His scent was a needed comfort. My tired body could finally relax. His arms were slowly restricting around me.
"Saigon." I pulled back. "I can't breathe." I saw his face and kissed his cheek. "Don't cry."
"They took you."
"I got away."
"They stole you from me. I wasn't there to protect you."
I wrapped my arms around his neck. "I'm a dominant, Saigon. I don't need protecting, and I doubt you would have been able to do much to stop them."
"What? Why? I would have killed them. Hunters or werewolves, I would have killed them for taking you."
I cupped his face. "I'm here. It's over. I'm safe now and you continue to protect me just like you did before this happened."
"What if they come back?" His breath caught.
With a smile, I kissed him. "I know you pretty well, Saige, and I don't think I'll be alone if there is a next time."
He buried his face in my shirt and started sobbing. I rubbed his back as he was visibly shaking. What those bastards had done to Saigon was far worse than anything I had gone through.
"Archer?" Karen gasped, clutching her chest. "Good heavens, my lord, have mercy, Quint! Aden, Titus! He's here. Archer is outside." She hurried down the steps with a blanket in her arms. "Oh my lord, look at this miracle right in front of me." She dropped into the snow and hugged us both. "My boys are back together." She wrapped the blanket around us and kissed Saigon's head.
He wouldn't look at anyone as everyone else hurried out onto the lawn. Saigon was struggling to stop crying. I settled onto his lap and secured the blanket around us. He could take all of the time he needed.
"Archer." Aden knelt beside us. "My heart nearly stopped. I can't believe you're here. What happened?"
"Luck," I replied."
He gave me a side hug and tried to get Saigon to sit up. My mate refused. I was a little nervous but the amount of pressure coming from his fingers digging into me. Thankfully, his claws hadn't come out.
"Someone, call Darius," said Karen.
"And Peter," added Aden.
Titus was already on the phone as Quint came over to help Saigon up.
"Come on, let's move inside." He grabbed his grandson's arm and lifted him to his feet.
Saigon kept an arm secured around my waist. I leaned against him as we entered the home and went into the living room. We sat down on the couch. Saigon held my hand as he tried to hide the fact he was still crying.
"It's okay. Everything's okay now." I pulled him closer, so he was laying against my chest.
He was getting it under control but was still using his shirt to wipe his eyes. I adjusted the blanket around my mate and played with his hair. The rest of the family was running about. Phone calls were being made, and loud voices could be heard on the other end. Closing my eyes, I felt heavy but content. I was going to sleep even better tonight than I did during the full moon.
***
Saigon hadn't moved. He was strung across me as we lounge on the couch, fast asleep. I was content with playing with his air and watching him sleep. I felt a lot better after my nap but I also had been drunk on moon rays the night before.
I brushed my fingers along his arm. He looked like he had lost weight. This whole experience had been hell for us both. I wanted to protect him just as much as he did me.
"Archer." My dad appeared in the entryway and threw off his coat as he hurried over. "I was so scared I lost you." He hugged me and pressed my head to his chest. "Oh, my god. Look at him." He clasped Saigon's shoulder. "He could barely function with you gone. Saigon was so worried."
I spotted my father standing just inside the room. All my life, I had never seen him cry and he was clearly struggling to keep it that way.
"Hi," I said with a smile.
My father marched over and snatched me. "I knew you could do it."
I chuckled. "Well, you did teach me everything. I had to do some of your tricks to throw them off my trail."
He cleared his throat. "I'm glad you're safe. As you can see, our beta is in rough shape and needed his mate back."
"I plan to take good care of him," I replied with a grin as I wrapped my arms around the sleeping man.
My father stood and pitched the bridge of his knees, squeezing his eyes shut tightly. "Darius said you had some help. Some guy named Ryder and his mate drove you here. They showed up at WIR a little frantic."
I nodded. "I kind of wander into their garage and spend the full moon passed out on their floor."
He lifted his head and took a deep breath. "We owe them a lot then." He swallowed hard. "I'm going to see if Darius is here yet."
My dad leaned in and kissed my cheek. "He's been just as worried as Saigon. Dominant pride gets in the way sometimes, but you would know more about that than me."
***
The house was getting fuller as more people showed up. I was excited to see them, but Saigon was making me worried. He wouldn't wake up, no matter how noisy the house was getting. Karen was doing a good job keeping them preoccupied as food from different restaurants had been delivered.
Titus stood in the entryway, chewing on a piece of fried chicken. "Darius will be here in about an hour with Trevor."
I nodded.
"Has he moved?"
I shook my head.
Raven poked his head into the room. "Should we be worried?"
Jagger pulled his mate back to the kitchen. "Let him sleep."
"Is he at least breathing?" said Raven, looking rather concerned.
I nodded with a smile. "Yes."
"Do you want something to eat?" asked Titus.
I shook my head. "I'll eat later."
He nodded and snatched Aden's hand before the sub came into the room. "Give them space."
"Are they hungry?"
"Tired," Titus replied.
"We should save them some food."
"Karen will order more. I think she already did. I heard her on the phone."
Saigon let out a shaky breath before settling in.
I moved his hair away from his eyes. "Saige?"
His eyes slowly opened. "You're real."
I smiled as he started to tear up again. "Stop, stop, please." I lifted his head and kissed his cheek. "Enough crying. I'm not going anywhere," I whispered in his ear.
He collapsed on top of me and wiped his eyes. We sat there and listened to the voices in the other room. There seemed to be a debate about fried chicken. I think Aden was winning because Titus and my father were doing a lot of whining.
"I love you," whispered Saigon. "I felt like my heart was going to stop when they took you."
"You got me through it." I rubbed his back. "My only thought was getting back to you. Even when they killed Willow, it hurt, but that connection I had with her wasn't nearly as strong as the one I have with you."
"She's gone then?"
"Yes."
I watched his response. Saigon seemed content or too tired to let me know how excited he actually was that I no longer had a connection with another person.
"I love you, too." I kissed the top of his head. "You could say this was our mating trial."
"Our what?" He sat up and cleaned his face with the bottom of his shirt. His eyes were swollen.
"Our parents had their trials. It's not a deathmatch or the mess my father made when he took my dad as a mate, but my dad always said it made them stronger as a couple. Any doubt he had about the relationship was gone after that. I think it's the same for your parents."
Saigon nodded. "I would have preferred not having a mating trial."
I laughed and leaned forward to kiss him. "Me, too."
"Oh, good, Saigon is awake," said Karen. "I bet you are hungry. What would you like?" She took out her cell phone. "We're ordering in. I didn't know how many mouths we needed to feed."
Saigon sighed. "What are the options?"
"Pizza, Chinese, tacos?" listed Karen.
"Anything sweet?" I leaned against Saigon.
Karen flashed us a coy smile. "I know a bakery that delivers. Eat something else first, so you don't fill up on sugar." She headed for the kitchen. "There's a relish tray on the table that no one has touched."
Saigon turned to me. He cupped my cheek and scanned my face. "Never leave me."
"Not possible." I placed my hand over his. "Mating is a lifelong commitment. I messed up the first time, but I got it right the second time around."
****************
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