricks and they're suddenly faster than the wind. Unbelievable."

Alpha Draco nuzzled his Mate's leg, a wolfish grin stretched over his large mouth. Lucy brushed the fur of her fathers head before complaining about wanting a bath. It made my heart fill with warmth to watch their casual domesticity of family life. Seeing that, yearning for it too, made my back hurt a little less throughout the day. The pain was almost nonexistent come moonrise.

Well, that and I'd been taking little bits of strength from Leo as well so...

Yeah.

Alpha Draco flicked his tail towards the small bunker hidden within the thick trees. I nodded at his silent order and he turned tail to usher his family home.

The time was coming to meet Hemlock Pridesong.

Sky's brown wolf bounded ahead, chasing the drops of moonlight lighting the earth's floor. She'd been quiet all day but not in a worrying way. If anything, I got the feeling that she was simply content with just being here. Words weren't necessary to be spoken aloud from her so Flora and I never pushed it.

"I think those pups just convinced me to tie my tubes," Flora muttered.

I laughed at her admission, suddenly wondering what type of mother she'd be. In my mind's eye I saw her as someone that was free reigning but still somewhat firm. She'd definitely be one of those mothers that wouldn't let her pups get anything over her. Flora's mind games wouldn't allow them to weasel out of the truth no matter what. Flora would be the type of mother to preach safe sex. There was no doubt in my mind that she'd be the mother of scarily informed pups with absolutely zero filter.

"I like them," I replied. "They're sweet. Rambunctious, but really sweet."

Flora's arm looped through mine and I felt her lean on me a little more for support. I took her weight silently, mindful of her wounded pride regarding her need for help.

"I can see it, y'know." Flora looked up at me, a hint of the old, sneaky Flora shining in her eyes.

"See what?"

"You, motherhood, having pups of your own one day." The corners of Flora's mouth curved into a small smile, almost masking the toll today's activities took on her. "They sure liked you more than they liked us."

"They liked you guys-"

"Yeah, but they listened to you." Flora grimaced as she rubbed her sore wrists. Whereas my superficial wounds were painless due to my gift and Leo, Flora was still burdened by the pain. What little herbs and magickal tools Pride was able to steal away from the kitchen were used to make my drink. It was a little potion to ensure that my heat and Leo's rut didn't kick in when we Marked each other.

Usually, newly Marked Mates spend hours in bed to complete the mating process. For Alpha's and Luna's, that time period was a little more uncertain. Some pairs stayed in bed for a day. Others faced one week of persistent bouts of sexual urges that could only be sated by their Mate.

I didn't know how Pride knew we'd Mark each other since we practically decided to do it in the heat of the moment. But I was grateful for his quick thinking nonetheless. The last thing we needed was to waste a week having sex while countless more died. Or, even worse, were stolen away to become loyal slaves by Rowena's followers.

"When we were in the river before meeting Fergus, my test had to do with pups," I said. "In the dream me and Leo had a son, LJ, and I was pregnant with a girl. Before I realized everything was fake and I had to go, those were the happiest moments of my life. Being with Alpha Draco's pups today reminded me of that."

Those blissful moments that weren't even real.

"In my test I was with my ex. I realized it was fake immediately because he was being so nice to me," Flora laughed. She heaved a relieved sigh as we reached the bunker. Before she could pull away I helped her lean against the cold concrete wall and collapsed next to her. We watched in silence while Sky toyed with a twittering bird, mimicking its aerial dance.

I'd never seen her so pup-like in the entire time I'd known her. Clearly the separation from Flora and I hadn't impacted her too greatly. According to Pride she coped by withdrawing into herself, observing everything silently. Interestingly enough, the tension between her and Reign was at an all time low in our absence. I had a theory that this was mostly due to Flora not being around.

According to the prophecy Reign was supposed to "fall" to Sky with Flora nearby. Therefore making his death impossible with a piece of the puzzle, aka Flora, missing.

"Venus." I glanced at Flora, a little shocked by the transparency of her gaze. All day she'd been putting up a strong front to take attention away from how much she was hurting. Now, under the cover of the moon, I finally saw her barefaced and exposed. "When you were dying, was it hard to come back for you too?"

I shifted uncomfortably, suddenly very embarrassed by her inquiry. Despite revealing memories to Pride and Leo regarding Hemlock, I held back the rest. All of the abuse, the moment I was broken, and my near death experience were my burdens to bear alone. I didn't want anyone to see just how weak I'd been while we were away. At least, not until I'd come to terms with it myself.

But, Flora was different.

Flora was the she-wolf I went to hell and back with. She was the mastermind behind our escape and she was the one that saw me at my worst more times than I could count. I loved Leo and I trusted Pride. But I wasn't ready to talk about this with them. Not yet.

"Yeah," I admitted. "I almost didn't, to be honest. I saw that white light and I wanted to go towards it."

"You saw a white light?"

"Yeah." I watched Flora's wavering eyes with interest. She nibbled her nude bottom lip while plucking at her boring white dress. She looked so much younger when she wasn't all dolled up. "You didn't?"

"No, my light was gold," she replied. "It was this warm, gold light. What do you think that means? Us seeing different things."

I had no clue. Not many people had near death experiences and lived to tell the tale about it. I saw a white light and Flora saw a gold light. Was that interesting? Probably. But that was a conversation for another time.

I shrugged, choosing to neither acknowledge or answer her question. My brain didn't feel like thinking too much right now. The last thing it, or I, wanted to do was converse on the mystery of white and gold lights in the afterlife.

"What brought you back?"

"Leo," I said without hesitation. "It was weird. At first, I was falling through all these nightmares. Some of them had Leo and even though I knew who he was, I didn't know who he was. Does that make sense?"

Flora hummed. "I had the same thing happen with my brother. I saw him and I knew I knew him somehow. But, it's like my brain wouldn't make the connection."

"Exactly. It didn't really kick in until Alpha Draco said his name." Then the rush of memories flooded my mind until all I wanted was to fight to live so that I could get back to my Mate. "What about you? How'd you come back?"

I caught her sideways glance and precautionary frown. Her freckled nose twitched as she swept our surroundings with pursed lips. Finding no one but Sky, Flora shuffled closer to me and asked, "Do you remember what I told you my brother did?"

Oh, you mean when he justly killed an abusive piece of shit that got away with the abuse because he was the son of an Alpha? Kinda hard to forget that one.

"Yup, I remember."

"Before I left for the prophecy I promised him we'd leave our Pack when I came home," Flora explained. "He's so paranoid that one day someone will find out what he did. Since I don't have any proof about the abuse, our Alpha would have the right to kill him for revenge."

A life for a life.

"Where would you go?"

"I don't know," she sighed. "We have some family in two other Pack's that we could ask to stay with. But it's not like they know us that well. I doubt they'd put in a word with their Alpha's and Luna's to let us join their Pack. If that doesn't work out then I guess we'll go to the city and be Rogue's."

Oh, hell no.

"Come live with me," I blurted out. Flora's eyes widened in surprise. I waved off her stuttering rejections that she couldn't ask me for a favor like that. "Seriously it wouldn't be a problem at all. Leo and I will take over soon when we go back anyway. I can induct you and your brother into the Moon Warriors Pack like that."

I snapped my fingers for emphasis, smiling at her watery gaze.

"You got me through the worst torture of my life. I'm not letting you become a Rogue. Not when I can do something about it," I said.

Flora opened her mouth to reply but stopped almost instantly. All of a sudden the sweetest, sugar induced scent washed over us. It was so strong that I couldn't even smell the surrounding woodland.

"Oh my Goddess," Flora mumbled. "I guess you were right about that silence between Reign and Ryan being more than the quiet."

Flora nudged my shoulder, nodding behind us. "Although, I think a kiss wasn't the only thing on the menu today."

Flora didn't bother stifling her giggles as I inhaled the sugary scent deeper. My jaw fell open when I caught sight of Reign walking towards us.

Reign was smiling.

I didn't even know that he could do that without being rude or sarcastic.

"Well, hello, Reign Christian Silverweaver!" Reign rolled his bright eyes at Flora's suggestive call, crossing his arms in his too big sweater. Funny. That black sweater was far too big for him but I could see it perfectly fitting another certain Beta. "Fancy seeing you here smelling like a snack of sugary sweets."

The closer he came towards us the harder it was to deny the obvious.

Reign was a Marked and fully mated wolf. I knew that, Flora knew that, everyone with a working nose knew that. No Werewolf smelled that good randomly without having had their Mate for the first time.

Sitting a few feet away from us, Flora and I watched him with our bold hyena eyes. He was content with messing with his ripped jeans but Flora wasn't having any of that. Perching her chin on her hand, Flora leaned forward and asked, "So, did you top or bottom?"

"You don't have to answer that," I butted in. Although, I was secretly hoping he would. What was Reign even like in bed? He was so uptight and stoic all the time. I couldn't even imagine him doing anything else besides laying there like a dead fish and just taking it.

A deep flush crept up Reign's tanned skin. There was a healthy glow to the slight golden hue that "miraculously" returned within the span of one day. His octagon glasses were fixed, finally having let Pride do so probably. His black hair, albeit still messy, was combed through and shined beneath the silver glow.

"True," Flora agreed. "But if you don't answer then we'll just have to assume. You give off major bratty bottom vibes so I'm gonna say-"

"I topped." Reign fiddled with a stick, drawing mindless patterns in the dirt. With his neck turned to the side I could barely make out the two puncture wounds from Beta Ryan's Mark. It was still red and swollen meaning it'd been recently bitten into repeatedly.

"Wow." Flora slapped my thigh, giving Reign an approving megawatt smile. "Beta Ryan must've thrown that ass back good because you are glowing! I don't think you've looked this well since before everything began."

Reign threw the stick leaving Sky to abandon her bird and chase after it. The corner of his lips twisted into a small smile and he didn't acknowledge Flora's teasing. This was the first time I'd seen Reign tongue tied with no snappy comebacks ready to go.

That only made the two of us laugh harder.

"What's that smell? Goddess, it's strong." I raised my eyes to meet Leo's confused stare. It was absolute gold watching him figure it out for himself. When he did he gasped, looking at me with wide eyes.

He got dick!

More like he gave dick.

We snickered through our Mate bond leaving Pride to fill in the silence with his own jeering. Leo gathered me in his arms, rubbing his nose alongside my neck. Old Spice and lavender. It was faint, but it was there.

Are you scenting me?

I like when you
smell like me.

Leo's lips brushed over my own and we shared a brief kiss. It was warm and it was sweet. Undemanding for more with just the right amount of lust.

Are you and Pride ok?

Yeah, we spent the
day hanging out.

He knows it's not
his fault anymore.

But I doubt that'll stop
him from trying to
make up for it anyway.

Typical Pride.

Alpha Draco's fruity scent joined our little powwow outside the bunker. With amusement filled eyes, he greeted each of us individually. Hearing him call the blushing wolf Beta Reign was almost too good to be true. This was Reign's Pack now. This was his home. After all this was through, he had no obligation to go back and put up with his father's wretched existence.

Beta Reign was finally somewhere safe. Somewhere he could smile.

"Alright, Hemlock's restrained so he's not a threat right now. I'll take Venus down and have you guys wait at the entrance," Alpha Draco said. "He'll only talk to Venus so I'll wait outside his cell just in case but everything should be fine. Sounds good?"

"Yes."

"No," Pride and Leo said in unison.

"Yes," I repeated. "I'll be fine down there. He can't do anything to me."

"I agree. Iron chains are to Witches and Warlocks what silver is to us." Reign's eyes flitted towards Flora and I for a brief moment. Something akin to remorse flashed over his eyes before looking at the two brooding men. "Poison. Whatever magick he has naturally can't be accessed as long as those iron chains are on him."

I felt more than saw Leo's glare directed towards Reign. His emotions of deep worry coupled with Pride's climbing anxiety were overwhelming. It was endearing, but not necessary.

I kissed Leo's Mark reassuringly before unraveling myself from his tight embrace. "I'll be fine. Plus, we need to know whatever it is he wants to say. What if he could help us with the Two Lovers? We could end everything, go home sooner."

"He's Rowena's son," Leo said. "You and Flora killed her. Do you really think he's gonna want to help the people responsible for the death of his mother?"

"He might if he finds out that she was never his mother."

That's a gamble.

One that I'm willing to take, I replied to Leo.

"Look, I know it's a long shot," I continued. "But I want to give him the benefit of the doubt. If he can help us, then I wanna try and get as much information as I can. I owe it to Gamma Fray to at least try to make him see the truth. And Pride, he's your brother-"

"Maybe by blood," Pride interrupted. "But Rowena raised him. She's his family. Not me and Mom. He probably wouldn't even hesitate to kill us if we met on the battlefield."

Pride-

I'm being realistic.

It sucks, but it's true.

Brainwashed or not,
he's the enemy.

"He's not my brother." Pride's voice was thick with emotion but his resolve was absolute. His mind was already made up when it came to Hemlock.

"Ok, well, I still have hope." I squared my shoulders and joined Alpha Draco at the entrance. "I want to try. We'll never know if we don't at least try."

Don't follow us down, I warned both of them.

Raising my chin in defiance, Alpha Draco and I descended into the darkness to meet Rowena's son.

Hemlock Pridesong.

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QOTD: Do you agree with Pride or Venus when it comes to Hemlock? What are your thoughts on Beta Reign and this new development? What do you think of Flora and Venus's relationship as well as Venus's offer?