‘Alpha there’s been an accident.’

I groaned and sat up. Klaus growled from underneath me and dragged me back down onto his chest. “It can wait.” He growled, kissing my neck. I moaned but pushed him away.

“No Klaus; I’m alpha I have to deal with this.” I pushed away, got up off the bed and pulled a sun dress over my head. They’d been the only things I could really wear for the past few weeks because I’d gotten huge, as big as when I’d had Alex and Caine; I was having twins again. I knew that any day now I would go into labour and it was both a daunting and extremely exciting.

I left him in our room and began the long trek down the stairs. Even from several floors up I could smell blood but it didn’t smell like wolf blood, it smelt… human. My eyes widened and I rushed down the steps as fast my pregnant belly would allow.

When I got to the bottom I elbowed my way through the crowd and the sight that greeted me made my heart stop. Eve lay sprawled at the foot of the stairs; there was a gash on her forehead that was slowly oozing blood, her right leg was bent at an odd angle and her back looked broken. The most horrifying thing was the pool of blood underneath her that stemmed from between her legs; the baby!

Pack members stood around her and I knew that none of them had any idea what the hell to do. “Wake the pack doctor and somebody get a gurney… now!” I yelled, urging everyone into action. I bent down and pressed my ear to her chest, straining my hearing as I listened for a heartbeat. It felt like eons until I heard the faint thump, thump, thump and I sighed in relief; she was alive… barely though.

It was all a blur as the pack doctor rushed down the steps and Eve was carted off into emergency surgery. I knew that most of the pack was sleeping; Ace and Hansel would still be in their room and I knew that I had to tell them. The doctor’s prognosis had been brief but grim; he didn’t think Eve would make it through the night.

I drew myself up from the chair and slowly walked up the stairs. With every step I felt tears prick the back of my eyes but I blinked them away; Hansel and Ace didn’t need tears, they needed support. Eve was like my daughter though and I was angry this had happened to her; she was so careful and coordinated, how the hell did she fall down the stairs?

When I reached the top level I stood outside their door, staring at it blankly. As I raised my hand to knock, the door opened to reveal Ace and Hansel. They were laughing and joking with each other until they spotted me. They bowed their heads slightly with smiles. “Jenna.”

When they looked back up at me, they must have noticed my expression because their smiles quickly faded. “What’s wrong Jen?”

I took a deep breath and bowed my head; I actually couldn’t look them in the eyes and tell them that their daughter was dying. They’d already gone through it once and I saw how it broke them; could I really do that to them again?

“Jenna?”

“Eve fell down the stairs last night and was found this morning; she’s in surgery.” I looked up at their devastated faces. “It’s real bad; the doc doesn’t think she’ll make it.”

I saw Hansel fall to his knees and Ace soon followed. Their mournful howls filled the corridor and I knew that if she died, I would lose my friends; they wouldn’t be able to handle it. “I’m so sorry.” I murmured as a tear dripped down my cheek. “I am so fucking sorry.”

-

The hallways was crowded as we all waiting outside the operating theatre. Hansel sat beside me staring at the opposite wall while Ace paced the hallway, his hands clenched at his sides, knuckles white; Griffin was leaning against the wall, staring up at the ceiling as he played with his dog tags and Kade simply stood still, staring at the theatre doors.

Hours had passed since they’d carted Eve away and I was becoming anxious. What is she didn’t make it? What would happen if she died?

The doors opened and the pack doctor walked out in scrubs, covered in blood. His expression was grim as Hansel stood. “How is she? How’s the baby?” The doctor shook his head and I watched as Hansel crumbled.

“Her fall caused a miscarriage, killing the foetus and she sustained brain damage, a broken clavicle, radius, carpus, fibula, a broken rib, pierced lung and two broken thoracic vertebra; there’d be a large possibility that she would be paralysed if she woke, but she’s not going to… her body is shutting down and there’s nothing we can do.” I knew that if she ever did wake up, she would be devastated; she had loved that child and she was so independent.

“No, no, no; she will wake up, she’ll be fine and she’ll argue the toss with me and she’ll wake up!” Hansel said almost frantically as Ace shook his head. “She’ll be fine.”

“Please tell me there’s something we can do… anything.” Ace practically begged. “My little girl is not going to die!”

The doctor stared at Ace before sighing. “There’s one thing; but it’s a one in a million shot and if it doesn’t work, she will die.”

“If there’s a chance that it will help, we’ll do it.”

The doctor shook his head. “It’s not that simple though.”

I sighed and stood, hands on hips. “I and everyone else here would appreciate it if you would stop being vague and tell us what can save her and how we do it.” I ordered. I didn’t like people who went round and round in circles; you either get to the point or get out. I was tired, pregnant and I was facing the loss of my niece; I was not in the mood for frivolities.

He cleared his throat and nodded. “My apologies alpha; you may know the stories from the Middle Ages when hunters and villages were turned?”

I nodded. When I was a teenager, I would constantly read the books in my dad’s office because I didn’t have many friends… and I wanted my dad’s attention. There was a book on the history of my kind and I remember that in the middle ages, there was a phenomenon of turnings

Hundreds or years ago, there were many accounts of werewolf attacks; usually rouges. Hunters were low in numbers and did not have the technology they had now; but the hunters that did exist used to hunt rouges that killed or attacked humans. Many of the hunters had werewolf ancestors and although they were human, they had wolf DNA; no matter how little, no matter how dormant. This was important to note because when the hunters that had the dormant wolf DNA were attacked and bitten, but not immediately killed, they would turn, or die in the process. It seemed that this only worked with the strongest of people and happened because the wolf DNA somehow… triggered the dormant wolf genes within the hunters. But it didn’t just happen with hunters; it also happened with villagers, nobles and even royalty.

.“What of it?” I asked; I had my suspicions as to what he was eluding to, but I wanted to hear it from him first.

Many died after they were bitten due to their system’s rejecting the wolf’s DNA and very few survived the change; it was much more violent than that of a born wolf’s. But if the person did survive, they were stronger and faster than a normal wolf, more agile and they healed faster. That was what got me; they healed faster.

My mind flashed to Eve; she’d heal faster… if she survived.

“Perhaps if we introduced wolf DNA into her body, she would make the change and heal…”

“But?” I urged, knowing that Ace would know where the doctor was going; Griffin and Hansel would have no idea though. Kade had been silent through the whole thing and as I glance at him from the corner of my eye, his face was impassive.

He sighed and shot a glance over to Hansel who was leaning against the wall, sitting on the floor. It reminded me of the time they’d received the letter from the military notifying them of Eve’s death; they were shattered.

The doctor sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “It’s not likely that she will survive; we don’t even know if she has any dormant wolf DNA and if she does, it still may not work. As I said before, the chance of her surviving is one in one million.”

There was silence as the situation settled in; either way, she could die.

“Do it.” I’d almost forgotten that Griffin was here but when he spoke up, I was a little taken aback; he was so quiet.

“But she could die!” Hansel growled.

“She’ll die anyway!” Griffin yelled. “Eve has been in brawls, shot, stabbed, tortured, starved and beaten but not once has she ever stopped fighting; she’ll make it if you change her, I know she will, she’s stronger than you think.”

There was silence until Ace nodded. “What do we do?”

The doctor looked over to Kade. “I want him to claim her; it won’t turn her because he was made for her, but it will prepare her body.”

Kade’s face was blank but after a few seconds he simply nodded before taking a step forward. I knew that neither Ace nor Hansel liked the idea of their little girl being marked any more than they’d liked the idea of her being pregnant, but I knew that they would deal with it… for the sake of Eve, always for the sake of Eve.

The doctor escorted Kade into the theatre and the wait began all over again. This time Ace was seated, staring at the door like he wanted to rip it off its hinges, Hansel was completely silent, curled up on the floor as he stared at the wall and Griffin… well Griffin looked really, really angry.

I pushed myself off my chair and approached him, grabbing his arm and dragging him off to the side. “What’s wrong?”

He sneered down at me but I knew that he wasn’t angry at me and wouldn’t ever think of raising a hand against a woman; from what I had seen, he was a gentleman. “My child is dead and my best friend is in that room, in a bed, in a coma and fighting for her life; how do you think I’m doing?” He asked sarcastically but the sheen of tears in his eyes let me know that he was hanging on by only a thread.

I patted his shoulder and shook my head. “Not well; none of us will judge you Griffin, we all love Eve.”

He shook his head before pinching the bridge of his nose. “No, you don’t understand… I’m mad because I know that Eve did not trip down those stairs; someone pushed her, killed my child and my best friend.”

Before I could reply, the door opened and the doctor walked out, Kade following, his mouth smudged with blood; Eve’s blood.

“I figure that you all shift and bite her and if that doesn’t work, then we’ll do blood transfusions.” The doctor said as he directed us all into the room. “Betas please go first; alpha since you cannot shift, you should allow your blood to heal the bites by the betas and then I’ll set up a transfusion with your blood…. If you’ll allow it.”

I nodded but my gaze was focused solely on the fragile person lying in the bed; that could not be the beautiful little girl I’d watched grow up…. it couldn’t be!

She was pale and fragile, wrapped in casts, hooked up to various machines and completely broken; she looked dead and if it weren’t for the beep of the heart monitor, I would have thought that she was. It physically hurt my heart to see her like that and it was a blow to the gut when I saw how much flatter her stomach was. Ace and Hansel wasted no time in shifting and soon two giant wolves stood by the bed. The doctor pushed me down into a chair where he quickly found a vein and pushed a needle through my skin. I didn’t flinch as my eyes were trained on Eve.

I watched as Hansel stood by her stomach and Ace by her right leg. The hesitated before both opened their maws and bit down… hard.

Seconds passed before they slowly unclamped their jaws and backed up. Blood literally gushed from her body, though there didn’t seem to be as much as there should have been.

The doctor rushed forward with two nurses who began trying to staunch the flow when it was obvious that she wasn’t healing.

I began to feel light headed as the doctor pulled out the needle and my body immediately healed. He began the transfusion immediately and slowly but surely, the bleeding slowed and eventually stopped. I watched as Goosebumps appeared on her skin, she began breaking out in a sweat and her temperature skyrocketed.

“What’s happening?” Griffin asked the doctor as he touched her forehead. “Is she shifting? What’s wrong? What can we do?” My gaze flickered over to where Kade stood in the back of the room watching Eve with a piercing gaze. He didn’t seem bothered that Griffin was touching Eve but from the way he clenched his hands, I knew that he felt more than he let on.

“Her body is reacting to the wolf DNA.” The doctor said stoically, shaking his head. “I guess we’ll just have to see if she makes it through the night.”

-

Days passed and Eve’s fever did not break. The abysmal silence that had once filled the room had been replaced by pained whimpers. Nothing had healed save for the bites she’d received from Kade, Ace and Hansel; but the doctor would ask them to bite her daily in an attempt to get her to react. They kept up with the transfusions but slowly we were all losing hope. In the past the people that’d been bitten died within the first twelve hours of infection and the others turned; but with Eve, so far nothing.

I groaned and shifted in my chair as the pain in my lower back intensified. I knew what was happening, I’d been through it twice before.

I’d gone into labour.

As this revelation hit me I felt like I’d wet myself and liquid trickled from between my legs; my water had broken.

The doctor turned to me and his gaze landed on my wet dress and the way I griped the chair as the pain kicked up a notch. “Alpha I think we need to get you to a bed and hooked up to the heart monitor.”

I took one more look at Eve before another spike of pain ran through my pelvis and back. “Yeah ok.” I grunted.

‘I’ve gone into labour.’ I calmly said to my mate through our mind link. I could picture him freezing before running down to the medical bay; he always got really excited when I went into labour… then he realised how much it hurt and would promptly faint when he saw a baby coming out of me. He was a big, tough rouge and could handle anything… except seeing his mate giving birth.

I paused in front of Kade’s as I left. “Send someone if anything changes.” I grunted, clutching my stomach. He nodded but his gaze was fixed to my stomach like he expected the babies to jump out at any moment.

I shook my head and followed the doctor. “Men.”

-

“Just one more push alpha.” I glared at the man between my legs, sweat dripping down my forehead, hair plastered to my face as pain washed through me. I panted and a scream escaped me as I pushed; it felt like I was trying to push a watermelon out of my body and I guess in a way, I was. There was a feeling of relief as the pressure ebbed and a few seconds later a cry filled the room.

“It’s a boy.” The doctor passed a pair of scissors to Klaus who cut the cord. My body went limp as I breathed a sigh of relief; it was finally over.

At least so I thought; another bolt of sharp pain ripped through my body and I groaned. “Oh god I think there’s another one!”

I swear Klaus almost dropped our son. “Another one?”

I glared at him and gritted my teeth as another stab of pain went through me. “Yes another one you fucking moron! You are never touching me again I swear!” Before the doctor could begin his encouragement again, I bared down and pushed. A rush of expletives escaped my lips before I felt something give way and it slipped out of my body.

It was a boy; the last child I would ever have if I had anything to do with it. I sighed in relief and relaxed as nurses fluttered around the room, cleaning the babes and me, changing the bedding and removing the placenta.

“What do you want to name them?” Klaus asked, smiling down at me as I fed our sons.

“Nicolaos Caius Knight after my uncle, and Bruno Ezra Knight after your great- grandfather.” Klaus smiled and laid a kiss on my lips before there was a knock on the door. It opened to reveal Kade who wore a grim expression.



“Eve is shifting.”