Completely spent, I climbed back in through the bedroom window and shut it behind me. I flipped the lock and gazed out to where Hunter stood in stag form, ever watchful. I nodded to him, to let him know that I was safe. He tossed his head and loped off into the woods, disappearing from view.

I dropped my forehead against the cool glass and groaned. My feet left muddy smears across the carpet, but I was too tired to deal with it tonight. I crawled into bed and burrowed under my blankets, tugging the sheets up over my shoulders to ward off the slight chill I’d gotten squishing barefoot through the wet grass.

Hugging my arms around my belly, I curled into a ball and let my heavy eyelids fall shut. Hunter’s words lingered in my mind—I want to talk about this—and I was hoping for the best for the baby, and for me. Was that so bad? To want a family, to want a chance at a life with Hunter?

Time would only tell.

Sleep hit me fast, but it didn’t take long for the nightmares to catch up. My dreams were murky and dark, filled with anger and pain and my uncle’s twisted grin. His fangs gleamed yellow in the dim light. “You’re mine, boy. Don’t you forget that. I’ll be back for you,” he promised. A scream ripped up my throat when he grabbed my wrist, yanking me in for a crude kiss. I could taste the tobacco on his breath—

I jerked awake, breathing hard, only to realize that Dresden was in my bed. He gently patted my arm. “You okay, Uncle Chance?” He turned impossibly big eyes on me. Worried. Damn it, I must’ve been whimpering in my sleep again.

I couldn’t fight back a small shiver. “I’m okay, Dresden. I’m okay.”

“Just a bad dream? Daddy has bad dreams, too.”

“Everyone has bad dreams sometimes, honey.” I sat up and hugged him. “Even the biggest, baddest Alphas have bad dreams. We’re only human.”

“We’re not human.” Dresden deadpanned. “We’re shifters.”

I grinned. “That’s true. You wanna eat some breakfast? I bought waffles at the store.”

His face lit up. “Waffles!” He bounced off the bed and raced down the hall. Waffles sounded god awful, but I hadn’t had my morning vomit-fest yet. As if the baby could read my mind, my stomach churned and I bolted to the bathroom in time to worship the porcelain throne.

“Ugh. We’ve seriously gotta talk, kid,” I grumbled. “No more puking. Please, I’m begging you.”

Chance was breastfeeding at the kitchen table while Huxley stood next to the stove, stirring a pot of what smelled like maple and brown sugar oatmeal. I rinsed my mouth with a swig of water and spit in the kitchen sink, which earned me the stink-eye from my brother.

I gave him a sheepish smile. “Sorry. Morning sickness.”

“I sympathize,” Chance said. “Mine didn’t start till I was further along, though.”

“Everybody’s different, I guess.” I shrugged and opened the freezer door to grab the box of waffles. I stuck one in the toaster and pushed the tab down. “I told Dresden I’d make him a waffle. I think I want some of that oatmeal. Smells good.”

“That’s the difference between you and me.” Chance laughed. “You can puke, get it over with and boom, you’re fine. I would puke and be miserable for the rest of the day.”

“Lucky you, huh?” I stopped to watch Chance for a moment. His fingers stroked gently through Charlotte’s thick brown hair as the baby suckled. He turned his face to rub his cheek against her soft skin, his eyes closing on a sigh. “Worth it?” I asked.

Chance beamed. “So worth it.”

My chest squeezed with a pang of longing. That would be mine. In just a matter of months, I’d have a baby in my arms, utterly helpless and depending on me to keep it safe. But would I be able to? Could I truly keep a child safe from a monster like Uncle Erick if I couldn’t even protect myself? Was I being selfish to want to keep it? Or would the baby be better off in the arms of Chance and Huxley…

Chance touched my hand, drawing me back to the present. I blinked quickly. “Sorry. Spacing out. I should finish fixing Dresden’s breakfast, huh?” I shook off the storm clouds best I could and busied myself cutting up my nephew’s waffle. I drizzled it with maple syrup and set it down on his highchair tray.

When Huxley sat down at the kitchen table to join us for breakfast, I bolstered up my courage and sat up in my chair. “I talked to Hunter last night. We’ve decided to talk about it.”

My brother’s frown told me all I needed to know. He did not approve. Swallowing his spoonful of oatmeal, he cleared his throat. “I don’t know about this, Soren. You were pretty upset yesterday. The last thing I want is for you to get hurt.”

“I know. I don’t want that, either, but… If there’s a chance that things could work out? Shouldn’t I at least hear what he has to say?” I nibbled on my lip while stirring the sticky oats around in my bowl. “I don’t want my baby to be fatherless.”

“We can raise it just fine without him,” Huxley began, but I cut him off.

“I know that, but I need to do this. For me. Hunter asked me to stay with him for a couple of weeks, to work things out, and I’ve decided I’m going.”

“What about Erick? The stag might’ve protected you the first time, but don’t underestimate our father. You know how he is. The next time they come for you, they won’t be alone.” His voice was hushed, haunted, and it made me want to shrivel up and die. I hated this. I hated that he was right, but I couldn’t spend the rest of my life indoors.

“I’ll be okay,” I told him.

“Soren—”

It was my turn to growl. I slapped both palms down on the kitchen table, making it rattle. “No. I know you want to keep me safe and I appreciate that, Hux, I really do, but I can’t hide forever. You can’t keep me safe forever. I like him.”

“He hurt you,” Huxley said quietly.

“I know that, but I need to give him a second chance. He’s the only Alpha I’ve ever felt comfortable around, Huxley. That means something, it’s gotta.” I breathed in deeply. “I want to go. Maybe you’re right, maybe it won’t work out, but I have to at least try. I have to try.”

“Soren—” he started, but he was silenced once more, this time by Chance’s reedy growl.

Both of us glanced up, but Chance was looking right at me. He smiled. “I trust you, Soren. You’ve gotta follow your heart.” Then to his mate, he shook his head. “And you need to trust him, Mr. Overprotective. I know you’re worried, but Soren’s an adult. He can take care of himself. It’s not like he won’t have an Alpha at his back.”

“A stag,” Huxley pointed out.

“A stag who has silver bullets in his shotgun,” I said. “It’ll be okay. I’ll be safe.”

“If anything happens…”

“If anything happens, you’ll be the first to know.”

It was obvious that he wasn’t comfortable with me packing up and living with the guy who knocked me up, but he dropped the subject with a thin-lipped smile. After finishing my breakfast, I packed an overnight bag and texted the number Hunter gave me with a flurry of nerves. He sent me his address and by noon, Chance and I were on our way, with a reluctant Huxley staying behind with the kids.

When we pulled into the gravel drive, Chance put the car in park and let it idle. “Ready?”

“Not really,” I admitted with a small laugh. “I’m nervous.”

“It’ll be fine, Sor.”

In that moment, I wanted to squeeze him till he turned blue in the face. “Thanks for having my back at breakfast. It really means a lot.”

“I know. Huxley means well, he truly does, but he worries. Sometimes that can be a bad thing, but you need the chance to follow your heart. If your heart says that Hunter’s the one, then who are we to stand in your way?” He smiled. “I want the very best for you and that baby. I already figured out that you were planning on keeping it, and I’m proud of you.”

Emotion knotted up my throat, making it ache. “Thank you.” I unclipped my seatbelt and lunged across the center console to hug him. His arms came around me, squeezing me back just as fiercely and when we pulled apart, my vision was fuzzy. I laughed. “Okay. Wish me luck.”

“All the luck in the world!” Chance chimed out. “Love you, Sor!”

“Thank you.” With a nervous smile, I grabbed my bags and walked up to the front door. I drew in a deep breath, let it back out to the count of five, then knocked.

Here goes nothing.