I knocked quietly on Alex's bedroom door. It was shut, and for some reason I was feeling particularly unwelcome tonight.

"Alex?" I whispered softly as I cracked open his bedroom door.

The room was completely dark except for light coming from behind the door. I walked all the way in to his room and shut the door behind me. Alex was sitting on his bed, propped up, watching the tv. I looked and saw that Remember the Titans was playing, a movie that I happened to love.

I smiled and looked back to his face, but he was staring at me with a sad look in his eyes.

"Hi... can I watch?" I asked awkwardly.

He nodded but didn't speak to me. I crawled under the covers and made sure to leave space between our upper bodies.

"I... talked to Natasha and she said she could get us detailed information about Vladimir's camp"

"Good" was his only reply. I waited a few minutes more before trying to talk to him again.

"I think we should talk to Beta Andrew and the group about attacking the facility tomorrow" I pushed.

"Ok" he agreed quickly, almost to the point of cutting me off.

"Ok, what's going on? What's wrong?" I said and sat up so he had to look at me.

He slid his eyes to me slowly, then back again to the tv.

"Nothing"

"Liar" I sneered and shuffled my legs so that I sat down right in front of him, practically in his lap.

He closed his eyes and inhaled a deep breath, letting it out slowly. His hands clenched in to fist and I saw the anger he was trying to reign in explode all over his face.

"It's this! This right here! I realized, in the kitchen, that no matter how good you make me feel, no matter how much I change, you're not going to let us get anywhere. You see the good in everyone, you love and adore everyone... but me! Every time I think we're getting close, you push me away!" he growled at me.

I sat back and really took in his words. The urge to cry was almost overpowering. But not because he had yelled at me. No, I felt tears because I had unknowingly made him feel this way.

"You can't even admit I'm your mate. My hopes get high because you treat me like you like me... but then I see the way you act with other people... with Nate... and I realize you barely like me at all. You tolerate me. I doubt you could ever-" but I couldn't take it anymore. I grabbed his soft black v-neck by the collar and pulled him to me, crashing my lips to his. I swung my bent leg over his lap so we could be closer. He was so caught off guard that he didn't return my kiss at first. But as soon as he realized what was happening, he leaned in to me quickly. His right hand ran to the nape of my neck while his left stayed snug on my lower back. I slid my right hand up his chest and ran it along his jawline and into his hair. Kissing him was like my own personal high. He had the most welcoming smell and taste. The empty feeling I had felt earlier quickly dissipated. I gently nipped his bottom lip and he growled huskily at me. He quickly but gently rolled us over so I was laying on my back and he was on top of me. I slowly started to break the kiss apart despite his growls of denial. I finally got him to stop long enough for me to breath and speak.

"No" he shook his head when he saw me trying to speak. He quickly kissed me again. "No, you're not going to talk. Be quiet" he persisted.

"Alex" I said with a laugh.

"No" he said and tried to kiss me again.

I put my hands over my face. "Alex" I said from behind my hands, chuckling the whole time. He didn't answer me, just continued to try to pull my hands away.

"No, you're not going to ruin this moment by telling me to stop again. Just trust my self control" he growled determinedly.

"I love you" I admitted quickly, my hands making my voice sound muffled.

Alex immediately stopped moving. I couldn't even hear him breathing. The pause was long and very quickly approaching awkward.

"What?" he asked and ripped my hands away from my face. "What?" he asked again, softer.

"Well I mean, we've been getting along great and it's hard not to like you and you always take care of me when something is wrong which is a great quality and we are mates and I was walking with Natasha and we were talking and she asked me about us and I told her the first thing that came to my mind and then I realized that everything I said was an obvious hint about how I felt andthenshesaidthat-" Alex's hand covered my rambling mouth quickly. Thank goodness.

"That's not what I asked you" he said quietly, looking me in the eyes. He had me completely pinned and surrounded, making me feel absolutely puny. Which was good, because right now I was so embarrassed that all I wanted to do was shrink into non-existence.

"I-I love-" but before I could continue he kissed me again, placing both his hands on the side of my face, like he thought I would disappear.

"Again" he growled.

"I-" but, yet again, he cut me off with an even deeper kiss.

He stopped and searched my face with his gorgeous eyes, "I love you too" he finally said.

This time I pulled him in for the kiss. He kissed my lips, then my jaw, then my neck. I laughed as my neck was my most ticklish body part until I felt Alex's sharp canine lightly nick my skin. Intense desire coursed through my body, something I was not expecting, but definitely enjoyed. He stopped and looked me back in the eyes, his glowing a vibrant green.

"Is this... ok?" He asked me, looking uncertain.

"Definitely" I said with a smile as I ran my hands through his hair and kissed him again.