Seconds turned into minutes, and minutes turned in hours. Life continued to spin around me. No matter what I do, I can't seem to catch up. I'm stuck–stuck in time.

Before I knew it, several days flew by.

Hunter would greet us in the morning with a tray of food. Something new every day. Every day, he would come in and make an entire conversation on his own. He didn't seem to mind, either.

Then there was Liam, when he heard Hunter was an Alpha. Immediately, Liam put his walls up. He asked if we were going to run away. I told him we should try to stay and replenish our energy. If this place isn't safe, we would leave.

That seemed to calm Liam down. Although Liam now has his walls up around Hunter. He spoke less and his eyes were filled with wariness.

Lately, it has been raining non-stop. Sometimes, it would rain hard and we would hear thunder and see lightning outside. Those nights were rough. Liam would have nightmares.

I remembered the first year we were on our own. We were living in the wilderness and it was pouring. Although I had found shelter in a cave, the loud thunder would make Liam shift. I got hurt several times trying to stop him from leaving the cave.

Tonight, it was the same way. The weather outside was loud and scary. Liam began whimpering in his sleep. He becomes restless and tosses the blankets off of his body.

I swept him into my arms and covered his ears, whispering closely to keep him calm. But like every other night, he couldn't hear me. He tried pushing away from me. His hands transformed into claws.

"Mommy..." he whined.

"It's okay, Liam. I'm right here. You are safe," I soothed.

"Please! I don't want to do it anymore. I promise I will be a good boy," Liam cried. His voice rose as the storm outside grew.

I tried pulling him back into my arms, but he shoved me back. I almost toppled off the bed.

I can't let him shift. I can't let him shift. I can't let him shift.

I grabbed onto his arms and tried my hardest to wake him up. He sniveled and whined, mumbling pleas to leave him alone. Tears began gathering at the corners of my eyes, but I held them back. I needed to be strong for him. Shedding tears won't help this situation.

Suddenly, Liam's clawed hand swiped the air, and I felt pain on my neck. He scratched me. He kicked me hard in the chest to push me away and I felt the air leave my body as I fell off the bed.

Panic sets in. I have seen this situation more than a hundred times, and if I don't turn around this situation, it will get very bad.

Before I could crawl back onto the bed, the connecting door whipped open. A shadow of a man stood at the entrance. I squinted my eyes and noticed it was Hunter. He stood there for a moment, assessing the situation before he stalked over.

He reached for my brother, and I grabbed onto him. Stopping him.

Hunter looked at me. I shook my head and pushed him away from my brother.

"Let me help you."

It was all he said and undaunted; he returned to my brother's side. It was then I noticed he was carrying a pair of headphones and an iPod. Briefly, I heard classical music playing through the headphones. He put it over my brother's ears and held it tight. My brother struggled at first, pushing Hunter aside until he stopped.

His breathing became even, and I watched as his claws returned to normal human hands.

"The headphones are noise cancelling. He won't be able to hear the noise outside," Hunter whispered, as to not wake Liam.

I stared at my brother and waited for him to shift, but he didn't. He fell back into a deep slumber. This was the first time I have seen him not shift in this kind of weather, and relief flooded me for the first time. I felt like crying now and my eyes stung so badly; I knew they were threatening to spill.

Luckily, Hunter stood up in front of me. He placed one hand on my neck and lifted my chin with his thumb. It was then I realized it has been days since Hunter touched me. I missed the fluttering in my stomach, the warmth of his touch, and even the electrifying currents that ignited when our skin touched.

His eyes fell on the wound my brother caused.

"He scratched you?" Hunter questioned.

I tried pushing Hunter away, but he refused to budge. His eyes met mine and he must have seen the tears that were threatening to fall.

"You won't cry," he ordered, and that worked.

I didn't cry. Instead, I grew angry that he was ordering me. I didn't like it one bit. Ordering me to stop crying? Who does that? Who in the world could control their tears? I wanted to tell him to fuck off, but that would require me to speak and I wasn't ready to speak to him, at least not yet.

Hunter dropped his hand from my neck, and instantly the area that he left felt cold. I almost wanted to grab his hand and bring it back to my neck. I must be insane to feel that sudden urge. I fought it down.

A second later, though, his hand wrapped around my wrist and he pulled me away from Liam and to the connecting door. I glanced behind me and watched Liam sleeping peacefully on the bed.

I tried yanking my hand back, but Hunter didn't budge. He dragged me into the connecting room. For the first time, my eyes roamed a room that differed from the room Liam and I were sleeping in.

Hunter's scent filled this room. It was so strong; I felt a sense of unwanted calmness settling into my bones. I almost felt jello-like, and it amazed me at how quickly it took effect. It was almost like a drug, numbing me all over.

This must be his bedroom. He was sleeping next door the entire time. I wondered if he heard Liam and my conversations. I didn't even realize he was next door until now.

My eyes fell on his large bed and I imagined how he slept on the bed. Did he sleep shirtless? Naked? Or fully clothed?

When I realized what I was thinking, I shook my head and looked away.

Hunter opened another door and turned on the light. It was his bathroom. He lifted me up and settled me on the counter.

"Don't move," he ordered.

My eyes narrowed angrily at him. He turned away a second later, but I still caught the smirk on his face. It was the first time I've seen him smile. It threw me off guard and swept me off my feet.

God, I've seen no man as handsome as he was. Those light blue eyes sparkled with mischief, and I couldn't stop wondering if there was another side to him I hadn't seen yet.

He looked through his lower cabinets until he found what he was looking for before he got up and placed the first aid kit on the bathroom counter. Opening it, he took out a cotton ball and some antiseptic solution.

Honestly, he didn't have to do it. Liam has injured me more times than I could count and I always heal afterwards. Except for that one time several months ago, he clawed my stomach and injured me badly. It took a long time to heal with no treatment.

But what was the point of arguing? A small part of me wanted his attention and tonight, I didn't mind succumbing to it. He lifted my chin again to look at my wound. I'm sure it looked horrifying. Blood must be all over my neck and down my shirt.

"He really injured you," Hunter grumbled, and I could hear a hint of irritation.

I watched him clean the blood off of me. Then re-evaluated the wound. I felt his finger on the outer edge of the wound. His focused eyes shifted to look at me.

"You are healing really fast." He sounded surprised.

Memories of living in the camp came back, and I recoiled from his touch. I pushed him away and hopped off the counter. He had cleaned me up to the best of his ability, but I knew I would still need to take a shower and change my clothes.

I moved to walk away, but his hand came out and grabbed my elbow. My heart skipped a beat, and I avoided his eyes.

"When will you trust me, little wolf?"

Trust—even I'm unsure of the answer. We've been here for days and nothing has happened, but I lived long enough to know that bad things come when we least expect it. Good things can only stay so long.

That was why I couldn't allow myself to trust or to give a part of me that would leave me vulnerable. I needed to be strong to protect Liam, even if it meant my entire life would be constantly running away.

This was only temporary. I don't know how long I will stay. I only knew that this would only be a temporary solution for Liam and me.

"I can see the wheels turning in your mind. I know you don't trust me, but I won't give up. I got time, mate, loads of time. I will wait till the day you are ready to talk to me."

Mate...

There was that word again.

Each time I hear it, hope fills me.

Saying nothing, I walked away from him. He didn't chase after me. He let me leave. I closed the connecting door behind me. The second I was safe, I leaned against the door. I wrapped my arms around myself tightly and slid down the door. My body shivered uncontrollably, and I took in deep breaths.

Tears threaten to spill again.

I can't.

I can't lose control.

I can't let him get to me.

I wanted to scream. I wanted to run away. I wanted to hide.

I watched my mom crying for Alpha to stop. He tore her dress while I covered Liam's ears and stopped him from looking. Alpha laughed when my mother begged and pleaded for him to stop.

"It's either you or your daughter, Tatiana," Alpha threatened, ripping her top.

My mom's tearful eyes met mine. Her eyes filled with so much misery and pain; she was dying inside, but I knew what she wanted. She wanted me to not look. To look away.

"Mama," I whispered quietly.

My mom stopped fighting, and I turned away. All I could hear was the loud grunting of Alpha.

I pulled at the roots of my hair and bit my bottom lip so hard to stop myself from crying. I can't trust anybody. I fell into a fetal position at the connecting door and stared into darkness. There was no use in crying. In this world, I can't trust anybody but myself. I can't let Hunter get to me. I can't trust him.

I remained in that fetal position for what seemed forever. When the storm finally waned away, I blinked and looked around me. It was near morning. My lip hurt from the biting. I knew I must have bruised it. At least I had stopped shivering.

Suddenly, Liam appeared in front of me. He laid down next to me. One of his arms tucked underneath him.

"Are you okay?" he whispered to me.

My heart and soul were in turmoil, but I nodded. He scooted closer and patted my arm as if to soothe me. This was why I couldn't lose myself. I needed to be strong for Liam.

I wrapped my arms around Liam and pulled him close.

"It will always be you and me," I murmured back, kissing the top of his head.