I squeezed Sam's hand gently, still resting my head on his shoulder, as he seemed absolutely stunned. "Does Dad know about all of this?" he asked, and I shook my head gently. "No, Thane's not wanting to share much about it yet, but he's planning on addressing the pack soon," I said quietly, not really wanting Dad to know, and worry about all of this. "But we're not pack, Lails, we're your family. You should come to us with stuff like this, you know we'll always be here for you," he said, turning his head to look at me, and I lifted mine to meet his eyes. "I know, Sammy," I said sadly, "I just don't want to worry you, or put you in more danger," and he shook his head at me. "We're in more danger when we don't know," he said gently, and I nodded, realising he was right. "I'll try to be more up front about it," I said softly, "but you need to careful who you trust with anything I tell you." He nodded sadly, and I knew I didn't need to mention Jake's name, for him to understand that I m
Soon after, some Omegas began coming up, bringing huge share plates loaded with deliciously aromatic foods. We ate, drank, and laughed for several hours, though Cole left part way through to swap with Luca, who came in looking delighted at the spread still on the table. "I swear, I could smell this all the way from the south wing," he said, his hand rubbing a circle on his stomach as he eyed the food hungrily. We laughed at him, and he grinned, joining us and helping himself to the food, before sitting himself next to Finn, on my left. "Any change?" asked Thane quietly, and Luca shook his head sadly, "None at all. Dorian doesn't seem all that hopeful that there will be," he said, and I noticed Dad paying more attention to the conversation now, though his eyes were still mostly on Elyanna. Sam noticed too, glancing over at me, and I nodded gently, realising I'd have to fill him in sooner or later. Despite everything that had been going on, it felt good to have everyone around me, sha
I awoke briefly a short while later, as I felt Cole climbing into bed beside us, gently taking my hand in his as he laid close. He pressed his lips to the backs of my fingers, and I whispered a soft, sleepy sounding, "Thank you." I felt his lips curve up into a smile, and he gently lowered my hand, keeping his fingers entwined between mine. "You're welcome, my lovely mate," he whispered softly in return, and I couldn't help but smile as I began drifting into sleep again. I wasn't sure when Finn joined us, but he was on our other side, sound asleep, when I woke again. It was morning, and I could feel Thane stirring underneath me, his cock still inside me, and rapidly growing hard again. I gasped softly, lifting my head to look up at him, and he opened his eyes, pressing a finger to his lips. I frowned, confused at his need for silence, but understood suddenly, as he began moving inside me, still growing harder, and larger, by the second. I barely stifled a soft moan, and he grinned,
We spent another immensely enjoyable two hours in bed together, ending with a long while snuggling, exhausted and satisfied. Eventually, we reluctantly got up, showering together before heading to each of our rooms, one by one. They were insistent on still being cautious, checking the rooms for any sign of disturbance before dressing, while the others waited, then moving onto the next room. Thankfully, they all still seemed untouched, and it gave some hope that they might remain that way. We headed downstairs then, stopping for a late breakfast, before heading over to the hospital. As we walked over, I couldn't help but notice the odd stares and whispers that followed us, or the mood that seemed somber and suspicious. I glanced over at Finn, noticing his small frown and slight tension, and realised that he'd noticed too. Even the nurses seemed significantly less welcoming than before, with Camille seeming to avoid us entirely, ducking back into the nurses' office the moment she saw
Cole took my hand gently as he saw my sadness, lifting it to press his lips to my knuckles, while Finn reached over to stroke my cheek gently, before taking my other hand. "It was just another facet in our decision to remove our father," Cole continued quietly, "It wasn't just Thane getting hurt like this, but so many. And her jealously, over those she'd consider hers.." He trailed off again, shaking his head sadly, and Finn continued, his voice wavering with the pain he still felt. "We suspected her involvement in our mothers death," he said softly, and I stared at him, stunned, "There was never any proof, but.." he paused, and Cole continued for him, anger in his tone now. "Our father would never have allowed it to happen, without Samantha's corruption affecting him," he said heavily, and Finn nodded agreement. "She had power like that, even over a Lycan Alpha?" I asked, both horrified and impressed, and they nodded sadly. "How did you overthrow them then?" I asked, wondering if t
They both looked thoughtful for a long while, and Cole sighed, shaking his head gently, "I hate how we've come to second guessing everyone's intentions," he said quietly, as he stood. Finn nodded agreement, and stood too, gently pulling at my hand until I stood beside him. He put an arm around my waist then, as we headed back out of the room. When Cole opened the door though, we were hit with a tirade of voices, followed by an angry sounding Thane, shouting, "ENOUGH!"It was clear he'd used his Alpha voice, and the din quickly ceased. Surprisingly, it seemed to come from only four people, who I recognised as Elsie's friends who had confronted us previously. They turned, hearing Cole close the door behind us, and their faces were suddenly full of anger. "You!" one of them said, pointing a finger at me accusingly, "You did this! You hurt her!" they continued, and Thane growled angrily from behind them. The young-looking girl quickly dropped her finger, backing away from me, as much fea
"They've been spreading rumours that it was Laila who hurt Elsie," Cole said, his annoyance clear in his voice, and Dorian hissed angrily. "Oh my, those vicious little.." he began, but Thane raised a hand, silencing him. "Apparently they all saw the same.. dream, or vision, or something, of Elsie repeating the words, 'She did this,'" he said, and Dorian frowned. "I just checked her a few hours ago, there are still no signs of brain activity," he said, sounding thoughtful, "Should we assume this is the work of Samantha, attempting to sow discord?"Thane nodded, and Dorian sighed deeply, "She is persistent, that's for certain," he said, then moved past Thane and into Elsie's room checking her over once more, "Still the same," he said, shaking his head sadly. "What did you tell them?" he asked Thane, who shrugged casually, "I told them we were all there, that we know Laila didn't harm her," he said, then sighed, "They didn't want to hear it, of course." Dorian shook his head, looking ann
We watched her leave, waiting for her to be out of earshot before I turned to Finn, "Thane wasn't exaggerating about how quickly they spread rumours, was he?" I said, and Finn shook his head, looking somewhat troubled. "Not at all," he said quietly, "We just need to ensure that they're spreading the right ones." I nodded agreement, but couldn't help but feel unsettled by it."That might be hard," I said, making him raise an eyebrow, "They already seem not to like me very much." Finn frowned at that, but gave a small shake of his head, "They don't know you well enough to like you or not," he said comfortingly, "But they will soon enough, you'll see." He gave me a warm smile, and I returned it, before resting my head on his shoulder again.We sat in silence again awhile, snuggling and content in each other's company, until Luca came in a while later. "Hey, any change?" he asked, and we both shook our heads gently. He nodded sadly, "Thane wants you both, his office. Planning for tonight,