Sorry about the slow updates!  My computer is acting up and I have summer assignments I really need to finish and I’m so procrastinating on them!

Quote of the Chapter:
“Tell me you’ll come back for the pack. For me.  I don’t want to lose you.”
~Renier Laroche in Nightshade
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Chapter 7: Veilchenblau Rose

Shiloh 

Shiloh stared at Ren’s limp body on the bed in front of him.  It was a miracle he was alive at all.  If it hadn’t been for the whole pack giving him some of their blood, god only knows what shape Ren would be in now.  All of pack members had left the room looking wan.  At that moment, Derek came in looking forlorn.  Shiloh turned around and instantly demanded, “How’s Arya?”

“She ain’t coming out of her room.  She refuses to talk to anyone,” Derek informed.  Shiloh groaned.

“I’ll see if I can talk to her.  You watch him,” he ordered.  Derek took the seat Shiloh had previously occupied as Shiloh walked to Arya’s room.  He knocked and tried to open her door; it was locked.

“Go away!” shouted Arya, her voice muffled.

“I’m not leaving.  I have news about Ren,” he replied.

“Tell me through the door,” She ordered.

“No, the only way I’ll tell you is if you open the door,” he said firmly.  Her room was silent for a few moments before he heard the slight padding of her feet.  Arya opened the door a crack and peered out.  Discreetly, Shiloh wedged is foot in the door so that she wouldn’t be able to close it on him.

“He’s stable and he should be awake soon.  He’s going to live, Arya,” he told her reassuringly.

“Good…” she whispered before attempting to shut the door.  His foot blocked it and no matter how hard she tried, Arya couldn’t get his foot out of the way.  Finally, she gave up and stormed over to her bed, plopping down on it.  Shiloh followed her in.

“What happened?” he asked gently, sitting on the bed next to her.

Arya drew her knees up to her chest and rested her forehead on them. “He found me at the place where we first met.  He asked if we could take a walk and I said yes.  Just by his tone I knew that he was going to tell me he was leaving.  We walked into the field and just as he was about to tell me, two poachers came and loaded their guns straight at me.  Ren and I bolted into the forest and they followed.  Ren hid in some trees while I hid behind a boulder.  The two guys came in and I leapt on the nearest one.  He was the bigger of the two.  Ren jumped on the other guy.  The one I was attacking hit me in the chin and knocked me off of him.  Ren had pretty much rendered the other guy immobile and he leapt in front of me right before the guy fired.  It hit him in the stomach and I guess the pain made him lose his ability to control his morphing because he changed into a human.  The two poachers ran off and I started giving Ren blood as I called for you.  Then you came and you know the rest.”

“He took a bullet for you?” Shiloh questioned.

“Yes…”

“Ren isn’t going to leave,” Shiloh declared.  Arya looked up at him with dubious eyes.

“How do you know?”

“Because when he talks to you, he’s going to see how distraught you are that he almost died and he’s going to see how much you love him,” he explained.

“But he doesn’t want you to feel like he’s taking over for you.”

“He won’t be taking over.  He’ll be filling in the position that has always been open: alpha male.  I was just your beta and nothing more.  I do love you Arya, don’t get me wrong, but I’m beginning to realize that maybe it’s because you’re my alpha.  I… I think I love Carrie.”

“Then go get her!” Arya exclaimed. “Go tell her how you feel!”

“I was planning on it but I was worried about you.  I’ll tell her in the morning.  Now you get some sleep and I’m going to go check on Ren, okay?  I’ll let you know when he’s awake.”

“Okay,” she murmured, already falling asleep.  Shiloh left the room and took over for Derek.

“He started to stir a little,” Derek informed.

“Good, maybe he’ll wake up soon.” Shiloh sat down as the pack mate left and stared at the hole in his jeans.

“Shiloh?” Ren’s weak voice snapped Shiloh’s attention up to the alpha.

“Ren.  You’re awake.  Thank god!”

“Is Arya okay?”

“She’s fine, just worried sick about you.  I’ll go get her,” Shiloh offered as he started to get up.

“No!” Ren protested. “No.  I- I can’t face her right now.”

“What?  Why?  Dude, you took a bullet for her but you can’t talk to her?  That’s some messed up logic,” Shiloh commented, trying but failing to lessen the tension between them.

“It’s not that… it’s that I won’t be able to stand the look on her face when I tell her I’m leaving,” Ren confessed.

“What do you mean you’re leaving?” Shiloh demanded.  When Ren only shook his head and gave a weak wave of his hand, Shiloh added, “I want what Arya wants and she wants you to stay.  It’s hard for me to hate you when you took a bullet for her.  I love her because she’s my alpha, nothing more.  Talk to her.  Face to face.  I’m going to get her now.”

Shiloh left the room before Ren could argue.
__________________________________

Ren

Ren’s heart pounded as he waited for Arya.  How could he face her?

The door opened softly and she stepped in. “Ren?”

“Hey, Arya,” Ren said with a weak smile.  Tentatively, she walked in and sat on the edge of his bed. “You okay?”

“A lot better now that I know you’re going to be okay,” she admitted. “And you?”

“Feeling like I fell from the top of the Empire State Building.” She gave a small chuckle.  She turned her head away briefly and wiped something off her face. “Listen, Arya… about me staying here…”

She clenched her jaw. “I know.  I know what you’re going to say.” Arya mumbled.  She was refusing to look at him. “Is there anything I could do to make you stay?”

“I can’t Arya.  Shiloh hates me, no matter how much he denies it,” Ren said.

“I talked to Shiloh.  He told me he didn’t feel like you were replacing him, that you were filling in the spot that’s been open since the time I took over the pack.  You would fill in as alpha male.  Shiloh would still be my beta.”

“But he loves you Arya, there’s no denying it,” Ren argued.  He was trying to find any foundation that he could grip, anything to stop himself from giving in to Arya.  He had to do what was best for the pack and her heartbroken expression wasn’t helping.

“No, but he loves me as an alpha, he even said it himself.  Besides,” Arya said with a slight smile, “he loves Carrie.  He told me so.”

“Carrie?”

“Yes, Carrie.  Now please Ren, stay.”

“Arya, I-”

“Stay for the pack,” she whispered, and then adding in a barely audible voice, “I don’t want to lose you.”

A flashback hit Ren when he had chased Calla down on the night of their wedding when he had said something almost exactly like Arya had just now: “Tell me you’ll come back for the pack. For me.  I don’t want to lose you.”

Struggling to sit up, Ren made himself level with Arya.  She still refused to look at him.  Gently he lifted her chin with his knuckles and whispered, “I don’t want to lose you either.”

Arya let out a choked sob before he leaned in and kissed her, wrapping his arms around her torso and pulling her in close to him.  She cupped his face and willingly returned it.

“Does this mean you’ll stay?” Arya asked as she broke of the kiss briefly.  At this he hesitated.  He didn’t believe Shiloh when he said he wanted Ren to stay.  Maybe he was being truthful in wanting what Arya wanted; however, actually going far enough to say he didn’t love Arya in the way Ren thought Shiloh did, Ren didn’t believe that.

“I don’t know…” he murmured.  She pulled away, even though he pulled on her to stay.  His strength failed him as she slipped out easily of his grip.

“Then I’m going to my room until you make up your mind,” Arya decided.

“No, please, stay,” he begged.

“No.  I’m not going to allow myself to get anymore attached to you than I already am by sleeping with you tonight.  I’ll see you in the morning.  I’ll give you until tomorrow night to give me your answer about staying.” Before Ren could say anything more, Arya had glided out of his room, making no sound.  He called out her name.  Silence answered.

Fool! Ren hissed in his mind.

“You’re a fool Ren Laroche,” Shiloh mused, echoing Ren’s thoughts.

“Thank you.  I had no idea,” he snarled.

“Don’t be rude to me, alpha.  I could kill you.”

“I almost wish you would.”

“I’m not.  I think I’d rather let you suffer.”

“How kind of you.”

“So how long has she given you to decide?”

“Until tomorrow night.”

“It makes sense she chose after it but that also means time isn’t on our side,” Shiloh grumbled, pacing up and down.

“What do you mean?”

“She probably forgot to tell you all this, what with your old pack mate showing up and you getting shot and now this, but there’s a fundraising dinner tomorrow in Denver.  We’re all expected to be there.  If you’re not there, people will know something’s up, at least the people who know about what we are.  So we have to make sure you’re well enough to go.”

“If Arya doesn’t want me there, then I won’t go.  I’m not going to piss her off any more than I already have.  Besides, I think she’s had enough of me.  I’ll be out of all your hair tomorrow.”

“Don’t even think about it,” Shiloh growled. “Why won’t you stay?”

“Because you don’t want me to and I will not, I will not, cause you to feel like I’ve taken over.  I know the feeling all too well.  I don’t care how much you hate me, I’m not going to put someone in the same position I was put in.”

“Get this through your head alpha: I love Arya, but I’m not in love with her.  For your information, I’m in love Carrie.  Hopefully by the end of tomorrow, she and I will be dating.  Got it?”

“Yeah…”

“Now, you’re going to be drinking a lot of blood to be better by tomorrow.  Pucker up, Prince,” Shiloh ordered.

“You’re way too perky about this,” Ren mumbled.

“I know.  Oh, and fair warning, the girls all get ready in Arya, Carrie, Leyla, and Melinda’s rooms here, so you’ll be kicked out of here sometime in the afternoon.  I don’t know what takes girls so long to get ready.  Another warning, they tend to be knockouts, all of them, so try not to drool over any of them.”

“I won’t.”

“You’re welcome to over Arya.”

“Shut up.”

“Aye-aye alpha.”

“I’m not your alpha.”

Shiloh shrugged. “You might as well be.”

“Why do you say that?” Ren inquired before Shiloh forced him to drink some blood.

“Arya is going to end up dating someone, and I can’t believe I’m saying this, but if and when we have a male alpha helping her run the show, I want it to be you.”

“Thanks.”

“You’re scared, aren’t you?  Being the alpha of a new pack, I mean,” he said.

“Among other things, yes.  I lost my pack.  I need a new one.  I just want my new pack to respect me and how can that happen when their current alpha won’t speak to me now?”

“She will.  Arya’s irresistibly attracted to you.  What we need to do is have you looking smokin’ hot in a suit tomorrow and all will be well.”

“You’re really optimistic about this.”

“I’m a lot nicer once I get to like a person.  I never thought it’d happen but you’ve grown on me.  You make my alpha laugh, you make her smile, you make her happy.  I’ve never seen that genuine of a smile on her face caused by a single guy.  Okay, now we’re going to stop blabbering and start healing you.  First things first, I’m going to get you a belt because you’re going to need something to bite down on while I stitch up this gun wound.”
__________________________________

Shiloh

Shiloh was hanging out with Derek and Ray when someone knocked on his door.  Ray opened it.  Ren stood there with a small bag of his things.

“The girls kicked me out…” he admitted rather sheepishly.

“I told you they would.  Come on in.  How you feeling?” Shiloh queried.  Ren entered the room, plopping down at the edge of the bed.

“Achy, but I can walk.”

“Good.  You’ll be standing for a while.  Let’s get you a suit.  We’ll have to go into town for that.” Ren nodded.  The boys stood up, alerting the other males where they were going.  It ended up being they all left while the girls stayed and dolled themselves up.  Shiloh felt inexplicably bad for Ren.  Whatever Arya had told him certainly caused him inner turmoil.  But if Ren was so in love with her, which he obviously was, why hide it?  Why not tell her?  Instinct told him the alpha must’ve had some bad relationships in the past and that he was scared to love another girl.

Shiloh would make sure Ren and Arya ended up together, or else he’d have to deal with a miserable leader for ages to come.
__________________________________

Carrie 

“Ren is going to drool over you Arya!” Erin exclaimed as she finished putting the finishing touches on her alpha’s hair bun.

“We’re not like that,” Arya mumbled, looking down at her hands which she fiddled with in her lap.  She’d been relatively quiet most of the day, avoiding Ren when the girls had kicked him out.  He’d been roaming over each of the girls, clearly looking for Arya, and his expression turned to one of dismay when he didn’t see her.

“Oh come on, I know you two have kissed,” Taki claimed while she struggled to make her black hair perfectly straight.

“How do you know?” Arya inquired, her eyes flitting to her pack mate.

“Oh please, his scent was all over you this morning.  Hell, it’s still there.  Sandalwood and leather.  If I wasn’t so in love with my Frankie boy, I’d so go for Ren,” Taki laughed.

“And if he wasn’t so in love with Arya, then you might have a chance,” Katrina pointed out.

“Oh, a girl can hypothesize.”

“Hypothesize, really?” Leyla rolled her eyes.  Taki stuck her tongue out at her.

Arya stood up and walked over to her closet where she dug through her dresses. For a girl who tended to be unorganized, her closet was immaculate.  She ignored the girls’ teasing about Ren, which they seemed to pick up on.  It was Carrie who brought it up. “So you kissed, we get that, but why do you act like it’s no big deal?”

Arya shrugged as she pulled out a green dress. “Because most likely, by the end of the night, he’s not going to be here any longer.”

“What?!” all the girls exclaimed simultaneously.

“Geez, pipe down.  People in Norway probably heard you,” Arya remarked, not making eye contact with anyone.

“Why is he leaving?!” Irene demanded.

“Hell if I know.  He claims it’s because Shiloh hates him but that’s not true, and I’ve told him as much as has Shiloh himself.  There’s something deeper but if he doesn’t want to tell me, I won’t prod.”

“You’re not wearing that,” Mia commented, snatching away the green dress before Arya could untie her robe.

“Why not?” Arya retorted, attempting to take it back from her.

“Because we’re going to have you wear a dress that will knock Ren off his feet and have him follow you around like a puppy,” Nancy explained.  Mia threw the dress to her, which Nancy caught easily. “Carrie, Melinda, watch her and make sure she doesn’t bolt.  Everyone else, follow me.  We need to find our alpha a dress.”

Arya audibly groaned.  Carrie and Melinda sat down next to her. “Do you love him?” Melinda whispered so the others wouldn’t overhear.

“I-I do, but I don’t think he shares the same sentiments.  I’m starting to think I was a distraction to him and nothing more,” Arya confessed, resting her chin on the palm of her hand.

“The only person he looked for was you this morning.  I don’t think you’re a distraction for him.  Like you said, he lost his pack.  Maybe there’s something bothering him about that, and it’s interfering with every other part of his life,” Carrie suggested.

“I don’t know.  We’ll see how it turns out tonight,” Arya replied.

“Got it!” Leyla shrieked from inside the closet, making the three girls on the bed jump.  The red head nearly flew out of the closet with the chosen dress in hand.  When Arya saw it, she protested, “No.  No, no, and no.  Not happening.  Sorry, wrong number.  I won’t.  I refuse.”

“First off, you just quoted Lindsay Lohan from the Parent Trap, and second, yes, you totally are,” Amy said with a grin.  Arya let out a whimper as her pack mates surrounded her.
__________________________________

Ren 

He looked at himself in the mirror, taking in the image of himself in a suit.  Ren didn’t know how the tailor, Mr. Reinhart, could create such a perfectly tailored suit in such a short amount of time, but he did, and Ren looked sharp in it.  The suit was simple, yet striking.

“Girls will be pining over you, bud,” Michael, or MJ as Ren had come to call him, observed with a grin.

“But there’s only one girl you want pining over you, is that correct?” Dmitri asked drolly.

“She won’t pay me any attention.  In case you forgot, she’s not speaking to me,” Ren pointed out.

“Ah, girls are finicky.  By the end of the night, you two will be together.  Have you always been this nervous around girls?  Or is it just Arya that does this to you?” Rigg joked.

Ren pondered the thought for a moment.  He had only partially been this way with Calla, but not this unsure of himself, not this self-conscious. “No, just with Arya.”

“That means you love her.  Come on lover boy, time to go,” Walter informed.

“Don’t call me that,” Ren warned.

“Yes, sir, alpha.”

“And don’t call me alpha.  I’m not your alpha.”

“So what do you want us to call you?”

“Just… call me Ren.”

“So boring,” Shiloh chuckled, “but we’ll do it.”

The boys walked downstairs and to the courtyard of the house.  The fountain danced about as they all waited for the girls to make their appearance.  Ren sat down on the edge of the fountain, ignoring the boys around him who had resorted to wrestling around in wolf form to past the time.  He looked up, however, when Shiloh cleared his throat.  The girls came out of Arya’s house, wearing a mixture of all colors.  There were blue dresses, yellow dresses, red dresses, white dresses, green dresses, but only one black dress.

“Stop staring.  You’re drooling,” Shiloh whispered to Ren when he saw the alpha staring at Arya in her strapless black dress and black stilettos which looked like torture devices.  There were cutouts on the side of her dress, showing skin.  It wasn’t slutty or anything like that, but it made Ren want to grab her, pin her against a wall, and kiss her until his lips fell off.

Arya seemed to not know what to do with her dress.  She kept pulling the dress down and then pulling the top up.  He overheard her say to Leyla, “I’m going to kill you.”  Leyla only smirked at her.

“All right everyone, gather round.  I’m giving out who’s riding with who.  Shiloh, you’re driving with me, Carrie, Mia, and Melinda.  Ray, you’re driving with Erin, MJ, and Katrina.  Rigg, you’re driving with Dmitri, Nancy, Irene, and Ren.  Derek, you’re driving with Amy, Austin, Leyla, and Walter.  All right, everyone, let’s go,” Arya announced.

“Awesome, I get to ride with all girls,” Shiloh grumbled.

“Oh, stop whining,” she snapped airily.  The group headed downstairs to the underground garage where four black Range Rovers were waiting.  They got in with their designated groups.  Ren listened as Dmitri and Rigg bantered back and forth.  It took an hour and a half to get to their desired location, even with traffic, which surprised everyone.  Once parked, they headed towards the doors.

“So what exactly is this for?” Ren questioned, walking next to Ray.

“It’s for successful business owners.  Arya’s the youngest.  The others are arrogant old people.  You’ll see what I mean when we get in there.  They bring their family and close friends so it’s a huge event.”

“Anyone I need to watch out for?”

“Not that I know of.  Well, actually, stay away from old man Ken.  Guy reeks of onions.  I think he got mistaken about garlic warding off vampires, not onions.”

Ren laughed. “Thanks for the heads up.”

Upon entering the hotel and the room where the event was held, Ren’s mouth dropped open.  There was a floor for dancing, buffet tables that lined each wall, elegantly decorated tables situated around the room, and a massive glass chandelier hanging in the center.  Like Ray had said, most of the people that were business owners were old.  The youngest probably was fifty.  Not that that’s old but compared to the pack, well…

“Ah!  Arya Lightwood and her pack!  Good to see you!” A man grinned, walking up to her and giving her a hug.  Arya returned it reluctantly.  Ren didn’t know why until the scent of onions hit him, nearly making him gag.

“That would be old man Ken?” Ren whispered to Ray.

“Yeah,” Ray replied, sounding like he was holding his breath.  Ren didn’t blame him.

“So is this the new guy?” Ken inquired, his eyes landing on Ren.

“Yes.  This is Renier Laroche, but he prefers Ren,” Arya introduced.

“Pleasure to meet you,” Ken said.

“Pleasure’s all mine,” he replied, forcing him not to make a face at the onion stench oozing off the guy.

“Arya!” another guy exclaimed.  Ren peered behind Ken to find a guy with shaggy brown hair approaching the alpha female.

“Tony!” Arya replied, giving a smile.

“I was wondering when you were going to show up.  You’re looking stunning as always.  Mind if I take you for a dance?”

“Why not?” she replied.  Ren felt the hair on the back of his neck stand.  He didn’t like this guy.  He was hitting on Ren’s girl.

Whoa there.  She’s not your girl.  She won’t even look at you, let alone speak to you.  Get a grip. Ren’s conscience chided.  He watched as she went off with this guy named Tony, forcing himself not to growl.

“Hey Ren, why don’t you join me, Carrie, and Melinda at the table?  We’re starving,” Shiloh offered.  He must’ve noticed the alpha male’s shift in attitude.  While Ren wanted to go rip out Tony’s throat, he decided against it and followed Shiloh.  The group of four took a table near the dance floor.  Ren watched as the couples from the pack, save for Arya, danced with their significant other.

“So who’s Tony?” Ren queried casually.

“No one you need to worry about.  He’s the son of one of the guys here: Mr. Goldshaw.  He’s been infatuated with Arya for years, but she’s not at all interested in him.  Poor guy, he may be rich, but he’s dumb as a rock and sponges off his daddy,” Shiloh explained.

“Ren, why don’t you find a girl to dance with?” Carrie suggested. “You’re obviously not hungry and you obviously want to get Arya’s attention.”

“I don’t think dancing with another girl will cause her to forgive me for my stupidity.”

“No, but it will cause her to be jealous, and it’s only right that you give her the same treatment she’s giving you,” she remarked.

He snorted. “Who’s side are you on?  Mine or hers?”

“I just think you’re both being stupid and need to talk.  Now come on Shiloh, we’re going dancing.” Carrie dragged her boyfriend to the dance floor while he complained incessantly that he hadn’t eaten and was starving.  She ignored him.  Their absence left Melinda and Ren alone at the table.  To avoid the situation being any more awkward, he asked, “Would you like to dance?”

She smiled. “Sure."
__________________________________
 

Throughout the night, Ren actually ended up dancing with a lot of girls.  He even danced with some wives whose husbands wouldn’t dance with them.  But none of them compared to the blonde girl in the black dress with black stilettos.  He carefully watched her dance with guys around the room, but Tony kept coming back to dance with her some more.  After two hours of watching this happen, Ren stalked outside to get some fresh air.  He unbuttoned his suit jacket to get somewhat cooled down.  He’d only been out there for a few minutes when an annoying voice came boasting outside.

“She’s all over me!  That’s one fine piece of ass, isn’t it?  She’s still single so that means she won’t have any regrets if and when she sleeps with me,” Tony declared.  His friends laughed. “How could she ever run a business?  She’s too damn sweet and innocent.  Well, let’s just say that innocence won’t last for long.  I’ll have the bitch drunk and in my bed pleading for me to take her by the end of the night.”

Something inside Ren snapped. “She’d never get in bed with a guy like you.”

He felt Tony and the guy’s minions staring at him. “What did you say?”

Ren turned to face him.  He towered over the guy by at least a foot. “I said she’d never get in bed with a guy like you.  Arya has brains unlike you.”

“Who the hell do you think you are?  I can have security escorting you out in two seconds flat.”

“I’m Ren Laroche and I’m the guy you really do not want to piss off.  Oh, and if you think your ‘security’”-Ren did air quotes with his fingers- “will escort me out, they’ll have to go through Arya first.”

“Oh, yeah.  Renier Laroche.  Arya mentioned you.  Said some things about you, but not the fact that you were an asshole in love with her.  You really think you have a chance with someone like her?  She’s way out of your league idiot.  What do you have?  Nothing.  Absolutely nothing.  You know what I have?  Five houses, one in Denver, one in London, one in Malibu, one in Hawaii, and one in Mexico.  I’m going to inherit a multi-million dollar company.  You tell me who she would choose: the nobody or the somebody?  You are nothing to her.  She told me herself.  Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go spike her drink.  She’s going home with me tonight.” Tony started to walk off, but Ren called out his name.  The arrogant guy turned around to be met with Ren’s fist.  Tony would’ve fallen to the ground had his friends not caught him.  When he stood up, he lunged at Ren.  The alpha male dodged easily out of the way, whirling around and pinning Tony to the wall.  They’d gathered a crowd of onlookers but he didn’t care.

“I swear to god, if you speak to her or look at her again tonight, I will rip you to shreds.  You say she’s out of my league?  Well I’m damn well closer than you are. You think she wants some egotistical maniac as her boyfriend?  Think again.” Ren pushed himself away from Tony.  He started to walk off but Tony said, “You’re going to regret that.”

Ren rolled his eyes when a foot connected to his spine.  He involuntarily let out a small howl.  He sprang onto his feet as fast as he could though. Vaguely, in his peripheral vision, he saw some of his pack members shoving through the crowd.  Tony threw a punch at Ren, but Ren intercepted it with his left hand, twisting around so that Tony pressed into his back.  He flipped the arrogant S.O.B. over his shoulder, causing the guy to crash into the concrete ground.  Ren pinned him to the floor, raising his fist to punch Tony when someone grabbed him.  He struggled ferociously to get out of the grip but to no avail.  Tony stood up punched Ren square in the jaw.  His vision went blurry and pain seared through his head; however that pain didn’t even compare to the pain that exploded from his stomach.  Ren fell to the ground, withering in agony.  His stitches had been opened from the kick Tony had landed on him.  He staggered up, putting a hand to his stomach to keep pressure on it.  The people surrounding the group of fighters stared in horror as Shiloh, Dmitri, Rigg, Carrie, Irene, Melinda, and Arya came bursting onto the scene.  Dmitri and Rigg grabbed onto Ren’s arms to support him.  He was grateful for it.  Arya let out a snarl aimed for Tony.  He backed away from her.

“Arya- I didn’t mean- he just started bleeding- I didn’t do it,” Tony started.

She gave him a murderous glare. “You son of a bitch.” Arya shoved him.  He stumbled backwards.  She continued doing this until he was once again pinned to the wall.  Only because of Ren’s heightened hearing could he make out what Arya said. “I swear to god, if you touch him again, I will rip you damn throat out.  Stay away from me, from him, and anyone else in my pack.  Got it?” Tony stuttered out a yes.  Facing the part of her pack that was with her, she declared, “We’re leaving.  Shiloh, Carrie, Melinda, go round everyone else up.  Dmitri, Rigg, Ren, and I will meet you in the car garage.”

The three scampered into the room just as a furious, red-faced man, who seriously resembled an angered tomato, strode outside. “What just happened?  Why did this man attack my son?”

So it was Tony’s father. “I’m not sure,” Arya answered calmly. “All I know is your son caused my friend to bleed.”

“He did no such thing.  This… this juvenile attacked my son unprovoked!” Tony’s father raged.

“He was talking shit about Arya,” Ren growled. “Teach your son to respect woman and then maybe I’ll refrain from attacking him.”  He spat blood out of his mouth at Mr. Goldshaw.

“Don’t speak to me you filthy animal.  I’ll have you arrested for this!”

“I dare you,” Arya said threateningly.

“Don’t speak to me like that.  You’re inferior to all of us!  You’re young and ignorant.  Shut up and let the men handle this.”

This time, Arya snapped. “Okay listen asshole.  First off, I may not look like it, but I could take you on in a fight and win any day.  Second, you call me inferior?  Oh right, I’m the one who owns the hotel you were trying to buy.  Third, I might be young, but I’m not ignorant.  You’re the ignorant one for treating women as your inferiors.  It’s no wonder why your wife left you.  You’re a patriarchal bastard.”

Mr. Goldshaw lunged at Arya but reeled back when the open palm of her hand connected to his cheek with a sickening sound.  She breathed heavily, calming herself before she changed into her wolf form.  Ren could see her wolf form slithering around, aching to come out.  With perfect timing, the rest of the pack appeared along with security and the host of the party.  He turned to Arya who said, “The Goldshaws caused the fight.  They’ve injured my friend.  We’re leaving.”

With that, the Lightwood pack took their leave.  Ren vaguely heard the host shouting at Mr. Goldshaw and Tony.  He smiled slightly with satisfaction.  His satisfaction disappeared as a wave a pain resonated through his body, deriving from his stomach. His world went black before he could even say anything.

Ren went in and out of consciousness on his way back to what he guessed was the compound.  His head was in someone’s lap.  One hand cupped his face while another stroked his hair, sending him back into sleep.  At one point, he was given blood.  It didn’t help him wake up, but it lessened the pain he was experiencing.

He fully awoke in his bed; it was pitch black since the blinds were closed and the moonlight weak.  How late was it?  How long had he been out?  Why did he have to keep getting injured and passing out like some weak warrior?

Then he realized something.

He was shirtless with the duvet cover only coming up to his hips, meaning half the skin on his body was exposed.  That made him uncomfortable.  He reached for the duvet in attempt to cover himself up, stopping in his tracks at the sound of a smooth, familiar, soft voice.

“You’re up,” Arya breathed. “Thank god.”

“I- what are you doing here?” Ren asked, searching for her.  His hand connected with hers.  He felt her tense.

“I wanted to make sure you were okay.  I get it though, you not wanting to be around me.  I’ll go get someone else to take care of you.” Ren felt her getting up.  He gripped onto her hand.

“No,” he said. “I want you.”

He felt her hesitation; a few seconds later, she sat back down on the side of his bed.

“Let me turn the light on so I can assess your wound,” she whispered.  A lamp showered Ren’s room in a dim light.  Her hazel eyes stared at his stomach, making him rather self-conscious. “You’re healing.  You should be fine in the morning.  I’ll uh… pack your things if you need me to.”

“Pack my things?  What are you talking about?” Ren queried, struggling to sit up.  Arya tried to stop him but he wouldn’t let her.

“You said so on the way here that you couldn’t stay.”

“Arya, I wasn’t in my right mind.  Whatever I said, I probably didn’t mean it.  Like what I said about I can’t stay here, I didn’t mean that.”

A faint flicker of hope sparked up in her eyes. “You’re staying?” She questioned warily.

“Yes, but I want you to know a few things.  About why I didn’t want to.”

Arya bit her lip.  Ren wanted to stop her.  He didn’t like causing her anguish. “Listen, if you’re not ready for a relationship, or you simply don’t want to date me, I get it.  I won’t force you.”

“No!  It’s not that!  I do want to be with you it’s just that… well, it scares me,” Ren admitted.

“What scares you?”

“You do, or at least my feelings do for you,” he confessed, putting his face in his hands. “I’ve only ever loved one girl, and she turned her back on me.  I didn’t know what it was like to love someone, truly love someone, until I met you.  I didn’t understand what I was feeling at first.  I thought I was attracted to you only in the way I was with the girls I fooled around with.  But then I realized those weren’t the feelings after Ansel found me.  He asked me if I loved you, and I said yes without any hesitation.  I scared myself, and I didn’t know what was happening to me.  I didn’t know what these feelings were going to cause me to do so rather than possibly hurting you, I decided to leave, which I think only caused you more pain than if I had stayed. God Arya… the things you make me feel.  I wanted to kill Tony tonight.  I wanted to so badly.”

“What was he saying about me?” Arya responded quietly.

“All sorts of shitty stuff, saying he was going to have the ‘bitch drunk and in his bed by the end of the night.’  I’m sorry, something inside me snapped.  I couldn’t help it.  By the way, that dress you were wearing didn’t help my feelings for you.  It made me seriously want to… make out… with… you…” Ren trailed off as he glanced at the black material she still wore.  The dress rose up on her thighs, showing a fair amount of leg.  He blushed, taking away his gaze from her skin and back to the duvet cover.

“I should’ve killed him,” Arya muttered.

“I’m sorry, Arya.  I never meant to hurt you.”

“Don’t be sorry, Ren.  And for the record, you in that suit had me thinking the same exact thoughts you had seeing me in my dress.”

At this, Ren looked up.  Her hazel eyes bore into his blue ones.  They showed her conflicted emotions; she was elated, dubious, and mischievous all at the same time.  His hand involuntarily lifted up to her face, his thumb softly brushing over her cheek.

“I love you, Arya,” he whispered.

“I- oh screw it,” she murmured before crashing her lips onto his.  Ren let out a groan as he let one hand cup the back of her head and one hand rest on her waist where the cutouts in her dress were.  Arya let out a whimper when Ren deepened the kiss.  Her hands wove through his hair.  He pulled her closer to him before rolling over on top of her.  He broke off the kiss temporarily to gain back his breath which she had so easily taken away.

“I love you Ren,” she said, giving him a dainty kiss.

“I never want to leave you Arya.  I’m staying.”

“I thought so,” she chuckled.  In a serious tone, she added, “You’re afraid to love another girl, to love me.  I’m going to show you that you don’t have to be.”

He leaned in next to her ear. “You already are, sweetheart.”

She shivered as he looked down at her.  Arya wore a smirk. “Show me what you got alpha.”
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