CHAPTER 2

A cacophony of jarring sounds penetrated the darkness. Distant voices intermingled with the thrumming of my own ragged pulse. My brow furrowed as consciousness slowly trickled back.

Where...?

The viscous ooze of half-remembered nightmares clung to the edges of my mind like cobwebs. Shadowy impressions began to materialize - the relentless pursuit, the demented shrieks, those ruinous, haunting eyes...

My own eyes flew open as the final dregs of sleep dissolved. I gulped down grateful lungfuls of air, grounding myself in the simple act of breathing. In. Out. In. Out.

As the fuzzy mental static cleared, I recognized the cozy confines of Shirley's living room. The floral chintz sofa cradled my prone form, a ridiculously oversized quilt bunched around my legs.

"--lexa? Can you hear me?" Shirley's familiar alto cut through the fog still clouding my senses.

I blinked rapidly, trying to focus on the two blurry figures looming over me. Shirley's concerned visage slowly swam into view, her brow creased with worry. A tall, wiry man hovered at her shoulder, his dark blond hair disarmingly tousled.

"Wh...what happened?" My tongue felt heavy and clumsy in my dry mouth.

"You passed out on me, sweetie." Shirley reached out to smooth the sweat-damp hair back from my forehead. "Really gave us a scare there for a second."

My fuzzy mental recording rewound, flickering images gradually reintegrating into a cohesive timeline. The cheating mates. The shattered vase. The breakdown.

The nausea surged anew, an acrid tide of disgust and humiliation crashing against the inside of my ribs. I squeezed my eyes shut against the painful memories.

"I'm okay...I think." Each shallow exhale felt like shredding my throat with steel wool. "Just a bad dream."

"Well, you're running a bit of a fever," the unfamiliar man interjected in a gentle baritone. "But you should be feeling better soon."

I peeled my heavy lids back open, seeking out the source of the new voice. He offered me a warm, dimpled smile, the tips of his elfin ears peeking through the wavy golden strands.

One of the Fae folk then, not someone from the pack. My brow furrowed as I studied his striking, sculptural features and lithe, rangy build more closely.

"Oh! Where are my manners?" Shirley clucked her tongue in mild chastisement. "Alexa, this is Joshua. He's my...well, we've been seeing each other for a while now."

The obvious affection glowing between the two of them set off a new pang in my chest. I masked it with a weak smile of my own.

"It's nice to meet you, Joshua. Shirl's told me...nothing about you, actually." I arched an accusatory eyebrow at my oldest friend.

She had the good grace to look abashed, tucking an errant russet curl behind her ear. "I was going to tell you! I swear it, babe. Things just got...a little crazy."

A hysterical giggle bubbled up from my raw throat, the manic edge to it setting my nerves jangling. Crazy was putting it mildly. Joshua's hazel eyes flicked between us, silently taking in the unspoken subtext.

"Well!" He spoke up in an overly bright tone meant to dispel the awkwardness. "Now that you're awake and coherent, we should probably get you hydrated and grab a snack. I'll brew up some peppermint tea."

Joshua stood smoothly and retreated towards the kitchen, gently squeezing Shirley's shoulder in wordless reassurance as he passed. I watched him go, waiting until his footsteps receded before finding my voice again.

"So that's why you smelled like treeflower and sunlight earlier," I murmured, unable to resist the fleeting impish grin tugging at my lips. "My my, Shirl...a Fae companion? Quite the dashing, exotic paramour you've chosen for yourself."

The barest hints of an embarrassed blush stained her cheekbones as she avoided my gaze. "Oh hush, you. Like you're really one to talk after all these years of shacking up with Jasper and going nowhere with it."

The barb struck deeper than she could have intended. I flinched like she'd slapped me across the face. Her eyes flew wide with instant regret as my fleeting spark of playfulness guttered out.

"Alexa...I'm so sorry, honey. That was completely uncalled for." Shirley reached out in a beseeching gesture, but I recoiled from her touch.

Hot pinpricks of unshed tears stung my eyes as the night's emotional toll came crashing back down. My shoulders slumped inward in silent defeat.

"Just...don't," I croaked out in a broken whisper. "Please don't say his name around me. I can't...I won't survive it."

If I allowed myself to process what Jasper had done - to truly let it sink beneath the shock and numbness and scar over - I was terrified I might never recover. Dwelling on our ruined future, the love so utterly betrayed, seemed an exquisite and impossible torment.

Shirley's hand hovered in the air between us for a handful of aching heartbeats. Then, biting her lip against her own pained expression, she pulled it back and simply nodded.

Joshua's cheerful timbre drifted in from the kitchen once more, effectively shattering the thick tension that had descended. "Peppermint or chamomile, ladies?"

I shot Shirley a weak, watery smile of gratitude for the interruption. "Peppermint, please," I called out, swiping the treacherous tears from the corners of my eyes with the backs of my knuckles. "I think I need a bit more of a kick in the ass."

After a moment of silence, I spoke up hesitantly. "Shirl...I can't stay in this pack anymore. Not after what happened."

Shirley's eyebrows knit together with concern. "Where will you go?"

"Here," I replied, barely louder than a whisper. "If you'll have me, that is."

She pondered this for a beat, worrying her lower lip. "You know my alpha wouldn't just let any stray join our ranks, Lex. He values loyalty and discretion above all else."

"I understand. But you've known me almost my whole life. Can't you vouch for me?"

Shirley held up a placating hand. "Of course I can. And I will. Vincent trusts my judgment implicitly." She drew in a steadying breath. "But you have to be certain this is what you want. Leaving your birth pack, your responsibilities and position there - it's not a decision to make lightly."

My jaw clenched as flashes of Jasper's naked, sweat-slicked body rutting atop Olivia's assaulted my mind's eye again. I squeezed them shut, shoving the images away with a violent shake of my head.

"It's the only decision, Shirl. I can't..." The lump in my throat nearly choked me as I fought not to dissolve into tears again. "I won't go back there. Not after he...and she..."

Understanding softened Shirley's features. She reached over to squeeze my hand. "Okay, babe. I'll handle Vincent and the rest of the paperwork. With any luck, you'll be an official member of our pack by the end of the week."

Some of the leaden weight pressing down on my chest eased slightly. "Thank you. Truly."

"Don't mention it." Shirley waved away my gratitude as she stood. "I'm going to grab the forms to fill out your transfer request..."

She trailed off, hazel eyes going momentarily unfocused as she drew in a sharp inhalation. Her nostrils flared infinitesimally and when her gaze snapped back into focus, it locked intensely onto me.

"What?" I asked, perplexed by her suddenly tense scrutiny. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

Shirley didn't respond right away. Instead, she drifted closer, bending down to my eye level as her frown deepened into a patently quizzical expression.

"Alexa..." she began slowly, as if piecing together a puzzle in her mind. "Have you been experiencing any unusual...symptoms lately?"

I blinked owlishly at her. "Symptoms? What are you talking ab--?"

The words died on my lips as Shirley leaned in to inhale deeply mere inches from my face. She pulled back just as quickly, eyes wide with shock and...wonderment? My heart kicked up a staccato rhythm against my ribcage.

"Oh my god," Shirley breathed out in a reverent whisper. "You're pregnant, aren't you?"

The bottom dropped out of my world in a sickening lurch. All the air rushed from my lungs in a harsh, wheezing gasp. I could only gape soundlessly at my friend, my mind utterly blank safe for the thunderous pounding of blood rushing through my ears.

Some deeply buried part of me had suspected - known - but to have it said out loud in such unvarnished terms was still a devastating gut-punch. Shirley reached out to grip my shoulders with an urgency that bordered on frantic.

"Alexa? Alexa, honey, say something!"

But I couldn't form words around the numb shock coursing through me. Tears burned hot trails down my frozen face. Shirley pulled me against her chest, wrapping me in a fierce embrace as my overwrought mind fractured apart into a maelstrom of emotions.

Pregnant. With a baby...Jasper's baby.

***