Lyndis lay awake in a guest room. She finished making dinner, fed the pups and put them to bed. She was able to hold it together that long. Lyndis stared at the dark jungle, concentrating on each hot tear that streamed down her cheek. She kept replaying it in her mind. Lyndis felt wounded, but not physically.

Her trust in him was shaken.

When she heard the front door open, Lyndis took a slow breath. She kept her back to the door, hoping he'd just leave her alone. She didn't want to see him. Her hopes were dashed when she heard his footsteps heading directly toward her. The door opened a moment later. Lyndis didn't move. She knew he knew she was awake; she made no effort to hide it.

Silence followed.

"Lyn..." Gaius spoke softly. She didn't turn or acknowledge him in any way. She made no effort to hide how she felt about him through the bond. She hoped it would deter him. She wanted him to leave.

Much to her disappointment, he moved into the room. He circled around the bed and stood over her. Lyndis turned away from him. Gaius sighed, and she felt the bed dip.

"Don't do this again," Gaius said, his tone was strained. Lyndis' anger was starting to resurface. She said nothing to him.

"Look at me." Gaius pleaded. Lyndis didn't move. Why couldn't he see she wanted him to leave her alone?

"Lyn..." Gaius spoke as she felt a light touch on her back. She involuntarily flinched away from him. His weight abruptly left the bed. It went quiet for a moment as she felt the rush of emotions from their bond.

"Are you afraid of me now?" Gaius asked. Lyndis grit her teeth hard. She wanted to tell him no, she wanted to be angry, but she said nothing.

"I'd never hurt you. You know that." Gaius said. The bruises on her arms said differently. She wanted to say something harsh to him, but still, she kept her mouth shut.

"I'm sorry... I didn't mean it, but you've been acting so damn stubborn." Gaius said. She could hear him pacing now. It was clear he was agitated.

"This hasn't been easy on me either." Gaius continued in a more agitated voice. Her anger flared at that. This hasn't been easy on him? She shoved up in bed and turned to glare hard at him. He studied her face as another tense silence fell between them.

"I don't want to fight anymore. Please just come to bed." Gaius said wearily. He looked tired. Not that she cared at that moment.

"No." Lyn snapped. Gaius just watched her.

"I thought we got passed this... You are my mate. You sleep with me." Gaius said firmly. Lyn's glare hardened.

"And what will you do if I say no?" Lyndis snapped back. Gaius stared at her for what felt like an eternity. A thick tension settled between them. She could feel nothing from him; he was shutting her out.

Slowly, he turned and left, closing the door behind him.

Lyndis stared at it for a time... she hated the look on his face. After a time, she laid back down.

Sleep did not come easy.

_

"Get up and get dressed," Gaius said harshly from the doorway. It startled her out of her restless sleep. Lyndis frowned groggily at him before she glanced to the window. It was barely morning.

"You have twenty minutes. I'll get them fed." Gaius said. A moment later, he was gone from the doorway. Lyndis pushed to the edge and sat there for a minute. A mixture of emotions ran through her.

Hate was starting to creep in...

Lyndis reluctantly returned to their bedroom and took her time dressing. Begrudgingly, she made her way downstairs. He already had the smallest two in their high chairs eating bits of eggs. The other girls hadn't come down yet, but she could hear them getting dressed.

He must have woke them too. Lyn looked over at him. Gaius was at the stove. He didn't look up at her.

"Are you going to go willingly?" He asked. The coldness in his tone disturbed her. Lyndis stared at him for a moment, before her gaze fell on the toddlers. They were watching her.

"Yes," Lyndis said bitterly. He finally met her eyes, and she hated that he looked relieved. She pursed her lips and sat at the table. The girls trickled down, and they ate their breakfast without complaint.

Lyndis didn't eat. She found she wasn't hungry.

"You have a long day. Please eat." Gaius urged with a gentler voice. His tone had lost the coldness. Not that it prompted her. The three older girls were looking between them strangely. Gaius sighed and looked to the young ones.

"You're going to like it at my brother's, I promise," Gaius said warmly to the girls. Not one of them replied. Lyndis glanced at them. All their expressions were pained.

Lyn knew they wanted to argue, but it was impossible to not feel the tenseness in the air. None of them seemed to want to add to it. She grit her teeth in anger.

Her resolve to get them out of there was strengthening.

The rest of breakfast went by with none of them speaking. As they walked out the door together, Gaius brushed his hand against her lower back. Lyndis moved away from him subtly, so the girls didn't notice.

She carried Adalyn, and he carried Sophie as they made their way down the dirt path beneath the jungle trees. The first secluded home they came to that was nearest to their own smelled strongly of Gaius' kin, but no one was home. The house was just as large as theirs.

The next they came to only had a fading scent of the previous owner and was the same style as the others. It seemed to have been vacant for some time. Lyn assumed this was the brother who moved to the Almo pack to take Alpha.

It took almost twenty minutes of walking to reach their destination. Aldous home was the largest by far. Several pups in fur around Sylvie's age were playing out front. They ran up to them the moment they noticed them.

Lyndis frowned as they pranced around the older three girls, sniffing and yipping at them. It was clear they were trying to prompt them to join them, but the girls just shirked away.

They moved closer to her and Lyndis cast a glance at Gaius. He was watching their reactions with a frown before he glanced to his niece and nephew.

"Go... they'll join you later," Gaius spoke in Portuguese. The pups emitted a whine but darted off to the house and went inside. Lyndis took a slow breath. She was trying to calm her nerves.

She didn't want to do this.

As they approached the door, Sylvie grabbed her leg. Lyndis paused and glanced down at her. Tears were flowing hard down her face, and she looked on the verge of losing it. Lyn set Adalyn down and knelt to grab Sylvie's little cheeks.

"It's going to be okay. I'll be back for you in a few hours. I promise." Lyndis said as she glanced toward Gaius who'd paused at the doorway. His jaw was firmly set. Sylvie started sobbing uncontrollably.

"Shh..." Lyndis pulled her into a hug and tried to comfort her, but she quickly became inconsolable.

"It's okay... you'll have Aurelia and Iyana. Maybe you'll have fun." Lyndis tried desperately. Sylvie started crying harder.

"Don't... leave... me..." She managed out between hard sobs.

Lyndis grit her teeth and shot a glare at Gaius. He was frowning now. Lyndis noticed other eyes on her and glanced to the open door. Luana stood there now, with two female adult pack members. They were obviously caretakers.

Lyndis glanced to the wide front windows. Five pairs of small eyes were watching them too. Lyn swept her gaze across Luana's pups. The oldest was male, around thirteen. The second two were clearly littermates, two females around ten and the youngest two that greeted them were also littermates, at least six by the look of them.

"Come on... give them a minute," Gaius said to the other girls. Iyana and Aurelia were staring at her now. Lyndis gave them a weak smile.

"Go on... we'll be in in a minute," Lyndis reassured.

Gaius moved back to grab Adalyn's hand and ushered them all into the house. Lyndis watched Luana's pups move toward the home entrance to greet them. No matter how hard she tried to force herself to be okay with this, she wasn't.

She let her inner rage burn.

She didn't want to leave them here. Lyndis gathered Sylvie into her arms and stood. Immediately she hated how thin she felt. Lyndis hadn't realized what little food had been doing to them. She was going to make a point to make them eat more.

Lyn waited until her crying died down, and until then, she simply held her.

"I won't leave you here. I will be back for you. I would never leave you... ever. Got it?" Lyndis said. Sylvie sniffled and nodded against her shoulder.

"I need you to be strong for a few hours. You need to eat... I can feel your bones. No more excuses. I told you why I need you to be strong, remember?" Lyn asked firmly. Sylvie nodded again.

"He'll be very mad at you if he sees how thin you are. Thibault and Serge too." Lyndis continued. Sylvie hiccupped a bit.

"So whatever they feed you, you eat. We're going to eat lots of desserts tonight too. I'll make you whatever you want." Lyn said. She was forcibly keeping her voice strong.

"Okay," Sylvie said. Lyndis took a slow breath. She hated this, but she had no choice.

"Are you ready to go inside?" Lyndis asked. Sylvie nodded. Lyn set her down, and she walked her inside.

One of the caretakers was in the kitchen cleaning. The other was trying to wrangle the now crying toddlers down the hallway. Lyndis grit her teeth in anger and glanced to Gaius. He was standing with his hands in his pockets. His nieces and nephews were talking in English to Aurelia and Iyana. Neither was speaking back.

Lyn moved toward him with Sylvie. Just as she was about to head after the caretaker that took the toddlers, Gaius grabbed her arm.

"They'll be fine," Gaius said reassuringly. Lyn had no idea what expression she had on her face to elicit that comment. As subtly as she could, she pulled her arm away from him.

"How long are they staying here?" Lyndis asked. It took immense effort to keep her tone level.

"I'll pick them up at four," Gaius said as he glanced briefly to Luana. Lyn glanced down at Sylvie. She was on the verge of tears again.

"Go on and say hello," Lyndis said as she tried to keep her tone warm. She looked over to the door she could hear both toddlers wailing behind.

It was making her wolf incredibly restless.

She wanted to go to them. Lyn glanced to Gaius again with an expression that showed exactly what she felt. She hated this, she hated him, at that moment. She was doing everything she could not to let the girls see it though. Luana came over to them with another young wolf in her twenties. Lyndis knew immediately this had to be Kiana.

"Hello again. I don't want you to worry... we'll take good care of them. This is our teacher I spoke to you about." Luana said warmly in English. Lyn glanced to the female wolf and offered a small smile. The girls were watching her.

"Hello." Lyndis greeted but was unable to keep the slight strain out of her tone.

"Nice to meet you," Kiana said in English. Lyndis looked to the girls again. They were all watching her.

The next five minutes went by with Gaius translating most of what Kiana was asking her about what they all knew. Lyndis was irked by the expressions the female was making. They had done their best with their circumstances.

Constantly moving and fearing for one's life wasn't conducive to learning.

Their goodbye was awkward. Lyndis went to go soothe the toddlers. She couldn't handle their crying anymore. When she left with Gaius, she felt a hard lump in her throat. No matter how hard she tried to soothe them, they had all started crying the moment she left.

"Lyndis... they'll be fine," Gaius said reassuringly as he tried to touch her again. Lyndis jerked away from him and glared.

"I really hate you right now." She snarled. Gaius was quiet for a moment, before he emitted a heavy sigh.

"I know." He said with a defeated tone. Lyndis couldn't even make herself care.

They didn't talk again until they reached the packhouse.

"I'll come by around noon to see how you're doing," Gaius reassured. Lyndis didn't look back.

"Don't bother." She snapped as she pushed through the door.

She hated dealing with his mother and her entourage before; now she felt like it was going to be insufferable. As she walked toward Carina's meeting spot, a girl in her early twenties surprised her by grabbing her arm.

Lyndis stopped and looked back at her. She had dark hair in a messy bun and was quite pretty, her breeding was above standard. Lyn immediately realized she was a caretaker and was quite obviously pregnant.

"Lyndis?" The girl asked. Lyn frowned and nodded. The female offered a smile.

"I'm Alipha... you can call me Lipha," Lipha said in Portuguese. Lyndis stared at her, still confused.

"You are assigned to me... I am to take you to Gita after we're done." Lipha explained. Lyndis stared at the female for a moment. It shouldn't have surprised her... it really shouldn't have, but Lyndis couldn't help but feel the slight sting.

She'd been demoted to a caretaker.

Not that Lyndis cared about status. She hadn't been in a stable pack in so long; she did everything anyway. Lyndis glanced to the doors that would have led her up to the meeting room, and though she knew they had meant it as an insult, Lyndis couldn't help the creeping sense of relief.

Cooking and cleaning were a far better alternative than spending even a minute with those females.

"I'm sorry..." Lipha said quietly. Lyndis glanced back at her and offered her a truly genuine smile. The first one she'd given since all this mess started.

"No...  much better," Lyndis said in her broken Portuguese, and she truly meant it.

Five hours passed by quickly with how busy they were kept. The only part of the day Lyndis had found insufferable was feeding the youngest Alpha children at lunchtime.

They had seven caretakers assigned to lunch, so she hadn't had to do much regarding cooking. She'd mostly been pushed off to dish duty. What she found so unendurable, was being bothered by three of Gaius' younger sisters. They'd tried to talk to her incessantly, especially at the fact that she was now doing caretaker duties.

They made comments about bow she was no longer a pack member. None of them were shy about talking about how shameful it was between themselves. They made it clear they thought she was in the wrong.

It had been a struggle to hold her tongue; she'd even bit herself a few times to keep herself from saying something... She was nearly trembling with rage by the time they left.

True to his word, Gaius had come to check on her. Lyndis almost found his expression amusing when he learned what she'd been assigned. She guessed his mother hadn't told him what her status was now.

He had stormed off before she could even ask how the girls were doing. She wanted to tell him to leave it alone, that she preferred this then being around his mother, but there were too many ears around.

She didn't think that would be appreciated.

By three Lipha was leading her out of the packhouse. She explained she'd show her where to go the first time, but afterward, she'd need to go on her own. Lyndis found she liked Lipha. She liked most of the caretakers, even though they seemed a bit uncomfortable to have her around. Lyndis knew they were a chatty bunch and particularly gossipy.

Caretakers knew just about all the pack secrets. Lyndis knew it would take some time to gain their trust. Their stiffness didn't bother her. They were warm females even so. A few of the older ones reminded her of caretakers they once had back in her pack... before everything fell apart. Lyndis glanced over at Lipha. Despite Lyn's struggles to communicate, she was patient with her. Lyn learned her mate was a pack enforcer. This would be their first pup.

"In there. I think she has a few other students with her today." Lipha said. Lyndis thanked her and was about to continue on alone when Lipha grabbed her arm. Lyn glanced back at her. The female's expression was odd. She glanced around them. It was clear she wanted to say something. Lyn watched her expectantly, but Lipha just let her go and offered an awkward smile.

"I'll see you on Wednesday," Lipha said warmly. Lyn frowned as she walked away.

She stood there for a moment, feeling odd by the interaction. Finally, she turned to make her way into the small structure. She really didn't want to see that old female. She hadn't seen her for a while now.

When she walked through the door, Gita was sitting at a table. Three other wolves sat around it. The only male was around fifteen she guessed, but the other two there were females in their twenties. But it was the fifth wolf in the room that took her full attention.

Yara sat in the corner of the room.

She offered a warm smile that Lyn did not return. It made Lyn's wolf bristle.

"You're late," Gita said in French. Lyndis said nothing as she sat down in an empty seat. Instantly, she knew this was going to be a miserable few hours.

The others cast her looks of contempt. Lyn wondered what everyone had been told about her. It was quite apparent no one was on her side.

Gita spoke quickly in Portuguese and did not give her any special treatment despite the fact that she was obviously behind. Even if Lyn had been completely mentally there, which she wasn't with her constant worrying about the girls, she doubted she would have been able to follow along.

Gita constantly made derogative comments about her. Yara was her apprentice and took over the lesson occasionally. She was no better.

Lyn had severely disliked the private language tutor she had before, but she'd take her back in an instant not to have to go through this again. At the end of the three hours, Lyn took away nothing from it. The moment she dismissed them Lyn stood and quickly left.

Yara had been making eye-contact with her the entire class, almost like she wanted to talk to her. Lyn didn't want to give her that chance. She felt exhausted both physically and mentally.

The moment her feet hit the path, she heard Yara shout from behind her.

"Lyndis! Wait!" Yara said. Lyndis continued on, she did not stop, but much to her annoyance, it didn't deter her. Yara fell into stride beside her.

"I'm sorry if that was too quick for you. I'll tell Gita we need to make you a separate lesson plan." Yara spoke in French. Lyndis wanted to roll her eyes. She just kept walking; there was nothing she had to say to this female. Much to her disappointment, Yara kept walking with her.

"Listen... I know maybe I came off wrong. I don't know what Gaius told you about us..." Yara trailed off. Lyndis gave her a knowing look. Yara grinned awkwardly.

"Everything then? Well... I just want you to know I'm totally over it. I just want to be friends." Yara said.

Despite Lyn's wolf being bristled by her presence, she did sound genuine. Lyndis glanced over at her with a frown.

"Why?" Lyndis asked. Yara glanced back behind them.

"I just... I don't have many, that's all." Yara said. Lyndis felt awkward. She didn't know what to say.

"Look... I am sorry, about what happened to your family. No one goes against our Alpha's word here... but there are a few of us that feel sympathetic toward you. Just know that..." Yara said. Lyndis felt even more uncomfortable. She wanted this conversation to end.

"Thanks.." Lyn said awkwardly. Yara just smiled. She swept a quick glance around them in an almost suspicious way, before she leaned in close to her and lowered her voice.

"Maybe I can help you. You just need to trust me." Yara said quickly. Lyn instantly stopped and cast her a hard look of disbelief. Yara quickly turned back the way she'd come.

"I'll see you Wednesday," Yara said loudly as she walked away. Lyndis stared at her back for a moment.

Did she really just say that?

Her wolf was instantly restless. She had no idea what to make of that exchange...

A soft breeze picked up and ruffled the jungle trees around her. Lyndis glanced back to the dirt path and hesitantly continued on.

The moment she left the central pack housing and entered into the dirt paths of the jungle leading out to the various scattered homes, she heard her wonderful 'escort' following along with her in amidst the foliage.

Lyn glanced over at him. The wolf made no effort to hide. His keen eyes were on her. Lyn did her best to ignore him as she made her way home.