Hey guys :D So this is a pretty important chapter. i spent a long time working on it because I wanted to make sure it was good, so I really hops you like it

Ok so the song for this chapter is 'How to break a heart' by Nikki. I think its the perfect for Kenzie and her ex.

The picture is of hotty Chasey *Drools* Mommy loves youuuuuuuuuu

Vote, Comm, Enjoy :D

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Chase's P.O.V.

Her breathing evened out and soft snores told me she was asleep. I stared at her determined yet vulnerable face and felt my heart thump with emotion. If she only knew how much she had scared me, how much I was so close to losing it.

I couldn't get the image out of my head, her struggling to stay on the surface, the sound of her gasps as she kept swallowing water, drowning slowly. I was in the lake before I knew it and immediately grabbed her.. 

I looked down and noticed we were both still soaked,. I got up and debated changing her clothes, if I didn't she could get sick but if I did she'd get mad. I decided I would handle the consequences in the morning. I walked to her and helped her as she sat up with her eyes still closed. I kept my eyes on her face as I took off her shirt. I brought one of my shirts and put i on her, again without looking at anything but her face.

I smiled as I looked at her, the shirt reached her knees and was impossibly large on her. I unbottened her pants from under the shirt and pulled them down. I closed my eyes so I wouldn't look at her legs and when I was done I tucked her in the bed and put her clothes in the hamper.

I walked back to the room and took off my pants and shirt, changing my boxers for dry ones. I normally slept only in my boxers but I knew she'd freak out if she woke up to see me like that so I put on some pj bottoms and climbed back into bed, immediately wrapping my arms around her waist and pulling her to me. I took a breath, inhaling her scent and felt my wolf purr. It was finally resting a bit after the incident, now that it's mate is near him.

I moved some stray strands from her face and smiled a bit at her sleeping face. God, she was beautiful. I let my eyes close, knowing that this would be one of the nights I'd sleep peacefully, with my mate in my arms.

*****

Kenzie's P.O.V.

I woke up and for the first time in a long time I wanted just to get back to the most comfortable sleep I've ever had.

I cuddled closer to the warmth surrounding me and sighed. It was a chuckle that made me reluctantly open my eyes.

The first thing I noticed was a muscular chest and I frowned before the previous day finally came back to me. I gasped and tried to get away but Chase's arms around my waist prevented me from doing so.

"Good morning to you too" Chase's husky voice said and I looked up at him, God he looked good in the morning. Whereas I always look like a walrus.

"Morning" I said and then, needing an excuse to get up "I need to pee"

Chase smirked and let me go and I got out of bed and went to the bathroom. I looked in the mirror and suppressed a groan, as expected I looked like crap. I pressed a hand to my head as a headache surface.

I frowned and looked down at my clothes and gasped as I noticed I wasn't wearing anything but a shirt. So that means that Chase helped me change my clothes which means he saw me in my underwear. 

I walked out of the bathroom to scold him but the words died on my mouth once I saw him by his closet shirtless. I guess I didn't really notice once I woke up but now as I saw his muscles flex with his movement, I couldn't talk.

"I can feel you staring" Chase said as he turned around with a grin and walked over to me. He stopped when he was inches away from me "you know you look amazing in my clothes"

"Yeah right" I said sarcastically and turned my head away from his gaze but he grabbed my chin gently and raised my head so I can look at him.

"really" he said and cupped my cheek and subconsciously I found myself leaning into his touch. "How can you not see how beautiful you are?" My breathing hitched at the way his touch made me feel.

"I-I" I stuttered and ten without even thinkng "How do you do that?" Chase looked at me in confusion "How do you make me feel like that?"

"Like what?" he asked as I realized what I had asked and a blush made its way to my cheeks "How exactly do I make you feel Kenzie?" He placed his free hand on my waist

"L-like" I swallowed "Like a person cut in half" I looked him in the eye "Looking fot the part that's gone" I shook my head letting out a breath "How do you do that?"

Chase stared at me,his thumb gently caressing my cheek "because you do the same to me" he said 

"We can't be together Chase, believe me you don't want to be with me" I said, trying my best not to let the tears come "What will it take for you to see that?"

"It will take emptiness here" He said using his hand t was on my face to grab my hand and plae it on his chest, above his heart "Emptiness instead of heat and memories"

I stood tensely, all too aware of the geen eyes on my face. All too aware of the broad shoulders only inches from mine.

"you're running again Kenzie, It's time to tell me what you're so afraid of"

Of you. Of myself I wanted to scream. Of the things you make me feel and a past I've tried o hard to forget

"Nothing"

"You're lying" 

I didn't deny it "It's finished. It has to be finished"

"it's just beginning"

I shivered at the determination coating his words "I can" I looked down and caught sight of the scars on my wrist, feeling the others on my stomach and body even though they didn't hurt, but right then they were almost burning, making me aware of their presence "Just go"

"not until you tell me what you're so damned afraid of"

"Of you" my breath caught "Of wanting this" My voice broke "There, are you satisfied?"

I heard him breath a soft curse "No I'm not satisfied, not at hearing you're afraid of wanting me. Who caused you to have so little trust" He came pressed me against the wall, his body molding into mine "Who left you like this Kenzie?" He whispered into my ear, placing a kiss right under my earlobe and working his way till he reached the base of my neck "Tell me and Ill kill him for doing this to you" He covered my hammering pulse with his lips "you're trembling"

"I'm not trembling" I said but my voice betrayed me. His lips found the line of my shoulder and planted slow kisses alng its ridge "here" his lips brushed my neck again "and here" he whispered tracing the edge of his shirt

"I-I" My words came out as a sigh as he contined to plant kisss from my shoulder to my arm and then he held my wrst and slowly raised it to his lips. It was when I felt him freeze that I was able to think through my daze and tried to yank my hand away.

"No, Chase. Let me go"

"Two. Three. A dozen" He said cursing under his breath. He raised my the sleeve of the shirt I was wearing and his jaw tightened as he saw the other faint scars. 

"How, Kenzie? When?" He said angrily

I finally managed to pull away. "You've seen, Chase. Now you can leave me alone. I didn't ask you to see this."

I could see he was shaking, his eyes changing from the green I loved to black, My eyes widened. "A man did this?" He said angrily and I made a broken sound and turned around, not able to look at him "He hurt you like this? Who, Kenzie?"

"Who doesn't matter" 

"The hell it does" He growled out "I'll kill him, I swear to god"

"Just, let me go Chase" I said as a sob escaped my mouth "Please"

"No" Chase's soft voice said and I felt his hands gently catch my arms and turn me around "All I want is you. And a chance"

"There is no more chances Chase." I said as tears streamed down my face. "I used to wake up crying, wondering who I was and why these happened to me" I held out my wrists "Too fragile, that was the reason. Too hopeful. But not again. not with you or any other man. No more scars, Chase. It simply isn't worth it" I choked on another sob "I-I can't"

Suddenly Chase pulled me to his chest his arms wrapped around me as I sobbed. "I've made my share of mistakes, Kenzie. Some worse than others. But mistakes help us grow." He said and pulled away a bit to look at my face "But this isn't a mistake, it never will be. I'd never hurt you intentionally. I'd never want anything but the best for you"

"What if it doesn't work. I can't handle the pain of losing someone else, Chase. Not so soon after I just lost Gabriel, not when I'm still trying not to burst out crying at the very thought of him"

"you'll never lose me. Only death can take me away from you" he said softly and a small smile curved his lips "And I plan on staying alive for a long time"

"Promise?"

"Promise" he said and grabbed my chin and tilted my head upwards "I'll always be there for you"

"Wait" I said knowing he was about to kiss me, but he needed to know so he could have a chance to change his mind. "I have to tell you something, Chase. Now before I lose my nerve"

"Whatever it is can wait" he said as he tried to kiss me again but I moved my face

"No it can't. You need to be able to change your mind." I took a deep breath "It's about my--my ex fiance"

I felt Chase tense "Fiance?" I nodded my head and took a deep breath

"My mom and dad arranged me and Luke, the son of the owners of a very successful company, to marry each other at eighteen. They made us be together at fifteen and we got engaged a bit of years later"

"What happened, Kenzie?"

"It didn't work out" I said and let out a humorless laugh "It sounds so simple, put that way. But it wasn't like that. It happened slowly, painfully." I shuddered "At first he was great, made me fall for him because he was the only person who didn't make me feel unimportant. And then...he changed. Or I guess he was like that all along, he started hitting me when I didn't act like he wanted me to. And threatened me with Gabriel because he knew how influential my parents were with his."

"Kenzie, you don't have to tell me this" Chase said and from how strained his voice sounded I knew I had to say it all.

"I do have to tell you. Even Patrick doesn't know the whole story" I looked down at the scars on my wrist. "It was when I told him I wasn't going to use the trust fund my parents gave me. I told him I didn't want to owe them anything and wanted to build my life my own way." I stiffened but he rubbed my back soothingly encouraging me to continue.

"He got mad" I said "He said he was going to teach me how life works. Really works. My parents were away on vacation and he locked me in the gardening shed in the back garden away from our house. It was midwinter, freezing. There were rats." I shuddered and felt Chase's arms tighten around me.

"I kept yelling for help but no one heard me." I shook my head  "I still don't know what happened exactly. The police said it was something about the rats and the electric wires, but there was a fire" I shivered "I remember smoke, and it was getting hard to breath and I was already so tired from the cold. I ran to the door and kept banging on it but no one would come so i climbed on one of the tables and looked out the small window. and I saw him there

He was looking at the shed in surprise and then he turned and ran. He left me. So I did the only thing I could think of. I used my hands to break the window, that's how I got these scars" I looked up "The others were while I was crawling through, I didn't have time to move all the glass. I got burned and I was bleeding and that's how the police found me"

"That....bastard, I'm going to kill him" Chase said angrily and I could see that he was barely maintaining his control

"The scars...You won't find them attractive. I would understand if you changed your mind"

"Then you would be a fool, Kenzie" he said "If you think that for one moment I won't find you beautiful"

"But you don't know, you haven't seen"

"It doesn't matter, you'll always be perfect for me Kenzie" he said "No more explanations, and no more talking about the past. It's about us now, the present"  he smiled "And right now, I want nothing more than to kiss you"

I searched his face for proof hat he was lying but found none "Then kiss me" I said breathlessly and he wasted no time in crashing his lips on mine. I didn't hesitate this time and immediately kissed him back. His tongue thrusting in my mouth, deepening the kiss even more

"Be with me" he said as soon as he pulled his lips away, but kept his face where it was "Give us a chance Kenzie. Be mine"

I looked into the eyes of the person I spent years dreaming of, who was thrust into my life again "Yes" I breathed and he pulled me in for another kiss. And I prayed that this would be forever.