Kade's POV

I wobble my way to the kitchen as Joey follows behind me with his small limp. It's been about a week since that rogue bit my leg and I had a boot on my leg since walking on it could open the stitches that Dr. Moore had to put in. Joey's wound had healed up and he only had a small amount of pain because of his werewolf strength masking most of it while I still healed like a normal human, which sucked because this shit hurt.

"Good morning, boys, how're we feeling today?" Lila asked as she washed off her paintbrushes in the kitchen sink, glancing up at us to see how we were looking.

Joey's hand sat on the middle of my back as he looked up at his mom. "I think we're feeling better today. I'm definitely feeling a lot better than Kade."

Melissa and Cody come down the stairs with their backpacks swung over their shoulders. They give us smiles when they see us before looking at Lila who stares down at her paintbrushes. "Are you sure you'll be okay to go to school?"

I look at Melissa as she gives me a confused look and I nod my head. "Yeah, I have to go to school today anyways, I've already missed four days. I can't get too far behind or I'll never graduate."

"Well, we wouldn't let that happen," Cody said as he walked into the kitchen to make some coffee as Joey kept his arm wrapped around my waist as I keep my balance using the crutches that were underneath my arms. I look up at Joey who gives me a soft smile and rubs my back lightly that sends shocks up my spine, making my body shake a bit.

"We have to pick up Emilie," I remind him and he nods his head, grabbing his keys off of the counter and going over to give his mom a kiss on the cheek before coming back over to me as we wave goodbye to everyone. We walk out the front door to his car where he helps me in before sticking the crutches into the back.

We get past the gate where the guards wave at us before we hit the main road. The radio plays softly between us as I stare out the window at the trees that are whipping past as Joey hits the speed limit. I jump slightly when he hand sets on his shoulder, grabbing my attention.

"Are you doing okay?" He asks me in a soft voice.

"Yeah, I'm doing okay. I just wish all of this didn't have to happen," I whisper, turning my head to stare at him, hating to see that guilty look appear on his face because I didn't mean to make him feel that way. This was in no way his fault because this was our job. We had to protect this pack and if that involves us getting hurt in the process, then that's okay.

"I'm sorry, if there was anything I could do, I totally would, but-" he starts.

"No, it's okay. I didn't mean it like that. We have to do this because we have people to protect, I understand that," I whisper to him.

"If you want me to give up the position, I will. For you, I'll do anything," he whispers to me, completely shocking me with his words. I turn in my seat as best as I can to look at him as he keeps glancing at me while trying to also focus on the road in front of him.

"Joey, no, I would never want you to do that. This is your passion and I get to see it everyday. It's one of my favorite things to be able to witness. Every time you have to deal with something in the pack, I get to see you live your dream. You grew up with this position, you grew up with your pack members, and I would never, ever dream of taking that away from you," I whisper to him, taking his free hand in mine.

He glances over at me before looking back at the road. "Have I told you lately that I love you?"

I chuckle, nodding my head as he pulled into my driveway. "You might've mentioned it."

When he parks in front of my house, the door opens to reveal my mom and Emilie coming out. Emilie wears a long-sleeved orange shirt and some leggings along with a pair of white Converse while she has her bag slung over her shoulder as she opens the back door to slide in. I roll down my window as my mother approaches, kissing my cheek before looking down at my leg.

"How're you feeling? Is it any worse?" She asks me.

I shake my head. "Not any worse, not any better. It's fine. If I need to leave school early, I'll text you, okay?"

"If I don't answer, call-"

"Your office, I know, Mom. Don't worry so much, you're getting wrinkles," I joke, reaching up to run my thumb across her forehead, making Joey and Emilie laugh from their seats as my Mom lets out a small smile.

"Don't be rude," she jokes, kissing my cheek before taking a step back from the car to wave at us as Joey pulls out of the driveway. I had been given make-up work from my teachers, thanks to Melissa, so I wasn't too far behind.

"So how're you actually feeling?" Emilie asks from the backseat as I can hear her typing away on her phone. I let out a sigh as I run my hand through my hair.

"Just like I told Mom, not any worse, but not any better," I tell her as I play with the loose fabric of my joggers, trying to get my mind off of everything that didn't matter at this moment. I just wanted to see all my friends and get through this school day without anything bad happening, which probably won't happen because my boyfriend kinda is the alpha of a werewolf pack that was constantly targeted by rogues.

We stay silent until we get to school where Emilie kisses my cheek before getting out of he car and going over to her group of friends who were surrounding a car as they talked. Joey grabs the keys from the ignition before rushing over to my side where he grabs the crutches from the back before helping me out. I wince a little when I accidentally put some pressure on my leg and Joey's hands immediately move to my waist to help me balance.

"You alright?"

I nod my head. "Yeah, I'm okay."

I get comfortable on my crutches before moving towards the school building as Joey follows behind me. His hand sets lightly on my back as he slows down to keep the same pace as me. "I'm going to try my best to keep the stress down for the day, alright? The last thing either of us needs is even more stuff piling on top of us."

I give him a small smile. "I don't think the rogues will accommodate with that."

He chuckles, softly. "Well, I think we won't be hearing from them for a little bit."

"Why do you say that?" I ask as he holds open the door for me to go into the school before making my way to English where Cody and Melissa were probably already.

"The elders and I both think that they'll take a break from the pack because they hurt the alpha and they know that the whole pack will be searching for blood for that, so I don't think we need to worry about them anytime soon. We have another tracker trying to find their hideout and, hopefully, we can finally know where they are and have the upper hand," he says, trying to keep his voice down so no humans can hear.

"Well, I'm perfectly fine with that," I say with a long sigh. I turn a corner and suddenly see Isaac rushing over to me to throw his arms around my body.

"Oh my god, hi," he whispers as he gives me a tight hug.

"Hi," I whisper as he pulls away to look at my body, specifically at the boot that's covering my leg. I notice the guilty look on his face when he sees it along with my crutches before he looks back up at me and Joey.

"I'm so sorry I didn't come visit you. My mom wouldn't even let me leave the house, she was so scared something was going to happen," he told us.

Joey cleared his throat, stepping to stand next to me. "Tell your mom that we're putting in about 30 new guards around the perimeter and that she has nothing to be scared of. We're putting in new safety precautions and no one should be able to get into camp anymore, alright?"

Isaac nods his head, giving us soft smiles. The bell rings to warn us that we have five minutes to get to class and I'm pulled into another hug before we're forced to say our goodbyes and make our way to our classes. When we get to English, Cody, Melissa, and Tyler are sitting at the table and waiting for us to show up.

Joey and I get comfortable in our chairs as we join in on their conversation about some new project that we're starting on today in class. Melissa turned towards me and I gave her a small smile when I noticed it. "So I talked to Coach Erixon this morning and she told me that she would find a replacement for the dance routine, but you'll have to help her teach whoever it is."

I nod my head. "Yeah, that's fine."

She reaches over, grabbing my hand in hers and I notice the sad look on her face. I squeeze her hand to get her to look up at me before giving her a soft smile. She opens her mouth to say something before closing it, not knowing what she actually wants to say.

"Hey, I'm okay. You don't need to worry about me so much, I am okay," I say, giving her a soft smile.

She nods her head. "I know, I just hate seeing you hurt."

The teacher walks in, silencing us all when she starts talking about the project and I give Melissa one last smile before turning towards the board as Joey sneaks his phone underneath the desk, not caring one bit about what the teacher's saying. I lightly hit his shoulder, making him look at me with a small smirk.

Pay attention, I mind link to him. He chuckles softly, sliding his phone into his backpack before reaching over to grab my hand as he looks up at the teacher who's writing up bullet points on the whiteboard as everyone listens to her talk. 

***

just a little filler chapter! sorry it's so boring!