Eve had started another drawing a few days after they had returned to the mountain. Looking down, she smiled at the progress she had made on the art piece over the last few hours. It was the beginnings of one of her best works yet, having taken inspiration from the recent trip.

On the page, Eve had drawn Maya and Kirk dancing at the ball with the rest of the room hazed out in a blur. When Eve had watched them dance, she knew that was probably who they saw the rest of the world – out of focus – being solely concentrated on each other. It was a beautiful sight to behold, and Eve could not help but try to capture an ounce of the same passion within the drawing.

She smiled remembering the affair of saying farewell to Maya

***

'Now darlin', you stay safe okay,' Maya said in a serious tone as she pulled Eve into a solid embrace.

'Of course, we will be just fine, I promise,' Eve said clutching onto Maya's shirt.

'Please take care of him honey. I know he gets lonely up there all by himself – that's why I'm so ecstatic that he has you now,' Maya lowered her voice as she directed her words to Eve's ear.

'I know. We are lucky to have each other. And I promise to look after him,' Eve said soothing Maya's worries.

"I know you will Darlin',' Maya said stepping back from the embrace and turning to observe the goodbyes of her husband and son.

'Now Curtis, I have given Eve strict instructions to keep you in line. So don't mess with her or she will whack you over the head with my permission,' Maya tutted.

'Sure thing Mum,' Curtis chuckled stepping forward to bid his mum goodbye.

'Now, you look after yourself and Eve,' Maya said as she stood on her tippy toes to reach up to Curtis who still had to bend down to her height.

'Absolutely mum,' Curtis said giving her a squeeze before stepping back.

Kirk had pulled Maya into his side, running his hand up and down her back as Curtis and Eve walked past the tree line and out of their site.

***

Eve smiled as she reminisced before concentrating back on the details of the drawing before her. She would gift it to Kirk and Maya for Christmas which would coming up in the next two months. She was sure that Maya would love it.

Since they had been back, Curtis had let Eve have her own space which she was very grateful for. They had fallen back into their usual routine of training in the morning and sharing meals together.

Eve often found herself thinking about how they had danced together at the ball. Every time she thought about it, she was surprised by how safe and cared for she felt in Curtis' embrace.

'Eve,' Curtis said walking into the living room. She turned to fac him, the drawing and her thoughts forgotten.

'Yeah?' She said smiling at him.

'We need to go to town,' Curtis said not returning her smile.

'Oh, I didn't think we needed to go for another few weeks?' Eve said confused by his seriousness.

'Eve, I don't want to upset you and please try stay calm until we can find out what is going on. But Alpha Ian sent me an email, and you really need to call your family...' Curtis said gently stepping forward to place his hand on her shoulder. Trying to calm the instant flurry of thoughts running through Eve took a few deep breathes before giving him a nod. She couldn't open her mouth to reply for fear of letting tears to overrun her eyes.

'Are you okay?' Curtis said with worry clear on his face.

Eve shook her head.

'Okay... we can leave right now if you want,' Curtis offered.

Eve nodded and stood up grab her shoes and jacket. Curtis followed her out the door worried by her silence and lack of reaction to the news he had shared with her.

The silence remained as the pair made there way down the mountain. A few times, Curtis opened his mouth to speak but could not find the words to properly comfort Eve, so he kept quiet.

Eve was too wrapped in her thoughts to even notice Curtis' concern. What had happened? Were Joanne and her Mum still being punished by the Alpha? Had one of them been injured?

Once they reached the car and got out onto the highway, Eve felt fidgety being confined in the cab not feeling as though they were moving fast enough. Anxiety sat in the pit of her stomach, and she tapped her foot against the floor.

'We will be there soon... I just want you to know, no matter what happens next... I will be here for you. Always,' Curtis said finally finding words close enough to express he thoughts and feelings.

Eve nodded and gave him a tight smile just as the edge of the town came into view.

As they pulled over onto the side of the street next to the phone booth, Eve threw herself out of the car before they had even come to a complete stop.

She ran over to the box and threw open the door and shakily pushing coins through the slot as a few coins fell to the ground. Hands still unsteady she punched in the numbers.

Her guts wretched and twisted violently as the dial tone echoed in her ears.

Please pick up. Please pick up. Please pick up.

After then longest 30 seconds of her life, the dial tone stopped and a voice came through the speaker.

'Hello?' Joanne picked up the phone, her voice croaky.

'Joanne! Its me. What's going on?' Eve interrogated her, speaking a million miles a minute.

'Eve... oh baby,' Joanne cried holding back sobs.

'Joanne please tell me,' Eve said tears streaming down her face.

'Baby, your mum... I'm so sorry, sh-she's gone,' Marie sobbed into the phone.

Eve couldn't breathe. The phone slipped from her hands. She sank to the ground.

She screamed. It was filled with grief, sorrow, and unbelievable pain. And then she screamed some more.

Curtis jumped into the booth crouching down to pull Eve into his arms. She could see him talking but could not hear anything over the ringing in her ears. She just gripped onto his shirt in desperation, begging to be told this was a dream – this was a lie.

She saw him reach for the phone and bring it up to his ear. Curtis pulled Eve in closer as Joanne spoke to him. As realisation overcame him as Joanne spoke, Curtis pulled Eve in even closer to his body.

He felt sick as he looked down at Eve's broken form in his arms. It almost seemed as though all of the strength she had built up over the last few months had vanished within a split second. She was more broken in that moment then when he had first found her at his door.

He knew, no matter what he did, there was nothing he could do to make her feel better. But he would be there for her – just like he had promised today and the day he told Eve his feelings for her.