Sixty–Four
Isabella’s POV
Time seemed to stand still from the moment our eyes met and I just stood there, staring at him, still hugging myself and still sobbing.
I was so focused on just reveling in this moment, I forgot where I was. I blocked out all the noise and my eyes could see nothing and no one else but the person in front of me and yet I did not notice he had moved until I felt his hand on my elbow, his touch electrifying me back to earth just before he pulled me into his arms and held me tight.
It took a second for me to respond after the stillness my body exuded as a response to the sudden motion.
Slowly, my hands slid around Alexander’s torso as I tried my best to wrap my arms around him, feeling him relax immediately as a sigh escaped from his lips.
“I’m here now, Bella,” He whispered, and while I’m sure he was trying to fix the faulty tap that was my tear ducts, hearing his voice again after all this time did nothing else but make the tears fall quicker.
Alexander wrapped his arms even tighter around me and white it should be suffocating at this point, it was just what I needed. “He can’t get to you now. You’re with me, okay? I’m here. Everything’s okay.”
He kept saying things to calm me down and reassure me,
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having to repeat the same sentences as he desperately tried to calm me down for the next couple of minutes while I just soaked his shirt through.
When I finally calmed down enough to pull back, I raised my face to his, something pricking my chest at the sight of his own wet face.
Lifting shaky fingers, I brushed the moisture away before resting on his chest once again with the side of my face, his heart playing the sweetest beat directly into my ears.
We stayed like that while the men that had been attacking Alexander were taken care of by men who were no doubt from my pack and had come with Alexander.
From my side eye, I saw Blake appear at the same corner I had run out through, his stance shaky as he scanned the scene frantically, only relaxing when his gaze landed on Alexander and I.
With a sigh of relief, he started towards us and I removed myself from Alexander’s hold, guilt like lead weighing down the pits of my stomach as I took in Blake’s bruised and battered face.
My eyes on Blake’s face had probably drawn attention to my own face because I saw Alexander’s eyes change color fifteen times in three seconds as he stared at the spot where I imagined a bruise lay.
I squeezed his arm and he relaxed slightly, turning back to Blake once again.
“Where is he?”
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“He escaped.” He said with his jaw taut. “He won’t get far without any help, though. I didn’t go easy on him.” Blake said with fire in his eyes and anger accompanied by darkness I’d never thought I would associate with him. “Two of our men went after him.” He said while Alexander simply scoffed.
“I thought he had bigger plans.” He muttered a taunt and I would have chuckled if today hadn’t been so terrible.
Blake mentioned how someone had remembered to call for a
car to be sent from the pack house when they had confirmed that I was here and the car had just arrived.
Alexander expressed his gratitude saying that we would have had to wait while they sent for one now because there was no way in hell he was letting me do the journey back home running in wolf form.
I was grateful as well because even though Alexander would have ‘let me‘, I would have cried if I had to journey back to the pack by paw no matter how near or far it may be.
Apart from my injury which was refusing to heal, I felt like I was slowly getting drained of all my energy.
More cars were waiting outside than I expected to see and while I was being led into the first one by Alexander and Blake, I could see the other men from my pack, pulling out Antonio’s people and loading them up into the other cars.
I didn’t even want to ask why, I just got into the backseat with Alexander and relaxed into him. It was the most clingy I’ve been with him and I really don’t think I could’ve stopped.
It was like I had been starved of his scent and the electricity as well as the calm from the bond whenever our skin touched for
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so long that I needed to have it 24/7 for the same amount of time I had been deprived of it to recover.
I didn’t see him complaining and in fact, he was even much more clingy than I was if I was, to be honest.
Blake stepped into the driver’s seat and my only consolation that he was driving in such a state while blood literally dried up on his face was that by the time we got back to the pack house, he would’ve fully healed.
Even inside the car, Alexander wouldn’t stop telling me that I was okay. While I’d like to be strong and tell him that I was indeed okay, it would be a lie obvious to us both.
I bet Alexander could feel just how ‘not okay‘ I was. I was still pretty much shaken from the time in that room with Antonio and although I was glad that he hadn’t gone as far as putting his hand under my dress before Blake barged in and put an end to his assault, I could feel him feel my entire body with how tight he held me.
My ass was in his lap where I could feel…I could feel his growing erection. My breasts were pressed into his chest as my body was twisted in the most awkward angle and he basically forced his finger into my mouth. I shivered and Alexander’s arm tightened around me while I sunk deeper into his hold.
“I’m sorry it took so long to find you.” He choked out, “I’m sorry you had to go through this because of me.”
I was confused about whether to accept it or not. Did I go through all this because of Alexander? I mean, if I wasn’t his mate Antonio would have kidnapped whatever girl was and I would have been somewhere minding my business. But was it
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Alexander’s fault that Antonio wanted to kill him and his mate? Did Alexander deserve his brother’s maniacal behavior and hatred toward him?
With how comfortable Alexander’s embrace was, I should’ve slept but I couldn’t. My mind was running a hundred miles a minute and every bump in the road had me jolting.
My body was beginning to give into a nap but I couldn’t. I was tired, starved, and spent but it felt like I had drank a gallon of coffee because my eyes wouldn’t shut. They were glued to the road and the passing greenery for so long that I started to feel sick.
Alexander wouldn’t stop talking, whispering apologies, assuring and reassuring me. I was grateful for it because it was the only thing keeping me from sinking into oblivion.
The journey was longer than I hoped for and when I began to see familiar–looking buildings and trees, I scrambled up to sit upright.
“We’re home,” Alexander whispered in confirmation and I burst into another round of tears, burying my face in my hands as my body wracked with sobs.
I didn’t know if they were happy tears because while I was happy to be home, I had not completely recovered from everything that happened in the past weeks and today especially.
I was just relieved that I was in my pack again with a tinge of disbelief that it really was all over and all Antonio’s confident threats had amounted to nothing.
Alexander helped me down from the car before wiping my
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face with his fingers even with my head ducked slightly not meeting his eyes and in a gesture that surprised me, he laid a chaste kiss on my forehead.
I hummed my satisfaction as the corners of my lips lifted in the smallest smile. When I moved to walk though, I found myself staggering slightly as my head spun. I leaned more into Alexander while he asked very worriedly if I was alright.
I looked up, squinting as the sun hit my eyes, and from the small slits I had reduced them to, I saw people rushing out of the pack house. They were coming to welcome me, I realized, my heart swelling at the genuine happiness and relief on their faces even though I did not personally know most of them.
But the commotion was too much, the voices, the movement… and soon all I could see were colors that seemed to be moving as my head spun.
Until it all went black. All my senses shut off one after the other, hearing first and then sight and finally touch as I felt myself fall only to be caught by arms that could only be Alexander’s.
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