Changed?

We hadn't seen each other for four or five months, and Theo greeted me with you've changed?

I never should've let myself fall so goddamn hard for him. I loved him back, but stupidly I didn't say it back, and now it felt like I'd lost him forever.

"Yeah." I shrugged, concealing my feelings. "I've been working out quite a bit."

"I can tell." His eyes dragged lazily over my body.

Staring at him as he did so, I bit my tongue slightly, not letting my hormones take control of me as that gorgeous guy checked me out. I could feel the fire igniting within me.

Keep your emotions in check, Ember, breathe. Just breathe.

I breathed.

"So, you found your pack?" I asked as we started walking out of the airport.

"Yeah." He nodded. "Jason, Abi, Ryder, Storm and Jade — they're all alive. Three of us are dead, and there's a fourth missing."

"Oh., I said, unsure of how to respond.

"It's fine; we're working through it." He shrugged. "Anyway, I've got my anchor back now."

"So, you're pack's your anchor again?" I asked, chewing my lip anxiously.

"Yep." He nodded, looking happy, complete.

I swallowed; I wasn't his anchor anymore — I mean, why would I be? But, still, it hurt deep down inside that he didn't care about me in that way anymore.

"Where did you park?" Brushing my thoughts aside, I squinted in the sunshine across the car park. "Did you even drive here?"

"Yeah, I did actually — I just had to park on the other side of the parking lot," he replied. He hadn't even looked at me after checking me out.

Okay, so maybe I'd 'changed' a little, my uncle had me on tough training programmes every day: pushing myself to my limit physically, emotionally and mentally. Combined with eating better than I'd ever done in my life, it wasn't really too surprising to me that I'd 'changed'.

When we finally got to Theo's car, it turned out to be a rusted old pickup truck.

"Nice truck." I joked as I climbed inside of it, ignoring his offer to take my bags.

"Whatever." He huffed and started it up. "It used to belong to Ryder's dad, I guess you could say it came with the ranch."

Much to my surprise, the engine chugged to life and then trundled along the road. The total journey from the airport to his pack's ranch was about half an hour.

The only thing that kept it from being painful and in an awkward silence was the stunning landscape that surrounded us. When we left Missoula and headed further into the mountains, I was in awe as I stared outside the window — still adjusting to being sat on the right-hand side of a car without a steering wheel in front of me.

"You okay?" Theo asked without looking at me.

"Yeah, fine," I fibbed, beginning to feel a little jetlagged.

I let my head roll back against the seat, angled so I could watch Theo without seeming like I was.

He'd changed as well. He was definitely still serious, but he seemed happy about his pack. When I'd asked about them his face practically lit up, only to fall when he talked about the people who had died. He'd not shaved in a while, by the looks of it, so he had grown-out stubble on his jaws, that made him look like a rugged Montanan mountain man, kind of sexy.

Kind of sexy, my ass! It's crazy sexy.

The muscle in his jaw clenched as he focused on the road ahead of us, and the t-shirt he was wearing revealed his muscular arms, which made me wish he was holding me again.

I closed my eyes; I'd screwed up. He doesn't want me anymore.

"I—" Theo cleared his voice, "I'm really sorry about your dad."

"It's fine." I shrugged. "There's nothing either of us could've done about it."

He was quiet for a moment, and his eyebrows furrowed.

"You think that I should've stayed in the UK, don't you?" I turned to him, incredulous as I realised it. "You think that if I'd stayed at home, my dad wouldn't have had an accident, don't you?"

"Crap." He laughed anxiously and rolled the window down. Yes, he rolled the window down — that's how ancient the pickup was.

"It's obvious you think that, Theo." I sighed and turned to face outside the window again.

But before I did, I thought I saw him flinch when I said his name.

Theo flinching? No chance, I must've been seeing things... I was tired as hell.

And cold. So cold.

"Can you roll the window up?" I asked, irritated as the breeze made me shiver.

"It's the start of April," he told me like I didn't already know, but he rolled the window up anyway. "It's warm out."

I didn't reply to that, because I realised that he hadn't said my name yet.

Wow, I was realising and noticing a lot of things today — Uncle Rob must've taught me well.

Self-consciously, my hand went to fiddle with the necklace pendant that Theo gave me for my 16th birthday, before remembering it wasn't there. I shivered again.

Drawing my heels up onto the seat, I hugged my knees. I was wearing ¾-length gym leggings and a huge hoodie — so why was I so goddamn cold?

"You still cold?" He noticed.

Rolling my eyes, I didn't reply. To my surprise, he flicked the heating on, and somehow the old engine managed to blast out some heat.

"That better?" He smirked, still not looking at me properly as I uncurled and stretched my fingers out towards the aircon vents.

"Yeah..." I breathed, feeling my bones warming.

We didn't speak for the rest of the journey, surprise, surprise — not really. At least it was only 10 minutes.

I could tell that Theo was getting uncomfortably hot with the windows up and the heating on. There was a slight sweat patch forming at the neck of his t-shirt. And God help me, he looked so hot and not just the overheated kind of hot, the sexy kind of hot.

"Here we are," he announced, forcing me to tear my eyes away from his body and towards the ranch.

The ranch was gorgeous, with wooden beams supporting it and having been constructed out of logs. The scenery surrounding it too was equally as attractive; with a lake out towards the front, a towering forest behind it and mountains peaks all around.

"It's gorgeous." I breathed my thoughts as I stepped out of the pickup.

"You can thank Ryder for that." Theo shrugged and grabbed my suitcase out of the pickup bed before I could protest.

Suddenly, a girl with slightly curled, strawberry blonde hair came running out of the ranch towards me.

"Oh my gosh, you're finally here!" She squealed, throwing her arms around me in a hug.

I politely patted her back in response, becoming awkward due to physical contact — something I'd not had in a long while.

"Hi." I stepped away from her. "Abi, right?"

"Yes! And you're Ember!" She grinned wildly.

"Wow. Just look at you two getting along like a house on fire." Theo huffed sarcastically and walked off towards the ranch.

"That probably wasn't the best simile..." I muttered to myself, knowing that Theo would hear it.

"Don't worry about him," Abi reassured me when she saw me frowning. "He's just working through some stuff right now."

"Hmm." I knew the full reason why he was being blunt with me.

Abi walked me round to the front of the ranch, where the rest of the pack were lounging on the deck.

"Weren't you guys supposed to be at school?" Theo questioned, stepping onto the deck at the same time as me and Abi.

"Abi wanted to meet Ember as soon as she got here." A pretty black girl spoke, sounding disinterested. "And Ryder... well, Ryder just can't wait to meet any new girl." She stood up; her eyes did an up-and-down scan of my body — her face registering disapproval before heading inside.

"Jade, wait a minute." Theo went inside after her.

Well, at least now I've met Jade. Theo was right about her looking like Victoria.

"I'm Jason." Jason stood up and shook my hand formally. He had olive skin, dark brown hair, and a kind face.

"You're the Alpha," I spluttered out stupidly.

"Yep, someone's gotta try and keep this lot under control." He joked, laughing.

"Ryder," Ryder introduced himself, "We're the same age, so if you want to get with any one of us, it should be me." He stood up and, without any warning whatsoever, leaned in to kiss me.

Reacting rapidly, I stepped back and turned my head, so that his lips only brushed my cheek. I couldn't help it when I blushed because Ryder was attractive, with floppy blonde hair, hooded dark green eyes and very kissable lips.

Theo cleared his throat, obviously having reappeared in the doorway, arms crossed. "Ryder, a word?"

"Sure." He grinned at me. "See ya in a bit, hot stuff."

I rolled my eyes as he sauntered off.

"You'll get used to him." Jason laughed at me.

"Yeah, not likely." A girl with mid-length, light blonde hair, pale skin and light blue eyes. "I swear to the spirits, Ryder is so horny right now."

"Storm, right?" I checked.

"Yep." She smiled back at me.

I looked around and blurted out, "This is all of you?"

"Yeah, this is it," Abi said, clearly hurting.

All of them were hurting, and it was so clear.

"So... Erm. Do you guys, like, know what I am?" I questioned, breaking the silence I created.

"Yep, you're some sort of Phoenix, right?" Jason checked, with an arched eyebrow, "Theo didn't tell us loads about what happened to him, and... between the two of you whilst he was in the UK, but Storm here told us everything we need to know."

"Yeah, that's right." I nodded at Storm, "Thanks."

"Just doing what the higher powers tell me to do." She shrugged, sounding a lot like Wednesday when she used to say that the 'spirits' told her to do certain things.

I miss Wednesday.

I leaned on the railing on the deck and looked out across the wilderness that lay ahead of me, breathing in the fresh mountain air. I closed my eyes, beginning to semi-meditate as I felt calmness washing over me, anxiety and longing dissipating.

"What the hell, man?!" A voice shouted from the inside of the house, breaking my peace as all of us on the deck spun towards the sound. "Seriously, Theo — what the actual fu—?!" The voice said again, and I could tell it was Ryder before his words were cut off by what sounded like him being hit.

The next moment, Theo was hauling Ryder to the front of the ranch by his neck. Pausing to throw him on the ground, Theo then hit him again and again.

"Theo — stop!" Jason and I seemed to yell at him simultaneously.

So, he doesn't want me, and yet he doesn't want other guys wanting me either, I raised an eyebrow, but I couldn't pause to think now, so I leapt over the wooden railings to where the two idiots were.

"Stop it, Theo." I grabbed hold of his free arm and began dragging him away. As soon as I touched his skin, an electric shock made me jump away from him — the same sort of electrical spark I felt the first few times he and I touched in Lake Oldoy.

He rounded on me, his face threatening and angry, "You! This is all your fault! If you had just stayed in Svalbard or even better gone back home, nothing would be going wrong." He spat out at me, "What the hell are you even doing here, huh? You have no family here, and no friends. No one cares about you here — so why the hell don't you just go home?"

I narrowed my eyes at him, keeping my cool, whereas six months ago I would've screamed back at him and probably set some stuff on fire. "I actually have a grandad that lives here in Montana — Missoula to be precise. So yes, I have family here, I have someone that cares about me."

Okay, that's only a little lie... I don't have anywhere to go at all.

"Why the hell didn't you tell me about him?" He seethed with anger, glaring at me.

"Because you never even asked." I shrugged. "And it's not like I can stay with him anyway; his flat is too small, so I was going to find some motel or something."

Again, another lie. When did you get so good at this game of deceit, Ember?

I hadn't even realised that Abi was next to me, until she offered, "You can stay here with us."

Theo threw her a look, and if looks could kill, she'd be six feet under after the way he scowled at her.

"No, thanks, Abi," I told her, my eyes not leaving Theo, "I know where I'm not wanted."

I turned on my heel and headed up towards the ranch, preparing to grab my things and get the hell out of there.

"Ember, wait a second," a voice called after me.

I whirled around, preparing to shut down whoever it was before I saw it was Jade.

"I wouldn't have thought that you of all people would want me to stick around," I spat at her, remaining cold.

"I know." She sighed. "I was a bit of a bitch to you, and I'm sorry about that... I just — I'm just a little protective over Theo, and I don't want to see him hurt again."

I almost laughed aloud at that — me hurt him? No chance; he just wasn't interested anymore.

Breathing deeply, I tried to find some internal strength. "It's fine. I'll just find a motel somewhere."

"No. You're staying," Jade persisted, looking serious.

She looks so much like Victoria... I couldn't help but think as she stared me down.

"You don't happen to know anyone called Victoria, do you?" I inquired, trying and failing miserably to make it seem like a natural question.

Jade shook her head, laughing, "Theo asked me the same thing a couple of days ago — and no, I've never met her or even heard of her before now."

I sighed in relief. "Oh, good."

"So, you coming back inside or not?" Jade smiled at me for the first time.

"Yep, I guess so." I followed her inside.

We passed a bathroom in which Ryder was dabbing a cotton bud against his bloodied face. Jade rolled her eyes and walked off.

"Oh my God..." I stopped and went into the bathroom. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, it's already healing." He winced. "I probably deserved it for hitting on you like I did."

"I'm sorry..."

"Don't be sorry." He shrugged."You can't help being beautiful."

My cheeks pinkened fiercely — it'd been a long while since anyone had shown me that sort of affection.

"Let me help you," I offered, taking the cotton bud from his fingers and pressing it against his bloody nose. He was right; he was already healing, so I just helped to clean the blood up.

The entire time I was wiping his skin, he was staring down at me intently, watching my face.

"You are truly beautiful," he told me when I'd finished. He took the cotton bud from my hand, causing our fingers to brush ever so slightly — but that contact still sent shivers down my spine.

"Allegedly, you're just really horny," I stated with a raised eyebrow, revelling in how close our bodies suddenly were.

He shrugged a shoulder. "You tell me if that's true or not, hot stuff."

His hands wrapped around my waist as he pressed my body against his.

Oh yeah, he's horny alright.

Hesitating, I raised my arms and snaked my hands through his hair, which was surprisingly soft.

God, how long has it been since I'd been in someone's arms like that? Too long.

Ryder's eyes flicked down to my lips and he started moving his lips towards mine. His lips brushed mine ever so slightly, and someone coughed.

I jumped away from him, banging my ankle on something.

"I am watching you two," Theo said from the doorway, arms folded.

"Cockblock much, Theo?" Ryder narrowed his eyes at Theo, putting his hands in his pockets, undoubtedly trying to cover the evidence of his attraction to me.

"Stay the hell away from Ember," he replied through gritted teeth, his true feelings were unreadable.

"Hey, I'm still right here." I walked towards Theo and shoved past him. "And I can make out with whoever the hell I want, okay?"

Abi was sitting in what turned out to be the lounge — I'd just walked into a random room — and she looked amused.

"Not been here an hour and you're already causing trouble," Abi smirked. "I like you."

"I didn't mean to get between them like that." I sighed, sitting down next to her on the plush sofa.

"They're like brothers, so they'll get over it eventually." She smiled, letting her eyes close as she relaxed into the plush, dark brown sofa some more.

"So... Erm, if I'm staying, where will I be sleeping?" I asked after a couple of minutes of hesitation.

"Well, this ranch has got five bedrooms," she explained, opening her eyes. "Jason and Ryder have their own rooms but the rooms are joined by an ensuite bathroom — which, to be honest, is just a toilet — erm... Theo's got his own room, I've got my own room because I get pretty violent dreams, and then Storm and Jade share a twin bedroom."

"Right... What about with me?"

"You can sleep in my bed, hot stuff." Ryder appeared and sat down next to me, running his hand along my leg.

"Over my dead body!" Theo scoffed, pulling Ryder away from me and sitting in his place.

The closeness of Theo's body to mine made me uncomfortable, so I leapt up awkwardly, messing with my nails.

"I can sleep on the sofa," I suggested, shrugging.

"No." Theo eyed me. "You can sleep in my room."

"Why the hell would she want to do that?" Abi frowned.

"Because you have psycho dreams, Storm and Jade don't have any space in their room, Jason won't want her, and there is no way that I'm letting her sleep with Ryder—"

"We'll see about that," Ryder muttered, which earned him a punch in the arm from Theo.

"She can sleep in my room. She can have the bed, and I'll have the sofa bed." Theo finished.

"Do I not get a say in this?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Nope. Go unpack your stuff," Theo replied coldly.

"I wish had gone for a motel," I mumbled to myself, sloping out of the room. "I don't even know where Theo's room even is. Now I'll have to open every door and just hope I don't walk in on Jason or Jade or Storm. Ugh..."

"My room is on the right, there." Theo pointed from behind me, suddenly behind me.

I huffed and headed into his room. After following me, Theo shut the door behind us.

"I'm sorry about Ryder," he told me.

"Damn right, you're sorry." I clenched my jaw. "You beat him up just because he hit on me? I mean, as far as I'm concerned, you're just jealous, even though you don't want me anymore."

For a millisecond, his face registered hurt and confusion, before returning to coldness. He shrugged it off. "Whatever."

My heart was pounding in my chest; it'd also been a while since I was this close to Theo... Yet, at the same time, I'd never been so far away from him. And I had no idea how to reach him again.

I surveyed the room. "There isn't a sofa bed in here."

"There's an armchair." He pointed it out and went to sit in it.

"That doesn't look very comfy to sleep in." It was my turn to point out as I started unpacking my suitcase.

"Better than the floor. Better than you sleeping with Ryder." He huffed, watching me with a steely gaze.

"What's your problem with that anyway?" I snapped at him, beginning to throw my clothes into a wardrobe. "Why do you get to decide who I can and can't sleep with?"

"Since you came to Montana declaring that you had nowhere else to go," he said gruffly, standing up from the chair. "And it's not just that. I don't know what your uncle did to train you on Svalbard, but it sure as hell changed you. You're different."

"I'm stronger," I replied, sure of myself. "More independent."

"Oh yeah? Well, that's not the only thing." His eyes flicked up and down my body, "Your body's changed shape. You look like you've been starving yourself, Ember."

Shying my eyes away from him at that, I instantly folded my arms across my ribcage. "I've been training lots."

Lots was an understatement — I'd done endless hours of training daily back in Svalbard.

"Look at this." He grabbed hold of my wrist. "Those bones aren't supposed to stick out of your skin like that."

I yanked my wrist out of his hand and, with a sweep of my leg whilst he was slightly off-balance, knocked him onto the floor. "You're not supposed to be such a dick to me," I responded.

I turned to leave the room, "Oh, and Theo?"

He grunted something unintelligible as he lay on the floor, obviously recovering from the air being forced out of his lungs.

"Don't touch me like that again." I pulled my sleeves over my wrists again and walked out of the room.

I grabbed Ryder as soon as I saw him. "I can't sleep in Theo's room."

"Why not, hot stuff?" He asked, frowning slightly as he searched my face "Did he hurt you?"

"Not exactly." I waved a hand. "I hurt him, but that's not the point. He's obsessing about how different I am from before."

"What were you like before?" He sunk onto the sofa next to me.

I shrugged. "Weak, defenceless, not taking matters into my own hands, out of control... The list goes on."

"And... Theo's annoyed because you're none of those things now?" Ryder questioned as he too tried to figure out why the hell Theo was treating me in such a shitty way.

"Pretty much." I let out a sigh, though I knew there was more to it than that.

I didn't say it back.