Alright Guys this is the last chapter... its been a hella long ride lol but the next book will be up in the hour.

Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing about this story... the writing is all L.L. Raand's and the Characters are from various television shows (South of Nowhere, The O.C., Orange is the New Black, Lost Girl, The Fosters, and The L Word) Credit goes completely to all listed above.

Lauren curled up around the red-gray wolf and wrapped her arms around the powerful shoulders. She rested her cheek against Bo's neck and ran her fingers through the thick ruff, absorbing the heat of Bo's body and sending all her strength and healing force into her mate. She drifted, feeling the spirit of the Pack close in around them, knowing the Alpha was near. She was frightened, but she felt safe too. She was home.

She hadn't meant to sleep, but she must have, for when she opened her eyes, twilight silvered the sky outside the open window. She blinked and focused on the auburn eyes studying hers. Bo was awake.

"Hi," Lauren said softly, stroking the soft muzzle.

The wolf blinked and nosed her neck. Lauren laughed.

"How are you feeling?"

Better. Are you all right?

Lauren caught her breath, never having realized how intimate, how very special the silent communion between mates could be. "I'm all right. I wasn't hurt. Everyone is fine."

Bo's ears flickered.

"Really. Quite a few had cuts and bruises and a broken bone or two. Nothing that didn't heal with the first shift. You were the one who was hurt the most."

Bo rumbled and stretched against Lauren.

"I know you think you're indestructible, but you're really not. And since you've decided to be mated, you're going to have to be more careful from now on."

Bo drew back her lips in a half smile, looking as supremely contented as a wolf ever could.

Lauren rested her forehead against Bo's neck. "I was really scared. I don't know what I would do if I lost you now. I've waited so long—" She stopped, feeling the powerful body in her arms shudder, shift, and change until suddenly she was holding a very naked, very warm Bo. Bo's lips moved over her temple and down her cheek to her mouth. The kiss was soft, almost apologetic. Lauren eased away and searched Bo's face. Her mahogany eyes were clear and bright. And so beautiful.

"Hi. Welcome back."

"Hi," Bo said. "Sorry I scared you."

"I know why you did it, I know that you had to, but next time, try not to leave things until the last second."

"Did you find the jump drive?" Bo asked.

Lauren laughed. "Spencer was examining you and you sneezed it out at her."

"Well I couldn't think of any place else to put it when I got ready to shift, except in my mouth," Bo said. "I thought my wolf would have a better chance of jumping clear."

Lauren's heart trip-hammered. "She did, although not completely clear. Don't ever do that again."

"Hey," Bo said, kissing her again. "It's just a little bump on the head. I'm fine. The Alpha? The Prima? Everyone is okay?"

"Really. Everyone is fine."

"How long have I been asleep?"

"Just about ten hours."

"Does the Alpha have any idea who was behind this?"

"I don't know. I know she and the Prima have been sequestered at headquarters all day. I'm sure she'll fill you in soon."

Bo rolled onto her back and pulled Lauren into the curve of her arms. "I'll find her soon. Right now, I just want to hold you. You scared me too."

"I'm sorry. I wanted my parents to test me again." Lauren smoothed her hand down the valley between Bo's breasts. "I want to be a complete mate for you."

Bo squeezed her. "You already are. I've already told you that. There isn't a single thing I want you haven't given me."

"You know that's not true," Lauren said softly. "Without the mate bite, we'll never be completely connected. You deserve that."

Bo cradled Lauren's face. "Deserve? I don't even deserve you at all. But I love you, and I want you. You. You've already given me everything I want and need. If the rest comes, I'll welcome it. But I don't need it. Will you believe me?"

Lauren looked deep into Bo's eyes and found only truth. She sighed. "I do believe you." She laughed shakily. "But I want more—everything. I want to bite you, mark you, join our scents, our bodies."

"That time will come, I know it," Bo said firmly.

Lauren stroked Bo's face. "As much as I want to be able to give you everything, I won't take a chance on harming you. Until we can reestablish my parents' lab and complete the testing, I won't bite you."

"Do you accept me as your mate?" Bo asked.

"Yes—with all my being."

"As I accept you—with all my being." Bo caught Lauren's hand and held it to her breast. "Will you promise me right now that you will never leave me?"

"I love you," Lauren whispered, kissing her long and deep. "I will never leave you."

"Then I am yours."

With a low, fierce growl, Lauren pushed Bo onto her back and climbed atop her. She entwined her legs with Bo's, coating her with her essence, marking her with her scent. "Yes," she said, her canines just grazing Bo's neck, making her arch and moan. "You are mine."

Bo pulled the sheet up over Lauren. "The Alpha is coming."

Lauren laughed softly. "You don't want her to see me naked?"

"I don't want anyone to see you naked," Bo grumbled.

"We're Weres, sweetheart. Plenty of Pack members are going to see me naked."

Growling, Bo pulled Lauren close, wrapping her arms around her waist from behind, resting her chin in the curve of Lauren's shoulder. She kissed the side of her jaw. "That may be so, but not when you're still in heat."

"I'm mated, remember," Lauren whispered. "Everyone will respect that."

"I'm not taking any chances," Bo muttered.

The door swung open and Ashley strode in. "Don't look for fights where there are none, Imperator. You'll have plenty of chances to do battle before long."

Bo pushed up on one elbow. "Have you found out anything about the orchestrators of the explosion?"

"Not yet. How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine. I healed while I was sleeping."

"It looked to me as if your wolf had broken a foreleg. Is your shoulder all right?"

Bo rolled her arm forward and back. "No pain. I'm fit for duty."

"Good, because I need you."

Bo kissed Lauren and slid out from under the covers. "There's something I need to tell you first."

Lauren sat up, letting the sheet drop to her waist, and grasped Bo's hand. "There's something we need to tell you."

Ashley folded her arms across her chest and waited.

Lauren took a deep breath. "My parents explained something to me about my birth that they didn't tell your mother, or you."

"Something they kept from the Pack?" Ashley's voice was even and calm. Dangerously calm. Her eyes were stormy.

Bo rumbled low in her chest, and Ashley shot her a look that warned her to stand down. Bo tensed, unwilling to have her mate upset. She did not want Lauren to be afraid or anxious, not even at the hands of the Alpha.

A smile flickered across Ashley's face. "For a Were who never wanted a mate, Imperator, you've assumed the mantle without reservation."

"Lauren deserves nothing less."

"And I deserve nothing less than your respect, so hold your temper and let your mate talk."

Bo dipped her head a fraction. "Yes, Alpha."

"Go ahead, Lauren."

"It's about my turning." Lauren lifted her chin and focused on Ashley's face, meeting her eyes for a second so the Alpha could read the pride in hers. "My parents love the Pack and you, as they loved your mother. But they love me more."

"As they should. But when the love for an individual endangers the Pack, it's my job to decide the proper course. They know that. You all know that."

"Yes, Alpha," Lauren said softly. "And I hope that you will be generous in your decision when you hear all the facts."

"What do I need to know?"

"I wasn't turned by a rabid Were—I was infected with a synthetic virus manufactured to induce Were fever. Like the girls you rescued."

Ashley's eyes narrowed and her lips pulled back, revealing lethal canines. "Girls like the human who infected the Prima?"

Lauren nodded. "We believe the early experiments were carried out in a human laboratory where my parents worked with a team of human researchers—my biologic parents. Leo and Crystal didn't know about the secret experiments until it was far too late to do anything except save me."

"And they made up the story that you were turned by a bite?"

"Yes."

"And all this time they've kept it a secret?"

"To protect me," Lauren said anxiously. "They've been working all this time to discover what was done to me and to find a cure."

"And whatever was done to you possibly also affects the Prima?"

Lauren nodded.

"Your parents had a difficult decision to make," Ashley said, "but to protect the Pack, I cannot allow Weres to live among us who willingly endanger—"

Lauren gasped and Bo jumped to her feet.

"If you banish the Lewises," Bo said, "I go with them."

Ashley moved so quickly, Bo didn't have time to flinch. The Alpha's hand was around her throat, claws just puncturing her skin, before she could raise a hand to defend herself, not that she would have. One did not raise a hand to the Alpha and live. Ashley's face so close to hers she could smell the power rolling off her. Bo whimpered and tried to lick Ashley's hand, but Ashley's grip was iron.

"I recognize your responsibility to your mate, but my duty is to the Pack, and your duty is to serve me. Until I make a decision on this matter, you will hold your tongue."

"Please, Alpha," Lauren said, "I do not want her hurt because of my situation. I would not have her banished from the Pack even if I am to lea—"

Ashley whipped her head around, her hand still on Bo's throat, and silenced Lauren with a glare. "You trust me so little, Lauren, that you think I would destroy four lives so easily? I will speak to your parents when the more critical issues facing us have been settled. Until then, I need my imperator's loyalties to be undivided. We have business this night."

"Yes, Alpha," Lauren said, resting her hand on Bo's bare shoulder. "We are your wolves and will do our duty."

Ashley released her hold. "Well, Bo?"

"I have ever been and will always be yours to command," Bo said solemnly.

"Then meet me outside in ten minutes. Arm the centuri for this mission and instruct John to order all free-living wolves back to the Compound."

"Yes, Alpha."

"Where are you going?" Lauren asked, looking from Ashley to Bo.

"To visit the Viceregal," Ashley said. "I suspect the rumor she heard was a little more than that. I want to know who is behind this, and tonight I am not asking."

Lauren grabbed her pants from the floor and pulled them on. Bo handed her a shirt, and she dropped it over her head. "I want to go with you."

"No," Bo said instantly.

Lauren's eyes flashed. "Whenever the Pack goes to war, the Alpha always travels with a medic. The Prima is pregnant. If something happens to either one of them—"

"You're right," Ashley said to Lauren. "We're stopping to pick up Liege Foster and her warlord on the way to Gray. Tonight will gauge the true strength of our alliances. You'd better gather your gear, Medicus."

"Alpha," Bo protested.

"We're at war, Imperator. Your mate is one of our two medics. She travels with the centuri from now on."

"The Viceregal may consider our appearance in her territory with a war party an act of aggression," Bo said. "We could be in a fight before the night is out."

"We didn't start the war," Ashley said, "but tonight everyone—Praetern and human—will know we show no mercy to those who threaten the Pack."

"Yes, Alpha," Bo said.

Ashley clasped Bo behind the head and shook her lightly. "Your mate will be fine. She knows her duty. Trust her."

As soon as Ashley strode out the door, Bo grabbed Lauren and buried her face in the curve of Lauren's neck. "I do trust you. I just don't want anything to happen to you. I love you so much."

"Nothing is going to happen to me." Lauren stroked Bo's hair. "I love you too—and whatever comes, I'll be with you. I can't imagine a safer place to be."