I had no recollection of getting into the bed or even falling asleep. It was like the events of yesterday blurred together until I could barely recall a thing. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't make sense of my thoughts.

I had tried to stab Chase. I defended Blake against him. I called him a monster, telling him never to touch me again.

We are definitely not true mates.

The thought had me scowling, even if I agreed with it. I didn't even want a mate. I didn't want anything to do with wolves. Hell, not even being a hunter was very appealing. It still haunted me. Every time I killed a thing it murdered my own dreams, painting the scenes with blood and violence. Last night was no exception.

It's all worth it. You save lives.

Shaking all the thoughts away, I sat up from the incredibly comfortable bed. It was a shame to get up, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that the same towel was still wrapped around my body. At least then I knew nobody changed me in my sleep.

Rubbing my face, I walked into the large closet. Even if wearing Chase's clothing wasn't exactly something I was looking forward to, I wasn't going to risk causing problems like I had done last night.

Blake didn't deserve to be attacked or threatened, and it was all my fault that he suffered that. Chase did overreact, but that overreaction was a result of my actions.

Lucky for Chase, I found a simple pair of black athletic shorts, matching it with a plain, dark blue T-shirt that was baggy on my form. The undergarments I had been wearing were still in the bathroom, and I planned on them staying there until I could wash them.

Satisfied that Chase would not have another blow up over my apparel, I left my room. The minute I opened the door, I ran straight into someone's back.

Rubbing my nose, I stepped back to find out who had been in my doorway.

Mark turned to face me, scowling but nodding respectfully towards me nonetheless. He looked entirely bored.

"Why are you here?" I grumbled, forcing myself not to attend to my unbrushed hair that was still knotted from the night before.

"Beta Highlander has been removed as your posted guard. Alpha trusts me with the job," Mark answered, his voice hard and emotionless.

"You mean Blake?"

"Yes."

Nodding thoughtfully, I blanked into my own mind. Mark might be a better guard for my advantage. He hates me and doesn't care about what I do. Perhaps I will have more freedom with him.

"Okay." Too bad Blake was easier on the eyes. "So what are we gonna do?"

Rolling his eyes, Mark turned his back to me again and started walking towards the staircase. I shuffled to close Chase's bedroom door before following after him.

I stayed in step with Mark all the way down the steps, waiting patiently to find out if he was taking me somewhere interesting. I had absolutely no idea what they would have around here to train with or hang around at so I was at a loss.

My lips began turning to a frown when I realized where Mark seemed to be leading me. I could feel the lump in my throat forming and the butterflies tickling my stomach as we got closer and closer.

Damn, he's leading me to my death for what happened last night.

Blinking away the thought, I pretended to be perfectly stoic as Mark led us straight for Chase's office.

He knocked twice, short and sweet.

Not sweet. More like a death knock. Definitely handing you off to-

My morbid thoughts cut short as his voice called us in.

He sounds angry.

Practically hiding behind Mark's form, I ushered in after him. I had no intentions to stay in this room for long at all.

"Luna Macey is awake and wondering what she can do for the day," Mark stated.

God, could he sound a little bit happier? He sulks too much.

Chase grinned a little before letting out a small chuckle. "You do not sound very happy. In fact, you sound like you are going to sulk all day."

What the hell? This mate thing better not lead to us finishing each other's-

"Sandwiches." Chase barked out. I immediately froze, my eyes wide in confusion. Where had I heard that before? "I want a sandwich. Mark, get Macey some breakfast and have someone bring me one."

Thank God. I would die if he could read my mind.

Finally locking eyes with Chase, I saw him. I saw the true him rather than the act he was putting up. He was tired, exhausted looking. Did he not sleep at all last night?

It's none of your business, Jacks. You guys aren't mates. It doesn't matter what he says, you are getting out of here.

Yes. I needed to keep my mind focused and not wandering off. If I started worrying about him it would be wasting my time.

Mark and I began to leave the room as I told myself to stop worrying about him. I had no right to worry just as he didn't need to worry about me.

"Never mind, Mark. I'm not hungry. Just get Macey something to eat." His voice was just so suddenly depressed again.

"Yes, Alpha," Mark acknowledged, not even checking to see if I was following as he left the room.

Breakfast was an awkward affair. Mark didn't talk to me and barely looked at me. He stood patiently and gave me an occasional glance as I ate my food.

God, I was starving.

Following that thought, I ate more. I hadn't properly eaten in days and it was definitely getting to me. I couldn't seem to pick what I wanted to eat because everything sounded so alluring. I finally landed on pancakes, scarfing down three before finishing off my second glass of water.

"You were certainly hungry," Mark huffed, chuckling so barely that I would have missed it if I hadn't been looking at him.

"I've been kidnapped and not fed properly without a distraction coming up," I explained, shooting out the only excuse I had.

Mark shook his head, turning back away to fill up his own glass of water. "You're a hunter. Did you expect Alpha Chase to just leave you out there to kill more of us?"

They need to trust you, Jacks.

Taking a deep breathe, I set down my glass and waited for Mark to turn and face me. The second he did, I locked his bored eyes with my angry and determined ones.

"No. I do not expect Chase to leave me to kill more of you. He's my mate and I'm learning to deal with all of this for him. You have every right to not trust me though, and I guess I can't do much to change that," I ranted, fighting the urge to go off on him and stab my fork into his eye.

Maybe that would give me the chance to run. Now.

"You're right. It's going to take more than a few words to make me ever trust someone like you," Mark scowled, eyes narrowing on me accusingly.

"Someone like me?" His words got to me. They hit me in a place that didn't like to be tampered with. My father's memory and legacy took a bash, leaving me fuming and wishing I could just shoot this boy a thousand times over before setting him to fire.

"I don't care if you are my Luna. You kill wolves for nothing. You prey on us as if we spend all our waking hours killing men and woman and kidnapping little babies. Let me tell you, Luna-"

"No, let me tell you. Any wolf I have ever taken the life of has attempted to kill me too. You think I go looking for a chance at murder? No! I go looking for those in trouble. Tell me one more time how wolves are so high and mighty to humans when I have seen and heard of so many stupid teenagers being ripped to shreds by animals."

My mind wanted to keep accusing; keep yelling. Every inch of my skin was begging me to let this guy see what I did...do!...for a living.

Kill him. Kill him now and run.

Taking in a deep breathe, I pushed myself up from my seat. At least this fight came after I had eaten so much and I was no longer hungry. Now I could just walk away with no need to come back to the kitchen.

And that's exactly what I did.

Sending a final scowl towards Mark, I turned by back to him. Not a smart move considering that gave him the perfect chance to attack me, but he didn't. God, my natural fighting skills were going to shame and I hadn't even been here for a week.

Shaking the mistake off, I walked. I continued to walk until I found a door that obviously led to the back of the pack house. It wasn't until I was reaching for the handle whenever a grip came down on my arm.

My body tensed in surprise at the sudden attack, leading me to spin around and get ready to fight. That instinct went to shame whenever I came face to face with the Alpha of this pack. We were mere inches from each other and his lips weren't far from my face. My breathing was still heavy from the adrenaline and I was sure that he could feel every breathe I released.

"Where are you going?" Chase asked, his eyes going darker as he took a step back.

My hand grasped his wrist before he could release my arm, holding him from stepping away from me.

It's okay, Jacks. He will think you are a good mate if you act like this.

Smiling up at a frowning Chase, I kept my hold on him steady. The skin on skin contact was sending sparks up my arm and flipping my stomach around.

"Outside," I answered, tipping my head back towards the door.

"Mark has to accompany you," Chase stated, a slight scowl tightening his lip.

I let out a small whine, shaking my head in defiance. "We don't see eye to eye. Can't Blake watch after me like before?"

Chase froze and glared down at me, his body tensing to the point it looked painful.

Ooh, struck a nerve.

"Beta Highlander has been revoked of his privileges to watch after his Luna and you damn well better remember that," Chase snapped, his soft hold on my arm tightening painfully.

"It was a misunderstanding. Don't take it out on him. He's your best friend," I urged, fully determined not to have Mark as a full time guard.

"And you are my mate! You are far more important than any friendship I may have with him." Chase lost his scowl and just sighed, biting his bottom lip in thought. "When will you see that?"

My only response was to shrug lamely and stare up at the second man who has ever been this close to me. It was strange to have so many sensations fluttering through me just because a man was standing beside me. He was much closer than what would be considered a normal distance between two people.

"Well, until I am given somebody else for company, I will be avoiding my guard at all costs. So I suggest you find somebody who I can deal with."

Chase shook his head, his uncaring frown returning as quick as ever. "Mark is one of our top fighters. He will be your guard for the best protection."

"Mark and I can't stand being in the same room as one another," I argued.

"Perfect," Chase smirked, "I won't have to worry about him, then."

Huffing in annoyance, I crossed my arms. The least he could do was understand that I didn't want to be guarded by a wolf- let alone this one.

Before I could even blink, Chase had grabbed my arms and uncrossed them. Grunting in anger, I began to open my mouth to demand why he found the need to do something so irrelevant.

"You are not wearing a bra, Macey," Chase explained, casting his eyes towards the ceiling.

"Maybe you should let me go to a shop then. Penelope could accompany me," I offered.

Maybe I would be out of here sooner than I thought.

"You can use my computer and credit card to shop online," Chase snapped quickly, making me step back in shock. He took that offer hard.

"Sorry," He apologized.

"Why are you like this? Did something happen, or should I expect this kind of behavior everyday?" I didn't like it at all. If I was going to fake being a happy mate for him the least he could do was be in a good mood. I understood last night wasn't exactly an ideal event, but he wasn't the only one affected by it.

Chase shook his head. "No, I'm sorry. Just stay in the pack house. I've made sure that not many wolves wander around here for a couple days so you can be comfortable, but my pack still isn't liking this."

"Then why don't you just do as they want and kick me out?"

Chase growled the minute the words left my mouth. "You are my mate! How many times am I going to have to remind you of that? You are meant to help lead this pack, not abandon them!"

Oh, I was so going to 'abandon' them as soon as I possibly can.

Instead of voicing my thoughts, I put on a bittersweet smile.

Stop, Jacks! You have to act like a mate!

Sighing, I faked a real smile. "I'm sorry, Chase."

His only reply was to turn and walk away, leaving me confused. I apologized! Given, it wasn't a sincere apology, but there was no way he could've known that.

After watching Chase grumpily stomp into the kitchen where Mark was, I decided I did not wish to stay here. There was no way I wanted to be in the middle of another wolf brawl. Plus, Mark wasn't exactly high up on my 'who to save' list.

Taking a final glance behind me, I risked opening the back door. It didn't make much noise, so I darted outside without looking back.

Worst idea ever.

It was pretty warm outside with it being around 11:30 in the morning. So I slept in, oh well.

After seeing a large pool in the back yard with a beautiful patio, I wanted to see more. This was a territory full of wolves and I was pretty positive none of them would actually attack me without another one defending me. Chase's rage towards Blake last night had been proof enough that these beasts were nothing compared to his strength.

Still, I had my doubts. If there was one wolf I trusted the most at this place it was Blake. All the rest were probably secretly plotting my death this very moment.

It took a lot of walking and following a lot of trails, but I finally came upon a large field. It was covered in trimmed, green grass and surrounded by trees in a perfect square shape. There were men covering half the field, fighting each other brutally. Every hit seemed like a strike to kill and every tackle seemed fatal. However, no body seemed to actually get hurt. Anytime one would get pinned, the other would help him up.

Another part of the field were wolves. Not as many as men, but still sparing with each other until someone got down. All the muscles in my body prepared to grab the gun at my right hip and the dagger on my left. However, neither weapons were actually there even if I was completely ready for an attack.

"Luna!" My head jerked to the side, spotting the only other woman on the entire field. She smiled kindly at me, offering me a glass of lemonade from the simple stand she had set up.

I couldn't help but stare at her longer than necessary before taking the glass from her. If it was poisoned, she certainly wouldn't be offering some to the male wolves, right?

"If you don't mind me asking, what are you doing out here? I was told by my mate that Alpha Chase did not want you meeting the pack yet," The wolf asked, smiling shyly as she questioned me.

"I'm just taking a walk. My name is Macey." I held out my hand for her to shake, learning in return that her name was Adrian.

It wasn't too long before Adrian was refilling my glass of her delicious lemonade and walking me around the field, occasionally introducing me to men as we passed. Some tried to talk with us while others simply nodded respectfully before returning to training.

There were few wolves who would only glare and pretend they did not notice my presence, much to Adrian's discontentment. She was soon voicing her anger at the situation, expressing how 'absurd' it was for then to be acting this way when I had killed no one of interest.

"It's okay, Adrian. I understand completely. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if I was chased out of here before Chase could realize I was gone," I laughed, letting off the situation to be no big deal.

"It's just so disrespectful! If you wanted to kill us then you would have attempted to already, especially with our Alpha at your disposal. I trust you, and I'm sure my mate will be kinder! He's just over here," Adrian practically cheered. The mention of her mate instantly had her cheering up, speeding up our walk towards a group of the men fighting in the center of the field.

I couldn't help but frown as I followed her. Mates were so important to wolves, and Chase definitely expressed that, but I just didn't see it yet. There was no way I could deny the attraction or that physical contact with Chase brought goosebumps to my skin, but I couldn't find the need to be with him in me. He was just another man who happened to insist on being with me instead of giving up do to my resistance.

"Adrian, what's going on?" My new acquaintance and I were stopped by Blake and a familiar face stepping in front of us. Blake, obviously, didn't even make an ounce of eye contact with me. I was sure he never glanced in my direction at all. The familiar looking man, however, gawked at me openly.

"Macey?"

My mind whirled, practically blanking as he spoke my name. His eyes held so much surprise, before that surprise turned to glee and I was tackled into a hug.

"Leo?" There was no way he could be here, because he wasn't a wolf...he couldn't be.

I didn't get much more time to dwell on that thought before I was being pulled away from Leo by Blake, letting me see a black wolf charging in our direction.

~~~~

Okay so this chapter was boring I know

Sorry

But it was longer than the others!😊

THANKS FOR READIN, FOLKS!

Author recommendation: ReganUre