Analise's POV

I ran and kept running until my feet gave up and I fell on my knees. Tears fell freely from my eyes. I was panting for breath as I looked around me when a I heard a loud growl. They were still behind me. Gathering all the strength, I scurried to my knees and kept going when I saw faint silhouettes standing in the distance.

Relief flooded through me as I neared them. I let out a shaky breath as the familiar faces of my family came in my line of vision. The relief was soon replaced by fear when I saw their face contort to one of anger and hatred. They were all smiling wickedly at my weak, trembling form.

"Help me" I said in a faint whisper and an echo of evil laughs resonated in my ears.

"It is all because of you. You deal with it."

"You are just a burden"

"Why should we help someone weak like you" Their mocking voice echoed in my ears. I felt my heart clench as they all walked away from me, laughing at my misery. I could hear the growls, like the ticking of the clock. Each new growl I heard, I felt more numb than I was. I no longer felt anything. No fear, no sadness, no happiness, no excitement. Nothing. I felt like a living corpse as I welcome my fate with open arms.

I felt someone touch my face as I opened my eyes to see the face of none other than my mate. Unlike my family, he had a look of adoration on him. His eyes were shining in the darkness and he looked like the only light in the dark prison I was trapped in.

"You can do it." I heard him say as he got up again and walked away.

"Don't leave!" I shouted and he turned back to face me. "Please"

"I won't." He reassured me "I am waiting for you. I know you will fight this" He smiled at me as he continued to where he was going.

With his words echoing in my head, I no longer cared about what others thought about me. What they said. As long as he believed in me, I would never give up. I would not let them bring me down. I will rise, even if I am alone because I know I will never actually be alone. He will be waiting for me.

He has to.

The bloodied nightmare I was trying to escape from was now in front of me. Their void eyes stared right in mine. The countless lifeless bodies and wolves moved forward, wearing a menacing look on their face. I got up. Using all the strength I had in me, I let all my powers out. I watched as each bodies disappeared, one by one. Their body started to fade away one by one in the form of dust. I let out a breath of relief as the last dust particles flew away in the air, taking with it the nightmare that was haunting me.

With a small smile, I turned around and saw Alexander looking at me with a smile of his own. His eyes were filled with pride and adoration as he said. "You did it." I sprinted towards him but stopped dead in my tracks as I saw his body fade away as dust particles. My heart clenched at the sight and I froze in my spot. Out of nowhere, the ground opened up and sucked me into an endless abyss. I screamed as tears came back to my eyes and the scene of losing Alexander replayed in my head. "Nooooo"

I screamed and screamed as every second I fell deeper in the dark pit, never reaching the end. Never getting out of this nightmare. Of this torture tearing my heart apart. I heard a voice in the distance followed by the feeling of being shaken. The distant voice became clearer and I heard my name. The shaking increased and my eyes flew open. I sat up straight on the bed, breathing ragged and my skin was clammy because of the sweat. Warm tears ran freely down my cheeks as I sobbed. I was met with Alexander's worried face.

The image of him disappearing into dust particles flashed in my mind and I sobbed louder. Seeing my state getting worse, he pulled me against him and wrapped his hands around my shaking form. "Hey it's fine. It over." He said in a low, calming voice. His hand drew small circles on my back and the other one played with my hair. I wrapped my hands around his torso and let all the tears fall. "Shh. It's ok. You are ok." He whispered sweet things to me and rested his chin on my head. He tightened his hold around me. "It's fine. It was just a dream." My sobs stopped and turned into heavy, shaky breaths. He held me close to him as I slowly gathered my thoughts.

Alexander was safe and right next to me.

I let out a breath of relief wash through me as that thought settled in my mind. I released my hold around him and we slowly pulled away from each other. I instantly missed the warm, safe and comforting feeling I had when he held me in his arms. His hands that were around me found their way to my face. He wiped the tears with his thumb before removing the hair that were stuck to my face due to the sweat. He cupped the side of my face. "Better?" He asked while his eyes assessed my face.

"Hmm. Sorry to have woken you up" I mumbled as I averted my gaze from his. I was feeling really awkward for waking up and crying like a baby. To top it all, I ruined his sleep.

"It's fine. You should go back to sleep now." He said and proceeded to go back to sleep on the floor but I stopped him by the wrist. He looked at me with a raised brow. "Umm. Could you sleep next to me? Please?" I added the last part in a small voice.

For a while, everything around us went silent. So silent that I could hear whatever was happening outside. I swallowed the lump that was forming in my throat as the feeling of my blood rushing to my cheek accompanied by the heating of my skin kept increasing in me. Just as I was about to tell him to just forget that I asked, he answered. "Okay."

Just one word. His one word was enough to make that feeling of embarrassment I was feeling to just go away along with the fear from the nightmare. I moved towards the other side of the bed as he got under the covers next to me. I laid down next to him, facing the other way. Never among my weird thoughts had I ever imagined that I would come to this mission we had, with Alexander. I never imagined that we would have to stay in a motel. To share a room. To share a bed. None. I had expected none of them but yet they happened and a small part of me was thankful it did.

I felt the bed dip and I felt him move closer to me, his chest pressed against my back as his hands snaked around my waist, pulling me closer. Not having any second thoughts, I turned on the other side and wrapped my hands around his torso and buried my head in the crook of his neck. I felt him tighten his hold around me and I let out a shaky breath. My heart was beating at a fast rate due to the position we were in. "Thank you." I managed to say.

He hummed in response and placed his chin on my head. Once again he started playing with my hair. "Go to sleep now." I hummed as I was not able to form any sentence or even a word. I closed my eyes and inhaled his relaxing scent and waited for sleep to come again.

I felt my eyes become heavier with each passing second. The last thing I remember before falling asleep was a small, light, feathery kiss being placed on my forehead and a small smile broke on my lips. I could say that, that was probably the best sleep I have had in ages now.

Being held in his arms, his arms around me like a protective shield, his scent surrounding me, his soothing voice whispering things in my ears, his hands playing with my hair and his fingers drawing circles on my back made me feel a feeling. A feeling I had yearned for all these years. The feeling of being protected, loved, cherished and valued. The feeling of home.