I was a nervous wreck with all those curious eyes staring at me, waiting for my response. I knew that Jayden did this on purpose, if that amused smile was anything to go by. He was enjoying this way too much and I think that he thought that I wouldn't know what to say, but I was about to prove him and all the rest of them wrong.

"I suggest that you have an emergency bunker in place to evacuate everyone who won't be able to defend themselves" I said with a proud smile.

"And what makes you think that we don't already have an 'emergency bunker'?" Jayden smirked.

Right.

Of course he's already thought of everything. You don't stay on the top by not staying ahead. It was like he was always two steps ahead of his enemies and that was one of the reasons why he was the most powerful alpha.

With a defeated sigh, I walked back over to the couch and sat. I was a bit embarrassed that I spoke up. It was clear that they didn't need my help. They have been fighting these battles for a really long time and I only had basic training on how to defend myself, which I was still unable to do.

How could I have possibly thought that I could protect everyone? I have heard time and time again that I was the end to all the wars and suffering, but all I have accomplished was bringing more suffering into this world.

My chest tightened to the point where it felt almost impossible to breathe. I knew this feeling all too well. I was about to have a panic attack and break down in front of all these people. I didn't want anyone to see that I was weak, so I slipped out the room unnoticed, gripping my chest.

Once outside, I clawed at my throat to get air into my lungs, but that didn't help. I was now hyperventilating and I needed to find somewhere where I could ride out this phase until I felt better. I slipped inside the closest room I found and slammed the door shut.

I collapsed on the floor and broke down crying. I cried for so long, until all my energy was drained. I didn't even bother to get up off the cold floor, but instead I got comfortable and closed my eyes.

I felt like I was floating. Why was I floating? I slowly opened my eyes and realized that I was in the arms of Jayden.

"I can walk you know" I said with a tired yawn.

"Go back to sleep" he chuckled, still carrying me in his arms. I did listen to him and closed my eyes for some much needed sleep.

...

"Noooooooooooo" I cried out.

I shot up in bed with my body covered in sweat. That nightmare felt so real that for a second I felt like I was reliving what happened on my darkest day.

Ever since I wiped out my old pack, I have been having nightmares, reliving that dreadful day. This time it was different though, before I could destroy everything, I woke up. I didn't understand why I didn't get to see everything unfold as I usually did, but then I realized why.

A hand squeezed mine in a way to comfort me and let me know that I wasn't alone. It was a small gesture, but it meant so much to me. Just that small action was enough for me to feel not as alone as I used to feel when I was on the run.

I burst into tears from all the emotions overflowing in my body. These were not sad tears, these were happy tears. I was so thankful to have him in my life that he had no idea just how much his presence alone meant to me.

He quickly pulled me onto his lap and wrapped his arms around me, whispering comforting words in my ear and leaving a kiss behind my ear every now and then.

I was a sobbing mess in his arms, because of all my emotions. I never had anyone in my life that cared about me, apart from my deceased mother. She was the only person that could chase my nightmares away and knowing that Jayden could also do that was just too much for me to handle.

It might seem like a silly little thing, but for me, it was so much more than that. He reminded me of my mother and I really missed her. I guess that's why I was crying, because I haven't had anyone in my life that cared about me so much that I couldn't help but let out all my pain.

I was able to be vulnerable around him, without feeling stupid or silly. I knew deep down that he understood why I was crying and I was grateful that he never asked. He was here and that was all that mattered.

After my crying episode, we stayed in the same position with Jayden still holding me. He hasn't said anything about my outburst, but instead he tried to be there for me.

"How would you like to go somewhere, just the two of us for the day?" he suggested, running his fingers through my hair soothingly.

"Mhm" I hummed not really paying attention to what he was saying.

"I'm going to take that as a yes. Get changed and we leave in thirty minutes"

"Wait, where are we going?" I asked suddenly intrigued.

"Just pack a bathing suit and something nice to wear to dinner" he answered and got off the bed. He left the room, leaving me behind to guess where he was taking me.

An hour later and we arrived at our destination, even though I had no idea where we were because I was blindfolded. I had a hunch though, because I could smell the salt water, so I knew for a fact that we were near water.

Jayden helped me out of the car and guided me to wherever he was taking me. To say that I was excited would be an understatement; I was basically bouncing on my toes.

"Can I take off the blindfold now?" I asked with a goofy smile on my face.

"Not yet" he answered.

"How about now?"

"No"

"Now?" I wanted to annoy him.

"N-"

"Now?"

"Fine! You can take it off" he answered annoyed.

I quickly untied the back and blinked my eyes a few times to focus my vision. A gasp escaped my mouth as I covered my mouth with my hands.

"Are we going-" I started to ask, but the words got stuck in my throat.

"Yes, we are" he answered wrapping his hands around my waist from behind and kissing my neck.

We were standing beside a luxurious yacht, and guess what? We were going to spend the whole day on it at sea. I've never been on a yacht before, which was why I couldn't contain my excitement.

I ran out of his arms and climbed aboard to check out the impressive interior. I didn't want to touch anything on the yacht in fear that I would break something. Everything was just so white and breakable.

"I'm going to guess that you like it" Jayden said walking up behind me.

"I love it!" I turned around and leaped into his arms giggling like school girl.

"I'm glad you love it" he smiled and placed a short sweet kiss on my lips to which I eagerly returned.

After Jayden gave me the tour, we set sail. The rest of the day was spent drinking champagne and swimming. This had got to be the best day of my life. Everything almost felt too good to be true, that for a second I honestly thought that I was dreaming.

I wore a two piece bikini that Jayden wasn't too happy about because the staff on the yacht could see me. He was jealous and so was I when I saw a girl in a white uniform ogling his abs. I had to stake my claim on my mate, and so I made out with him with here standing only a few feet away from us.

The whole situation was amusing to him, but when the male staff looked at me he'd growl and hide me away from their prying eyes. This would make me laugh and him sulking like a kid until I worked my magic.

I didn't do anything extra; I just assured him that I was his with a little make out session. I knew that he enjoyed those and I couldn't deny that spending a whole day with him brought me closer to him than before.

We haven't talked about what happened earlier, but instead we just enjoyed each other's company. I was a nervous wreck right now. I checked my appearance one last time in the mirror before I left the room.

I was wearing a black off the shoulder dress that stopped above my knees. It fitted me perfectly and showed off my curves. I did a natural makeup look and finished it off with some black heels.

This entire outfit was all Katie's idea. According to her, Jayden won't be able to take his eyes off me, and that was the plan. We were finally alone, minus the staff on the yacht, so there was nothing to stop us from finally doing the deed.

I knew that he dropped everything for me today and I wanted to make the most of it. Because once we got back, we'd be thrown into a world of preparation and stress over the upcoming war.

I went to the deck where Jayden was waiting for me in a black suit, minus the jacket, with the shirt sleeves rolled up to his elbows showing off his strong arms. His hair was messy, probably from running his hands through it one too many times.

All in all, he looked delicious.

Wait, what?

I mean, he looked hot.

I walked up to him and stopped just a few inches in from of him. He looked me up and down in appreciation.

"Fuck" he whispered under his breath when his eyes met my own.