Axel was yapping In Easton's mind, overjoyed at the fact that his beloved is finally awake. Her eyes were more beautiful than he remembered, it looked like liquid gold. Although she's in pain, she gave him a big grin, making Easton's heart melt. The four men, noticing this exchange, reluctantly chose to leave the room to give the two privacy. 

Easton, still in a trance, made his way towards the bed, slowly but surely. Noelle let out a cute sound of excitement, her mate coming closer and closer to her. Once he was close enough, with all her might and energy, she jumped into his arms, the tubes still attached to her body, so she was careful to make sure they didn't rip. He chuckled and held her even closer to his, nuzzling his nose into her fur, her scent giving him a sense of serenity. He took a seat on the bed, and cuddled her close to him, her little frame on top of his chest as they basked in each others embrace. Her paws were resting on his navy blue sweatshirt and her tail was swaying in the air. 

He pulled away from her fur to look her in the eyes. They stared at one another, just appreciating the other's comfort. 

"I've missed you so much, more than words can describe", he whispered as he scratched the back of her neck. 

"I missed you more!", she yells back in her mind.

Noelle didn't expect Easton to be this handsome. His midnight black hair, mesmerising grey eyes, and sharp, clean shaven jawline that could cut you like a knife. She could easily recognise those eyes, they fascinated her since she'd never seen anyone with such rare coloured eyes. He had grown so much. His height and muscles scared her at first, she didn't remember Easton being this tall or lean, but seeing him now, he just reminds her of a teddy bear. She also noticed a certain tattoo on his chest, near his heart. 

'Noelle', it read, with an image of a small fox beside it. Her heart swelled, he got a tattoo of her name. It stood out amongst the others the scattered all over his body, definitely the most beautiful one.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of her stomach rumbling. Easton's eyes softened as he frowned down at her. She tilted her head to the side, silently asking him what's wrong. He didn't know how, but he instantly understood her. 

"You're hungry", he whispered solemnly, to which she let out a little laugh. 

"Why would being hungry make him sad?", Noelle asked Crimson. 

"I'm not sure", she answered. 

"You weren't fed over there, were you?", he asked sadly, dreading the possible answer, though in his mind, he already knew the response. Why else would she be so skinny and small?

Noelle now understood why he was upset, and the fox put her head down, hiding in his chest, embarrassed. What if he thinks I'm too skinny and ugly, she asked herself. Easton took her silence as a 'no', causing him to frown even more. 

"I'm so sorry, love, I wish I found you sooner. I failed you", he spoke in a regretful tone, causing her head to whip back up, and look at him sadly. 

"Don't blame yourself! I'm here now, and that's all that matters", she said, although she knows he won't hear her. 

"I'll call the doctor, so we can get these things off of you", he said, referring to the machines she was hooked up to, mind linking to immediately come to the room. Once he arrived, Easton asked if he could get rid of the tubes. 

"I'll have to check over her health first, to see if she's well enough to leave", he said and Easton nodded, slightly irritated that he couldn't just take her out of here. 

"Hurry up, please, she's hungry", he grunted, hesitantly placing her on the bed, earning a whimper from the fox. "Don't worry, Elle, I'm not leaving", he reassured her and giving her a smile. He took a hold of her paw, and sat on the chair beside the bed. While the doctor was checking Noelle's health, Easton thought of the days when they were younger. 

Flashback:

Today was Easton's 13th birthday party . Alexander and Sheila had gone all out this year, since he was finally a teenager, and invited most of the residents of the Highland Kingdom. There was balloons, party bags, decorations, too many people to count and so much more. 

Easton's favourite part though, was the massive table of refreshments, which had crisps, cupcakes, jelly, popcorn, marshmallows and so many other desserts and snacks. 

He was currently sat beside the mountains of gifts he had received, and he was opening them one at a time, thanking the kind person who had brought him each gift. Lastly, it was Noelle's turn to give him his gift, he knew that hers was going to be the best, so he saved it for last. She had wrapped it up in wrapping paper that was covered with foxes, ironic. 

She shyly stood beside his seat as she nervously watched him unwrap it. She hoped he liked it, since she spent a lot of time on it. Inside was a book. 

Easton looked at it curiously, opening the pages and to his surprise, it was filled with pictures of them, memories from years, months and days ago. Each picture had a caption underneath, describing, in detail, what had happened that day. He had flicked through all the pages, staring at each picture in awe. 

Noelle played with the bow on her dress sadly, thinking that he didn't like it since he hadn't said a word yet. She gasped when she felt two arms pull her into the tightest hug she'd ever been given. Easton's scent engulfed her nose, calming her down, as she wrapped her arms around his waist. 

"This is the best gift I've ever been given, I love it, Elle. Thank you so much", his words made her smile brightly. 

"Really?! That makes me so happy, Easty", she said excitedly, feeling a sense of pride. He pulled away so that he could look her in the eyes. 

"You didn't have to spend so much time on this, you didn't even have to get me anything at all", he told her, but she shook her head. 

"It's your birthday though!"

"But you're the only thing I want for my birthday", he whispered with a small smile on his face, causing her to blush.

"You mean that?"

"100%, none of these things could never make me as happy as you do."

"I feel the same way", she whispered shyly, making him chuckle. 

"Let's go get something to eat", he suggested, grabbing her hand and walking her to the refreshments table. 

Back to present time:

Little did he know that was the last birthday he was going to spend with her. In fact, he never celebrated his birthday after she was captured, he didn't want to be happy, if she wasn't happy. He felt as though he would betray her if he was celebrating without her. But now that she's back, he'll make sure that he celebrates every possible occasion with her, just to make up for the years that she's missed. 

"She looks to be okay for now. She's not fully recovered, obviously, and her injuries will take a lot longer to heal, but the blood supply that I gave her was enough to make sure she lived. As soon as she shifts back to her human form, you have to bring her back here, so I can examine her human body", the doctor informs Easton and he nods, understanding what he needs to do. 

"You can take her away now", that was the only thing he needed to hear before he gently took her now unhooked body to the kitchen to give her some food. 

"My mum made chicken for lunch, is that okay with you, love?" he asked and she nodded eagerly. Anything would be okay with her. He placed her on the kitchen counter, but she shrieked when her body made contact with the cold surface. Easton's eyes widened at the sound and instantly picked her back up, placing her on a stool instead. 

"Here", he spoke as he pulled his sweatshirt of and wrapped her around it, making sure she was warm. She closed her eyes, letting out a little squeal. He chuckled at her response.

"It's okay, you can look", she opened her eyes slowly and is met with Easton's tall, muscled, inked body placing a plate of chicken in the microwave and pouring water into a bowl. She thanked God that she was in her fox form and he couldn't see her flustered state, 'cause she was definitely a mess. 

Look at that, who wouldn't want to-, Crimson started but Noelle interrupted. 

Don't! I'm too innocent to hear these things.

You're 20 yeas old, babe. 

I know, but still!

"There you go", his husky voice pulled them out of their conversation and Crimson greedily attacked the plate of chicken. Easton had cut it up into pieces to make it easier for her to eat. She looked up to see Easton staring down at her in awe, so she pushed the plate towards him with her snout. 

"I'm not hungry, babydoll, it's all for you."

She had never felt so happy in all her life. She's got her family back, she's got her friends back, and she's got her mate back.