A/N: Thanks guys for hanging around this long. I know I'm not the best of author's on here but practice makes perfect. This is a slow story, I admit, however it will pick up rather quickly. Apologies for not updating sooner-seeing all of the alerts had me kicking myself-I was wrapped up in the holidays. Once again I do not own this beautiful series it belongs to Patricia Briggs.

Bran POV

He stared at the black she-wolf curled awkwardly on the couch. Thirty minutes of trying to convince her to change back into a human had not worked; her stubbornness managed to outshine even Mercy's infamous one. Not even a whole bag of turkey jerky smeared with jelly could get her to do it.

And then there was the issue of getting her to go back to sleep in her room. When warren tried to corral her into the hallway she ran off to the living room where she firmly planted herself in front of the unlit fireplace. At that point Bran had told them that he would stay with her for the night not trusting that she would jump into another questionable change. So here he was, siting cross legged on the floor watching as the tiny baby in her stomach pushed outward while she slept.

He could think back to a time long ago when Blue-Jay Woman was still alive. He kept vigil over her as she slept soundly in her fur attempting to fend off the ever growing chill of the season. Even though she was only with him for a few short years it was long enough for him to discover himself again-to appreciate the actual changes of life around his as growth, not the loss that would always plague his mind. When she was pregnant with Charles suffering from the after effects of not changing in months he had kept watch as well. He repeated the words both her father and the medicine woman would chant as they smudged the area around them with sage.

Bran would mash the mixture of clay, herbs and small handfuls of berries for her father so he could paint on his daughter's swollen belly. With each swirl of his old fingers Charles would move off to the other side of Blue-Jay Woman's womb seeking the waning warmth that she held. He had always thought in the back of his mind that her being a werewolf would make her strong enough to carry his son to full term. Her selfless actions in deciding to carry him to the end without changing hurt a small part of his heart, however, but he never did blame her. Just like he never did during the in the final throws of labor. It was instinct that made her hold onto her unborn child. If she hadn't he was sure she would have gone insane the moment she lost him.

The night Charles was born he sat outside of the medicine woman's hut alone listening to her rough cries of painful determination as she pushed their child out of her dying body. He had felt the snap in his soul when the toll hit him. Despite the protests from her father he forced his way into the small hut where he was greeted with Blue-Jay Woman's tired smile and the small screaming baby in her arms. He bit the cord himself ignoring the blade the healer handed him. For the last few minutes of Blue-Jay Woman's life he held her up as she nursed their son for the first time in his life.

It was only when she uttered the breathless name of his child, Charles that he allowed himself to cry.

He rubbed the bridge of his nose attempting to draw himself away from the past. Meridith stirred in her sleep uncurling to stretch out on the couch on her back belly facing the ceiling of the room. Bran smiled at the action holding in his laughter when she started to snore gently. His eyes were drawn to the braided bracelet that circled her paw loosely. Despite it being mostly leather the piece of jewelry was quite flexible allowing for her to pull it up and down with little difficulty. The small stone that had been hallowed out to string it onto the braid left him uneasy.

It wasn't often that he managed to run into something of his mother's that still existed. If he could recognize it then he was certain that Samuel had as well. Unicorn hair was hard for even the Fae to find-but the Cornick Witch herself had been able to track one down trapping it long enough for the Berserker to kill. It was probably one of the purest creatures he had ever felled. The fact that it never moved to harm him still troubled him

He wondered if Blue-Jay Woman would have survived if she had worn it.

He reached into his pocket pulling out the smart phone Mercy had insisted that she buy for him. She and Jesse's attempt to teach him to text had failed horribly-or so they thought-leaving them to only show him how to work the menu only. If they ever caught him playing a game or texting he was sure it would be the end of the world. He got up to walk into the kitchen and out of the back door all the while dialing Charles. Even though it was four o'clock in the morning he knew that the pair would be awake more than likely returning from a run.

The phone hadn't even dialed out before Charles answered, "Da." In the background Bran heard dishes clinking with water running the background. Good, he had just caught them after breakfast.

"I need you to run a search for any missing teenagers under the name of Meridith with black hair and green eyes. Age range should be between fifteen and eighteen more than likely gone missing in the last two years on the west coast. Height being four feet eleven inches. Get me any information on family, if possible, as well as cases of missing women in and around Oregon near the Washington boarder." He watched as his breath steamed in the cool air. The clinking had stopped in the background as Charles wrote down the brief description.

"You found a live girl." Charles stated.

"Email me the search results," Bran responded ignoring the comment from his son. "Also have a room set up at the hotel for a guest; you may want to get one of your own rooms prepared just in case as well. Let me talk to Anna please." The phone shuffled around some before Anna's cheery soft voice said, "Good morning Bran."

"Morning Anna. Can you do me the favor of buying some stuff for a nursery? You can take Sage with you if you like."

"Sure, there anything specific that I need to get?"

"Newborn items. A crib, bibs, onesies, stuff like that. Make sure you get some stuff that will grow with the baby as well." He squinted off into the darkness as a small blinking light in the backyard caught his eye. It was red like a recording camera but facing that back directly at him and the house. He took a step to the left pretending as if he had not noticed the lights blinking. It stayed trained on him fully following him as he shuffled slowly about on the porch. The feeling of him not being alone out there piqued his curiosity; whoever it was thought that they were strong enough to stalk the local alphas pack. No a very smart thing. He coughed loudly three times deliberately sensing that Adam had roused at the signal. Alerted he began to make his way slowly downstairs towards the front door with Ben close behind him.

"Is this a little boy or a girl? Wait, wait. You're bringing a baby to Aspen Creek? Don't tell me she got turned right after she had it." The sadness in Anna's voice pressed on Bran who was attempting to find a way of phrasing it without alerting whoever was out there what was going on. "It's more complicated. I have to go. Have that place set up before I go there please." He ended the call quickly when not a second later a pained yelp sounded from the other side of the fence. Pocketing his phone Bran walked over to it before hoisting himself up by one hand. He landed a few feet away from Ben who held a man down on his stomach with his nose pushed into the dirt.

"Give me your name and the company you work for." Adam ordered as he glared down at the man. He just cackled out loud before flipping all of them the bird. Bran nonchalantly stepped on said finger. Grunting in pain he finally answered, "David Brune senior member of QARS's third division."

"Why are you outside of my house with a riffle aimed at the back door?"

"Because," he puffed into the dirt, "someone had to distract you guys while the assassination squad hit the front of the house." Snarling Bran turned to jump back over the fence just as the sounds of squealing tires racing by the front of the house was heard as gunshots rang out. Shouts came from inside the house as said car sped off before driving past the opening of the alley. Ignoring Adam's cry for Mercy he took off down the alley hoping to catch a glimpse of the license plate but the car had already turned down another street leaving only the smell of burning rubber. Houses nearby were lighting up immediately as distant sirens sounded speeding up to the house. He bared his teeth at the smoking road before turning back down the alley to where Ben was shaking the man on the ground screaming into his face. Foam was falling out of his mouth as the scent of cyanide permeated through the air.

"Ben-"

"The bastard had a pill hidden under his goddamn tongue! I asked him what QARS was but he told me eat shit then swallowed it. Dammit!" He kicked at the dead man's gut one last time before turning back to Bran. "Now what?"

"Help me get him into the trailer before the cops show up. Grab his front and I'll grab his legs. Have Adam give a call to his witch when the cops are gone, I'll stay in the trailer with the body until she's here." Ben nodded before hoisting up the body.

Meridith POV

If I had been in the living room still I would have been dead. Luckily I was in the bathroom willing the pain from changing again to leave my body when the shots hit the house. A bullet managed to make its way into the bathroom a few feet in front of me hitting the water supply to the sink causing it to sputter cold water on the floor. I shrieked in shock wiggling away from the hole as the bullet embedded itself into the other side of the door. Warren roared from down the hallway as Jesse screamed in surprise. In all the shots rang out for about fifteen seconds before they stopped. When they did I heard Mercy racing down the stairs calling out to anyone.

"Warren! Meridith! Jesse! Kyle-ADAM!" Her panicked cries came closer to the bathroom before I called back to her. She opened the bathroom door taking in both my naked state and the spewing water from the faucet. She threw a towel at me as she slid on the slippery floor to shut the water off. "What the hell happened?" I asked her as I wrapped myself up then headed out to the hallway. Kyle was standing in the hallway looking at all of the bullets in the floor as Warren ran into the living room, cursed, then came down the hallway. He rushed past me into Jesse's room where he dragged the unharmed teen out of her room back to the hallway.

"Get in here and don't come out til I get ya!" He shoved the three of us into the room he was sharing with Kyle before slamming the door shut. Kyle banged on the door once before pulling both me and Jesse over to the other side of the room. He forced us down into the corner placing a finger over his lips in a quiet motion before taking an offensive stance in front of us with one foot in front of the other and both fists ups. His body was tensed as he prepared himself for some type of attack that was bound to come. My pulse picked up as the wolf herself began to bleed through; the tell-tale signs of pressure behind my eyes as her own bright green came forward to take in the any movement. I could smell the slight tinge of fear blanketed in worry coming from Jesse as she stared straight at the door.

One, two, three, mice beneath the snow-where oh where will they go? She was chanting silently in the back of my mind in the half human voice of hers she would use to soothe me. I could only imagine the excitedly tense look upon her face she would wear if she was beside me. I counted with her until another loud bang sounded through the house followed by the sounds of a scuffle. I heard a deep grunting sound as someone lost their breath followed by running footsteps coming from the hall to the door. "The house is clear you guys," Mercy said as she pushed the door open. Kyle let out a breath in relief before turning to help me up from the floor as Jesse let me use her to push myself off of her. Mercy ran her eyes over us before going back into the hallway where Warren was holding a bullet in a small dishcloth as he examined it. The lights had been turned on showing where the gunfire had started at the far right of the house until it ended all the way to the left. If one of the cement pillars holding up the second floor hadn't been on the opposite side of the bathroom I would have been dead. It was a clean, professional sweep at an even level meant to do damage. I had no doubt that if someone was hit in the leg they would have died the moment they hit the floor.

Jesse squatted to look at one of the holes that made it clear through the houses foundation. I stood over her as she fingered through a powdery substance that had come from the tiny hole. Directly adjacent to it was the spent casing which I bent over to touch it.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Warren sounded from over my shoulder. He, too, had noticed the powder that Jesse was poking around in curiously. "It looks like a weird mix between gun powder and silver. I can't touch the bullet without burning he tips of my fingers raw. Mercy, there's no markings on this at all-it's all homemade." He held out the bullet for her to inspect just as Adam came through the door with Ben who looked around frantically.

"Is everyone ok?" He asked as he headed towards us. His walk was rigid with tension from the attack as he slipped fully into his alpha role. He didn't seem to walk so march as he marched forward turning to Mercy whose arm brushed against his in a sign that I was certain meant to placate him. Adams nostrils flared as he took in the scents of the hallway attempting to take in all of the details from what had happened. "Jesse-"

"I'm fine dad. Not a single scratch on me. Meridith on the other hand needs a few Band-Aids and a change of clothes." She got up from her crouch to stand next to me with her foot slightly in front of me. With Adam's wolf so close to the edge I understood that he would lash out at anything that didn't feel familiar to him. I being a submissive female meant absolutely nothing when his den had been violated in such a violent way. He nodded stiffly before looking to the bullet that Warren was holding. I heard a few police cars pull up to the front of the house the flashing lights shining off of the roof of the ceiling. When a knock sounded from the from door Adam looked away from the bullet before he headed over to it but not before wrapping the one Warren held up carefully then placing it in his pocket. As he did his eyes met mine before narrowing. He had caught me staring at the slug. I knew then that I had been found out.

I recognized the bullet-bullets actually since I had been housed in the very place that they were made. The same ones Viktor had laid out in front of me the very first time I tried to run from him, the ones he used to mow down the others, and ironically, to save me.

Jesse tugged on my hand as she led me back to the room that I had ran from earlier that night. I shook off the ugly feeling from it knowing now that it was the least of my worries. I pulled the long dress back on as Jesse went to the bathroom's medicine cabinet to rummage around for Band-Aids. As she kept searching I braided my hair wincing as a piece of it caught on the stone on my bracelet. I carefully unwound it from the ridges with a frown. The band had become too loose either reacting to the magic in the air or my own heartbeat I didn't know.

"Found them. Meri, here you go," Jesse stepped into my line of vision holding out two large bandages which I hastily unwrapped before putting one on my knee and elbow. I nodded my thanks before heading out of the room to the sounds of voices. Mercy was standing at the end of the hallway talking to a handsome Hispanic officer while Warren was pointing out spots around the living room to a man with a camera. He placed a small numbered disc next to each spot before following the werewolf to another area in the house. Adam observed it all from where he was seated with Ben on a cell phone going over a few papers in front of him to another officer. Adam noticed us first lifting his pinky finger up as a way of saying stay put. The officers asked a few more questions before shaking both his and Mercy's hands then leaving.

Kyle came out of nowhere a roll of plastic in his hands which Ben jumped up to grab from him. Both he and Warren began to unravel it then place it against the wall as Kyle pulled furniture away from it. Rubbing at his eyes Adam called us over to him. "Jesse, I need you to help Mercy with the cleanup from this mess. And you Meri need to come with me to the old trailer next door. Bran's there and needs your help in identifying something." He pushed off of his stool to go to the back door which was slightly ajar. He pushed it the rest of the way then headed out into the night not looking back to see if I was following him or not. I walked after him nervous about what it was he needed to show me that was so important. I wasn't scared to follow him, even if he was scarily near changing, but I knew better than to fully let my guard down.

We pushed through the back gate into the lot next door which was eerily quiet. The scent of blood made me pause in recognition. If it wasn't for the fact that the Adam was with me I would have shrunk into a little ball right then and there. Instead I shivered breathing deeply through my mouth to be absolutely certain of who it was. Adam had stopped as well to observe how I was reacting around this area. The look on my face had him gripping my upper arm gently as my mind started to wander to the dark places that I wished never came back. He shook me slightly saying my name but my mind felt cloudy from spacing out. I winced then shook my full body splaying my hands against my stomach as I lead Adam into the trailer.

I knew this scent because I knew this man. I knew his smile, his shy yet fierce manner, and the way he could become absolutely murderous at the drop of the hat. He had been my guard at one point of time, he had even chased after me that first time I had run away from the white coats. I could still feel the bullet as it tore into my right flank burning the flesh as it released liquid silver into me. When I had woken up from the pain I was back in the same white cell but he was nowhere to be seen. In his place was Viktor who was tightening the bands of my bracelet before he slipped it on. I was never to take it off ever again in his presence. It had been my saving grace-my small glimpse of his humanity.

He was in the living room with Bran crouched above hi twisting his head this way and that. His hair had been dyed from the dirty blonde to a deep shade of brown that pulled at the hard planes of his face. I breathed in deeply once more as I sucked on the inside of my bottom lip to distract me from the biting cold inside the trailer. I walked slowly to the body taking in the smeared mud on his chin and the faint lines of dirt along his front body. Small dribbles of spit had me nearly laughing as they still foamed at the corners of his mouth. "Oh David," I whispered in the quiet room, "You just ate your words." Without a second thought I ran to him kicking at his ribs hoping that somehow he had to feel it in whatever realm of hell he was in.

Bran had moved away to stand in front of the couch as he watched me. I bet I looked like a madwoman; a pregnant woman with messy black hair kicking at a lifeless body with Jesse's too big bunny slippers on. I didn't care. I wanted to beat the crap out of this man for the simple fact of him taunting me while I was locked up not giving a damn about what was going on. I heard Adam's murmurs from behind me as he pulled me away from the dead guard's body. I took in a shaky breath wiping away at the sweat from my brow only then noticing the trailing tears on my cheeks. I pulled my hand back to stare at the treacherous droplets before glaring down at David once.

"I take it that you know him then." Bran said from his spot near the couch. He had been observing me for the entire duration of my rant leaving me a bit flustered as I tried to rein in my temper. I stared down at the man wishing upon anything that he had truly suffered during the last few moments of his life. "He was my jailer," I muttered, "or better yet the person who would have killed me had he been given a second chance. I seriously thought that he killed him."

"He?" Adam asked

"Yes. The person that turned me into this monster today. I tried to leave once and he," I kicked at David's body again, "decided to do some target practice. His aim was nearly spot one. I never saw him again; guessed that the white coats had decided to kill him off when they found out he almost killed their number one test subject. Never figured they would assign him to my recovery team." I flicked my eyes up at Bran noticing his slightly taken aback expression. This was basically the most I had said during my time here.

My hitchhiker chose that time to press roughly against my spine. I took a deep breath at the sudden pressure leaning back slightly to rub at my lower back. Changing into a wolf then back hadn't been any help for either of us; instead it made me slightly dizzy from the change not to mention nervous. If I counted right I could only change another four times before my body started to give out from the overwhelming amount of magic. The bracelet so far was soothing everything over making the transitions less traumatizing for the both of us. I didn't want to push it though.

As if sensing my fatigue Bran motioned for Adam to start taking me back to the house. Bran asked one last question though, "Do you know what QARS is Meridith?"

I stiffened. Sighing I met his eyes again. "I don't know what they stand for but I do know that they want to make the perfect solider. Sending out platoons of humans isn't cutting it anymore apparently. What better way to win then to let out someone who can take a hit then get back up without dying?" I looked to Adam taking in his rigid stance as he frowned deep in thought.

"A hybrid soldier, one to do the dirty work then get out. What better way to utilize us than that? Make them disposable heroes that they can keep sending back out without worrying about having to replenish them." Adam mused out loud as he cleared his throat.

"I don't know much about them honestly. Viktor kept me in the dark mainly. When he found out all of this stuff he was angry he wanted to kill someone. He thought that they were doing research to end the fact that we were infertile not to have us give birth to children we would never see again. If I had stayed then I would basically be a breeding factory until they found that perfect number one then have them turned out to the world. What else can someone respect besides a person fighting for a 'just cause'?" I looked up to the moon through an opening in one of the curtains feeling the prickling of tears again.

Bran placed his hand upon my shoulder to get my attention again. "The fact that they've found you is more than enough for me. I want you to pack your bags when you go back-I'm taking you and Samuel to Aspen Creek. Adam call your witch now." He gently guided me out of the trailer by my shoulder before apologizing when I tripped over a rut in the dirt. In a matter of fifteen minutes I was bundled up with a small box of cookies and nutria-grain bars sitting on my lap as Bran drove us out of Washington into the cold darkness beyond. I looked up to the moon again this time feeling a tingling go through me as I felt like someone was watching it with me.