ISAIAHI quickly moved around my desk to place Alaia behind me as Zira burst into the room. “Zi…” I could sense she was angry. “Why!” She yelled. “Why can’t I stay with my family?” “What are you talking about?” I asked, moving closer to her. “The Councilman told my mom I had to stay here. Can’t you talk to him?” “Zi, I don’t have much control…”“You’re the Alpha!”“There are certain things even I can’t control,” I said calmly. “Case in point, what just happened in there.” “Please,” Zira pleaded. “If I’m going to be banished, the least they could do is let me spend my last days with my family. Please, Alpha Isaiah.” Zira fell to her knees. I bent down near her, stroking her back as she began to cry. I heard an exacerbated sigh behind me and turned to see Alaia cross her arms, rolling her eyes. I walked over to her. “Give it a rest, Alaia. Can’t you see she’s going through something right now? Put yourself in her shoes,” I whispered to her. “I can’t! Because, unlike her, I

ALAIAI transported myself to Zack's office right as he was walking in. He was startled at first but quickly gathered himself before closing the door. "You could've given me a heads up, Alaia. It's still a little strange you can do this," he said, walking around me to his desk. "I used to do this a lot when we were kids. Thought you would be used to it by now," I said, placing the necklace he found at the bar. "I never liked it then either," Zack grumbled. "Do you remember the plan?" "Of course I do. I'll go in first to 'de-magic' the place, and then I'll pull you through. When that time comes, this necklace will illuminate." I walked over to the floor-length mirror I requested. "Place it over this mirror and walk through. Understand?" Zack picked up the necklace. "Sure. Place the glowing bit over the mirror. Just be careful," he said, looking down at my belly. As if he actually cares. I thought as I rolled my eyes. Just think Mirja will be one less person to worry about after t

ALAIA I stepped away from the mirror, waiting for Zack to come through. A few minutes passed, and I started to panic. I don't know why I would care. I hated Mirja and hated my brother even more. If they died, it wouldn't bother me, right? I started pacing back and forth, shooting glances at the mirror occasionally. If they weren't back now, then they had to be dead. Nas caught them and was probably torturing my brother for information. Zack wouldn't give me up, though. I was sure of it. Well, not entirely. Finally, the mirror warped, and my brother fell through with an unconscious Mirja. I let out a breath of relief. "What took you so long? What happened?" Zack's eyes glazed over, signifying he was linking someone before he looked at me, confused. "What are you talking about? I broke the necklace, like you said, right when you disappeared. That was only seconds ago." "That's impossible. I've been waiting here for at least ten minutes." Zack shrugged his shoulders. "I don't

ZIRATears fell down my face again today, and I hated it. Stupid emotions were taking over everything. I looked at my parents as if they were crazy. I have been preparing for this day for months, and now this. "This is not fair," I whined at my parents. "Please just talk to him and see if he'll let me go." My mom rubbed my back as Lisa put another plate of food before me. I pushed it out of the way. I wasn't in the mood for food. "For the last time, I'm not hungry.""That's a first," my brother laughed, trying to lighten the mood, and one glare from me shut him up quickly.Lisa took the plate and left. Thank Goodness. I didn't like her and wished I could get Mary back. "Mom, Dad. Please. I haven't missed this tradition since I was a kid." "We know, sweetie, but you're so close to giving birth, and we don't want you to drain all your energy." I started to protest, and she held up a finger. "We all know how you get during the snowball fights." I gasped at my mom. "Mom, it's a

ISAIAH Zira screamed and threw a plate full of food at the door. “I said I’m not hungry, you dimwit!” The plate was smashed to pieces only a few inches from where Lisa was standing. Lisa barely flinched as she began to pick up the mess. Her casual demeanor made me believe this was a routine between the two. I heard about she-wolves going through mood swings during their pregnancy, but this was more than I bargained for. She has snapped at everyone at least once or twice, and poor Lisa gets the bulk of it. This wasn’t like Zira at all. Nina, on the other hand, maybe. I’ve been giving her space, but these outbursts had to stop. “Zi, you need to eat,” I said, stepping around the mess to get closer to her to block her view of Lisa. Zira looked like she was going to attack Lisa at any moment. “Doctor Callie says you need to build up your strength.” “Right, Alpha Isaiah,” she said sarcastically. “Just enough strength to move from this corner of the room to the other. Thank you for