"But I can help!" I limped after Chase as he practically ran down the stairway.

"Macey, you will not take a step outside of this house!" Chase bellowed, not slowing down for me one bit.

"I'm a hunter, Chase, I can fight!" We both froze after I said those words. My mouth was dry as Chase slowly turned around.

"You are not, and never will be again, a hunter. Do you understand?" His eyes, they were purely black and that alone terrified me. It sent me into an alarmed state.

He was the Alpha here. Not me.

"I know. But I've been trained as one and I can fight!" Chase ignored me and started running again, so I struggled my way behind him. My calves were burning from the very recent injuries, and I knew that it wasn't smart to be chasing after someone.

It wasn't until I tripped and fell onto the stairs that Chase stopped and grabbed a hold of me. He didn't pick me up, but he held me and crouched down so our faces were very close.

Looking into his eyes, I pushed my mind to connect to his so I could see whatever he was feeling. I wanted to know why he wouldn't let me fight, and I though that maybe knowing would help me to understand.

Pride. Worry. The need to prove himself.

The emotions flooded over me as well until I blinked, then they were gone. Chase growled slightly at me and shook his head.

"Now you know. Macey-"

"Just go." I gave him a smile to let him know that I understood, and that I would sit back on this one.

I was injured, and I had just wounded his pride very much so. I mean, he kissed me and I threw up! The action had nothing to do with his kiss, that I was sure of. But he needed to show that he was a man, and that he could be impressive. Chase just needed to prove himself, and I would let him on this fight.

Chase smiled back at me, and looked like he was going to lean in to kiss me. He obviously thought against it when he sighed and pulled away.

"I will be back later, Macey. This house is safe, so as long as you stay inside you should be perfectly fine. If I say a single thing in your mind, if you get any kind of urge to hide somewhere, then go to the questioning room that you were in before. Okay?" I only nodded. With that, Chase ran off down the stairs.

For the next few hours, I walked around the large house. The kitchen held no interest for me, as my stomach was still in knots and even more so after Chase had left. I didn't know if there was any room that held entertainment for me, so I just wandered around.

Mark was, most probably, out fighting. The same went for Blake and Leo. I wasn't sure we're Penelope was, and Kendall was nowhere in sight. Honestly, not finding her in the kitchen was a surprise to me.

It wasn't until I had been mindlessly walking for almost two hours that I spotted Kendall and Penelope stepping out of a room. I recognized the hallway and bedroom door as Penelope's room.

"Macey! Has Chase contacted you any?" Kendall practically ran up to, standing right in front of me and looking up at my wide eyes. I stepped back, not preferring the closeness of someone in my personal space.

"No. Why?" I looked up to Penelope. "Is something wrong?"

"She's only worried because Blake hasn't linked her," Penelope assured me.

Kendall scowled at a seemingly calm Penelope, obviously angered by the comment. "He said he would. He's my mate, I have every right to worry."

Penelope nodded in agreement, but softly placed her hand on Kendall's shoulder. "He's busy protecting us right now. If something was wrong, I am sure you would feel it."

Kendall sighed and slowly shook her head. "You're right. Thanks."

She's good at that.

She's good at being a Luna.

The dreary thought was like a punch to my stomach and I suddenly felt the need to prove myself. I was the Luna here. Chase, the Alpha, was my mate. Helping the pack was my job, and Chase would be proud of me if I showed effort in accomplishing that.

"Why don't you go get us some snacks from the kitchen? Us three could hang out in my room until the boys get back," Penelope suggested.

Kendall groaned. "I have to get them?"

"You're the one obsessed with food," I scoffed. Penelope shook her head.

"Do you want us to pick out something you wouldn't like? Also, I need to talk with Macey real quick." Kendall stubbornly accepted this and stomped off.

Penelope opened her mouth to speak, but I beat her to it. "Are you worried about any particular boy coming back safely?"

The shock on her face, then the small blush told me there was someone. Whether that someone was Mark or her other guy was the real question.

"Not particularly, no." She lied, clasping her hands together and refusing to look me in the eye. "Macey, why did Mark attack you?"

"I attacked him," I corrected her. There was this bad feeling in me each time someone accused Mark of attacking first. I didn't want anyone thinking he did anything wrong. He was only acting on his mate being with another man.

Penelope looked taken aback.

"Oh. Well, what did he do to make you attack?" I could feel the guarded and carefulness of her words. I didn't like that she felt so nervous around me. In all honesty, it made me feel like a monster.

"I can't tell you. Why were you with that boy?"

"Heath?" Penelope smiled shyly. "He took me out to the lake."

"Why?" There was this protectiveness in me. Her spending time with another man when her mate was suffering on the side in quiet angered me. In fact, it made me want to defend Mark in every way possible.

"Because he wanted to spend time with me." Penelope looked offended. "What, can't someone want to be with me?"

"No, that's not what I meant!" The need to keep so much a secret for Mark was making this harder. "It's just...doesn't he have a mate somewhere? Don't you?"

Penelope sighed, but then gave me a small grin. "He's of age, but he hasn't found his mate yet. I'm not of age yet, so the connection can't be formed between my mate and I. We both think that, I don't know, maybe we are mates."

Everything in me told me to tell her she was wrong, but I just didn't know how to. It wasn't my place to reveal Mark's secret, but his mate was planning her future with another man.

"Oh," was all I could say. Penelope, now distracted from the topic Mark and I's fight, smiled brightly.

"I'll introduce you to him sometime. He's really so sweet, I think you will really like him! He's strong headed, a lot like you."

"So you feel a connection with him?"

"If you must now," Penelope, "I don't. We've already talked about this though. The connection can't be felt, not yet. But, Macey, he makes me so happy. He's so handsome too, and really just someone I want to be with."

"What do you mean by that?"

"He's intelligent. He doesn't rely on brawn over brains, which is so rare with us being werewolves. It's really attractive, actually," Penelope practically swooned just talking about him.

Guilt formed in my stomach and I just felt like I had to reveal this to Mark. He was a fighter, actually a tracker at heart, and that wasn't what Penelope wanted.

No. It's not what she wants. Doesn't she have a choice?

She had a choice. Maybe I was starting to accept the connection with Chase, but that couldn't be how it is with all wolves. Not everyone can have a happy ending. It's not realistic, it's not true. Penelope didn't want a guy like Mark, and while I felt so sick at the thought of Mark being left alone, Penelope deserved to be happy.

A smile graced my features. "I can't wait to meet him," I stated, making Penelope's smile brighten.

"I just don't damn understand why he hasn't tried to link me yet." Kendall laid on Penelope's bed, only getting a distasteful scowl for getting crumbs on the comforter.

"Please, could you not understand a little cleaner?" Penelope, under the politeness of her request, was getting irritated. "Besides, at least Blake can link you if something goes wrong."

The worry was obvious in both of the girls before me, and here I was, not losing much focus on my mate leading the mission.

"Heath isn't a fighter, not at heart. I'm worried he won't be able to do what's necessary to protect himself," Penelope admitted.

It irked me that so much fear was being set towards the possible bloodshed at the moment. Chase was a strong Alpha, and I didn't like the doubt he was being given.

"Chase can protect his men," I stated definitely. All eyes were on me.

"We didn't mean to offend your mate." Penelope quickly apologized. "I'm sorry."

"You don't have to apologize. I'm overreacting."

Silence enveloped us, leaving me uncomfortable and the two others fearful. I didn't like the depressed atmosphere, so I quickly spoke up.

"Chase kissed me," I muttered.

It was only a few fort seconds of shock before squealing and curse words were strung at me.

"How did it happen?" Penelope asked once everything settled down.

We all now sat on the bed, our legs crossed and in a small triangle so we were facing one another.

"It was after my fight with Mark," I started. When Kendall went to speak, I quickly started up again. I didn't want to talk about that. "He was bandaging my legs-"

"How are they?" Penelope quickly asked. I pulled up the legs of the sweatpants I had changed into, showing her the bandages.

"The skin is sore, and itches sometimes, but I can walk."

"Yeah, that limping I saw earlier was so walking," Kendall remarked.

I hushed the girls so I could continue my story. "We were sitting on the bed and I felt so sick to my stomach and so nervous. I asked him to kiss me."

"That's it?" Kendall groaned. "Details, Macey! Did you say anything? Did he do anything to make you let him kiss you? I'm fucking dying here!"

I glared at the outspoken girl while Penelope put her hand on my knee and calmly begged me to trust them and tell them what had happened.

"I connected with him. I accepted the connection," I revealed. Kendall immediately started squealing again, going on about how amazing it was when she and Blake connected. When I looked to Penelope, she was frowning.

"Are you alright?"

"Perfectly happy for you." She smiled. "What else happened?"

I ignored my suspicious feelings and continued.

"I'm not sure I want to reveal everything that was felt, and said." I muttered.

I shot you and you were in love with me the first moment you saw me.

"Some of it is too...intimate," I briefly explained. Penelope nodded in understanding. Kendall made an inappropriate face.

"Too intimate to share, huh? C'mon, he's already marked you, just tell us," Kendall begged.

"No, Kendall," I snapped. The air grew tense and quiet again so I quickly diverted the situation. "Something else happened, after he kissed me."

Again, Kendall gave a vulgar prediction. Penelope and I quickly shut her up so I could indulge their suspicions.

"I threw up."

Again, my reveal left the two girls shocked still, staring at me in disbelief.

"Are you fucking serious?" Kendall asked in a hushed, mortified looking tone. I nodded, looking at Penelope for her reaction.

"Macey," Penelope looked horrified as well.

"It's not like I did it on purpose!" I shouted, making Kendall begin to giggle uncontrollably. I shoved her shoulder and she fell backwards, still laughing her ass off.

"Macey," Penelope got my attention again, "that was Alpha Chase's first kiss."

Kendall's laughter stopped and she grew wide eyed. Her expression held nothing to mine, as my face lost all its color and my stomach felt queazy again.

"Hot stuff never kissed anyone?" Kendall gasped, shaking her head in disbelief.

"No. He's always waited for his mate. Everyone in the pack knew this," Penelope explained slowly, gauging my reaction.

Irritation began to rise in my mind, in my chest. I was his first kiss, he wasn't mine. I was his first kiss, and he was a twenty-five year old man. His first kiss and I lost everything in my stomach after it.

"Talk about a wounded pride," Kendall remarked. I could only nod.

"Are you alright, Macey?" Penelope asked.

"It's just...I've ruined his first kiss and he waited twenty five years for it. I feel like, I don't know how I feel." Two sets of eyes stared silently at me.

"You know I've never talked like this," I regretted saying it as soon as I did. I wasn't one to reveal anything, yet here I was, sitting on a bed having girl talk with two werewolves.

"What do you mean by that?" Penelope indulged.

I took a deep breathe and slowly let it out. "My life only ever was training, especially after my mom died. My dad wasn't big on me having friends or going out."

"Macey." Penelope's voice with sympathetic and soft.

I scowled. "My life wasn't awful. I don't need pity."

"I don't pity you!"

My mind was racing. "I know, I'm sorry."

"So no friends at all?" Penelope continued.

I shrugged. "I dated Leo for a while."

"Leo Jackman? Our Head Warrior?" Penelope gasped in shock.

"I didn't know what he was," I explained.

"Guys," Kendall spoke up after her prolonged silence that neither Penelope or I had noticed. "Their back."

The ashen look on her face had me launching myself off the bed and out the door.

No. No, please let him be okay.

I pushed myself down the stairway, my calves burning in pain and panic setting in. My heart thudded hard against my chest. My mind was spinning with worry.

Calm down.

He was in a fight.

He's fine.

He could be hurt.

My mind felt closed off and secluded to everything except negative thoughts. Adrenaline rushed through me and kept my mind off the pain in my legs that should of had me limping or even falling over.

I burst out of the back door, seeing the backyard of the pack house scattered with men hugging their wives, mates, and children. A few men where being carried by others. Blake was being carried on the shoulders of four men, one of them being an unharmed Chase.

Mostly unharmed.

My legs moved on their own as I ran towards the man who had yet to notice me. He was too busy barking orders at others, and screaming his demands for a doctor. He was in full Alpha mode, and it was terrifying and amazing all at once.

"Where the hell is Jackman?" Chase's outburst had me freezing in my strides. I didn't walk towards him and my mind buzzed.

Was Leo hurt too?

Focus on him. He needs you right now.

The feeling I had pushed me to, hesitantly, start towards Chase once more. He was closer to the house now, and not just coming out of the tree line like before.

"Chase," I called out, picking up speed when I saw the bruise under his left eye and the blood dripping down his neck.

His eyes locked with mine and someone else quickly took his spot in carrying Blake. It was then that I started running again.

He caught me when I threw my arms around him, unable to control the need for his comfort at that time. His arms wrapped around me waist and he lifted me up, one hand moving to the back of my head.

"Are you alright?" Chase asked. I let out a scoff.

"I'm the one who's supposed to be asking that," I replied. Chase easily held me up, both his arms now once again wrapped around me, when I leaned back to inspect his face.

His bruised eye was only slightly swollen. You couldn't notice anything but the bruise unless you were closer up. One of my hands moved to his neck.

"Your bleeding." The fact that the blood was coming from his head worried me more.

"I'll be okay. It'll heal soon." Chase slowly set me to the ground and grabbed my face in his hands.

"Macey," Chase smiled, "I'm okay."

"I know that."

"You're shaking."

"I'm cold," I lied. My nerves were on high alert. The pain in my legs was returning and for some reason I just felt jittery.

He's back. He's back and he's okay.

"I was worried," I admitted.

"I know that," Chase mocked me.

"I'm sorry." I gulped, not knowing why I had said anything.

Chase's looked confused, his hold on me tightening. "Sorry for what?"

"The kiss."

Chase swallowed hard, moving his eyes away from mine. "I'm not."

"It was your first."

"That bad?"

"Penelope told me." He still refused to meet my eyes, only slowly nodding at my response.

"What happened at the fight?" I wanted to beat myself up for being a coward, but that wasn't a topic I was comfortable with either.

Chase coughed, his grip still not moving so I stepped out of it myself.

"Chase," I urged.

"I don't know. They knew we were coming," Chase sighed. He looked around, as did I, and we were alone.

Chase grabbed my shoulders, lowering his head and voice and saying, "Someone is working with them. Someone from the pack."

"Who knows about this?"

"A few of the men realized and spoke to me about it, but I had already figured it out. I don't know how many are aware."

I felt myself grow cold. "Who all thinks it's me?"

Chase's eyes hardened and I unconsciously stepped further back.

"Macey!" Chase growled, reaching out to grab me. I couldn't dodged his reach. "My men will not harm you. I swear by it."

"You won't harm me, Chase. But you would do anything to protect your mate. So would they. Or did you lie when you explained this part of mates?"

"I won't let them hurt you. Damn it, they won't hurt you!" Chase was tense, his entire body was shaking.

He's losing control.

"Chase." I softly stepped towards him, not knowing why I was getting closer to the threat. He grabbed me and pulled me tight against him whenever I was in arms reach.

"I can keep you safe, Macey." His warmth enveloped me.

"What happened out there."

Chase growled, his hold tightening around me. I tried to push my hand against his chest to distance us, but it was no use. He only grew more possessive.

"Chase, I need to know."

"I don't know. We had them. We thought we had them. But then more and more came. Some of them seemed impossible to kill. Impossible to take down. It was like they had protection on them." Chase shook his head. "They knew our positions. They knew who was weakest and where we were being risky."

"Whoever gave them information knew what they were talking about."

"They were organized. They were determined to win. Blake and Leo saved my life."

"Where's Leo?" I felt Chase's hurt directly after my question. "Chase, you almost got killed?"

The hurt went away.

"I just got a bit distracted. I was occupied with one wolf and more came up on me. Blake and Leo both stepped in and helped." Chase sighed. "I'm glad you stepped in whenever I tried to demote them."

"Where's Leo? You couldn't find him earlier," I recalled.

"I've been linked that he's okay and in the territory."

"I want to talk with him. And Blake."

"Why, Miss Jacks, would you like to thank those who saved your mates life?" The playfulness that was back in Chase's tone relieved me, but I was anything but relaxed.

"You could say that," I responded.

Chase loosened his hold on me and I leaned back to lock eyes with him.

"Blake is being attended to right now. He got really hurt protecting me. I owe him." The modesty of Chase's words and voice shocked me.

Even an Alpha feels humiliation.

"I can link Leo to meet you in my office. You can talk with him there, if you'd like." I knew that if I was going to have a private audience when my former boyfriend, Chase would not allow it anywhere else but his office.

"Of course, your office will be just fine."

"Are you alright?" Chase asked as we started walking towards the pack house. He kept a hand on my back, grinding me forwards. I felt it was for his own reassurance rather than mine, so I let the intimate touch go by without a word. "You seem tense."

"Just processing everything. My mate did just get back from near death." The bitterness in my one was obvious.

"Hey," Chase stopped me and leaned down to kiss the side of my head. "I'm here. I'm okay."

"I know. Cmon, I want to talk to Leo."

Chase nodded once again and we headed to his office.

Oh, Leo. I don't trust you one bit.

~~~~

Yeah I have nothing say here.

THANKS FIR READIN, FOLKS!