MERIBELLA

Meribella raced after the men, the slap of her feet against the hardwood floor echoing the pounding in her chest. Nichols had to be mistaken. Thorne and Lincoln didn't even know one another, and she was still recuperating. All respect for Raff's Beta fled. If he'd taken advantage of her while she was ill- so help her...

It was then that she noticed they'd come to a stop, and Nichols was gaping at her. Glancing down, she saw her skin sparkling the way it once had only when she was in the ocean, and she tried to wrestle her emotions into submission. Clearly, this was going to take some getting used to, but at least Nichols would believe she was Fae.

"Lincoln," Raff roared, beating his fist against the door of Thorne's room. "Come out here now."

"Raff," she said, hands out and steps slow as she approached him. "Please don't upset Thorne. She's still not fully herself."

Eyes as cold as the tundra turned to her. "An upset Thorne is better than a dead one, yes?" When the tears rolled down her cheeks, he softened, but only slightly. "I will try to calm down."

"Thank you," she responded, "we know all too well the dangers of jumping to conclusions."

He did not get a chance to answer as the bedroom door swung open and Thorne appeared wearing a satin nightie and nothing else. She leaned against the frame, her arms crossed beneath her breasts as she surveyed the crowd in front of her. Meribella gaped at the changes in her friend. The luster had returned to her skin, and the dark circles had faded. She looked healthy, well-rested, and a little too satisfied.

"Can I help you Raff?" she sneered.

"Is my Beta in your room?"

"Lincoln," she called, not bothering to look over her shoulder, her angry glare fixed on the fuming Alpha. "I'm guessing the nymphs narked?"

Meribella couldn't believe what she was seeing. "When did this even happen?"

The witch shrugged, finally breaking eye contact to smile softly at her. "While you were popping your cherry. We didn't get a chance to talk about it because... well, you know, I died."

Heat flooded her cheeks, and she felt Nichols stop breathing beside her. The man obviously hadn't known what he was getting into when he knocked on Raff's door that morning. As much as she wanted to correct Thorne's presumption, now was not the time. Nor was it the time to remind the woman of the risks Lincoln posed. Pot meet kettle.

"You rang, Alpha," Lincoln drawled, his voice muffled as he pulled a t-shirt over his head.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" Raff belted, shoving Lincoln. The Beta snarled, his eyes glowing brightly with anger, but he didn't' retaliate.

"I asked you that same question not long ago," Lincoln responded. "So don't you dare come in here ready to fight me over the same rule you were willing to break."

"But I didn't break it," Raff said. "I would've never laid a hand on Meribella if she'd been human. What you've done- you've killed this woman. You're a murderer."

"Compel me," Lincoln demanded. "Compel me in front of Nichols so he can go back to everyone and tell them that I didn't stick my prick in a human."

Thorne blanched at the crude phrasing, but she kept her lips pressed in a firm line, not denying or defending him. Meribella couldn't help the relief that coursed through her, but she knew the line they were toying with all too well. If Thorne felt for Lincoln, half of what she felt for Raff, then she would eventually cross the line all too willingly.

"Lincoln," Raff spoke, the tone of his voice sending a strange chill up her spine. The power infused into every syllable made her teeth chatter and her bones ache. She found herself wanting to drop to her knees, to beg him to command her. "Did you have sex with Thorne?"

His lips turned up in a rakish smirk, but Meribella could see how much the effort cost him under the weight of his leader's compulsion. "Everything but. I've told you-there's more than one way to skin a cat."

"You ass," Thorne exploded, jamming her fingers into his throat before racing to the bathroom and barricading herself inside. Lincoln wheezed, clutching his throat and hitting his knees.

"You're disgusting," Meribella huffed, surprised when the man winced as her barb struck. Perhaps there was something more to this than met the eye, but she didn't have the give a damn to ask right now. Thorne was hurting, and after everything she'd been through for Meribella, she would do everything in her power to keep her safe and happy.

"Nichols," Raff said, power still echoing in his words, "Return to the pack. Tell them that neither I nor Lincoln have violated the decree. The decree still stands. A werewolf is not to have relations with a human."

"Yes sir," Nichols nodded and left.

Her heart crumbled. His words were cold and decisive, leaving no room for argument. As she pleaded with Thorne to let her in, she kept replaying the moment he'd hurled his accusation at Lincoln. Murderer. He would've hated his best friend, the man he trusted to lead if something happened to him, if he'd impregnated Thorne. Just as he would hate himself.

The door opened just a crack, and she slid inside. No words were needed. The two embraced, their bodies fusing together in a shared bond of love and heartbreak. They stood like that for several minutes, emotions swirling about them, threatening to overwhelm them like waves in a storm. And knowing what she needed to do, what she had to do, she prayed that she could go back to that old life: the one where she just treaded water to just get by. But she didn't have her friend in that old life, and she hoped that together, they could make it work.

"I really was going to tell you about Lincoln," Thorne said, pulling away and scrubbing her hand across her wet cheeks. She slid down the wall, and pressed her chin into her knees.

"I'm not angry with you," Meribella replied, joining her on the floor. She left the hand closest to Thorne, open, palm up, and it didn't take long for her friend to accept the comfort. Outside the bathroom, she could just hear the men speaking, their voices low and tense. "I was just worried. I just got you back, and for a moment, I thought I'd lost you again."

"I'm not going to lie and say I don't like him- a lot, but I don't love him. I wouldn't give up my life for him, but I found comfort in him when I thought you had chosen that path. I knew you might sleep with Raff, but I guess I didn't really understand the dangers of it, even after you told me about the curse. I thought you could take precautions and be fine.

"When I found out you were sleeping with him, I went to Vivian, and she told me that there was no way to stop a pregnancy with a werewolf if you were human. But she told me since you were Fae, you'd be okay. Gods, B, I lost it. It was too late so I decided to hide my feelings in a bottle. Lincoln joined me, and we comforted one another. He's not like he acts. There's a lot beneath the surface."

Meribella chuckled. "I'll have to take your word on that, but Thorne... we didn't sleep together."

The witch went rigid before turning hopeful eyes in her direction. "What do you mean? I heard-"

Meribella cut her off and said with a sly wink, "Everything but."

"Thank the gods," Thorne breathed, some of the tension in her body seeping out.

"I felt so guilty about it. When I came home and found you-" she stopped, her throat clogging with tears.

"It's okay. Really it is, and I'm not ready to go there yet. It's all still fuzzy, but the more distance I get from it, the more I remember, and I only want to share it once."

"I understand."

"So what now?"

Standing, she helped Thorne up off the floor. "Now, I have to figure out how to get out of this mess."

"You could just be honest. Before you two do something you'll both regret."

"That's the problem. I wouldn't regret it. I'd rather have a few moments with him than not have him at all, but he'd never forgive himself. Our son would grow up with a father who was broken. That's what I would regret. I just need a way to push him away without losing him."

"Does such a way exist?" Thorne asked, her brown eyes filling with concern.

"I'm really scared that it doesn't."

a/n- This chapter just wouldn't cooperate with me... so it may undergo some revisioning. Please let me know what worked and didn't work for you! It'll be a lot of help when I go back over it.