Battle Scars

Chapter Twenty-Three

***Alberto's POV***

Nell was trying her hardest to keep an eye on Frankie, while Oliver, Simon, and myself sat in the office going over the recording. I wanted to cry hearing the pain in my mate's voice. Oliver thought we had everything we needed to help Zack and the others get the charges dropped, and he was taking the recording to his bosses and the district attorney to prove that Casey had been planning on endangering Frankie's life. We just needed Nell to tell them that she heard Casey threatening to kill her, and it could help save them all from trouble.

Once the recording was transferred from Simon's phone to a CD for Oliver to take with him, I went in search of my mate. She was nowhere in the house, but the truck was still in the driveway. I tapped into my communication link with Nell, and learned that Frankie went for a walk. I was scared knowing that she hadn't let Nell go with her, and although we had defeated Yellow Rock, I didn't know what dangers were creeping around our borders.

When I finally found her, she was sitting on the beach that I had taken her to. "Frankie, let me help you, baby. Let me help you feel better about what you're going through. It's killing me to see you in so much pain." I pleaded with her as I sat down next to her. "Tell me what I can do."

"Just hold me." She whispered. "I just need to feel your skin against mine. I'm burning up with desire for you, and as much as I want to be sad and upset about what happened, this heat is just making me crazy with lust. Let me forget everything that's happening; just make love to me and make me forget."

She stood to her feet and slowly stripped out of her clothes. I stood to join her, and pulled her naked body against me and kissed her with a hard and demanding kiss. "Anything you need; anything for you."

I felt her hands tugging on my shirt, and I let her strip me down to my birthday suit. An alarm bell was going off in my head, but I ignored it as let Frankie lead me into the water. Once our bodies were submerged in the cool lake water, she wrapped her arms around my neck, and her legs around my waist. Her lips crashed into mine as she kissed me with everything she had. All of her emotions flowed through that kiss, and I was drowning in her sorrows with her.

I made love to Frankie in the lake, and listening to her moaning out my name was enough to bring tears to my eyes. "I love you, sweetheart. No matter what's going on in that head of yours, just never forget that I love you." I told her in between kisses as I lost myself inside her.

"I love you, too." Tears were flowing from her eyes. "Take me home, Alberto. I just want you to make love to me all night. Make me forget."

I did exactly what she asked. I held her in my arms all night. I kissed away her tears every time them made an appearance, and I made love to her over and over again. Neither of us mentioned that fact that we weren't using protection, or that we had just sealed our fate. Even if I hadn't gotten her pregnant when the condom broke, it was pretty much guaranteed that she would be after an entire night of passion.

It was early morning when she finally fell asleep in my arms, and I just laid awake watching her sleep. I was afraid to let myself drift off, because I didn't know if she'd wake up and try to leave the safety of our bedroom like she had when she decided to take off to Wilmont to face her past. As torn up as she was about what her family had done to her, I was afraid that she'd try to finish what I hadn't let her. Instead, I tapped into my mind link and made sure that I had Pack members posted around the house and property. 'If any of you see Frankie trying to leave this property without me, you are to stop her. If she manages to get away, you follow her. It is your job to keep your Luna safe.'

I climbed out of bed after a couple hours and made my way down to the kitchen, where I found Nell perched on a stool drinking coffee. "Morning, Alpha." She smiled brightly. "How's Frankie?"