As I said in the last chapter... This is also a repost. I posted chapters 18 and 19 sort of late last night so this is for those who didn't see it. Enjoy! :)

--Allison--

I was grateful when my parents left, and that they actually left instead of dragging me after them. I'd of course had to do some convincing on that part. Of course I missed them and I was glad to see them, but Alarik was my mate. I wanted- needed- to be with him. 

Alarik insisted on getting me around the place, he wouldn't let me stand at all. I was sure that I was perfectly fine. I'd been walking, and running, with that bullet in my leg. Now that it was out, it would be even easier. 

He didn't want to hear any of it however. He even carried me up the stairs and into his room. 

I'd heard him talking to his parents downstairs. There had been some strong words said betweeen him and his father. Apparently Alarik hadn't followed protocol. 

I'd almost fallen asleep when I heard the door creak open and I felt his body sink into the mattress next to me. 

My eyes opened slightly and I found myself staring into a darkness that held me captive in his stare. My breath caught in my chest at the way he was gazing at me. It made my insides burn. 

I'd missed him so much. 

His hand lightly stroked my cheek, everywhere his fingers brushed my skin a trail of sparks followed hot, searing against my flesh. I chewed on my bottom lip and my hand reached out to him, touching the side of his face. 

Alarik's eye caught site of the scar on my forearm. I saw the slight frown before he hid it under his mask. His hand moved to my arm, tracing the scar the silver blade had left behind. 

He brought his face to the line going the length of my forearm, his lips brushing against it lightly, leaving a small trail of kisses on the damaged skin. 

He grabbed both my hands in his, bringing my scarred wrists up to his mouth and kissing them. 

I knew he wanted to know what had happened, but he hadn't asked. I was glad he hadn't asked. I wasn't sure if I would be able to tell him everything that happened in that place. How every day was a struggle, not even knowing the days. How each time I woke up I never knew what waited for me next. The times where I'd thought it would just be easier to give in to the pain and the desparation, how I desparately wanted it to just end and I'd started to not care how it happened as long as it did. 

Alarik's arms wrapped around me and he pulled me into his body, careful not to disturb my leg. I relaxed into the strength of him. I breathed in the smell of him and it helped me to relax. 

I couldn't help the nagging feeling in my mind that he thought there was something wrong with me, he heard and saw how I reacted toward the doctor earlier. If he knew just what had happened, if he knew how deeply it had affected me would he still be this way? 

I was damaged. 

Alarik doesn't need a damaged mate, I can't do anything for him this way. The pessimistic voice was still there. I'd thought after I'd finally gotten out of there that it would disappear, but it seemed like it might be here to stay. 

"Stop it." The words were a growled command and I felt a slight shiver go through me. I knew he couldn't hear my exact thoughts, I wasn't letting him. I was making sure to take special care to keep my thoughts my own. I didn't want to let him inside my head, to see what I saw, to know what's going on in there. The way every time my eyes close I see exactly what happened to me, I relive every moment again. No, he can't hear my thoughts, but he can feel my emotions. He knows exactly how I feel about myself and he knows how I think he would view me. 

Despite his words though, I can't stop the feeling. It's something deep within me, an actual fear that I have. 

"I said stop." With that, I feel him shift and he's suddenly hovering over me, his eyes burning into me. I can't look away, I need to look away. It's like his stare is devouring me. Like his eyes alone could burn me to ashes where I lay. 

In that moment I'm able to tell what's different about him. It's in his words, not the way he says it, but the force behind them. He doesn't feel like the son to an Alpha, he doesn't feel like someone who will soon take up the position. He isn an Alpha. 

I feel the heart hammering inside my chest. His father is still downstairs, his father is alive, and he hasn't stepped down. That means only one thing. 

Alarik's lips distract me, they crush my own in a fierce kiss, one that takes me under. It makes me forget everything I was thinking and feeling before. Now all I feel is him against me and the feeling I get when his skin touches mine. 

My hands move along his strong back, they glide over the rippling muscles as I feel them through the shirt he put on as soon as he'd gotten inside. My hands slide down to the hem of the shirt, slipping under the fabric.

He shouldn't have bothered with it. 

My hands slide along his back, resting in the center as I feel the muscles there tense and move with every movement he makes. 

His mouth moves along my jaw, making his way to my neck. His mouth hovers over the spot where he'd left his mark. 

I sigh against him and I can feel the shift it causes in him. His control has faltered. A groan vibrates through him and into me.

I pull his shirt over his head and toss it to the side. Clothes just seem like a hinderance at this point, like they're just made to get in the way. My hands run over his bare chest as he presses closer to me. 

One of his strong hands rests on my hip, grasping it almost roughly. 

I need him. 

I need him to distract me. I want to be lost, even if only temporarily. I don't want to remember everything that happened, I want my mind wiped clean and all it takes is that look in his eye, the feel of his hands on me, his lips pressed to mine, the hunger inside him fueling the hunger inside me. 

In that moment I realize that he needs a distraction just as much as I do. 

We provide that for each other, the distraction that we both need, the temporary escape from the real world. Holed up in this room where we can block out everything else, all that matters is this right now, and we get lost in each other. 

~~~~~~~

Alarik's fingers trail along my back and I look into his eyes. 

"So you're an Alpha now." It's not a question. I already know the answer so why ask?

I feel Alarik go rigid beside me. It's obviously something he's been thinking about a lot. It's something that makes him... uncomfortable. I'm not entirely sure why. 

He killed someone. I push the thought aside, he killed a horrible person, one who started this whole mess. He killed a few people. I remember the guard that had been lying on the ground, his throat opened up and blood spilled on the floor. I knew Alarik had done it, he'd had the man's blood on him. 

He did what he needed to, to save me, I remind myself. Killing that Alpha was just one thing he'd needed to do. Who would really cry over that many anyway. I'd be surprised if anyone. His daughter didn't seem like she would shed a tear for the man. She may be devastated when she realizes that Alarik has taken everything out from under her though. 

"What are you going to do?" I ask quietly. 

"I'm not sure. I was talking to my father, not much, but he thought about going on like we'd planned. Bring the two packs together. He would still be passing this pack on to me, so bringing them together seems the most logical."

I try to hide the shock. I don't know how large O'Brian's pack had been, but I know if it's anywhere near the size of ours, that the two together would be massive. It would be unbelievable to have to be in control of such a large group.

"I would obviously need your help with it."

"My help?" I raise my eyebrows and look at him disbelievingly. 

"Yes. My Luna to help me with my pack. It would be far too much to handle on my own. I could never dream of caring for a pack, no matter the size without you beside me."

I blush slightly at his words and then that same feeling from before creeps up. Would he really think that if he knew just how damaged I was now? I'd be no good for helping a pack. 

I see the wrinkles forming between his eyebrows as he feels what I'm feeling. He's not sure what the cause is and I'd like to keep it that way. 

"I mean it, Allison. I want you with me. I won't be able to do it without you." Alarik rolls slightly to the side and he reaches into a drawer in the stand next to the bed before facing me again. 

"I don't want to do any of it without you. You are the only woman for me, and I want you beside me through everything. All the good, the bad, the ups and downs. You are the only person I want to help me through it all. This is what I wanted to say to you before you-"

He goes silent, unable to say the words. He doesn't want to fully bring up the memory again, whether to spare him or me, maybe even both. Though we both know that it's already in our minds. 

"You're the only person I see beside me through it all. Would you do the honor of being my wife, my mate, my Luna?" With his words, he opens a small black velvet box. Even in the dim light I can see the glittering of a ring nestled tightly in the fabric. 

I hear my heartbeat as if it's right in my hears. So loud it's all I can hear. As if there's really any choice here. I already gave myself to him before. I let him mark me, we mated, as if I would turn away from him now. So why was my heart pounding so hard? Because there was still that voice inside my head that thought maybe if he knew it all he wouldn't be saying what he is now. That he would think I'm no longer good enough for him. 

And that thought broke my heart. 

But here he was. Asking me to marry him, for me to accept all of him and to stand beside him through everything. A shelter that could bear any storm. 

"Allison-" His voice is quiet, rattled by my silence, afraid that it might be a rejection. 

"Of course I will, Alarik."

A wide grin breaks out across his face and he kisses me greedily before pulling back and placing the ring on my finger. 

He kisses the stones and the band on my hand, leaving a small trail of kisses until he's all the way back up to my mouth, kissing me over and over. 

A small smile graces my lips when I see the sparkle in his eyes as he pulls back. 

I'm going to be Allison Trenton, Luna. The thought is exciting and scary all at the same time. 

******************

So close to the end here. I'm not sure how many chapters are left, but not many. I'll make sure to let ya'll know at the beginning of whatever one will be the last... Who knows... There may only be one left... We shall see I suppose. 

Remember to comment and vote! I really appreciate all your support. Thanks everyone!!! :)