My worst nightmare became real: Faustina was gone.

My screams of despair filled the mansion as I ran through the corners that Demian and Khalia had already checked.

"She's not here," Geldra told me, grabbing my arm. "I assure you that we searched everywhere."

"Then you didn't look well enough!" I screamed, breaking free from her grasp. "She has to be here, Faustina is afraid of being alone in the dark and it's already late, she wouldn't leave the mansion."

Demian approached me, stopping me from going up the stairs.

"She's not here. We can't smell her scent," he told me, hugging me.

"Everyone is wrong." I started to cry while I tried to release myself from the hug. I didn't want his comfort, I just needed to see my sister. "Let me go, I'll find her."

Instead of letting go, Demian hugged me tighter, no matter how much I hit his back, he didn't move an inch.

"We will find her," he said. "She can't be that far away and we have the strongest alpha on our side. Am I not right, Almec?"

I stopped the punches, moving my head in search of my mate. As soon as I saw him next to the entrance door I felt that everything would be alright.

"The search team is ready." Almec patted Demian on the back. "Can I talk to her for a second?"

"She's all yours, I'm going to cook something for Faustina, I'm sure she'll be hungry when she gets back."

Geldra also walked away, leaving us alone. The entrance to the mansion had never felt so empty, perhaps it was because Faustina's laughter was not there to fill the space.

The reality of her absence crashed upon me. Suddenly all the lies that I repeated in my mind to not accept my sister's disappearance vanished, leaving immense pain to replace them.

Almec's hug was the only thing that helped me stay on my feet, I clung to him with all the strength I had left, trying to find a way to escape the pain.

"I promise you I'll find her," Almec told me, stroking my back. "Feinid is already searching the city with a group of warriors, I'm going to search the forest with another group. I have to go now, I just wanted to see you before I leave."

"I want to go with you. She's my sister, I have to go look for her, I can't stay here doing nothing."

"I don't think it's the best idea, I'll be more at ease knowing that you're safe, I can't lose you both." Almec kissed my head. "Besides, you going out looking for her must be what they want."

"Who wants what? Do you know something I don't know?" I freed myself from his embrace and took a step back.

"Geldra sensed the scent of someone else in the mansion's garden," Almec confessed. "We think it may be the hunters."

"And you're telling me this now? Why are we still here? We have to go now, you don't know how dangerous they are?!"

Before I could run towards the exit Almec grabbed my arm.

"Let me go!" I screamed desperately. "They are going to hurt her, my little sister is in danger."

My screams turned to crying as I tried to escape from Almec.

"I need you to trust me," he told me, drying my tears with his thumb. "We cannot go against the hunters without being prepared, attacking them without a plan is the same as committing suicide. If we want to bring her back we have to be careful."

"Do you promise me that your plan will work?"

"I promise." Almec kissed my lips softly. "I have the best team prepared, we are not going to return until Faustina is safe."

"Go," I said, pushing him toward the door. "Before I change my mind and decide to follow you."

"I'll be back as quickly as possible, please don't try anything dangerous." Despite the seriousness of his expression, his eyes seemed to be filled with fear. "Geldra is going to stay with you in case they try to send someone else."

"Be careful," I told Almec as soon as he walked through the door. "I'll be waiting for both of you."

The minutes passed and I still didn't move from my place at the entrance of the mansion. I stayed sitting on the floor with my gaze fixed on the door; no matter how many times Khalia and Geldra tried to take me to my room I wouldn't bulge.

If I couldn't go out looking for her, at least I was going to make sure I was the first to welcome her back. I tried to convince myself that I was helping by standing by the door praying to the Moon Goddess for her safe return.

Every minute that passed my heart broke a little more, not only for my sister but also for Almec who was risking his life to bring her back.

The guilt of taking my anger out on him struck me shortly after he left. In my fear of losing Faustina I forgot that he was trying to help us. It was as if I was questioning his affection for my sister when Almec had already shown me time after time how important she was to him.

They are close, I can feel our mate, my wolf told me.

I jumped up from the floor while my heart was beating a thousand miles per hour. Forgetting Geldra's order, I opened the door and ran towards the gate.

"What are you doing?" the beta yelled at me, running after me. "It's not safe for you to go out."

"Almec is coming back, they're close," I answered without stopping. "I have to be there when they arrive."

"At least wait for me." Geldra quickened her pace.

My hands began to shake when I reached the gate, a few meters away a silhouette was already visible. I couldn't wait any longer. The bars creaked louder than ever when I pushed them, yet the only thing I cared about was getting to my sister.

Almec had Faustina in his arms, her eyes were closed and for a moment my heart stopped until I noticed the rise and fall of her chest.

"She's sleeping," Almec told me, stopping in front of me. "She doesn't have any serious injuries, everything is fine."

"Can I carry her?" I asked him, without taking my eyes off the scratch on Faustina's cheek.

"I'm afraid she'll wake up if we move her now." Almec looked down at her. His pained expression and the way he was holding onto her like she would disappear if he loosened his strength a little, was enough to change my mind. "She went through a scary situation, I think it's best to let her rest."

I had to make a great effort not to kneel in front of them and start crying. All the despair was still running through my mind, she was safe but still I felt like I was about to lose her.

"You're right, let's take her to my room," I agreed, despite the need I felt to hug her. "Thank you for bringing her home."

"You have nothing to thank me for."

Almec sounded hurt, almost as much as I was. The walk to my room didn't seem like the best place to question him, at that moment our priority was Faustina, and none of us dared to say a single word.

"How is she?" Khalia asked us from the door while Almec laid Faustina on the bed.

"She has some minor scrapes from what I could see, we should still call the doctor once she wakes up," Almec answered. "I'm going to change, let me know if she wakes up."

My gaze followed my mate, his walk no longer seemed so stable and his shoulders were hunched. Just as he was about to leave the room his long fur coat moved, revealing a deep cut on his right leg.

I was so worried about my sister that I hadn't thought about him. What did he have to do to bring her back?

The sudden desire to run after him overwhelmed me, yet, my sister needed me. I couldn't leave her alone after what had happened.

"Go," Khalia told me, dispelling my doubts. "I will stay with Faustina. There's nothing you can do for her right now, Almec needs you."

"Thanks." I squeezed her hands before running towards my mate.

I called his name several times and had no answers in return. He could hear me, I was sure of that, the distance between us was so short that even if I wasn't shouting Almec would understand me.

In the end, it turned into a chase, I accelerated my steps and he did the same. His limping kept me from running, the last thing I wanted was to aggravate his injury by making him run. I waited until I was close to his room and when Almec started to close his door I ran with all my strength to stop him.

"Please let me in," I begged, holding the door. "I'm not going to ask any questions if that bothers you."

He didn't say anything, but he still moved to let me pass.

An awkward silence reigned in the room as Almec took off his coat. His wounds were visible and I had to cover my mouth to cover the crying that threatened to come out.

In addition to the wound on his leg, Almec had a cut across his chest and a bite mark on his arm.

"I don't want to call the doctor right now, I can take care of it," he told me, probably after noticing my reaction. "Plus my wounds heal faster."

"At least let me help you." I approached him and squeezed his hand.

"I already told you I'm fine." He freed himself from my grasp before heading to the bathroom.

"You're not okay, you're hurt. Stop being so stubborn. You did so much for me, let me do this for you."

"Why do you always have to insist so much?" he complained, entering the bathroom. "In the end, I can never win against you."

I looked down to hide my smile. "You should take a bath before treating the wounds."

"I'm too tired for that."

I leaned against the bathroom door. "Your wounds are going to get infected if you don't. I will prepare the bath, you don't have to make much effort."

He sighed. "Do I have a choice?"

"None" I pushed him until he sat on the toilet. "Trust me, you'll feel better this way."

The sound of water filling the tub was the only one present as I searched for the first aid kit. Almec's lack of collaboration forced me to open all the doors until I found what I wanted.

"Everything ready," I let him know. "I'm going to turn around for a moment so you can get in, or do you need help with that too?"

"I can do it by myself." He stood up and took off his shirt. "You don't have to help me take a bath."

"But I want to," I answered, turning around. It was strange to be the one saying that phrase when it was normal for him to be the one who insisted

I wasn't sure if I was crossing a line, I didn't even know what the status of our relationship was. Just when we took a step forward we were interrupted by tragedy and it was as if everything went backwards.

"You can turn around."

Almec's voice brought me back to reality. I shook my head and I took a deep breath before facing the situation.

It felt surreal to be there sitting on the floor next to Almec. He looked so vulnerable in the tub that the attraction I felt towards him took a backseat.

"I think we should clean the wounds first," I said, grabbing the disinfectant soap.

"I can take care of that." He took the soap from my hands. "Can you help me with my hair instead?"

Almec looked down as if he wanted to escape my gaze.

"Of course. You can relax, you know? I'm not going to do anything you're uncomfortable with."

He simply nodded before beginning to clean the wound on his leg.

Respecting his silence, I focused on my task. I carefully wet his hair and then applied the shampoo. Almec closed his eyes for a second as I began to massage his scalp.

"Can you move your head back for a moment?" I asked him. "I'm going to rinse your hair."

He did what I asked.

"I don't feel uncomfortable with your presence," Almec told me as I poured water over his hair.

"What's bothering you then?" I asked, helping him straighten his head. "I can feel you're tense."

"I failed you, I failed you both."

Almec's confession took me by surprise. I slowly turned around so I could face him, took the soap from his hand, and intertwined my fingers with his.

"You didn't fail us. You protected my sister and brought her back to me." I brushed his cheek with my free hand. "If you hadn't been here the hunters would have already captured both of us."

"I should have been more careful about her safety. They broke into my house and took her right under my nose. You should have seen how scared she was when I found her."

Almec opened his mouth to keep speaking but a cry escaped instead. Little by little his tears began to fall and in that moment I could feel my heart breaking.

I hugged him as tight as I could, resting his face on my chest. Almec's crying didn't stop while I caressed his back and kissed his head.

"It's not your fault," I told him. "It hurts me to see Faustina suffer but I know more than anyone that the only ones to blame are the hunters. And in any case I am more responsible, after all, they want me."

"Don't say that, you are not responsible for their atrocities." Almec's voice sounded weak after crying so much.

"Then don't blame yourself either." I lifted his head and looked into his eyes. "You saved us, don't forget that."

The distance between us decreased. I put my hand on his cheek and Almec held the back of my neck. Our lips met in a soft kiss. Neither of us had to say anything to convey our feelings, the kiss was enough to provide the comfort we were looking for.

"This isn't going to stay like this," Almec said when we broke the kiss.

"I don't understand what you mean."

"The hunters, I'm not going to allow them to keep hurting you. It's time to declare war."