C59

I hope everyone is staying safe in this crazy time.

Big respect for anyone working in healthcare right now. I changed from studying nursing to train to be a paramedic so I've seen and worked alongside a lot of different staff in and out of hospitals and I know how hard everyone in the healthcare industry works, so I'm sending all my love and RESPECT to everyone working their asses off in the world right now!

And for all the other key workers, cleaners, supermarket staff, delivery drivers etc... Keep up the amazing work, you're keeping us going as much as the nurses, doctors, paramedics etc are.

I hope this chapter can provide a small, tiny escape from the world for whoever needs it right now.

Stay safe, stay inside, stay strong. This won't last forever. <3

*

"No," Lily said.

Harry raised his eyebrows at his newly reunited sister. "What?"

"Do you think I'm going to your packhouse where the psycho can turn up at any minute and see me?" Lily said and shook her head. "No. He doesn't have any idea who I am and I intend on keeping it that way. It was a nightmare when he figured out that mum and dad were lucid. Do you know how much I struggled to get them away from there without Rogue knowing where I took them?"

"You're not just disappearing into thin air," Harry said. "I won't let you."

"I'm not going anywhere until Rogue is buried 10 feet below us," Lily said. "But this place is the only place in the whole town that hasn't had Rogue's men snooping around. It's the only place that is safe. I'm not risking bumping into Rogue if he feels like wandering into your house."

"She's right," Brooke said and looked up at Harry. "But what does that mean for me? Does that mean I can't come back with you?"

"No, you need to be with Harry for you and your baby," Lily said. "It was Ben's revenge to keep you apart, Rogue was just helping him, it wasn't Rogue's idea. If Rogue questions you about Ben, which he will, you'll tell him that an arrow killed him. You didn't see who shot it, but as soon as it happened you called Harry, who came for you immediately, and Alec, and you got the hell out of there. You're good at hiding things, Brooklyn, I'm sure you can hide what happened from Rogue."

"Right," Brooke said and swallowed. She frowned at Lily. "What's going to happen to you? Where are you going to go?"

"I'll be keeping an eye on things and I'll be in touch."

"Well, we know how we're going to gain control over Rogue's men. Do you think you'd like to know that before you disappear on your brother who you've not seen for years?" Greyson asked with an edge to his voice.

"I'm not disappearing," Lily said sharply. She glanced sideways at Brooke. "I'm not," she repeated, her voice softer.

Brooke smiled. "I think the current situation isn't the best for a family reunion, but we can celebrate when this is over," she said and took Harry's hand. She could tell that he was struggling to process the information. Her mind that had previously been quiet because of Ben's drugs, was now buzzing. She could feel Harry and she could feel his varying emotions.

Lily frowned at Greyson. "What is your plan?" She asked.

"They're branded," Greyson explained. "His men are under his control. We're going to break that control and then kill his mate."

Brooke's eyes went wide. "What?" She gasped.

Harry looked down at her. "You never liked her, babe, don't act like what we're doing is appalling."

"I mean, she's a bitch, but kill-"

"It's happening," Greyson said firmly, cutting Brooke off. "Once Stacy is out of the picture I believe Rogue will be weakened enough so we can end his pathetic life."

Lily furrowed her eyebrows, deep in thought. Eventually, she nodded. "If you're right about the brand then it could work, but Rogue has a lot of men. I've been tracking them, keeping records of who is working for him. I'll get them to you, so you will know where to start. You've got to be careful. If Rogue gets even a little bit suspicious then this whole plan is useless. You need to catch him off guard."

"I think we can manage it," Greyson said defensively, but after a moment he sighed and nodded. "Thank you for your help, Lily."

"I have to go. Can I trust you to look after her?" Lily looked at Harry and Brooke.

"I can look after my own mate," Harry snapped. "I want to be nice to you, Lily, but you're making it hard to do so."

"All I'm saying is that you lost her once before and now she's carrying your baby. That's my family too."

Harry narrowed his eyes. "That only happened because she was reckless-"

"She is standing right here," Brooke interjected and raised her hand.

"Do as he says," Lily said to Brooke sternly. "And let him look after you. Your secrets will you get killed if you're not careful. He's your mate, let him in. You're stuck with him, it's not like anything you're scared of telling him is going to scare him off."

"You two are going to be the death of me," Brooke grumbled. "Does being demanding run in the family?"

Harry and Lily looked at each other, smiles faintly tracing their lips. "Yes."

*

Soon it was evening. Brooke had returned to the packhouse with Harry and Greyson and had happy reconciliations and many congratulations on the pregnancy. She was relieved to learn that Alice was safe and unharmed, and still asleep in Kal's room with him keeping guard with Sasha. Greyson, Indianna, and Ace were preparing for the meeting with the pack and Brooke was with Harry in his room. She had wrapped herself in one of his jumpers, inhaling the scent and closing her eyes.

"I missed you," she whispered when she heard his bathroom door open. He walked out, covered only in a towel.

"You're going to get sick of me because I'm never letting you out of my sight ever again," Harry said and searched through his wardrobe.

"Come to me," Brooke said and held her hand out. She grabbed Harry when he neared her and pulled him down onto the bed, crashing her lips to his.

"I mean it," Harry growled. "Never leaving my sight, babe."

"Shut up and kiss me," Brooke demanded but they were suddenly interrupted when the door swung open.

Harry grabbed his towel that he had dropped and covered himself up, glaring at the intruder. "Shitting hell!" He swore. "What the fuck-"

Brooke sucked in a breath and Harry stood up, standing in front of her. "Rogue," Brooke said shakily.

"I see you're making the most of being back with your mate," Rogue said. He was leaning against the doorframe, watching Harry and Brooke with cold eyes. "I'm sure you know why I'm here, Brooklyn."

"I don't know what happened," Brooke said quickly and proceeded to tell him what Lily had told her to say. She prayed that he would believe her.

"And where is Alec now? And his mate?" Rogue asked. Brooke couldn't tell if he believed her story or not.

"Alec is in the cells," Harry said stiffly. "His mate is resting."

Rogue took a deep breath and nodded. "I'm going to believe you," he said to Brooke. "But if I find out that you're hiding something from me, I'll give you much worse than a broke arm next time." Brooke had to hurry to grab Harry and hold him back. Rogue smirked, winked at Harry and took a step backward. "You're lucky that Ben had outlived his usefulness or this would be a very different conversation."

When Rogue left Harry yelled angrily. Brooke thought he was going to punch something and was relieved when he didn't. "I hate this!" He hissed.

"Hey, it's okay-"

"It's not okay, Brooklyn! None of this fucking okay!" Harry shouted. "Everything is so fucked up!"

"We're going to fix this," Brooke said, not affected by Harry raising his voice. "Come here, Harry. Now." Brooke stood up and grabbed Harry's hands, placing them on her stomach. She looked up at him and raised her eyebrows. "We're fixing it for this little baby growing inside of me. We weren't ready before, but we are now and we're not fucking it up."

Harry sighed and closed his eyes. He nodded. "Okay," he said shortly. "Okay."

*

Ace walked out of Greyson's office and went upstairs to his room where Tai was waiting. She was sitting on his bed, drumming her fingers impatiently on her knee. Her long dark hair was pulled back in a high ponytail which swung gently from side to side when she looked over at him as he entered.

"Sorry that took so long," Ace apologised, referring to his meeting with Greyson and Indianna. "We had to figure out how we were going to tell the pack what has happened."

"Greyson's not dead, Brooke's back safe, you're going to kidnap Rogue's men and rebrand them. Oh and then kill Rogue's mate," Tai said casually and raised an eyebrow. "That didn't take long."

"I think we're going to need to explain that a bit more," Ace chuckled. "Do you want to go home?"

"Yes," Tai said immediately. She noticed Ace's trying to hide a hurt expression. "I just don't like being here surrounded by so many people I don't know. Especially with your dick friend glaring at me every five minutes."

Ace sighed and shook his head. "He doesn't mean it."

"He does."

"No, you're right, he does. He's just... very on edge right now. He's our Alpha, he can't trust everyone he meets instantly. He has to be wary. But he will trust you."

"What if I don't want him to," Tai said. She stood up from the bed.

Ace frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Ace, this situation is so fucked up. It's got nothing to do with me and to be honest, I've got shit I'm dealing with in my life, I don't want it combined with yours! Do you know how hard it is to go home and pretend like everything is normal with Raiden? Especially when I know his mate is so far up Rogue's ass!" Tai sighed. "I don't want my brother getting hurt in this, Ace."

"I'm sorry," Ace said and walked over to Tai. She stepped back when he tried to take her hand. "I know it had nothing to do with you, but the second you moved into this town you were in Rogue's radar. The second I looked at you you were part of my life and I was part of yours. So that means that yes, you get dragged into my shit, but it means I also get dragged into yours. You haven't got to deal with what you're hiding by yourself, Tai."

Tai shook her head. "Don't," she snapped. "Don't go all soft and warm on me and try and get me to open up. It won't work."

"Tai," Ace groaned. "I want to help."

"You can't!" Tai said sharply. "Ace, I barely know you! I know we're mates and that clearly means a lot more to you than it does me!"

"You won't let yourself get to know me," Ace said softly. "And yes, the whole mate situation means more to me than it does you at the moment because I've grown up knowing about mates. Knowing how special they are. You had never heard of mates or the werewolf world until you met us. Our bond is weak, over time it will grow and you will understand how special the bond between mates is."

"Ace," Tai sighed and rubbed her eyes. "Can you just take me home, please."

Ace nodded. "Of course."

The car journey was silent and it wasn't until they had parked outside of Tai's house that she turned to look at Ace. "What if I tell you things about me that you don't like," she said suddenly.

"I'll accept them. No matter what."

"What if I tell you I've done things that are," she swallowed, "unforgivable."

"I'm sure there would be an explanation."

"What if I'm 100% sure you'd hate me?" Tai asked and laughed. "Trust me, no normal person has to carry this around on their shoulders every day. No normal person would ever do this."

"Tai." Ace placed his hand on her knee. She felt small tingles at his touch. "Whatever you tell me, it doesn't matter. I won't judge you. I won't treat you differently. I'll be there to listen. That's all. You can trust me. I'm not going to run away, no matter what you say."

"Why are you so damn nice?" Tai sighed. "It's hard to be rude to you!"

Ace smiled. "That's not because I'm nice, it's because I'm your mate, Tai."

"You're not going to want to be my mate after you know."

"Try me."

Tai couldn't help but smile. "I'm not used to trusting people," she said.

"Yeah, you definitely don't give off that vibe," Ace said. Tai gave him a look and he cracked a grin.

"Shut up," she said. "I trust Raiden. That's it. You're making me feel things that I've never felt before and I don't like it."

"But you do, you do like it," Ace said gently. "And that scares you, doesn't it?"

Tai sighed and looked at Ace's hand that was still on her knee. "The people I get close to always end up getting hurt and it's always my fault."

"I was nearly killed and ended up in a coma. If I can get over that I can get over anything you'll do to me."

"Don't joke about that," Tai said sharply, surprising herself. The thought of Ace dying made a bubble of anger form within her. "Don't joke about your life, especially when you're sitting in the car with me. You don't know what I'm capable of." There was a flicker of fear in Tai's eye. She was scared of herself.

"Tell me," Ace said quietly. He had hundreds of thoughts running around in his head about what Tai was hiding from him, but the last thing he wanted to do was make assumptions.

"I scare myself," Tai said lowly. "I lose control."

Ace nodded. "When you shift."