Tonya POV

Pearl plays on the carpet with Sonya and Hank as Charlie rests on the couch with his head on my lap. He is still shaken by everything that happened during the last week, plus I know he wants to ask me about Noah but is too scared to do so.

Pearl actually asked about Noah, too, and I must admit the conversation with her made me feel two inches tall. I must say I underestimated her. She asked me why I let my anger control me; she pointed out that mates are the Goddess's blessing, and they should trust and forgive each other. She said that everybody makes mistakes but deserves a second chance, giving as an example her father, who had done lots of evil before turning a new leaf and has made lots of good since then. And she pointed out that fear is a bad thing to let you guide you.

And it struck me that she was right. Since my mates arrived, two things have controlled me: my desire for them and my fear of them. I feared being used or another betrayal, like what happened with Kathy's mate. I was and still am scared of not being in perfect control, of suddenly putting someone I barely know above everything else, including my pack and those who depend on me. 

That's why I took to accepting Charlie easier,  because he was submissive, not strong enough to pose any threat, and allowed me to look after him. Noah was the opposite; from the beginning, I felt like he was waiting for one of us to fuck this mating up. For me, it was a matter of if; for him, it was a matter of when. From the first moment, he decided I would never be honest with my love and never truly see him as my mate. 

At least the vaccine I invented turned out to be a big success. We managed to come out with a stable and safe substance and the correct dose to cause a very delicate skin reaction. This means that the vaccine can be given to everybody, and those who were werewolves and are now hiding among the Murrow Clan won't even know that they have been discovered. 

Anne, Carson, Nelson, and the guy from Murrow Clan turned out to be a big help, and we made an excellent team. Kathy's training of joint squads is also a big success; it feels as if we finally managed to create something and establish mutual trust in these three months.

Opposite is the situation with my defiant mate.

I can't talk about Noah, not for now, at least. I haven't seen him since I once again lost control and gave him a taste of his own medicine. Something I'm not proud of. He was so scared of me, of what I could do.

I look into the distance, feeling the guilt growing inside me. I shouldn't have done it, no matter what... When he blamed Charlie for being weak, I just wanted to show him for once how it was to be powerless and at the mercy of somebody else. Did I do it to revenge his behavior towards Charlie? Or did I do it because I was so angry and disappointed that I wanted to punish him for everything he did or, more likely, hadn't done?   

He is my mate; I would forgive him for his dishonesty, lies, actually, everything if only he had done that to me... but never to Charlie. That is probably the main reason Silver and I are so unbalanced in our feelings toward Noah. We love and lust for him; he is our mate, but at the same time, we want to rip him to pieces for hurting our second mate. 

But I don't have a right to be Noah's judge, and I'm painfully aware that I abused my authority on him; I pushed him too hard because no matter how much Noah claims he hates Charlie, I don't believe him. So I keep pushing because I want to force him to tell the truth to admit to his feelings. The problem is Noah is tough; no matter how harsh I go for him, he still refuses to tell me what he feels towards Charlie and me, honestly. He still refuses to admit if he wants rejection and be allowed to leave here and forget he met Charlie and me. 

"Charlie, can I ask you something about Noah?" I ask and feel him tensing instantly. 

He sits straight so that he can face me.

"Charlie, had Noah done anything during your escape before  you came to my pack?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, had he forced you to have sex with him, or had he hit you?"

Charlie lowers his eyes, making me worried; Noah denied any violence, but I also promised myself I would never resort to any violence, and I raised my hand on him three times. 

"Noah didn't need me. I was a burden during our escape, so when he said he wanted to have sex, I complied. Not because he forced me but because it was the only thing I could give him. And I wanted to give him something, stay longer with him."

"Because you were afraid he would abandon you?"

"A bit, because for Noah, everything was always about give and take, something for something. I know that I was just an easy fuck for him, but despite it, I liked it when he was touching me, so I thought, why not. If that was what he wanted and I liked it, so why not."

I sigh, not sure how I should feel about that.

"Tonya, for me, Noah's care was in a fact that he was feeding me, making sure we had a safe place to sleep every night, making sure that I wasn't in physical pain during our intercourses, killing Daniel, protecting me in your dungeon. When he took me from the Shadow Pack, he changed my life because I had already accepted that I would be used till the end. I know why he finds me unworthy to be his mate, but he was the first person who protected me in years. He said lots of mean things, but at the same time, he kept me safe, even though he had no actual reason to do so."

I reach to caress his cheek and gently pull him closer to kiss him. Our lips move against each other for a very long time before we stop to catch a breath.

"I love you, Charlie, okay?" I say, and he nods, "I love Noah too. I will get a grip soon, and the three of us will talk. But if he cannot love you too and accept our baby, he will have to leave."

"I don't want him to go," Charlie says quickly, and I smile a bit sadly.

"I don't want him to go either, but it will be his decision, Charlie. Silver won't take it easy, so that's why I keep postponing the final confrontation. I'm scared I won't be able to keep control if we go with rejection. I'm scared I'm not strong enough to let him go, but I can't force him. But I also decided it will be all three of us or only you and me."

The door opens, and Sam enters the room with the paper in his hand, bows, and sits beside me.

"I've checked what you asked, and it turns out that you were right. During the last ten years, the number of omegas going missing or dying in different packs around the country has increased significantly, but unfortunately, not only them. I also spotted the growing number of children under 6, deceased or missing." He says, "The Werewolf Council keeps a fair record of everybody born and died in every pack, but what about those born from rogues, or from disbanded packs, or those who live as lone wolves? I'm sure the final number must be higher."

"Not necessary, the case of disbanding the packs are rare, so are omegas going rogue, not to mention that children must have parents so..." I say

"Orphans don't," Charlie whispers, and I look at him. "I once heard one of Shane's Alpha guests saying that making the orphan disappear is the easiest way in the world because you only have to list them as transferred to another pack with a comment of being claimed to be a different bloodline and unless someone asks about a child specifically Alpha won't have to give any details."

"Still, the Council has to have a final list, but since this is a long list, cases like that can be easily overlooked. And physically, none is checking if the child who left one pack came into another," I say lowly as Charlie nods.

"Shane accepted many rogues into our pack, but he only allowed those who were strong; he also didn't order the killing of most who he hadn't accepted, but was giving them recommendations to be accepted somewhere else."

"How can you know that?" Sam asks, clearly disbelieving, as Charlie averts his eyes.

"The higher-ups in my pack used to talk around me without any cautiousness; they often left me alone in their bedrooms with classified documents on display."

I reach my hands to hold his, and he smiles sadly at me.

"And Daniel used to brag a lot about how our pack got rich because we sell rogues and weak members of the pack."

"Can you explain me more?" I ask.

"From what I heard, if you catch the rogue here and he isn't feral, you investigate him, check his origins, and offer a place to stay or just let him go. Most of the packs do the same; some packs kill the rogues. In my pack, just some were allowed to stay, but the rest weren't let go; they were transferred elsewhere. One of Alpha Shane's friends said he was doing the same because it gave him extra money."

I got stiff, selling the rogues, but to who? Who would want to buy rogues?

"My Luna was also doing in my pack a special charity, which basically meant that she was visiting from time to time those who have small children or omegas relatives and offered them money if they agreed to transfer them to a different pack. She claimed Shadow Pack doesn't need weak wolves, and they will have it easier elsewhere. It was merely a couple of cases a year, but it was regular. Also, for three years now, not one orphan has stayed in my pack; they all were transferred somewhere else as soon as their parents died. I even asked her to get transferred because I am an omega, but she didn't agree. Beta was furious that I dared to even think of leaving."

His words make me wonder for a long time. This may be a dead end, but if Shane and his friends are involved in something like that, it may be worth digging some more. And since Damon is also Shane's ally and so persistent on meeting me personally to discuss the treaty, inviting him here may not be a stupid idea.

I glance at Charlie and his no longer small baby bump; omega's pregnancies are shorter, so he has about a month or two to his due time. Since the last incident with his drink, there were no attempts of another poisoning, so I have to be very careful, and Noah... Noah will have a chance to prove himself; let's see if he takes it.

Sam stands up to leave, and in the process, he moves my mate a bit. I have him pressed to the nearest wall by his throat in the blink. Silver is extremely close and ready to kill because he made physical contact with my mate. I pant hard, feeling suddenly so hot as Sam looks at me, scared. The sensation of discomfort, which has been slowly growing inside me since the morning, is finally understandable.

"Charlie Pearl, take the kids and go downstairs," I manage to whisper even though Silver snarls dangerously; she doesn't want him to leave.

I feel her pushing inside me, like a beast ready to get loose anytime soon. It's painful; she refuses to submit to me so strongly for the first time since we shifted.

Pearl stands up and moves slowly in the direction of the door, confused. Charlie sniffs the air very eagerly; I see the realization of what is happening on his face. When they leave the room, I manage to let go of Sam, although I was inches from ripping his throat simply because he was a male in the presence of my mate.

"I've started my mating heat; you know what to do," I say, feeling the first wave of warmness and pain going through my body. Silver pushes to get control and be free to seal the bond, but I don't let her. She is strong, but so am I...

I can only hope that all the precautions my uncle, Kathy, and I prepared will be sufficient and our plan will work. But the hope gets crashed barely half an hour later, and all plans have gone adrift because Noah decides to take matters into his own hands and makes an extremely bold but foolish decision.