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The way home took longer than the way into the unknown. I had to take several breaks to rest and motivate myself. On the way to Linda I had only positive feelings and felt strong and hopeful. That strength faded the closer I got to town, because I would disappoint everyone and had probably made things worse for Linda than they were before.

I kept running in fear and panic while the worst-case scenarios rattled through my head, making me howl over and over again.

My mate how he would beat up Noah who had done no wrong. Brando, who had probably caught up with Caleb and Linda by now and was fighting for his life, and Resul, who would surely be disappointed that everything had gone wrong.

Again I had to sit down briefly and tried to see everything clearly again and to free myself from these thoughts. It used to be so easy for me to find solutions to difficult situations. There was only Melina, my father and me and our little everyday problems. There were so many new people in my heart now. People who touched me, gave me courage and strengthened my self-confidence. Especially Killian. His face in front of my eyes was the only thing that kept me going. I thought of his warmth, his smile and his soft skin. I closed my eyes to gather strength through my imagination of him, because it couldn't be far and I took a deep breath before the next sprint and immediately opened my eyes in surprise.

Noah's Rose

Finally the moon god had sent me a sign and I raced excitedly through the forest. Continuing to follow the smell and getting faster and faster, I suddenly stood on the outskirts of town and was happy to have made it, even if it weighed heavily on my shoulders that I didn't have good news for my loved ones.

In a panic, I turned back behind a tree, changed my clothes and was about to run the last few meters to Noah, until a hand grabbed my shoulder and sent an ice-cold shiver down my spine. I turned around, startled, but that wasn't fair at all.

"Alicia..."

My tall alpha fell into my arms and as he rested his head in the crook of my neck and wrapped his strong arms tightly around my petite body, he began to whimper softly. His whole body was shaking, making my little heart beat faster with concern.

Intoxicated by this chaos of feelings that snatched me completely from reality, I began to cry in pain and clung to him tightly. This moment should last forever. No one was ever allowed to separate me from him again, because I wouldn't survive a second time.

Its smell came over me and let me float away from all the worries I had just now, into another world, a better world. He slowly broke away from the tight hug and gently took my face between his hands to look at me with glassy eyes and wipe away my tears with his warm hand. He studied my whole face carefully as if he couldn't believe it was really me standing opposite him.

The clouds gathered above us and it got darker. I could only perceive all this in a daze, because my eyes would never let go of his again. I started stroking his cheek with my fingertips while placing my other hand on his, still warm against my cheek. He closed his eyes and laid his head against mine, hugging me again, tighter and more intensely than ever. I couldn't think of anything else but him and the feelings he aroused in me. Everything else didn't matter, because only we counted in this moment, which seemed endless.

He kissed my forehead gently, then my cheek, before placing his lips on mine, gently and gently at first, then wildly and passionately. The broken alpha had his counterpart back with him and would never let go. I slowly parted my lips, stroking his tongue with mine and caressing it. Neither of us wanted to do anything else. We didn't want to talk, we didn't want to ask each other anything, we just wanted to be close again and feel the security of the other person. I was torn inside to tell him everything right away, but I would keep my head and my worries off, at least for this extraordinary moment that made me feel for the first time the incredible love I never thought I would one day to really feel.

His arms relaxed and our lips parted reluctantly. He looked at me questioningly and didn't seem to know what to say and neither did I. How should I explain to him everything that has happened in the last week. It would rip apart his heart, which had only just started beating again. I looked down sadly, trying to figure out exactly how to begin, until he interrupted my thoughts and lifted my chin to look at me.

"Look at me, Alicia. I've just come from Noah, who I've been spending a lot of time with the last few days. He told me everything. Resul is with him all the time and I've got men in the woods. Caleb won't be able to do anything more to you , you have to believe me."

He spoke so calmingly that my body was finally able to let go of all the stress and the adrenaline left. My body suddenly felt heavy and the exertions of the past few days were felt in my head and legs.

I collapsed in exhaustion and he gently picked me up in his strong arms to carefully carry me to the packhouse. I just looked at his beautiful face as I walked until I hugged mine tightly to his chest and closed my eyes with his scent in my nostrils.

Despite my closed eyes, I saw everything around me. Listened to the thunderstorm that sounded far away. I heard the babbling of the brook, which gave me the certainty that I had finally arrived home. I felt Killian run up the spiral staircase with me in his arms, to then stand in front of the mirror in our room and only then did I open my tired eyes again.

He slowly took off my clothes and then put my sleeping clothes on. I started crying again looking at my reflection and then walked over to the bed to curl up on it like a scared child. He immediately followed me and lay down close behind me to hug me protectively and made me feel like I wasn't alone.

He gently kissed his mark again and again and I was able to fall asleep with my alpha for the first time in what felt like an eternity, and so I quickly found my way into dreamland.

***

A loud bang jolted me awake and made my heart race as I fumbled for the button on my bedside lamp. As soon as the light flooded the room, I was terrified and didn't dare to move. Killian wasn't lying next to me anymore, only his smell stayed with me and due to the lack of his presence, I had to try to calm myself down. The loud bang was again accompanied by a blinding flash that briefly lit up the room.

Thunderstorm. great !

I slowly pushed the thin blanket off me and got onto my still aching feet. The long journey had left its mark. With my eyes stubbornly directed towards the door, I crept through the room, opened the door quietly and looked for my way to the stairs in the dark. The light was on downstairs and I heard soft voices coming from the kitchen. My alpha spoke louder than the others, but I immediately recognized it was Noah and Resul. Full of joy, I ran down the stairs and into the arms of my guardian angel, who was standing in front of the kitchen counter and stroking my back encouragingly. When I gave him a fleeting nod, I broke away from him to take the grinning curly hair in my arms.

"I'm so glad to see you! I didn't expect that until recently!" I exclaimed excitedly while my eyes filled with tears of joy. They returned my enthusiasm and we all sat down at the large dining table to finally discuss everything. My mate pulled me and my chair very close while Resul and Noah sat across from us. Noah was the first to start asking me questions.

"What happened on the beach?" he asked, folding his hands on the table in front of him.

Before I could reply, I looked my alpha in the eyes in shame because it still hurt me to leave Linda behind, but I had no choice but to be honest with them. I gathered all my courage, looked Noah in the eye and began to talk quietly.

"I found the beach house, but instead of Linda, Brando made the door-"

Killian interrupted my sentence with a low growl that made me flinch, but after he took my hand in his, I calmed down and continued quietly.

"After being alone with him for a while, Caleb and Linda came too. She looked beautiful. Caleb started threatening us saying he would take Linda somewhere else and Brando should take care of me. When Caleb disappeared with Linda and gone for a long time was, Brando let me go."

I didn't tell them about the gun because Killian would rip his throat for that and after what Brando did for me I couldn't let that happen.

When I looked over at Resul, he was staring at me with his mouth open while Noah was staring into space with tears in his eyes. It was at that moment that I really realized that Linda had just been resurrected for her. The shock of that must drive her insane. Before I could hug my mate for comfort, he got up with a jerk and walked over to the kitchen. He smashed everything that was on the counter behind us and the rest of us couldn't do anything but watch as his hands bled from the shards and hatred took over him completely.

It broke my heart to see him like this, but I knew he had to work this out on his own. I couldn't help him, just wait for him to get himself under control. Sympathetically, I turned back to the other two, who were watching the alpha behind me and probably thinking exactly the same thing as me. He would kill his father.