ETHEREAL

10

Rough hands pushed Rosa away from the dining room, screams littering the hallways as she rushed behind amongst the guards who had her by each arm, taking her to her room. Things seemed to go past in a blur, with the young girl being placed onto her bed and the door locked. No one was to enter, no one at all. She sat, paralysed.

Somebody had tried to poison her. Somebody had tried to take her life. Had she done something, she desperately thought. Had she offended someone? Her mind raced in a manner to which she found herself barely breathing, barely being able to keep up with the theories she had begun to conjure. In a small aperture of her mind, she was convinced she had must of upset someone remarkably - she wasn't sure how, when or why, but it had been the only answer. She must have upset someone, for who would do such an act, go as far as taking her life?

It felt like hours of excruciating mental torture, her hands wrapped around her head as she quietly sobbed with her entire body hidden amongst the soft covers of the bed. The same bed she had laid upon so contently that morning, beside the man who promised and vowed to protect her. She knew he would not fail her now, and she knew his absence in the room was for her protection. She tried to cry quietly, indeed, for even at that moment, despite her undeniable fear and pain - she did not want to burden anyone. Despite the trauma she knew would follow, she did not want her new pack to assume her to be weak. She needed to be strong, she knew this - but it was simply too tricky when being weak seemed acceptable in this very second. She allowed herself this luxury, her little body rising and falling with each heartbreaking sob as she held herself, waiting for the comfort of her mate she knew would soon come.

She did not have to wait long for she could hear Dante loudly shouting, in a voice that seemed much huskier, much darker than she had ever heard before. She knew this was the anger many talked about, the rage that once had littered her perception of him and most importantly, the madness that would soon follow. As the voice began to near her room, she could only slightly make out what he was saying to others. Commands of pack members to go here and there, searching for things and whatnot. Her mind raced with so many thoughts that she simply hadn't the energy even to comprehend the words he was exclaiming, but instead she used what she had to get up and shakily wipe her face, her big doe eyes now flushed in red colour due to the severity of her anguish. Her cheeks matched the same hue, whilst her lips now pouted slightly due to the sobs that had left them. She felt awful, rightfully so, and yet she wanted him. Only him.

It was only moments later that the door to their shared bedroom swung open, so harshly that she watched as it hit the wall so hard that its hinges came off. Her wide eyes turned to her mate, who stood in his 6'6 glory shaking in pure anger, staring at her with his mighty blue eyes that had turned to a shade of blue she had never quite seen before. To this she could hardly keep it in, a quiet sob left her lips again as she found herself rushing to him, her arms flying around his waist as she cried in his arms, seeking his comfort like no other. He obliged, picking her up and holding her to his chest so desperately, his own eyes closing as he breathed in her scent so profoundly as though it would be the last time he would ever have the delight of doing so. Reality hit him slightly when he realised this moment might have been stolen from him earlier that night, that someone had planned to steal the very thing away from him that he had wanted from the moment he was able to comprehend it. Someone had tried to steal Rosa, his little Rosa.

"Look at me." He managed to whisper to her, reminding himself that although his rage consumed him - it was her who needed comfort tonight. He needed to be as gentle as ever, as loving as he could be. Rosa had endured something tonight that indeed he had no idea would happen, although he knew he was naive in believing so. He was one of the most powerful alphas known to man, a being with no weakness - although that was the case until he had met his mate that fateful night at the ball. By hurting, or even killing Rosa, would weaken him so much that he questioned whether living would even be an option.