The day I've dreaded has arrived.

Today's the day my father and Beta James are coming to the pack.

I've been dreading this for the past week and it only got worse as the day grew closer and I'm sure the pack can sense there's something wrong.

Besides all the time I spent worrying about today, my week hasn't been too bad.
I socialised with some of the women in the pack as we prepared dinner and I would go to visit the kids in the orphanage everyday and play with them.

And that's where I am right now.

I figured it would help me with the nerves by hanging around with these free-spirited, innocent kids.

We were currently making finger paintings and there is paint everywhere, and I mean everywhere. On the walls, the floors, the tables, chairs, my face, their faces and somehow it got onto the pet hamsters they have here.

(AN: reminder, italics= mindlink)

'Tidy up time guys!" I told the kids through the mind link.

They all looked up at me and pouted.

"Don't give me that look. Look at yourselves. Covered in paint" I giggled as I tried my hardest to resists their faces.
They looked around at each other then themselves and began giggling at one another.

"Boys follow me, girls follow Miss Susie" I ordered them then began to mimic a soldiers march and the boys began marching behind me.

I led us to the bathroom and cleaned all the paint of their faces and body then when they were done they went on their merry way while I cleaned myself up.

"Looks like you guys had a blast today" a familiar and amused voice said from behind me.

"Definitely" I laughed as I finished drying my hands.
I set the towel on the counter and walked over to Noah and wrapped my hands around his waist and he then copied my actions.

"How was your day?" I asked while smiling up at him.
"Busy" he huffed and buried his face in my neck as he sighed.

We stayed in a peaceful silence, just enjoying each other's company before a voice came through the pack link and said the words that caused my mood to drop instantly.

"The guests have arrived"

. . .

Noah's POV

I'm currently standing beside my trembling mate in front of the pack house.

I honestly hate to put her though this but she's going to face them at some point during their stay and I'd rather be there when it happens.
But I'm unsure about how things are going to turn out.

I know one thing for sure though.

There's no way in hell am I allowing them to take my mate from me.
She belongs here, with me and this pack. Where she's treated the way she's deserves and not like a piece of crap on the bottom of your shoe.

I'm not sure how I'm going to stay calm when they arrive because all I can think about was her life before she came here and how badly they treated her.

I know there's something that happened besides the abuse.
I'm not going to push her into telling me because I know it must've been hard enough to admit about the abuse to me so what ever she's keeping from me must be bad.

I was brought back from my deep thinking by a small and frail hand wrapping itself around mine.

"It'll be ok Lily. I won't let anything bad happen" I reassured her as I gave her hand a squeeze but not taking my eyes off the lane where our guests will soon drive down.

"I'm scared" she admits and I can hear the crack in her voice, even though it's in mind link.

I break my gaze away from the lane and cup her face with my hands and look straight into her chocolate brown eyes that I fell for the second I looked into them.

"I will not let any harm come to you. I will not leave you alone with them and I will most certainly not allow them to take you away from me" I said with much determination in my voice.

She blinked then swallowed; letting the words sink in and when they finally did she gave me a small peck on the cheek then a small, yet frightened, smile.

As we saw a car approaching, the grip on our hands tightened.
But for two different reasons.

Mine? Because I was trying to contain my anger so I wouldn't kill her father.
Hers? Because she's terrified of her father and old pack.

We're each other's anchor.

And in time of need, we'll always be there for one another. And I'm grateful to have that kind of person in my life.

Lily had made her way behind me, so half of her was behind me while the other half was peaking out of my side as she squeezed my hand and kept her head down, her new white hair acting as a curtain hiding her face.

And if possible, her grip tightened even more when the car doors opened.

"Alpha Noah! Pleasure to finally met you and thank you for allowing us onto your territory" a man greeted overly cheerful.

"Of course" I replied with a tight lipped smile.

"I'm Jacob Wilson, third in command and this is Beta James Waters" he introduced himself and the man beside him.

I nodded and turned my gaze onto the Beta and instantly I got a feeling in my gut that he was bad news.
My wolf was growling in my head and I had to contain my own growl when I saw his gaze fixated on my mate who was shaking behind me.

"And who's this?" Beta James smirked slightly, as he gestured to Lily.
"My mate and Luna of this pack" I snapped as I glared at him.

He looked away from Lily and looked at me with a gleam in his eyes. The type of gleam that you know means trouble.

"Oh really" he smirked then looked at Lily's father.
Lily let out a low, frightened whimper as she listened to the conversation happening before her and I'm finding it hard to fight the urge to punch the smirk off the Beta's face.

"Well we're quite tired from our trip, would you mind showing us our rooms so we could rest?" Beta James asked with a fake smile.

"Of course" I replied, not bothering to hid the harshness in my voice.
I turned around and gently pushed Lily ahead of me so she was hidden from their view.

I led them upstairs, into the guest quarters.
"These are your rooms. You can decide who gets which one yourselves. Now if you'll excuse us, there's some pack business we must attend to" I said to them and left before they had time to reply, with Lily walking in front of me.

We kept walking until we got to my office that was in the pack house and I locked the door once we both entered.
When I turned around I finally saw what I just put my mate through and now I feel like he worst mate in the world.

Her skin was a sickly pale and her body was shaking. Her chocolatey brown eyes lost there sparkle and now were dark and dull with a distant look in them.

"Oh Lily. I'm so sorry I just put you through that. I knew I shouldn't have but I did. Goddess I'm the worst mate ever!" I muttered as I tugged at my hair while I paced around my office.

'You idiot! Mate is upset! It's your fault!' Jackson growled at me.
'I'm so fucking stupid!' Was my reply and he didn't object.

I groaned and tugged at my hair one last time before I faced Lily who was looking at me.

"I'm so sorry" I said once more, my voice cracking.
I slowly approached her, slightly worried about how she'd react. I stop in front of her, contemplating my next move but she makes it for me.

Wrapping her small arms around my neck, it takes me a fraction of a second to wrap mine around her waist in return.

"Don't blame yourself. You're right, I was going to have to face them eventually. I'm actually kind of glad it's over and done with" she says to me, her voice soft and frail.

"What are we going to do? I know that they recognise me. Noah I'm so scared" my heart broke as I listened to the way her voice cracked and wavered.

It broke my heart every time she was upset or scared. I wanted to hunt down and kill anyone who made her feel that way.
And even though two of those people were currently in the same building as us, I couldn't even do that.

"I know baby and I'm so sorry" I apologised again.
We just stood there, in each other's embrace, for what seemed like forever, in that moment it was just us.

"Lets go home" I muttered softly as I placed a lingering kiss on her forehead. She nodded then took my hand and led us back home.

Our home.

.