Azalea

I fell asleep in Liam's arms. I know I should have been afraid of my heat returning and him attacking me again, but I wasn't. All I wanted was him. Even when I was scared of what he might do, I was more afraid of him leaving me.

I don't know how long I slept, but Liam never let go. I opened my eyes slowly, trying to wake up.

"Hey, baby. How did you sleep?" Liam's deep voice enveloped me. Looking up, his blue eyes peered down, his face worried.

"Mmm, good," I hummed softly. I reached up, placing my hand on his cheek. He leaned into my touch.

"Lily and Damien are downstairs cooking dinner for us," he said. "We thought it best they stay. Is that okay?" I nodded. He shifted me onto his lap so I faced him. "We really need to talk," he said, running his hand through my hair.

"I know," I said.

He sighed. His expression showed his uncertainty. "So, your heat…" he began.

"Yeah," I said.

"I don't want to mate if you aren't ready, baby. But I'm not going to lie; this will be difficult. Did Lily tell you what will happen?"

"Not really. Just that it will last a couple of days, and you'll continue to want to mate with me until it's over."

"What did you feel earlier? When you came inside?"

"I was uncomfortably hot. I'd taken my sweater off on the porch, and I was still hot. I was getting ice water when you… found me…"

He sighed. "Well, it's going to get worse. I don't want to scare you, but your body will feel even hotter, and cold water will only help a little. The need will become physically painful; your whole body will crave my touch…" he trailed off. I absorbed his words.

"What about you?" I finally asked.

"Me?" he asked, surprised.

"Yeah, what about you? You didn't seem okay today… then you had to run from me…"

"It will get harder for me to resist the longer it goes on, but I think I have it under control now. That's something else I wanted to talk about…" he finished hesitantly. I looked at him, confused. "I talked to Gavin. He said he'd calm down and refrain from insisting on mating with you for a while, but…" he paused. Sighing, he continued, "He wants to spend time with you. He can't access your wolf, so he feels an attachment, like I do. He promised to behave if you agree." Liam looked at me hesitantly, worried I'd refuse.

"I'd love to meet Gavin, Liam," I said, grinning. His shoulders relaxed.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, of course. He's a part of you; why wouldn't I want to meet him?" Liam looked elated, relieved. He pulled me into an enthusiastic hug, then pulled back just enough to kiss me. I kissed him back, expressing my feelings. A knock interrupted us.

"Alright, lovebirds, dinner's ready," a gruff voice called from the doorway. Liam looked over my head.

"We'll be right there," he said, looking back at me. I felt my cheeks burn. "Let's eat. We can talk more later, okay?" he chuckled. My embarrassment amused him. I nodded. With another quick kiss, he let me off his lap.

Looking down, I realized I was still wearing his oversized sweater and leggings. Before I could leave to change, Liam grabbed my hand. "No, you look pretty. I like you in my sweatshirt," he said, as if reading my mind. I blushed.

"Okay," I said. He took my hand, and we went to the kitchen.

Entering the kitchen, we found Lily and Damien setting the table. Damien looked much the same, only larger and more muscular. He was still the largest werewolf I'd ever seen—a were-bear, some pack members joked. I wouldn't have been surprised.

Lily turned, noticing us. "Hey, there!" she said, hugging me forcefully.

"Hey, Lil, unhand my mate, would you?" Liam said.

Lily released me. "Right, sorry. She's so cute and sweet. Feels like I already have a sister!" she laughed. The serious atmosphere was gone. "You guys hungry?"

"Always," Damien said, wrapping his arms around Lily from behind. "Hi, Azalea. I'm Damien, Liam's Beta. Nice to meet you again."

"I remember. Nice to meet you again," I said. It was hard enough processing everything with Liam; accepting the others who'd tormented me being nice would take time.

Damien sensed my hesitancy. "Sorry for everything that happened, before…" he began, looking worriedly at Lily. "I hope you can give us a second chance." Lily gave him a knowing look; he pretended not to notice, but she clearly made him nervous.

I giggled. "It's okay. No worries. The past is the past," I reassured them. Damien didn't seem bad, and Liam trusted him completely, or they wouldn't be here.

"Let's eat," Liam said hopefully.

"We have roasted chicken, potato salad, steamed veggies, and I tried to make dinner rolls, but they're… awful, so there's cornbread," Lily said, untangling herself from Damien.

"Oh no! I could have helped," I said as Liam pulled me to the table.

"You bake?" Lily asked. Damien pulled out her chair; a loving look passed between them as he seated her. She smiled at me.

"Yes, actually, it's one of my favorite things," I told her.

"Oh, can you make croissants? The fancy ones with different flavors?" she asked excitedly, looking at Liam.

I looked at him, confused. "Yeah, I've been making those since I was twelve; why?" I said nervously.

"No reason," she giggled. I looked between them, confused. A timer dinged. "That's the cornbread. Dig in; I'll be right back!" she said, getting up.

Dinner was filled with pleasant conversation and laughter. Damien was quiet; Lily was talkative. They seemed perfect. Afterward, the boys cleared the table. I looked at Lily; she shrugged, saying, "I've trained them well. You're welcome," which made me laugh.

While they cleaned, Lily got wine and glasses. We went to the patio. She poured generous glasses.

"If I drink all this, I might pass out," I said.

Her eyes widened. "Oh no, the not-a-normal-wolf thing! You don't have our tolerance! You shouldn't drink that!" she said worriedly. I laughed.

Setting my glass down, I said, "It's okay. I'm not much of a drinker."

"I'm sorry. I'll probably make an ass of myself this week being forgetful."

"It's really alright," I told her.

"So, are you okay?" she asked, clearly wanting to talk.

"Yeah, I am."

"Are you ready for what's going to happen?"

"More or less. Liam got Gavin to calm down if I agree to meet him, but we haven't talked about that yet."

"Whew. Be careful. I've seen Liam when he lets Gavin out…"

"Wait. What do you mean?"

"Liam's an Alpha. His wolf is… primal… than some. I don't think he'd intentionally hurt you, but he can be aggressive," she said worriedly.

"I trust Liam and Gavin," I said, looking at the lake.

Soon, the boys joined us. Liam picked me up, placing me on his lap. Lily laughed. "You two are too cute; we're going to bed," she said, finishing her wine. She looked at Damien; he jumped up, taking her hand to pull her inside. We laughed as they left.

Liam pulled me closer, nuzzling my neck. "Mmm," I said, enjoying it. We cuddled before I asked, "When do I meet Gavin?"

Liam sighed. "I guess the sooner the better," he said.

I looked into his bright blue eyes. I saw his concern. "It will be okay. And if it calms him down, I want to do it," I told him. Liam smiled tightly.

He stood, putting me down. Taking my hand, he led me back to our bedroom.