“Woah, you’re not leaving me are you?” Sarah laughed lightly as she tucked blankets around Emma. “You can handle this Beta. I have complete faith in you.” Quincy looked from her to Dr. Adams. “No. No way. I have no idea what to do with babies, especially ones this little. I don’t know what she needs. What if she needs help with girl stuff? I can’t do that.” He was in a rambling panic at this point. Dr. Adams tsked, shaking his head. “You know, this happens every time. You would think that since she’s not your mate, you would be calmer. She will be able to handle most of it on her own. If she needs help, just do it. I’m sure you’ve seen a woman naked a time or two. This time, it just won’t be for the same reason. The baby will be easy. Feed him and change his diaper if it’s dirty. Keep him wrapped up and warm. The Luna will probably insist on doing the rest once she wakes up. Women are that way you know. They get bossy when it comes to their pups.” Dr. Adams and Sarah inched

The next couple of weeks went by in a hurry. Quincy divided his time between taking care of pack matters and helping Emma with the baby. He stayed in the room down the hall and checked in with the security team frequently when he needed to be away from the pack house. Today he was scheduled for a conference call with several local Alphas and to say he was angry was going lightly. "Listen, Alpha Daryl isn't dead and Luna Emma has been handling things just fine on her own. It's archaic and insulting that you think she should be challenged. I know our nature requires an alpha, but we are intelligent enough to realize that she is capable. There are no complaints from the pack members, so there is no justifiable reason other than an attempt to acquire property and power. Which one of you wants to claim the title of Broken Paw alpha by challenging a woman who just had a baby while her mate is in a coma?" He was exasperated with the men on the other end of the phone and ready to fight them

Quincy stood behind the Luna as she spoke to the pack. Pride filled him as he scanned the crowd. The members of Broken Paw pack were happy and content. While they missed their Alpha greatly, they loved and respected the Luna and the switch to her running the pack had been smooth. She was quiet and reserved, but she was also kind and intelligent. Her inner strength wrapped in a soft spoken demeanor worked well with their people. They were a calm, level headed bunch who appreciated that pack hierarchy kept their lives running smoothly. The Alphas he had conferenced with that morning knew the pack well, and were considered allies. It troubles him that they weren’t more supportive of Emma, but they didn’t know her very well. He would have to organize a meeting with them so she could solidify her own alliance with them instead of relying on her mate’s connections. Once they got to know her, they wouldn’t have any qualms about her remaining in control of the pack until Her mate work up or Go

Quincy left Emma to get dressed and went into the pack common room. Ivan and Leo were the first to report to him. Then Paul and the other squad leaders arrived. “Luna Emma will be joining us in a few moments. Until then, is there anything that needs to be addressed urgently?” He looked across the room for anyone to speak up. “Okay, since no one has spoken, I am going to assume that everything is being taken care of efficiently. Are there any reports of rouges that escaped the attack? So far we have assumed that every one of them is accounted for in the dead.” He paused for someone to speak and again no one did. “Let’s try to relax until the Luna arrives.” Quincy watched her walk into the room. Wet hair, a loose tee shirt, faded jeans, and bare feet, with her head held high and her eyes alert and taking notes as she looked across the room at their warriors. “I am so glad to see all of your faces joining me here this evening. Everyone, please take a seat. Veronica will be taki

Daryl felt like he was floating. He could feel his body, he did a mental check to confirm that he still had all of his limbs. He felt his toes, his legs, his fingers, and his arms. He felt the rise and fall of his chest as he drew in breaths and exhaled slowly. The way his body felt reminded him of a feather floating slowly down to the ground. It felt peaceful and a little scary all at once. He didn't know if he was alive or dead, submerged in complete darkness or blind, he tried to remain calm and absorb as much information as he could. The problem was there was very little information to learn. Time went by, but he had no way of knowing how much, but unlike the feather, he never hit the ground. He just remained suspended in the air. When he grew frustrated with the lack of information around him, he replayed the explosion in his head, searching for any clues as to what had happened and where he was now. 'Surely I'm not dead. Death cannot be an endless abyss of consciousness in the m