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Chapter 21 - Beth

Everything hung on that day. Beth woke early after a fitful night's sleep, tormented by dreams of the Rosewoods and White Winters at each other's throats, tearing each other apart while she stood helplessly on the sidelines, caged in iron bars. She slipped from the bed without waking Devon and rinsed the sweat from her chilled skin, but the fears of the day stuck to her.

Today, she would face Adria and Spencer again. Would they understand her decision to stay with the White Winter pack, or would her betrayal cut too deeply? She agonized over it as she dressed, choosing a long, linen dress and tying her hair into a braid over her shoulder. All she wanted was for the two packs to get along, so that her heart did not feel wrenched in two, torn between the warring groups.

When it neared the time of the meeting, she woke Devon. He blinked up at her, groggy, and she couldn't help but smile and push the mess of hair from his face. There was reason enough to stay with the White Winter, and it was there in that bed. Her love. That love that had snuck up on her, wedging its way into her heart despite the walls she'd built against it.

"You look lovely." He stroked his hand down her cheek. "Is it time already?"

"It is, we leave in thirty minutes."

She waited impatiently as he showered, shaved, and dressed. Despite Beth's protests, they met Jonah and Emma in the kitchen. Emma was in athletic clothes, slim fitting, hair slicked back into a ponytail. The closest thing to armor, Beth thought. Jonah was more relaxed, graphic t-shirt and bright blue shorts, hair brushing his shoulders. He belonged on the beach of California.

"Ready?" Beth asked. There was time to spare, but she couldn't wait a second longer, ready to burst out of her skin.

She didn't wait for an answer, bustling out of the kitchen and down the stairs, where she shifted into wolf form and led the way to the meeting spot. In wolf form, at least, the anticipation dulled. She focused on the wind tugging through her fur and the scents it brought: deer, blackberries, and fireweed.

Devon ran next to her, head swiveling, and she knew he was anticipating an attack. He couldn't trust, not yet.

They were early, arriving at the meeting spot before the Rosewoods. She shifted, as did Devon and Jonah, but Emma remained as a wolf, pacing around the outskirts of the area. She barked a warning when the Rosewoods approached.

Beth's stomach somersaulted. Adria and Spencer. Her heart soared at the sight of her friends, but something held her back. Fear.

"Beth!" Adria cried, running toward her with her arms wide. "You're okay. I've been so worried."

Devon reached for Beth, maybe to stop her, but she shrugged away and ran into Adria's arms. "I'm okay, I'm okay. I'm so sorry. I can't imagine what you've been going through."

Tears streamed down both their faces as they drew back to take each other in. Time and worry had aged them both. Adria's eyes widened as they reached Beth's stomach.

"Oh my god, you're pregnant," she said, bringing her hand to her mouth in surprise.

"What?" Spencer snapped, coming up beside Adria. "That bastard."

Beth stopped him with a hand on his chest before he could confront Devon. "It was my choice, Spencer. Staying with the White Winters, that's my choice too."

Adria sobbed. "You're going to stay with them, Beth? After everything they did to us, to you? How could you?"

The other Rosewoods that had come with Adria and Spencer hadn't even shifted, their eyes never meeting Beth's. Ashamed of her.

"It's complicated," Beth said pleadingly, reaching for Adria's hand. "But they want to make peace now and I need to be with them for that, to help them. And… and I love him. Truly, I do."

Adria shook her head and pulled her hand from Beth's, turning to wipe the tears from her eyes. Devon surprised Beth, wrapping his arms around her from behind and kissing the top of her head.

"And I love her. We're family now, and I promise I'll take care of her." He held onto Beth, and she leaned back against him, grateful for his solid warmth against her.

Spencer crossed his arms. "Easy to say now. First, you kidnap her, then you get her pregnant. What choice does she have but to stay? Still, Beth, you're always welcome back. It would be rough, I won't deny it, some of the pack will have their opinions about you carrying a White Winter kid, but we could manage."

Beth's heart split open. She bit back the rush of tears that threatened to overwhelm her at the thought of her old pack resenting her. "Thank you, Spence, but Dev's right. This is my family now. That's why it's so important we work this out."

Adria glared daggers at Devon as they worked out the details, splitting the land in a way that left the gravesite in the White Winter half, and the sacred tree in the Rosewood half. Neither of them were completely happy.

But it was progress. Beth looked over her shoulder to find Jonah crouching in the grass, petting the top of a Rosewood's head. Only Jonah could win over the enemy with his smile. She was a pretty wolf, fur red as clay, delicate enough to be mistaken for a large dog.

"And this road, we need that," Devon was saying. Beth turned her attention back to the negotiation.

She saw a vein pop in Spencer's forehead. "That's ours."

"It restricts access to our town. We need it." Devon and Spencer locked eyes until Adria reached over and touched Spencer's back. Then he sighed, relented.

"Fine. That's it, then." They marked their maps with the new territories and rolled them up.

There was no handshake. Devon stuck his hands cooly into his pockets and Spencer held the map in both of his, white knuckled.

"We're at peace now," Devon breathed, disbelieving.

"For as long as your pack can manage it," Adria said, dripping with skepticism. But her eyes softened when they fell on Beth. "I hope they can, truly. And I hope, maybe one day, I can meet your child."

Beth held her hand to her stomach and reached for Devon with the other. "I hope so, too."

They watched the Rosewoods leave from the hilltop, the four wolves vanishing into the trees. Beth felt a piece of herself break off and follow them, a piece she no longer had the claim of. Her life was with the White Winters now.

"Are you alright?" Devon asked, pulling her close.

He enfolded her in his arms, and the rest of the world fell away.

"I am now," she said, meaning it.

She looked at the Rosewood land one last time as they walked away from the hill. Then she shifted, leaving her old life behind, running toward her new one with her love at her side.

*****

THE END

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