*****

*Corey*

"Clara!" I called out, "I have candy! And dolls! I have Bugs too!" I paused waiting for some kind of sound from the little girl but got nothing and frowned glancing around. I might as well have given up, the kid was a pro at hide-and-seek. Bugs was the name of her stuffed Bugs Bunny plushie. She loved rabbits.

"I can't believe you haven't found her, it's so easy." I turned to glare at Adan who was holding Luke in his arms. We were at Joe's packhouse, having a duel pack gathering. It wasn't very huge because most of the families and friends in our packs – Inferno, Galaxy and Titan – had left for the holidays. Luke recognised Adan from pictures and after the first five seconds, he felt incredibly comfortable with his dad, now they were practically inseparable. The kid couldn't even speak yet but he had an iron grip when holding onto his father's shirt when someone tried to take him from Adan. It was actually, dare I say, incredibly cute?

"I'm starting to regret Jay's decision to bring you back," I muttered.

Adan laughed. "Don't get angry at me because you're blind," He nodded upwards. I looked up into the tree above me only to see Clara jump from a branch.

"Clara!" I caught her. Instead of being the adult and telling her what she has just done was dangerous, I looked up and frowned. "How did I not notice that?" I was sure I looked up in that tree already. Clara laughed.

"Corey." Oh... Wow... I had forgotten all about her. The realisation made me feel very bad. I had just been so caught up with Jayden recently, not that I minded.

"Clara, come with me, I'll make you a burger." Adan seemed to notice the immediate tension as my gaze met Samantha's. How could he not? It was very heavy and felt like a blanket had been thrown over us suddenly, it was slightly suffocating.

I put Clara down and Adan took her hand leading her into the house before turning back to the woman in front of me.

"Hey, Sam."

"You've been back for three days and that's how you greet me?" She said. I laughed grabbing her hand before pulling her into a tight hug.

I felt a slight pinch in my chest that immediately drew my mind to Jayden, so I glanced around and saw him not far away staring at us with that pained, helpless look he used to have before we went on the trip.

'Relax,' I gave him a reassuring smile, 'We just need to talk. It's nothing like that.'

He gave a shy smile back at me and just that simple gesture seemed to make my entire body feel weirdly light as my heart picked up. Knowing he was happy left me feeling a giddy sense of delight. I frowned as I looked back at Samantha. I was acting like a girl... It was his fault.

"Uhm... Can we talk?" I took Samantha's hand and led her into the house without giving her a moment to answer. We walked silently through the halls and into an empty ballroom before we sat on the edge of the stage. "Sam –" I began.

"You didn't reject Jayden." She said knowingly.

I let some air through my teeth as I looked at her regretfully. "It's not that I don't like you – I did, a lot – but... it's like what you said... the Gods are never wrong..."

"It's destiny." She mumbled.

"Yeah... I tried to fix it, and I realised I didn't want to... Because I've never felt like this, Sam... He's ridiculously nice and adorable and funny and..." I drifted realising I was smiling just thinking about him. Goddamnit, he wasn't even in the room, "He's just a really great person –" Speaking about Jayden made me realise Izabella was right, it was impossible not to like him.

"He's an amazing person, Corey."

"Yeah, and you know me so you know I'm pretty lucky to have him." I really didn't think I deserved someone as nice as him after everything I had said and done to him, but I was grateful.

"You really are." She laughed. I smiled at her.

"You're one of the most beautiful girls I've ever met, Sam. Inside and out. And when you find your mate, he'll be one of the luckiest wolves – or humans around. I'll probably congratulate him." I said.

"Knowing you, you would." She laughed again before she held her arms out to me. I chuckled hopping off the stage to hug her

"We can still be friends, right?" I asked.

"Yeah, of course!" She said. "Let's get back. Knowing your mate, he's probably over-thinking our disappearance." I chuckled as she took my hand and led us out of the ballroom.

=====

*Jayden*

The light sound of strumming that filled my room as I played with the guitar Corey had bought for me made me smile for two reasons; the sound and the fact that playing would now always remind me of him. Our packhouse was currently practically empty, the people that had attended the gathering two days ago were now either out of the city as well or hanging out on Titan or Galaxy territory, both were moderately far away if not running there at full werewolf speed.

Joe was at Titan with the other Alphas and Betas and their families. He had tried to convince me to join them but I told him I was exhausted, it was not a lie or an excuse. If anyone attacked our home at the moment – which seemed unlikely – the Alphas were close enough to get back if someone signalled the alarm and that would be easy because there were emergency triggers in every shared part of the house for that.

I had usually spent my days in my room or hidden in Joe's office when he was not working before meeting Corey. Sometimes my friends would force me to go out, most times I could get out of it but now with there being so many other friends, it was impossible to avoid them like I used to Kaden, Bentley and Layla when I did not feel like being social. It was fun being with everyone, but after the trip and then days hanging out, I was tired and needed time to recoup by myself. The others seemed to understand my need to be alone and had agreed to let me as long as I 'didn't go into hiding' – Bentley's words. I was glad to have a breather.

A buzzing sound drew my attention from the guitar and I reached out for my phone to see what it was before instantly grinning as Corey's name flashed across the screen. Placing the guitar aside, I opened his message.

'You still okay?'

It made me laugh. He had asked that every half hour since he left the day before. I understood that Alphas and Betas were more protective of their mates than normal werewolves – and since werewolves were naturally protective of their mates, it was just ridiculous with the Alphas and Betas – and I actually quite liked that he seemed to care so much. It was nice having him check up on me even if it really was not needed.

I responded telling him I was fine and that he should quit asking. I knew he was not going to stop asking, though.

Right after the message was sent, a sudden uneasiness crept over me. I stared at the message as the sent indication appeared beside it and took a breath. It was not usual for me to feel anxious at random times, I knew rationally that there was no reason to feel dreadful so I quickly brushed it off and began to reach for my guitar but stopped when a knock sounded on the door.

I opened my mouth to tell them to come in but then realised I had locked my room's door. It was a reflex action I couldn't get rid of, not that I really wanted to. I was sharing a massive house with a few hundred other wolves, I needed to lock my room' door for privacy.

The knock sounded again and I got up.

"I'm coming, calm down." I joked, "Who is it?" My mom was going to be at work in the city for at least another few hours so I knew it was not her.

When they didn't answer I guessed that it wasn't one of my friends and figured it was one of the pack members that were left in the house. They had to be looking for someone else. I unlocked the door before pulling it open.

"Kade's not in here and neither is Bentley, Layla or –" My body froze as I saw his face.

"Jayden, why would I be looking for them?" He smirked.

I instantly tried to shove the door shut.

*****