A/N: Hello readers. I know it took FOREVER for this chapter to come out but again, I can't seem to catch a break from this world of 'LIFE' but I do thank you all for always reading on and I do hope you enjoy this story. I told my sister I am almost done with the book, yes a few more chapters and I shall be finished and she'll finally read it. Again, I dedicated this book to her so thank you all for reading. I will put up another picture of Connor and Eryn in the next few chapters and then towards the last chapters, I will post Four pictures of other characters, one of which will be Dante. Thank you again. Enjoy!

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

          Jamie was sitting in the same booth we sat at when we had our first meet here. She was in a collard shirt that buttoned up to only her chest and a white tank-top inside. She caught site of me and waved me over. I did walk over to her and she stood up and gave me a big hug,

                                "Thank you so much for coming." she said as I hugged her back. 

                                "No problem." I answered as we both sat down. The place was empty except for the waitress, cook and cashier. The waitress approached us, asking what we would like to eat. Jamie just wanted black coffee and I wanted only water. The waitress walked away and Jamie was staring at me curiously. I had my own thoughts about her going through my head. She was a damn wolf. Weird and yet so cool. Caine said he would be just across the ways because my gut was telling me this meeting wasn't right. We were both silent for a short minute until she sighed,

                                  "Strange isn't it?" she said and I gave her a confused look. She gave me a half smile,

                                       "Your mated to a wolf. And not just any wolf, an Alpha." I didn't bother in explaining to her. I didn't trust her at the moment. I shrugged my shoulder, "I'm barely getting use to it. It's even stranger to me that your a werewolf." she smirked and then set her hands on the table, "Born one. Being one wasn't what I wanted but I have no choice in life so I made my own choice, leaving my pack." she said it with ease and I couldn't believe she said it to me. Was it because she knew I was with wolves now? The waitress brought her coffee out and my water out also. She sipped it but kept her eyes on me. She set her coffee down and folded her hands together,

                                              "I couldn't picture you to be mated to an Alpha. I mean, it's a bit weird becuase Alpha's are to be mated to someone strong. Not a human . . . Unless you aren't human?" It was more of a question and if she thinks that I was going to tell her what I was, she had another thing coming. I gave her the smirk back, "Not that I know of. I'm all human so far." She stared at me and I knew she didn't believe me but she nodded, "Right." It was silent between us for a while, none of us really knowing what to say but she was the one who invited me over here. She finally cleared her throat,

                                                  "How long have you known about werewolves and obviously since you know werewolves exist and your friend is a sucubus, you know creatures exist." She asked and I nodded, "I do."

                                                     "So how long have you known?" the question seemed to be pushed onto me but I knew she was strong, at least that's what Connor had told me. 

                                                        "Ever since I met Connor." I lied but she didn't need to know about my uncle and anyone at the bar. She raised an eyebrow,

                                                          "You seem to be fine with it. I would think someone like yourself would have at least said something to someone else." she was tense now and I could feel it. She shitfted  a bit in her seat and sipped at her coffee again. I just sipped my water and smiled, "It was easy enough to get use to I guess. I'm not as frail as you think me to be." the way I said it made her chuckle, "Of course. Youre always the same Eryn. Funny how things work huh." she said and I finally was fed up with her talking, she wanted me here to discuss the matters at hand; Her being a wolf and me being mated to one.

                                                               "Why did you bring me here?" I asked and she seemed to be caught off guard but then she let a small breath out and her eyes averted to the back of me as I heard the the chiming of bells, someone had walked in. I turned around and was surprised to see two big bronze colored men. Both of them wore short sleeved shirts and tattoos, sort of like Jamies only more elaboarte, covered their arms. Their features in the face was strong but really handsome guys. The tallest of the two walked over to us while the other seemed to have stayed guard at the door. The waitress and cashier just watched, none of them wanting to say anything to the two towers. The tallest one walked over to the table and sat next to Jamie. His pitch black hair was spiked and he had a braided fishtail in the back of it. I knew just by looking at him that he was Samoan. His arm sat flat on the table, it was bigger them my legs, and he stared at me. I looked between him and Jamie, who bowed her head. Yup, this was not feeling right. The man spoke,

                                                               "Your Eryn?" his accent threw me off. I could understand him but his accent was English as if he just stepped off the plane from London. I scrunched my eyes together,

                                                                "Why does that matter?" I answered back. I wasn't going to be intimidated by him, not with what I've been through. He didn't seem to like the answer and he glared at me, "A pretty face woman like you doesn't entrance me. Is your name Eryn or not?" he asked and I knew he knew my name was Eryn but who the hell was he, I didn't answer and he grunted, "The Alpha you were with, where is he?"

                                                                   "Like hell I'm going to tell you." I said, standing up and he quickly grabbed at my arm and forced me down hard,

                                                                        "You leave when I tell you to leave." he said and I glared back at him as I stood up again, "You touch me again, you'll regret it." I said, now walking backwards and then bumping into something hard. I knew it was other big guy and when I turned around, he was facing me, a smile on his face. I backed up a bit and stopped when I heard the other guy stand.

                                                                           "She's kind of cute Marc." the guy said and I could feel myself getting angry but what was I to do. I know one thing, I didn't want to black out and let the crazy sorceress side of me take control. So I just prayed for Caine to come through that door but I hoped Caine was enough, there was three wolves in here. The guy in the back of me didn't move,

                                                                            "Not now Eli." Marc said and Eli frowned as he backed up but that's when I put a smile on my face when Caine walked through the door. Eli turned around,

                                                                         "I thought I smelled another wolf around." Eli said. From the look on Caines face, he was pissed. His hands were clenched into fists and he stepped forward, "Well you were right Eryn, not to trust her." Caine said, staring at Jamie, who gave him a small glare. I took a step forward and Eli looked at me, raised eyebrow, "You have some guts girlie,  I'll give you that much but don't think fo-" Marc cut him off, "Let her go." he told Eli and Eli looked as if he was going to object but instead, he did as Marc said. I walked over to Caine, who made me stand behind him and he glared at Eli, "If I were you, I'd watch who I'm talking to." I didnt have to see Caine's face to know he was staring right at Eli. A smile spread acorss his face, "Oh really pretty boy, compared to me, you have no chance, Plus, I think she might need something of a man in her life." he said winking at me. Not only was I repulse by it, I almost vomitted. Granted he was a cute guy but other then that, he stunk of asshole.

              Caine took a step forward, ready to attack Eli but Marc stepped in the front of Eli but from the looks of Eli, he didn't seem to be intimidated by Caine. Caine may have been a rookie in the pack but he was ready for anything when it came to protecting me. Marc kept a glare on his face,

                        "You and I both know before the thought of attacking us wouldn't rupture before I rip you to shreds. If I were you, I'd turn around and walk out of the Diner." Marcs words were ice cold and Caine, from the way he clenched his hands, knew he was out numbered and out powered so he stepped back, indicatiing to me to do the same but kept his stare on the wolves in front of us as we both slowly started to move towards the exit.

                         "But before you go pup . . ." Marc spoke up before we set our hand on the exit door.

                         "Let your Alpha know this won't be the last you see of us. I've heard of him and I want to be the first to test his skills." Marcs serious aura filled the room as Eli winked at me again. I rolled my eyes but not before looking at Jamie, who didn't dare stare at me. Everything at this moment about her angered me. For a woman who just left her pack, here she had two bullys sided with her. Caine didn't care to answer him as we stepped out into the cold night. We headed to my car quickly and getting in, Caine swore loud,

                          "Who the hell do they think they are." he said, heat rising from his body. I wouldn't blame him for being so mad, they just literally chewed him up and spit him out. His hands were still clenched into fists as I started to car and drove away from the Diner, too angry myself at showing up. My gut was telling me it wasn't a good idea to come but I went anyways, dragging Caine with me. I knew the real reason of Caine's anger, the fact that Marc called him a pup. The Jamie I knew wasn't the Jamie in that Diner. Through the ride home, Caine was transfixed in thought, probaby thinking about the diner incident. He didn't say anything and when we pulled up to the house, it was full of cars; Drayden's Mustang, my uncles truck, Gina's car, Connor's Ducati and another car, a nice black BMW. Who it belonged to I didn't know but when Caine seen it, he gasped,

                      "What the heck is Maria doing here." the way he said it wasn't meant to be heard but I heard it alright. That was Maria's car and Caine quickly looked at me, finally realizing what he had said but I didn't seem to know who this Maria was but I had a feeling it had everything to do with Connor. I masked my face with a smile and acting like I didn't hear what he had said. He just smiled back and quickly got out. I opened my door and stepped out also, watching Caine stare at the BMW. He mentioned Maria once before but I didn't think it was such a big deal, unless he was making it a big deal.

     Caine stepped into the house before me as I stepped in and was surprised to find a full house of people and there was Connor, sitting next to Drayden. He looked up to where I was and got up, walking over to me,

                                    "Hey, are you okay?" he asked me, taking me into his arms and kissing my forhead. His cologne smell seeped into my skin as I hugged him back, feeling his lips on my forhead.

                                     "I'm fine. I'm guessing Caine told you what had happened?" I said and he nodded, "He just told me." he said and I looked over to see if Caine was in site, but he wasn't. Connor let me go as I watched Brody approach us. From the small glare on his face, he had seen Connor hugging me but when he got to us, he folded his arms,

                                     "Trouble must follow you now." was his words to me and I chuckled. As an uncle and the talks we had, we finally came to an agreement that I could handle myself but their was still things I didn't want him to know, like what happened at Cielo.

                                     "Your back early from the bar." I said.

                                     "Closed early when I heard what happened. Surprised at the fact of Jamie being a wolf." he said and I nodded in agreement, I think anyone who would have known Jamie would be. Connor, Brody and I walked to the living room where my eyes quickly averted to where a petite caramel skin colored woman sat, crossed legged. Instantly, she stared at Connor and I and she smiled as she stood up,

                                     "This must be Eryn." she said to Connor and  Connor set his hand on the lower half of my back, "Yes it is." he said. I reached my hand out towards the woman who I knew was Maria and she shook it.

                                      "I'm Maria." she said and I said it was nice to meet her. After getting aquainted, we all sat down and I told them all what had happened at the diner. Connor had his fist clenched the whole time until I intwined my fingers with his and he looked down at our hands together and smiled at me. His smile was always a welcoming one. A small feeling crept onto the back of my neck and I looked over to see Maria staring at us. A small glare passed her face but as soon as she seen me staring at her, she smiled. Who was Maria to Connor?

     The night dragged on with everyone talking about the Rogues and Jamie's little pack she was with. The night was already late and Maria had taken off, with Gina in tow, to a hotel she was staying in. She was going to stay down in New York with the guys for a bit. Caine, Kenny and Greg decided to sleep in the guest room, it was big enough for all of them plus Connor. Brody had gone to bed and Connor and I decided to sit in the living room and talk. 

     I was already comfortable with Connor and the feelings I had for him was getting stronger. We sat on the same couch but just next to eachother. The house was quiet now and Connor sat back,

                             "Hows the search for the family going?" he asked.

                             "I get a chance to see the realitor Monday." I don't know if I've mentioned that to him but I knew he was trying to start a conversation. But this also brought me to Maria. Who was she to him? If I were to ask, would I like the answer? There was no fault in asking.

                             "So you and Maria are pretty old friends?" I asked and he looked over at me and sat up a bit, "Yeah." was his answer but he soon changed the subject, "Are your headaches doing better?" I nodded but asked,

                             "How long have you two known eachother?" I know I shouldn't be asking about his past but if I wanted to make this happen, I wanted to know everything about him, no secrets.

                              "Since highschool. Why are you asking about her?" he asked me. I shrugged my shoulders, "Just didn't know who she was and Caine seemed to be walking on egg shells when he mentioned her so I just thought it had something to do with you." I didn't look at him as I spoke and I could feel him move in the seat and then he set his arm around me. I looked at him as he smiled,

                              "Am I sensing a bit of jealousy from you Ms. Green?" that devilish smile crept onto his face as I scuzzed him, removing his arm from around me, "You wish buddy." I stood up and set my hands on my hips, "That's one thing you won't get out of me." Before I could even think about walking away, he reached out and grabbed my arm, pulling me back down next to him.

                               "Maria was the only girlfriend or girl I seen as more then a friend. That was in the past." he said as he wrapped his arm around me again.

                                "Why didn't you want to tell me that a minute ago?"

                                "I don't want you to think anything about it but seeing as you already did . . ." He gave me a sly smile as I rolled my eyes, "I wasn't really thinking about it. I was curious."

                                "Don't you know that saying 'Curiosity killed the cat'?"

                                "Good thing cats have 9 lives." he chuckled at my reply and then sighed, "Your the only woman I love." that last part, love, made me look at him. His two different colored eyes bore into me and I could feel my heart start to race. Being this close brought me back to the night in my room. The way his hands and lips knew where my weak points on my body lay. I swallowed the forming lump in my throat and noticed his body inching towards mine. Those soft lips formed into a smile, "Being this close isn't a good thing." he said as his lips now met mine and I'd gone still as his tonuge slipped into the softness of my mouth. Finally, my lips reacted and followed the rhythm of his. Before he could get it heated, I quickly stopped, "Not a good idea." I said, gently pushing him away. I could feel he didn't like the fact of being pushed away but he did oblige as he let a soft breath, "Your right." He simply agreed and I stood back up as he did the same. If I stayed here any longer, I couldn't control myself. I wanted him to take me, that much was noticeable but not here. He stood tall in the front of me and I stared up at him, all of his beauty just waiting for me to caress. Then the dirty thoughts swam through my head as I forced them out. He gently caressed my cheek as I smiled at his touch, "I wanted to tell you how I . . " I paused because confessing to him about my feelings were just weird for me. Not only because I felt that we barely knew eachother but because I felt he was only like this with me because of his whole wolf mating ritual.

                                "Why don't you come with me to Pennsalvania?" he suddenly asked. I raised an eyebrow in shock, "You want me to come to Pennsalvania? To where the rest of your pack is?" the sound of it was a bit intimidating. He nodded, "Yeah, why not. I want to show you the place you'll be residing for the rest of your life, unless my pack moves of course." he was serious and I recalled him saying he'd take me by force if he had to but was he asking me to go permentaly or just for a visit for the time being. He answered my unasked question, "Don't worry, were just vising. After your Monday talk with the realitor and I'll help you on your search for your family, we can head out to Pennsalvania. I think if you see where I stay, you might just come willingly." he sounded confident.

                                  "I don't know to be honest. Why would you go back, I mean, after coming back from there?"

                                 "The rougues that stalk our area, I believe, are getting a bit closer. As if they're surrounding the area. They aren't attacking but they are around. Word from the town I stay in, they can sense them and ever since my pack and I left, they've been sensing the Rougues even stronger. I was going to wait to ask you after Monday but seeing how this is a good time." He paused for a bit and waited for an answer. My first thought was Brody, he would not like that but it wasn't his choice. A vacation sounded pretty good, it would probably just be for a week.

                                 "Yeah, why not. I'd love to." I answered and he smiled, surprislingly grabbing me into a hug. After letting me loose, he let out a breath of relief, "Alright then. We can leave once your finished with your search." I nodded as he stuck his hands into his pockets, "I better get some sleep then." he said.

                                "Yeah, me too." I replied and we both moved at the same time towards the guess room and stairs. He was walking towards the room, where the guys were and I took one step onto the stair but stopped, watching him walk towards the room. Okay, I really shouldn't ask but I did anyways,

                                 "Connor!" I said and he quickly turned around, staring up at me, waiting for me to answer.

                                "Uh . . . Well . . . Would you, I mean because it's so crowded in the guest room, like to sleep in my room?" I could feel my face turn red and a smile spread across his face, "Yeah, that would be great." he answered.

                               "Great. I'll get blankets for you." I said, as he now followed me to my room. I turned the light on in my room as he sat on the bed and I went back out to the hall to the closet, grabbing two pillows and two blankets. I set them on the floor, remembering I had an air mattress down in the closet, folded up. I ran down the stairs and opened the closet near the living room. I had to start from the top and then work my way down to the bottom of the closet just to finally find the air mattess folded towards the botton pile. I pulled it out, after what seemed like 20 minutes searching for it. I stuck it under my arm and walked back up stairs, grabbed the blankets and pillows and walked back into my room where I found Connor fast asleep on my bed.

            Great, he was still in his clothes and I was going to grab some clothes from Brody but since he was asleep, I didn't want to wake him. I set the blankets and things to the side my bed and walked into my walk in closet, grabbing a tank top and some shorts. Since he was on my bed, I set up the air  mattress and blankets. If I slept in the bed with him, who knows what would happen. After setting the pillows where I wanted them, I finally snuggled in. I made sure to move the air mattress away from the bed, making sure when he got up in the morning, he wouldn't step all over me. After I was snuggled in, I let out a tired breath and I could now hear his light breathing. My head turned to the side and looked up just a bit enough to see him sleeping. Even sleeping he looked good. He was a goof ball sometimes. But my eyes couldn't leave his face as I my eyes got heavy and the last thought was of him before I fell asleep.