Even as he spoke those kind, soft words after they finished their love making, her doubts had begun to worm their way back into her head.  She had hoped they could mend things between them, but things said in the after-haze of making love were not exactly reliable.  Roxie considered what she would say in response, but when she opened her mouth to answer him, she found that he was softly snoring next to her.  Sleep had already claimed him.  She sighed, a soft expression of relief and apprehension, and pulled the blanket up over their bodies.  She laid her head against his chest and let her the sweet silence of slumber claim her mind as well.<br/><br/>She only awoke again when Ben shifted underneath her as he reached for his phone.  She shifted and stretched, moving her body away from his to give him room to answer his phone.  When she realized it was a woman calling him so late at night, thanks to her acute sense of hearing, Roxie suddenly perked up.  Why would a woman be calling this late?  It didn't make sense to her until he said the woman's name.  Lucy.  One of his pack mates.  As he stood up, she started to gather her own bits of clothing and put them back on her body.  She and Ben shared similar roles in their respective packs, she knew the drill.  You came when you were called and you came quickly if it was urgent.  She listened as he explained and as she finished dressing, she rounded the bed and placed a hand on his shoulder.  "We take care of our own, Ben.  I know how it goes.  I understand."  She said, giving him the out he needed just before he offered her a second choice.  Going with him did sound a lot more appealing, but it also sounded complicated.<br/><br/>"If I go with you, they're...They're going to know what happened Ben.  We smell like each other."  She said, because it was the truth.  Any of his pack members would know that the mate-bond had not only been triggered, but that they had likely acted on it.  There was not a ton of privacy between wolves and secrets like this were hard to keep for long.  "But...I'll come with you.  Maybe it'll be good for them to see I'm willing to help out both sides, not just my own.  Maybe the packs need that from both of us."  Surely if they could find a way to make things work, the packs could do the same?  Besides, that little boy needed comfort and Roxie was not about to be the one to deny him time with the one person he trusted.  "We should go, he needs you."