It took a while to sort out the situation with Emma and Jonah. Amara met their mom Lauren and their dad Ezequiel Williams. Informing them of how much help Jonah had been seemed to lessen their punishment but she suspects they won't be roaming free for a while. Despite being woken up in the middle of the night to her dragging their soaking wet children home, they were warm and welcoming.

Amara is just glad that's done and over with. She needs a shower, warm dry clothes, and a good night's rest. She remembers to grab her hidden goodies from the fair before walking in. It's funny, it doesn't even feel like that happened today with how the last few hours unfolded. The pack house is quiet as expected except for an Enforcer here or there.

She can sense Maddox’s presence somewhere in the house, most likely his office. Which means things must have been dealt with swiftly without a fight. When had it become so easy for her to sense the Alpha? She is sure this acute awareness had not been there before. Not to this extent at least. That will be a thought for tomorrow cause she currently can’t be bothered to think about it too closely.

On her way up the stairs, she passes Carter and he looks her over. "I heard you had an eventful night."

"Dips in rivers, hiding from intruders, dragging children around. Sounds like just another day to me" she jokes halfheartedly.

A soft smile crosses his face and it feels nice to break the tension she had been feeling since first catching the foreign scent. "You should shower and get in bed. We already talked to Lyam and things are under control so there's no need to worry. We'll talk come morning."

"Thanks, getting some sleep sounds amazing right about now."

Carter places a gentle hand on her shoulder and gives it a light squeeze "You did good kid, you deserve it" Then he walks off leaving her to finish her trek up.

She did well. Carter thinks she handled things well. That means more to her than he probably realizes. Honestly, she was just reacting to things at the moment as they came. Dumping her bag on her dresser, she undresses and jumps in the shower. The warm water soothes her tense muscles and she audibly sighs at how good it feels to not be freezing wet anymore.

Usually, the shower is the place where she does a lot of her thinking but this time she just empties her mind of any lingering thoughts and enjoys the repetitive motion of washing her hair. When she does eventually emerge from the misty depths of the bathroom now dry, she grabs some sleep shorts and an oversized t-shirt to throw on.

Amara makes sure her hair is detangled then smooths on some leave-in conditioner and curl definer followed by an oil. With a large satin-lined scrunchie in one hand and a silk scarf in the other to get ready to wrap her hair for the night, she stares at her bed and feels the pull of sleep but can’t shake the restless feeling.

Amara had expected to at least have to report in to Maddox. Of course, she should have figured it wouldn't be necessary. After all, anything she could tell them they would have already gotten from Lyam. Still, she feels uneasy for some reason and the only way to fix that is to go see Madd really quickly. Just pop in and ask what happened. Hopefully, he's still up and in his office. If not then she'll come right back and get to snoozing.

With her mind made up, there's no turning back so she sets the scrunchie and scarf aside. She treads lightly not wanting to wake anyone. Or worse, have someone catch her and ask what she's doing. She will never be able to admit that, to put it plainly, she just wants to see Maddox. His presence is comforting and despite Carter's reassurance that all is well, she still needs to hear it from the Alpha himself.

Now standing in front of the heavy doors that lead into his office, she wonders when she went crazy. Why did she let herself come here? Her face is warm now realizing how much she didn't think this through. She is barefoot, in her pajamas, coming to see the Alpha without any actual good reason. With a deep breath, she knocks on the door and Immediately gets told to enter.

There he is, looking composed as ever sitting on the edge of his desk that points towards the door. There are papers in his hand that he sets down to turn his attention to her. Amara does her best to appear calm and composed. "Hello Amara, I would have thought you'd be in bed by now. Is everything alright?" His voice is deep and alluring as ever, saying her name like a caress. Something she is not surely fabricating in her mind.

She approaches slowly, attempting to hide her embarrassment and act casual "I ran into Carter, he told me everything went fine but I still wanted to come to see you and make sure everyone was alright." She's close enough now to see his eyes darken slightly but the smile on his face is easy and relaxed. "No one was hurt and we were able to handle things without too much trouble. There's no need to worry little wolf."

She's not sure if it was relief or insanity that spurred on her next action. Without a thought, she flung herself forward and wrapped her arms around his neck in a hug. When she realizes what she had done she's tempted to step back and start apologizing. Instead, she stays there figuring what's done is done. Might as well enjoy the moment of feeling his warmth against her before he pushes her away.

To her surprise, the push never came. Instead, Maddox encircled her with his arms. One hand rubs her back in tiny circles while the other strokes her neck. "I'm so happy everyone is okay” she mumbles but truly means it. The anxiety of how things would unfold had been eating away at her. Amara wants to ask what happened to the ulfhednar, why he was here, and what he wanted. All of that takes a back seat though as she relaxes in her Alpha’s arms.

Madd shifts positions slightly and she is now between his legs somewhat sitting on his thigh "What were you doing so far out there with Lyam? I didn’t know you two were so close." she will herself not to tense at the mention of Lyam and her possibly having a thing after the awkwardness from earlier in the night.

"I wasn't with Lyam. Well, I was, but I didn't go out there with him. I had gone to the fair with Sina. We were supposed to have a movie night once we got back with a couple of other people including Ly but it was late when she dropped me off. I decided to take a walk before calling it a night but forget to let the rest know the plans had changed. Ly got worried and went looking for me. He found me and well, you know the rest."

She feels his nod but stays quiet for a full minute before speaking again "Sina's mother is our pack doctor and her father handles all our legal needs. They're a nice family. I'm glad you’ve found a true friend within the pack."

"Yeah, she's pretty great. Everything here is." Her comment makes Maddox squeeze for a second then resume his light caresses.

"Is there a reason you insist on roaming around at night without letting anyone know?" the comment is half teasing, alluding to their own previous encounter in the woods. Huh, she supposes it could be considered a pattern in behavior.

Delicately, she brushes her fingers over the back of the Alpha’s neck and into his hair while she ponders how to answer. "It's just how I've always done it." The answer is lame but it happens to be the truth. Their lifestyle meant she grew up with a lot of freedom, able to roam around. No one but her parents would be wondering where she was.

Madd’s fingers on her back may have a little to do with her current lack of brain function and inability to give a more detailed answer. The exhaustion from the day paired with coming down from an adrenaline high certainly doesn’t help the situation. In any event, Maddox appears to have accepted her response. "You will always be free to roam little wolf, just remember we are here waiting for you to come home."

The sentiment brings so much comfort but instead of saying anything, she simply presses firmly against the back of his neck with her fingers. Those are the last words exchanged between them at this unearthly hour where all is still. she can't bring herself to pull away even when she feels the seductive call of sleep pulling her under