A few weeks passed by in relative peace; save for the few males who couldn’t keep their hands to themselves. “Eve there’s a pack barbeque tonight; you can borrow one of my swimsuits.” Jenna said, bursting into my room where I sat reading a book, the same book I’d been reading the day I left.

“And if I don’t want to?” I asked uninterested, flicking to the next page of the book without glancing at her.

I heard her growl before she grabbed the book and stood angrily in front of me. “Well you damn well better pull your head out of your ass! You’ve been home for three weeks now and you’re going back to your old ways; locking yourself in your room and emerging only when no one else is around!”

“Seven years and I still don’t belong here; do you not see that?” I asked, standing and walking towards the door. “I have a year’s leave before I return to the military and I’m not even sure if I want to spend another week here; I’m not welcomed by half your pack and the other half doesn’t care.”

I headed towards the kitchen to eat my body weight in pickles; I’d always loved the salty taste but I’d really wanted them for a few days now. I took a seat on one of the counters, out of the way of the ladies who were making salads for tonight and marinating the meat.

“Hey Eve.” Pierre strolled into the kitchen shirtless and poured himself a glass of water. He was wearing swimming shorts that were wet with water slowly dripping down his chest; it was definitely not the worst sight in the world. “How’ve you been?”

I shrugged my shoulders and swallowed the pickle. “I’ve been better; it’s kind of boring around here.”

He winked and skulled his water. “That’s because you haven’t been hanging with the right guys.”

“Really? Who could these ‘guys’ be?” I asked sarcastically with a light teasing tone. “Could they be friends with a certain Frenchman?”

He smiled and helped me down from the stool, closing the jar and putting it back in the fridge for me. “They could be and I’m sure that they’ve wanted to meet you since you showed Tom who’s boss.” We walked outside but Jenna stopped us and pressed a few pieces of material into my hands while giving me a determined look.

I sighed and walked into the downstairs bathroom, stripping quickly and putting on the swimsuit. I’d always been curvy and after I’d joined the army and lost weight I’d still kept my chest and ass. Unfortunately the swimsuit did nothing to cover my chest as it was strapless with thin black strings that connected the two strips of fabric that sat on my boobs. It felt strange as I’d usually wear a tight sports bra which kept them bound tightly. The bottoms were no better and were basically a thong with a triangle that covered my downstairs area and black straps holding it place. Everything was on display and I felt naked.

When I stepped out of the bathroom Jenna swooped in and took my clothes. “Give me the tags.” I shook my head and glared at her; they would never come off, they were as much a part of me as my scars. She shrugged and shoved me towards Pierre. “Have fun.”

I turned back to glare at her but she was gone. I honestly could kill that woman. I let out a frustrated breath as Pierre led me outside, his hand on the small of my back to guide me.

The pool was just like I remembered and there weren’t many people in it yet and the barbeque hadn’t started either. A large group of guys with a few girls mixed in were playing a game of volleyball in the pool and Pierre led us over to them. The pack had grown substantially since I’d left and most of the people I didn’t know or recognise.

Pierre jumped into the pool and I was left standing on the ledge with dozens of eyes on me. I stood tall before sliding into the pool and joining him. We joked around and laughed, playing volleyball and talking with the other people around us as the food began cooking.

Soon the pool was filled to the brim and I swam away from Pierre to my dads who sat in a quiet corner.

“Hey sweetheart.” Ace extended an arm and I curled into his side. I really had missed this, missed my dad’s. I knew that they loved me more than anything and I know that I’d hurt them when I’d left; but they let me go, let me live my life and I couldn’t have been more grateful. I know that if I had ended up staying I would’ve ended up resenting them. “What have you been up to?”

I shrugged and wrinkled my nose. “Not much; reading and working out is about all I’ve been doing.”

They both frowned and I saw them exchange a look. “You know that you have free run of the house and you can do whatever you want; you can even go hiking, you’d just have to take someone.”

I knew this already but I didn’t feel at home with the pack and it was just easier to avoid them; my team was my family and the only people I trusted, save for my parents. I didn’t get along easily with other people and I trusted few; I guess I had issues with trust because of the bullying. “I know. Has Jenna been keeping you guys busy?” I asked, diverting the topic. I remember that both of them had gotten a heavier work load when Jenna had her first child, a girl that she named Elliot. She’d be sixteen now and had always treated me like a friend; not like the other teenagers and kids. A year after Jen had given birth to two twin boys that she named Caine and Alexandros; they’d be fifteen now and almost ready to shift.

Hansel chuckled and nodded. “Jen’s pregnant again so we’ve gotten more paperwork and less free time; sometimes I don’t know how she does it. She thinks it’s another girl but everyone else thinks it’ll be a boy; or even twins again.”

After that there was no more talk as the food was ready. I piled my plate high with salad and made myself a mouth-watering burger filled with steak, tomato, cheese and various sauces. My stomach rumbled and I moaned when I took a bite; it was as delicious as it looked.

I don’t know what went wrong but directly after I finished eating my stomach turned and I began to feel sick; which was strange as I was never sick. I ran into the house, dropping my empty plate as I ran and I barely made it to the toilet in time before I threw up everything that I’d eaten in the past day.

I felt a set of hands rubbing my back as another pulled my hair back. When I looked up both my dads were watching me with concern. “Are you alright Eve?” Ace asked as Hansel passed me a glass of water.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” I wasn’t though; my mind was racing at a hundred miles an hour. I never got sick… ever; injured, yes but never sick.

My mind rushed back to all those time’s I’d had sex with Griff and the most recent only a few weeks ago; we hadn’t used protection any of those times. It had never worried me though because I was infertile; at least, I thought I was. When I’d enlisted I’d gone through a thorough medical examination and they’d found that I had polycystic ovary syndrome; it meant that my periods were irregular and very painful and that in my case, I was infertile. It also explained my weight as a teen.

I felt all the blood drain from my face as I stared down at my stomach; could there be a life in there? Part of me and part of Griff?

My hands began to shake and I slumped to the floor; no, I refused to believe that I could be pregnant with my best friend’s baby.

“Eve? Eve? What’s wrong?”

I felt numb as I slowly stood with shaking legs. “I-I’ve got to go; I’ll be back in a few hours.”

I ran to my room and threw on a pair of jeans and a shirt before tucking my gun in a holster under my leather jacket. I threw my hair up in a messy bun, grabbed the keys to my car, my phone and my wallet and ran outside.

-

Positive.

All six tests said the exact same thing; positive.

I shook my head in denial as I pushed them all into brown bag and unlocked the bathroom door. I drove back to the pack house in a daze, the drive taking just under an hour.

After navigating the dark track I parked the car and slid out. The door creaked slightly as I pushed it open and walked into the foyer. I encountered no one as I walked up to my room and dumped everything next to the door, picking out Griff’s shirt and a towel. I headed towards the shower opposite my room; I just wanted to wash the day away, change out of the bikini I wore and fall asleep.

The hot water beat down on my body but I hardly felt it. My gaze was planted firmly on my flat stomach; there was a baby in there. When I got out I towel dried myself and slipped into Griff’s long shirt I entered my bedroom to find my dad’s sitting on my bed with the brown bag between them and the pregnancy tests.

I froze momentarily until they gestured to the space between them. Slowly I walked forwards and moved the tests.

“At first I wanted to hunt down the man who did this to you and then Hansel reminded me how scared you must be.” Ace said after what felt like hours of silence. “I don’t like the thought of my baby girl growing up but I guess it was inevitable; I always knew you’d come back but I didn’t think that you’d be so… different, or pregnant.”

“I’m not sorry I left.” I told him, looking up. “I hated it here and I’ve never belonged. I love you guys, Jenna and Klaus but I’ve found my family in my team members. I may be your daughter but I am not and never have been a part of this pack.”

I saw a tear trickle down Hansel’s cheek and I wiped it away, placing a soft kiss on his tanned cheek. “Who’s the father?” He asked.

My shoulders slumped as I thought about Griff. “My best friend.” I looked between them and ran a hand through my hair. “You have to both understand that I never thought this would happen. After I left and enlisted I was told that I was infertile; I have polycystic ovary syndrome when means that my ovaries don’t function properly. I never thought about protection; with my ovaries and the trauma my body’s suffered it didn’t matter that much.” I was beaten a lot in my time with the al- Qaeda rebels and they would often beat me until I passed out or couldn’t move.

“What do you mean ‘trauma’? What happened?” Ace growled.

I lay down on the bed and stared up at the ceiling. “I’m in the army dad; obviously I’m going to get hurt. I’ve been shot, beaten, tortured, stabbed; of course it’d take a toll. I’m only human.” Not like them. I used to wish that I was a wolf but as I grew older I saw more of their world and I slowly became indifferent.

The supernatural world was brutal and it was survival of the fittest. They had laws and rules, criminals, prisons and a feudal system. I understood weres more than most as I’d spent many a day in Jena’s library, reading about their race.

When I was little I’d held onto was the idea of mates; someone perfectly suited, made specifically for you. Mates were destined and predetermined by fate; all supernaturals had a mate, even some humans… though there was only a minority of mated humans. As I grew up, I came to realise that I wasn’t the kind of person that had a mate; I was just plain old Eve. Before they would’ve rejected me for my looks and social standing; now they’d reject me for being cold, scarred and pregnant.

“Are you going to keep it?”

Although life was treasured and children were adored in the pack, I knew that I would be looked down on for being pregnant, mate less and human.

Abortion was out of the question though because I wouldn’t and I couldn’t kill the life inside me that I had made. I knew that my decision would affect me for the rest of my life; I would be responsible for the safety and wellbeing of another person. I was old enough to take accountability for my actions and I couldn’t keep running or ignoring my problems though.

The thing that really hurt was the fact that I wouldn’t be able to continue on in the military. I didn’t want to think about that though; the military, specifically the SAS was my life and had been for years.

“I’m going to take it one day at a time.” I said tiredly, rolling onto my side to grab and hug a pillow to my chest.

I felt hand stroking my hair and a kiss was placed on my brow. “That’s really all you can do angel.”