Finn had been the first to return to the cabin. Lea jumped as the door slammed. He did a swan dive for his bed, the one in the middle of the three. It protested loudly and shook violently. 

"Don't break it or Dad's gonna make you build a new one." 

He rolled onto his back dramatically, "Why would I do it? He made the other ones."

Lea closed her book gently and rolled toward him, propping her face on her hand. "Actually, Hayden made that one and Mom made this one." 

"So... it's Hayden's fault."  It was less question and more statement. 

She smiled as he kicked off his shoes. "She's not the best with her hands." She set her book to the side, her eyes felling heavy now that she wasn't alone. The candle light suddenly a soothing lullaby. 

A smirk spread on his face, "Not what I heard." Lea gasped and smacked him with her pillow. He gave a 'oomph' as it hit his face.

"That's gross! And you shouldn't talk about your sister that way." She hit him again before curling it under herself. 

"I didn't say it! It's just something I heard and considering the plan..." He pursed his lips and looked away from Lea, crossing his arms behind his head. She scoffed as the door opened to reveal the subject with her shoes in her hand. Hayden floated to the bed with a smile and crawled on the bed, curling next to Lea, her head on her legs.  

"Are you drunk, stupid?" Finn snapped his fingers in her face. Lea chuckled, brushing her fingers through the blonde strands that covered her lap. 

"You're stupid. Shouldn't you be asleep, child?" She glowered with a sneer. 

He sat up astonished, "If I hadn't helped you, that ...Casanova would have been a party pinata!"

"Casanova!? Watch how fast I make you into a pinata!" As Hayden poised her lunge, Lea leaned forward, blew out the single candle and the room went black. "The hell?"

"I'm getting tired... and if Mom and Dad get back and find Finn dead, they'll be a little upset. So, maybe don't." Lea patted Hayden's shoulder as their eyes adjusted. 

"And the slut-dress can go back into the depth of your trunk. Don't be surprised if it disappears forever..." He hinted, standing to change into his pajamas. 

Hayden tensed, "I'll kill you if you touch my stuff! If I find any ashes, I'll bury you under the cabin and help look for your body." 

Lea furrowed her brows and nudged her sister, "Don't do that; he'll stink up the house." 

"He already does." she grumbled, standing over the trunk at the end of the bed and pulling out her pajamas. Finn mocked her as he pulled his blanket over his legs. 

Lea giggled, also lowering herself to lay down and leaving room for Hayden. "Mom bathed him this morning. This is as clean as he gets." Finn muttered something sleepily and Hayden snorted, crawling under the covers beside Lea. They sat quietly in the dark for a long time but as Lea's eyes grew heavy and her mind clouded, Hayden whispered her name. She hummed in response. 

"I think he's it." she whispered, euphorically. 

Lea turned slightly toward her, despite the darkness. "What? Chris?" Sleep had started it's seduction and the conversation was confusing enough to pull her from it's grasp. 

"Yeah... I-i think he's my soulmate, Le. "

Her breath caught in her chest subconsciously. She rolled to face Hayden fully, who laid flat on her back. "Your mate?" Lea's voice was so soft, she wasn't sure if she had said it at all. 

Hayden turned her head to stare at Lea, a bitter smile on her lips. "You know mates aren't a thing anymore. Grandma and Grandpa were the last ones. They were the only ones of their generation, and there hasn't been any since." Her tone softened with her gaze. Lea lowered her eyes to Hayden's shoulder, unable to hold the gaze.

Her sister wasn't wrong, but the truth still squeezed her heart. Viola's parents were the first mates in the pack in two generations and the way they loved each other was inspirational, however the way they died was more than crushing for the two girls, let alone the pack. Endless devotion that ended decades too soon. Their Grandma had been on a hunt when she was attacked by a cougar. The cougar was torn apart by the rest of the hunting party but her injuries were too grave and within an hour of returning to the pack, she was gone. Her mate held her in his arms for days, unable to let her go. His voice had faded after screaming and cursing the Moon Goddess for taking her from him. The pack had tried to bury her, to force feed him; to help him in anyway, but he was a hollow shell. When her body started to change for the worst, they knocked him out and buried her. He never woke up. 

Legend said the Moon Goddess had a lover that betrayed her for another woman and she was so heart broken she swore her children would never suffer like she did. She created souls so powerful, they were split between two bodies, and if they were to part from one another they wouldn't have to live in their misery. They could escape the pain she had endured for centuries. 

However, Mates had stopped appearing. No one knew if it was due to distance between mates or if the Goddess had changed her mind, but without mates or pups, packs were dying. Mates became a bedtime story for children. Lea was one of the children that felt a connection to the story, having seen her grandparents love firsthand but Hayden had witnessed the destructive nature of the pain they left behind. Hayden being the eldest meant she was most likely to find her mate but after getting close to Christian, she'd set her focus on him and him alone. 

"He's not my mate, if I even have one, but I think..." she paused as Lea met her eyes again. Their noses inches apart. "I think I can spend my whole life with him."

Lea controlled her expression but her stomach twisted and something bubbled in her throat. She swallowed harshly. "Denny..." Glimpses of Chris flashed in her mind; hugging and touching other girls, his spinning the red head at the party, the winks he sent to her as he leaned down to kiss her sister. 

"I know you don't like him... Actually, I know none of you do; Dad would turn him into a pinata. But tonight was so perfect, Le, I can't image living without him. " She paused for a deep breath. "We're going to leave..." Lea shot upright and Hayden followed, her hands grasping Lea's arm. "Just for a while! Until Mom and Dad will listen to us. If I told them they'd flip and kill him, and if they do then his parents will retaliate and...." She sighed, resting her forehead on the younger sister's shoulder, as if her head was full of lead. Lea was frozen, conflicted by the news. "I can't leave my little sister behind, you know that." Her hand slipped into Lea's and laced their fingers. Lea squeezed it lightly, the only effort she could put forward. "Please, Le." Hayden begged.

Lea forced a breath, "H-how long?" Her legs curled closer to her body.

"I don't know... Just long enough for people to notice." Hayden pulled on her hand, dragging Lea's body back down to the bed and wrapped the blankets around them. "Let's get some sleep. I love you." She pressed a kiss to Lea's forehead and closed her eyes. 

Lea would have laughed at the idea of sleeping, but the emotion never reached outside her mind. She knew she wouldn't be sleeping that night, and likely not for a few more nights to come.