How could she let this happen? Heather let her guard down one time and she gets literally and figuratively screwed. Steve/Max, or whatever his name was, gave her the best sex of her life and the thought of what they shared still gives her shivers. She really felt something epic when she looked into his eyes and by the expression on his face; she knows he did as well. Despite the confusing emotions running through her mind, what she does know for certain is that Max is a bastard because he stole everything from her wall that took her years to gather. She is not going to let this jerk set her back when she is so close to finding Kylie. As soon as she gets over the shock of it all, Heather is going to find Jim and ask for the duplicates she hopes he kept.

The sudden banging on her front door startles her, yet she remains on the floor a moment longer to get herself together.

“Heather, open up right now,” Jess screams at the top of her lungs, her banging sounding frantic. “Let us in.”

She gets up from the floor and walks to the front door at a quick pace. With a shaky hand and a heart filled with despair, she reaches for the doorknob and opens it.

“It’s all gone,” Heather whispers, wiping the tears from her face, as Jess and Kat stare her wide eyed.

“What’s gone?” Kat asks, walking forward to embrace her with a hug. Heather puts her head on Kat’s shoulder while Jess joins in, wrapping her arm around both Heather and Kat.

“All of it, the notes, the photos. He took everything.” Heather is so pissed at Max. She thought they had something. Why the heck would he write her that note if he planned on doing this anyway?

Heather breaks from the group hug and grabs Kat and Jess by their hands. She pulls them into the room where she kept her files and shows them the now empty wall.  

“See,” she says pointing. Heather frantically opens drawers and shows them that even more items are missing.

Kat walks up to her and puts her hands on her shoulders to keep her still.  Kat locks eyes with Heather. “You have to calm down, honey.”  Kat prompts Heather to slow her breathing by taking deep breaths herself, causing Heather’s shakiness and erratic breathing to stave.

“We should call the cops,” Jess says as she goes to pick up Heather’s phone. This could be the same guy who attacked Steve. 

“No,” Heather replies weakly, pushing Kat away. She walks to Jess and snatches her phone. “We need to find Jim. He might have copies.” I hope.

“We can find him afterward,” Kat says, giving Heather the look that says she means business.

Heather’s shoulders drop. “Fine.” She heads to the couch, sits and crosses her arms. Jess holds her hand out and motions for Heather to return the phone. Heather rolls her eyes and hands it back to Jess so she can make the call.

While they wait for the cops, Jess and Kat attempts to question Heather about what happened at the diner, but she shuts down. She has no explanation for it anyway. Heather physically felt okay, but she can’t shake the feeling that there is something unnatural happening inside her. Something ravenous and animalistic that she had no control over.

The cops arrive twenty minutes later and Heather relays the entire story about the date, excluding the crazy sex her and Max had and her weird episode at the diner. Jess and Kat take her lead and do the same. Neither of them mentions Jim because they want to go check on him themselves. 

She agrees to head to the station tomorrow to meet with a sketch artist. The cops seem certain that this is the same guy who assaulted the real Steve and they just want to compare their descriptions. 

After the cops leave, Heather sends Jess and Kat home, assuring them that she’ll get some rest before they all head to Jim's place in the morning. They reluctantly agree, but make her promise she will check in with them before bed.

Heather walks to the kitchen for a drink of water. Ever since her night with Max she hasn’t felt right. She touches her forehead and realizes she’s burning up. Unsteady on her feet, she grabs the counter for balance. She has never been this ill in her life, but figures that if she hydrates or perhaps eat something, then she will feel better.

She lets go of the counter, reaching for the refrigerator, and that's when it happens. A large wave of dizziness hits her out of nowhere, causing the room to spin. Heather tries to grab for a surface, missing everything. She falls head first to the floor … hard. The last thought she remembers before passing out is Max telling her, I love you.

* * *

Jeremiah lets out an exasperated sigh as he finally finishes cleaning up Ryan’s crap at Jim’s home. He was also able to get rid of Heather’s documents as well. Jeremiah would have been done faster if Marco hadn’t pulled Max away to do some mysterious job. He hated letting Max go with Ryan alone, but what choice did he have? Marco would have called in reinforcements to remove Max by force if necessary. I hate that asshole.

As he watches the last of Heather’s proof burn in a pile, Jeremiah decides to check in Max.

Jeremiah: Hey man, you cool?

Max: Fine. What’s up?

Jeremiah: Nothing, still waiting on that call from my contact.

Max: What contact?

Jeremiah: You remember we talked about it earlier.

Max: Oh right, remind me of his name. I forgot.

Jeremiah’s furrows his brows in confusion. He never told Max the name of his friend which leads him to believe that this isn’t his friend at all. He tests the theory.

Jeremiah: His name is Denny and he does some side jobs for me occasionally.

Max: Yeah, I remember now. Thanks.

Jeremiah: Getting a call. See you at the house later on.

Max: Okay. Let me know if you need any help with Denny.

Jeremiah: Will do.

Yes, definitely not Max, but why would someone have his phone and where the hell is he? On his way to the car, he makes a quick call to Kenzi to see if she knows anything.

“Hey Kenzi, it’s Jeremiah.”

“I know silly, I can read caller ID. What’s going on?”

“Have you seen Max?” Jeremiah hears shuffling in the background and a door shut.

“What are you talking about, isn’t he with you?” Her voice starts to sound nervous.

“Ryan came and picked him up for some errand your brother asked him to do and I haven’t heard from him.”

Kenzi gasps. “Did you call his phone?”

“No, but we texted back and forth and the responses didn’t sound like him. I’m actually a little worried.” Jeremiah paces back and forth. He is trying to speak in an even tone so he doesn’t worry Kenzi. Unfortunately, he is failing miserably.

“I’m sure he’s fine,” Kenzi replies weakly. “But to be on the safe side, I’ll talk to Ryan. He likes me, even if I secretly loathe him. I can play off his feelings.”

“Kenzi,” Jeremiah groans. “Be careful with him. I’ve seen him watching you and it’s fucking disturbing.”

“Don’t worry, J, I’m being safe and I don’t think he’ll hurt me.”

“Okay fine.” He pauses for a beat. "How are the little ones?”

Kenzi sighs. “They are adorable. Amelia said something that sounded like ‘Kenzi’ today and Connor being his usual rambunctious self, repeated after her. Thank goodness both their first words were mama or I would have not been happy.”

He smiles. “How’s Kylie doing?”

“She actually had a good day today. She even played with Amelia some. I think she misses you and Max when you leave because she doesn’t smile as much.”

“I’ll be back in a couple of hours, but I have to make a quick stop first. Give her a hug for me okay.” Crap. That slipped out. It’s a constant battle for Jeremiah to keep his feelings about Kylie in check. If anyone, especially Marco, found out how much he cares for her then it could mean something worse than death for both of them.

“Since when do you hug Kylie?”

“Can it, Kenzi,” Jeremiah says with a little more fervor than usual.  “I've always held her when she needed, and been a friend as much as you to get her through this hell she's in.”

“Relax, all right. I was just asking.”

“Sorry, I'm just on edge because I'm worried about Max.”

“Me too. I'll try to get some answers on my side. I have to go. Connor is crying about something.” She let out an exasperated sigh.  “Stay safe.” 

“I will.” Jeremiah ends the call.

He heads out of Jim’s house and hops into the car. He promised Max that he’d check in on Heather, so he’ll make a stop there first.

“Fuck,” Jeremiah shouts, as he bangs his fist on the steering wheel. Not hearing from Max is killing him. Something bad must have happened.

Truth be told, Jeremiah is also worried about Kylie. He always has. The night she was brought in, she looked so fragile and broken. He wanted to go up to her and take it all away, but he knew that he couldn't get too close because she was Marco's chosen mate. Certain death most likely would have awaited him if he consoled her in any way.

Throughout her time there, he was able to do little things to help her get by. She had a favorite peanut butter that was only carried in town, so Jeremiah would sneak her some every month. He’d also bring her tulips, her favorite flower, when she was having an especially crappy day.

To create another source of normalcy, Kenzi would bring Kylie and the babies to his place. He and Max enjoyed play dates with the twins and that interaction did bring her out of her depression sometimes. 

There were some instances, especially in the beginning, where Kylie couldn't stop crying. Marco’s way of dealing with her was to toss her in the stables with the other animals until she came to her senses. Jeremiah felt horrible about her treatment, so he’d go there late at night and hold her until she fell asleep, making sure to bring a blanket for warmth. She kissed him on the cheek as a reward every night and then one day they accidentally kissed on the lips. 

“Jeremiah, I'm sorry I did that,” Kylie said, as she dropped her gaze to the floor. “I didn't mean to. You're just so wonderful to me, and I, umm, care about you.” Kylie continued to look down as if she was ashamed of what she revealed. 

Jeremiah lifted her chin and his eyes locked with hers. He moved a strand of hair from her face to behind her ear. “It's okay. I’ve wanted to kiss you like that for a while, but I was afraid. You've been through so much already, and I didn't want to hurt you any more than he has.”

Kylie smiled at him and said, “You can never be him. If it wasn't for you, Max and Kenzi, this whole situation wouldn't be bearable.” She kissed him again with more passion than he’d ever seen her display the entire time she'd been captive. 

Jeremiah groaned when she pulled away only slightly, her soft lips just inches from his. She then whispered, “Can we pretend for just one night that it's only me and you? I've wanted to be with you for so long, and I know you want me too.”  

Jeremiah could sense himself getting harder at the thought of kissing her, touching her, being inside her. He suppressed the thought because he knew the consequences if they were ever found out. 

“But Marco will know. He'll be able to smell my scent all over you.”

“No, he won’t. Kenzi showed me a little trick a while ago,” she explained. “It’s how I escaped the first time. Yes, I know Max was able to find me, but I covered up my smell for over two days. It works.”

Kylie pulled out a vile of clear oil, showed it to him, and then spread it on her arms and neck.

“Go ahead and smell me,” she said while angling her neck toward his nose. “Anything?”

Instead of testing the theory, Jeremiah gently slid her onto his lap and began planting soft kisses on her neck. She gasped and pulled away slightly at first, but then gradually began to lean into them.

“Jeremiah,” she moaned. He loved the breathy sound of his name as it escaped her lips. Those lips … He needed to suck on those things right now. He backed away from her neck, running his nose softly along her chin. His lips eventually skimmed hers and he pushed forward, relishing in the feel of her mouth on his. Their kiss was passionate and raw, the emotions that they both had been holding back for so long coming out in this one simple act.

Jeremiah pulled away from her lips, panting. He watched Kylie in awe. Never had he been so attracted to another person in his life. Sadness crept into his heart because he knew that she could never be his, but he planned on making tonight count.

He moved his hand under her t-shirt and massaged her flawless breasts. His cock was already hard, but as soon as he touched her soft and sexy tits, his dick became like steel. God, he couldn’t wait any longer to see them. Pushing her body to the ground, Jeremiah lifted up her shirt and stared at her exquisite breasts.

Kylie’s chest heaved as she waited for Jeremiah to advance. She jutted her hips forward, hoping for any type of friction, but he wasn’t budging. Instead, he just kept looking at her bare chest. He licked his lips and it caused her clit to flutter, her nipples already hard. Jeremiah wanted to devour her and he was going to start with those tits staring back at him. When she thrusted her hips toward him again he nearly came in his pants. He leaned forward and started worshiping her breasts, laving each of her hard peaks with long slow strokes of his tongue. A twinge of guilt hit him because he knows they can be executed for what they are doing, but he can’t and won’t stop.

“I need to see all of you right now,” Jeremiah mumbled in between kissing and sucking and licking her boobs.

Kylie giggled as she watched him impatiently pull her clothes off, getting them both completely naked in record time. He so loved her laugh.

When he went to pull off his shirt, she leaned forward and gave a slow sensual lick to his rock-hard abs. He groaned at the contact. With their naked bodies pressed on top of each other, Jeremiah grinded his hips into hers, the tip of his cock lightly touching her wet core.

She was completely naked, and oh so beautiful. He had to be in her right then, right now. His lengthening teeth told him that his restraint was faltering.  When Jeremiah bit her lip, he drew blood. He shouldn’t have licked it off, but he couldn’t resist. It tasted so good. The feel of her blood going down his throat made him want to possess her completely.  Jeremiah glided his hand down her body until it reached her wet center. He easily slid two fingers in, leisurely moving them in and out.

He could barely keep it together when she moaned his name, and, fuck how she moved her hips in time with his thrusts drove him crazy.

“Shh, Kylie,” he whispered in between kisses. “We have to be quiet or they’ll find us.”

She nodded and bit her lip so hard that she reopened Jeremiah’s earlier wound. A growl emanated from his chest as blood ran down her chin. Kylie released her lip and gasped as he licked it off her face.  

He could tell that she was close because her hips moved faster and her breathing became more ragged. Jeremiah pulled his fingers out and nudged her legs apart. He locked eyes with Kylie as he slowly slid into her. They both groaned as he moved his hips torturously slow. She whimpered with displeasure at this motion and Jeremiah smiled.

“Sorry, Kylie,” he said as their bodies came together. “I love being inside of you, and I don’t want this to end quickly. It just feels so good, baby.”

Lifting her left leg over his shoulder, he picked up the pace. Making love to Kylie felt like heaven. As if this is where he belonged. There was no Marco, no pack, just the two of them joining as one. She was on the verge of coming again, and he could tell. This time he didn’t stop it. Jeremiah wanted to give her all of him. That’s when it happened; his wolf slipped past his control and completely took over.

Jeremiah flipped Kylie so that she was on top of him and through gritted teeth said, “Ride me, now. I want both of us to come this way.”

She obliged and began fucking him so hard that he couldn’t close his mouth. He zeroed in on her neck and the only thing he could think of at that moment was … mine. His already sharpened teeth lengthened more. At the cusp of their pleasure, Jeremiah grabbed the back of Kylie’s neck pulling her forward while she still rode his pulsing cock. He leaned forward and bit her.

“Fuck, shit, I’m coming,” she moaned. Jeremiah growled in response as his teeth stayed latched on her throat.

White lights and stars are what they both saw as their bodies surrendered to the exhilarating pleasure from their coupling. The feeling was so intense that Jeremiah sensed that Kylie would pass out.

Jeremiah pulled away from her and stared at his mark wondering what the fuck he’d just done.

He watched as Kylie’s eyes widened when she saw the blood on his face. When her body began to tremble, he knew that she was worried about Marco finding out. His punishments could be terrible. Jeremiah frantically ran his hands through his hair until a possible solution came into his thoughts. He was taking a chance with this choice, but he bit into his wrist and offered her his blood.

Kylie wrinkled her eyebrows as a look of confusion crossed her face.

“Drink this okay? It has healing properties.” Jeremiah held his wrist out to Kylie again.

She hesitated. “Won’t Marco know what you did? I mean, it’s one thing to cover your scent outside, but how will we do it if I take your blood?”

“Just drink it,” he gave her a hurried response. “You’ll be fine, we’ll be fine. That stuff Kenzi gave you should work.” He wasn’t sure that it would, but he didn’t want to worry Kylie.

“Besides, we have a day until Marco gets back to see if the effects hold.”

She nodded and started to drink a little of his blood and the wounds healed immediately.

As they both got dressed Kylie said, “Thank you for tonight.” He caressed her cheek and smiled ruefully.

“No need to thank me. I’ve wanted to for so long.” She gave Jeremiah an innocent smile that melted his heart, “but we can never do that again. I don’t want anything bad to ever happen to you because of me.”

“Okay,” she said as her smile faltered. He looked into his eyes one last moment and placed a soft kiss on her lips.

Marco didn’t find out and they never spent another night alone together after that. Jeremiah and Kylie pretended as if nothing happened, and no one else, not even Max or Kenzi knows what they shared.

When Marco announced her pregnancy, Kylie became even more distant. Kenzi tried to get her to interact more with the babies, but it seemed that the hopelessness of her situation and the fact that a man she despised fathered her children caused her to be more withdrawn than before.

The finality of it all hit her especially hard when she began to change. This usually never happened with humans, but the elders believe that her pregnancy caused it, coupled with the fact that her children are of an alpha bloodline. It’s a good thing it happened too. Marco has been trying to change her for years and was getting frustrated with the process. Jeremiah was pretty sure Marco wouldn’t take too kindly to half-breed children anyway.

Jeremiah is brought out of his memory by the beeping sound of an incoming text. It is his contact informing him that he can have a person on Heather in an hour, so he figures he’d keep watch until this person arrives.

When Jeremiah approaches Heather’s door, he notices that something is off. It’s late and all the lights are on, but there is no movement. He forces the front door open and scans the living room viewing nothing out of the ordinary. He walks toward the kitchen and sees the refrigerator door open. Heather is lying face down on the floor, with blood trickling down her face.

Jeremiah rushes over to her, checking her pulse. Alive. He breathes a sigh of relief as he scoops her up off the floor. Placing Heather on the couch, he notices she appears pale and is sweating. Jeremiah touches her forehead and realizes that she's burning up.

He is taken aback when Heather unconsciously growls at him. Jeremiah leans forward and quickly sniffs her. His eyes widen when he realizes that she smells like ... wolf. Something else happened between her and Max last night that his friend didn’t divulge. Max has a fucking lot of explaining to do. Jeremiah knew he was holding something back, but he had no idea that it was this. A series of questions begin to flow through his mind, the main one being how is this happening to Heather? She’s human after all and this is not possible, though based on current her scent, she may not be. She’d be fine in a few hours, but she can’t be alone. First things first though, he had to find Max.

Jeremiah shoots Kenzi a text.

Jeremiah: Did Max get back yet? I need to speak with him now.

Kenzi: I was just about to call you. Ryan brought him in moments ago. He was passed out, though.

Jeremiah: Sleeping? Have you been able to wake him?

Kenzi: No. Ryan won't leave the sleeping quarters so I could try. Says he wanted to spend time with me, but I think he's watching Max, like he's waiting for something.  

Jeremiah: Be careful. I'll be on my way in an hour.

Kenzi: Okay. What did you want to talk to Max about?

Me: Tell you when I get there.  

Shit, Jeremiah thinks to himself. He doesn’t like the fact that Max is not awake and that that Ryan prick is lurking around. He intends to find out what could have possibly put Max in this state, but first he has to tend to Heather.

He picks her up and carries her to his car, placing her in the back seat. Jeremiah calls his contact to get the address of a safe house. Heather will be protected there for the time being while Jeremiah finds out what the fuck happened to his friend.  

* * *

“How's our new recruit doing?” Marco asks Ryan through the phone. He can barely contain his excitement at the prospect of Max finally taking his place as Beta.

“Still sleeping, but Kenzi is hovering. I sent her out on a minor errand so I could make this call.”

Marco narrows his eyes. “I’ll take care of my sister. You just keep an eye on Max until I return from my meeting.”

“Yes, Alp— “Marco hangs up on Ryan before he has the chance to fully respond. He never likes speaking with him more than necessary. He can be such a pain, but Ryan is larger than most in his pack and feared by many.  The perfect enforcer.

Marco glances over at the man sitting across the table and waits for him to speak.

“Is everything going as planned with Max?”

Marco smirks. “As you predicted of course my Master; he is a fighter, but no matter, he won’t succeed.”

The man stands and walks around his desk. He has been plotting this for what seems like ages— Max being another pawn in his takeover bid.  He looks down at Marco, a partial smile on his face. “I remember when you tried to fight my will.”  He puts his hand on Marco’s shoulder. “But eventually you gave in, and he will too.”

A slight twinge of anger and resistance courses through Marco’s mind, but it quickly dissipates, that inner voice having been dulled over the years. His Master was right, there was a point in time when he tried to resist, but he was shown the error of his ways. Eager to always please his Master, Marco brought other pack members to him so that they could be shown the light, Ryan being the first. It was all so easy, and now with Max joining them, the others no longer have to pretend. Oh yes, Marco so loved to make his Master happy, and he has more good things to tell him.

“I have some exciting news, my Master,” Marco smirks.

The man leans against the desk, crossing his arms in front of his chest. “What is it?”

“I have found the other you were looking for, and she has been right under our noses the whole time.”

“Really.” The man’s eyes brighten as he rubs his chin. “That’s wonderful. Tell me about her.”

Marco knew this would please him. “Her name is Heather, and she is Kylie’s friend. She was actually with her the night I took Kylie. Had I known who she was then …”

The man holds his hand up to silence Marco. “No need to worry about that, you found her now.” The man bites his lip, barely able to contain his excitement. “Has she been brought back to the house? I need them both in order to complete the ceremony.”

Marco shakes his head. “No, but I have someone heading to her location. It appears that Jeremiah was trying to hide her, but he doesn’t realize that I’ve been tracking their movements for a while.”

“Good. When he comes to, have Max take care of that annoyance.”

“Also, Max has already marked her, and I think shared blood. I’ll know for certain when I see her later.”

“That’s excellent.” The man clasps his hands together. “If she’s fully changed, then bring her to me, along with Kylie. I haven’t seen either of my daughters since they were babies and we have lots of catching up to do.”

“Yes, Master.”