I lie with my head pressed against his chest as I let the relaxation take over every muscle in my body.
Mason wraps his arm around my waist and pulls me higher up over his chest. My ribs twinge but it's getting easier to manage. Whatever it was that was interfering with my senses and my healing ability seems to be dissipating, which is a great thing. The sooner I can get off these crutches and back to normal the better. Mason squeezes my waist, pulling my attention out of my own mind and back to him. We're still completely bare, with nothing but the sheet covering our bodies. There are no words to describe the feeling of having his skin touch mine without any barriers.
"Do you feel better now?" he asks as he presses his lips against the side of my head. I lazily smile up at him and nod my head. His laughter fills the room, only causing my smile to widen. It's a real, full-hearted laugh. I lift my head higher so I can have a better view of his face. It's such a rarity for him to be relaxed enough to laugh like this, even with me. It's always nice to see all the worries and responsibilities that come with being the Alpha slip away, even for a little while.
"I love you," I whisper before leaning forward to press my lips against the underside of his jaw. I settle back down on his chest, my head tucked securely under his chin.
"I wish there was another word, something more powerful than love that I could say to you," his voice fills the room as he runs his hand absentmindedly up and down my bare back. I hum in response but say nothing more. "What I feel for you seems so much more than just saying those words. you're everything to me, Alaina. You're my heart. My soul," he explains softly before spreading his hand flat against my back. I smile as his warmth spreads over my skin. I don't know where this is coming from, this suddenly deeper conversation, but it's the sweetest thing I've ever heard. I don't know where he comes up with this stuff, but I will always cherish our moments together like this.
"You're my heart too, Mason. I will cherish you for the rest of my life," I whisper back. He kisses my head before shifting to turn off the lights. I glance over at the clock to see how late it's become. I listen in the house to see if I can hear Brandon moving around, but the house is quiet besides the two of us.
"What's wrong?" Mason asks as he settles into the bed. I bite my lip and debate just keeping my worry about Brandon to myself. Mason is here with me, and he doesn't really seem that worried, so maybe I have nothing to worry about. "Alaina," he presses.
"I'm just worried about Brandon is all. I can't hear him in the house and it's getting late. Do you think they found Mary?" I listen to his sigh and I can't help but close my eyes.
"I told Aiden to let me know if he finds anything and I haven't heard anything so I'm going to assume they haven't found her."
"You seem much more calm about that than I would imagine you normally would be," I point out as I lean up so I can see his face. He's hiding a smile and I do my best to not let my annoyance surface at him clearly not taking this situation seriously enough.
"Red, I just had sex with my mate after a particularly bad day. I'm worried about Mary as I would be worried about any of my pack members who we can't find, but there isn't anything that can really be done about it now on my part. I have people out there looking, her mate and his best friend included. If they don't find her by the morning, then I will send out a bigger search party." He squeezes my waist and smiles sleepily up at me. "As for right now, I'm satisfied and exhausted with my mate lying naked beside me in our bed. The only thing I can manage right now is content and sleep."
I shake my head but decide it'll be best to handle the situation in the morning when there will be more information. I lie back down against Mason's chest and within a few minutes, I feel myself starting to drift off. I feel Mason's breathing even out as I rest against him. I kiss him once more on the chest before closing my eyes and letting sleep take me completely under.
***
"I told you I would get you back," his sinister voice yells down at me.
I'm lying on the ground, hands and feet bound tightly. I try to move but I can't. I'm trapped. I struggle against the holds as fear creeps into my belly. I look up into Robert's black eyes as he glares down at me. He snarls, canines bared for me to see the threat he means to hold over me. My entire body is shaking in fear of what he's got planned for me. I don't know how I got here, or how he got past Mason and every other member of the Green Woods pack, but I can't worry about that right now.
I have to find a way out of here. I close my eyes as I try to focus on my wolf. I need to shift so I can get away from this monster and back to my mate, but I can't feel her. I search every corner of my mind, but it's like she's gone. Like she never even existed in the first place. I can't help the strangled cry that erupts from within me as I feel the loss of a big part of myself. Robert throws his head back in a sickening cackle before moving closer to me.
"Please," I plead with him. I know it's useless, but I still have to try. Without my wolf, I'm on my own, and even if I have been trained my entire life to fight and defend myself and my pack, I know I stand no chance against the man standing in front of me. With my wolf intact, I have the power of a Luna – a trained Luna at that… but without her presence and strength helping me, I might as well be a child while facing him. "Just let me go," I whimper. I hate how weak I sound. I'm a Luna damn it! I shouldn't be this weak… yet here I am.
"Why would I let you go? You almost killed me, you pathetic bitch, why would you ever expect me to just let you go?" he cackles again. I flinch at the horrid sound and do my best to scoot further away from him. He notices my actions and quickly grabs my ankle and yanks me closer. The stench of his breath fans over my face as he snaps his teeth an inch from my nose. "Oh, you are in for a rude awakening. I'm going to keep you tied up, and whenever I feel like it, I'm going to send your precious mate a piece of you as a little gift from me. Just something to remember you by. I think I will start with a finger." I flinch again. "You will never see him, Alaina. You'll be dead long before anyone else can even come close to finding you."
As he speaks, his wolf slowly takes more control. His canines elongate to their full size, and his claws are now visible on his hands. I watch his movements from my trapped position as he stalks around me with a sick smile gracing his evil features. He's circling his prey, waiting for the opportune time to pounce.
I try again to scoot away from him, but the bindings make it hard to move. It seems that with every movement I make, they tighten tighter and tighter. What's going to happen when they tighten too much?
Robert stops right in front of me and squats down until his nose brushes against mine again. I do my best to look him in the eye and not flinch away from the rancid smell of death on his breath. The smell of a fresh kill is still present on his teeth. I hear his sharp intake of air as he breathes in my scent.
"You smell of nothing but fear," he taunts as he takes in another breath. I shiver as I can't stop the tears from leaking from my eyes. I don't want to die. I just started to be able to live my life and now it's all going to be taken away from me. "You can go ahead and scream all you want, little bitch. No one will hear you, I made sure of that." He lifts his hand and runs the tip of one of his claws along my cheek with just enough pressure that it breaks through the skin. It hurts, but I try my best to push past the pain and continue to stare back at him. No matter how afraid I might be of him, I don't want him to see it. I can't control the smell of my fear, but I can at least do my best to not let it show anywhere else. I take a steadying breath as I try to stop my shaking.
He removes his hand and raises it higher in the air. "Time to die," he snarls with a look of pure disgust on his face.
I can't stop the scream as his hand comes down and cuts into my side. The force of his strike sends me rolling, dirt flying up around me. I can feel the blood oozing from the new wound and pooling on the ground beneath me, the restraints on my hands and feet tightening. The pain is unbearable. I look up at him through tear-filled eyes just in time to see his claws coming in for another attack. I close my eyes and wait for the impact, trying to brace myself as best I can. His claws rake across the side of my neck.
Deep.
The pain takes my breath away.
I try to reach up and slow the bleeding, but the restraints tighten even more. I can feel them cutting into my skin now. If they tighten much more, I'll be sure to lose my hands during this entire nightmare. He crouches over me, fingers dripping with my blood, just watching. I lie there looking up at him as I slowly bleed out. The earth slowly soaks up my blood as the rest of the world seems to tilt around me.
My eyes become heavier with each passing second and I know I don't have much time left. This is the end for me. Every thought in my head goes back to Mason. With my wolf apparently gone, will he still feel my death? Or is it like I never existed to him either? I can't help but hope that he doesn't feel me anymore. If he doesn't feel me, if it's like I didn't exist for him, then my death won't destroy him. The pack will be safer without me there causing problem after problem. Mason will be happy. He'll be alive, and that's all I can ask for.
I take in a shuddering breath, one of my last, as I lie on the ground dying like a pathetic, weak human.
***
I shoot straight up in the bed as I work to control my breathing. The pain shooting through my ribs doesn't even register as I try to ground myself in this reality. My eyes dart around the room, making sure I'm really here. The pain from my ribs slowly begins to shine through but I can't stop my hyperventilating. Mason stirs beside me and slowly opens his eyes. He looks up at me with tired eyes, but I watch as the sleep immediately leaves his eyes as he takes in my current state.
"Alaina?" his voice is still somewhat groggy, but I can see him coming out of it. "Red, what's wrong? Are you okay?" His arms quickly wrap around me and crush me to his chest. I can't find my voice. I can still almost feel the slashes in my throat. Mason pulls away enough to look at my face, but I need him closer than that. I wrap my arms around his middle and bury my face in the crook of his neck.
It was all a dream.
But it felt too real. There was something about it that scared me more than usual. There was something about it that scared me more than any dream I've had before. I've had dreams about getting caught or sent back to that pack before. Hell, I even had a nightmare about Robert but even that dream doesn't compare to this one. It took me a while to shake off the last big nightmare I had involving Blue Bloods… I can only hope this one is not the same. With everything going on, Mason can't afford to be worried about something as stupid as a dream.
"Talk to me, Alaina. What is it?"
I close my eyes tight and inhale as deeply as I can. His scent fills my senses and I feel my wolf beginning to calm down. It takes several minutes, each minute passing I can feel Mason's anxiousness grow more and more, but he gives me the time I need. I pull away so I can look up at him. I thought I lost him, my wolf, and myself in that dream. Being able to have him holding me, here right now… there are no words. I stare up at him, those amber eyes filled with worry as he searches my face for anything that can tell him what's going on. I can feel his wolf calling out to mine, he's worried too.
"It was a dream," I breathe as I lean forward to press my forehead against his.
"You had a bad dream?" he asks softly. His fingers tangle through my hair as he pulls me closer. I know he can feel the tension that's filling my body right now. His touch has helped, but it hasn't fixed the problem completely. I hate that I've worried him again about something else. I can't wait for all of this to be over so we can sleep easily.
"Robert had me somewhere tied up," I begin. He tenses at the name, but I push on anyway. This won't be easy for either of us, but I need to get it out now. "I couldn't move. Whatever he had me tied up with, every time I tried to move to get free the bindings would tighten. And my wolf…" I inhale sharply, "she was gone, Mason. I couldn't heal, I was weak, I couldn't feel her at all. It was as if she were never there in the first place. It was like I was… like I was human. Robert, he…" I trail off, not wanting to voice what he did to me. I'm not sure who I'm trying to protect at this point, Mason or myself. "He killed me. He cut into my side and then my neck with his claws. He said he was going to send you pieces of me over time so that you would remember me. He said no one would ever be able to find me.
"I was bleeding out on the ground as he stood above me smirking. I can still feel his claws in my neck and the feeling of my blood pooling beneath me before sinking into the ground. I was in so much pain, but the only thought I had was of you. It's so selfish of me, but I couldn't help but hope that with my wolf gone, you wouldn't have to suffer through my death. I love you so much that I wished in that moment that… that you'd go on and be happy without me. That you wouldn't have to live with my death for the rest of your life," I finish just before a sob breaks past my lips.
"Oh, Red," he whispers as he moves my head to his chest and pulls me onto his lap. I curl into myself as he wraps his arms around me. I sob into his chest. "I won't let that happen, okay? I won't let him touch you. If anyone were to ever take you away from me, I would hunt them down to the ends of this earth. There is nowhere you could go that I wouldn't find you." He pulls my head away and frames my face with his hands. "I will always find you, Alaina, just remember that." I nod my head, but I can't stop my tears. "It's okay," he soothes as he tries to hold my shaking body still.
"It's not just the dream itself that has me like this, Mason," I whisper. "You know I've had dreams about them getting me back before… but this one was different. It didn't feel like a dream, it felt like I was seeing something, well living something, that hadn't happened yet. I don't know how to explain it. It just felt like so much more than a dream is all."
"You're just scared. It's okay, I've got you and I won't let that happen." I lean into his touch, but I can't help but feel as if he's downplaying what I'm feeling right now. "I'm sure your mind is just in overdrive with the attacks and Mary and everything going on around us. This war brewing is taking over everyone's mind lately, and I'm going to have to find something else to occupy everyone with," he sighs, I can feel him shaking his head. "I've got everything under control, I just want you to relax. You're still hurt, and you need to rest. The doctor should be calling in the next couple of days with the results from your blood test and hopefully, you will be off these crutches soon."
I know he's right. Maybe I am just worked up and anxious about everything. That phone call from Robert couldn't have helped anything either. All of this can't be because of this war. It feels like a warning, like something awful is going to happen to me and it's going to leave this pack helpless and hurting. I don't want that to happen. Not to them and not to Mason. Whatever it was, dream or not, I decide it's best to push it from my mind for now.
I take a deep breath and pull away from Mason's chest so I can look at him. "Can we do something today? I know there is a lot going on and there are probably important things that need to be done, but I think it's good for us to get out and focus on other things." He studies me for a few seconds, considering my offer.
"Like what? I'm sure I can get Brandon to get you anything you need," he says, his eyes still filled with worry. One day, I'm going to make it my ultimate goal that he never looks at me with worry in his eyes again.
"With Mary still out there somewhere, I think we should just let Brandon focus on finding her." Mason opens his mouth to protest, but I'm quick to continue. "If he's worried about his mate the entire time – as he should be with her missing – he wouldn't be able to focus on me or anything that I was doing. Just give him some time to find her, or at least figure out what's going on. Just a couple of days, sweetie. He's hurting right now." I can see I'm still not convincing him, so I decide to go with what I know will resonate with him. "Can you imagine what it would be like to be in his shoes right now? What if I was the one missing and you couldn't find me?" His arms tighten in response and a low growl vibrates in his chest. "Exactly. Anyone in that position would be distracted from anything other than finding their other half. I'm just asking you to give him a few days."
Mason studies my face for a few seconds before sighing. He nods his head and kisses the side of my head. "I'll give him a few days to try to find her. But if he doesn't, he has to know that he's got to come back and be focused on protecting you." I begin to frown at how cavalier he's being. "I still have trackers out there looking for Mary and I'm confident we'll find her. But he has to keep you safe when I'm away."
"I understand that, and I know he will too. Can I be the one to talk to him though? I know you're his Alpha and all, but I just feel like he will take this better coming from me." I don't know if Mason knows this or not, but I'm almost certain Brandon is terrified of Mason, more so than just being respectful towards his Alpha. In fact, I think almost everyone in this pack is slightly afraid of him except me and his parents. Maybe Jason, but they grew up together so that's expected. It's not that he's a hard ass or unlikable, he's just so serious all the time and his power radiates off him like there's no tomorrow. I don't want Mason telling him that he has a set number of days to find his mate before he is expected back to his duties.
Mason smiles at me and caresses my cheek. "You're his Alpha, too. You can tell him, that's fine," he speaks softly. "Now, what is it you want to do today?" he changes the subject. I just shrug and lean further into his touch. My wolf settles in the back of my mind, calmed down, as we stare at our mate.
"Maybe we could go into town and go to some of the stores or something?" Mason starts to shake his head, but I quickly continue before he can shut me down. "I know I'm not supposed to be walking around, but I'll take my crutches and you'll be there with me. I just want to get out of the house for a while. I don't like being stuck in the house all the time, hurt or not, and I think some fresh air and a change of scenery will do me good. A run sounds great, but since I can't shift until the doctor gives me the okay that everything is good, I figured going into town is the next best thing." I bite my lip as I watch his eyes. I can see the hesitation to give in.
"I don't know about that, Alaina. I get you want to get out of the house, but it's easier to keep you safe here than it is in town. There are humans surrounding those towns who have no clue about what happens in our world or how it operates so it's harder for our people to protect you if they need to." I get that, but I can't just be kept inside all the time. I will literally lose my mind if I'm stuck looking at these same walls all the time unless I'm allowed to go out for a run or anything. "The last time you went to town, someone slipped past our guards and got really close to you," he continues. I sigh and narrow my eyes slightly. "Now I understand that it was your mother and that she isn't a threat to anyone here but that's beside the point. If she could get past everyone when she was injured the way she was, then it means someone meaning to do you or anyone else harm could manage to do it in town."
"I get there are humans in town, but there are also a lot of pack members around all the time. I know you send more members when I go with Brandon, even if you think I don't notice." He rolls his eyes to the ceiling but actually keeps his mouth shut for now. "I get that we're more vulnerable there than we are here, but at least we'd have them there to help if anything happened. And you'd be there with me today. Please, Mason? I know this is adding more to your plate, but I think we really need it. Just for today, I promise." I curl my fingers around his neck and cock my head to the side slightly. I can see his eyes darken slightly which causes me to bite my lip. I do my best to keep my mind from wandering to our activities last night. If I let myself go there, I just might lose all desire to leave this house.
He sighs and closes his eyes for a brief moment before shaking his head. "Fine," he breathes out. I smile at him and lean forward to press a chaste kiss against the underside of his jaw. "We'll go do some shopping if that will get your mind off everything going on right now. After seeing how affected you were by that dream this morning I think it's safe to say that all of this is taking a toll on you, and I don't like that." I don't like it either. "You're not in charge of protecting the pack, that's my job. Your job is to keep me sane and level-headed and to give advice on some things dealing with the pack." I roll my eyes at his use of the word some. He may not like it, but I will continue to advise on everything, not just some things. "I will keep you and this pack safe from danger. I promise you that, Red. So if taking you out of the house is what you need to relax, then we'll make it work."
I smile at him before pressing another kiss against his jaw before pushing him back on the bed. A yawn falls from my lips and I glance over at the clock. It reads four-thirty in the morning. Way too early to be awake right now. "I want to go back to sleep for at least a couple more hours. I think you've calmed my mind enough that I can drift back off," I say as I settle myself against his side, pressed tightly against him. I can feel a small twinge in my ribs, but it's beyond bearable now. Another day or two and I should be back to normal. His arms wrap around my waist and his lips press against my head. "I love you," I mumble against his chest.
"I love you, Alaina. Now sleep and let me fight off any bad dream that you may have," he whispers before the both of us are taken over by sleep.