Zach was still paralyzed as his mind took a few seconds to register what had just happened. Kat. The thought of his Kat in such pain had caused him an unbearable amount of agony, one he had never thought possible.

Nick barked at Zach, shaking him back to his senses as they ran to where the howl sounded from.

Zach's heart was beating inhumanely fast at the thought and possibility of Kat being hurt, as he finally caught her scent. Passing the rest of his company, Zach rushed to where his mate's scent had led him only to freeze once again at the sight before him.

Ella had never felt so scared in her life. There, between her arms, lied Katie with blood oozing from her wounds. They were both back in human form, and Katie's wounds were so deep that she wasn't healing. Ella understood that Katie had chosen to save her instead of saving herself, and her guilt and fear had pushed her tears to fall down her face.

Unlike Zach, Jessica and Jared didn't stop when they saw Katie's unmoving figure on the ground. They rushed their way to her in a hurry, their speed hightened by their fear for their best friend. Yet just before they reached her, Alpha Zach let out the loudest most agony-filled roar his members had ever heard. It was so powerful that even the ground they stood on shook beneath their paws.

The scene before him was one he knew he could never erase from his mind. The sight of his Kat bleeding and still. So still that Zach's heart was twisted inside his chest. He had promised to protect her, and there she was, dying before his eyes.

Nick rushed to Ella and once Zach's eyes adjusted that his sister was indeed covered in blood but was still steady on both legs, he made his way to Kat, every step closer to her bloodied figure more painful than the one before. Until he reached her and the sight of her blood beneath his paws broke him at last. He had never felt so petrified in his life, so shaken.

His wolf's face traveled to her neck to push her head to the other side, in a weak attempt to gently shake her into consciousness or at least get any kind of reaction to calm down his aching heart, but when her head fell against the ground once again he couldn't stop his wolf from howling in agonizing pain.

Jessica and Jared ran to the nearest tree and shifted before running back to Katie and Zach. Carefully, Jared stepped closer to Katie with a shirt in his hands, his eyes on her bloodied body, but his words were directed at his alpha. "We need to carry her back to safety and we need to get to my parents right now. Dad will know what to do. He always knows what to do. He will fix her. He will fix this."

Zach appreciated how Jared covered Kat's naked form with a shirt, but couldn't bare the thought of leaving her for a single moment, so he shifted back into a human right there next to her.

"The medics are on their way with an ambulance. They'll carry her back to the pack house steadier than we could, Alpha." Nick showed up from beside Zack carefully and handed him some shorts. For the first time in a long time, Nick had actually felt scared of Zach. One wrong move, one wrong word and he might snap. The sight before them was not an easy one to take in.

Eyes never leaving Katie's angelic face, Zach put on the shorts in silence.

"It's all my fault. She saved me. It's all my fault." Ella repeated multiple times between hiccups, her tears never drying from her face as Jessica handed her something to wear.

"We need to know what happened." Nick asked and Ella filled them in, her eyes looking at Katie for a second and at her brother the next.

"She took down five of them. Instead of ending the last one on her tail she chose to save me. I killed him, but I was too late. By the time I was back on my feet he had already bitten her." Ella cried harder.

Zach still hadn't uttered a single word since he saw Kat passed out on the ground. His hand travelling to hers, he chose to listen to nothing but her slow heartbeat, steady enough to keep him rooted to the ground he was on, to keep him from shattering completely. He understood now how much he truly cared about her as he focused on nothing but the rhythm of her heart, promising him that she was still there.

The medics rushed in and pulled Katie away from Zach in order to take her to the ambulance waiting, but Zach roared at them in a silent warning, daring anyone to try and touch her again. He wasn't letting her go anytime soon.

"Please let them take her. They need to take her." Jessica asked, her voice breaking as she cried. She was not going to lose her best friend, she couldn't.

Zach frowned at her words, the terrified, territorial part of him refusing the idea of letting Kat out of his reach, as if if he lost contact with her body she would vanish into thin air. Yet the rational part knew that she needed to be taken to Dr. Hall as soon as possible. Letting go of her, Zach rushed after her and rode with her in the ambulance without as much as a single word.

It wasn't Ella's fault like she had thought, it was Zach's. He couldn't protect his mate, after he had promised her to. He couldn't save her, and there she was taken away from him, getting examined and treated by the healers.

The pain and horror he was now experiencing clouded his judgement enough not to correct that last statement, refusing to remind him with the regretful fact that she was no longer his mate.

****

"Zach, you haven't spoken a single word in three hours. Please say something." Ella cried harder as she waited with the rest of her friends for Dr. Hall to come out of the room they were operating on Katie in. "I know I made a mistake, Zach, but I need you to say something, please."

"She's my mate." Is all Zach said. It was all he could think of at the moment. Katie was his mate and he was so close to losing her again, because he couldn't save her. He knew something was wrong; he had felt it, yet he wasn't quick enough. "She's my mate."

Katie was his mate. He didn't know why or how it was even possible, the only thing he knew was that she was his mate and now he was about to lose her again, but this time for good.

Nick couldn't wrap his mind around how his best friend had felt and worried about Katie before she and Ella were attacked. It didn't make any sense to him, but seeing Zach on the verge of breaking made him pray for Katie to come out of that room alive. "She'll be okay."

"I promised to protect her. She was scared and she was in my arms and I promised her I would always protect her. And I broke my promise, just like I broke the mating bond, just like I broke her heart." Zach said, loathing himself for disappointing and hurting Katie once again.

Jared's frown deepened as he heard what Alpha Zach had just said. Jared had thought the Alpha was unworthy of Katie but these last two days had changed his opinion completely. Believing that he didn't deserve her was exactly what made him worthy of her. "You'll have your chance to fix it." Jared said, grabbing the Alpha's attention. "She's gonna wake up and she'll need you by her side, and you'll have your chance to fix what you had broken, Alpha."

Zach's eyes met with Jared's and for the first time since they met, Zach didn't despise him. Before he answered, Zach heard Dr. Hall exit the room he was in and made his way to the awaiting company. "She'll be fine. Our Katie will be okay."

Letting out a deep breath, Zach thanked God for Katie's well being. If something had happened to her, worse that that already had, he would've never forgiven himself.

"Oh, thank God!" Jessica squealed in happiness as she hugged her twin with a huge grin on her face.

"She needs to rest and take her time to heal properly, but she will fine. Her wounds have started to heal but they will take longer than usual because they were deadly. It's a miracle that she made it, but she did." Dr. Hall explained as he smiled, his heart at ease. "She's no longer in danger. She just needs to rest and heal on her own speed. I suggest you find her a room here, Alpha. I don't recommend transferring her back to her dorm in such st--"

"She stays in my room." Alpha Zach's voice was final and a clear command was just given. No one could argue as they all nodded in understanding.

Half an hour later, Katie's unconscious figure was securely tucked into Zach's bed. Zach knew he wouldn't be able to relax unless she was there with him, where no harm could ever touch her. This time he would seriously die before he let anyone put as much as a fingertip on her body. He hoped his scent that filled the room would help Katie's healing process. If not, he wished it would at least calm down her senses as her scent did his.

"Come back to me, Kat." Sitting down next to her, Zach kissed her forehead and held her fragile hand in his. "Come back to me."

****

Katie felt like her body had suddenly weighed a building. It took more effort that it should for her to open her eyes. Taking a deep breath as her eyes adjusted to the faint light above her, Katie felt Zach's scent fill her lungs. Smiling peacefully, Katie looked around to notice that she wasn't in her dorm room. This room was unknown to her.

Looking to her side, Katie froze when she saw Alpha Zach lying beside her, breathing steadily in his deep sleep. Katie looked around once more and wondered what she was doing in his bedroom. Yet her eyes couldn't help but move back to his handsome, peaceful face. It was as if she was seeing him for the first time and she took the opportunity to study his features closely. Wanting deeply to reach and caress his cheek, Katie raised her arm slightly only to hiss at the sudden pain that hit her stomach. And that triggered her memory. She and Ella had been attacked and she had almost died.

"Zach." Softly, Katie decided to wake him up. "Zach, get up." Again, realizing that they were both lying on his bed side by side, Katie blushed insanely as she felt butterflies erupting in her stomach in pleasure.

Zach groaned lightly as he heard someone calling his name. Opening his eyes, he was greeted with Kat smiling at him. Blinking rapidly, Zach believed he was only dreaming. "Kat?"

"Hey. How's Ella? Is she alright? Is she safe?" Katie asked the most important question she had. She needed to make sure that she had successfully saved her friend.

"Are you seriously awake or am I losing my damn mind?" Zach couldn't believe his eyes as they took Katie in once more. Her hair was tousled and she was wearing nothing but a clean shirt of his, yet she had never looked more beautiful.

Katie felt her heart jump as she heard his deep sleepy voice that sent a wicked shiver down her spine. "I'm awake, Zach. Tell me how's Ella?"

"You woke up. You're up, Kat." Zach sat straighter as a grin made its way onto his face. His Kat came back to him.

Katie's eyes softened as she understood Zach's joy. He must have been worried sick, she thought. "I'm okay. I'm up. Don't worry." She gave him a reassuring soft smile.

"Fuck." Zach let out before he wrapped his arms around her resting figure, carefully enough to stay clear of her stomach, but close enough to nuzzle her neck with his face. Breathing her scent deeply, Zach had never known such joy.

Katie's eyes widened and she suddenly felt the need to clench her most intimate parts, as she felt Zach's nose move up and down her neck and heard a groan of pleasure leave him. He was doing wicked things to her heart, to her body, and she wasn't sure she wanted him to stop at all. Her hands traveled to his shoulders and she too found utmost pleasure in breathing in his scent, as if it was her salvation. She could feel herself getting better, more alive, with every deep breath that allowed his scent to consume her. "Zach."

Zach's blood turned hot in his veins, like molten lava, the second he felt her breath him in. She kept inhaling deeply, as if she couldn't get enough of his scent, and the thought alone had his blood rushing down to his pants, his wolf ecstatic. But when she spoke out his name so damn softly like a purr, it felt like the sweetest type of torture. "Don't moan my name like that, love, or I might lose my shit."

Katie's heart fluttered at his words and once again she felt her core clench in need. Needing to apply some pressure, Katie wanted to cross her legs, but the slight movement caused her pain strong enough for her to hiss.

"Shit, did I hurt you? Are you okay?" Zach pushed himself off Kat instantly and asked, his eyes full of worry.

Kat's eyes met his and her frown vanished as she saw how deeply worried he was for well being, how much he cared. She couldn't help but smile at this pure hearted Alpha. "I'm okay, truly. Tell me what happened. Tell me Ella is safe."

Letting out a sigh, Zach took her hand in his, ignoringthe electricityhe felt running through him at the contact. "Ella is alright, just worried about you. You were hurt pretty bad, Kat. The healers say it'll take a while for your wounds to heal properly, but it's a miracle that you made it out alive. And now you're up. No one expected you to gain consciousness anytime soon."

Zach spoke with so much relief and so much pride that Kat was instantly proud of herself as well. Her wolf agreed, they both were tough enough to get through this. "I'll be fine, don't worry."

Zach couldn't stop his heart from jumping in his chest, along with his wolf, with happiness. A true strong Luna, Katie was. "You saved her. Instead of saving yourself you chose to save my sister and I don't know if I will ever be able to pay such a debt."

Her hand tightening around his, Kat gave him a beautiful sweet smile. "You owe me nothing. She's my friend. Even if you and I weren't mates, I would still choose to save her."

Hearing Kat's slip up, admitting how she believed they were mates, plasted a grin onto Zach's face. "I'm fucking glad you're up."

Flashing him a grin of her own, Katie couldn't help but ask. "Wanna tell me what I'm doing in your bedroom?"

She watched Zach's grin disappear and get replaced with an emotion she believed was fear. The sight alone tugged at her heart. "Don't leave. I thought my scent might somehow help you heal quicker, but even if it doesn't, just don't go. Stay until you're okay."

"Okay." Was all Kat could say. Here he was, her Zach, desperately asking her to stay by his side, as if he feared that if she got out of his sight she might disappear. And her heart ached for causing him such a torturous type of worry. "I'll stay."

Zach couldn't help but blink at Kat in disbelief. Had she just accepted to stay in his bedroom, sleep his in his bed, or was he hallucinating? She must've hit her head pretty hard, he thought. "You'll stay here? With me?"

Katie smiled, knowing very well that Zach's question had a double meaning, yet she couldn't help but nod. Standing against all logic, Katie decided to follow her heart, and it led her straight to him. "I'll stay, Zach, until I'm all better. But you'll have to think of something to tell everyone, though. Because, believe me, they're gonna ask."

Zach's grin once again made its way to his face. What had he done to be lucky enough to spent his nights with her scent filling his longing lungs? "Tell me how do you feel, love?"

Katie took a deep breath, enjoying how Zach's scent indeed made her feel better. "Sore. My muscles hurt. My abdomen too when I slightly move. I remember how painful it felt back there, the bite, especially."

Zach's hold on her hand automatically tightened. "I broke my promise to you. I promised you I'd protect you and instead you protected my sister and I couldn't even find you. I felt it, you know?"

Katie watched as Zach's eyes moved to the darkness of the nightsky from his window and regret once again painted over his features. "I felt everything. Your worry, your fear. Your pain as they slashed your stomach open. At first, I thought I was bleeding somehow, but deep down I knew it was you who had gotten hurt. And then I felt your heart stop, Katie. It stopped, for a few seconds, and I had never known such terror."

"Oh, Zach." Katie's breath was caught in her throat. What he just said made no rational sense, but Katie felt his every word. Unable to imagine herself going through what he just had, she couldn't help but stretch her arms for him. "Come here."

Sinking in her embrace, Zach let Katie push away his demons, cover his bad memories with new hopeful ones, and calm down his heart. "I'm sorry I couldn't protect you like I promised." For the first time since he was titled Alpha, Zach felt like a failure. "I'm sorry you had to go through that on your own, Katie."

"I'm not on my own." Her hand moved to Zach's head and she pushed her fingers in his hair, trying her best to soothe his pain. Hers was physical, and she dealt well with physical pain, not from experience but from inner strength. She knew it was only a matter of time before she was back as before, and her strong will alone would make that time fly. But Zach's pain was of the worst kind. "I have you by my side. And don't call me Katie. I like it when you call me Kat better."

Her heart was going to stop from how fast it was beating. There she was, in the Alpha's bed, and there he was, between her arms, speaking their hearts like nothing had ever happened between them. Better, like they had finally accepted all that had happened before and were ready to move on. How did it come to this, she didn't know. All she knew was that she had never felt more peaceful or more satisfied before. It felt like she had finally reached her destination somehow.

Zach pulled away enough to meet her eyes. "I swear to God, I'm gonna kill whoever's responsible for this attack as well as the last, Kat. I swear, no one would get away with what they've done to you."

"You have nothing to be sorry for." Her voice was a mere whisper as she forgot all about her near death encounter as well as her pain. Nothing else mattered to her than Zach and the agony she saw in his eyes. "Right now, here with you, I know I'm the safest woman on earth, Zach. Never doubt that, okay?"

A smile painted itself on his delicious lips and Katie found it hard to look away. "I absolutely love it when you call me Zach."

"I know." She blinked, her eyes starting to get heavy again, her heart calm and content.

"Come here." Pulling himself a little straighter, Zach gently pulled Kat along until her head rested on his shoulder. "Go back to sleep now, love. You need the rest."

Breathing in his scent once more, Kat let sleep swallow her whole.