Chapter 171: Coming Home

Chapter 171: Coming Home

Sierra's POV

The world tilted sideways. My legs gave out beneath me. One second I was standing, the next I was falling. 

Adrian caught me before I hit the ground. His arms wrapped around me tight. "I've got you," he whispered. 

His voice sounded far away like he was speaking through water. My body felt heavy. Everything went dark. I let it take me.

When I opened my eyes, we were moving. Adrian carried me through the warehouse doors. Bodies lined the ground. Some breathing, some not. 

Pack members knelt beside the wounded pressing cloth to bleeding wounds. Whispering comfort to the dying. This was the price of victory. Blood, death and too much loss.

I buried my face in Adrian's chest. I couldn't look anymore. 

Adrian walked faster. His footsteps crunched on broken glass. The warehouse district was destroyed. Buildings had collapsed. Fires still burned in some places. Smoke hung thick in the air, it stung my eyes and made them water or maybe I was crying. I couldn't tell anymore. 

My wrists were raw from the ropes. My head throbbed where Marcus had thrown me against the wall. My ribs ached from where the knife had pressed but none of that compared to the exhaustion. 

"How many?" I asked. My voice cracked. Adrian's jaw tightened. "Twelve dead. Twenty-three were injured and Three missing."

Twelve families would bury someone tonight. Twelve empty chairs at dinner tables. Twelve holes in the pack that could never be filled. "Marcus's side?" Adrian's arms tightened around me. "Thirty-seven dead. Fifteen surrendered, and the rest ran." 

More death. More waste all because one man couldn't let go of his hatred. He couldn’t accept that life wasn't fair and sometimes people got things they didn't deserve.

We reached the cars. Ben was there. His face was bruised and his arm hung at a weird angle. Broken probably but he stood tall. 

He opened the car door for Adrian. "Richard's organizing cleanup. Daemon's helping identify bodies. We've got medical teams coming from the neighboring packs." Adrian nodded. 

He slid into the backseat with me still in his arms. He wouldn't let go. Ben got in front and started driving. 

The pack house came into view. My heart sank. Half of it was gone. The east wing had collapsed completely. 

The front door hung crooked on broken hinges. Scorch marks blackened the walls where fires had burned. This was our home. Our sanctuary and Marcus had destroyed it. 

Adrian saw my face. "We'll rebuild," he said firmly. "Stronger than before." I wanted to believe him, to have that hope but right now all I felt was tired.

Inside the damage was worse. The furniture was overturned. Walls had holes punched through them. Blood stained the floors. Our pack members moved through the wreckage salvaging what they could. They looked as exhausted as I felt but they kept working because that's what the pack did. They survived, endured and rebuilt from ashes.

Adrian carried me upstairs. Our bedroom was mostly intact. His hand held mine and our fingers intertwined. Neither of us spoke. We didn't need to. The silence said everything.

A knock came at the door. "Come in," Adrian called. 

The door opened. Lena stood there with Alexander in her arms. My son. My perfect beautiful son. He was sleeping. His tiny chest rose and fell. So peaceful and innocent. He had no idea how close he'd come to losing his mother tonight. 

"He was perfect," Lena said quietly. "Barely cried. He ate well and slept most of the time." She walked closer. Held Alexander out to me. I took him and pulled him close. 

The weight of him in my arms broke something inside me. All the tears I'd been holding back came flooding out. 

Lena quietly left and closed the door behind her giving us privacy. Adrian wrapped his arms around both of us. His own tears came out now.

I held Alexander for hours. I couldn’t put him down or  let go. Every time I tried my hands started shaking. 

Alexander woke up hungry. I fed him and watched his little mouth work. His tiny fingers grip my finger. He looked at me with those big eyes. Adrian's eyes. Full of trust and love. 

He had no idea what we'd done to keep him safe. What we'd sacrificed, what we'd lost and that was good. He should never know because that was our burden. Mine and Adrian's. We'd protect him from the darkness and let him grow up in light.

Adrian finally convinced me to sleep. He took Alexander and held him against his bare chest. He paced the room singing softly. Some old pack lullaby his mother used to sing. His voice was rough and off-key but it was the most beautiful sound I'd ever heard. 

I watched them through heavy eyelids. My alpha, my mate and our son. This was what we'd fought for. This moment, peace and family.

But peace never lasted nor in our world. A soft vibration pulled me from the edge of sleep. Adrian's phone. 

He checked and his face went pale. 

"What?" I sat up. Fear clawed at my chest. "What is it?" He turned the phone toward me. 

A text message from an unknown number. No words just a photo. The photo showed our pack house taken from outside tonight. The timestamp was from ten minutes ago. Someone had been watching and they were still watching.