The trauma from the whole ordeal finally caught up with me shortly after. The rest of the night was a whirlwind of commotion - I pretty much collapsed in Levi's arms, but kept fading in and out of consciousness.

Dying really takes it out of you. Trust me.

When I woke properly, it felt as if I had been sleeping for days. I opened my eyes groggily to find myself curled up in Levi's arms on his massive bed.

"You're here," I smiled, my voice croaky and dry.

"Of course I am," he stroked my hair, brushing it off my face.

I sighed, content.

Then it kind of hit me.

"Holy shit," I sat upright, knocking his arms back.

"Danielle."

"Oh my god," I gasped.

"Danni."

"I...you... I..."

"Danielle. Look at me."

I turned around, meeting his eyes. They were practically drowning in guilt. "I am so, so sorry."

"What?"

"I should have known. I should have stopped him. They never should have been able to take you. It's all my fault, and I don't blame you if you can't forgive me."

Oh hell no. I crawled towards him, positioning myself so I was practically sitting on him, and took his face between my hands.

"This was not your fault, don't for a second let yourself believe that. You saved me."

"You died," he whispered, leaning into my hand and closing his eyes.

"But I'm alive. I'm here. You're here. Everything is okay."

Then, because I could, I kissed him. And then some.

--

So it turned out I had slept for about two days. They'd put an IV in and had been rehydrating me. I spent a few hours doing medical tests, and it turned out my health was better than ever.

I felt good. I felt amazing, actually.

I had a shower, and noticed the scar on my wrist had changed shape. It was no longer a little lopsided circle, it now was a beautifully formed pattern, snaking the circumference of my wrist. I turned the shower off, wrapped myself in a towel and called out to Levi.

He literally wouldn't leave me alone. Not that I was complaining, I was kind of digging this new heightened connection.

He was there in an instant, looking like he was ready to fight anyone or anything.

"Woah there, not an emergency," I chuckled.

He relaxed, then noticed what I was 'wearing'. A smirk crept onto his face, and he slowly scanned his eyes up and down.

"I would disagree," he teased. "There's way too much coverage in here."

"Stop!" I gasped, laughing. "No, I have a question. What happened?"

I held my wrist out, and he gently look it, brushing his fingers over the new mark. His fingers on that part of my skin was like electricity, and I gasped. He smiled, kissing the mark.

"I didn't think it worked..." He mused. "Julian bit you there, which is what killed you. You can't even touch another man's mate's mark, let alone mark her."

I nodded, remembering the excruciating pain when he bit me.

"I couldn't stand to leave you with his mark on you, so I marked you myself. You had died, so I didn't think it worked. That explains so much."

I flashed back to when I woke up all those days ago, the world seeming new and heightened. The connection between Levi and myself was so intense and so new that I couldn't even believe I'd been missing out on that.

"I feel so different," I commented, turning to stare at our reflections in the bathroom mirror. We looked so right together, despite him being as blindingly beautiful as a 1000 watt bulb. But then again, I was probably biased.

He chuckled. "That's because you're a luna now."

"I thought I already was?"

"Yeah, but it's official now." He pushed my hair to the side and kissed the space between my neck and shoulder. I shut my eyes, unable to speak for a moment.

"I'm still human right?" I mumbled. He laughed and pulled back.

"Yeah, you are. Trust me, you'd know if you weren't. When you're ready, everyone downstairs wants to see you."

I nodded and shooed him out, brushing out my hair and changing into some clothes someone had left by the sink. I looked at my appearance in the mirror, expecting eye bags and shallow skin, but was again shocked to see a glowing, healthy and happy girl looking back at me. It was like I was a different person.

Smiling widely, I felt waves of happiness soar through me.

"Ready?" Levi asked when I practically skipped out of the bathroom.

He pulled me to his side, his arm around my waist.

I had barely reached the bottom step before I had the wind knocked out of me. I caught a quick glimpse of blonde hair, and the all too familiar sweet perfume wrapped around me.

"Don't ever do that to us again!" Estelle groaned, her voice croaky but happy.

I hugged her back, grinning. "It wasn't exactly on purpose," I scoffed. "Thanks for helping find me."

"Thanks for not dying. Or, you know, for coming back to life." She pulled back and held me at arm's length. "Wow, you look good."

Someone cleared their throat, and I turned to see my older brother.

"Alex," I breathed happily, tears pricking in my eyes. I hugged him tight, and he exhaled shakily.

"You really fucking scared me, Dan."

"I'm sorry," I whispered.

"God, don't apologise. Just don't get kidnapped again." He chuckled slightly, relief clear in his voice. "And tell your boyfriend that next time something happens to you, he could actually keep me in the loop?"

"You didn't tell Alex what was happening?" I asked Levi, shocked.

He looked guilty. "I wasn't uh, in the right headspace to think straight."

Estelle scoffed. "Honestly Danni, it's amazing he was even able to remember to keep breathing. Complete mess."

I guess I couldn't really judge him. I was a mess myself, and I couldn't imagine what would happen if the roles were reversed.

"Wait, Alex... you know? About all these guys?"

He shrugged. "Well I mean, it doesn't take a genius to figure it out." I glared at him, knowing that he knew I couldn't figure it out myself.

"C'mon, there's some people from the pack who want to say hi." Estelle grabbed my hand and pulled me out the door. A huge cheer rose from the hundreds of people on the lawn. I laughed, covering my mouth.

I was no longer afraid of these people, in fact I felt like there was a long, unbreakable string tying me to each and every one of them. These people were more than family.

Levi was by my side, and kissed me so deep that the whole world fell away, then fell together again in a perfect arrangement.

I guess I could live with this.