The sun had nearly set by the time Emma made it to her special place. It gave her a perfect view into the small valley below. It was empty right now, but in a little while she knew it wouldn't be. She conjured a blanket on the grass and sat down, enjoying the peace and quiet of nature, at the same time trying to ignore Henry and his little friend behind her. She had wanted to come alone, but her son wouldn't take no for an answer. She tuned them out as best as she could while she waited. Tonight was a big night and she couldn't wait for it to begin.
A howl rose in the distance. She knew it was Regina's. She could recognize it anywhere by now. It was followed by a deeper howl, Ruby's. One by one the rest of the pack joined in, each one adding their own unique tone to the wolf song. Emma pulled her knees up to her chin, smiling when she heard Lily's. She had a special tune to hers and Emma knew it by heart as well. She took a deep breath. The hunt had begun.
"That's what you came here for?" Henry asked. "I could've downloaded a wolf howling from the computer, Mom. This is ridiculo-" The earth started shaking, cutting off his words.
Emma grinned as the shaking got worse. Henry and his friend dropped to her side and they looked out over the valley as the herd came into view. It was a massive group of deer, all of them running in tight formation, held there by the wolves surrounding them. The pack worked as a unit to corral the deer in the valley for easy pickings. It was then that Emma noticed that Regina and Ruby were in the back. That never happened. Someone else was leading the hunt. She frowned slightly when she spotted two new wolves among them. This was new.
Jack was at the head, commanding the pack. He seemed to be struggling to send out commands in time and Mal paid the price when she was almost gored by the male deer. Emma frowned, watching the disastrous hunt from above. "You can do it, Jack." She encouraged softly. She knew he could. Leading, ruling, was in his blood. He just needed to realize it.
The pack backed away but held their ground, keeping the herd in place. She watched Jack closely as he gave some kind of signal to Marie. The young she-wolf was a natural born leader and from what she could tell, his best friend. The pair of them took the lead and the hunt seemed to run smoother. They took down 4 deer and Mal and Mulan lead the rush to get them out of the valley.
Emma got to her feet and made her way down, followed closely by Henry and Nick.
"That's what you need to learn, son." Ruby was saying to Jack. "There are many wolves that lead alone, but here, you don't have to. I don't. I can't watch the entire herd at once. That's why Regina takes one side and I take the other. It's much easier, isn't it?"
Jack nodded and looked up at Marie. "Thanks, Rie."
"What would you without me?" She replied, flicking him with her tail as she passed, making her way over to her parents as they returned. She was met with pleased and proud nuzzles.
"I'm sorry, Mal. Are you okay?" Jack asked in concern.
"I've felt worse, pup. Don't worry about me." The dragon replied, nuzzling the top of his head.
"It was a good start for your first hunt." Regina lowered her head to look her son in the eye. "You will get better. Don't stop trying. I'm proud of you, you know, my wolf prince. Now, for your next lesson, you are going to drag that deer all the way back to the den."
"What will I learn from that?"
"Nothing, I just don't feel like carrying it." She raised her head when she noticed Emma's presence.
"Um…, hi guys." She said timidly, knowing that the pack had asked for privacy, but she couldn't help it. Regina only grunted softly, nodding to the others. The young wolves took three of the deer and started dragging them away. Mal was able to carry one by herself, but Belle helped anyway. The pack melted away, except for Lily.
"Sorry about that." The dragon said softly.
"They're still mad at me?" Emma asked.
"Not specifically you…" Lily jerked her head at Henry. "But it might just be they didn't want the meat to spoil." She suggested with a shrug.
"What did we do to them now?" Henry rolled his eyes.
Lily growled. "When will you learn to watch your mouth? You almost killed them is what you did, and you're also a little ass." She turned to Emma and licked her cheek. "Get home before nightfall, okay? I'll be over once I help in the kitchen."
Emma nodded simply and Lily turned, trotting off into the trees. She sighed and teleported them back to the house. She went straight into her room and waited until Lily arrived, slipping through her window with a triumphant grin.
"Goddamn, do you add a floor to this house every time I leave?" She let out a tired breath. "That gets harder every night."
"Maybe you should come in the front door." Emma suggested, leaping into her arms.
"No, I have to stay in shape. I've been gaining a lot of weight lately according to my mom." Lily walked them over to the bed and dropped her onto the sheets.
"You look great." Emma scoffed.
"I know. Don't need to tell me." Lily smirked.
"I'm sorry about Henry." Lily waved her hand dismissively and walked into the bathroom. Emma got undressed and laid back down on the bed on her back, awaiting her dragon. When Lily didn't return for a while, she got up and walked to the door. "Lily? Babe?" When no answer came, she turned the doorknob and peered in. Lily was naked, standing in front of the mirror, staring at her reflection. What drew her attention, was the brunette's stomach. It was distended a lot more than it should've been. Lily worked out regularly and was probably in better shape than Emma herself, but her stomach told a different story. "Lily?"
"I didn't even notice." Lily whispered. "We've been so preoccupied with the darkness, I didn't even…" She put a hand over her belly and rubbed it. At her feet was a little stick. Emma bent down to pick it up. A pregnancy test. A positive one.
"Are we going to have a baby?" Emma whispered.
Lily nodded, looking down, rubbing her tummy with both hands. "We are. I have to tell Mom and the rest of the pack." She turned to look at Emma, who was still stunned, still staring at Lily, where the life was growing inside of her. "Emma? Are you happy?"
"I'm…" She smiled. She hadn't even realized she was shaking, or that she was crying. But she was. They were going to have a baby. "I couldn't be happier." She said. She ran into Lily's arms and kissed her before dropping to her knees, looking at her lover's belly. "My baby is in there." After a few minutes they returned to the bed but Emma kept a hand on Lily's stomach as the dragon slowly drifted off into dreamland. Emma lay awake for some time, enjoying the sound of Lily's soft purring. They were having a baby.
"Go to sleep." Lily growled, sleepily nuzzling her neck.
"I can't." She was too happy, too excited. She wanted it. More than anything. She was more than ready for this next step. Then she remembered Henry. There was no telling how he would react. She hoped he would be okay with it.
/
As soon as the pack heard the news they had a celebration almost immediately. Lily was almost overwhelmed by how happy everyone was. Her mom almost lost her mind when she heard that her dragonling was expecting and her siblings dogpiled her right then and there.
Lily pulled her alphas away from the party for a quick moment. "Look, guys, I just wanted you to know that I'm not going anywhere. Me and Emma haven't talked about anything yet but I just wanted you to know that I'm still gonna be a part of the pack."
"It's okay, Lily. You'll always have a place here either way." Ruby assured her. "I'm really happy for you."
"Thanks." Lily smiled and took a deep breath. "I'm pretty nervous."
"Don't be." Regina smirked. "You have your pack now. We're gonna be with you every step of the way."
"And um, about the whole thing with Emma and Henry-"
Regina waved her hand for silence. "We'll discuss that with Emma and Henry later. Right now, enjoy your party."
"It's your party too." Lily scoffed. Regina facepalmed herself as Ruby's smile disappeared in an instant. "You haven't told her?"
"Never found the right time." Regina returned. "Go have fun. I'll deal with this."
"Deal with this?!" Ruby exclaimed. "Are you pregnant?"
Lily slipped back over to her party while the alphas talked. She was almost immediately pulled into Mal's embrace. "I am so proud of you, Lilith. I could not be more happy for you."
"Thanks, Mom." She laughed as Mal lifted her off the ground in a bearhug. "But I'm gonna need your help with all this dragon egg birthing stuff."
"Of course." Her mother put her back down and kissed the top of her head. "You know I'll help you with whatever you need. How far along are you?"
"Not long enough for us to be worrying right now." Lily assured her.
"To Lily!" Mulan said, raising a goblet of wine. Everyone else quickly grabbed something to toast as well and cheered her and her unborn offspring. She wondered if Emma was getting the same reactions.
/
"You're having a baby?" Snow whispered.
Emma nodded, folding her hands in her lap, completely unable to hide the hopeful smile on her lips. "Me and Lily are. She's the one who's pregnant." She looked over at her father but his face was impassive and it had remained that way since hearing the news. Her son was sitting between them on the couch, but his face wasn't nearly as hard to read.
"You're going to leave too?" He asked.
She frowned. "What? What are you talking about?"
"Mom-Regina left to go live in the woods with those other mutts. You going to join them?" He hissed, standing up.
Emma stood up as well, looking down at her son with a hard glare. "Regina left to be happy, Henry. You need to stop being mad at her about that because it isn't like you gave her any attention before she left. You need to stop calling them mutts and dogs too. And no, I'm not going anywhere. I'm the mayor."
"But if you weren't you would go join them?!"
"No! What is your problem, Henry?" She simply did not understand, could not understand all of the animosity he harbored towards the pack. No child should hate this much and she couldn't for the life of her figure out where she went wrong with him. Was he really still upset that Regina left? Did he really feel abandoned by the mother he basically abandoned? She had tried, always tried to get him to spend time with Regina, but her parents and Neal always managed to get him to do something else. She shook her head. This wasn't about Henry right now. This was about her and Lily and the baby they would soon have. Henry didn't answer her question so she sat back down and he eventually did as well. "You're going to be a big brother, Henry. That's not going to change. Just because I'm having another child doesn't mean I won't be around for you. I will do everything in my power to make time for the both of you. That won't change either. What can always change is whether any of you will be in this child's life. If you don't want to be, then fine. That's perfectly okay. Henry, you're my son so the baby will still be around anyway." She looked up at her parents. "But with you two, if you really want to try and alienate your grandchild because of their other mother, that's just fine...but don't expect me around either." Her father had yet to say a word and her mother seemed to be processing everything. She finally stood up and walked out, Henry trailing behind her. She didn't drive off when they got into the car.
"I don't want to talk right now, Mom." Henry said, staring ahead.
"Good, then you can listen." She replied. "I don't know what's going on with you. You won't talk to me, you won't talk to your grandparents or your father. I can't help you, Henry, if you won't talk. Maybe you could go see Archie again-"
"I don't want to."
"And I'm not forcing you, but you really need to change your attitude. I don't know what can be done. You've been grounded for a month, you've been captured several times, just got your arm out of a cast from meddling. I don't care who you talk to, but talk to someone, because this is not going to work." She waited for a couple minutes to see if he would eventually speak. "You know, Regina told me about you going to watch them Run at nights."
"Did she now?" He scoffed, turning to look out the window.
"If this is still about her leaving-"
"That was years ago, and not everything's about her." He snapped. "You know they're all you talk about. They left because they didn't want anything to do with us, but you're always trying to find them, always talking to them, always trying to be friends with them. They don't care, so why should you? They only tolerate you because of Lily. All they care about is themselves."
She sighed and rolled her eyes as she started the car and started the drive back home. "You know, there are kids in this world who would kill to be in your place. You have a mother and a father and grandparents who would do anything for you. That's a thousand times more than what I had growing up. On top of that, you have a town that caters to your every whim. You're the captain of your rugby team, you make good grades and you have lots of friends. With all of that, you mean to tell me that you still aren't happy?" Her phone flashed and she glanced down to find it was a text from Lily. She ignored it since she was driving. When they got back to the house, she parked and remained in the car. Henry seemed to sense she was going to speak again and waited. "You want to be a hero, Henry?"
"I am a hero." He replied.
"No, you're not. Heroes don't treat people like they are less than human. You can't even call Regina or any others from the pack by their names without adding in mutt or dog. That's not being a hero. When did you start thinking that it was okay to treat people that way?" She paused, silently fuming. "Think about this, Henry, if the pack treated you the way you treat them, you would hate them. You would know that the way you're acting is beyond ridiculous." Again, he didn't respond and she almost growled to herself as she got out of the car. Both mother and son went straight to their rooms without another word to each other. Emma collapsed onto her bed and called Lily. A moment later, her lover appeared and sat down on the bed.
"How'd it go?"
Emma sighed and swallowed. Her eyes burned, the hot tears hiding behind them almost hurt. Lily pulled her into her arms and held her. "I don't know what I'm doing, Lily."
"What do you mean, babe?"
"My parents barely reacted to finding out that we were having a baby and Henry just got angry and it-it makes me so mad because none of them care. I-I can't...I basically yelled at Henry. If I can't even figure out how to help the son I do have, how can I be a mother to another kid? I wasn't ready before, maybe I'm not-"
"Hey," Lily said firmly, tilting her head so she could wipe away the blonde's tears. "There is so much pressure on you. To be the perfect mayor, the perfect Savior, the perfect mother, the perfect daughter. Take a deep breath and just forget all of that. Just focus on me and you right now. Okay?" Lily took a few deep breaths and kissed her forehead. "Everything is going to be okay."
"No, it won't. I don't know how to make them happy again."
"That's not your job. You don't have to do shit for your parents. They didn't do shit for you. And as for Henry, he just needs to understand that the world doesn't revolve around him anymore. He'll get over it, and even if he doesn't he shouldn't dictate your happiness. Your job is to prepare him for the world and you've done that-"
"You mean Regina did that." Emma reminded her.
Lily scoffed. "You both did. Besides, if not for the stupid aging curse, wouldn't he be in his rebellious teenage years anyway? Maybe it's just that time of the month for him."
Emma snorted, a small smile starting to form. "Lily, what are you even talking about?"
"I don't know, but it made you smile and that's all I care about. Now, have you eaten?"
"No."
"Then go take a shower, unwind, relax, and I'll make you something to eat."
"No, I should be doing it-"
"I'm not taking no for an answer. Now move that pretty ass of yours." Lily gave her a kiss on the forehead and gave her a gentle push towards the bathroom. Once the blonde was inside she shrugged off her coat and removed her shoes, making herself at home. She went downstairs and into the kitchen to find something to cook. To say she was pissed was an understatement. The Charmings were such idiots and Henry was just like them. She wished she could take Emma into the woods, into the trees and disappear into the bushes and keep her there so she wouldn't have to deal with other people's nonsense. She could see it on her girlfriend's face that she was tired. She wished she could spirit Emma way like Ruby did Regina, give her a new life, one where she was truly happy. But she knew Emma would never leave Henry behind. He was probably the only real reason Emma stayed. Other than that most of her ties to Storybrooke were now in the wolf pack.
"Hope you made something good." Emma said, bounding into the kitchen with a bright smile.
Lily frowned. "That wasn't long enough to relax."
"I'm too tired to relax." Emma scoffed.
Lily looked down at the pans she had taken out before throwing them back into the cabinets. "Let's go hunting." She said, spinning around to face the blonde.
"Are you serious?"
"Yeah. Come on. You and me." She walked to the front door and Emma called to Henry that she was leaving before racing out the door, bouncing excitedly on her toes. Lily smirked. She was such a child. With a wave of her hand they became wolves. Emma stood out like a sore thumb in the darkness due to her snow white fur. Lily was able to blend in a little more and took the lead. After a big hunt like the previous one was, the pack would push the herd away from the mountain into a larger valley. When they wanted to go hunting again, a small team would break the herd into pieces and chase them back into pack lands. Only those with good stamina, like Ruby, Zelena or Mal, were chosen for that position. However, with the new additions the positions were shifting. Changes needed to be made to accomodate the pack's growing numbers.
"This is so much fun!" Emma whooped, racing ahead, occasionally tripping but not caring in the least. Lily kept pace with her, making sure they stayed away from where the pack Ran at nights. Her alphas assured her they would try to work things out, but she didn't want to cause any problems beforehand.
/
"So what's going on with the pack?" Emma asked, digging in to the stew Lily had managed to make for them after they hunted down some rabbits and a quail. The dragon had then made them a campfire and conjured a pot of water, some spices and vegetables. Emma watched her silently as she skinned and gutted the meat before adding it to the pot. Her stomach was rumbling by the time Lily served her a bowl.
"Right now a lot of things." Lily replied, eating a bowl of stew of her own. "In a couple days Ruby was going to lead a small party to Camelot with Mom. We might've found a way to get rid of the Dark Wolf forever but they need a certain type of fire. I think they're rethinking their plans right now."
"Why? Did it get out?" Emma quickly looked up.
"No, of course not." Lily smirked. "That son of a bitch isn't going anywhere now that we've got it under lock and key. Ruby might change who goes on the trip because Regina's pregnant."
Emma almost choked. "What? Since when?"
"I think she's about a month further along than I am. With everything that's been happening with the Dark Wolf, she wanted to focus on taking it down before worrying about pregnancies. Ruby just found out tonight. Accidentally."
Emma narrowed her eyes at her girlfriend. "Accidentally?"
"Okay, it was my fault." Lily laughed to herself.
"Who were the two new guys I saw the other day?"
"Hansel and Gretel. Dad decided he didn't want them so we took them in. They were already friends with the pups so they fit right in." The dragon shrugged and ate another mouthful of stew.
"Well, that was nice of you-" Her words were cut off with the ground started to shake. Howls arose in the distance and Lily was on her feet in a second, listening for the wolves above the rumbling in the earth. The trees started shaking, like they had minds of their own. The leaves in the wind hurt her ears and she covered them, just as Lily covered her, protecting her while still looking around and listening. But the quaking only grew worse, as if God himself was trying to rip Storybrooke apart with his bare hands. Emma looked down when she felt something on her foot. Tiny forest rodents were dashing across her feet, followed by rabbits and deer herds, all running for their lives. Behind them came the great thuds of trees, their trunks snapping like the cracks of a whip. They crashed to the ground, one by one as all types of wildlife attempted to escape the upheaval. Lily shook her arm.
"Emma, come on! Follow me!" Lily shifted and took off. Emma quickly followed. She struggled to keep pace with her lover. She tripped a few times but she forced herself to keep going. After a few minutes the earthquake stopped, but up ahead they could hear howling and whimpering.
"Lily!" Maleficent burst onto the path and quickly nuzzled her oldest child. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah, what the hell's going on? Where is everyone?"
"I don't know. I lost them during the divide. Come with me, we have to find the kids."
"What's the divide?" Emma panted as she followed them. The ground suddenly fell away to a rise overlooking the result of the heavy tremors. A deep, almost canyon-like fissure split the forest floor in half. Chunks of the edges were still falling, preventing the pack from getting too close to see over it. A few more trees fell into the chasm below. The wolves were running around, trying to collect their loved ones.
"Take the left." Mal commanded.
Lily and Emma sprinted to the left and made their way to the edge where Zelena and Belle were almost dragging their terrified children to safety. Mulan climbed out of the fissure with an unconscious Shang in her jaws. Emma slowly edged her way forward to peer down. She could only just see the bottom. She pricked her ears when she heard the faint sound of whimpering.
"Help me." A soft voice whispered and she looked down at the crack in the earth between her legs. There was a hole just large enough for her to see the fur inside.
"Gretel? Is that you?" She started furiously digging, unearthing the petrified little she-wolf and her brother. She pulled them out and Dorothy and Tink almost immediately grabbed them and carried them off to safety.
"Have you guys seen Regina and Jack?" Ruby asked, limping towards her.
Lily healed her leg with a light tap. "No, we just got here-" A sudden scream cut her off as Jack came flying out of the divide, landing hard, but unharmed.
"Jack, are you okay?' Ruby asked, nuzzling his fur and looking him over for any sign of injury.
"Incoming!" Marie came flying out as well and landed on top of them. She got up and shook herself off after Mal climbed out behind her. "Mom, you didn't have to throw me so hard." Mal gave her head a lick and nudged her towards Mulan and the others. Marie and Jack raced off at her command and Ruby lead the search for Regina. The rest of the pack was accounted for and Ruby sent them back to the den and see if there was any damage. The rest of them turned to look back at the massive crack in the earth that now divided half the forest. Most of the trees were either laying on their side or threatening to fall into the fissure.
"What could have caused this?" Lily asked.
"I don't know, but we need to find Regina right now." Ruby howled to see if her mate would respond. The ground started to shake again, causing even more rockslides. The Dark Wolf appeared before them, Regina laying at its feet, curled into a tight ball with her paws curled into her stomach. It was difficult to tell whether she was actually hurt or not, but no one wanted to take any chances.
"Did you really think you could imprison me? Did you really think that you could stop me?!" The wolf roared. It stomped its paws, causing the ground to shake some more. "Weak. Pathetic. Worthless. That is all you are! You can't defeat the darkness!"
Ruby growled. "When I say go, get Regina and get the hell out of here." Emma nodded. Lily growled, but nodded as well. Ruby suddenly barrelled forth, slamming into the Dark Wolf. "Go!" Emma and Lily dove forward and grabbed Regina by her scruff. The former queen whimpered as they swiftly carried her to the edge of the forest where Mulan and Tink had waited. They took over and carried Regina off. Ruby and the Dark Wolf were still locked in battle, the sounds of it echoing throughout the half fallen forest. Emma was actually shocked that a wolf could make such sounds. Mal was doing her best to separate them, at the very least get Ruby away before she got killed. That's when the ground started to give away. Mal shifted in her dragon form and ripped the two battling wolves apart. She threw the Dark Wolf down into the chasm, knocking a few more giant chunks of earth in before she grabbed Emma and Lily in her back talons as she flew into pack territory, quickly crossing the border. The mountain seemed untouched for the moment, but none of the pack had gone back inside. Maleficent landed and dropped Emma and Lily while nearly crushing Ruby, who was still going crazy. With the alphas otherwise engaged, the betas stepped in. Belle lead the pack back into the mountain and sent Granny to deal with Regina, while Zelena dealt with Ruby. Maleficent slowly opened her claws. Ruby was too exhausted to do anything besides lay there and allow both women to tend to her extensive wounds. In the end, Mal put her to sleep and carried her inside the mountain.
"Look at all this." Zelena said, looking back at the forest that lay in ruins. "We'll have to start clearing the trees soon."
"Now?" Emma asked. "You don't want to wait? The Dark Wolf is free."
"It can't cross Ruby's border." Zelena answered. "We're just going to have to send Mal and a detachment to get the ingredients she needs as soon as possible. Meanwhile, Lily, you should start organizing a group to clear the trees that are a problem." Lily nodded. "I'll get a patrol to check the border and make sure it hasn't been tampered with. Emma, you should get home and check on your town."
"Oh shit, she's right." Emma said. Honestly the town hadn't crossed her mind. "Can I come back later to help you guys?" She asked. Zelena simply nodded, already leaving to get everything ready for the coming days. Emma nuzzled Lily. "I'll be back soon. Don't go outside the border. I'll just come to you now."
"Be safe." Lily licked her cheek.
Emma wagged her tail as she trotted off. It was rough going with all of the fallen trees. She changed back into a human as she reached a side street. Storybrooke was mostly untouched, with some mild damage to the buildings. She soon found out that the dwarf tunnels had collapsed. Every single one. And everyone was losing their minds. That was the least surprising thing that occurred. She called a town meeting an hour later just to shut everyone up.
"What are you doing about this?" Leroy demanded. "Do we have to go get these wolves ourselves?"
"Why did they let the Dark Wolf free again?" Someone else called.
"Why are we letting them remain free again?" Another person yelled.
Emma looked out over the sea of faces looking to her for guidance. She took a deep breath, silently wondering what would happen if she just walked out right now. Her parents and her son were in the front row, watching expectantly. She smoothed down the front of her blazer and took a deep breath. "Shut the hell up!" Silence crashed upon them almost instantly. "Much better. Now, the Dark Wolf was not let free. It escaped. It caused the earthquake. It was injured soon after breaking free and its focus is not the town. For the moment, everything should be fine. Do not, I repeat, do not, in any way attempt to go after the Dark Wolf or the Mills Pack-"
"Why not?" Leroy snapped. "Just because you're all buddy buddy with them doesn't mean we should be. They could be plotting right now-"
"To do what?" She sighed. "You have nothing they want. They don't care about a single one of you. Their priority is taking down the Dark Wolf and living their own lives. You should try that second part, Leroy." She glared him into submission before addressing the crowd again. "If anything changes, you all will be the first to know."
"Will we?" Whale stood up. "While you're running around in the woods, we're left to-"
"Enough!" Emma roared. "From the day I was elected, have there been any other problems besides the Dark Wolf?" Silence followed her question. "I didn't think so. As I said, if there is anything that would threaten the lives of the people of this town, you will be the first ones to know so you can take action." That seemed to be enough to assuage their fears. "No hunting until this matter is resolved. No going into the forest. Robin, you and your Merry Men can stay at the B&B until it's safe to go back to your camp. Is that clear?" There were murmurs of agreement and everyone started to file out. She stepped down as Granny walked in. "Robin and his men need the B&B."
Granny waved the matter away. "I don't care about that. I came to see how you were doing. No injuries from the quake?"
Emma smiled and shook her head. "How are the alphas?"
Granny sighed. "Could be better. Regina took a hard knock to the head. She's still out and so is Ruby. Zelena is getting things squared away. Mal, Merida, Tink and Belle went to Camelot to try and get this fire. The kids are still shaken up."
"I don't blame them." Emma replied. "Do you need any help-"
"You need to sleep." Granny commanded. "Do that and then come find us."
"But-"
"Don't care. Go home and get some rest."
"Okay, but is Lily okay? Does she need anything?"
"Emma."
"Okay." Emma sighed. "But if Lily needs anything, call me, please." Granny nodded. Emma grabbed her things and gpt ready to leave. She glanced at her son. "You coming home, Henry?" He simply shook his head and she shrugged before teleporting herself home. Sleep was hard to come by, even if she was exhausted. When she managed to get through a good 6 hours she woke up even more tired than when she went to bed. She eventually got up and took another shower, getting dressed in a pair of old jeans, boots and a long sleeved shirt. She made her way downstairs to find Henry doing his homework in the living room.
"Going to see your pets?" He asked, watching her grab an apple out of the kitchen.
"I'm going to go see Lily. And watch your mouth." She commanded, grabbing her jacket. "You're grounded. No games, no comic books, no tv, no friends."
"For what?"
"Again…" Emma scowled. "Watch your mouth. Until you learn to act like a child again, this is the way it's going to be. There's really no reason to be upset. You brought this on yourself. Love you." She smiled, teleporting straight to the border. She texted Lily and the border dissolved just enough to let her pass. When she crossed, it closed behind her. She would spend the entire day helping the pack clear the trees, stacking most of them into small pyramids for later use. The rest were magically reattached to their stumps by Lily. By the end of the day, she was exhausted and found herself falling asleep abruptly while waiting for dinner.
"Miss Swan, what are you doing in my den?" Ruby's growl woke her from her sound sleep and Lily was quickly beside her.
"Wait, Ruby, she was just-"
"I didn't ask you, Lily." Ruby hissed. She looked at Emma, watching with disdain as the blonde scrambled back to her feet. "What are you doing here?"
"I-I know you said you wanted your space, but I just wanted to help. I'll leave if you want me to."
"Not at all. In fact, I need your help with something." She turned to leave and Emma realized that what sounded like anger in her voice, was only pain. The alpha was limping and leaning on a crutch. "Are you okay?"
"Yes, just sore." Ruby replied, leading them down into the library. Lily helped her sit down to the large table that was currently covered in drawn diagrams, writings and scrolls. "Sorry about the mess, Belle was hard at work for us."
"Looks better than my bedroom." Emma replied.
"To business." Ruby said. Emma quickly nodded. "We've been trying to fight the Dark Wolf with fire. Dragon fire, and even though it's the brightest light of all, it's not the purest. Belle deduced that we need pure light magic. Your magic. Do you understand?" Emma nodded again. "We need you to challenge the Dark Wolf. It can't disregard a direct challenge, especially from someone it sees as inferior. Your light magic should keep it busy while we get into position."
"You aren't going to wait for Mal and the others to get back?" She frowned.
"No, Mal knows what we're doing. I gave them 3 days to get the fire and get back. We can't leave the Dark Wolf out there. Just as I am recovering, so is it."
"With all due respect, Ruby," Emma said. "I think you should focus on your pack and your kids and make sure they're okay. Attacking now, when you're not even full strength, could do more harm than good." Ruby arched an eyebrow and she swallowed, glancing at Lily. "You should wait until Mal and the others are back, attack the Dark Wolf with everything you have. I know you want to destroy this thing as soon as possible, I do too, but attacking prematurely could be disastrous." Ruby blinked, still looking up at her. "That's if you want to…" She said, looking down, afraid of what would happen if Ruby got angry. She would probably get thrown out and she couldn't be there for Lily being stuck outside the border.
"Why are you suddenly so afraid to speak?" Ruby asked, frowning. "I don't need you afraid, Emma. I need you as pissed as I am, okay?" Emma quickly nodded. Ruby slowly stood up. "Alright then. I'll be fully recovered by tomorrow. If Regina hasn't woken up or she doesn't agree with it, then we're going ahead with the plan. Will you be there-"
"Absolutely."
Ruby nodded. She dipped her head to Lily and limped out of the room. Emma sighed and looked at Lily.
"You okay?' The dragon asked.
"Yeah, I just thought she might attack me or something."
"She has more important things to think about." Lily shrugged. "Me and Zelena are going to the basement to see if we can figure out how the Dark Wolf broke free. You coming?"
"Am I allowed?" Emma asked.
"Emma, you don't need permission-"
"Of course I do." Emma scoffed. "I don't want the pack to see me as an enemy or nuisiance." Lily tilted her head. "This is your home, your family is here. I know for a fact that you won't leave, and I don't want you to. But it's been made very clear that I don't belong here, but I need to at least be able to come here. To see our baby. And I would rather be away from you across the barrier than have you leave it and be attacked."
"Who said you don't belong here?" Lily walked around the table to her side.
"Quite a few people." Emma shrugged. "But I don't care about anyone's opinions of me or the pack. I care about you and my kids. Maybe the town…"
Lily smiled and kissed her forehead. "One day, I'm gonna find a way. I'm gonna find the way to make you so happy, you will lose your mind. And I'm gonna keep you that way, so no one can tear you away from me."
Emma smiled. "I'm not going anywhere, Lily."
/
Ruby leaned against the doorway to their bedroom, hissing as her aching muscles were forced to move. Regina would kill her if she knew she was up, but taking care of the pack came before everything. She took a deep breath and limped in to find Regina wide awake, sitting on the bed. In the palm of her hand, was a heart. A heart glowing bright white. "Regina?"
"We need to go find Gold." She said, getting out of bed. She held up the heart to her mate's face. "This is my heart, free of darkness completely. This is how it's healing itself. That's why it's never weaker because it's not using its own magic to heal itself."
"It's using the darkness in everyone else." Ruby realized. "Then it has an almost limitless supply to feed off of."
"And a buffet in Gold. We need to find him and get him across the barrier immediately."
"The two of you aren't going anywhere." Zelena said after they quickly explained to her what was going on. "Regina, you suffered a serious blow to the head and Ruby, you can barely walk."
"And you need to rest." Regina countered.
"I'll go." Mulan said. "I'll take Lily and Emma. We'll see if he's there first and if he is then Lily can just teleport us here."
Regina watched with worry as they left. The Dark Wolf was free, their strongest warriors were gone, they had no way to defeat it. "Fuck!"
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