Noah POV

I have no idea why the hell I lost my cool today, but I did.

Tyler get near me during the training, and he had it all over his face that he was pissed off. I was sure it had to do something with Sam becausehe also looked at me that time with a cocky smile.

Tyler called me a cheating bastard and said that Tonya didn't deserve a mate who sees her only as a meal ticket and Charlie should also be free from an abuser like me.

"The way he behaves around you clearly suggested that you have done something to him," he spat in my face, and I should have controlled myself better. I lost it and punched him, and then I couldn't stop. All my and Linus instincts kicked in; no matter what, you can't stop fighting until your opponent is moving, and no matter what, you can't back away when the fight has started. We would've managed to hurt each other seriously if the rest of the warriors hadn't interfered.

Tonya asked questions and was irked because we did not answer them. Sam took extra care in whipping me; I'm sure he would've liked to make it as painful as possible but couldn't risk angering Tonya more. And yet, in some of the faces that were watching my humiliation, I've seen content. No one is happy with the fact that I may be a future Luna of this place; no one is content with the fact that their precious Alpha is mated to a dirty rogue.

I was in the forest for many hours not only to blow my steam but also to check if I could find a place where Damon wanted to meet with me. Fuck, I can't ignore him, but I also can't go to Tonya. I know that she is not cruel, but I'm scared. I'm afraid of what she will do when she finds out the truth about me. I could run away, maybe, but I don't want to. Yet maybe running away would be better than her tossing me away.

I go downstairs; something happened during the pack's dinner because Tonya has been locked in her study with Terry, Hayden, Kathy Carson, and Sam for a very long time, and it's very late. I haven't seen Tyler, but his two brothers glare at me when I pass them near the living room; no words are exchanged.

I open the door to the room with the piano, not surprised to see Charlie playing; he seems to do it all the time for the last two weeks.

"You are alone? Where is Rosie or Pearl, or the kids?" I ask, sitting next to him.

Since we came here, I have talked with warriors of the pack, but I would call it more like small talk and nothing more; I noticed that Charlie usually has spent time alone or with those two or Kathy's kids, and they seem to like each other.

"Rosie went for the run with other omegas, and Pearl sleeps in her room. She and Chandler have a conversation today, and she will reject him," he says, not stopping moving his fingers.

I sigh; I like Pearl; she is actually one of the very few people I'm sure are honest with me and genuinely like me. Another werewolf with life turned into a mess because of the mating bond.

"I heard you got into the brawl today; Tonya wasn't happy," he says, and I smirk mockingly.

"I guess I can't do anything right. She didn't mention that I was whipped?" I say, looking at him.

At least he put some weight on since we came here; he isn't any longer so pale, and the dark bags under his eyes are long gone. My eyes move down, looking at his stomach and small baby bum already visible.

"May I?" I ask, and he follows my eyes and bites his lips, a bit unsure, but nods.

So I reach my hand and gently touch his stomach, making small circles on it. There should be some baby movements soon; Charlie stops playing.

"It's yours or Daniel's," he whispers, making me stop my caressing. "That night in the packhouse, I asked him not to touch me because our bond was still active, and I was still in pain because of rejection, and you would feel me being touched by another. But he didn't listen; he made me suck all his friends one by one, but he was the only one who came inside me, a couple of times but the only one, at least that night."

"Don't think about it, it was not..."

"Why did you reject me? Because I'm a whore or because my father helped hunters to kill your parents?"

I sigh and turn around, not to see his tears. I keep repeating to myself over and over again that I did it because he is dirty and weak, but the truth is because of cowardliness. Accepting him meant protecting him from Daniel, Beta, and others, standing against my Alpha. We would be at the bottom of the pack, which scared me. I became a warrior who was allowed to live in the packhouse, did some bad shit to make it happen, and was scared as hell of losing it and going back to the gutters of the Shadow Pack.

I certainly don't want to admit that to him and answer his question, but I don't have to because the door to the room gets opened, and I see Tyler. I instantly stand up and take a protective stance in front of Charlie, shit I feel Linus's fury, and my claws and canines extend.

The guy looks at me, and next to Charlie, I wish to know what is going on in his head.

"Kathy has decided that since tomorrow morning, you and I will have a morning patrol shift with her every day. She intends to make us both suffer," he says bluntly.

"And Tonya?"

"Tonya will be busy for the next two or three days. She, Carson, and Anne have been working on something. But she has also decided you are forbidden to eat anything, Charlie, without her smelling it first."

"Why?" I ask.

"Because someone has put silver in his drink today, not enough to kill him, but enough to make sure he will miscarry."

I gulp; what the fuck? I look back at Charlie, who is dumbfounded and scared.

"I just hope it wasn't you," Tyler says, turning around.

"You fucker..." I start walking in his direction with a clear intention of shoving his words back into his throat, but Charlie's grip on my hand makes it impossible.

"Noah would never hurt me," he says, firmly holding my hand.

Tonya POV

Terry is slowly presenting the investigation results we have obtained for now.

First of all, the creature, who was already buried, turned out to be an omega who disappeared over nine years ago. He was turned into that due to some experiments, probably medical.

We haven't for now been able to identify the logo my sister saw, probably because her vision wasn't completed. But we have a solid ground to think that, unfortunately, humans can have a part in this, mainly because they used human gangsters to try stealing the body.

Norton hasn't provided much information except that he got rid of his wolf in exchange for spying on the Murrow Clan. We all agree that knowledge of the Murrow Clan's movements was essential if somebody wanted to hide somewhere around Alaska. If the kidnapped omegas had been transferred to the North. All those rogues disappeared there; our adversary had to know the movements of the closest hunter clan operating in this region to stay in the shadow.

Norton was paid, of course, by someone with fake ID details, but he was placed in his job three years ago, which more or less happened sometime after omegas and rogues started disappearing.

My father's investigation in the North brought only one discovery: in no man's land close to the three packs that had disappeared, very close to human town Prescot, they found an abandoned underground warehouse, very huge but made with silver as a part of the construction.

"We keep searching for the logo," I say. "But because Rosie isn't sure perfectly how it looks, we have too many possible picks. We will try to find any connection between human companies who have similar logos with Prescot or Norton accounts or the land with a hidden warehouse. But it will take lots of time. For now, we are only sure that there are no tights towards werewolves or hunters," Terry says. "And you both vouch for it?"

I nod, and so does Chandler.

"OK, Tonya, the results of your blood research?" Terry asks, and I stand up.

"When Rosie mentioned how Norton's wolf died, it made me think about uncle Hayden. He was poisoned with the Red Venom, a substance that causes the feral shift and bloodthirst for a wolf; those poisoned with it usually die. But my uncle survived but lost his wolf. When Rosie said that Norton's wolf chose to die, I wondered if the same happened with my uncle. Most of the victims of Red Venom don't know that they are poisoned until the venom in their veins starts working. But my uncle's wolf was aware of being poisoned and probably allowed himself to die to save him. That made me think that the substance used on Norton might have something to do with Red Venom. I checked the samples from him, my uncle, and the data from Howl Pack. There are actually traces of benign tumor cells in all of them, and as you know, werewolves don't contract this disease. In other words, Carson and Anne are sure they have contact with the same substance that left these marks in their systems."

"And since your uncle was only exposed to Red Venom, it logical that Norton and the girl from the Howl Pack were, too," Chandler finishes, and I nod.

"My father managed to get us special permission, and we will be provided with the full analysis of Red Venom. My uncle will help and serve as the test subject alongside Norton."

"What for?" asks Terry, sipping his brandy.

"We want to find some kind of vaccine which will cause the allergic reaction for those who were influenced with Red Venom; that way, hunter clans will be able to determine how many former werewolves have hidden between them."

"I think it's a good idea," says Chandler." My mother will agree, and Anne wants to work alongside Carson. One of my people also agreed to serve as a human subject."

"We will also need blood," I say. "Human blood since it's one of the crucial ingredients of Red Venom. Carson also asked for help, so I want to let my Gamma Nelson, a very experienced pack doctor, participate in this work."

Chandler nods and asks:

"The Council won't send you additional men?"

"I don't want additional men from the Council because I want to keep it a secret as long as possible. The fact that someone has infiltrated your clan makes it possible that they have infiltrated The Council or different packs. We can't do this alone, but I will allow only those I know and trust to work on it." I say in a stern voice.

"I will ask my mother to send here our best technician from poisons; he is old, and as far as we know, whoever has started it, started it max 15 years ago, so our technician can't be a spy."

"Anything else?" Terry asks.

"My father has asked my sister to go where they found the warehouse to smell something. My Gamma Jake will go with her alongside three more warriors, but I think that for the transparency of the investigation, one of your men should go alongside Terry. But pick wisely because we are talking about my sister's security."

"I'll go myself. Kathy and Alistair can take charge of joint training, and if you allow, I wish to increase the numbers; I want all my people to train with yours."

We both look at Terry; as an arbiter, he has a bit of a final word in all of it. He takes his time to think; I'm already used to the fact that he has to consider everything carefully.

"I wish not to leave Pearl alone, but I think it's a good strategy to proceed," he says, and I see Chandler's reaction; his face gets dark instantly.

"How is she?" he asks, looking neither at Terry nor me.

"Sad," says Terry in a cold voice as he stands up.

I know he has the same mixed feelings about it as I do. Before the rejection, we were convinced that it was the best option. We all kept telling Pearl repeatedly that rejecting Chandler was the right thing to do, and now, when it finally happened, we are not so sure anymore.

I look outside, spotting Charlie playing with Hank and Sonya as Kathy and Nelson talk with each other. I almost broke Tyler's neck yesterday when I learned he had told Charlie about silver in his drink. At least my cousin had enough decency to come to me and admit it by himself. He feels guilty that his aversion toward Noah caused him to take it out on my pregnant mate.

On the other hand, Noah got lost in the forest this morning very quickly after patrol. Kathy mindlinked to me that she did her job and almost manhandled Noah and Tyler during her patrol.

Chandler says goodbye, and I stand up, and so does Terry. I want to talk with Nelson before he goes, but at the same time, I don't want to interfere with his special moment with his family. So I go to the gym, punching something will help my mood and decision. 

I punch the bag when Sam comes into the gym as always cheerful, ready to keep me company and make me feel better, and offer short sparring. We exchange some punches as he tries to win with me. In his dreams, maybe, I think, smirking. Sam is strong, no one can deny him that, but he has no chance against me no matter how hard he tries.

There, quickly, he lies under me, restrained from any possibility of movement.

"You could have at least tried to be mean and tease me but longer," he pouts, and it actually makes me giggle, but I don't lessen my grip on his forearms.

"You could have at least eaten less for dinner; your movements would be quicker," I say.

"Your words pierce through my heart, Alpha," he whimpers comically, and I stand up, letting him go.

"How are negotiations with hunters going?" he asks, standing.

"Good, I would say normal. I think I can even say that I like them. Don't you find it strange?"

"Maybe a bit, a common ground can unite enemies," he says, accepting the bottle of water I give him as I go to sit next to him.

"And how are your mates? If it's not uncomfortable for you to talk about them?"

I sigh as Sam looks at me, concerned and a bit unsure. Is he afraid of asking me such personal questions?

"I guess things are still complicated between us," I say, not looking at him, knowing he doesn't trust them and is just worried about me.

"Everything will get to work, sooner or later," he whispers, squeezing my palm and making me smile.

"And don't worry, there is a long line of people who will kick Noah's ass if he makes you cry," he finishes.

"Not Charlie?"

"Charlie is, in all, rather anonymous; I doubt he could hurt a fly."

I nod and stand up;  for a moment, he looks at me as if he wants to say something more but finally gives up and stays silent. So I go back to my study to talk with Nelson. He quickly assesses the situation with the hunters and agrees to help. But he also informs me about something I clearly haven't seen coming, no matter what. Something that will finally give me all the answers to what my mates are hiding from me.

Later that evening I, Noah, and Charlie play board games in our bedroom, joke around, and try to talk with them again about their past. Charlie goes silent, and Noah very skillfully changes the topic of conversation. 

I was honest with them since the beginning. I gave them many chances to be honest with me, yet they don't intend to. I can't be the only one who puts effort into this. I wish they had told me anything by themselves, but since they don't intend to, I have to be the one to do it because Noah spends too much time in the woods; because none of them told me about rejections. After all, Charlie turned out to be pregnant. After all, someone tried to poison him. After all, none of them look directly into my eyes when I ask questions.

They are my mates, and I love them, but I can't longer ignore their dishonesty.

And because Nelson has found a way for me to gain more information, possibly all the information, without extracting it from them by force or trickery, I think I will use it even though it will be dishonest towards my mates.