65

The scent that wafted gently into my nostrils calmed me. But at the same time, the realization of my hopeless situation worried me.

Mind vs Connection...

A bitter fight from which I would certainly emerge as a loser. There was nothing you could do about his wolf's instincts, especially when there was an Alpha involved, so willy-nilly I would have to accept my fate...

If only I knew that my father could be happy without me...

My father's pleas to the Alpha had at least given me his name once before. Killian.

Thoughtfully, and with his truly extraordinary name in my head, I slowly looked down and my entire body instantly tensed up. With wide eyes I noticed at that moment that Killian had fallen asleep with his head on my lap.

A warm, pleasurable tingle spread through my stomach at the sight of him and I couldn't help but find him attractive no matter how hard I tried.

Asleep he looked almost cute. Not like an alpha at all. More like a big boy looking for love and closeness. His black, thick hair fell slightly over his forehead and just matched his brown skin tone perfectly. His beautiful appearance somehow fascinated me in a strange way and as if caught in a trance, I tried to memorize every little detail of his face, even if I could only see it in side profile.

Curious about the feel of his skin, I then stroked his soft cheek with my fingers, creating a pleasant tingling sensation on my fingertips. Inwardly, I fought against the feeling that the sight of him triggered in me, but unfortunately in vain. He was the strong light, I was the stupid moth that would follow him blindly, whether I got burned or not.

My gaze wandered dejectedly out the window again, because I had the feeling that I would otherwise completely lose myself in the sight of him. I didn't want that, even though I knew very well that it was only a matter of time.

With my eyes fixed on the dark night, everything suddenly came back to me, exactly at the moment when I had no longer focused solely on him.

My father would probably just collapse or he would swear up and down the living room.

The thought of him immediately brought me a deep sadness and sure I felt safe with Killian and knew my father would get over it but this alpha posturing and the cruel way he had pulled me away from him still shocked me. I didn't want a man giving me orders instead of talking to me normally. Who would growl at me instead of accepting my opinion. But I knew it would only matter what he wanted anyway, because I wasn't against him.

"We'll probably drive a little over an hour. I'll be stopping at a gas station in a moment. Would you like something to eat or drink?" The tall man with the messy brown hair who was driving the wheel snapped me out of my thoughts and looked up at me expectantly an answer in the interior mirror. From the stature, he could have been a footballer for sure... Maybe he was one... But I don't care!

"No," I replied dismissively, only to emit a menacing growl immediately afterwards, which made Killian, who was still lying on my lap, jump slightly.

He raised his head carefully and sleepily began to eye me with irritation. His green eyes inspected every corner of my face, which of course also meant that our eyes met and my heart skipped several beats again.

I felt the blood rushing rapidly into my cheeks, turning them slightly pink. I was totally uncomfortable, but apparently he wasn't, because he suddenly smiled and moved closer to me and touched his lips to my cheek to plant a gentle kiss. How could someone be so loving and yet so cruel at the same time, I immediately thought, because I couldn't assess him at all.

"Let's practice that growl again," he whispered softly in my ear, probably to provoke me, but I didn't give him the satisfaction of responding.

Annoyed by his hubris, I rolled my eyes, then turned away from him and looked out into the dark night again.

Killian meanwhile sat on his side again and stretched extensively. Unfortunately, I could observe that very precisely in the reflection of my window. I also noticed that he then leaned forward and yawned. When the three finally started discussing which gas station we should stop at, I closed my eyes again and my mind wandered.

But I didn't remain trapped in my overwhelmed mind for long, because after a few moments the car stopped at a small gas station and when it came to a stop at a gas pump, they all got out immediately.

While the two, who were still unknown to me, then disappeared inside, Killian walked around the car and politely opened my door to give me his hand with a grin. I stubbornly declined the favor and skillfully ignored it. Then, when I got out alone, head held high, and stood next to him with my arms crossed, it made him grin even more, which made me glare at him angrily.

"Stretch your legs for a bit. We'll be right back," he informed me casually, leaning against the car while his eyes flickered down to my bare feet.

"Don't you worry that I'll flee?" I hissed with a raised eyebrow and then immediately turned my back on him angrily, until I suddenly turned back to him when suddenly a hearty laugh came deep from his throat, which I heard with his unique sound drove me crazy.

On the one hand with anger at being laughed at by him. On the other hand, the sound was like music to my ears. A tune I've been wanting to hear for the rest of my life...

"I'll find you no matter where you are. You should know that," he whispered confidently and came close to me to kiss my forehead with a smile. After he looked me briefly but intensely in the eyes, he also headed towards the gas station.

Annoyed by his pushy manner, I just wanted to get back in the car until something suddenly caught my eye. The quiet guy sitting up front must have left his cell phone on the dashboard, which made my heart rate quicken.

I carefully looked towards the gas station, where I could see them laughing and probably still busy choosing the right food.

I quickly opened the door and grabbed my cell phone. My hands started shaking uncontrollably at that moment and I held my breath from the tension. Luckily for me it didn't have a PIN, I realized enthusiastically and I quickly typed in my father's number and impatiently waited for him to answer while I kept looking at the three of them.

"Hallo?"

"Dad,ich bin's!"

"Alicia? Are you alright? "

"Don't worry Dad! I'm fine. I just want to go home."

"I would like to get you out of this situation. I just don't know how."

"Don't get in trouble for me."

My voice cracked with longing and I had to hold the phone away from my ear for a moment to swallow the lump in my throat and collect myself with aching heart.

"Don't blame yourself. You have to promise me that. Always remember that I'm fine!"

"Alicia, ich-"

The phone was suddenly snatched from my hand without warning. The quiet guy with the dark curly hair, who by the way hadn't spoken a word yet, just looked at me hatefully and ended the call on the cell phone.

He suddenly grabbed my arm with far too much strength, which made me cry out in pain immediately. That arm had been throbbing since I slipped in the bathroom anyway, and that idiot was only making things worse.

I yanked my arm back from him in anger, feeling the throbbing pain throughout my body. The guy then looked at me with wide eyes, startled, as warm tears ran down my cheeks and I held my arm protectively to my trembling chest.

My mate's sudden, deep growl made my heart race and I watched in shock as he grabbed the guy's collar and angrily pushed against the car. I noticed that Killian's eyes had suddenly turned a deep black color. Nothing was left of the beautiful greenery and warmth. He hissed at him through clenched teeth.

"Touch her once more and I'll kill you on the spot!"

The adrenaline shot through my body so fast that without warning I became extremely dizzy and black out. The big one immediately ran to me and held me under my arms while Killian's black eyes were the last thing I saw.

***

The bright light of a neon lamp woke me up, but I didn't want to wake up and closed my eyes tightly again until I heard Killian talking quietly to a woman. I suddenly got hot and got really angry inside, even letting out a barely audible growl.

Was that jealousy what I felt? I did not know it! Never had a relationship. Not even really in contact with men, but of course I knew this feeling from films and books. Annoyed, I turned in the direction the voices were coming from, curiously surveying my surroundings.

Killian was standing at the door a few yards from my hospital bed with a pretty blond woman who, judging by her white coat, was a doctor. When the two noticed my look, they slowly approached me at the same moment.

"Hello, Alicia. I'm your doctor, you can call me Kirsten. Do you remember what happened?", she said in a calm voice and kept looking into my eyes intently.

"The one guy-"

I stopped, taking a deep breath to hold back my anger at the whole situation.

"You mean Brando?" she asked and after she looked over at Killian and he nodded in agreement, her eyes fell back to me.

"Yeah, fine with me. He grabbed my arm, whereupon Killian grabbed his collar and his eyes suddenly looked black. It all happened so fast, it scared me and then I passed out. That's all I can remember."

She took notes and kept nodding.

"Your head is fine and your arm is sprained. You should keep it cool and not put too much strain on it. Do you want me to give you painkillers or sleeping pills?" she asked, patiently waiting for my answer.

Killian suddenly took a step toward us and then, to my annoyance, stood way too close to this blonde. I didn't want to feel this stupid jealousy anymore. Basically, I didn't want to feel anything anymore and angrily turned back to Kirsten.

"Sleeping pills, please. Immediately."

She nodded and handed me a pill while Killian handed me a cup of water with a worried look. I swallowed it down quickly and rolled onto my side again. Everything here got on my nerves so much that I just closed my eyes and after a few breaths I nodded away again.