{Gif of Emilia. Edited}

Song: Hide Away

Artist (s): Daya

If it doesn't challenge you, It's doesn't change you.

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The sunlight- peeking through the curtains - bathed my skin as I laid on my side, forcing me to open my eyes. I tried closing them again. What had happened yesterday was something I didn't want to deal with today. Thoughts bit at my brain, forbidding me to go back to sleep. I looked around me. I felt guilty for running away from home. I just had to be selfish and put this entire pack in danger.

I knew if I sat here any longer, I would kill myself with my over-thinking, so I decided to go for a run instead. I got out of bed and headed straight for the shower. Changing into some black mesh yoga pants and mesh workout top - since I was planning on going to the gym afterwards - I ran out of the pack house.

*****

I continued running for what seemed like longer than I was supposed to. I ran behind the tree shifting back into my human form before dressing. The run in the woods was the first real exercise I had gotten in the last few days and it felt good. I pushed into a sprint feeling the warm pull on my quads and smiled.  A distinct old dead tree came up on the path that meant that I should be able to see the Pack house around the next bend. I rounded the bend and headed straight for the entrance, but came to an abrupt halt. My breathing hitched in my throat making my already screaming lungs just about burst...

Everything was destroyed. As in, tables were upturned, cushions were torn, chairs were tipped over, books were  ripped apart and glass shards littered the floor. The smell of splintered wood dominated the room, making me want to puke. No one was in sight but I could hear a low growl coming from somewhere.

Were we attacked? What happened?

My brain had shut down. I was clammy and there was a the glisten of a cold sweat. My eyes were wide as if someone was about to deliver a fatal blow. Yet what I saw, no one else could see. Trapped in my own psychosis, a living nightmare, one tailor made by my own brain to play with my deepest fears.

My watery eyes enlarged and the hairs on the nape of my neck bristled. A gaggle of goosebumps laminated my frigid, naked skin. Slowly and deliberate, the door handle turned. I tried to scream but the inside of my mouth lacked moisture and a croak was all that was issued from my throat.

"Please, don't kill her" I managed to whisper as the door fully opened. Within seconds, arms were wrapped around me. I breathed in and out but air wouldn't enter my lungs. Starved for air, my heart raced at a tremendous speed, and my lungs shallowly rose and fell in time. I stood there for what felt like an eternity but was actually only five minutes. Satisfaction of security was nothing but a distant memory , and an invisible force crushed me from every possible direction. Each second submerged in fear made a permanent mark on my heart, and a vivid imagination made me wander whether it was just my mind playing tricks or reality.

"Where were you" Jumping out of my shock, I pushed the body back only to see Asher growling down at me. Looking down, I tried to gain back control over my breathing. Feeling a sudden wave of dizziness I grabbed onto the first available thing. I grabbed onto the side table, unaware of the glass shattered upon it. An arm wrapped around my waist and lifted me up and above the ground.

"We need to call her dad. I know what's going on." I heard Alec yell from a distance.

"Do whatever it takes" Chance yelled and then I fell into a pit of darkness.

*****

I blinked back at thunderstorms swarming in my mind, the disjointed haze receding to the point where I could make sense of the world around me again. I lifted to my hand to my head, wincing slightly. My head was throbbing painfully, and I touched my temple gently. I breathed in slowly and heavily, taking in the scene. Me, here, laying on a bed that wasn't my own. Chance, Alec,Brittany and Asher were all surrounding me. And so was my. . . 

"Dad?" I called out sitting up. 

"Oh thank God you're awake" he jumped forward hugging me. Alec came down to sit beside me, looking at me concerned.

"You okay? No nightmare, right?" I shook my head. Surprisingly I didn't have a nightmare. 

"Thank god" He breathed.

"I'm fine" I whispered. I felt stupid. I felt embarrassed for fainting. I scratched the back of my neck wanting to disappear, but realised my hand was covered in a bandage. Suddenly my dad got up and Asher took his place. He looked at Chance and everyone left.

"I'm sorry" he cupped my cheek, leaning forward to rest his forehead against mine.

"For what?" I melted into his hand.

"For scaring you. I didn't me-" 

"Don't be. You didn't do anything wrong" I answered immediately moving back.

"Your dad told me." he continued ignoring me. "About what happened. And why you were so scared." I sighed falling back into the bed. When I saw the destroyed room the memories came rushing back. That was how I found the room when my mom was killed. I didn't mean to faint or to be so scared. But I couldn't help it. It was so sudden. After the incident I would walk up screaming every night due to nightmares. I fought them for three years. That's why Alec was scared I was going to get nightmares again. It's funny how Asher knows everything about me, yet I don't know a single thing. But, I wasn't going to push him. He can tell me when he wants to.

"Why was the room like that anyway?" I asked changing the subject.

"I was angry" Was all he said. Now everything made sense. 

"I felt it" I confessed. He looked at me curiously.

"I felt a burning sensation inside me awhile ago. I didn't know what it was. Now I realise it was your anger." Feeling his anger despite not baring his mark just showed the intensity of his anger.

"Why were you so angry anyway?" I raised my hand massaging my head trying to get rid of some of the pain. Asher noticed this and pulls me into his lap gently massaging my head. I smiled resting my head on his chest.

"Because I thought they took you" He growled pulling me closer.  Asher is covered in spikes but underneath, he is the most loving and caring person I have ever met. While to others he might seem abrasiveness or easily angered, to me he always let me know how much I mean to him and that I am his one and only. There is nothing that made me more comfortable and happy than knowing I can always go to him in my times of need and doubt.

I lifted my head off his chest, looked him in the eyes and said "Mark me". Asher's adams apple bobbed. 

"You're not eighteen" he choked.

"I will be in a week. And anyway the age eighteen just confirms the bond. Right now, I don't need any confirmation. You are my mate. I know that. You know that. What difference will a week make?" I stressed. He looked at me for a second before pushing me onto the bed, before climbing on top of me. He grabbed my arms pinning them above my head, before burying his head in my neck. 

He lifted his head back up claiming my lips in a desperate kiss. Hunger dominated the kiss as he moved on to my neck. Kissing every inch of my neck before he finally found my sweet spot. Before I could make a sound his teeth sunk into my skin and I couldn't help but moan. Asher licked the bitten skin once more before capturing my lips again. I was finally marked.

"Mine"

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{A/N: Wassup Homies. Don't kill me for updating after so long. Actually, it's only been - I think - around 8-9 days. Not that long. But anyway, this chapter was just to give you a bit more of Asher and Alicia (Ship name still needed guys) and their relationship. He finally marked her and some more of Alicia's past is out. Don't worry guys, you find about Asher soon enough as well. For now please don't forget to...

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Lots of Love - Me}