We now faced each other in the pack house. He didn't say a word the whole way home and I was too upset to get a word out because I was just worried about everything and everyone, especially about what was to come. He calmly took my hand, took a deep breath and then sought my gaze.
"You will go to Noah's for a while. I have to support my pack and it will be safer for you there."
Horrified, I pulled my hand away and stared at him in confusion.
"No way! I certainly won't let anyone put themselves in danger because of me, especially not you," I hissed at him in concern while looking into his eyes pleadingly.
"We'll find another solution! I don't want your pack members to be attacked anymore, but putting yourself in danger doesn't help anyone either!"
My voice kept breaking. A mixture of anger and sadness spoke out of me. His hand found mine again and he spoke to me in a calm voice.
"First take a shower. We'll talk again afterwards. I'll also change my clothes."
With a kiss on the hand, he turned to the stairs and disappeared on the first floor. I briefly thought I saw tears in his eyes, but I wasn't sure, just relieved that he would postpone the conversation until later. The night had only just begun, something so bad had already happened and I wanted to calm down first. Then, exhausted, I went upstairs to the bathroom, took off the bloody clothes and got into the shower, stunned.
Face down on the floor of the cabin, I saw Liam's blood going down the drain. I stood there for a while, paralyzed, watching the water become clearer and clearer. I played it all over and over in my mind, just couldn't believe it had all really happened, that my life had become such a mess. I wished back to the day of my last day of school. If only I had never gone to the ball, none of this would have happened.
With a pounding headache, I grabbed a towel and pulled it tightly around me, ran quickly into the room and just wanted to be near Killian to feel something again, because after everything that had happened, I felt empty and lonely inside without him.
He wasn't in the room, so I quickly got dressed. Black pajama bottoms and yellow top. I twisted my brown hair into a high bun and then ran to the stairs and down to the kitchen. At the bottom step I stopped dead in my tracks.
"Where is he?" I asked, almost screaming. Damiano was standing by the door, backpack in hand, looking down in embarrassment. I approached the big one slowly and furiously.
"You tell me where he is right now, Damiano!"
He didn't answer, still looking down, and opened the door with one hand. Just as I was about to turn and head back up the stairs, I felt his hand on mine.
"Alicia, please come with me. He's not coming back for now and you're safer there."
I turn to him again. My insides burned with anger and I would have loved to transform myself to tear the whole apartment apart. Not only had he left me alone and put himself in danger, he had even lied to me and made me think we would fall asleep next to each other to talk things over tomorrow. If I had known he was gone, I would have stayed in the shower and never got out.
I reluctantly followed Damiano to the car and got in without looking at him or saying a word. During the drive I just watched the passing houses and trees and wished for nothing more than to be a pure werewolf.
Arrived at Noah's, Resul was standing in front of the door and he too looked embarrassed on the ground. Apparently everyone knew the alpha had gone hunting except me. I was just tricked badly and left in the dark.
Damiano got out, grabbed my backpack from the back seat and politely held the car door open for me. When I got out, I angrily snatched my backpack from his hand and walked past them to the door without bothering to look at them, which Noah quickly opened. He was standing with Linda in the small hallway and wanted to take my backpack, but I walked past, ran into the room I already knew and slammed the door. Full of hatred and sadness I lay down on the small bed and stared at the familiar wall.
So many things went through my head that I didn't know what to feel anymore and I closed my heavy eyelids exhausted. I just wanted to sleep, preferably like Sleeping Beauty, and only wake up when my prince kissed me awake.
DAMIANO
"It can't go on like this! She hasn't eaten for days and only sleeps. In the long run her body won't keep up."
Resul stood worriedly in front of me, waving his arms wildly as he paced back and forth on the small walkway leading to Noah's front door. I had never seen him like this before. Actually, he was always in a good mood and always up for a joke, but now he had found a friend in Alicia, wanted to protect her and looked at me angrily.
I didn't know what to answer him, I was never a friend of many words, especially not in such situations, it was just too much for me. The only way to help them was to call Killian, but I'd done that several times a day. He was torn and felt the only way he could help Alicia was to find and hunt down Caleb, but that she was giving up a little bit more every hour, he couldn't stop it. If he came back now, if the constant fear for her was breathing down his neck, wouldn't that be better?
My gaze wandered up to her room window and I thought about what we could do.
"I might have an idea," I murmured, looking back at Resul, whose eyes lit up at my words.
"Her one friend, the one from the ball, Melina. I'll just get her over here, maybe she can help."
"Then do that and don't stand around." My brother pushed me to the street, opened the driver's side door, and waited for me to sit inside. Then he slammed the door, banged on the roof, and smiled again for the first time. I could only give him a fake smile, he was the optimist of the two of us and I wasn't sure if I was even helping to get Melina. Maybe everyone would rip my head off, because somehow I was putting them in danger. I drove off determinedly and drove even faster than usual, which was actually hardly possible. I really hoped I could do her a favour, even though I hardly spoke to her, I grew to love her. She brought so much love to my alpha who has been my best friend since we were little. I would give anything for that the two would be reunited and happy again. Lost in thought, I pressed the gas even harder and switched on the navigation system at the same time. It's going to go wrong, I thought, and turned up the music to distract myself from all the frustration at least a bit.
KILLIAN
For days I've been running through the woods as a wolf, transforming back only to call Damiano and ask about my sweet little companion. The last call was the worst. Damiano's words kept running through my head and tore me apart in agony. She doesn't eat, doesn't come out of the room, has lost weight... It echoed in my thoughts. I felt bad and couldn't do anything about it. My only will was to finally take out this asshole who called himself my father. Going back to Alicia was out of the question, he would attack us again and this time I wouldn't endanger anyone, let alone a child. Liam was just 13 years old and had never fought a fight. I yelped loudly as the pain ate deep inside me just the thought of her kept me going. I would find him and finish everything. He would never again have the chance to harm my family. Furious, I kept running through the dense forest, hoping that it would all be behind us soon.
NOAH
I sat outside in my garden with my beautiful Linda and thought about everything. How I would like to do anything for Killian and Alicia, but he couldn't be persuaded to come back and she was just an empty shell. Linda took my hand comfortingly. She always knew what I was thinking and feeling, it was like that before.
"Everything will be fine. We can do it," she said soothingly to me and I didn't know how I could survive the last few years without her. I squeezed her hand and nodded my thanks. Resul came out to us and when I took my eyes off Linda to look at him I saw a smile on his lips which irritated me.
"My brother went to pick up Melina," he said suddenly, pacing back and forth on my lawn.
"Who is that?" I asked confused.
"A good friend of Alicia's. She told me about her once, we've known each other since elementary school I think."
With hunched shoulders, he walked past me to the roses and sniffed them vigorously. That made me smile because somehow everyone seemed bothered by the smell at first, but now they were enjoying it, as was me and my beautiful Linda. My eyes fell on her again. She watched Resul, as did I, and then got up to bring Alicia some food because even though she didn't want to eat, she still brought her something every day as if she thought she would eventually give in. I kissed her as I passed and got up to water my flowers. In my mind as I looked at Resul, I hoped Melina could help us and give Alicia back the will to live that she had lost without Killian by her side.