Bart nudged me to look towards Mikko. I inwardly groaned. I really didn't want to. But I looked in that direction to see a chest, very close to my face. I looked up to see Mikko smirking over me. Bart disappeared.

"You're sad," Mikko said matter-of-factly.

I shrugged and took a sip of my cider. "So what if I am?"

"You're supposed to be happy. Humans typically rejoice at a New Year."

I huffed and looked him in his eyes. "Most humans aren't in my situation, are they?" I took another sip of my cider, wishing it was something alcoholic. "Most people don't have to deal with your mood swings all this coming year."

Mikko smiled. "I know a few women who would be glad to put up with me for a year."

I scoffed. "Not women who know that you want nothing more than sex out of them."

"That's not all I want out of them." I felt his hand on the bottom side of my bump. "You're giving me children this year."

"Yeah, I am. What are you giving me?"

He chewed on that for a moment. "Anything you want." I opened my mouth, but he pressed his index finger against my lips. "Except that. You know I can't give you that."

I shrugged. "Looks like you're not going to be giving me anything of worth then."

He smirked. "I'll keep you happy enough."

He interrupted my retort with a simple kiss. It was in front of everyone. It was an obvious claim. Something that wouldn't go anywhere, but he was just jerking me around some more.

I pushed him away from me. "You need to get permission for that." I motioned towards the whores he was around earlier. "I'm not one of those whores you can just get what you want and leave."

Mikko stood up straight, hovering over me. "I'm not going to share my bed with any of those women tonight. I made you a deal and I'm going to stick to it."

I rolled my eyes. We'd see just how well that would go.

-----

I stretched as I woke up. Mikko had kept his promise and did not go home with any of those girls. He didn't even entertain the idea for any of them.

I didn't feel as wound up as I had been last night. It was amazing what one roll in the hay could do. When I didn't hit Mikko, I looked around the room. I was alone.

I had woken up alone in the hotel room when we had first met anyway, so I didn't think much about it. I got up and got ready for the day. I had to go to my work and put in my resignation.

If I was going to keep my pregnancy safe, I needed to be around the pack all the time. I couldn't do that when I was at work for hours on end.

When I was dressed, I was surprised that Mikko hadn't come back yet. I glanced at the clock by my bed. It was only nine in the morning. My dad wasn't due back for another two hours.

I went to the kitchen to find it empty.

Living room. Empty.

Office. Empty.

Bathroom. Empty.

I searched the entire house and couldn't find him. Not a note, nothing.

Would he have gone on a run and left me here alone? Wasn't he the one pushing me to stay where I was guarded at all times?

I pulled on a jacket and put on my hiking boots. I needed to stay warm and the tread on the boots would keep me from falling on any ice.

I stood outside my house and listened. I couldn't hear anything to suggest that there was a wolf out there running around.

When I heard my cell ringing in the house, I decided to go back in. It was Nikki.

"Where are you? I've been looking all over."

I looked out the front window to see my car, alone and snow covered in the driveway. "I'm on my way."

I couldn't let Nikki know that I had slept with Mikko again. He might have been a good lay, but this time it made me feel cheap.

"What do you mean on your way? Mikko's already here. Everyone knows he wouldn't leave you alone."

"She's not alone," a man's voice said behind me, which scared me out of my skin.

"Jesus, Eddy!" I put my hand over my rapidly beating heart and tried to calm myself down.

"Mikko left you with Eddy?!" Nikki shrieked. "I'm coming over."

"No, really Nikki, I'm on my way over."

"If you're not here in ten minutes I'm coming over."

Knowing my best friend as long as I had, gave me the knowledge that she would do no such thing. Nikki would be in her car as soon as we hung up.

"Alright. See you in ten."

When I ended the call I couldn't help but be confused. "Why are you here?"

"Mikko called out for a guard and I happened to be closest." He adjusted the sweatpants that were at least three sizes too big for him. Dad kept a stash in the backyard and unfortunately for Eddy, my dad was of a much bigger build.

I took a couple of steps away from him. Eddy had changed since he'd been mated to Margaret. He wasn't sweet or even nice to me anymore.

"Well I can give you a lift back to the house."

He shook his head. "Why don't we have a little chat first?"

I inwardly cringed. I didn't want to hear what this new-found Eddy had to say. "What do you want to talk about? I know what you think of me."

"I want you to leave."

"What? Why?"

His eyes narrowed. "I don't want you to stomp around my territory, flaunting your pregnancy in my face!"

"I don't flaunt anything!" I said mildly offended. "I didn't plan on this happening."

"So what? We break up and then you happen to end up pregnant? That's too much of a coincidence," he was on the verge of yelling. I really didn't want to be this close to him...alone and delicately pregnant. "You know I wanted kids."

"Eddy," I tried my best to stay calm, but I knew he could scent my panic, "I didn't try to get pregnant. I wouldn't use this as a way to get back at you."

I could tell by the look on his face that what I had said only seemed to make him even more mad.

"No, why would a vengeful little whore like you do that?"

I took a few steps slowly away from Eddy. I needed to get to a gun. Dad kept several hiding spots of silver loaded guns. I knew where they all were, but Eddy would be looking out for most of them. Any werewolf who knew how to use their nose recognized silver.

"I know you tracked down a wolf of higher ranking on purpose." If I could just get further down the hall, there was a panel I could open with a handgun. "I'd bet you tried to get pregnant."

I shook my head. "Why would I use a baby as payback? Why would I subject myself to the miscarriage rates werewolves have?" I was about five feet away now. I just needed a few more steps to get my hand on that gun. "If I wanted to have a baby out of spite, I would've chosen a human, because if I had, you wouldn't be able to confront him or say anything."

He growled at me. Malicious growls aimed at you are always frightening. "You shouldn't be pregnant. He doesn't deserve to ever have kids."

Was all of this coming from jealousy? Had Eddy wanted kids that badly when we had been together? If I had known…

I couldn't think about what-ifs right now. I needed to focus on what was happening in the present. I ran my hand over the wall and found the lip of the panel.

"Please don't do anything stupid Eddy. This is my baby too." I couldn't tell Eddy about twins. I had only told Nikki and my father. I don't know who Mikko had told.

"I don't care. You can try again."

I pulled the gun from the panel and shot through Eddy's hand as he reached towards me. The bullet embedded in the wall behind him. Eddy's blood speckled the wall.

He hissed and pulled his bleeding hand back. His eyes seemed to clear of the rage that had been feeding him. I pointed the run right at his face, but I didn't shoot.

"What the fuck was that for?" He yelled in...was it confusion?

I kept the gun pointed at him. "Don't reach for me Eddy. I like Margaret. I don't want to make her a widow."

He hissed, holding his bleeding hand, and looked around. "What am I doing here?" he asked aloud, but to himself. "How long have I been here?"

"I don't know for sure Eddy, but you should take a step back."

He took a step back and looked at the bullet in the wall, while he clutched his bleeding hand. "Did you shoot me with silver?"

I nodded once, completely confused by what I was witnessing. How could he not know why I had shot him? He had to be faking in order to get my guard down.

"Em, you can lower the gun." He made it sound like he hadn't been a threat to me moments ago.

I shook my head. "I don't know what you're playing at Eddy, but I'm not lowering this gun. You're fast, but not faster than my trigger finger."

He nodded and backed up slowly. "I'm going to the kitchen to grab a towel. I'm not going to make sudden moves. I can tell you're a bit frazzled."

With every step he made away from me I felt safer. When he was twenty feet away from me I started to follow.

He grabbed a towel from the drawer and wrapped his hand. "You feel like telling me what happened? I'm confused here."

I huffed. "You're the one playing Jekyll and Hyde here."

His brows creased. "I threatened you?"

"Not me exactly."

He shook his head, seeming to understand what I was saying and not liking it. "I wouldn't have done that. Margaret is excited to have a niece or nephew. I wouldn't take that from her."

I made my way to my purse and searched for the feel of my keys. If I looked away from Eddy, he could attack before I could have reacted.

"I'm not going to make any quick moves. I know you'd shoot me."

I found the keys and tugged them out of my purse before bringing the strap over my shoulder.

"While I'm here, I should apologize for what I said about you a while back. Jason told me to steer clear since you knew," he confessed. "I was just jealous. I should've kept my trap shut."

"Right now I find that hard to be sincere."

He checked under the blood soaked towel. "I know."

"Is it still gushing?"

He nodded. "A bit."

"In my med bag there's a packet called Bleed Arrest Clotting Powder. Rip it open and pour it on. Keep the pressure on it until the bleeding stops."

He nodded. "It's still under the end table?"

I nodded once to confirm. "Wait until I'm in my car."

"Okay." He grabbed another towel. "I'll stay put until you send someone for me here."

I shut the front door and nearly ran to my car. I had it unlocked when I heard the zipper of my medical bag.

That was when Nikki's car squealed to a stop blocking me in the driveway. "Get in."

I didn't think twice I left my car unlocked and jumped into her car.

"Get me out of here."

Nikki drove like she owned a race car as soon as I was buckled in. "What the hell happened?"

With a shaking hand, I set the gun on the console. "I shot him," I said in disbelief. "I shot Eddy through the hand."

"How long had he been there?"

"I didn't know he was there until you heard him on the phone. I didn't even hear the bells chime when he came in."

"Were any of your windows open?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe. The bathroom window is usually open."

"Eddy was gone all night. Margaret's been worried about him all morning." She glanced at me, "Did he stay with you last night?"

I shot her a harsh glare. "No, I did not have Eddy over last night. Mikko stayed with me, but he was gone when I woke up."

"Did something happen last night? I heard Mikko was in quite a funk this morning when he got to the pack house."

"What'd he do?" Last night shouldn't have left him pissed off... unless he hated the idea of sleeping with me again. I did practically jump him after all.

"When Margaret asked him if he could look for Eddy he snapped at her something about not being Eddy's keeper."

"Not brother/sister drama?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. When we got there I started looking for you and I overheard her crying to her father about Eddy."

Nikki reached over and put my handgun in her glove compartment. "You're too jumpy to be carrying." She locked the compartment. It would definitely keep me out. "What happened with Eddy? Why did you shoot him?"

By the time I finished telling her the story I was sobbing and holding my belly.

She groaned. "Mikko's going to kill Eddy if he finds him first. We need to tell Finn what happened before Mikko can find out. He'll keep his son from tracking Eddy down."

I wiped my tears away with the bottom of my shirt. When we got into the driveway I knew I was still a mess.

Nikki held my hand as she led me around. I didn't pay attention to where I was going until Nikki let go of my hand and knocked a door down... literally. It was one of the guest rooms.

As quickly as the door was broken, she was on the ground on her stomach, lying limply with a big body holding her down. "You should speak to Emily in private," Nikki said when she gave her neck to Finn.

He looked over at me and took in my frayed nerves.

"You could have knocked." He got off of Nikki and went back into his room for a shirt.

The head alpha's pretty cut. I mused to myself, which helped me calm down.

And full of scars. I also noted.

Nikki slowly got off the ground and kept her eyes on my stomach. When Finn came out he was in jeans and a long sleeved shirt.

"Let's go to the office, since my door is now broken." He shot Nikki a look before walking in the direction of the office.

Nikki stood still until I dragged her along with me. I didn't want to do this alone. I needed someone there for me.

Finn cleared this throat when I followed him into the room with Nikki, grabbing the attention of the others in the room.

Alpha Jerry's brow creased in concern. "We're setting up a grid to find Eddy, can this wait?"

Finn watched me for a moment, before he shook his head. "This can't wait. I need all of you to give me the room for a few minutes."

Jerry shook his head and tapped his pointed finger on the map. "I need to find Eddy. He's never gone missing like this before, which means this is serious."

"That's what we're going to talk about," Finn said calmly as the alpha’s face became angry.

"If this has to do with my son then I am going to hear this too!"

I shook my head. "Eddy's at my house. You should take Albert."

Panic was the look on the alpha's face. Finn watched the alpha run to save his son. He probably thought that Eddy was dying. When they left, Finn locked the door.

"What happened with Eddy?"

I told Finn what had happened, leaving out the back-stabbing whore portion of it. I didn't want to have to face that again today. I kept my hands on my belly since it had helped my jitters last time I told the tale.

Finn took a deep breath before speaking. "Don't tell Mikko about what happened until I say you can." The order sunk into Nikki. Finn smiled at me, "Don't let my son run all over you. He needs a woman with a backbone."

The door to the office boomed, but didn't open. It sounded like someone was trying to get in with a battering ram.

Finn sighed at the door, but went over to open it.

"Behave," Finn chastised, "I don't want to pay to replace another door you've broken."

"Then don't lock me out." Mikko growled at his father as he walked into the room. "What happened?" He was looking at me, but all I could do was stand there.

Mikko turned towards Finn. "Then you tell me."

Finn leaned back against the alpha’s desk. "This needs to be figured out before you go about dispensing your justice."

"What happened?" he asked from a clenched jaw.

I looked at Nikki. Maybe she wasn't as scared as I was. She sneezed, grabbing both of the wolves' attention.

She smiled at me. "You smell like black pepper when you're scared." I glared at her, which eased some of my fear. That had probably been her goal.

"You should tend to yours." Finn was calm even with his raging son. "It's been a long time for you, but she still needs attention and affection."

Mikko rolled his shoulders and cranked his neck. "Don't speak with her again unless I'm present," he told his father threateningly.

"Don't go giving orders to me boy." I was definitely more afraid of Finn. By the way Mikko's back tensed, I knew he was afraid too. "Care for what's yours before it's taken away."

Finn walked to the door and held it open. "After you Nicole…"

She squeezed my hand once before walking out of the office, leaving me alone with Mikko and the wolf staring out of his eyes.