As we walked deeper in to the house the smell grew stronger and stronger. From time to time, Alec turned his head and gave me a glance, as if to see that I was okay. The glances touch me and I blushed every time his gaze met mine. Jane also gave me glances. But they weren’t friendly and caring; they were full of hate and clearly scream stay away from my brother. I didn’t quite understand her looks; I wasn’t the one who turned his head at me to check if I was okay every few minutes. I did, however, look at the back of Alec’s head to gather strength when I started to feel scared. But how could Jane see and know that? Did she have another gift that I wasn’t aware about? Could she also read minds like my dad and Aro? Not likely. The thought of mindreading and my dad made my heart ache, and I was short of breath for a half second, before I gathered myself and forced my mind to focus on the mission. A creak of someone stepping on the floor made every one freeze. A sound of a pounding heart echoed through the whole house. And then I recognized the smell. How could I’ve not have known it sooner? I’d been around that smell since the second I was born. The woody, harsh smell, just soft enough to not burn my nose. The smell a very special person had. The smell that lingered in the house was the smell of werewolf.

For a few seconds I couldn’t move. All I could think about was Jacob, my dear Jacob. Even though he’d left me and even though he’d hurt me, he still had a place in my heart. All the sorrow and the hate were gone and all I could think about was Jacob. His smile, his humor, and the way he used to bug Rosalie. I just wanted him to hug me and stroke my hair the way he used to and tell me that everything was going to be okay. My face lit up and I waited for Jacob to walk around the corner. But it wasn’t Jacob who walked came around the corner. The thing that came around the corner was a huge dark brown wolf with bloody jaws and sharp claws. A high scream was heard and it bounced on the walls, loud and terrified. It took a while before I realized that the scream came from me. The wolf roared loudly and in the blink of an eye, Alec was at my side. He pushed me up against the wall, covering my mouth with one hand and holding me with the other. He hushed me quietly and stroked my hair. At the same time as Alec calmed me, Santiago attacked the giant wolf and they were circling each other. It was only a half circle, though Santiago never let the wolf get close to Jane, who stood just a few feet away, looking extremely focused. I wondered why she didn’t just use her powers on the wolf, but before I’d even finished that thought, another wolf came around the corner. It was instant thrown to the floor, whining and squirming. I realized that Jane had waited for the other wolf, though Santiago couldn’t handle two wolves without getting hurt in the process. I wanted to close my eyes and hide myself in Alec’s arms, but I couldn’t. Instead I watched Jane walk towards the defenseless wolf, bend down, put her hand on the wolf’s furry chest and rip out its heart. A low, painful squeal was heard from the both of the wolves. One of them squealed of pain and fear just before it died, and the other one squealed of pain and loss of a pack member and a brother. I could see the sorrow in the wolf’s eyes, and even though it wanted to kill us, I felt bad for it. I knew how strong the bond between pack members were, I’d been in one. The only thing keeping me from crying was the fact that none of these wolves were Jacob or anyone from his pack. This was other werewolves, bad werewolves who’d tried to kill us. And one of them was still trying. The short pain of a lost brother had made the wolf distracted for a split second, which was enough for Santiago to throw the wolf against the wall, creating a huge hole. I’d expected the wolf to jump right up and attack again, but it just lay there, starring empty into the air. At first I thought it was dead, but then I saw Alec look at it and I realized that he was using his gift on the wolf.

“That’s the one we need”, Alec confirmed. Felix and Santiago immediately lifted the wolf out of the hole in the wall and out to the car. I didn’t follow them, but I heard the thud when they put the wolf in the trunk and then the slam when they closed it. I wondered how the huge wolf could fit in the trunk, but then I realized that it had probably turned into its human form. Jane and Demetri also went out to the car, but I couldn’t move. There were so many thoughts and feelings in my head at the same time. I was glad and relieved that none of these wolves was someone that I knew and loved, scared of what I just witnessed and most of all, very aware of the fact that I was in Alec’s arms. When all the action had been going on, I hadn’t noticed the way Alec protected and held me. I was pressed up against the wall with his arms tight around me, so he could run out of the house if needed to. He was protecting me with his body, and it was also pressed tightly against mine. Normally, I would’ve turned away and acted like I didn’t care as I tried not to blush, but during the circumstances, I didn’t care. I was terrified, filled with adrenalin and couldn’t get the image of Jane ripping out the wolf’s heart out of my head. So instead of pushing him away and keeping my dignity and my feelings secure, I threw my arms around his neck, leaning my head against his chest and started to cry. I cried loudly and my whole body shook with spasms as I cried out all the fear and sorrow. I cried over the dead wolf, over Jacob, over my family and over everything that I’d kept inside of me for so long. I didn’t care if I showed myself vulnerable to Alec or anyone else. I just cried and let all my feelings out in the open for every one to watch. As I cried, Alec didn’t say a word. He just hugged me tightly and stroked my hair. His cold, hard arms made me feel secure and as the time went by I started to calm down. Just being near Alec soothed me and eventually, I stopped crying.  For a while we just stood there. His firm embrace surrounded me and I never wanted to move. The wonderful smell of lemon balm, mint, pine and licorice filled my lungs and it felt like home. For the first time in months, I was home. Here, in Alec’s arms, I was safe.

Even though it seemed like none of us wanted to let go of each other, we all had to get going before more wolves decided to visit. Slowly, we let go. When we faced each other, I met his gaze. His eyes were a little darker than usual but the fire was still there. It didn’t seem to matter what color his eyes had, the fire always burned. When we stood there, I wanted to say a million things to him. But none of the words came out. Instead we started to walk to the cars. When we came out of the house, Jane shot a hateful glance at me and I swore that she used her gift on me for an extremely short second. A shock of pain flowed through my body, but it happened so quickly I wasn’t sure if it was real or if I’d just imagined it.

“Felix’s driving the other car, so you’re going to ride with him” Alec said and pushed me in Felix direction. “We’ll meet you at our hotel when we’re done here.” I started to walk towards Felix on stiff legs, nodding my head several times. My body screamed after Alec’s arms, screamed for them to hold me again. I didn’t want to leave him; I didn’t want him to stay here and “be done” with things. I wanted him to come with me and be safe. But I knew that we were still on a mission and I had to behave. So, without looking at Alec or anyone else, I got in the car and leaned my head against the seat. Felix was quick to follow me and soon we were driving along the same road as we’d come from. During the ride I thought about what had happened in the house. I thought about Alec’s arms around me, how he’d made me feel, and the way my heart raced when I saw him and how the butterflies always haunted my stomach in his presents. Not until now, I realized how blind I’ve been. I’d been blind to the way my feelings had grown for him. Before, I hadn’t been able to put a name on my feelings for Alec, but now I could. I loved him, and I had loved him for a while now.