Aweek passedin order for me to regain my strength and to make preparations. It was finalized that both Colin and Darrel would accompany me, just in case. The task itself wasn’t particularly dangerous - we were going to a known building on the outskirts of town that housed a few lower-ranking alphas. Colin and Darrel knew exactly where we were going, so I just left that to them and concentrated on my otherproblems.
I was grateful the lingering scent of the alpha pills covered up any sort of pregnancy scent. Two weeks in wasn’t much, but on any other omega the smell would have been a dead giveawaybynow.
Nights with Virgil were the same. Awkwardly sleeping on opposite sides ofthetent.
I wondered if he even gave a shit about meanymore.
Finally, we set out on a cool night where the moon was obscured by clouds. As we were leaving, someone touched myshoulder.
“Good luck,”Virgilsaid.
I looked at him, searching for any sign of warmth or affection besides what he would show to a fellow packmate, and found nothing. I shrugged my shoulder out from beneath his hand. “Thanks.”
I didn’t wait for his response asIleft.
* * *
The journey tooka few days of travel, with all of us in our wolf forms to conserve energy. It was a trade-off, because obviously our wolves’ scents were stronger, but Colin in particular was insistent that I not overexert myself. He must still be worried about me since I collapsed. I wanted to tell him that I was tougher than I looked, but secretly I enjoyed the easier pace compared to the previous journey to the campsite. Since finding out I was pregnant, I was a little more anxious about strainingmyself.
The pregnancy was a big weight on my shoulders - and soon it would be a visible weight on my belly. I groaned inwardly to myself, thinking about how soon it would happen - people would be staring at me and asking who the father was and all that funstuff.
Maybe I should just tell them,I thought. It was going to get harder the longer I put it off - but the thought of telling everyone, especially Virgil, made me want to shrivel upanddie.
No. The baby would be my little secretfornow.
We stopped to rest and changed back to human form to make our final preparations before we entered the outskirts of town and found the target building. We changed into special secretive outfits. Mine was a black hooded garment, something I was used to wearing during my time as an exile. I slipped it ontomybody.
“How are youfeeling?”
Colin’s voice next to me suddenly mademejump.
“Sorry,” he mumbled sympathetically. “I didn’t mean toscareyou.”
“It’s okay. Just a little bitonedge.”
He nodded. “Metoo.”
That’s not very reassuring for a big strong alpha,I thought tomyself.
“Alright, everyone,” Darrel growled, gathering us together. “This is important to the pack’s future. Make sure to keep quiet, be smart, anddon’tdie.”
Great. That’s not very reassuring either,Ithought.
We streamed down a slope in a quiet single-file line towards the building. The roof was missing shingles and the bricks were overrun by ivy. Surrounding us were similarly decaying buildings, but they were far away enough that I didn’t feel like the neighbors would call the neighborhood watch if they spotted a few shady figures skulkingaround.
I stayed behind Darrel as he led the way. He suddenly stopped and gestured for Colin and I to stay back. With a serious expression, he crouched down and approached a window before quietly rapping his knuckles on the glass. A moment later, the window opened and a face appeared. My heart leapt into my throat. This could gohorribly.
Thankfully, after a short conversation with the person, Darrel motioned for us to come closer. Colin stood right in front of me like a meat shield, which Iappreciated.
“It’s okay,” Darrel promised. “They’resafe.”
The figure in the window - another alpha - nodded at us. “Wait just amoment.”
Three men - all alphas - emerged from the house and hid behind the back wall in the shadows with us. Even though they weren’t attacking us, I felt uncomfortable around so many unfamiliar alphas. The only person here I vaguely trusted was Colin, who shot me a smile over his shoulder. I tried to return it but I was too anxious, and I probably just made a face like I needed to takeadump.
“Is that who I think it is?” one of the new alphas asked, narrowing his eyesatme.
“Yes,” Darrel replied. “The one that escapedGunner.”
