Max's house stands in front of me, light from a few of the windows the only source illuminating the darkness. I've been here enough in the last few weeks to feel comfortable letting myself in through the back door, slipping my shoes off by the small pile. Mara follows me, sliding the door shut behind her.

"Julie! Rick!" I call as we enter the kitchen. I hear footsteps in the hallway above us and then on the stairs, and Rick appears.

"Hey Brynn." His eyes dart around, looking at Mara and not finding Max. His eyes are questioning as he asks, "Where's Max? What's going on?"

"We might want to sit down for this? Where's Julie?" I ask, walking further into the kitchen with Mara right behind me.

"She's putting the twins to bed," Rick answers, walking away from the stairs. Mara and I sit down at the island, and Rick braces himself against the counter across from us. A frown etches across his lips, his eyebrows scrunched together out of worry. I look down at my hands and start playing with my fingers, too nervous to look at Rick while we wait for Julie.

She joins us in the kitchen a few minutes later. Her lips are pursed together in worry. "What's going on?" she asks quietly, not wanting to wake up the twins.

"This is Mara, my best friend," I introduce.

"Brynn, where's Max?" Rick asks, his voice gruffer than the last time he asked.

I let the words fall out of my mouth. I tell them about the three hybrids who found Max and I in the woods, the packs they've destroyed, how mine is next on the list, the solar eclipse is our only hope to weaken them, and Max went to fake-join them to try and save us all.

Rick and Julie both look terrified at the prospect of hybrids attacking and ruling over us. "Brynn," Julie breathes, "I don't understand. Why didn't you go with him? It would have been much more believable if you both went."

I feel my cheeks burn at the thought of the truth. Max and I wanted to tell everyone we were pregnant in a cute way, but things don't always go as planned. My family already knows, and I'm going to start showing before Max gets back. There's no point in waiting for something that isn't going to happen this time around. We can save the idea for our next child, because there will be a next one.

"Well," I start, looking down at the counter so I have the courage to tell them. "I"m. . . pregnant." There's a silence, and I realize it wasn't that hard to say at all. I look up and say it again without wavering this time. "I'm pregnant." I don't stop the small smile from growing on my face. Even with the threat of the hybrids attacking and Max being gone, this little baby growing inside of me is keeping me going. I have a part of Max with me everywhere I go.

Rick and Julie both smile at my announcement, looking at each other before turning back to me. "Congratulations," Julie smiles, coming over to me and wrapping her arms around me.

"Thank you," I say quietly, loosely wrapping my arms around her. When she pulls away, Rick pulls me into a hug as well. His build is similar to Max's, and it automatically makes me miss Max more than I already do.

NO, I AM NOT CHECKING OUT MY FUTURE FATHER-IN-LAW IN ANY WAY, SHAPE, OR FORM!

"We just found out yesterday," I tell them, not believing that just over twenty four hours ago, Max and I were finding out we were going to become parents without knowing what the next day would bring. "We were going to do something really cute to tell everyone, but then my dad told us about the North Bound pack," I shrug. I already told them how my pack is next on the hybrid's list, so there's no need to retell what's happened. I don't want to have to say it again, either.

I feel the smile fall from my face, and suddenly all I want is Max. Mara, noticing the small change in my expression, wraps her arms around me in a hug. I bury my face in her shoulder to prevent the tears from escaping. A hand that does not belong to Mara starts rubbing my back. I can tell its Julie's by the delicateness.

"Max is going to get through this," Julie says, her voice warm and hopeful with the tiniest trace of fear. "He's smart. He's going to pull this off." It sounds like she believes what she's saying, but there's a thought in the back of her mind worried that he won't. I know how it feels, because I have the same thought. It's pulling me down with every hour that passes.

I know that Max can pull this off, but what if he doesn't? What if he slips up and the hybrids figure out what we're doing? This is our one chance. If we mess this up, the hybrids will come for my pack and take all of us down, and there won't be anything we can do about it.

We have to pull this off.

Max has to pull this off.

I miss you, I mind link him.

I miss you too, B. More than anything.

His response puts a smile on my face, and I pull away from Mara. I'm sure her and Max's parents think I'm crazy for suddenly smiling, but I can't help it.

Have you talked to any of them yet? I ask. I know he reached their base a few hours ago, but he wanted to scope it out before walking directly into it.

Yeah, he responds, and he doesn't elaborate.

And? I ask, worry rising in my chest. Did they not believe him? Did they lock him up?

They bought it.

A wave of relief washes over me. I drop my shoulders and feel every muscle in my body relax. "He made it. They believed him," I tell Mara, Rick, and Julie. I quickly mind link my family members who are able to mind link and tell them the good news.

"What did he tell them to get them to believe him?" Rick asks warily. "It would be hard, nearly impossible, to believe anybody when the choice is between them and their other half." He looks at Julie when he says this, and the smile they share is another reminder of Max. I miss when we would both look up from whatever it was that we were doing at the same time, our eyes meeting and smiles growing on our faces as we stared at each other. I close my eyes and picture his perfect smile in my mind. I will see that smile again.

When I don't answer Rick's question right away, Mara jumps in for me. It's the first words she's spoken since we got here. "He told them that he's thought the way the hybrids do his entire life, but he didn't know that more existed until now. Brynn disagreed, because she cares too much about her family and pack. He tried to convince her otherwise. He wanted her to go with him, but he couldn't turn his back on the hybrid's movement after supporting it his entire life. He chose the hybrids, and Brynn chose her pack."

I shrug as I say, "We all thought it seemed believable. Wolves are taught about loyalty to our pack from the day we're born. Even though I'm a hybrid, I was raised as a wolf. That loyalty will be engrained in my mind until the day I die."

Rick and Julie both nod. "That's a very good point. I'm impressed."

I feel a blush rise in my cheeks again. "Yeah," I say quietly. "I just hope we can actually pull it off."

"We will," Mara says confidently, her voice not wavering one bit.

I don't know how or why I chose Mara to be my best friend out of the other nineteen kids in our kindergarten class, but I am so glad I did.