Erin's eyes widened with surprise at my casual remark about having a baby, and I couldn't help but laugh at her reaction. "Oh, no, not yet," I clarified, chuckling. "I was just teasing. Brad and I haven't really talked about it seriously. We're still figuring things out, you know?"She let out a relieved sigh, playfully swatting my arm. "You scared me for a moment there! But seriously, you and Brad would make amazing parents one day. I can already imagine your little ones running around the pack grounds, causing mischief. You could be running around too, trying to catch them, and Brad would be the most involved dad ever!"I smiled at her words, touched by the genuine excitement to hear in her voice. "Thank you, Erin. That means a lot. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. Right now, we're just enjoying being together and working on our relationship. There's still so much to do in the pack getting married is the least of our worries right now. "With a shared laugh, we bid each other g
The three of us gathered around the breakfast table, the aroma of the food tickling our senses. We had spent enough time looking at each other and the food, and now it was time to eat. The atmosphere in the room was light and filled with the promise of light and easy conversation. As we dug into the meal, conversation flowed naturally, taking away the initial unease of the night.Erin shared stories from her side of the the oavm, her voice animated as she recounted the antics of some of the younger pack members. Her laughter was infectious, and soon enough, we were all laughing together, the drama of the last few days now behind us. The younger pack members were apparently taking well to Margot and Wally's ideas to keep them occupied, and were teasing both of them by calling them boyfriend and girlfriend and sniggering at their back.Brad, ever the peacemaker, kept the mood at the table consistently light with his sharp remarks, making Erin and I laugh until our sides hurt. It felt
Later that night, we found ourselves at the pack grounds, the familiar smells of soil and freshly crushed leaves filling the air. It was time for our scheduled shift, and the pack members were already gathering, the smells of their prepared meals and the noise from their excited chatger charged the air with something I couldn't place. As we stood together, our hands tangled in each other's, I looked over at Brad, his eyes meeting mine with a faint smile. He had not forgotten that this was my first shift after missing two, being stuck in the dungeon at Alpha Dan's pack, and he could sense how tentative I was. Faced with that dilemma, the events of the past days seemed distant now, and I felt a shudder run through my body. I had been so self assured when I had told everyone that I was going g to show up at the shift tonight, but now that I was here, something felt off. With a nod, Brad gave me the go ahead to start the shift, and as though they could sense that it was about to begin,
After Erin settled in, the atmosphere at our home became heavy with an unspoken tension. Brad, usually very talkative and chatty, seemed to struggle with making conversation with Erin. I suspected that it was because he was used to it just being both of us in the house, and now that someone else was in the house with us, he was not used to it. Awkward silences hung in the air, and I could sense that Erin was just as unsure as I was about how to navigate the situation. Throughout that day, the three of us skirted around each other in an awkward silent till the time that my cheeks were too full and I didn't know what to do with myself. I decided to take Erin aside the next afternoon, hoping to clear the air. I wanted to know if she was just as uncomfortable as I was with the silence, and figure out maybe what we could do to fix things. As we stepped into the garden right in front of the pack house, I turned to her with a warm smile, trying to make her less uncomfortable. Her body la
Brad's brows furrowed in concern as he glanced from the broken mug to the plate with the stale bread. "Did either of you leave this here?" he asked, his voice edged with concern. I stood there mute for a minute and kept on staring at him, and in response he snapped a finger in front of me.“Well, did you? ” he asked, annoyed. Erin and I exchanged bewildered glances. "No, I didn't," Erin said, her voice barely above a whisper. She looked between Brad and I, confused. “Is there something-”"I didn't either," I replied, my heart pounding in my chest. The meaning of seeing the familiar metal plate in our home sent chills down my spine, and I began to shake uncontrollably. “Oh god, oh god, oh god.”Brad's expression hardened, his protective instincts kicking in. "Layla, I want you to go to Kimora's cabin for the night. I need to make sure the pack house is secure. Something doesn't feel right. If neither of you put it there, and I didn't put it there either, then someone else has been in
The next morning, as the sun began to climb up into the sky, casting a warm glow across the forest and the entire pack, a knock sounded at the door, and Erin arrived at Kimora's cabin. Her face was a mix of confusion and concern as she looked at both of us. She looked haggard, like she had not managed to fall asleep that night, and I felt bad for her, only then realizing that she had been in harm's way too. "Can someone please explain what happened last night? I'm completely in the dark here. All I know is the slice of bread, and that Brad told me that I had to leave. What exactly is going on?"I took a deep breath, trying to find the right words to tell her what was going on. "Erin, that metal plate and the stale bread you saw... that's what they used to feed me when I was held captive in Dan's pack. It's a message from someone who was there at the same time as me, I'm sure. It's a threat."Erin's eyes widened with shock and horror. "Oh my god, Layla, I had no idea. I'm so sorry you
The night fell quickly, casting a blanket of darkness over the forest. We, Brad, Margot, Kimora, Wally, and I, returned to the pack house, a feeling of tension lingering in the air. Even as we walked into the pack house, each of us had a doubt of their own about what we were doing; what if Dan and Leon had found their way into the pack house and were now waiting for us. The few pack members had been distributed around the perimeter of the pack house stood there, eyes sharp, senses alert. As we entered the house, the women immediately moved towards the kitchen to prepare a meal, at least once thing was certain, no matter how serious the entire ordeal was, we were going to have a meal. While the women cooked, Brad turned to Wally, curiosity carved on his face. "Wally, how did you find that bread? What made you notice it on your bedside table?"Wally hesitated for a moment before answering, his voice filled with shaky confidence. "I had just come out of the shower, and it was sitting
The night seemed to deepen and thicken all around us, covering the forest and the pack house in a surprisingly heavy darkness. The only light that could be seen for miles was the moon, which hung, pregnant in the sky. Inside the pack house, tension also painted the room and casted beach shadows in the air. As the pack members gathered in various corners of the house, a plan was already taking shape. I watched them as they made small groups with themselves, chattering as I watched them, curious enough to want to know what they were doing, but somehow not curious enough to ask. Surprisingly to me, they had silently decided to strengthen our defenses and surprise me with their ideas on how to keep me safe. The discovery would come later.Later that night, I realized that I was not of any help to anyone in the state of exhaustion I was in, so I climbed up the stairs and floated into my bedroom, saying a prayer for protection the seventh time. Working tirelessly through the night, the