Hank POV

Mikkeli is so worried I literally feel tension pouring out of him.

The milk was spilled this morning when Patrick called and informed me that Kyle had disappeared for almost three days and later was found when Roseanne reported that Rob had found him in heat, and they both took him into my cabin to ensure his safety.

Mikkeli almost broke the chair when he heard about that. Driving here, with all of them, including Hannah and Hayden, was extremely nervous. But I also had to come to make sure Mikkeli won't kill anybody.

When I park in front of my previous house, I see Patrick, Dalton, and Roseanne sitting on the porch. Patrick is formal, as always, and Dalton and Roseanne are a little nervous.

"Why is he still here?" Mikkeli screams as we all leave the car.

"He was still in heat when we came here; we didn't want to move him; he seemed weak. We couldn't ask the doctor to check on him yet since the doctor of the second territory is an unmated male," Patrick says. "But Kyle is okay, Alpha."

As we all go inside the house, we instantly see Kyle sitting on the bed; he looks drained and pale. The stench in this place is evident; that was very intense heat. Rob is sitting in my only armchair with baby Carson in his arms. He doesn't look well either; dark circles are under his eyes.

"Kyle, are you okay?" Hannah goes in his direction and hugs him. "You alright?"

He nods and snuggles more into her, and Rob stands up. Mikkeli growls when he comes closer to his mate and brother and gently puts the baby in Hannah's arms.

"Kyle will only need a warm bath, some painkillers, and a long sleep," Rob says, and Kyle manages to smile faintly at him.

"What the hell happened?" Mikkeli growls again; if the look could kill, Rob would be dead by now.

"I started my heat, so I locked myself in my room. But the packhouse was empty when somebody came in, took me, and dumped me close to the training grounds. My smell was intensifying, and he said that all unmated wolves would soon come. Sometime later, the patrol wolves arrived, they smelled me, and they wanted to... Rob came before they could do it, made them bleed, and took me here."

"Why were you here with him? What the hell happened after?" Mikkeli keeps pushing.

"Nothing happened," Rob answers.

I wonder why he seems challenging and tries to push Alpha's buttons?

"That was a mating heat, so I had to stay here with him because Kyle is my mate," he says in a stern voice.

"O shit!" I can't stop myself, and everybody looks at me, totally confused. And I know I just know that Mikkeli will make me accountable for that.

Sometimes later, we all sit in one of the rooms in the packhouse on the second territory; tension is clear. Mikkeli keeps sending me and Rob death glares; honestly, I understand him. I want to choke Rob myself for keeping something so important away from me.

When Hannah enters the office after taking care of Kyle, we all sit with gloomy faces. Rob, Mikkeli, Hayden, Dalton, Patrick, Roseanne, and I.

"Clearly, I will lead this conversation," she says. "I expect Alpha and Beta of Black Moon to fulfill what they promised me some time ago. Kyle is alright, he is just exhausted, and he needs sleep. So Rob, care to explain to us why you have kept your mating bond secret from everyone?"

I see Rob squeezing his fist, but his eyes are full of sorrow.

"Roseanne and I had a younger brother," he says slowly, "who was killed a couple of months ago because he was among those who had raped Kyle."

Mikkeli doesn't launch because Hannah holds his hand in a stronghold, but I see his eyes shifting like crazy; his wolf Byron is out for blood. Yet Hannah's calm stance makes all of us not do anything. Luna's presence is overwhelming. Lunas are peacekeepers, a perfect balance to the usually very violent tendencies of pack wolves, especially Alphas.

"So, Rob, can you explain to us everything from the beginning?" she continues in a soft but stern voice.

Kyle POV

The warm water gave my sore muscles a moment of peace. I took a shower with Carson, and he was so happy. I think it was the first time he was smiling directly at me. My beautiful baby has changed, he is chubby and healthy, and he keeps crying half of the night, but somehow I have managed to endure it better recently.

"Did you like it when Rob was holding you?" I ask him when I finished dressing him.

I'm so tired I hope he will show me some mercy and falls asleep soon, the door gets open, and Hannah enters.

"Rob is still alive, but it was a very close call. I literally had to stand all the time between the two of them."

"What has he told you?" I ask, a little wary; I know how overprotective Mikkeli can be.

"Everything, including causing your labor. This was a serious matter. I respect your privacy, but this was a very serious matter considering all the circumstances. Why have you kept it away from us?"

Another knock on the door, and Mikkeli with Hayden enter and sit. My family looks at me, and seeing how much they care makes me emotional.

"I guess at the beginning it was too much," I say" Giving birth, almost rejected,  and after Rob told me why he didn't want me. I didn't want you to worry. I keep you all worrying so much. And I guess I didn't want the situation to escalate because..."

"Because you wanted to keep Rob safe from your brothers," Hannah finishes my sentence, and I nod.

"Rob told us about your last argument and your loss of consciousness," Hayden says, and I look at Mikkeli, scared; he notices it and spits:

"I wanted to rip his heart out, but don't worry, the son of the bitch is safe as long as he is unrejected. But I am still contemplating about making his life a living hell."

"My point is," Hayden continues, "has anything else happened except this occasion? Has he ever put you in any risky situation?"

"No, we've argued from time to time; he could be mean. But except for his rejection attempt and that one situation, he never made me feel threatened," I say.

"But he made you cry, didn't he?" Mikkeli says, and I stick my eyes to the floor. "But are you sure that during your heat, nothing happened?"

"I wasn't raped; he didn't try to force me to do anything. Of course, we did some sexual things, but it was to make my pain bearable."

I look at them shyly; they look concerned, again concerned because of me.

"Kyle, you are an adult, we can't, and we don't want to pry into your private matters, especially concerning your mating. But Rob mentioned that you asked him for rejection. Do you still want to go through with it?" Hannah asks.

Honestly, I don't know. Rob made me feel pathetic, insulted me, and made me suffer, but still, he also showed tenderness and care, and I... he is my mate, and he probably will always be the one thing I will always want. So much separates us, yet I can't bear it to turn over and walk away.

I shake my head and feel tears on my face; Hannah stands up and hugs me.

"Okay, we will let it be for now." She says, "Are you sure this family isn't cursed or something?"

The three of us look at her, confused.

"I mean with some spooky mating bond's curse. Three brothers and so many mating problems, plus the history with your father's mate."

We smile, but that's a bitter laugh. We all suffered, struggled, and lost things we will never get back. And finding a mate should bring you calmness and bliss, not pain.

"Get some sleep, Kyle, I'll take care of Carson, and Mikkeli and Hayden have a job to do. Your mate is safe; we also sent him to shower and bed."

"And what about his health? I mean, he was taking silver?" I ask, genuinely concerned.

"The pack doctor will see him, but his sister says he will be alright; they took extra care of giving him the right dozes. And after you both get your rest, you both will come back with me to the main territory. After what happened, it's clear you are not safe here." she says.

I gulp; I guess I was too tired to think firmly about the fact that someone was trying to kill me or at least to make me suffer in one of the most horrid ways.

Celia POV

Children are making a snowman in front of the packhouse. According to Rose, it will not last long because this first snowstorm of this year came too fast. Uncle David helps them with the snowman; some of the pack members look at it with a hint of suspicion but don't protest. The warrior who is my uncle's guardian today lies in his wolf form close to them. It seems so peaceful. I sit on the porch stairs just admiring them.

"You want some hot tea?" Marc comes closer with a cup in his hand, I take it, and he smiles.

"Now, when I had to move out from your quarters, it's a little lonely in the evenings," he says.

"We miss you too. But, with you around, it's more... cheerful," I say.

He smirks and takes a sip from his cup; my uncle comes closer to sit beside us.

"It's kind of calm lately," uncle says David. "It's rather not in Jordan's style to do nothing for so long."

"We had some disturbing attempts," Marc says, and I get tenser instantly. "There were two attacks on patrols, but now casualties and someone left poisoned some dead deers in the forest. We have killed two hunters, and one of our allies reported that he spotted them close to his pack."

"What about rogues?" I ask, "They have tried this before?"

"True, but it's not easy to find rogues eager to take part in suicidal missions, they have one shot, and they miss. But they must stay somewhere in the closest human cities because they know we can't attack them there openly even if we find them."

"And are you looking for them there?" uncle David asks.

"Yes, but very cautiously. We can't put searching teams in too much danger, can we?" Marc responds.

"If you want my opinion, Terry is preparing something. He was always like that, calm and cautious. Jordan likes blood and is good in open fights but not preparing the ambush. But I know one thing for sure. He's not happy that Terry is the one in charge."

"How was Terry after I left?" I ask; I don't even know why I want to know.

"Cold and closed-off, we both knew you were alive, I guess. But we've never talked about it. I wouldn't say I liked looking at him after he had allowed doing that to you. But I also had to admit that he was a good commander, if you can describe him as one. He didn't like unnecessary risk and was cautious about innocent bystanders. And except for what happened to you, he wasn't a fan of cruelty. It was always a clean kill when he was killing or commanding attacks. Clansmen have faith in him. Unlike Jordan, he didn't lead with fear but with respect."

"It's never easy," Marc says. "I don't try to make any excuses for him nor you, David, but sometimes the only way to deal with a devil is to become the devil himself."

I shiver at that. Terry was my brother for 15 years. After our parents disappeared, we no longer had a relationship like siblings, he started behaving more like my guardian and started having secrets from me, and yet I felt safe with him. After my rape, he was the only person except for uncle David and Nina to tell me that it wasn't my fault and promised to bring me the head of my rapist. He was the one who ripped the knife from my hand when I tried to cut my wrist. That's when I told him about my pregnancy. And he kept quiet about it, telling me also to keep quiet. Then, one of the clanswoman who took care of me after I tried to kill myself noticed my pregnancy and started rumors. And when it reached my grandfather, Terry backed away as if it wasn't his problem or responsibility. He ignored my pleas for help and let them almost kill my daughter and me.

"I just wonder, did he hurt me because he hated me or because our grandfather told him to do it?" I say, interrupting the silence.

"Does it matter to you?" Marc asks, and he and uncle David look at me intensively.

"I think yes. Because if he did it because pressured, that makes him a coward, but if he did it because he believed I had deserved it, that makes him a monster."

Marc doesn't respond because his eyes get glazed, so I know he is talking through mindlink. Now that I'm mated, according to Hannah, I will be able to do that too after some time when my connection to the pack will get stronger. The same as it was in her case.

Soon a wolf comes running to the packhouse and drops in front of Marc something.

"What's that?" uncle David asks as Marc kneels to pick up the package.

He is cautious as he sniffs.

"The patrol spotted someone on the border, the same place Kyle killed the hunter sometime ago, and saw them leaving it on purpose."

I take a sharp breath; there is a letter and something shiny inside, something I recognize immediately as I feel cold sweat all over me.

"It's from Nightingale; apparently, he suggests a meeting on neutral grounds so we could discuss some family matters," Marc says, reading the letter.

I kneel to pick up a shiny object that fell from the parcel. It's a pendant, a small iron dragonfly on a plain chain. I remember it very well; it was a present. My father gave it to my mother on their first date. She liked it. She loved it very much. And she was wearing it the same day when my parents disappeared. 

Sorry for the slight delay, but the chapter is here :)