Mia's POV

I stand up off of the ground and raise my hands up to calm down Uncle Luca's wolf.

"Please. This isn't right! Let's talk about this!" I asked politely.

Brady's wolf urged forward and barked at Uncle Luca. I step in front of him and protect Uncle Luca's wolf who was standing behind me. Brady's wolf growled and nudged his head to the side indicating that I should move out of the way.

Uncle Luca howls loudly and the pack of wolves sprints toward Brady's wolf. I scream and embrace him tightly while squeezing my eyes shut.

There is a tug of separation as the wolves pile on top of Brady leaving me to watch as they hurt him. I cover my mouth and try to help him out but the wolves pushed me back causing small sobs to leave my lips.

"NO! Please! Uncle Luca!" I begged.

I hear his desperate howls and painful grunts as Brady's wolf continues to fight himself out of the herd.  Uncle Luca's wolf bites into my sweatshirt then pushed me onto his back. As soon as I was about to get off, he sprints off deep into the forest. I grab a stronghold onto him so I don't fall off.

My mind whirls with confusion and my heart seems to ache so much that it hurt. Was this really how mates made you feel?

In a few minutes, we make it back home where Aunt Diana and Dad are waiting outside of the large house. Uncle Luca stops suddenly and without a thought, I get off of him with tears rolling down my eyes.

I run to Aunt Diana and hug her violently while sobbing into her shoulder. Uncle Luca shifts back into his human form while dad tosses a towel toward him.

"He killed him! He killed him, Auntie! M-My mate is gone! My Brady is gone!"

Aunt Diana slowly wraps her arms around my then rubs my back as a sign of comfort. Uncle Luca walks up to us and touches my shoulder. I slap his hand away from me then try to shove him to the side. It doesn't seem to phase him one bit.

"WHY DID YOU KILL HIM? WHY?"

I stare at Uncle Luca with my blurry vision and glance at the large slash marks that were on his cheek. He frowns deeply then gulps down the spit that formed in his throat. I saw the guilt in his eyes.

"Mia-" Uncle Luca starts,

My hands pull at my hair and I just drop to the floor as I continue to let all my feelings out. I squeeze my self and rub my wet cheeks onto the side of the yellow hoodie. Uncle Luca takes a seat next to me then tries to grab a hold of my hand.

"No, please. Just...go away."

"Mia, listen. I did this for your safety,"

"Uncle Luca, just leave me ALONE!" I yell.

Aunt Diana sits next to Uncle Luca who puts his hands together and rubs his forehead with stress,

"Honey, let's leave her for a moment. She needs time to process everything. Why don't you and I go up in your office and talk about what happened?" Aunt Diana whispers to him.

He shakes his head and just stares at me with sadness. Aunt Diana sighs then rests her head on his shoulder while grazing her fingers up and down his arm.

"No, I want to make sure Mia is okay."

"We can come to check in a little bit my love," She muttered.

After a few seconds, he agreed and stood up then helps Aunt Diana. I see them both hold hands tightly as they walked into the house together.

I was left alone with my thoughts on if my Brady was dead or not.

*****45 minutes later*****

I shiver as the air starts to get colder outside. My hands are folded together and rested lazily on my lap. I hear loud thuds and soon enough Uncle Luca sits next to me once again. He stares at the open forest that was in front of us.

We sat in silence until finally, Uncle Luca spoke.

"I'm sorry."

I turn my head to face him and watch as he squints his bright green eyes while continuing to stare at the tall trees in front of us.

"No, you aren't." I snap at him.

This time Uncle Luca stares deeply into my eyes and I could see regret and sadness filling his own.

"You're right. I am not. Mia, I swore as soon as you were born that I would protect you from any sort of danger at all costs. When Brady and I were speaking to each other in my office he attacked me. I told him that I was going to give him a chance and that if he even thought about hurting you, Diana, or my pack, that I would kill him with no thought."

"H-he attacked you?"

He turns his head more to the side and shows me the large scratches on his cheek. I cover my mouth and my bottom lip quivers.

"Oh no, no more crying. I can't stand the thought that I made you feel all of this pain," He says.

"Well, it is a little late don't you think?"

"When he took you away from here, I felt like a piece of me was missing. When I found you, I knew that I couldn't let him take you away from me again. I love you too much."

I wipe under my ears then lay down on the floor as my head rests on Uncle Luca's bicep. He plays with my hair then gives my forehead a small kiss.

"I love you too Uncle Luca. But, I can't do this anymore. My heart aches so much knowing that my soul mate is hurt and I have no clue if you have succeeded in killing him or not."

I raise my head up again watching the sun hiding behind the trees slowly. Uncle Luca stands up once again then wipes the woodchips and leaves that stuck to his jeans. He lets a hand out for me to hold on to.

"I think I will stay out here for a moment longer."

He decided not to argue with me and leaves me alone once again.

Brady, please come back to me.

Brady's POV

I cough up blood and gasp for air as I try my best to get myself off of the floor. My arms push me up and after what seemed like forever I soon was on my feet. I look down at my bare body and see bite marks to open wounds that continued to seep with blood.

"I am coming baby, don't worry," I whisper.

I limp to the nearest tree then puke up my lungs, watching as more blood left my system. Once I was done, I sniff the air deeply trying to find my sense of direction. I was about two miles away from Wood's Pack.

I knew I should have taken better care of her. I blamed myself for everything she had gone through and I knew that I hurt her even more.

My right-hand puts pressure onto my side trying to stop some heavy bleeding. I started to walk again, my steps were heavy and slow as I kept going.

After three steps I trip and fall onto to forest floor. I let out a groan of pain and see the sun shining down on me. My vision was beginning to blur and I saw a shadow of some sort hover over me.

"Need a hand?" His voice was smooth like butter.

I give in and get help from the stranger.

Mia's POV

"Sweetie, you must eat." Monica urged.

I just sat in the kitchen and play with the wooden dining table, peeling off some of the paint chips. It has been about an hour since I came back into the house and I haven't been very vocal. I push the plate filled with pasta away.

"I'm not hungry," I whisper.

Monica sighs and calls out for everyone else to come down for some dinner.

"Food's ready!"

Moments after, the kitchen door opens and in walk Blake, Frankie and Dad. They take a seat around the large table full of empty plates. Aunt Diana and Uncle Luca walk in as they talk among themselves.

Monica takes a seat next to me and grabs my hand. I glance up at her and she gives me a warm smile.

I return a small smile back and watch as everyone prayed then began getting food piled on their plates.

"Did we hear anything else on the body?" Blake asked as he took a large bite of garlic bread.

I stay quiet but pay close attention to the conversation.

"Not yet, I just don't understand why someone would remove Xavier's body. Baby, when I was gone, did you find anything else on that?" Uncle Luca asked.

Aunt Diana shook her head and drank some water.

"We are still on the same page. I did contact the neighboring packs and I am planning on holding a meeting before the end of the week. Would that work?"

"Of course. We can make time and I can speak with all the Alphas about everything." Uncle Luca responded.

Xavier's body was still missing. I bite my lip and continue to keep quiet. Blake opened his mouth to say something else but the doorbell rang disturbing the conversation and dinner.

"I got it," Aunt Diana stood up.

Uncle Luca rests a hand on her waist before she left.

"Do you want me to come with you?"

She giggled and kissed his nose.

"I'll be fine."

The doorbell rings again and she rushes out of the kitchen to go open the door.

I was so jealous of their relationship. Why couldn't I have had something like that? I paid attention to the way Uncle Luca treated Aunt Diana. The way he looked at her as if she was the only woman in the world or the way he always made sure she was okay.

Aunt Diana's muffled voice echoes behind the kitchen door until finally, she swings it open to reveal herself and...my mother. My eyes widen when I see her and I cover my face with my hoodie.

"Jade!" Dad says happily.

She sighs of relief and runs into his arms, giving him multiple kisses.

"Thank God you are alright!" She shifts her head quickly to the table and her eyes met mine.

I could see the relief and love in them.

"Mia!" She screeches.

Mom lets go of dad and hugged me from behind while lingering her lips on the top of my head. I could feel something wet hit the side of my face. I soon realize that she was crying. I made Mom cry. This was the worst feeling ever and I didn't know what to do.

Slowly, my arms wrap around hers and I nuzzle my head against hers.

Monica pulls her away from me and gives her a light hug before asking,

"Are you hungry? Here, sit down and eat something,"

Mom takes Monica's seat and Monica sits on Blake's lap. They all converse among each other and I see Frankie lick his lips while staring at me.

"I am so sorry that all of this happened, I understand that this is so much to handle but you are such a strong girl and I know you will get through this."

Frankie's words warmed my heart and I slide myself toward him. He intertwines his hand with mine then puts his fork with pasta on it toward my lips.

"Eat. Please."

I breathe shakily and open my mouth. The salty and savory pasta hits my taste buds and I could suddenly hear my stomach growling for more.

Frankie seemed to notice and squeezed my hand as a sign of reassurance.

He put the fork up to my lips again and continued to feed me pasta.

Brady's POV

Matt shoves me to the ground of the Wood's Pack and growls at me to stay put.

"Don't move."

I couldn't even if I tried.