Boarded window.

One month down, five more to go. At least, that is the case if Ollen does not find me hiding in the basement with Laura and her husband.

Vice woke up the second the clock hit seven, pulling his eye mask off before throwing his eyes around. He looked at Laura first, a soft smile pulling at his lips, before he looked at me.

"Good to see you're still alive." He commented, throwing the covers off of his body and throwing his legs over the edge of the bed.

"Thanks I mumbled, watching the warning look Laura shot him.

So far, I have had little insurrection with the vampire. Since I spent long hours with Ollen and go to sleep right after dinner, I barely saw him around. But from what Heaven had told me, pur friend Laura has been refusing to let him leave the pack land. He'd left only once after Hemeg and Ruth's death, and that was so that he could bring as much food as he could for himself. By food, I mean blood. I have no idea where he got them from, but he listened to his worried wife, stocked up, and stayed in the pack even when it was night.

They haven't fought about that since the first night they fought. It was clear to see that the last thing Vice wanted to do was upset his wife or worry her even more, considering all the stress she was already in.

So, he listened to her and stayed right beside her. That soul crushing worry I'd seen on Laura's face was no longer around.

I realized that even though she was extremely worried about the pack, her biggest worry was always watching Vice walk off the pack Land onto who knows where and disappearing the entire night before he comes back in the morning.

I understood that she was scared for him, that she feared she might one him when he was out to recharge himself. And now that he has been staying in the pack, she looked lighter, like the biggest weight was lifted off of her shoulders.

"How was your day, lovely wife?" He asked, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her in for a hug.

He buried his face in the crook of her neck, holding her until she looked like she was about to break in half.

"I had a good day." She replied.

"I bet it just got better now that I'm up." He commented, pulling a laugh out of Laura.

"Indeed." She beamed up at him as he pulled back and pressed a kiss on either side of her cheeks.

"Give me a moment." He said, pulling from her fully and walking towards their bathroom.

"You guys are the cutest couple, do you know that?" I said and saw Laura's face actually flush.

"Oh, please..." She chuckled, looking away as if she was shyly embarrassed.

"You and Ollen are quite the couple, too." She commented, taking a seat beside me on the mattress they had laid down on the floor. She first insisted that I would be taking the bed after Vice woke up, but I refused. I was not about to take their bed, especially not when she was planning on sleeping on the mattress on the floor.

I felt my face heat up.

"You've clearly been seeing things." I replied, and that only managed to make her chuckle.

"Oh, come one." She rolled her eyes at me. "You two have been inseparable for the last three weeks. I don't think there is a moment I had seen either of you alone after the fire."

"He just wants to keep me safe from the Sea and Moons. He doesn't want the pack to lose the chance they are to heal the land." I said, and it almost sounded like I was trying to convince myself that that was all it could ever be.

But Laura softly smacked my shoulder.

"No disrespect, Luna, but denial is not a good color on you." She commented. "Yes, Ollen wants to keep you safe. And yes, he wants to make the most of the six months you have given him. But don't forget. There are hundreds of other ways to keep you safe."

"Like what?" I asked, wanting to prove her wrong.

"I don't know, how about assigning the fifty men Brian wanted and ordering them to protect you at all times. They could all take a six hour shift. Fourteen to fifteen of them will keep their eyes on you during their shifts and change when their shift is over. Or, he can have you locked in his room, have be put a barrier that no one but he can pass through and keep you safe that was too. Or, he could spread a rumor that he has in fact, killed you when, in reality, you are alive and healthy, just hidden from the outside. Honestly, if he wants to, he could "keep you safe" without personally getting involved."

I hate that she was making a good point.

"Oh yeah, nothing like falling for a woman you know you can't have." Vice commented as he walked out of the bathroom, making his way to the mini fridge to take out a blood bag.

"You guys are reading too much into it." I said, trying to stop my face from heating up more before it started melting.

"Trust me, Luna Joyce. I know it when I see it. I was one desperate man myself." Vice replied, winking at Laura as he tore a corner on the bag and threw a thun straw in.

I didn't want to entertain what they were saying, but I could feel my heart drumming in my chest, so much so that I was afraid Laura and Vice would be able to hear it.

"I don't think..." I started but stopped when Vice pressed his pointing finger against his lips, shutting me up instantly.

He carefully placed the blood bag on top of the fridge, making sure it was lending against the wall so it wouldn't spill the content from within, and slowly crept closer to the boarded up window.

Laura and I shared a glance before returning our eyes to the vampire. The light air in the basement suddenly felt tight, trying to suffocate each and every single one of us.

Vice glanced back at us from under the window.

"He's outside." He mouthed, pointing towards the boarded up window.

My blood ran cold when I realized what was happening.

Did he hear us when we were talking to each other?

Does he know we were hiding in the basement?

I've heard that vampires have a much superior hearing ability than shifters. Maybe that was why he could hear Ollen before I could.

"He's in his wolf form." Vice mouthed again, not daring to whisper a single word out loud for the fear of the Alpha being able to hear.

We remained silent from what felt like hours, tense, and scared that we would be discovered.

I couldn't imagine the man I had been sticking to harming me willingly. But all I had to do was remember what he did to me on the night of our mating ceremony and how badly he hurt his beta and gamma on the first full moon after the ritual.

The curse made him more than capable of harming and killing without remorse. I was well aware that he would not spare me.

I felt him trying to open the mind link between us. I handed to press my hand against my mouth to stop myself from gasping. The force he was using was unimaginable strong.

Laura touched my shoulder, a questioning look in her eyes.

"Mind link." I mouthed, too scared to speak through her through the link in case I slipped and allowed Ollen into my mind.

"Block him." She mouthed, her eyes widening.

I nodded my head, my hand stoll pressed against my mouth as I closed my eyes and tried to think of every possible thing that would help me push him out.

I thought about the mating ritual and how he was about to kill me. I forced myself to remember the feeling of his teeth sinking into my flesh, the harsh bites, the cruel way he dragged me down... I remembered every single pain I felt that night and the weeks that came going through the process of healing. It helped a great deal.

I managed to block him entirely to the point that I no longer felt his presence in my mind.

I opened my eyes and saw that Vice was giving me a thumbs up.

"He's leaving." He mouthed, returning his eyes back to the boarded window.

We remained in silence for about thirty more minutes before I heard Vice sigh.

"He's gone." He whispered, relief evident in his voice.

"That was close." Laura commented, pressing her hands to her chest.

"It sure was." Vice replied, picking up the blood bag before walking over to sit next to his wife.

"He was so silent... I barely heard him." He added before taking a long drag from the blood.

"As long as he's gone, it doesn't matter anymore." Laura said.

I remained silent, listening to how wildly my heart was beating. Laura was right. That was a very close call.

I could hear Laura and Vice having a conversation, but the words refused to make sense to me. The fear that was coursing through my body was the same one I felt. Whenever Ollen was around the first month, I stayed in the pack.

I worried that I might look at him with fear after the night ends, and I see him tomorrow.

I barely slept that night. My eyes were glued on the boarded window, wondering if he would return.

Laura had fallen asleep with her head leaning against Vice's shoulder, while the vampire sat awake with his eyes trained on the boarded window as well.

He spoke only once to reassure me that he couldn't hear the Alpha anywhere. If Ollen is out of his earshot, then it meant that he was pretty far away.

I wasn't sure if Laura had crested a false trail for him to follow like last time, but if that was the case, then it sure as heck was helping.

I wouldn't have known that the sun had come up if Vice didn't start looking exhusted. He was hyper awake the entire night, but as soon as the sun started coming up, he was tired.

The small clock on the wall by the door confirmed my suspicion. The second full moon I spent in the pack has come to pass. It was over.

I could walk out of the basement and not worry about Ollen coming after me.

Laura woke up when Vice started to shift around.

"Is it morning?" She asked, glancing towards the clock on the wall.

"It sure is." Vice replied, rolling his head around his neck.

Laura stood up and walked to the fridge to get Vice another bag of blood. She said next to him while he drank, his eyes barely open.

"I can cast a spell on you to help you walk around under the sunlight. You can go for some fresh air for a few hours." She commented, but Vice was already shaking his head.

"You know I don't like that. It's not in my nature." He responded, taking a long sip. "Unless it's necessary to go our during the day, then I'm sticking to the night."

Laura sighed, clearly knowing she wasn't going to convince him.

"Fine. Finish up and go to bed then." She commented.

Laura didn't leave his side until he drank every drop of blood for the bag, and in the cutest way possible, she tucked him into bed.

I remained in her basement and watched her move around their little home. It might have been dark and small, but it was their own place, a place they felt comfortable in.

I delayed leaving the basement because I was scared of what I might think of Ollen. I didn't want to take a hundred steps back and forget the bond he and I were creating.

My heart once again thundered in my heart when I felt him try to open the mind link.

It was day, and I didn't have to be scared anymore. But it still took me a lot longer than it should have.

However, when I finally let him in and heard his voice, I felt a jolt of electricity traveling from the top of my head to the tops of my toes.

I wasn't sure if that was a good or a bad reaction.