Chapter Notes: Ava-Rain's POV

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The shift in the air, the tingle that soared up and down my spine, the hairs on the back of my neck that stood up and the profoundly distinct feeling of peace flowing through my being could have only meant one thing: Caleb was near.

Because my attention had been focused on Declan, who was recounting a certain moment from the past, it wasn't hard to miss the slight change in his demeanor as, I assumed, he too realized his alpha and pack were home. My eyes flickered to Rickon, who had joined Declan and I outside over an hour ago, and to pass the time, the two of them shared memories of their childhood with me. His body language mimicked his brother's, though where Declan's gaze lowered to the grass, Rickon's had been trained on the house.

     Simultaneously, we all rose to our feet. Just as my eyes made contact with the house, Caleb and the rest of the pack emerged. The three of us had to have been half a mile or so away from the house, but not even the bit of distance between Caleb and I could disguise the fact to anybody watching that neither of us were jumping for joy to see the other. I wouldn't exactly have called it a lack of excitement, nor would I have explained or categorized it as a facade of nonchalance. It was just that, as a result of the way we had left things, neither of us knew exactly what to feel because we had yet to really strategize how to overcome the hurdle that had been placed in our relationship.

     "We should get you back to the house," Declan said as he turned back to look at me.

     Smoothing my hands down my dress to wipe off any lingering blades of grass, I nodded in agreement at the younger twin. "Yeah. I guess you both have pack matters to discuss." But before we could even begin to head back, Caleb and the rest of the pack headed back inside.

     Again, I wasn't really sure if I should have taken Caleb's retreat personally, or if I should have felt anything at all. But even if I could have prevented the slight bit of hurt sparked from his premature departure, I was pretty convinced the pain would have only surfaced at some other point when another opportunity portraying the ambiguity of our relationship status presented itself. "On second thought, you two can head back. I'll stay out here."

     They both turned to look at me but Declan was the first to speak. "I'll stay with you. Rickon, you want to head back and check-in?"

     "Sure thing, brother." Rickon gave me a final glance before turning and heading towards the house.

     "No, Declan. You should go, too." I gave him a soft smile, an attempt to assure him that I would be fine. But if the serious look on his face was any indication, it was pretty obvious that a thousand smiles wouldn't have persuaded him to leave my side so easily. "I'll be fine. Besides, you should be taking it easy anyway. You're still not one hundred percent better yet."

     "As much as I appreciate your concern, I'm right as rain." His lips curved into a soft smile. "See what I did there?"

      Shaking my head, a non-forced smile escaped me that time. "I'll give you, like, half a point for that one."

     He closed the space between us and crossed his arms over his chest. The smile on his face receded, and although the seriousness returned to his face in a smaller dosage, his blue eyes shined bright with concern. I knew why Declan didn't want to leave me out here by myself, especially not after everything we had talked about earlier. I guess this was just his way of making sure that I wouldn't take two steps back into my heavily confined prison before even taking a single step forward.

     He opened his mouth to say something, but whatever it was had been cut of at the sound of his name being called.

My gaze was torn away and pulled in the direction behind him where Kane, Chase, Rickon and Tommy stood. It had been Kane's voice that shouted Declan's name, and even with the distance between us, it was obvious that his patience was wearing thin. Next to him, Chase stood with his hands in his pockets and his sights trained on us. Tommy, who I had learned had been the quiet, less in-your-face and more lurking-in-the-shadows-watching-and-saying-very-little type, was rooted in place next to him, his eyes set on the grass below.

     At first, I almost released a triumphant smile and was seconds away of rubbing it in Declan's face that I had been right and his presence was needed, and, therefore, I no longer needed to be babysat. Almost. But just before my gaze flickered back in his direction, it, instead, took up residence on Rickon as he pulled his t-shirt over his head and tossed it on the ground.

     No, I was totally not checking him out in any sort of way. The reason why my eyes had been glued on him was because realization had kicked in. And when Caleb was the last to exit the house to enter the backyard, my growing suspicions had been confirmed.

     "There's no way," I whispered as my body brushed past Declan, ignoring the call of my name in a softness that only he harboured.

     Maybe I was getting a bit carried away. Maybe the bit of anger bubbling inside of me was a bit uncalled for and unnecessary. Maybe the last thing I should have been doing was asserting what little right I had left to question or argue pack matters and decisions, but as I stormed my way towards them, the only thing on my mind was protecting Declan.

     "He's not ready!" My tone was a bit more harsh than I intended, though there wasn't a shred of regret to be felt on my part either way.

Flickering from Tommy to Rickon, then to Chase and Kane, my eyes settled on Caleb as he, too, tossed his shirt over his head and onto the grass. The wind picked up, blowing my hair into, I could only guess, an even more wild state, which I'm sure only made me appear even more deranged and crazy than I was. But I'd like to think that the yellow was merely siding with me, offering its caress to assure me that, in that moment, it had my back.

"You can't seriously be telling me that you're going to put him through a conditioning lesson right now, are you?"

     Of course, my question was directed at all of them but my sights remained strictly on Caleb. Caleb, whose arms I should have been running into. Caleb, who I had not seen in a couple of days, who I should have been overjoyed and beyond ecstatic to see had returned home safely. But, instead, my only concern had been on the boy that had just nearly died and was not yet ready to be going toe to toe with his brother or anybody else.

     "No, he's not," Caleb replied without sparing me so much as a glance at first. But because I knew him—because I knew my mate and the power of what we still shared between us—I knew that he could only go so long without acknowledging me. And although it might have taken a couple of seconds too long, he finally did spare me a glance like I knew he would. "But he wasn't ready to take on a pure blood alone either." He closed the space between us, his body only millimeters away from coming into contact with my own. "So what do you think the only option for him is, Ava-Rain? It's to get him ready. To get both of them ready."

     "Ready for what? You're acting as if you're going to war."

     I looked around, letting my eyes land on each of the present pack members. Kane looked the most irritated and annoyed while Chase looked a bit sympathetic. Though if it had been geared towards me, I wasn't completely sure. Tommy simply looked bored  and if I hadn't been so determined to get my point across, I probably would've smirked as a result of his obvious boredom. When I looked at Rickon, he held my gaze for a moment, then lowered it to the grass below. But not before I saw the words he longed to say but couldn't voice: 'Thanks for sticking up for my brother, but my alpha's right'. Behind me, I felt Declan's familiar presence envelop me in its earthy clutches.

     "Go inside, Ava-Rain," Caleb commanded before brushing past me. And like the perfect little soldiers they were, the rest of the present pack members followed his lead.

     Pardon me, but had I just been dismissed?

     Going inside probably would have been the smartest choice.

     Listening to my mate would have been a wise action.

     Letting the pack deal with their pack matters was a rule that I knew I had no business breaking or challenging.

     But being a pissed off mate, who had just been dismissed like a Judge Judy case, did not bring forth the logical and reasonable side of me. Nope, it had done the complete opposite. It revived that girl that hated life lessons and often did what she knew better than to do. So, ignoring Caleb's request, I turned around and followed after him.

"Caleb!" I yelled, only to be ignored. "Dammit, will you please just give him a couple of days?"

     I reached out and grabbed his shoulder, but because I didn't think he was expecting my touch, the combination of him roughly shrugging off my hand and whipping his body around to face me caught me off guard. In the next moment, the small step back I took as a reflex only resulted in my loss of footing and falling to the ground with my hand breaking my fall.

     I don't know if that had been a reality shock—or the fact that now all eyes had been focused solely on me in the most embarrassingly way possible—but in that moment, I was able to look at myself. I mean, really able to take a good and hard look at myself in all of my shining glory. Butt planted on the grass, a throbbing hand clutched to my chest, and surrounded by a bunch of wolves who had nothing to feel guilty for except the blood running through their veins and loving their alpha, who would sooner die than allow any punishment to fall upon them. Men who did not have time to be dealing with an overdramatic girl that continuously put herself in situations that only ever ended with her butt planted on the grass and hurt because of her own stupid actions.

     "Ava-Rain," Caleb's voice sliced through the haze of embarrassment and stupidity surrounding me.

     I looked up at him, recognized the genuine look of concern dwelling within his grey eyes and marring his face.

That was my Caleb, right? The boy who could easily go from being mad at me to concerned for my well being within seconds because, no matter what, he loved me, right? Because I was his, right? Or was that simply just me confusing guilt for concern? Guilt that had nothing to do with my current state and everything to do with that state of our currently undetermined relationship. Guilt because he felt like he failed to protect me just as he failed to protect. . .her. . .the girl he loved enough to want to make his mate.

     "I'm sorry," he reached out to me. "I didn't mean to—"

     "I'm fine." I pulled away from his touch but not because I faulted him for my current predicament. Caleb would never hurt me; I knew that. I just felt as though I didn't deserve his comfort—that same comfort I had wanted more than ever when I woke up that morning alone. My head turned in Declan's direction. He was half way towards me when I shook my head in hopes that he would stop. He did. "I'm fine," I smiled at him in assurance.

     I helped myself to my feet, keeping my hand clutched against my chest. If I hadn't been so embarrassed, I probably would've given the rest of the guys a confirmation as well. But, instead, I kept my focus on Caleb. "I'm sorry. I just. . ."

     I'm sorry that I just proved, yet again, how stupid I can be. I'm sorry that I'm not perfect. I'm sorry that I jeopardized the well being of the pack. I'm sorry that you ended up being stuck with me for a mate. I'm sorry that I'm not her.

     ". . .I'm sorry."

     And with my tail tucked between my legs, I headed off in the direction of the house, ignoring the calls of my mate.

     Several hours later, I found myself out in the backyard, occupied with only my thoughts. Well, that was sort of a lie. My head turned to my right where Tommy, in wolf form, was laying in the grass ten feet away. Night had fallen over an hour ago, though the dark brown wolf and I had been out there for quite some time.

I smiled to myself as I looked at him. He was the epitome of 'being seen and not heard'. His silent demeanor and introverted persona proved to be the perfect company which, I assumed, was why Caleb delegated chaperone duties to him.

     I had long since given up on relaying to the delta that he didn't have to stay out there with me. Each time I had delivered the message, it only earned me a glance, a slight tilt of his head as if he was pondering if I had said something before he returned his focus out in the distance. At first, I thought that the only reason he stayed was because it had been a direct order from his alpha to do so. But as time began to pass and quick glances were shot in his direction, I wondered if he truly did not mind. That, in those passing hours, we were the only company that the other wanted. I had been in no mood to talk and he provided that silence as he had probably been in no mood to do so either. So, for a while, the two of us just sat there in total silence.

     After what happened earlier, I had retreated to Caleb's bedroom where I spent a good amount of time hiding out. And, as I knew he would, Caleb had given me space. He had not chased after me. He had not demanded I come out of hiding and talk to him. He simply left me on my own, which I was actually quite thankful for. Unconsciousness had called my name, but I refused to give it any sort of attention; my mind had been far more exhausted than my body. If I closed my eyes, I would have ran the risk of falling prey to the attack of the images and memories that didn't belong to me, and that was a pain I had no interest in enduring.

     Eventually, Caleb and the rest of the pack had retreated inside to the library, where the rest of their time was spent. From what I gathered, Harrison and Stryder had yet to return to the den which, I guessed, meant that they had still been out searching for Angelie. The gathering in the library provided me with the opportunity to walk around the house without running into anybody if I so desired, but, as always, I had found myself outside in the backyard instead.

If it had yet to be made clear, nature and I were the best of friends, so if I had to make a choice between staying inside a beautiful and luxurious mansion or spending some quality time with mother nature, she would, hands down, always be my first choice. The only company that could ever comfort me apart from Kasey or Caleb. Though Tommy's company had not been too bad, even if his unexpected presence had been a reminder that, no matter what, Caleb was no longer playing it safe when it came to tracking my whereabouts.

     As that all too familiar feeling of completion washed over me, I guess time had finally caught up with my mate and I.

Time for Tommy's shift to end and my mate's to finally begin.

Time to have the long and overdue talk that we both wanted yet tried to put off for as long as possible.

Because my eyes were already on him, I noticed Tommy's ears perk up as I assumed he detected his alpha's approach. His head lifted and his eyes first glanced in my direction before being casted in the direction behind us.

     "Thanks for staying with her, Tommy. You can head back."

     Out of the corner of my eye, Caleb's figure came into view. I turned my head and watched as he walked over to his delta. Tommy rose to stand on all fours, accepting his alpha's hands as they ruffled his fur. Tommy surprised me when, instead of heading back directly, he made his way over to where I was seated. When he reached me, he lowered his head and gently licked at the hand I had cradled in my lap. It was the same hand that had broken my earlier fall, and although it wasn't broken or even sprained, a slight bit of pain still lingered in my wrist.

     "Thanks for keeping me company," I whispered to the delta. And on that note, Tommy headed off, leaving Caleb and I staring at each other.

     He had changed since I last saw him. A pair of dark jeans took the place of the old ones and a white shirt covered his top half. He walked over and took a seat on the grass next to me. "Can I take a look?" His eyes flickered down to my hand.

     I offered it to him and watched as he carefully took it in his own and raised it to his lips. At first, he trailed his lips along my palm and stopped once they made their way to my wrist. After a couple of seconds, I felt a tingle of warmth ignite just under the spot where Caleb's lips were pressed against my wrist. Then, he placed a soft kiss in that very spot, sending a spark of warmth throughout my hand.

     His eyes found mine as he lowered my hand slightly. "Better?"

     I looked at my hand and pulled it out of his, which greatly decreased the intensity of the warmth in my hand once it was no longer in his grasp. I rotated my wrist to the best of my ability, trying not to cringe too hard at the pain sparked from the action. I lifted my hand and offered it to him once more. "Maybe one more." I looked at him and watched as his lips curved into a smile. He took my hand once again and pressed another soft kiss to my wrist. I repeated the same action of rotating my wrist in a circular motion and that time it had not hurt as much. "Yeah, that's a bit better."

     The little girl in me smiled. Clearly, kisses did make boo-boos better.

     Instead of returning my hand to my lap, I let Caleb continue to hold it in his where he eventually cradled it in his lap instead. Silence passed between us for a couple of seconds, our eyes focused solely on each other as we both searched for the answers that we only hoped we didn't have to ask the questions to. But, as always, nothing in our relationship would ever be that easy and we would certainly never work if there wasn't some sort of trouble for us to first conquer then stand upon as victors.

     "I'm sorry," Caleb's voice broke the silence first. "I'm sorry I left." He lowered his gaze to our intertwined hands, almost as if he expected them to separate.

     "It's fine. You had to find Angelie. I'm sorry you guys didn't have much luck yet."

     He shook his head before raising it once more and locating my eyes. "I don't just mean literally. I mean mentally. . .emotionally. I left you. I checked out after that night that I told you about Emmy Grace. I just. . .I'm sorry."

     "Sometimes we just don't want to feel certain things and we have no other choice but to turn our emotions off. To check out. And after everything that happened that night, I get it. You don't have to apologize for that, Caleb."

     "But that's not how our relationship should work. We communicate. Always. Even if we're mad at each other. Even if were sad, happy, whatever. We don't shut ourselves out from the other because if we do it once, then what's stopping us from doing it a second time? A third, fourth and fifth time? Until it becomes the norm. Until we've created this dysfunctional thing that we won't even be able to define. Until we grow to tolerate each other only because we remember that, once upon a time, we cared about each other. . .loved each other. But that love has become synonymous with hate; tolerance synonymous with resentment. That cannot become us, Ava-Rain."

     "No. It can't," I agreed.

     "Then we stop. Right here and right now, we stop not talking and we talk. Okay?"

     My thoughts drifted back to what Declan and I had talked about earlier; the prison of my own insecurities I felt trapped inside of and not knowing how to break free from. With the added weight of my mate's past love fueling my thoughts and emotions, it seemed as though there was now an even smaller chance of escape out of that prison. But even with Declan's advice of combating those emotions and thoughts with others, perhaps the first step that I had to take was to own up to those emotions and thoughts. To accept them and accept the part I had played in allowing them to control and imprison me in the first place.

       "Okay. First, I would never ever hold your past against you, Caleb. I want you to know that, to truly know that. What happened before me is none of my business. I believe that to be true, especially in a relationship. But what you had with Emmy Grace. . .well, I guess that's not so black and white, is it?"

He shook his head.

"You loved her. You loved her enough to want to make her your mate, to make her this pack's alpha female. So she wasn't just some girl. She was the girl. The girl that would have been by your side. The girl that would have had your heart, your mind, your body. . .she would have had it all.

     "But something horrible happened to her that changed everything. It's a fact. That's what our reality is. But, I just. . .I can't help but ignore the reality and hold onto the 'what's ifs', you know? What if Emmy Grace hadn't died? What if she was still alive—what if she had been by your side that night we met at that stupid club? What if. . ." I paused in attempt to mentally prepare myself for the biggest question of all to finally be asked. "What if I'm not really your mate and she was?"

     "Ava-Rain—"

     "You said it yourself, Caleb. You felt drawn to her. That there was a reason why you loved her that you can't really explain. So how do you know that she wasn't your true mate? That she wasn't your greatest gift from Luna? What if—and I doubt this is going to make any kind of sense—I'm what you think she was to you, and that she was what you believe I am to you?"

     He had said that he had chosen Emmy Grace, but what if his choice was actually just his acceptance of Luna's choice to put Emmy Grace in his life as a mate?

     "You saw something in her. Something you obviously wanted. Something you felt was worthy enough to be introduced into your world. Something you felt was enough to go against not only Council Law but the laws of your very nature."

     "That day I brought you here for the first time—after I revealed to you what I was—you said something. Something I'll never forget. The realization as it washed over you; the confidence in your tone as you said those three words. You had just yelled at me, told me that werewolves didn't exist. You thought I was crazy. But you said something. Three words, Ava-Rain. Three words that I did not expect to come out of your mouth so soon, let alone with the amount of conviction you used to utter them. Do you remember? Do you remember what those three words were?"

      A smile crept onto my lips as I remembered the exact moment he had referenced. My eyes lowered to the grass then to our intertwined hands. I never really understood the point of holding hands or why couples engaged in the act because, I mean, who really cared or focused enough attention on something so small.

Was it an act of security? A sign of possession? Was it something that people did just because? Before Caleb, I never understood why. I couldn't really speak for other couples but as I gazed down at our hands, I guess I sort of realized why we did. It was not done to lay claim. It was not done for security. It was not a sign of possession nor something done out of boredom or without any real reason. No, for us it had been two halves of one soul seeking out each other's completion. That was our reality.

     "'I'm your mate.'"

     He nodded. "You didn't really know me from Adam, yet you knew what I was to you, what you were to me. What you are to me. How did you know, Ava-Rain?"

     "I just. . .knew. I felt the truth before I even knew what the truth was." Again, my eyes took up residence on our joined hands. "I felt it. With you, I felt. . .complete." I looked up into his eyes. "I guess this is the part where you ask me how I could ever question or doubt that we're mates then, huh?"

     "No. This is the part where I tell you that you have every right to feel what you're feeling. To ask what you're asking. But I am yours, Ava-Rain. I knew it that night we first met and I've felt it every moment since then. I loved Emmy Grace, but I never once felt for her the amount of love that I feel for you.

"If fate had not stepped in the way that it had, I don't know where that would have put you and I. But, in my world, I can't dwell on the 'what ifs'. Nothing in this world happens if it's not in Luna's will. Emmy Grace was never mine to have and I had paid the price for believing otherwise."

     "No offense, but Luna's kind of evil. Like wicked witch of the west evil."

     He smiled, though he nodded in agreement. "Yes, but if she wasn't so cruel, how else could we know how much she loves us?"

     I didn't understand why my traitorous mind would take me there, but, for a second far too long, my thoughts were drawn to my grandmother. As horrible as she was, if I were to go by Caleb's logic then was her cruelty only a sign of her love?

     "When I touch you," the hand that held mine he placed on the side of my face, "I'm touching only you. When I look at you, I'm looking only at you. When I hold you, there's no other that I wish to be in my arms. It's always you. Only you, Ava-Rain." He dropped his hand from my face and tore his gaze from mine. "I get that I put you in a position to wonder otherwise, but I can only hope that you won't ever doubt that. That you won't doubt me."

     Doubt him? This boy was searching high and low for his sworn enemy—the very girl slash ex pack member that killed the girl he loved—in hopes of combatting the string of events that were going to happen because I couldn't do as I was told. This boy was putting himself and his pack at risk of exposure for me. This boy was willing to go to possible war rather than reject my place in his life. Doubt him? Impossible.

     I rose to my knees and took his face in my hands. "If I ever, ever doubt you, you better promise me right here and right now that you'll do everything in your power to obliterate that doubt. I mean cosmic-moon-powered back to the Negaverse obliterate, which is totally a Sailor Moon reference that I don't expect you to understand in the slightest, but I'm sure you get my drift."

     Caleb laughed, and if I was to sound cheesy and call anybody's laugh adorable, it was his. "I promise."

     "Now 'alpha's promise' me."

     He smiled. "I promise, on my honour as an alpha, that in the event that you begin doubting me, I, Caleb Brandt, will do everything in my power to obliterate that doubt within you, Ava-Rain Tolbert."

    "You better."

     He turned his head into my palm, pressing a kiss to it. He then turned my body around and seated me in between his outstretched legs. My back rested against his chest with his arms wrapped snugly around me. We sat there for a while before either of us spoke. The night surrounding us had darkened and the moon was perched high in the star-filled sky. The rise and fall of his chest was enticing me to drift into a much needed sleep, but being in his arms after being out of them for far too long was an opportunity that I had not wanted to pass up, not even to unconsciousness.

     "Declan told me you've been having trouble sleeping?" Caleb broke the silence. "Ever since that night?"

     I had indeed confessed to Declan about my lack of sleep, though I had not told him why. I assumed Declan would have figured that it had everything to do with the traumatic experience we had both gone through together, which, of course, had still haunted me. But my inability to sleep soundly was more derived from the abundance of images that refused to settle down inside of my mind. I thought I had assured the twin that my lack of sleep wasn't as bad as it seemed but I guess he had been more concerned than I thought if he had told Caleb.

     "Yeah, pretty much. I never told you because there was a lot of things going on at the time." Clearly. "But when Declan and I were ambushed, there was a moment when I touched one of the pure bloods and a bunch of images seared their way inside of my mind. It was the most painful thing I've ever felt, and now every time I try to sleep, I keep seeing them and feeling that pain. I think they're memories or something; they won't slow down enough for me to understand so I can't tell you anything really about who the pure blood is, nor can I figure out how to stop them whenever I close my eyes."

     "And I wasn't exactly around for you to tell."

     "Caleb, it's fine. I'm more concerned about how it was even possible. Something tells me it's not everyday that a human is able to have memories implanted inside of her mind with one touch of a pure blooded werewolf."

     "No. It's not." Despite his efforts to mask it for my sake, the hardness in his tone could still be easily detected. I was certain Caleb was still not completely at peace with what had gone down that night of the pure blood's attack, more so, of the fact that I had been threatened. "And as much as I hate to say this because I was going to call of the hunt for her after tonight, it looks like we need to locate Angelie more than ever. Only," I felt his gaze on me,"for different reasons now."

     "Really?" I turned my head to look up at him. "Why?"

     "She's the only one that stands half a chance at getting inside of your head. Originally, we thought maybe there was more to the pure blood's attack. A bigger reason for them to draw you out with Jennifer's help. That maybe Angelie's knowledge of you and your position in my life had been bargained. She's a lone wolf, meaning her allegiance is to nobody other than herself. But even if helping the pure bloods would have helped her in any sort of way, she would have never taken such a huge risk. Angelie is many things, but stupid is not one of them. She never would have given us up to the pure bloods. No matter what," he said strongly with absolute certainty in his voice.

     "How are you so sure?"

     "Because, just as we do, she has a lot to protect as well. Angelie isn't just another mixed blood; she's an heir of three. It's not nearly as rare as an heir of the four—which is practically impossible as I am the exception—but rare in its own right."

     "Then why would she want to keep her identity a secret? If it's not so unheard of and not as condemnable, why is it a secret?"

     "Remember when I told you that this den was a safe haven for wolves in need of protection? Well, Angelie and I weren't so different as pups. We both considered this place our home. Only what she needed protection from was the alpha that would have killed her if he found out that his beta, her father, had mated with a mixed blood, true mate or not. When I tell you that the pure bloods hate mixed bloods, don't ever doubt or underestimate the power of that hate.

     "Her father was an heir of Air, the element associated with thoughts. For wolves born from a pure blood line, their affinity for their respective element is stronger than a wolf of mixed blood that may harbour that same element. The pure bloods are literally the strongest of our kind. The power of the yellow was passed onto Angelie from her father. I don't really want her anywhere near you, but she's probably the only one I know that can break into your mind and help us make sense of these images."

     "Break into my mind?" It was hard to ignore the fact that Caleb had said it as if it was nothing new, like just another day in the supernatural world where wolves hijacked their way into other people's minds. "That's actually possible?"

     "Not for all wolves, but some possess certain gifts if the element in their bloodline is strong enough. In Angelie's case, it is. She used to do it all the time as a pup. One look was sometimes enough for her to know exactly what I was thinking." He paused, and as a result of being pressed against his chest, it was hard not to notice as his body stiffened slightly. "I don't doubt she knew exactly how I felt about Emmy Grace and that couldn't have been easy for her because. . ."

     Because she loved Caleb.

He didn't have to say it because I guess I sort of already knew it since that day I kind-of-sort-of 'met' her. Angelie was just another girl that had fallen in love with Caleb, a boy that was not hers to have anymore than Emmy Grace was his to have. In a twisted sort of way, I guess I understood how her love for him drove her to what she had done. A very, very twisted sort of way.

     "I wish I could, but I can't fault her for a gift she was born with. I, better than most, knew the extent of her gift. I should have been more guarded around her, not allowed my thoughts of Emmy Grace to fuel her hatred for her that was justified by her love for me."

     "Caleb, you're not responsible for what Angelie did. She made her own choices and that makes her responsible for her own actions. Love makes people do crazy things."

     "Truer words have never been spoken." His hold on me tightened as his head slipped in between my neck and shoulder. His warm breath tickled my skin each time he exhaled. "And for a while, I just couldn't understand why she did it. Because no matter what, Angelie's love for me would have been stronger than her hatred for Emmy Grace. That probably makes me sound like some cocky bastard, but it's true. Angelie would never have done that to me, would have never done anything to cause me that sort of pain, which is why it never made sense and, to this day, still doesn't.

     "But the facts are the facts, right? She did kill her. She killed her and I let her live. I let her walk away unscathed. Because love makes people do crazy things. No matter what she had done, she was still a member of this pack and I had sworn to protect her. That doesn't just stop, you know? I could have killed her and avenged Emmy Grace's death, but it's not what Emmy Grace would have wanted for me. It's not what I would have wanted for myself."

     "And that is exactly why you are the best person that I'll ever know, Caleb. Nobody would have faulted you for killing Angelie, but you didn't. It would have been just and fair, but you didn't do it because you loved her. No matter what she had done, it had not completely severed that love."

     A deep sigh escaped him. "Maybe that's the difference between a good alpha and a bad one. One harbours the ability to not allow something even as powerful as love overthrow their Luna given power as a leader, while the other allows that love to blind them. To control them. To fail by doing what they believe should be done and not what needs to be done."

     "No," I replied with all the strength I could conjure. "That's the difference between other alphas and you." I placed my arms on top of his, which were still securely wrapped around my body. "And while we're on the subject of how amazing you are as an alpha, now is as good a time as any to say thank you. I guess it took me being out here alone for a while to realize what you did for Declan.

"I don't know entirely how it works in a pack, but I'm sure going against an alpha's command is never a good thing. And although the blame is entirely on me, I know that you still blame Declan and, as a result, his punishment could have been so much worse. Much, much worse than you making him undergo conditioning while still recovering from his injuries. But in that moment, I didn't realize what you were doing. In case you haven't noticed, I clearly like to act before I think and have a difficult time assessing a situation in its entirety before jumping to conclusions. I know, that totally doesn't sound like me."

     I smiled when he laughed. "No, sounds absolutely nothing like you," he sarcastically replied.

     "But you did it for me. I know you did, so you don't have to deny it anymore than you have to confirm it out loud. I just want to say thank you."

     For a while he didn't speak but the silence wasn't unsettling. "I cannot promise you that if it happens again—if he disobeys a direct order—that his punishment won't be much, much worse with a lot harsher repercussions. When it comes to your safety, there is no compromise. Do you understand, Ava-Rain?"

     "Yes, I understand," I replied like a kid that had just been reprimanded for acting out. "No powers of persuasion or any use of my 'I think I'm invincible, hear me roar, flick my head full of curls over my shoulder and bat my big brown eyes until I get what I want' charm—as you so eloquently once put it—will be used on your delta."

     His body shook with laughter. "Promise me."

     "I promise."

     "Now," he lifted his head from my neck and rested his forehead against my temple. "Promise me on your honour as an alpha female."

     My mouth curved into a smile as he pressed a kiss to my cheek. "Well, technically, I'm not really an alpha female yet—"

     His lips covering mine in a soft and gentle kiss resulted in whatever I was going to say being cut short. "Say, 'I, Ava-Rain. . .'"

     "I, Ava-Rain. . ." I repeated.

     "'Promise. . .'"

     "Promise. . ."

     "'On my honour as a soon-to-be alpha female. . .'"

     I shook my head in disbelief that we were actually being so ridiculously cheesy. "On my honour as a soon-to-be alpha female. . ."

     "'To always listen to my alpha and never ever go against him.'"

     "To always listen to my alpha and never go against him."

     "'Never ever'," he smugly corrected.

     ". . .and never ever go against him. "

     "'In the event that I break this promise. . .'."

     "In the event that I break this promise. . ."

     "'I will surrender all of my chick flicks to my alpha and forfeit the right to choose which movies my alpha and I will watch ever again.'"

     "What?" I turned my head and looked at him. "No!"

     "Yes."

     "Never!"

     "Say it."

     I shook my head, trying to come up with a compromise of some sort. What was a girl without her chick flicks? Nothing, that's what. "Only if I get to keep at least ten."

     "Five."

     "Seven," I countered.

     "Five. And your life long sentence of never choosing the movies will be reduced to twenty years." That smug smile of his was firmly rooted in place on his face. "I think that's quite fair."

     I released a deep sigh. You would have sworn that I was making a deal with the Devil and signing my life away. But just as I opened my mouth to repeat the final sentence of my promise, the sound of Caleb's name pulled both of our attention away from each other and towards a quickly approaching Kane.

     "It's the boys," Kane said when he was feet away from us. "They're on their way back," his gaze shifted from Caleb to me then back again, "with Angelie."