When it was noticed, Liam's mark shocked everyone. The females typically didn't mark the males. Especially not the Alpha. I heard from Mya that he had a lot of explaining to do to his friends at school. The body in the lake was confirmed to be my father. My grandparents took care of the funeral preparations, so I wouldn't have to. After burying him with a proper funeral, it felt like I'd reached some closure on the chapter of my dad's life. I felt more towards Liam after we marked each other, and I could understand more where my father was coming from.

Finally, it was my birthday. Instead of a party, I was being taken deep into the woods of neutral territory. Alpha Connor, Liam, Luna Addie, and Aria were all there. Alpha Connor was leading the way. It would be their first time seeing Aria. I briefly wondered what form she would take, but seeing that this was a serious matter and not a showy one, I suspected her Welsh form. It was almost sunset when we finally got to the location. As soon as we stepped into the clearing, Aria appeared out of thin air.

"Dani... slow as always. Don't worry, that will change. You lucky you didn't start changing on the way here," Aria said as she stood there in front of us with her arms crossed. The Alpha Family all ententes their necks in a bow in a sign of acknowledgement and respect.

"Alpha family, go ahead and shift. Create a boarder near the tree line. It's almost time," Aria ordered. I caught myself rolling my eyes.

"You could be a little nicer. They are here to help after all," I retorted. Aria's eyes came back to me.

"We don't have the time," she answered. Liam stepped forward as Lina Addie and Alpha Connor turned to the tree line.

"Can I stay with her?" Liam asked shyly. Aria smirked at him.

"Dani may love you... But Sahria doesn't give a fuck right now," Aria answered. Liam's eyes widened before he jogged to the tree line too. Aria took my hands and made me sit in the middle of the field.

"Just breathe through the pain. It's going to hit soon," Aria said. As soon as I inhaled, a sharp pain made me stop in my tracks. It felt like the wind had been knocked out of me. Short breaths came out as my eyes watered.

"I'm... not... ready," I said through the breaths. Aria's hands squeezed mine gently, making me aware of her presence again.

"Just breathe," Aria reminded me. I tried, but it felt like my lungs were full of water. Something else snapped causing me to fall over. Aria's hands never left mine as she continued to tell me to breathe. The pain scorched my bones, leaving me in shock from the pain. My wide eyes leaked tears. I wanted to scream but I held it in. Everything was in pain. I felt like I'd been hit by a bus and then a high speed train. The pain felt like it continued for hours before I succumbed to the pain and blacked out.

***

I woke feeling sore and disoriented. I pushed up on my hands slowly with a groan. I felt a hand touch my arm as I was helped to a sitting position. The hand left tingles thought my arm. I reached out and hugged him close to me.

"Liam," I breathed. I was glad to see that he wasn't hurt. "How are you? She didn't hurt you, did she?" I asked as I pulled away to look at him. It was dark, but a light was almost immediately flipped on. I squinted at the sudden light an held my head gently. I had a headache. I focused my energy on making it go away before opening my eyes again.

"Sahria definitely hurt everyone in that clearing yesterday, but I told you I would protect them, and I did. Everyone is healed and fine," Aria said as she walked into the room. I sighed and ran my hand through my tangled hair.

"Yesterday?" I picked out. Aria smirked.

"Yes, you slept all day. You needed it. I actually expected you to sleep longer," Aria said.

"You've been here the whole time?" I asked curiously. Aria nodded.

"I didn't know if you would shift again, but I can go now," she said before disappearing. Liam, who was sitting next to me on the bed, put an arm around my waist.

"It's fine. We're all okay now," Liam tried to assure me. I tried to recall the events but I couldn't. Everything in Sahria's memory was blank to me. I sighed and held out my hand to Liam.

"Show me," I said, taking down my barrier. He hesitated before putting his hand in mine. Everything went black before the memory started.

Liam was watching me shift in the field. He wanted to help but he knew he would just get in the way. After I passed out, Liam couldn't stand by and watch anymore. He rushed forward in wolf form just as the shift was completed.

"I told you to stay back!" Aria yelled at him. My massive all white wolf launched at Liam before he could even turn around. Sahria caught his leg and snapped it making him whimper. Alpha Connor and Luna Addis's wolves immediately jumped into action.

"Don't interfere!" Aria tried yelling at them. The shock of her order made them freeze, making them easy targets. Sahria got her claws into Luna's hind leg. Alpha Connor stepped in to keep Sahria from hurting his mate. Sahria snapped at his front leg, but he stepped out of the way just in time. He moved to try to pin Sahria but she was bigger and stronger than him. Sahria's jaw clamped on his tail. Finally, Aria found an opening and pressed her hand against Sahria's head, causing her to collapse in a state of deep sleep. Aria healed everyone as Sahria slept in the middle of the clearing. After everyone was healed, they shifted back, putting their clothes back on. After another ten minutes, Sahria conceded, leaving me still sleeping and naked in the middle of the field.

I didn't even want to know what Liam was thinking about that, so I let go of his hand. I sighed and waited for my vision to dehaze.

"I'm sorry," I apologized. Liam's hand held my cheek as he kissed my head.

"We're all fine. I'm just glad that you're okay. Sahria is straight savage," Liam said. I sighed and rested my head against his as my hand held his.

"The worst is over," I breathed.

Oh how wrong I was...