It took very little to convince Hayley and Kira to stay with him a few days only to belatedly realize the full moon was coming up soon. He had noticed a change in Mercy's behavior but hadn't brought it up to Adam, he had pointed it out to Warren who had promised he would keep an eye on the situation. Tommy was worried about his alpha's mate and he let his superiors know of his concerns in hopes that they could do something about them.

During the second night of the full moon hunt it was announced that Mercy was pregnant. He asked Warren before they started the change why everyone seemed so worried about Mercy being pregnant.

"Listen, partner, it's hard for us werewolves to father children as for various reasons we don't completely understand human women often miscarry and female werewolves can't carry at all, the change is so brutal that they miscarry in the first three months." Warren explained

A grave look crossed Tommy's face; he knew that miscarriages were hard on everyone involved, none more than the mom herself. He hoped that everything would go well for her sake, he liked Mercy, she was strong and independent and after all she had been through she deserved to have something go right in her life.

He got home early the next morning to find Hayley curled up in his bed. He didn't know what this meant, was she declaring herself his, did she even understand how that action would look to him? What his finding her in his bed did to him, to his wolf, no, she couldn't know, he would have to teach her what this meant, but that could wait until later.

Hayley woke when Tommy sat on the edge of the bed, she had figured when she fell asleep in there he would just go to another room to sleep as he had done in the past when she did this (he was too much of a gentleman to take the bed from her) but they had recently started to date and that changed their perspective on a lot of things.

Tommy had taken a shower and changed into some sweat pants and an old t-shirt apparently to go to bed himself.

"Go back to sleep, Hayley." He told her gently as he took a position lying behind her.

"Tommy…" Hayley was rather shocked as he slipped in behind her and his arm came to rest around her waist.

"Sleep..." he repeated in a low tone.

There was something about being held that way that made Hayley want to just melt into his touch. It would be so easy to trust him, she knew that she could always trust him in the past, being a werewolf didn't seem to change the man he was. He was still the kindhearted individual she had always known him as, the one who opened his heart and home to his rangers, to Kira when she needed a home and father figure in her life.

Tommy let a small smile form on his face as Hayley relaxed and fell asleep. This was the first time he ever held her that way and he had to admit he liked it a lot. It reassured him to know where she was, his wolf relaxed knowing that she was safe from harm.

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Mercy's pregnancy went forward surprisingly without issue and Tommy settled in his position at fourth in the pack as a new female named Nicolette Garza joined. He knew that he stood no chance against Warren or Darryl; instead he focused on Hayley and Kira. Hayley had to return to Reefside to work at the cyberspace, but he heard rumors that she was thinking about selling the café to join him. He didn't say it out loud but he hoped she would so that she could stay with him. He knew it was selfish of him to want that, he knew the Cyberspace was her proverbial baby but he didn't want to be separated from her ever again.

Kira on the other hand moved in with him as didn't want to return to New York after learning there had been several robberies in her apartment complex. He welcomed her back for however long she wished to remain. He knew things had been hard for her and Hayley both since word of his alleged death got to them, he wasn't going to force Kira out when it was so obvious that she needed to be where she could see him at any time.

Hayley looked at the cafe and sighed. She could still remember how it felt to have Tommy hold her in his arms and it made her long for more, long to feel his kiss and, much to her surprise, wonder what it would be like to make love with him. She had never thought of that before now because she never dreamed that there would ever be a possibility to feel his hands on her body and feel his passion first hand.

She hadn't wanted to leave him any more than he wanted to let her, but they had no choice since she still had her café in Reefside that still needed her attention. She had so much invested in her business, but on some nights she seriously considered selling the business and moving to Finley to be with Tommy and Kira who had found a teen hangout that hired her to play regular gigs for her and she was immensely popular. Hayley later found out that one of Tommy's pack mates had gotten her the tryout that landed her the permanent gig.

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Adam knew that something had changed when Hayley left the Tri-Cities, Tommy had become extremely restless since she left and it made Adam wonder if maybe Tommy's wolf had chosen her as his mate. If that were the case, did Tommy understand what that meant? The question Tommy asked him later that week would prove to Adam that Tommy had no idea what it meant that his wolf had chosen a mate, he was still learning about being a werewolf and having a mate even though he was so highly ranked in the pack. He knew a lot of wolves that waited years, decades or even centuries to find a person or wolf their wolf clamed as their mate. If Tommy's had found his mate now that was good for him except for the fact that she was in another state.

"Adam look, I need to go back to Hayley." Tommy said "I feel like something was ripped out of me when she left and… and I..."

"I know that feeling." Adam replied "I feel it about Mercy."

"You…" Tommy looked confused "…Wait this has something to do with mate bonds, doesn't it?"

"Yes it does, it seems you're wolf has chosen Hayley to be your mate, this is uncommon for the wolf to choose first but it isn't unheard of, and you and she were friends and cared deeply for each other before you underwent the Change so really I'm not surprised that your wolf chose her given the relationship you already have with her."

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Hayley was standing on the stage at the cyberspace, her back to the door when she felt hands on her shoulders. She went rigid at the unexpected touch as not only was the cyberspace empty and closed, but she had locked the doors herself and only a couple of people had keys to those doors.

"Hayley, calm down, it's me."

Hayley turned in shock at the sound of Tommy's voice, he hugged her and she melted into his touch.

"I shouldn't have let you go" he said.

"I regret leaving but…" she trailed off.

"I have control, I didn't have to stay there, so… I came home" Tommy admitted "Came here to be with you."

"Are you going to be okay with you being a…"

Tommy cut her off with a kiss.

"I'll be fine, I have control of my wolf and with the size of the property I still own here I can spend the full moon hunting and no one will know. This is about you and me"

"As long as you're okay… I… I wouldn't want to put you in danger."

"Hayley, I'm fine…" Tommy replied and pulled her tight to himself mindful of his own strength and her frailty as a human.

The door banged open and both Tommy and Hayley turned and gasped.

To Be Continued…