I did it again... STUPID SCHOOL AND WORK TAKE UP ALL OF MY TIME NOW!! UGH! Anyhoo... here's the next chapter.

-M12

16

Emma

"Emma, I have to tell you something," I looked up to Linda from eating my lunch.

"What is it?" I asked around a bite of food.

She swallowed. "Alone, please." So we stood and went for an empty hall.

"What's up?" I leaned against a wall.

She looked down and messed with her fingers. "Well, I know you have feelings for him, but..."

"But...?" I prompted, wondering what she could be talking about.

"I think Jeremy might be my mate."

"...what?"

"Our hands had bumped in third hour." She explained. "I felt these amazing sparks fly through me at the touch. I haven't talked to him about it yet, but I know I have to. I just wanted to tell you first."

I was shocked; speechless. I'm happy that Linda may have a mate now, but Jeremy? I thought he was supposed to be my Second Chance Mate?

Fate is just so cruel sometimes... "Yeah, no, that's cool. You and Jeremy. You two would be cute together."

"You think so?" Her eyes lit up with a small smile. "But, I'm not intruding, right? I mean, I don't want to take him from you or anything."

I shook my head. "Nah, it's cool. You have him. He's meant for you, anyway."

"Thanks, Emma." She gave me a quick hug. "I gotta go find him now. I'll see you later."

"See ya." The second she was out of earshot, I punched the wall, cracking my knuckles and splitting some of the bricks.

"That felt good..." I muttered to myself as I went into the bathroom to rinse my hand off. I watched the water run from bright red to pink as the blood rinsed off. The wounds on my hand healed rather quickly, since they weren't deep.

I'm happy Linda found her mate finally, but I wasn't expecting it to be Jeremy. And here I thought he would be my second chance. I scowled as I dried my hands. That means Fate is trying to keep Soran and I from splitting. She doesn't want me to reject him. She is doing everything in her power to keep that from happening.

Why is everyone against me rejecting him? Even Fate is against it! What could possibly be so great about the two of us being mates?! He'd only hurt me!

I huffed a sigh as I left the bathroom and went for my bag so I could head to class early.

Of course, I ended up bumping into someone. "Oh, I'm sor- never mind, I'm not sorry."

"Mind telling me what that was about?" He asked as he crossed his arms.

"What was what?" I asked as I mimicked his stance.

"What you were talking about with your friend." He frowned. "About 'Jeremy'."

"You heard that?" I flipped my hair over my shoulder. "It was nothing. I just thought that he would be my Second Chance after I rejected you."

Soran rolled his eyes. "That's not going to happen, Emma. You have a greater chance of being kidnapped than rejecting me."

"Wanna bet?" I growled. "I, Emma Kutcher-"

"Emma!" Linda suddenly squealed. "Jeremy said yes and- oh.."

"Yeah, oh." I rolled my eyes. "I'm happy for you, Linda. Now, run along. I gotta talk to Soran."

"Right..." She quickly scampered off.

"You were saying?" Soran smirked.

"I, Emma Kutcher, reject you, Soran Sen-" I gasped through my nose as Soran suddenly pulled me into a tight embrace, kissing me deeply. I slapped at his shoulders and tried to push him away. He only held me tighter as his lips begged for mime to move with his.

I could feel myself slowly starting to slip and yearning to kiss him back. Anna urged for me to fight against it, but I could even tell she was starting to fight for the kiss instead of against. The stupid sparks exploding between us certainly wasn't helping!

A low, predatory growl suddenly sounded from his throat and my eyes started to flutter closed. Holy hell, I had no idea that sound would be hot... Wait, WHAT?! What am I saying?!

And what the hell am I doing?! I felt myself beginning to respond to the kiss. My lips parted a bit as they started to accept the kiss. My will was starting to slip. I couldn't fight anymore. I felt myself starting to lean into him as his free hand slowly slipped down to my waist, pulling me even closer, if that was even possible.

The bell rang and I was instantly brought back to the world. I quickly shoved him away from me, slapped his cheek, then raced away from where we stood.

Holy shit, what just happened?! I... I was... I was kissing Soran back... And it felt amazing... No... This can't be happening... I can't let this happen. I won't let this happen!

But why does my body yearn for his touch? His kiss? His intoxicating scent that seemed to linger in my nose. I could smell that he was close to me. I shook my head and grabbed my things so I wouldn't be late to class.

I sat down before the bell to start class rang, for once since I ever started encountering Soran in the hall.

"Ah, Miss Kutcher. Mr. Sentres. Glad to see you both on time. Now class..." I ignored the lesson as I fought to forget the way Soran made me feel. I'm supposed to think of ways to make sure the packs stay safe in this time before the next war broke out.

All throughout class, I could feel Soran's eyes on me. But they weren't angry or filled with hate like usual. They had a softer feel to them. I risked a glance over my shoulder to see him staring at me in admiration.

Maybe he actually is starting to accept the Connection?

No. That's impossible. That could never happen.

"Emma, I need to see you in the practice gym." Gaven suddenly linked to me.

"On my way." "May I be excused?" I asked as I raised my hand.

"Is it urgent?" The teacher asked as he turned from the board. "You were just at lunch. If you think I'm gonna let you go unless it's an emergency, then-"

"Then you will have to clean up the blood that is pooling around me." I cut in.

He paled slightly. "O-of course, go ahead..." He turned back to the board and lightly banged his head against it. I grabbed my bag to make it seem a bit more believable as I held it close behind me.

That has to be the best excuse I've ever used to get out of class. I might have to use that again the next chance I get...

"What's up?" I asked as I entered the gym. Gaven and Kester were waiting for me.

"Another small scale attack." Gaven said as he crossed his arms. "They quickly left when they realized that neither you nor I came out to fight."

I nodded slowly. "And was there any casualties? Prisoners?"

Kester shook his head. "Not this time. They ran off before we could attack them ourselves. I know we were able to injure one before he got away, so we should be able to track them to the edge of the border before sending the Hunters after them."

"Perfect." I turned away slightly as I stared at the floor. "I can't believe this is happening. Do you think this will happen every sixteen years?"

"God, I hope not." Gaven gave a light growl. "That would suck. We need to get this stopped once and for all to prevent that from happening."

"I agree." We fell into a bit of silence before I spoke again. "Have they... found Vicca yet?"

"Sadly, no..." Kester gave me sorrow filled eyes. "I'm sorry."

"If I hadn't fought with her.."

"This isn't your fault." Gaven said for what seemed like the millionth time. "This was no one's fault. Victoria would have gone after them herself, even if you two hadn't fought. She was protecting the pups. I would have done the same thing had I been in her shoes. We all know how she is about the children."

"True..." I'd heard the stories about her mate and child. "But still..."

"No, stop," Gaven placed a hand on my shoulder. "It's all fine. We're going to find her. She's going to be fine. Nothing will happen to her. You know why? Because we're more prepared this time. We have more numbers and we can now track better and farther now that we have the Hunters on our side. We'll find her before you know it."

"And I know who else we'll find." I turned and glared at the door. "I know you're standing there."

Soran slowly stepped into view from around the small area that separated the door from the gym. "I followed you after you left class. I wanted to make sure you were okay."

"Why do you care?" I glared at him.

"Because you're my mate." He said calmly. "Now, what's going on? What happened sixteen years ago? What's going on now? What are you talking about?"

"None of your-"

"Emma," I faced Gaven, who spoke in a low voice. "Maybe we could get his help; get more people on the field. Think about it. This isn't his land. He can go wherever he wants. He's not tied down to borders in this state. We could use him and a few of his people to help us track the Rogues."

I growled then faced Soran again. Gaven's right. "Rogues." Soran stiffened a bit. "A shit ton of them." I gave him the condensed version of what happened sixteen years ago.

"And you all think it's happening again?" He asked as he walked closer to us.

"We don't think, we know." Gaven said. "The signs are all exactly the same as before. We're making sure nothing gets past us this time."

"But they got an Alpha already," I added. "We're trying to find her. We have a treaty with the local Hunters. They're helping us, just like before. They can hit the Neutral Lands while we man the fronts."

"And you need me to help?" He questioned.

"Yes," I nodded. "You're not tied to boundaries like we are. If possible, you could bring a small army to help us. We need to put a stop to this before it's get out of hand. We don't want another eight month war."

"Understood." He stepped aside as he pulled out his phone.

"I'm surprised you didn't try to reject him during that." Kester commented.

"Shut up," I slapped his arm. "If I rejected him, we wouldn't be able to get his help. I'll reject him once this is all over. We need all the help we can get for this."

"My father is sending an army as we speak," Soran suddenly said. "They'll be here at nightfall. Where should we meet up to discuss the plan?"

"The clearing." Gaven and I spoke together. Gaven glanced at me before continuing. "Just follow our scent. We'll mark it clearly for you so it'll be easy to follow. We'll see you at dusk." We all nodded to each other before heading back to class.

~~~~

Unknown

"You sure this is going to work?" A voice asked.

"Positive," A second voice spoke. "It has to."

"But it didn't work all those years ago." The first voice tried to reason. "All of us Rogues know what happened. The story was passed down and it spread like wildfire across the states. It won't work!"

"Ah, but where Mario lacked, I fill the gaps." The second voice spoke confidently. "You fail to realize who I am. I'm stronger, faster, and more powerful than him. He was a common Wolf in a pack. I have more authority than he could ever dream of."

"I understand." The first man bowed his head. "But may I ask why you are doing this?"

"No," The second voice sounded bored of the first man. "The meaning will come in due time. You shall all understand why this is happening; why I am bringing the war back."

"Yes, Leader." The leader dismissed the first man and stared out the window to the thousands of Rogues training below.

I will not fail like Mario did. The Leader thought to them self. I know how to man an army. I know how to get past the borders. I know how to bend trust. I know everything there is about all the patrols. I've been watching for years. No one will ever suspect me. They will never see this coming.

She will regret everything.