Aiden P.O.V

I stayed awake a while longer. I listened to the sound of her soft breathing as she slept, the smell of her shampoo lingering in the air.

As angry as I was at Jason forcing all of this on me so quickly, I could feel her nervousness toward the whole situation. It was easy to be angry at her when she was always around, but there were moments when I felt guilty for what I was doing.

The thought that she probably felt I hated her crossed my mind, and made me feel surprisingly anxious. Did she think that? Was she going to leave?

I felt stupid thinking these things after I'd told her I wanted her to leave, and denied she was my mate.

At first it wasn't hard convincing myself she wasn't, but the more time I spent with her the harder it became to deny. I now knew without a doubt that she was my mate, which made me feel even worse about myself, and the way I'd been treating her.

I realized my anger was with Jason, and even that anger was irrational. Everything he'd said to me was true, it was just hard to hear. I sat in my chair for a long while thinking about everything, and how to deal with it in the morning.

I still didn't know how I would run my pack without my eyesight, and the thought was overwhelming. I figured I'd done enough thinking for one night, and decided it was time to try and get some sleep.

As I pulled back my covers, I stopped. The sound of Alice's soft breath drew me to her side. I kneeled beside her, finding the edge of the blanket and pulling it up a little further over her. She continued to sleep peacefully as I tucked the blanket closer to her. The room was freezing, and I figured she may get cold.

Softly, I touched her hair and kissed her forehead, hoping she wouldn't wake.

"I'm sorry." I whispered.

Alice P.O.V

"I'm sorry." He whispered softly.

I was shocked when those two words woke me, but I tried to remain still. As I listened to him shuffle across the room to his own bed, I silently prayed that he would be feeling the same way in the morning. He had sounded sincere, but I hadn't expected a breakthrough so quickly.

I tried not to get ahead of myself, or be too optimistic, but with the feeling of his lips lingering on my forehead, and those two words circling my brain, going back to sleep was the last thing on my mind.

Hours later I finally slept, exhaustion refusing to allow me to keep my eyes open for even a moment longer.

The sound of my ringtone startled me in the morning. My ringtone played at its maximum volume and my blurry eyes and sleepy arms struggled to get a hold of the obnoxious thing.

"Dang it!" I shouted, after knocking the phone in the floor and falling out of bed after it.

I hear a chuckle come from the other side of the room and as I laid in a heap on the floor, my comforter wrapped around me and hair over my eyes, I was slightly thankful Aiden couldn't see me right now.

"Hello?" Spoke my groggy voice into the phone.

"Al, I'm sorry for calling so early its just really important." The worried voice that Celia spoke with worried me, and I quickly got out of the floor, sitting on my bed.

"Celia? Whats wrong?" I asked quickly.

"I don't want to worry you, nothing is for sure wrong, I just wanted you to know whats happening." She answered.

"We've had a couple attacks.. Nothing serious, just a couple rogues." Her voice told me that wasn't all that had happened, and I was suddenly very worried.

"Celia, what are you not telling me?" I asked cautiously.

I heard a soft sob come from her side of the phone. "I think theres something wrong with the baby." She cried.

"What?! Celia! Oh my gosh, why are you thinking that?" I asked quickly.

"I've been passing out a lot, and my Gift has been acting strange. I haven't had a lot of pain, but I've just got a bad feeling." She whispered.

"Have you talked to Luca?" I asked softly, fear for my friend clouding my thoughts on how to reply.

'Yes. We've been to so many pack doctors, none have been able to tell us anything." She sighed.

"Your Gift is strong, Ce. And Luca has the same Gift, maybe the baby is just extra strong. I mean your mom may have had the same things happen when she was pregnant with you." I reassured her.

"Yeah, you're probably right." She replied, her tone sounding more relaxed. "I hadn't really thought of that. I wish my mom was here so I could know for sure. Its been worrying me so much lately."

"Its natural to worry, you're gonna be a great mom, Ce." I smiled into the phone. "I'm sure everything is fine, but if you need me, just tell me and I'll come home." I told her seriously.

"I know." I could hear the smile in her voice as she replied. "I knew you would be able to make me feel better. Luca's probably going to be jealous it wasn't him." She laughed. "Thank you, Al. I've gotta go but I'll talk to you later, ok?"

"Alright, talk to you later. Try not to stress." I reminded her.

"I'm gonna be a mom, I can't help but stress." She laughed before saying goodbye and ending the call.

"Who was that?" Aiden asked curiously from the other side of the room. I smiled at his interest in the conversation.

"That was Celia, my best friend." I answered.

"Celia as in the Silver Claw Luna, who brought the Alpha back to life?" He asked with a shocked look. I mentally laughed. It seemed everyone knew that story, even people who never left their rooms.

"Yep." I replied, making my bed.

"Alice?" Aiden asked seriously.

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry." He said quietly. "I know I've been putting you through a lot lately.. Its just.. Its hard. I'm going to try though, I really am.."

A smiled at his words.

It would take time, but this small victory meant the world to me.