LILY

I enjoyed my day keeping Luna Quinn company. We spent the morning talking, then went to the kitchen to make lunch before heading to the park. We settled near the pond's shore to relax and enjoy the quiet break from the kids and our responsibilities. Lyssa was picking up the kids from school, and Damien was training with Liam and Michael—he said he'd be gone all day, so we had plenty of time alone. We settled onto a blanket, and I read a manuscript Quinn had given me to review. She'd brought it for Azalea but didn't mind me reading it while we ate. I still couldn't believe Quinn wrote about our world and published it as fiction for humans. She explained this one was about how she and Michael found each other. As I read, she looked around dreamily, taking notes in her ever-present notebook and muttering to herself.

"I just love your pack lands and the packhouse," she said, smiling as I looked up. "It would make such a lovely book setting."

I laughed. "You don't even know the half of it. Azalea and Liam could be their own book series, let alone the other pack members. I bet you could do a whole series just on the women, too."

"Hmmm," she pondered, chewing her pencil. "A series? Care to elaborate?"

I spent the next few hours recounting the past decade's events to Quinn, answering her questions as we went. She took notes the entire time, and I wondered if she was seriously considering writing this. It would be best to ensure Azalea was okay with it; I trusted Quinn to get permission first, but I did omit some private details, so Quinn would need to ask her anyway. I looked at my watch and realized Lyssa had been watching all the kids for a while. I felt mildly terrible about having her watch them so I could socialize; she'd recently lost her mate.

"Would you mind if we picked up my and Azalea's kids? They're with Liam's mom, who just lost her mate. I'm sure she doesn't mind, but I feel bad about asking her to watch Delilah and Lucas along with her three grandkids," I asked Quinn, hoping she'd understand.

"Of course! I have plenty of pups of my own, and I don't mind them at all. Let's pack up and go," she replied, already putting her notebook in her bag and standing.

"Thank you," I sighed in relief. With the coming violence, I just wanted to hug my babies. Quinn dropped her bag, her mouth agape as she stared into the distance with glassy eyes.

"Are you okay?" I asked, confused; there was only the training field in that direction.

She snapped out of it, realizing she'd been communicating with her mate. "Michael's on his way, but the vampires are attacking. Liam's daughter and his mom are under attack."

"The kids are there!" I yelled, leaping to my feet.

"He sent patrols. They should be close, according to Michael," she said, but I didn't have time to think. I didn't care who was coming; vampires were near my children, and I needed to be there. Our serene, calming day was over; we were under attack.

That's when I heard Liam's voice.

"Liam just mind-linked us all," I said, astonished. I didn't know he could do that. "He said the vampires are having trouble fighting us in human form and to try fighting unshifted as much as possible."

Quinn nodded. "That makes sense. Most packs only train to fight as wolves."

"Luna, I have to go. You can go back to the packhouse or wait for Michael here, but Lyssa will need help getting all the kids there. I'm not waiting for someone else to protect my pups."

Shit, the packhouse. I needed to contact Lacey! "Lacey, vampires are attacking! Get everyone to the safe room!"

Quinn smiled softly. "I'm not letting you go alone." She seemed oddly calm, but then again, she wasn't exactly normal.

I hesitated, unsure whether to run in human form or shift. If they surprised us, I didn't want to be in wolf form after Liam's advice, but running in human form would be slower. Speed won out, but I didn't get the chance to act. We smelled their stench, our noses burning. I looked up; multiple vampires approached from both sides of the shore, and more were across the water. There were too many for us to handle. My stomach plummeted, and a chill ran down my spine. I prayed the patrol would reach the kids in time; I wasn't sure I would make it.

"You said Alpha Michael is on his way?" I asked, watching the vampires close in.

"Yes," she said simply.

"I guess we need to hold out until then," I sighed, gritting my teeth. I'd trained with Damien occasionally before Delilah and Lucas were born, but clearly not enough. I wasn't expecting an attack here, and while I was confident in a typical fight, this was different. We were outnumbered and fighting an enemy that didn't play by our rules.

"Shit, I have too many books in this bag; I left my sai in Michael's bag," Quinn fussed, rummaging as the vampires drew closer.

"You casually carry around sai?" I asked, confused.

She shrugged. "We're here to teach Damien to use weapons. It's what our pack does."

Grabbing a book in each hand, she dropped her bag. Shaking my head, I focused on the approaching vampires. I wondered if killing the ones on this side quickly would give us time to reach the kids, but realized that would just bring more vampires to them. Plus, they were as fast, or nearly as fast, as us.

I stepped back into a fighting stance, hands up, body angled. I took a deep breath, trying to remember my training. A vampire lunged, arms outstretched, snarling. I lashed out, hitting his nose and jaw; both resulted in satisfyingly solid hits and blood. For a moment, I felt confident, until I realized he was walking through my punches. I panicked, shifting and jumping back.

I growled a warning, but he didn't care. He charged, losing a hand in the process. I spat out his hand and blood, but he was too close. His arms wrapped around me, then another set of hands joined. I heard Quinn fighting behind me, but there were too many vampires. Breathing hurt as the vampires squeezed me; I felt my ribs cracking. I struggled to bite, but he remained firm. As my vision faded, the pressure released. I gasped for air, my lungs burning. My vision cleared; I saw Quinn using her blood-soaked book to hit a vampire in the throat, then kicking it down and shifting. Her fur was the same blue as her hair, shimmering in the sunlight. I didn't think her hair was naturally blue; I wasn't sure how this was possible.

"Not important right now," I thought, turning towards the multiplying vampires. I felt my ribs slowly healing.

Then, a roar from behind the vampires, and a flash of silver leaped over them—Michael. He shifted back, patted Quinn, and they joined the fight. I stood, breathing easier, and followed, determined to save our pack.

LACEY

"Fight unshifted as long as possible; they've trained to fight you as wolves. Go now! Protect your home!" Liam mind-linked. I stopped, surprised.

Lily's mind-link followed immediately: "Lacey, vampires are attacking! Get everyone to the safe room!" I was in the kitchen, snacking and chatting with Miss Marci while Felix was with Azalea. We were supposed to see the doctor later. I dropped my fork at Liam's voice; Lily's pushed me into action.

"Lacey?" Miss Marci said, concerned.

"Vampires," I said. "Vampires are here. We need to get everyone to safety!" I exclaimed, jumping up. I wobbled momentarily, my pregnancy causing balance issues.

Miss Marci's terror mirrored mine, then she squared her shoulders. "Alright, you go to the third floor and open the safe room; tell everyone upstairs. I'll start getting everyone downstairs," she instructed.

I nodded, protectively touching my belly. I didn't waste time; we moved, gathering everyone. It suddenly occurred to me that the kids weren't there, and I hadn't seen Lyssa and Azalea all day.

"Felix," I mind-linked him.

"I know," he said. "Get to safety; help get as many pack members as you can into the safe room."

"Junior, Leo, Delilah, Lucas, and Azalea, where are they?" I asked.

"With Lyssa. Austin went to get them," Felix informed me. I rushed upstairs as fast as I could, my large belly making it difficult. Our pup was due in a couple of weeks, and my walk was more of a waddle. A sharp pain shot through my lower abdomen. I stopped, clutching my stomach.

"What happened?" Felix mind-linked worriedly.

"Nothing," I told him. I needed to reach the safe room; he needed to focus on Azalea's safety. The vampires would likely target her. "I'm okay." I panted slightly, straightening. Other wolves rushed up the stairs. I heard shouting downstairs; warriors were arriving to help get pack members to safety and hold off the vampires.

"I'm coming for you," Felix said. I squeezed my eyes shut, starting up the stairs again.

"Keep Luna safe," I told him. "I'll be fine." My pace slowed with the lingering pain. I reached the next flight of stairs before it happened again. I stifled a groan, trying to breathe through the pain.

My wolf urged me to calm down; my body was reacting to the stress. A hand touched my back; Abigail, Austin's mate, was behind me. "We need to get upstairs," she said softly. I nodded.

With encouragement, we moved. Her children clung to her arm as we reached the hall to the safe room; two younger warriors stood at the entrance, waving us inside. Abigail found a chair and sat me down. Another pain ripped through my stomach, worse than before.

"Lacey, what's wrong?" she asked.

"I don't know," I breathed. "It hurts below my stomach. It feels like something's ripping apart." My eyes were squeezed shut as I endured the pain. I rocked back and forth, wishing Felix were here. I knew he needed to protect Azalea, but I needed him now.

"Oh no," Miss Marci said nearby.

"What if she's going into labor?" Abigail whispered. My eyes flew open.

"No," I said quickly. "It's too soon. No, no, no."

"We may not have a choice," Miss Marci said calmly.

"No," I said, shaking my head. "I still have weeks. Felix isn't here. There are vampires outside. This pup isn't coming now!" My heart raced.

"Lacey, please relax," Abigail said. "If you don't, this pup will come now."

I stood, panicking. Another pain, this time across my entire stomach. "Lacey," Felix's voice entered my head as I whimpered. Then, I lost control of my bladder. Liquid gushed down my legs.

"Lacey, we have no choice," Abigail said. "You're having this baby now!"

"Felix!"