Her whimpers feel like music to my ears. She has made a sound as I snuggle her into me, giving her my warmth and wanting more than anything to let her feed off my warmth.

I haven't been able to let go of her, because I'm still trying to wrap my head around the fact that she is here, in my arms. Not only that, my father is here, he has returned, with my baby.

Everything is a bit too much but I am basking into the joyful feeling of having my baby with me. He hasn't said anything apart from outside, when I stepped closer to him and he called out my name. Breathing almost felt near impossible and I knew that I had to get ahold of myself, in order to make the next step.

I was worried when he called Ulana by my name. At some point he had hallucinated and thought that she was me. I had to call him and help him see me and not me in my daughter for a while. He looked so vulnerable and almost broke down when he realized that I had grown up so much, that now I stood infront of him as a young woman.

I could sense his protection grow a tad bit, when everything clicked in him that who he held in his arms, was his granddaughter. Handing her over to me was a bit challenging because of the attachment he had on her. I sensed it to be really strong.

Taking her into my arms felt like I was complete once again and warmth replaced the cold, that had started to hold me hostage. I went through a mixture of emotions tonight and I am still, as I sit in my room, laid back onto the headboard with my baby resting on my chest.

Nana almost had a heart attack due to seeing my father and more so Ulana in my arms. I had to be strong for everyone as the level of vulnerability in the room was too high. Thankfully my grandmother pulled herself together and took charge of the whole situation, giving me room to focus on my baby.

I couldn't fall asleep after what had happened, Ulana being in my arms once again gave me reason to not even close my eyes. Two or so hours have passed and we'd had Ulana and dad taken care off, all fed, bathed and warm.

When she opened her beautiful eyes and stared up at me, that almost brought me to my knees. The best for me was when I had my nose nuzzled against hers and again, she never failed to make my heart to flip as that smile touched her pure face. I had no trouble feeding her as nature took its course and like the first time, I had the priviledge of providing for my baby.

Now she is asleep and comfy, right where she belongs yet how much she has been sleeping, truly puts trouble to my heart. The knock on my bedroom door pulls me out of my staring. Nana enters into the room with a few things in hand.

" It's still an image I can't get out of my head. She's back in your arms my dear Catherine." She says, joining me on the bed.

I glance down to my baby, lightly tracing my finger along her soft skin.

" I can't find it in me to tear my eyes away from her."

" It's only natural. "

" She's so beautiful." I murmur, taking her all in.

" Just like her mother." A soft smile takes over my face as I glance up at her.

We stare at each other for a moment, feeding off each other's relief and happiness but another part of us is concerned, when we think of my father.

" He's been through a lot. Years have passed dear and a great challenge awaits us." She says.

" He is lost and troubled but in Ulana, he feels home."

" Her presence is his safe haven. She is a part of you dear, that part is what kept him sane around her."

" Is he asleep?" I ask.

" Yes, thankfully. " She sighs.

Looking at her, a small frown plays on her features and thus the result of how troubled she is, shows.

" Did he mention anything about Ulana?"

"He's been silent, though once or twice, he murmured your name. It's as if he had trained himself to keep on saying that name."

" Years have passed nana yet the effects of whatever he went through are still raw. We can't push, demand or expect too many results quickly. Time, patience and endurance, we will have to bear it all."

" I know dear, but for now, at this moment in time, we should be celebrating the return of our little princess." She says, smiling at Ulana.

" Well, it wont be much of a celebration without....." I am cut off by my heart picking up speed in its beat.

I glance down to my baby before shifting her in my arms and getting off the bed. Nana follows suit and without a word, both of us leave my room.

In the midst of taking the last step, I hear the sound of the car door being slammed shut, before the sound of multiple footsteps right outside the house and then a very hard knock sounds on the door.

Though impatient, he still has a sense of respect for my nana and manners too.

" Let me not keep him waiting." Nana says, quickly walking past me and making her way to answer the door.

" Is she okay, is my mate....." He stops talking and just then, I know that he can feel another presence.

Her scent has touched him.

In answer to his question, I take the last step and then walk out into view, no longer as I alone but with his heir in my arms. I notice that he has come with Gamma Evan.

His eyes snap to her before glancing between us, a mixture of emotions flashing on his face. Every step he takes towards us is careful and cautious, his eyes never tearing from her little body.

' This is real my love. Our Ulana is here, right within your grasp. Look at her.' I mindlink him, piercing it into him that who he sees is real and it's not him hallucinating.

His lips part when he gets the full picture of her sleeping face. His fingers reach out to touch her skin yet he retracts, his hand trembles as he tries to hold it in and not break before all of us.

Not wanting him to hold anything in but to let it all out, I hold her out to him. " Hold her Mica, hold our little one. She needs her father." I whisper out.

He takes her in his arms and that's when a tear, slips out and trails down my face.

"My baby..." He murmurs. " Ulana." He tests out her name on his lips, tracing his finger along her face, getting a feel of her soft skin.

He does all he can to hold it in yet at the last minute, everything in him cracks and he collapses to his knees, tucking her to his chest. He buries his face in her blanket.

His lips move in a silent cry as his tears follow. A whimper breaks out from within him and that seems to pierce the last bubble of strength we all had, the room being thick with emotion.

Not a single eye remains dry as we watch the strongest alpha known in our generation, fall apart in the presence of his offspring.

His heart is being sown back together and the dark hole he'd almost let his foot slip into, is being replaced by the light she carries.

I get down on my knees and lean closer to him, burying my face in the crook of his neck, listening to him murmur something to Ulana, something that feels like a punch to my stomach.

" I'm sorry, I'm so sorry my baby." He whimpers, rocking back and forth.

                        ******

He hasn't let her out of his sight, it's like the first time he saw her, being in awe. I have been watching him the whole time, not having the heart to disturb him. He is so inlove with her that it is simply evident on his face. It is a beautiful sight to see.

" She's so precious." He mumbles, caressing her cheek with his thumb.

I rise from my chair and walk on over to stand closer to him. I run my fingers through his hair, leaning down to kiss the top of his head.

Before I can take a step back, he pulls me back to him, where I stand between his legs and he wraps his arms around my middle, staring up at me.

"My belle, I love you."

" I love you." I lean down, connecting our lips together, letting them linger against each other for a moment before I lean back, smiling down at him.

" Will you finally tell me who else is here?" He asks after some time, his eyes searching my own.

" Someone I've been longing to see for years. My father."

He doesn't say anything but stares at me.

" I discovered him in the forest with Ulana, hours ago."

" Did he do something?" He asks.

I pull out of his hold.

" He protected her." I say, feeling a little offended by his question.

" No, no baby I didn't mean it like that." He turns me back around to face him.

He sighs, cradling my face. " I'm just concerned, look, I'm sorry for how this came out......"

" She is a part of me and that is what has drawn him to her. He is attached to her."

" Has he said anything about -"

" No." I shake my head." He's been silent and has let us take care of him. At first he did not recognise me, he thought Ulana was me." He frowns.

"Do you think he has lost his memory?"

" We can't determine anything for now." I say.

" Okay. It's late and we should - "
The small cries of my baby interrupt him and both of us rush over to her.

I pick her up and cradle her to my chest, snuggling her into my arms. When her eyes flutter open, I swear that both of us gasp at the same time, awwing at the sight of her looking up at us.

" Hello baby, hello my little butterfly. It's so good to see you." I say to her, leaning down to nuzzle our noses together and when leaning back, a lazy smile takes over her face.

Gosh, how I missed that smile.

" My little princess. Daddy and mommy love you." Mica says, placing a kiss on her forehead.

She soon starts whining and crying.

" What's wrong baby, are you hungry?....Lets feed you shall we?" I say, taking a seat on the bed.

I give a grateful smile to Mica when he places a light blanket on my shoulder, draping it over both my chest and Ulana's head as I feed her.

" You don't have to stay." I tell him.

" I don't want to miss a thing."

A small smile touches my lips at his commitment. Tearing my eyes away from Mica, I glance down at my little one, talking to her and whispering words of love. I sense it, that she also feeds off hearing my voice.

When I am done and have fixed myself, I burp her, placing a kiss on her temple and burying my nose into her neck, loving her scent.

" My little butterfly, mommy loves you." I murmur, before humming a tune, softly rubbing her back.

Him staring makes me to glance up at him. I realize that I had been so invested into my time with Ulana that I had forgotten that he's been watching.

His eyes twinkle with awe and concentration on both Ulana and I.

" What is it my love?" I ask, looking at him.

"Nothing." He says, yet the small pleased smile on his face tells me otherwise.

" I think we have time with her to make up for."

" 3 weeks will never compare to the rest of our lives." I tell him.

" I know that we have alot to be thankful for, but do know that I wont simply forget these past 3 weeks of toture." He says, looking me straight in the eyes. " I will make someone pay and I mean anyone who had a hand in this."

His words hold promise. A deadly one that I can't respond to right now. The silence is fastly reaching intensity and he seems to realise this when he sighs and says, " I need to have a word with Evan." He says, rising to his feet.

" I know that you want him to keep an eye on my father." I say to him before he leaves, making him to pause on his steps for a moment before leaving.

I take a breath, looking down at my little girl. She looks so peaceful right now as she sleeps but within, I worry.

" I will always protect you my little butterfly." I mumble before kissing her small hand.

I perk up when I hear the sound of a car outside, this making me to head out of the room. I had called Ronan and told him that we needed him here. I believe those words were reason enough to make him drive out here in the middle of the night.

I enter into the living room at the exact moment in which Evan heads on to open the front door, while Mica takes a seat on the arm of the chair.

As if the scene is repeated, Ronan is quick to take notice of not only me but Ulana who is in my arms. A deep frown has plasted itself onto his face as he comes my way. Stephanie follows behind.

" Catherine?" He breathes out, glancing between Ulana and I. " Is that.....?"

Stephanie gasps, her hand covering her mouth.

The sudden sound of glass breaking upstairs interrupts what was surely promising, to be yet another emotional moment.

All heads snap towards the stairs. My lips part as a cold sensation trickles down both my chest and spine. I feel my lips release two words in one accord with my nana, who'd come out of the kitchen. " He's gone."

As if set into motion, we all find ourselves moving about without question. Mica and Evan rush upstairs and I neither wait for them to come back downstairs just to confirm my words. I place Ulana into Stephanie's hands for awhile, before dragging Ronan out the door by arm.

My grandmother's eyes had spoken clearly as I'd passed a glance her way before dragging Ronan out. ' Go find him.'

" Can you tell me what the fu-"

" Our father is back." Those words slap him shut and he just stands there, staring at me without blinking.

I can't even understand how it's possible that he's missed our father's scent.

" Time is of the essence Ronan, lets go!" I demand.

He nods silently and stiffly, though still shook by my announcement.

I look away from him as he changes into his wolf. When I feel a nudge on my arm, I turn to face him, running my fingers through his soft fur coat once under his ear, as a form of comfort before climbing on his back and chasing after our father's scent.

It's not long or seconds pass before I feel both Ryker and Evan's wolves join us, all for us in search of my father. I hold on tight on Ronan's wolf's coat and lean my face close to his back as I dig deep into my senses, wanting to rely on them so as to find my father.

A sliver of alertness brings me to attention, making me to tug on his fur a bit, just to make him stop. When he pulls to a stop, far into the clearing yet close to the forest, both my mate and our gamma does too.

I quickly get off Ronan's back before walking a bit further from them but all too soon, a warning growl from Ryker, pulls me to a stop.

Glancing over my shoulder, I notice him come closer to me, his eyes telling me clearly that I ought to stay put. His mate will not be vulnerable and walk bare while he is here, her mate and her protector.

To him, it would be an error known to mankind.

I nod and let Ryker make his way to stand next to me, though most of his body has shielded me from view. 

A threatening growl knocks us out of our little moment of communication and our heads snap forward. My father comes out  from between the trees, in his wolf form. Though dark out but with the moonlight, I am back to take notice of how much weight he has lost, even in wolf size yet he still carries that alpha authority.

He has called us to attention yet he keeps on growling at us, threatening us and demanding us to stay away. His eyes which I remember to be brown and almost golden in his wolf form, have a hint of red in them.

That alone is dangerous because he sees a threat. In him, he sees a threat to eliminate in us.