Ruth’s POV I woke up to the most glorious message from mom, “EMMA WOKE UP! Get your butt down here”. I shriek slightly which scares Ian awake. I send out a group message to Zak and Leo letting them know I can’t come to the hall just yet as promised as I need to go see Emma asap.Told mom I’d take in some of Emma’s clothes and apparently Liam is wearing some of her clothes? Not sure about that one. Gathering a bag for Emma and some of Liam’s clothes, we rush over to the hospital. I don’t know why I feel so nervous. Part of me is scared to see her, to face her. I still am feeling so guilty for walking away unscathed. Getting to her room, they’re drawing some labs so I set the bag down and stay out of the way. As expected, the boys come down the hall. “We should’ve known first thing probably wasn’t the best timing to come see her but I needed to see for myself she was awake and alive”. Zak almost looks like he’s about to cry at his confession. Shockingly so does

Ruth’s POV A few hours later, we each get a text saying Emma is ready for us. Having no clue what kind of shape she really is in, I am both terrified and excited to see my sister. I let Zak and Leo walk ahead down the hall so I can take Ian’s hand, offering him some comfort. I know he’s nervous as hell right now. I can tell he’s been preoccupied with his thoughts the last few hours and it’s been eating at him. “Ian, relax. I know Emma wants to see you. Trust me”. Knocking on the door, Grace gently opens for the boys ahead of us. “Hey there little sister… you gave us a little scare there for a minute”. Even Leo is all smiles, seeing Emma sitting upright. Walking into the room, my lip starts quivering and butterflies start taking over. I can’t stop these emotions. Emma makes eye contact. Her eyes soften and she smiles, signaling for me to come to her. I can tell she’s weak. “Ruth come here. Hug me. Are you okay? Did anything happen to you? Let me see you”. Sh

Linking Liam, praying they aren’t asleep… “hey, favor to ask…”. It’s like waiting for someone to respond to a text and you see those little dots blinking. “Yeah, what’s up?”. “There’s someone very special to me down the hall from you guys that really would like to meet Luna. Any chance she’d be up for a quick hello?”. Another brief silence. “We’re on our way”. Not two minutes later, Liam comes walking down the hall, pushing an annoyed looking Emma in a wheelchair. Knowing Luna, she is not enjoying her restrictions. Michelle appears so nervous suddenly. She fidgets with her hair and her clothes. Placing a soothing hand on hers, “easy there, they’re friends… nothing to be nervous about''. She sighs a breath of relief. Emma’s face lights up as she draws near. She can see it on my face and I’m not going to try and hide it. As they roll up, I can’t help but chastise alpha… “you look good as an orderly Liam”. He gives me a shit eating grin and an eyebrow. I know damn well he’s

Dana’s POV When the encampment was attacked, I rounded up as many women as I could and led them north into the woods. I didn’t know who the attackers were and I couldn’t ensure their safety with those men. I watched from the trees though as Ian went with a woman into a helicopter and flew with this group south. I knew that if Ian went with them willingly, we could follow them to safety. Over the following week, we watched from a distance as vans came and collected the remaining women. They brought with them food, water, medicine and medical personnel but I still was apprehensive about following them into the unknown. The camp was finally emptied. We returned to salvage what we could but had nothing of substance to rely on. Winter is approaching and with children amongst us, I needed to find a real solution. I decided to hike south and find where Ian had gone. Leaving the group, I headed by myself until I came to a pack border about twenty miles away. I observed w

Ruth’s POV The rest of the day I spent showing Emma around the pavilion and introducing her to all of the families. Liam finally, after much convincing, allowed her to come with me and Ian to the project sites so she could see the buildings we were erecting for real apartment buildings and family homes. Seeing the sheer happiness on her face, free of worry and pain could almost make you forget what happened just two weeks ago. How Emma could push past all of her suffering so painlessly just astounds me. A pair of arms wraps around my waist, pulling me from my thoughts. “Penny for your thoughts, beautiful”. Ian has been so patient with me. He hasn’t once mentioned mating or marking. It’s come across my mind a few times. Sure we’ve made out a few times but we’ve been so damn busy settling all of these families and to be honest, it feels selfish to even think of my own desires. “It just blows my mind how selfless and strong Luna is”. He smiles, following