Finally, they were one step ahead of Rogue.
Alec was helpful. He had been working with Harry, Oscar, Ace, and Raiden. They were locating Rogue's men and planning who was next. Alec, who knew some of the men, gave details about their common whereabouts and helped to plan how to get to them. Indianna could tell that he was slowly gaining Greyson and Harry's trust. When he wasn't helping with Rogue he was with Alice. He spent every moment he could getting to know her and Kal didn't scowl and trip him up every time they walked past each other anymore. He could see that his sister was happy with Alec so he had decided to give him a chance.
Raiden still seemed broken. He was trying to help. He was better when he was distracted, but he was aching inside. He felt betrayed by Brandon. Much to Harry's annoyance, he was spending time with Brooke. He felt guilty because of what Brandon had done and wanted to make up for Brandon's wrongdoings, but he also felt safe around her. As much as he was disgusted at Brandon, they were still mates and his heart still wanted him. Every part of his body wanted Brandon and it was worse every day. Brooke was Brandon's family and it soothed Raiden to be around her. He knew he could trust her.
Tai was helping Doc. When she wasn't with Ace, slowly becoming more and more comfortable with him, she was with Doc, assisting him with daily tasks and anything he needed. Ace was helping her with her shifts, trying to help her gain control of her wolf. Tai hadn't made much progress so far, she lost control so easily, but she was trying.
Brooke and Harry, finally, could relax slightly. She was home and safe, and when she wasn't with Raiden, Harry made sure that she never left his sight. Somehow, Harry had become even more protective. He was not letting anything happen to Brooke or their unborn child. They spent hours talking about it. They wanted to make sure they were prepared. They weren't previously, but Brooke wanted everything to be perfect now they had a second chance to get things right. She did not want to risk her child. She knew that she needed to start being more careful, she wasn't just looking after herself now. The baby was her number one priority.
Harry had been focused entirely on Brooke. He hadn't seen Lily in a while and was grateful that she wasn't there to remind him of his parents. He had yet to talk to them. He didn't know what to say. He had been without a family for so long he didn't know what it was like to have one. He was relieved that his family were alive and he didn't want them disappearing again, but he also didn't want to face them. Seeing Lily was difficult enough, he didn't know how to cope with his parents. Every day he was pushing them out of his mind and cutting Brooke off whenever she tried to mention them. She had been talking to them on the phone, updating them and getting to know them. She was growing very fond of them just over their phone calls and they already loved her bubbly and kind personality, but Brooke tried and tried and she couldn't get Harry to talk to them.
Indianna was now seventeen weeks pregnant. Her bump was growing and she was back and forth to the toilet multiple times an hour, but she was happy. Things were finally looking up. She had woken up early. Her bump was starting to make it uncomfortable to sleep. She rolled over and looked up at the ceiling, gently rubbing her stomach when she felt small kicks.
"Hey." Greyson was watching Indianna, his eyes sleepy. "Morning, sugar."
Indianna smiled. "Morning."
He rolled over and propped himself up onto his elbows. His hair was a mess onto of his head and he smiled lazily at Indianna. "Merry Christmas."
Indianna sighed. "Christmas? I didn't even realise."
Greyson gently rubbed Indianna's stomach. "I know we've not got much to celebrate right now, but we will."
Indianna nodded. "I know."
Greyson reached over the bed and picked something up from the floor. "I did get you something though."
"Greyson, I thought we agreed not to do anything this year-"
"Open the damn present, sugar," Greyson said and rolled his eyes. He passed Indianna a present and she couldn't help but smile.
"Thank you," she said softly and opened the present. She laughed. "A children's book?"
"I will not let my children's heads be filled up with that nonsense from the book my mother gave you," Greyson said.
Indianna looked at the colourful book and smiled. She pictured herself in the future, sat down with her children, reading with them. She pictured them laughing. She pictured them learning words. She pictured them reading the books to her and not the other way round and feeling so proud. "I love it," she whispered and leaned over and kissed Greyson softly. "Thank you."
Greyson held Indianna close and pressed his lips to her. "I'll go and make breakfast," he said against her lips. "And then we get back to work."
"How many men are you getting today?" Indianna asked as Greyson stood up and got dressed.
"Three," he said. "We need to pick up the pace, there's a lot of them to get through."
"How many?"
Greyson pulled a t-shirt over his head, hiding the scars and marks that still littered his chest. They were going to be there forever. A constant reminder of Rogue and what he had done. "Of the list that Lily gave me there's over 50. We don't need to turn all of them, just enough so we outnumber them and not the other way around."
Indianna let out a long breath and pulled herself out of bed. "You better hurry up and cook breakfast then so you can get started," she said. "I'm going to shower, I'll meet you downstairs."
Greyson groaned quietly. "I'm sure I can spare the time so I can join you, sugar."
Indianna laughed and walked over to the bathroom. She looked over her shoulder and smiled at Greyson. "You wish. Go and cook me breakfast."
Greyson rolled his eyes and left the room. Indianna took her time in the shower. She was feeling sore today. Her back was aching and she could feel where her stomach was stretching. By the time she was dry and dressed, Greyson had prepared breakfast. Indianna joined him in the kitchen that was busy, full of pack members getting ready for the day. Everyone greeted her and wished her a merry Christmas, but it was hard to believe that it actually was Christmas. It felt like any other day. They didn't get the luxury of a day off.
Greyson and Indianna sat down at the table and ate their breakfast. Indianna finished quickly and felt as if she could devour three more plates. Greyson chuckled and pushed his plate towards her. "Have mine. You need it more than I do, sugar."
Shortly after, Greyson left to meet Harry and Oscar. Indianna made her way through the packhouse to the library where she found Laura and Mark. They spent all day in the library, occasionally helped by Mac and Kirstie, looking for anything that could help. So far, they had found nothing. Indianna knocked on the door and entered. "Merry Christmas," she called.
Laura, who was stood on a stool, searching through a bookcase, grinned brightly and rushed over to Indianna. "Merry Christmas, dear," she said and embraced Indianna. "How are you?"
"I'm good, thank you."
Mark walked over to them and hugged Indianna, wishing her a merry Christmas. "This isn't the way I expected to spend my Christmas Day," he said with a sigh, holding up a book.
"How is it going?"