Adara’s nightmares were getting better, in the sense that at first, she got them two or three times a night. She would scream herself awake, literally feeling Ramos on top of her, but Kiran would be there in an instant, beside her. He always sat with her until she fell asleep again.The first time it happened, she asked him to leave her room immediately. The sight of him in the dark reminded her too much of Ramos just entering her room. After a while though, she stopped fighting him, and allowed him to sit in the chair until she was sleeping.Later on, his presence made her feel safe, and she became dependent on him sitting there to fall asleep again. Now, her nightmares were less frequent and she tried to force herself not to think of them.She wondered sometimes if Juniper was worried about her or wondered where she had gone, but the woman probably didn’t. Adara laughed at herself for even entertaining the idea. She had done nothing but abuse and demean her.On Monday morning, Adara

James and I talked about Ramos a lot. It was a source of frustration for me. I had no idea how to handle the situation or even what I really wanted to do. I couldn’t declare my intent to kill Ramos, because Adara wasn’t a part of my pack, and she didn’t belong to me either. I also knew that Malachi would never allow it.Malachi surprised us all when he announced that we were going away for Christmas break. We would be going to Sitka to visit Karani’s mother. It’d been a while since I’d seen my grandmother and I was excited for her to meet Adara, but also dismayed since it would be the first Christmas I’d spend without James.Karani suggested that James and Shoran stay at our house since James’ parents always worked over Christmas, calling it the silly season for a reason. Shoran hadn’t wanted to go home for Christmas and James said he’d stay with her since she wasn’t in a good place emotionally.Pregnancy hormones had taken over and changed her sweet personality into something that Ja

James unlocked the front door and held it open for Shoran. They had ten days alone and James was looking forward to it. She put her bag in James’s room and smiled at the thought of spending Christmas break alone with James.They were planning to cook for Garrick and Stephanie two days later since Christmas day was always busy at the hospital. Shoran felt like the luckiest girl alive. She was going to marry the man she loved and she was carrying their baby.They spent the day unpacking and going through the pantry. They worked out a Christmas menu and talked about their plans once the baby was born. James had surprised her earlier with the baby’s first blanket, a neutral white with little rabbits embroidered on one corner.They sat in front of the fireplace that night, and watched old movies together. The next day they started cooking in advance. Shoran realized they needed a few more ingredients and James was sent to the store with a list.Shoran’s hand went to her baby bump, as it di

We got Malachi’s car at the airport in Anchorage and started the two-and-a-half-hours drive back to Seward. I wanted to shift and run home since I knew it would be quicker. The hardest part was being patient. We still couldn’t reach anyone, until finally Karani had called the hospital to ask if they were working.“Yes ma’am. Dr. Thomas and his son are in the waiting room and Dr. Stephanie Thomas is in surgery,” the woman said.We decided to go straight to the hospital and I felt a little better knowing James was alive and in the waiting room. That could only mean that it was Shoran undergoing surgery, but that also meant that she was still alive.The drive to Seward felt extra long and tedious. It was snowing and Malachi had to slow down, but we still made the journey in two hours and forty-five minutes. The moment Malachi slowed down in the parking, I jumped out of the Navigator and ran inside.“James!” I called out when I saw him sitting in a chair next to his father. His face didn’

Malachi took James aside as soon as he saw him. They spoke in hushed tones since there were still other people in the waiting room. James nodded his head a few times and they continued speaking. When Malachi was satisfied, he patted James on the back, and they walked back toward us. “I’ll take James to the station to give his official statement. You should all go home,” Malachi said and I knew better than to argue with him. James gave me the keys to my Jeep and apologized for the mess in the back. I found some wipes and cleaned up as best as I could. Karani sat in front, next to me and Adara sat in the back. She’d been quiet since we left the morgue and I was really worried about her. She had been raped by Ramos and with this happening to Shoran, I knew it had to bring back all those horrific memories. She wiped a tear from her cheek and looked out of the window. As the lights brightened the driveway, I saw that the garage door was still open, as was the door leading into the house.