North stood and shook his head. "Thanks, Ellie, I'm a little too tired to drive or walk right now, and I knew you'd be up."

Shadows passed over her eyes, and she nodded. "No problem, come on." She gave Maddox one last look then walked out of the house without another word.

North nodded toward both of them then staggered behind her, closing the door behind them.

Maddox stood and watched the closed door for a few moments before he shook his body, looking as though he were steeling himself. He turned and picked up Adam, bringing him to his feet.

"What was that about?" Adam asked, utterly confused about what was going on between the three of them.

"Nothing," Maddox bit out. "Come on, let's get you home."

"No, she's there."

"And I really don't give a fuck right now. You're going to have to deal with her sooner rather than later, and I don't want to deal with you."

Adam growled, but it came out weak.

"Whatever."

"It'll get better, Adam," his little brother whispered as he pulled him outside the house.

"It has to, right? I mean it couldn't get any worse." At least, he didn't think so, but he didn't want to find out.

Chapter 5.

A crash from the living room brought Bay out of a fitful sleep. She pulled herself to a sitting position, her belly getting in the way. Someone mumbled a curse, and she inhaled their scent.

Adam and Maddox.

A very drunk Adam and a slightly inebriated Maddox.

Oh, goody, just what she needed; a drunken wolf who probably didn't know she was in his bed and wanted her nowhere near him. Oh, what fun.

She pulled down the extra-large shirt she wore so it hit her mid-thigh even over her belly and waddled out to the living room, her ankles aching with each step. When she got out to the living room, she shook her head. Maddox had Adam draped over his shoulders and a sheepish expression on his face.

"Sorry, Bay. Didn't mean to wake you," Maddox said as he carried a very drunk Enforcer past her and into the bedroom.

"What happened?" It was like deja vu. The first time she'd seen Adam he'd been drunk, and here he was again. Was this something he did often?

Maddox dropped Adam on the bed and shook his head. "Drank too much."

"I guessed that, but why?"

Maddox turned to her with so much emotion in his eyes that she almost staggered from the weight of it. All of that couldn't be just him. How on earth did he live like that as the Omega?

"He's had a long day," he said simply, and Bay under her breath.

He'd drank because he didn't want to deal with her. On one hand, she felt horrible and wanted to make him feel better. On the other, she wanted to kick his ass. How could drinking possibly help this situation? She was pregnant, on the run from...something, and he wanted to drown in a bottle.

The perfect soon-to-be father.

"I'm sorry, Bay," Maddox whispered, bringing her out of her thoughts.

"What? Why?"

"I wasn't thinking when I brought him to his bed. I should have just left him on the couch."

She looked into his eyes, unsure if she could believe him. She didn't know this man and had a feeling he didn't make mistakes like that. This wolf was up to something. What, she didn't know.

"I can move him."

She shook her head. "No, I'm the intruder. Let him have his bed."

Maddox tilted his head, gave her a look she couldn't decipher, and then nodded. "Okay, I'll leave him here then. Good night, Bay."

She murmured a good night, and he walked out, leaving her with her passed-out mate and the sudden urge to take care of him.

"He needs us," her wolf whimpered.

"Shush, you," she whispered back. "He's a grown man who doesn't need us staring at him like a freaking stalker while he's sleeping."

Adam groaned from the bed and tried to take his shirt off, struggling in his current state. She caught a glimpse of tanned flesh and wanted to groan right with him. Damn, she was pregnant and ready to pop. She shouldn't be thinking dirty thoughts.

Especially not with the man currently trying to strip out of his clothes.

With a sigh, she waddled over to him and placed a hand on his arm, the heat radiating from him shocking her. She'd forgotten how hot his skin was.

"Adam, stop trying to take off your clothes. You're going to hurt yourself." Need filled her and she cursed. Her libido was picking a strange time to wake back up.

"Bay," he grumbled, and she froze.

She loved the sound of her name on his lips. Or rather, her wolf did. The woman desperately wanted not to like it. Damn mating bond.

She shook it off and chose to ignore it. This was not the time to be thinking such things. She helped him pull the rest of the shirt off his body then stopped and stared at the ridges on his abs and an urge came over her that begged her to touch him. The swirled tattoo on his arm looked as sexy as it had that night and she bit her tongue so she wouldn't lick it. With a sigh, she went to the foot of the bed and took off his work boots, placing them on the floor out of the way. Adam groaned and twisted on the bed so he looked even sexier and she fisted her hands. She wouldn't touch him. Because she couldn't touch him, for when she did, she'd want to touch him all over. And he didn't want that; nobody wanted that.

She would go to sleep on the couch. That's what she should do. In fact, that's what she would do. Adam wouldn't want her staring at him like a freaky stalker. He moaned again, and she brushed the hair from his forehead because she couldn't help herself. The tattoo on his right arm was just the way she remembered it. It covered from the shoulder to mid forearm. The tribal tattoos he said told of the time when wolves ran as wolves and man ran as man. Is that what he wanted? To be a man or a wolf and not the blend of both. Without thinking, she traced her fingertips along the tattoo, remembering how it tasted against her tongue.

She started to pull away so she could go sleep on the couch and try to forget the mate that didn't want her, but Adam pulled her to him, and she gasped. He nuzzled his face in her hair, and her stomach brushed against him, the baby kicking. He moved in this sleep until she was lying right beside him, stiff and frozen, not knowing what to do. He traced his fingers along her back, tendrils of sensation moving through her like a wave. When he brushed his lips against her forehead, she sighed and relaxed. Without thinking, she closed her eyes and let him hold her.

Bay knew he was thinking of his other mate and not her. He would never be thinking of her that way. And why would he? He'd had his mate and lost her, their baby too. Bay was just another example of what he'd lost, but she didn't want to think about that right now. She just wanted Adam. Damn the stupid hormones for making her want this and making it okay. She fell into his hold, loving the way his arms tightened around her. He held her head with one hand and her lower back with the other, her belly and their child lay nestled between them.

She really should get up and leave. She tried to get up, but then he pulled her closer, and she sighed. Maybe just for a few moments. The baby kicked again, and Adam groaned as if he'd felt it. Relieved at the movement, she turned to get out of bed and leave him there, but he pulled her back, letting her body spoon against his, his hand resting on her belly, shielding her. A tear slipped down her cheek without her permission.

Damn, she didn't want this. Yeah, she did want it, but she didn't want it like this. This wasn't real. This wasn't him. He was asleep and would regret it in the morning, just as much if not more, than she would. Oh, God, what was she getting into? He wanted his mate and not her. The baby rolled, and she closed her eyes, remembering the real reason she was there. They needed protection from those that followed her, and she couldn't do it on her own. The Redwoods would help her because of her bond with Adam. She needed to remain cold; detached because, if she warmed up and remembered the feeling she'd had that night with him she'd lose herself. And if she did that, she'd lose everything.

The scent of ice and berries filled Adams nose. He loved the way it made him feel at home, like he belonged. A warm body lay flush against him, and he smiled. His Anna. She'd come home. He rested his hands on the swell of her belly, feeling their child. He inhaled that ice and berries scent again as the fog lifted, and he froze.

His Anna did not smell of those things. No, his Anna smelled of oranges and cinnamon. He cracked open his eyes, ignoring the dull throb in his temples and behind his eyelids, and bit back a curse. Bay lay snuggled in his side, and his erection strained his jeans, rubbing against her. He stopped the movement of his hips and bit back another curse. Flashes of the night before came back to him. Images of Maddox dragging him back to his home and throwing him on the bed mixed with images of the red-haired stranger taking care of him.

She whimpered in her sleep, and instinctively he cradled her face with his hand to quiet her. She rubbed her cheek against his palm and quieted, her body sinking into his like it had a right to be there.

With a groan, he pulled away from her and got off the bed, careful not to jostle her or the baby. He regretted hurting her the day before when he'd pushed her into the car. Though she was a wolf and did not bruise easily, it was still no way to treat a woman, especially a pregnant one. Yeah, his father had threatened him, but that wasn't the only reason he felt like shit. He had fucking hurt a woman because he had been in a bad mood. There had been no call for that. Even if he didn't want Bay near him, he had no right to hurt her. No matter what happened in the coming months or years, he could do his best not to hurt the woman in his bed. He might not like her, want her, or want anything to do with her, but he wouldn't hurt her.

Or the child she carried.

His head ached from drinking too much the night before, and he slowly made his way to the kitchen for some coffee. He took out some gourmet beans that Willow had left a couple weeks before and ground them. Adam cursed and shut off the grinder, remembering that there was a woman in his bed sleeping, and the noise would wake her up. Thankfully, he didn't hear her stir, and the coffee was ground enough to be used. He started the pot and made his way to the living room. He sank onto the couch and held his head in his hands.

How the hell had it come to this? Just the day before he'd been a typical wolf, okay, not so typical, doing his job and living day to day. Now everything had changed, and he had no idea what to do about it.

He heard the other wolf coming to his door before they rang the bell. Seeing how he didn't want to wake Bay, he went to the door and let his brother's mate in. Willow smiled at him, her long brown hair framing her face making her seem more radiant than before. He'd never love her the way a mate would, but he loved her more than a sister. She was the reminder of everything good in their Pack because, even though she'd been through the worst pain imaginable in the worst circumstances imaginable, she was still the bright light of their Pack. She'd been kidnapped, tortured, and changed into a wolf at her near death. The Centrals had taken her from them and almost killed her, but Jasper and the rest of the Redwoods had saved her. She was stronger than the most alpha of Alphas.

"Hello, Adam," Willow whispered then she grinned, her brown eyes radiating the love and happiness she held for her mate, Jasper. "I heard you had a guest, and I wanted to make sure you two had eaten."

Adam grunted and held back a smile. Oh, she'd known the day before that Bay had come into their lives, but she'd done the polite thing and waited to meet the newest member of their Pack. Yeah, she'd waited all of twelve hours.

"Hello to you, too, Willow. Bay's still sleeping, so we have to be quiet." He winced when she gave him a knowing glance that held a mixture of happiness and sadness at this situation. Damn, how was he supposed to deal with reactions like this? He hated the pitying looks, but these new ones were sure to be the death of him. "And, no, we haven't had breakfast yet, but I did start some coffee."

Willow smiled and shuffled past him, her little body bouncing on the way. Before she'd met Jasper and joined their Pack, she had her own bakery and had been a very skinny little thing. A little too skinny in his opinion, but now that Jasper and the rest of the Jamensons were taking care of her, she'd put on a few pounds and gained some curves; something that all of them were happy about.

"I'm going to make you and your guest an omelet if that's okay." He noticed she didn't say mate or anything else about Bay, as if she were being very careful about not mentioning the fact that his drunken one-night stand had turned out to be a whole lot more.

He clenched his fists and ignored the headache coming on harder. His body ached, not just from too much rum, but from the fact that he was in turmoil. He was a grown-ass wolf, and yet he wanted to hide and run away from his problems. Preferably at the bottom of a bottle. However, on second thought, that hadn't worked out the way he'd wanted to last time. Maybe it was time to find a different way to hide from his problems.

"Willow, you didn't have to come over here," he grumbled as he walked into the kitchen and watched his brother's mate take over the room as if it were her own. "I'm a hundred years old. I think I know how to make my own breakfast."

"I know that, Adam, but I wanted to come and help." She smiled, and he shook his head. Willow had become one of his closest friends since she'd joined the Pack. In fact, when Jasper had almost fucked everything up, Adam had been the one to show his brother how not to be an ass and had offered to take Willow. Not to be his mate, but to care for her. The irony of his current situation and how he didn't want to take care of Bay wasn't lost on him.

"Sure, and to see Bay." She blushed and went back to flipping the omelet, and he smiled. "Don't think I don't know what's going on in that head of yours, Willow."

"You can't really blame me, Adam. And come on, I never did get to see what you got me for my birthday. Let this be it."

Adam let out a laugh, and the tension eased from him. He might be going into a shit storm, but he could always rely on his family to be by his side and give him what he needed. At least most of the time.

"Don't try to use that trick on me, dear Willow. But in any case, thank you for making breakfast."

Willow shrugged and plated two plates. "You already had the food over here from when I brought you some earlier this week. So it isn't like I needed to lug any heavy bags."

Adam smiled. "Yeah, like Jasper would've let you lift anything."

She blushed and poured herself a cup of coffee. "Well, that's true."

He took the coffee from her hands right before she placed it to her lips, and he tsked. "Are you still breast-feeding? I don't think you should be drinking coffee if you're doing that."

She growled at him, her eyes glowing gold in irritation. "Brie is with her father, and she's doing just fine thank you. I'm allowed to have at least some caffeine, you know. Since I'm a wolf, my metabolism burns it off quicker. So it won't hurt her."

Adam shook his head and took a sip of the coffee, watching her upper lip curl. "I don't think so. How am I to know how much caffeine you had before you even walked over here?"

"You are not the coffee king."

"True, but I don't want to have to deal with Jasper when he finds out."

"And to think I came over here to make you and your guest breakfast." She smiled when she said it, and he knew she was just teasing.

The scent of berries and ice filled the air, and Adam froze.

Willow turned and smiled, warmth radiating from her. "Hi, you must be Bay." She walked over to the other woman and pulled her into a hug. Bay looked startled but wrapped arms around the other woman and gave Willow an awkward pat on the back.

"Yes, I am. I mean, hi. Nice to meet you." Bay blushed and looked out of sorts. Adam had the sudden urge to help her but didn't know what to say. If he helped her, she might get the wrong idea and think it was okay to stay, and that was not the right thing to do. At least not from his perspective.

"I'm Willow, Jasper's mate," Willow said with a soothing tone. She'd once been the newbie in the Pack, and Adam guessed she knew what to do with a new member and all the awkwardness it entailed. "Jasper is the Beta, meaning he helps with the day-to-day things in the Pack and stands by Edward's and Kade's side."

Bay nodded, looking as though she was taking in all the information, yet not knowing what to do with it. Adam felt for her but didn't help. He couldn't help.

"That's nice. What do you do?" Bay asked as if she hadn't known what to say.

Willow smiled and gestured to the other woman to sit at the table. "I own the bakery in the den. I made you and Adam some breakfast because I know he's not that good with a spatula. Why don't I sit with you while you eat so we can talk?"

Bay shook her head. "Aren't you hungry?"

"I ate before I came. I have a six-month-old baby at home. Her name is Brie." Willow smiled like all was right with the world, and something sharp pierced Adam's chest. He rubbed his fist against it, trying to take out the ache, but it wouldn't go away. Damn.

Bay smiled for the first time, and Adam saw something warm melt that cold exterior. She blinked, and the warmth he thought he'd seen faded away. He didn't know what to think about this woman, but he really didn't want to think about her at all.

"Brie is a lovely name," Bay said, and sat down at the table. Willow sat next to her leaving Adam to sit on Bay's other side since the table was against the wall. He grumbled and sat next to her, ignoring the way she smiled and the way she made his cock harden.

It was just a natural reaction to sitting next to a woman that held a certain scent made for his wolf. That didn't mean he would do anything about it. He'd already done enough.

"Thank you," Willow said, her smile threatening to make the room seem a little too happy for him.

God, he sounded like a melodramatic ass. When had that happened?

"So what is it you do, Bay?" Willow asked, and then she nodded toward Adam with a glimpse of something in her eyes. God, she wanted him to get to know Bay and like it. Damn, he didn't want to. He couldn't, not with the fact he'd lose Anna all over again if he did. He grunted and started eating his food, not caring how it tasted. Even though the woman could make anything gourmet, he was afraid if he tried the taste what he was eating, all he would taste would be sawdust.

"Well, I was a waitress." He noticed they pointedly did not look toward him, and he was grateful.

"Really? I own the only restaurant and bakery in the den and could use the help."

Bay blinked, and Adam groaned. Damn, he didn't want Willow to show her that she could be useful here. Yeah, he sounded like an ass, but he didn't really fucking care right now.

"I don't think that will be necessary," Adams said, his voice low. As soon as the words came out, he wanted to take them back. Both women stared at him as if he'd hit them. Fuck, now he was officially an ass.