Keller’s POV “Rocky, do you smell that?” I lift my nose to the air to assess a pungent odor. “Deer piss.” He sounds disgusted. “River and Canyon are supposed to chase them away so they don’t scare the sigmas.” “Lazy asses.” I move to the open area where there’s enough room for Rocky’s wolf form to shift. “Make it quick, Rocky. We need to make sure Zara and Lavender-” Before I can finish my thought, a heavy power tackles me from behind, throwing me to the ground. The wind gets knocked out of me, but when I try to get a breath in, the scent of deer piss assaults my nose, making me gag. I try to roll over, but my attacker is much heavier than me. A hard elbow to the back of my head lets me know it’s Skylar. It was his signature move when we were kids and I couldn’t defend myself. Now that we are adults, the blow makes me see spots. “Skylar, what the fuck are-” I try to roll over, but he presses hard on the back of my neck, smashing my face into the ground. He holds me down with a kn

Ace sits on the edge of the bed and sighs heavily. He looks back up at me like he’s trying to figure out the best way to begin. “Okay. First, there are a couple of things you need to know. And please remember, I’m just the messenger here. Got it?” He holds his hands up in surrender. “Got it.” I also hold my hands up, mimicking his gesture. “I should preface by saying, Doctor Khe came before we could even get Zara here and we made sure only female staff members have attended to her. We are doing our best to keep her condition in perspective, so we haven’t pushed her too much.” He fidgets with his hands, then looks at me sympathetically. “She hasn’t been very cooperative, which is understandable, but she has spoken with the Doc and she’s speaking to your parents, so that’s a good sign.” Condition? Does he mean she’s a sigma or is it something else? My brother’s unforgiving dark eyes come to my mind. Jensen. “Did Jensen hurt her? I’m gonna fucking kill him.” I throw the blanket of

“Zara, come on Pocket. Doctor Khe is here for your appointment and Estelle has a test she needs to run, so she’s here, too.” I sit on the side of the bed and brush her hair back. “Do you want me to have them come in here or meet with them in my office?” She hasn’t gotten out of bed except to go to the bathroom and to eat in almost a week and it is worrying me. She says she’s too tired and sleeps all day. Doctor Khe says it’s a normal reaction to what she went through and to keep encouraging her to do routine things and stick to her new medication schedule. Estelle warned me that all the chemicals could change her demeanor until they have regulated everything. What she didn’t tell me was that the mixture of chemicals would change Zara’s scent. Now hidden between the rose and chamomile, I can smell the ocean breeze. It’s pleasant, just different. Zara has nightmares that make her cry in her sleep. She hides herself against me with her arms over her head, shaking and fearful of her dre

Zara seems in better spirits once school starts back up. Having a routine and figuring out how to balance school, homework, and working on the sigma cure seems to keep her mind off of other things. She also shows an interest in converting the guest room into a nursery and the nursery into a guest room so the baby will be closer to our room. Mom is happy to help have the guest room furniture moved and to have everything from the existing creepy nursery donated. One particularly rough night at work, Jasper and I find the body of a girl we had been speaking with under a bridge. The sickly sweet smell of ketamine is heavy in the air. “I think it’s time for me to take a page for your book, Kel.” Jasper puts his hands in his coat pockets and watches the ambulance with the girl’s corpse drive away. “I thought about the dark side of my bad habits. I’m done partying like that. Sticking to beer and liquor.” “It’s gonna change your life, Jas. You’ll see.” I clap him on the back and lead him

Keller’s POV Zara and I are meeting with a woman who Mom is paying to paint a mural on the nursery wall when my phone pings with a text notification. Zara is showing her examples of underwater paintings she has been pinning on mood boards and the furniture we ordered for the room. “Excuse me, Ladies.” I squeeze Zara’s hand and step out of the now empty guest room. “I won’t be long.” Jasper: VIP at Velvet Rope for Sam’s birthday on Saturday. Sam: Holy shit, really? Jasper: Yeah. Kel, can you invite Estelle and Tyree? Keller: Yup. Jasper: What about Zara? Keller: Nope. She’s not 21 and she’s pregnant. Keller: Besides, she’s excited to kick Dad’s ass in Scrabble. Sam: Bummer. Okay. Next year. Jasper: Kel - ask Estelle to let Tyree know about the dress code. Keller: Will do. Jasper: Sam - Melissa Jackson is coming. Don’t blow it. Sam: Bro. Jasper: See you at 11:30 Saturday “Everything okay?” Zara smiles when I come back to the room. “All good. Jasper made plans for Sam’