Emma POV The visit with Morgan resulted in many tears being shed. As soon as the cry fest started, as Nathan called it, he disappeared. When he finally got brave enough to come back and face two severely hormonal pregnant women, he brought ice cream. They sat there eating ice cream and talked. She forgot how good it felt to hang out with Morgan and just talk. She wasn’t ready to go home yet, she didn’t want to hear the bad news that Logan was going to tell her. Part of her just wanted to tell him not to tell her, but she knew that whatever it was, no matter how bad, it was important enough Logan thought she needed to know. “Emma, are you ready to go?” Nathan asked. “Do I have to?” Emma asked. Nathan laughed. “Yeah, they will be here soon.” They said their goodbyes and Nathan walked her home. She sat on the end of the bed and listened to Logan tell her everything he and Alpha Lucian had talked about. She was stunned. She was having a hard time wrapping her mind around this

Emma POV Emma was right about Evelyn, she was the other woman from her vision. Now that they were all there, she felt a lot better. She could finally relax a little bit. For the first time in a long time, she was looking forward to the future without the threat of losing everyone she cared about hanging over her head. Training continued, Zara joining them. She watched Zara spar with Jackson, who was put on his ass for the third time by Zara. Emma was both shocked and impressed. She still hadn’t managed to land a single blow on him and here Zara was, putting him on his ass. She wouldn’t admit this to anyone, but she was exhilarated watching him being knocked down, especially after all the times he has put her on her ass. Logan and Lucian had been holed up in his office the past few days, trying to come up with a game plan. They wanted to have an impenetrable defensive and a killer offense, literally. They knew no matter how well they could plan it, they would never be impenetrable.

Emma POV “Surprise!” “Happy Birthday!” Everyone was shouting as she and Logan walked out of the house and into the backyard. “Happy Birthday, love.” Logan said as he placed a kiss on her lips. “Thank you everyone.” She said. “I can’t believe you remembered.” she said to Logan. “Of course I remembered.” he told her. “Your mom called and reminded him a few days ago.” Sonya, Logan’s sister, said as she walked up and gave Emma a hug. “Happy Birthday.” “Seriously?” Logan exclaimed. “You little brat.” Sonya giggled and ran from Logan as he tried to grab her. He turned back to Emma and shrugged his shoulders. Emma looked at him and rolled her eyes. “Hey, I did remember your birthday. I really didn’t need your mom to call and remind me.” Logan defended himself. “It’s true. He has been planning this for the past two weeks.” Diane said. It was her turn to give Emma a hug. “Happy Birthday sweetheart.” “Thank you.” Emma replied. She spent the next thirty minutes receivi

Emma POV “His brother?” Logan asked. “Yes, his brother. Alessio has two brothers. Sebastian and Marco. Alessio is the oldest, then Sebastian, then Marco. Sebastian is his Beta. Marco was his Gamma.” Evelyn explained. “Ah, shit.” Logan said. “You can bet your ass he will be coming on the next full moon. He would have felt Marco’s tether snap, and he will be coming for you. He won’t let his brother’s death slide.” Evelyn told them. “Alessio doesn’t care about anything but power, Sebastian, and Marco. He will want revenge, and he will do whatever it takes to get it.” “Happy Birthday to me.” Emma said sarcastically. “It’s your birthday?” Evelyn asked. Emma nodded. “Happy Birthday.” Evelyn told her. “Thank you.” Emma said and managed a weak smile. This was not how she imagined her birthday going. Emma’s chest was tight, and she was consumed with pure terror. She had been terrified enough before she found out this stuff, and now... Emma sighed. Evelyn told her to trust

Zara POV Zara sat in the upstairs office that Emma had claimed for her own. She was having a hard time believing the things Emma had told her. First, this Alessio guy was the one that had her parents killed, the one that has been after her ever since she was a kid. She had never known who it was behind the mercenaries, she just knew that there was someone that was funding them. They weren’t smart enough to know what they were chasing her for. Second, her grandmother was Emma’s grandmother’s sister. That was even harder to wrap her mind around than Alessio. Her grandmother’s name had in fact been Lola, and she talked about her sister, Lela, all the time before she passed. She talked about how much she had missed her, showed her the letters that her sister had written her, even though she had been forbidden to. Lela hadn’t cared that her parents didn’t like her sister’s mate, all she cared about was that her sister was happy. They never got to see each other, but they were at least