For the first time in a long time, I wake fully rested. Chris' house is amazing. His bedroom is the size of my living room, with the biggest bed I've ever seen in the center. It's a living room with a full-sized couch on one side and a flat-screen TV on the other, as well as a desk. The walk-in closet must be huge since he changed in there, and then there's the bathroom.

I could live there!

Chris' bathroom has an earthy feel like the rest of the house; the floor is warm-coloured water-worn stone, and the walls are a combination of stone and wood. The glass and granite shower alone takes up a large portion of one wall and is the size of my entire bathroom. I could have stayed in that shower all day if I didn't know there were likely people downstairs waiting for me.

After getting cleaned up and dressed, I make my way out of his room, looking around the massive place. The scale of the house is incredible! Substantial solid wood stairs lead down to the common area. To the right is presumably the living room with an army of couches, chairs and a giant flat-screen TV. The room's huge, with vaulted ceilings that only add to its impressive scale.

To the left is the kitchen, where everyone is already waiting. There's a large live edge table with a blue river-type detail down the center that everyone is sitting at. The kitchen itself is spacious and open, with a long granite island in the center. Claire is busy cooking on the far side while everyone else is lost in conversation. As soon as I walk in, I feel all eyes on me.

Chris's hazel eyes are soft but unreadable; he looks lost in thought. Sara, however, is glaring at me like I spilled a drink on her best dress, while Jace and Xavier are both soft and welcoming.

I waste no time, take an open seat next to Jace and get drawn into the conversation with Jace and Claire as he regales us with the details of his night after we left. Chris and Sarah stand, cutting our conversation short. One look shows them ready to come to blows as he yells at her to go.

Sara glares at me as she storms out the back door, assuring me whatever they were arguing about has something to do with me. If she wasn't warm and fuzzy before, I'll have to watch my back around her even more now. Chris drops back into his chair with a sigh and frowns.

"Sorry about that... Sara is well, Sara." His frown deepens, but Jace just snorts back a laugh.

The earlier lightness at the table is long gone, leaving me picking at my breakfast and wondering how to get home without making things more awkward. As if he senses my discomfort, Jace offers to drive me home. I practically jump out of my seat, eager to be back at my farm.

My gaze finds Chris' and my stomach twists, feeling guilty for rushing off after he's been so nice.

Something flashes in his eyes, but he shakes his head and gets up to leave. He pauses at the table and shifts his attention to Jace. "Thanks," he mumbles, clapping his friend on the shoulder.

I swallow hard as he turns to me, the frustration in his eyes slipping away. He gently takes my hand and runs his thumb over my knuckles.

Chris leans in and whispers, "Thanks for the dance." My lips move but words fail me, earning a parting grin as Chris slips away.

I don't understand why he has such an effect on me. It's unnerving.

The quick walk from the kitchen to the garage to Jace's truck feels like a daze.

"You're pretty quiet this morning, little elf," Jace says, cutting into my self-reflection.

"Yeah, just thinking I guess..."

"About what?" He raises a brow, teasing me. His aggravating smirk warns he has an entire conversation mapped out in his head.

"Nothing in particular," I lie. He's not buying it, so I deflect. "Your house is amazing."

"You haven't seen much of it yet, but yeah, it's easy to forget first impressions, having lived there my whole life. Next time, I'll give you a tour of the whole thing." He smiles, and after a pause, picks up where he left off. "So that was some night, hmm?"

I blush, flashing back to dancing with Chris. If you had asked me when I got to the club how my night would go, never in a million years would I have guessed the way it did. And yet I spent half the night with Chris dancing; there was something so intimate about it and yet effortless.

"Yeah, I think I may have had a bit too much to drink," I say, rubbing my neck.

"Is that what you're going with?" Jace asks, raising a brow. He's clearly not buying my excuse and not about to let it go.

I groan, earning a laugh. "Relax, I'm not gonna pry. I'm just a little surprised and curious, is all. I don't know if I've ever seen Chris dance like that with anyone before," he trails off. "Hell, he usually blows us off when we try to get him out, but magically, last night, he showed up."

His grey eyes lock on mine as a knowing smirk hangs on his lips. Thankfully, he drops the subject and the rest of the ride home is quiet. Once home, I hop out and nearly run to the house. Jace just laughs and says, "See you Wednesday," as he drives off.

The rest of the day is quiet, just a couple of quick texts from Jude, and one from Chris making sure I'm home okay.

What am I going to do about him?

He doesn't seem to respect any boundaries. I can't let someone like him anywhere near me. He'll break me in no time and I can't go through that again.

-----

Jace is supposed to pick up today, but apparently, the rez is having some sort of issue requiring all hands on deck. He says it's nothing too major, but he can't make it out, so here I am on my way to deliver.

This unexpected turn of events means I'm pulling on to rez lands late afternoon as the sun begins to sink behind the forest. From the moment I arrive, something feels off. Every other time I have been here, there were always people of all ages milling about and lively energy to the place. Not today; there isn't a single soul out there as I pull up to the main door. No sooner than I put my truck in park, Jace and Claire walk out the front door toward me.

"Took you long enough!" Jace smirks, but his usual lightness feels forced.

"Well, I had to fit you into my busy schedule, no notice and all," I drawl, side-eyeing him. "Everything good?"

"Of course, why wouldn't it be?" Jace focuses on grabbing a stack of crates and proceeds to take them inside. Claire offers a small smile, grabs a crate and follows him in. I frown, but set to work unloading the rest.

Slowly, things go back to normal as I help Claire sort through their order. We're mid conversation when Jace bursts back in. He scans the room before his gaze pins me in place. "Stay here," he commands.

"What is it?" My stomach drops as the tension becomes palpable. He's not even pretending anymore. "I can go home if this is a bad time."

"No!" they say in unison.

Jace locks his gaze on mine, pleading. "Stay inside until someone comes back. We have to go deal with something. Just please, please stay inside." I nod as they dash out the back.

Well, that's not unnerving at all.

I've never seen this worried side of Jace. He's always been so carefree that it sets me on edge. I walk around the kitchen, putting everything away to keep my mind occupied. Before long, I have run out of things to do. As the sun begins to set, I settle on one of the living room couches.

A sudden scream startles me awake and I jump to my feet. I must have fallen asleep as the house is mostly dark and the full moon is high in the sky. Another short scream cuts through the still night air, and my heart begins to race.

I hesitantly open the back door. Jace begged me to stay inside, but that scream is too much to ignore. Standing in the doorway, I hear it again, much clearer. My heart drops. It's a child and they're terrified.

Before I realize what I'm doing, I'm already jogging my way across the back lawn to the forest edge. Fortunately, the full moon casts enough light to show me the way. Another shout sends me down a path to the left.

Branches claw at me, trying to slow my progress as I blindly follow my ears. Snarling ahead tells me I'm nearly there. My heart's hammering as I get closer, only to realize I'm empty-handed. Clearly, I haven't thought this through.

I push through the bushes into the small clearing and am met with a terrifying sight. A brown wolf the size of a pony is dragging Ethan out of his hiding spot. He kicks and screams while two other wolves of equal stature stalk nearby, snapping at their chance.

I swallow hard, pushing my fear aside as I run at them, having grabbed a bat-sized branch, and swing it with all my might, connecting with the brown wolf's head. The hit is savage and makes a sickening crack as the wolf collapses, releasing Ethan. The boy's eyes are impossibly wide as he scrambles away.

My heart stops as the remaining two wolves, realize they're no longer alone with the kid and turn their murderous glares on me. Newly recovered from their shock, they attack. The dirty grey wolf lunges at the fleeing child as the dark one comes towards me. I take the first wolf with a hard hit to its ribs, buying Ethan some time and sending it snarling to the side with barely enough time to turn and face my attacker.

The dark wolf crashes into me, throwing me hard onto the forest floor. The impact from the fall slams me into the branch and rock-covered forest floor as I bash my head off of something hard enough to make me see stars. Dazed and desperate, I look around for anything to save me.

Instinctively, I bring the branch up where the wolf's massive jaws snap at it, inches from my face. Panic wells in me as my mind reels, searching for my next move before this thing kills me.

Howls erupt in the surrounding forest as a sense of dread washes over me. The dark wolf's weight makes it harder to breathe as he takes a final snap, breaking the branch and ripping it out of the way. I throw my arm up in a last ditch effort to protect my face as his teeth sink into my forearm. I gasp in pain, clenching my jaw to keep from screaming as his fangs tear deeper into my flesh.

I'm no match for him.

He lets go of my arm, pulling back to strike my neck when more wolves break into the clearing. My heart hammers, threatening to break through my chest as I weigh the odds. The dirty grey wolf is now back on his feet, lunging to join the attack but gets tackled by a larger, sandy wolf. I close my eyes as the dark wolf snaps down at me, but suddenly I feel his weight ripped off of me.

My head spins and I'm on the verge of blacking out as I open my eyes to see Chris standing over me, tossing the bloody wolf away.

The moonlight illuminates his bare, bloodied chest and his eyes are wide as he bends down. I look to the left where the sandy wolf was but only see Jace. His gaze connects with mine mirroring my own shock.

"Shit," he curses as he reaches down to me.

What? But how?

Their lips move, but I can't hear anything over my heartbeat pounding in my ears. With the last of my strength, I raise my arms to protect myself as the blackness takes me.

-----

I'm desperately fighting against the blackness, but I can't wake up. I hear snarling and growls near me. More wolves are fighting, and I feel like I'm floating?

No, I'm being carried. Why can't I get my eyes to open and why is it so cold now?

"Go! Get her out of here!"

That sounds like Jace.

A deep growl from the chest I'm against drowns everything else out. Pain consumes me as he jars me when he takes off running; if my body would obey me, I would have screamed in agony. Once again, the blackness wins and I'm out.

-----

My consciousness snaps awake first as my mind reels with images of the dark wolf snapping down to finish me off. Panic threatens to suffocate me as my body won't respond. My eyes finally open and I see a dark figure towering over me.

Instinct takes over and I bring my knees up to my chest, kicking the dark figure as hard as I can with both feet. The shadowy man flies backwards, crashing into a cart, sending its contents clattering to the floor. Blinking to try and clear my eyes, I try to get up, but my legs won't hold me. I hit the tile hard, and brace myself against the side of the bed on my hands and knees.

Wait. Tile? Sheets?

Slowly, my senses come back to me, but my mind is sluggish. My head feels like it's splitting in half. I slip my hand behind my head, gently probing my hair before my fingers find a long stitched gash. I hiss in pain, wincing at the wound. Noise to my right brings my attention back to my attacker, who is slowly getting up from where he landed.

"Jess! Jess, it's me, Jace." He crouches where he landed and holds his palms up in surrender, trying to calm me down. "You're safe, calm down. No one's going to hurt you." Before I can wrap my head around this, the door smashes open as more people rush in.

Panic threatens to consume me as I try to make sense of it all. My heart hammers as my head throbs while stars dance on the edge of my vision.

"Stay back," I scream, fighting the pain and dizziness. I'm on the verge of blacking out again. I feel someone touch my shoulder, startling me. All I can do is scoot back away from him as I struggle to gain my bearings.

Chris looks down at me, his face full of concern. His eyes don't hide the hurt as I push away from him.

"Alpha, she needs space," a guy wearing a white lab coat pleads with Chris. He doesn't even seem to care that the guy is talking to him, he just keeps his hazel gaze locked on me. "Please Alpha, she's in fight-or-flight mode. She's going to hurt herself."

Chris sighs and reluctantly stands back up. Xavier and Sara urge him from the room and he follows, never taking his eyes off of me.

"I'm Dr. Phillips," the man says in a soft voice. "Jace, can you join them in the hall, please?"

Jace frowns, but nods and gets up from the floor, slowly making his way to the hall. As the door shuts, I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding and slump against the end of the bed.

"I know this is overwhelming, but I need to check your injuries," Doc says, the concern clear in his voice.

"My head feels like it's splitting in two," I pant. "So dizzy."

The last thing I see is the doctor running forward to catch me as the floor rushes up to meet me and the blackness takes me.

-----

"Why isn't she waking up?" I hear Chris demand. He sounds pissed.

Great, I'm back to being half-awake, unable to move.

"She will wake up soon, Alpha. That was a nasty gash on the back of her head. She has a concussion, plus the pain and nausea medications are keeping her out. Her body needs to rest," Dr. Phillips reassures him. "I've redressed her other wounds. There's no major damage."

I can feel him pacing at the end of my bed as the steady beep of the monitor lulls me back to sleep. At the last part, he seems to settle some, walking to the side of the bed and sitting down with a sigh, and I'm out.