"So, the boys are acting all big and bad and trying to scare you?"

Edward barked a laugh, and North scowled.

"Pretty much."

"Did they even tell you why they were here?" Bay shook her head, and Hannah turned to the men. "You didn't mention the fact that she's Pack and you were worried about the baby as well as her welfare?"

Edward blinked, unperturbed that a little curvy woman had scolded him while North gave a small smile.

"You're lucky Josh and Reed love you, or I'd take you off their hands. I like it when you're feisty," North teased.

Hannah laughed. "I love my two mates way too much, babe. But thanks for trying to flatter me."

"Two mates?" Bay blurted out then felt her cheeks heat.

Hannah turned and smiled. "Yep, I'm mated to Edward's son, Reed, and another man named Josh." She put her hand on her hip and cocked a brow. "Have a problem with that?"

Bay smiled, liking this woman already. "Not a one."

"Good, then we can be friends. That is, after I check you out to make sure you're okay."

Bay nodded, unease creeping up her spine. "I haven't been to a doctor," she whispered, shame joining all the others emotions she felt.

Hannah brushed a lock of hair from Bay's face and then forced her to sit on the armchair. "I understand. You didn't have a Pack or anyone to trust, right?" Bay nodded. "How were you supposed to help your baby if you didn't have someone to take care of you?" Hannah growled that last part, and Bay fell a little in love with the woman. "It's no worries; we'll take care of you. I use my hands to Heal, so I'm going to put them on your belly, okay? It can be done through your clothes."

North cleared his throat. "I apologize for not making you feel comfortable when I first came in. I don't know who you are, and the situation is a bit explosive at the moment with Adam, but I shouldn't have taken that out on you. You're my patient, and I should act like it."

Bay gave a small smile. "Apology accepted. It's a little difficult for all of us."

North came up to her, his black medical bag in his hands. "If it's all right with you, as Hannah looks at the baby, I'll check on your stats. Is that okay?"

Bay nodded, not knowing how she felt about all of this. She didn't know these people, yet they were caring for her like she was family...or Pack. Her heart warmed. Was this what it meant to be Pack?

Hannah put her hands on Bay's belly, and warmth and magic infused into her. She hissed out a breath at the unfamiliar contact, and Hannah started to pull back. Bay put her hands around the other woman's wrists and shook her head.

"No, it's fine; I just wasn't expecting it."

Hannah nodded, then continued her Healing, her eyes closed and her body swaying as she did it. North took Bay's pulse, checked her lungs, and did other random tests.

Hannah pulled back, a smile on her face, but she had an odd look in her eyes that disappeared as quickly as it appeared. Oh, God, did she know?

"Your baby is fine. Do you want to know the sex?"

Bay shook her head. "No, not now."

"Okay, you're in your third trimester, so you're almost done baking."

"You're making me sound like a turkey."

"Well, you will pop," the witch teased.

"I declare you fit, Bay Milton," North said once he was done.

"How did you know my last name?" Bay asked, fear rising again.

"We know a lot of things, Bay. Plus, you told the guard at the front." Edward said.

Though she'd known that, Bay's pulse kicked up, and she looked for the nearest exit.

Hannah and North backed away and stood near their Alpha. Oh, so this was how it was going to go. Make her feel comfortable then interrogate her. She'd do it because she needed help to protect her baby, not because she felt like they had the right.

"What do you think you know?"

"Your name, the fact that you're Packless. Your mother was kicked out of the Talon Pack, and your father is unknown," Edward stated. "Am I missing anything else?"

"That's about it," she lied.

"Really? Then how is it I couldn't feel you come into the Pack when you mated my son?" His voice may have been low, but the power in his voice and the gold of his eyes told her she had to tread lightly.

"I don't know," she lied again.

"Don't lie, Bay Milton. You won't like the outcome."

She could die right here and make things easier for herself, but then her baby would die with her. And even if they took her baby, who would raise it? The man she'd mated with a cold heart who'd lived through an unbearable loss?

No, she couldn't do that. So, she would tell him part of it, and hope that was enough. It had to be enough.

"It could be because of my powers."

Edward shifted, alert. "You're not a witch."

"No, I'm not." She would never reveal what she was. For if she did, it was a death sentence. "But I do have psychometric powers."

"Really?" North asked, awe in his tone.

Bay nodded. "I can touch things and see memories. But they aren't consistent, and I can't make my powers do what they want. So in essence, they're quite useless."

Edward stared at her a long moment, then nodded. Relief filled her, and she sank back into the cushions.

"That could be it," he said smoothly. "Adam told us your problem, and we will decide tomorrow how to deal with it. For now, you will stay here."

She tried not to cling to the hope that sprang within her. "Am I a prisoner?"

"No. But you don't know the area, and the Pack doesn't know you. It would be...best if you stayed here." Edward raised a brow, and she understood. She didn't have to stay, but they couldn't protect her if she left. That was fine with her. She needed any help she could get.

"Since it is getting late, I'll show you to your room. I don't know when he'll be back," North said as he picked up the small suitcase she hadn't seen him bring in. Her suitcase. "I didn't see anything else in your car. Am I missing something?"

"No, but thanks for going through my things," she muttered.

"I need to make sure my family is safe, Bay," North whispered, and walked toward the back.

"Goodnight, Bay, we'll see you tomorrow," Hannah said as she hugged her. Bay didn't know what to do with so much touch...so much good, but she gave an awkward hug back.

Edward nodded, giving her a questioning gaze, and then walked Hannah out of the house. North cleared his throat, and Bay followed him to a room in the back of the house that had to be the master room. Dark greens and browns covered the walls and bedspread. A king-sized, four-poster bed dominated the room with a matching set of furniture off to the right. There were two doors on the other side that she assumed would be the bathroom and closet, but Bay couldn't keep her eyes off the bed.

"This is the where you'll be sleeping. For your own good, I wouldn't be looking around at anything else. Got it?"

"Why am I staying in Adam's room?"

"Because he doesn't have another bed." He turned to her and tilted his head. "He'll be sleeping on the couch."

She shook her head. "No, I can do that. I can't put him out."

North gave a dry laugh. "I think where you're sleeping is the least of your worries right now, Bay. Just sleep here; you're pregnant. Even Adam isn't heartless enough to make you sleep on the couch. I'll lock the door behind me. I don't know when Adam will be home. You're welcome to the kitchen, bed, and bathroom, nothing else." With that, he walked away, leaving Bay feeling more alone that she had before.

She walked to the bed and ran a hand over the smooth comforter.

"What am I doing here?" she whispered.

The baby rolled, and Bay closed her eyes. She'd do anything for the child growing within her, even be near the man who hated her. But how was she going to keep strong and remain who she was through it? Or did it even matter?

The sweet burn of rum scorched down his throat as Adam took another shot directly from the bottle. It landed in his stomach, doing a dance that threatened to force him to fall over, and then settled. He stared into the amber liquid and groaned.

Why had he thought drinking until he couldn't breathe was a good idea? Look how well it had turned out the last time he'd done it.

"Are you going to sit there and stare at it or pass it over?" Maddox drawled, his eyes a bit glossy from the amount he'd drunk.

After doing some digging in Bay's life and finding almost nothing, he'd come to Mad's home to ignore his current houseguest. North had called and told him he'd put her in Adam's bedroom and told him to deal with it. After all, Bay was pregnant, swollen, and in need of comfort, while Adam was just the ass who'd got her in the situation in the first place.

Now, his problem was sleeping in his bed. Thankfully, it wasn't the same bed he'd shared with Anna. He'd gotten rid of that in a moment of desperation to get rid of the thoughts, memories, and scents that came with looking at something she'd touched and where they'd made love countless times.

"Adam? Get your head out of your ass and hand me the bottle."

Adam slid it across the table, watching the contents slosh against the sides. Maddox gripped it, staring at it, but not drinking.

"I thought you wanted a drink," Adam slurred.

"Not really, I just wanted to cut you off."

A slow burn of rage crept over him, but the drunken haze made it too hard to care. "You're an ass."

"Pretty much." Mad stood and walked to the kitchen.

"Hey, why aren't you wobbling around? Didn't you have as much to drink as I did?"

Mad came back empty-handed and frowned. "No, I had about half what you did. I'm buzzed, not shit-faced drunk like you."

"Hey, that's not nice." His tongue felt heavy, and he could swear the room tilted to the left when he tried to blink.

Okay, maybe he had drunk a little too much.

"You think?" his wolf growled.

"Shut up."

"Uh, who are you talking to?" Mad asked.

"My wolf, he's an ass."

Mad shook his head then winced. Ha! His little brother didn't feel too good now, did he? "You're crazy. But we already knew this."

"No more crazy than you."

"True."

"Will you two shut up and let me sleep?" North asked from the couch where he'd passed out after two shots. His brother hadn't slept in a few nights and had been apparently exhausted.

"Why aren't you at home?" Maddox growled, a weird tension radiation from him that was too much for Adam to discern at his current intoxication level.

Hey, I'm thinking in pretty big words. Maybe he wasn't too drunk. He tried to stand and promptly fell on his ass, but he didn't feel much pain. He was numb from the booze.

Maddox didn't even laugh, just sighed. "What am I going to do with you?"

"Just let me die."

His brother growled, picked him up by his upper arms, and slammed him against the wall. That he felt, the pain shocking him slightly coherent.

"What the fuck, Mad?"

"I never want to hear that again. Do you hear me? I didn't let you die twenty years ago, and I won't let you die now. You may feel like a complete shit and want to hide from your problems, but you will not die. Do you understand? I won't let you do that. You have a second chance, Adam. Don't ruin it."

Adam growled. "I didn't want a second chance."

"Well, it's too late for that. You're going to have to man up and deal with it."

"What did she feel, Maddox?" He whispered the question he'd asked a hundred times, knowing Maddox wouldn't answer.

Because his brother was the Omega, he could feel all of the emotions of the Pack, meaning that when Anna had been kidnapped, beaten, and raped...Maddox had felt it all. Adam could only sense her presence, not her pain in truth.

Maddox dropped him to the floor, his eyes growing dark, his skin going pale. "You know I won't tell you that. Stop asking."

"Oh, I'm sorry; I didn't realize everyone would be here," Ellie said as she walked in, her dark hair in her face so she could hide. She'd been beaten and abused all her life at the hands of her brother, Corbin, the new Alpha of the Central Pack, and now she was here, part of the Redwoods. Adam still wasn't sure what he thought about that.

Maddox turned abruptly, his fists clenching. "What are you doing here?"

Ellie raised her chin. "North texted. He wanted me to come take him home."