My decision ate away at my conscience as Reed insisted on giving me more food. When Liam joked about another addition to the pack family, it would not go down. I tried to reassure myself with claims that it was okay to put myself first and it was ultimately my choice to decide whether to remain pregnant or not. My shoulders sagged as I came to a sad conclusion; I should have talked to them first. My train of thoughts halted when Claire offered me a red apple. I was instantly transported to that night and instead of Claire, my father held the apple. Trapped in his gaze, my mouth forced itself open, and it drew terrifyingly closer to my mouth as he urged to eat.“No!”The large table fell silent as everyone eyed me, incredulous. I opened my mouth to apologize and explain but no words made it past my lips. I looked to Connor and Reed, growing scared that I had given their family a reason to hate me. “Geez, you could have just said no.” Claire dropped the apple, clearly irritated. What

Settling in with the pack was easy. I felt like I belonged. There were few moments that went terribly crazy but it drew me tighter to the family. It's like I was sewn into their group. Each day went on about the same. I would have breakfast with my mates, hurry out to meet Jess, Sam and occasionally, Claire to talk about books, life and the boys. Then we would each lunch and take walks or sleep, and then I would be dragged away by my mates. When I questioned why we couldn't all live together, Jess attributed it to a normal occurrence. Once a werewolf (or werewolves as in my case) finds his mate, he takes her away and keeps her to himself until she either becomes pregnant or he deems it fit she was safe and protected around others. I found it ridiculous and brought it up to my mates one time. It ended in a round of argument and me getting my brains fucked out. At this rate, there was no way I could not be pregnant. But I religiously went to Jess to get a shot. I still had not found

Between checking up on Jess and her newborn and stalking Sam to make sure she gets the help she needs when her baby decides to push its way out, the days passed quickly. It was the night of the tribal gathering in the Central. I did not want to go any longer but it seemed compulsory for the Alpha to come with his mate if he had one. I wore a red velvet satin dress with black stilletos from Gianvito Rossi, and paired with a small GV3 bag. After tying my hair in a high ponytail, I wore the shimmering pearl earrings Reed picked out. With each step I took, the slit of the dress parted to highlight my long nimble legs. "Stay right there."Halting on the stairs, I watched Reed with a bemused smile. I leaned against the railings as he fished out his phone and took pictures. "We might need to keep her in here instead," Connor commented, putting on cufflinks. "You look beautiful, my love.""Thank you." I reached the end of the stairs and wrapped my arms around his waist, taking in his earth

It was exhausting lying to my mates that I was all right and giving an oblivious smile to whoever gave me annoyed glances. This time my reflection did not disappear, appearing at every chance. Biting the insides of my cheek until I could taste blood, I maintained my composure. At least, I tried to. Thankfully, my mates took the moment as a sign to exit the party. As soon as we were in the safety of the vehicle, they bombarded me with questions. “I got distracted for a moment. What was going on? Why did you disappear for so long, Connor?” “Stop answering our questions with another question. What is going on, babe?” “You mentioned something about a witch earlier too.” “It was only a joke, Reed.” “I fucking felt your fear! We felt it so do not fucking cut us off like that.” “I am not cutting you off. I just need space.” “What happened to all of us communicating openly?” “Give me time!” Reed’s eyes flashed with barely contained anger, and his jaw ticked. He looked out the win

I eyed 'my' belongings. Clearly, whatever had taken over my body had a lot of fun personating me. I grabbed every last bit of things that weren't mine and disposed them in the bin. Their obsession with sparkly items distressed me. Running my hands through my hair, I contemplated what to do regarding the matter. It would be hard discussing this with Connor and Reed since they have been preoccupied with pack matters. The only other thing I could do would be to retrace the steps of the one who took over my body.First things first, I needed to meet the others. Perhaps I could a thing or two out of them. I stepped into the busy household and, right away, spot Jess with the two babies. She rocked them as they slept in the double winged cot. When she saw me, she pressed a finger to her lips and smiled. "The cookies are ready," Claire chimed, placing the tray of newly baked chocolate chip cookies on the table. "Hey, Phoebe. It's been while.""Yeah, it has." They looked different, and so