Hello there,

I hope you enjoy this chapter! I can't wait to read your thoughts! ;)

~ Lissa

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"Temp hates me," I muttered, situated next to Ethen on the bed, thankful for the silence and company. He placed his elbows on his knees, clasping his hands together, while peering at me with his emerald eyes. For the last thirty minutes, I had replayed Temp's words over and over again in my head - he was right about me betraying him. What kind of person was I? I ran my fingers through my hair, taking a deep breath. "I've messed up - this is the second time I've gone against him. God, I don't blame him for hating me; a lot of people hate me right now."

"I don't."

"Am I a bad person?"

Shocked, his eyebrows shot upwards. "You're asking me that question?" Hesitantly, I nodded, staring into his memorizing eyes. "Thea, compared to me, you're an innocent flower - just because you betrayed your friend, doesn't make you a bad person." I rolled my eyes, before looking down at the dusty floor, overthinking. "I believe there's a line that separates bad and good; you haven't crossed that line over to bad. In fact, you're nowhere near it. Yes, you've done a few bad things, made a few mistakes, but you don't have the potential to be a bad person, if that makes sense."

"You mean, I'm not capable of being a bad person?" I rephrased, receiving a simple nod in response. "I don't think that's true, Ethen." He shifted closer to me on the bed, a frown coming across his face. "I mean, in the last few weeks, I've done things that I never thought I would do. Even though it was a kill or be killed situation, I killed a werewolf and it should've bothered me for days, but after a couple hours, I felt nothing. Uh, I almost killed Tyler, but the worst part is, is I want him dead. I've never wished death upon anyone and I want to be the one to kill him."

"The thought of killing people doesn't bother me as much as it should," I continued, shaking my head. "I'm literally waiting for the war against the government - a part of me is looking forward to it. I just don't know who I am anymore."

Ethen pinched his lips. "You're stronger."

"I guess," I mumbled, avoiding his eyes. "I'm leading a pack of werewolves and I have no freaking idea what I'm doing. What I think is right, is actually wrong." I tossed my hands into the air, exasperated. "I thought it was right for me to drag this pack here and take all of you down, but it's wrong. It was a bad decision; it was a bad idea." Thinking of my past decisions, I continued, "I thought it was right to reach out to Temp and ask him to help me find you, but it was wrong of me. I should've never dragged him into this danger, into this complicated situation, because he hates me now."

"I'm sure he doesn't hate you," he assured, forcing a grin. "He's just angry and confused. Give him some time, Thea."

"We don't have time," I countered, seriously. "I know the government is closing in - they're going to attack any day now." Eyes burning, I looked over at him, not surprised to see his eyes staring into me. "I don't want to lose him, Ethen, just like I don't want to lose you. I'm afraid of what will happen when we untie him. What will he do? Seek revenge on me? Disappear completely?" Shakily, I inhaled loudly, glancing around the dark room. "Either way, once I release him, I'll lose him and I don't know if I can handle that."

"Why not?"

"I-I don't know," I answered, quietly. "Looking back, I see how he's been there for me. He's always been there and thinking that one day he won't be, makes me want to curl into a ball and die." I wasn't surprised when his eyebrows knitted together and I corrected myself, adding, "Okay, maybe not die, but still - I'd feel like shit."

"You care about him," Ethen responded, calmly. "That's okay, Thea."

"I don't like caring about people," I admitted, fidgeting with my fingertips. "It's like, a piece of me is inserted into each person that I care about and when they're ripped away from me, it's like taking a piece of me with them." A tear slipped from my eye and quickly, I wiped at it with my finger, hoping Ethen hadn't noticed. "One day, I might run out of pieces of me or lose each piece of me to where I can't care anymore. I'll be a stone-cold, emotionless bitch."

He gave me a look. "Don't think like that." I pursed my lips and scratched my jaw, trembling. "When I first met you, do you want to know what I thought?" When his hand gripped my knee, I looked at him and nodded. "I thought you were different, in a good way. You held this vulnerability that made me want to wrap you up and hold onto you forever to protect you, but the more I started talking to you, the more that I noticed that you don't need me." I raised an eyebrow, a little nervous with where he was heading. "I saw your strength, Thea. So, even if you lose Temp or you lose me, or possibly everybody, you'll survive because you're strong."

"That's not true," I argued, gulping loudly. "I-I need both of you."

"You want both of us," he corrected, a warm grin stretching on his face. "I believe you can survive anything, Thea. Stop doubting or questioning yourself."

"I can't lose you," I told him, gripping his knee. "I won't lose you, understand?" I stared into his captivating eyes for a long moment, praying for some assurance that he wasn't going anywhere. A few seconds passed until he finally nodded, noticing the desperation on my face. "Okay, good. I'm really not as strong as you think - it would destroy me if I lost you or Temp. It'd probably be unbearable."

"No, it wouldn't," he responded, placing his hand over mine. "It'd hurt at first, but eventually, you'd find that amazing strength in you to move past it." Another tear slipped from my eye, but this time, he reached forward, wiping it away with the flick of his thumb. "Don't cry."

I frowned. "It's your fault."

"What? How?"

"You're making it sound like you're going to die," I answered, thinking of the approaching war. "I'm thinking of what I would do if - yeah, it's your fault." As I was listening to his breathing, another tear streamed down my cheek, followed by his thumb darting forward and wiping it away. Except, his hand remained on my face, sending a surge of sparks through me. My heart skipped a beat when he shifted closer on the bed, his thumb tracing my bottom lip. His emerald eyes were wide, his pupils shooting back and forth. I held my breath when his thumb dipped into my mouth, sweeping beside my tongue, before dipping back out and tracing my cheekbone. "If you're going to kiss me, just do it."

He smiled at my bluntness, before crushing his lips against mine. Strangely, it felt like lightening had struck me, instead of seeing the cliche fireworks. The tingling sparks seemed to explode throughout me, overwhelming me with excitement. Turning his body, his arm slipped around my waist, pulling me onto his lap. I cupped the side of his face, ignoring the dryness in my throat, while moving my legs until I was straddling him. It was a rush - there wasn't another word to explain it. I was too entranced by him that I didn't really comprehend what I was doing, too focused on getting more of him.

When I dragged my fingers up the back of his head, enjoying the feeling of his silky hair through my fingers, he growled. Startled, I ripped my mouth away from his, leaning backwards in question. I was shocked to see red eyes staring at me and I blinked frantically, not used to seeing them. He was breathing heavily, his arm still wrapped tightly around my waist, and noticing my stare, he took a deep breath in an attempt to return his eyes to the familiar green. "Why are they red?"

"It's a long story," he answered, quietly. "An effect of saving Nora."

"I like them," I blurted, staring into them, curiously. With a chuckle, he returned his lips to mine, bringing back the surge of excitement. I felt his hands tugging at my hair, entangling themselves, as his tongue slipped into my mouth. At this point, I didn't care about anything - Temp was thrown out the window. Ethen had succeeded in taking him off my mind. Next thing I knew, my shirt was being tugged over my head, tossed onto the floor. I grinned against his lips, feeling his fingers slide up my back in gentle circles.

As I started unbuttoning his shirt, I explored his neck, leaving a trail of kisses to his chest. He sucked in a deep breath and suddenly, lifted my chin with his index finger, looking me in the eyes. I stared into his, not bothered by the burning, fierce red. It took me a second to realize that he was hesitating, in disbelief that his eyes didn't scare me. He was giving me another chance to look into them and change my mind, but I didn't want to. I nodded at his silent question and softly, pressed my lips back to his.

He shrugged off his shirt and wrapping both arms around me, flipped me onto my back on the bed. He crawled over me, kissing the entire way up to my mouth, seductively. I dragged my hands down his structured, abdominal muscles until fiddling with his belt. Usually, I never moved that fast with a guy, but it was different - he was different. Besides, with the approaching war, there was a possibility that our time was running out.

"You're amazing," he growled in a husky voice, peering down at me.

I grabbed his shoulders. "Come here."

* * *

Afterwards, I remained laying there, watching as Ethen slept beside me - finally, he needed sleep. I knew it wasn't going to be very often that I saw him sleeping; after all, he didn't require much sleep, so I enjoyed every second of it. He appeared peaceful, his eyelids fluttering and his bottom lip quivering. His bare chest was slowly rising, then falling and his dark hair was matted to his sweaty forehead. A part of me wanted to stay there forever, just watching him sleep, knowing he was safe, but I knew that wasn't going to happen until things calmed down. Until obstacles were taken care of and the government was defeated.

Quietly, I crawled out of bed and searched the dark floor for my clothes - I slipped them on, casting nervous glances his direction. I didn't want to leave him for even a minute; I was already becoming clingy. Pathetic. Taking a deep breath, I crept out of the bedroom, casually looking around for anybody, but once I heard the laughter and chatter outside, I assumed everyone was there. Hesitantly, I opened the nearest door, peeking inside the dimly-lit room, happy to see no one lingering around the bed.

After shutting the door behind me, I approached the bed, shoulders squared. There, Tyler was reclined, weak with his body still healing. The silver bullets really harmed him, nearly took his life. His cheeks were flushed and his hair was greasy. Hearing my footsteps, his eyelids peeled open, revealing the evil, blue orbs. Recognition crossed his face and instantly, he smirked, croaking. "Babydoll, what's up?"

"You don't get to win," I told him, not blinking. His eyebrows knitted together and I was swarmed with horrible thoughts - he was going to tell everyone that I had worked with the government. They were all going to turn against me. Quickly, I snatched the spare pillow from the end of the bed and smashed it against his face. He shouted, though the pillow muffled him, and his hands grabbed at my wrists, pleadingly. He fought and fought - tried breaking my fingers and slicing my wrists open with his fingernails. But, he was too weak and I was stronger. When he became motionless, I removed the pillow from his face and placed it back at the end of the bed. "I do."

Then, I turned around and left the room, returning to Ethen.