Apparently, those who had gathered to watch Elliot be ripped from his house deemed it disrespectful to watch their alpha return. Easton pulled up to his home, on his own, driving his Tacoma. Had it not been for a bandage covering half of his neck, it would have looked like he was coming home from the grocery store or other errands. There was no fanfare to be had.

I just stood on the porch, not knowing if I wanted to weep or race into his arms. I did neither, so overwhelmed that I froze as he climbed out of the of the truck and limped up the stairs. I opened the door for him and said nothing as he clambered inside, just followed him mutely.

I had so many things I wanted to say. I wanted to tell him that I loved him. I wanted him to know that when I saw him go down I had been so frightened that I had done things I didn't even know I was capable of. I wanted to ask how is neck was, if he was going to recover fully, if he needed medication. And I wanted to tell him that I was sorry, but I had won.

But, with the silence growing between us, I felt like I had made the wrong choice. I had always known that he would be mad at me when he woke up and found the bed empty. I had risked my own life and I had made him force his hand when followed me into battle blind. And he had been right. I needed to lean on someone other than myself. Without Misty's power and Easton's distraction, I would have been Nero's captive. Then, after all of that, I had topped it all off with having his beta arrested without the alpha's express permission. He had every right to be angry. 

And yet I could say none of those things. "Sorry, I didn't keep the house as clean as you do. Misty left this morning and..."

"That's what you think you should apologize for?" Easton demanded, kicking off his shoes before facing me in the foyer entryway.

I fumbled for words. God, I was sorry for so much. I didn't even know where to begin. I didn't know what he wanted to hear first.

But his arms were flung around me, yanking me tight to his body. I had waited for this moment for the three nights here without him. I dreamed about having his arms around me, about listening to his breathing when I woke up with a jolt in the middle of the night. I longed to wander into the kitchen and be met with a smiling chef and something that smelt delicious. 

He didn't smell like home cooked baking or even his usual scent, but his arms gripped me just the same. He lowered his head, resting his nose in my hair. The soft noise that left his mouth was all Easton.

Things came easier after that. He told me he was starving and that he wanted to shower. I wasn't going to protest. While he cleaned up, I did the best I could in his kitchen, ignoring all the takeout boxes that Misty and I had piled up, and pulled out a box of mac and cheese. 

By the time he came out, the pasta was cooked and coated in the store-bought sauce. I even topped it off with chopped hot dogs and fried onions. I knew that Easton would never feed me such an abomination, but it was the best that I could manage.

There was no hiding that we were excited to see each other alive, to be able to touch again. I must have kissed the poor guy a dozen times. He squeezed my hand so often I'm sure his forearm ached. He didn't even complain about my lackluster meal.

But, even with all of the joy, we still had to have the hard conversations. Most of them were targeted at me.

"You refused to let me mark you so that when you inevitably died if would hurt me less," Easton accused. "I had this weird feeling every time you said that you weren't ready and when Keiko told me what you had asked her-" Easton was unable to finish, scraping a hand down his face.

"I wanted you to be okay. No matter what happened to me," I protested.

"And I wanted to help you through all of this!" he shot back

"I didn't want to bring more people into it." It all seemed so silly now, but I had been so adamant that everyone else had suffered far too much on my behalf. I was so certain that I would never be able to defeat Nero. No one would. But I had done it. With some help, of course.

"What would have happened if I hadn't shown up with Misty? Where was he taking you?" Easton demanded.

I glanced away, unable to answer.

"Kaia, if I lost you, I wouldn't stop looking for you. I wouldn't stop hunting him. My life would not just restart without you. You're my mate!"

"I know that now. I didn't think about it then. I didn't want to think about it. I felt like I was just doing what I had to do to end all of this."

"Never do anything like that again," he order, finally releasing my hand to cradle my face. "Do you hear me? If you ever try and run away from me again, I will do everything in my power to get you back."

I melted into his touch. Even though I was being scolded, it felt so good to have him here. I thought that I would never have this again, thought I would never be able to hold him, to listen to his voice. He would fade just like the memory of my mother had.

"I'm never going to leave you. I'm never going to run away from you. I won't ever keep secrets from you."

He kissed me then, hard. And I grabbed onto him, knowing that I would never have to strain to recall what he tasted like or wonder how his moans sounded. He was here. He was mine and I was his. 

We fell backwards on the couch, his body hovering over mine as we tangled our limbs together. Fingers gripped hair and scratched backs. Teeth nibbled my neck. Hips bucked together. Voices mingled in the air, never forming words but the desire was so clear. I felt like I could have kissed him forever, only wanting to feel him, to know that he was real, that all of this was real. 

"Please," Easton whispered, his lips hovering over my neck.

Resisting him wasn't an option. "Yes. Yes, I love you and I want you to mark me."

My whole body tensed. I didn't know exactly what marking would entail, but I had an idea and I deemed it to be, at least a little bit, painful. I stayed rigid when I felt his teeth brush against my throat and the tension didn't leave, even after I was certain that my skin had been punctured. 

Easton's breathing hitched. His body tightened too, but then it released into intense shudders that consumed his whole form. The arms that held him up so easily before, now shook as he lowered down, unable to stay afloat. My arms automatically wrapped around him.

"Are you okay?" he whispered when he was finally able to collect himself.

"Yes," I whispered, though I wondered if this was it. wasn't I supposed to feel a whirlwind that swept me off my feet? Wasn't I supposed to be a breathless mess?

"I want you, Kaia. I need you. All of you," Easton rasped out, his fingers curling under my shirt. 

With nothing left to fear, I only nodded my head and clung to him.

~~~Question of the Day~~~

What is your favorite genre? What is your least favorite?

I love romance, obviously. Fantasy romance is a fav, but I really struggle with wrapping my little head around Sci-Fi