Alec’s

Sadie

My heart starts racing the moment the pilot announces that we will be touching down in the next five minutes. I don't think I've ever been this anxious in my life. Not even when my water broke during labor. Closing my eyes, I breathe in, then out, but the air gets stuck, and I feel suffocated. I keep reminding myself that things are going to be okay. That I am stronger now. That I don't have anything to fear. A hand grabs mine, and I turn to see Raven watching me with worried eyes.

"Are you okay?" she asks, her shifting between mine.

It's been three years. Three good years, yet the fear of going back to Alec's pack is still there.

I shake my head and stare at my lap, "No."

This was so fucking hard. I thought that I'd gotten over my fear. I thought that I was doing okay. I thought that this would be a piece of cake. It isn't. As much as I try to be strong, that terrified girl from three years ago is still buried inside me. She still shows her head once in a while.

It sometimes makes me wonder if I am indeed strong. If indeed I came out at the top... Or was it all just pretend. Was I lying to myself? Faking it in front of the others, but knowing deep down I'm nothing like I've portrayed myself to be.

Nyx's warmth engulfs me. It feels like being held in a tight and fluffy hug. Despite the love I feel, it does nothing to wipe away the remnant tendrils of fear and agony.

"It's going to be okay, Sadie," Raven whispers, trying to assure me. "This time, things are different. This time, you are different."

Sighing, I take a deep breath, then straighten my back. "You are right. I am different. No one can hurt me."

"Exactly. No one will hurt you."

Even though it doesn't drive away the negative feelings, I feel a bit better. I feel a bit in control.

We are jolted forward when the plane lands, and minutes later it comes to a complete stop. After the flight attendant tells we can leave, I unbuckle my seat belt before turning to my baby girl. She had fallen asleep about two hours into the flight. She has yet to wake up.

Gently, I pick her up and hold her close to my chest. Her long lashes fanned her cheeks, her pink lips were slightly open and small snores escaped her mouth. It was so cute. Watching her sleep, brought a sense of peace and the turmoil inside me settled.

"Do you want me to carry her?" Alec's voice startles me. I was so focused on Aspen that I didn't even hear him approach.

Hardening my tone, I give him a resounding no.

I didn't understand him honestly. Not that I wanted to, anyway.

I just don't get why he was bothering me. He has never liked me. In fact, he showed just how much he hated me when he threw me into the dungeons without a second thought. Why was he now trying to be part of my life? Part of Aspen's life?

Just because the goddess created a bond between us? Was that the reason why he made a three-hundred-and-sixty-degree change?

Shaking those thoughts away, I bypass him. His change was simply because he needed my help. That was it.

I hear him sigh, but it does nothing to me. This is on him. None of what happened was my fault. If he had been a little more diligent, a little more merciful, we wouldn't be here. He wouldn't be missing out on his daughter's life.

I get outside. I spot the black SUVS and head towards them with Martha and Raven falling in step beside me.

"Sadie?" an elder, who, I don't remember his name, calls in shock. "You are alive?"

Before I was thrown into prison, I wasn't really known. Apart from being Piper's friend, I was basically invisible. My parents were omegas, so I was basically no one. I was insignificant. Because of my case though, I become famous in the pack and not for the right reasons, as you can guess.