Okay....so I decided to publish this a little earlier cause the last chappie took so long ^ ^ Enjoy everyone :)

Chapter 23

Logan growled under his breath at the interruption; his eyes immediately darkening as he turned his head to glare at Ethan. I gripped his hand tighter as he moved to stand up; probably intending to attack his poor Beta who was only now noticing our earlier position.

When I did, my mate turned back to me. I gave him a small, genuine smile; the happiness at the thought of what was about to happen, making it effortless to do so. At the sight of my grin, his eyes returned to grey; some of the tension in his shoulders disappearing. “I’m sorry Alpha, I hadn’t realised-” Ethan began.

Logan only put a hand up to stop him from talking; the way he clenched his jaw expressing his irritation towards his Beta at that moment. Good to know I’m not the only one. I said to myself as I also worked on not throttling Ethan right there and then for ruining the moment.

“Alpha, Alpha Jake is still waiting out front.” Ethan reminded him after a while; his tone sounding very hesitant.

Logan seemed to have gotten a hold over his anger before he nodded briskly and stood up; our still intertwined fingers forcing me up as he brought me with him. He didn’t seem to have any intention of letting my hand go as he rushed to the front door. I trailed as far behind him as possible with our joined hands; running my fingers through my hair a few times with my free one as I worked on getting all the strands in place.

My mate stopped at the front door and stood stiffly as he waited for me to arrive beside him. When I did, I peeped out from behind him and found my brother and his Beta on the other side of the doorway. I gently untangled my fingers from his grasp. He squeezed my hand once more before he sighed; rather unwillingly releasing my hand.

My eyes met his for a quick moment as I flashed him another smile; the need to soothe some of my mate’s distress consuming my wolf as I stared into his tired face. When I turned to look at my brother, he was busy speaking to Dylan. The moment my eyes landed on him; I also noticed all the Blood Moon Pack members that surrounded the two of them.

I couldn't really blame them for being defensive seeing as my brother seemed to have brought half of the Delaney Pack with him; who were now falling into position around the Blood Moon Pack members.

I squeezed myself through the small gap between my mate’s large frame and the doorway and flung myself at Jake; ignoring the stares of the people around us. “Jake! You got here quick!” I said; hugging him as tightly as I could. When I pulled back, he was grinning down at me. “So now I have your attention?” I said jokingly.

“Glad you’re so happy to see me!” He said; a genuine smile on his face.

Dylan coughed from beside him. “Nice to see you too, Chelsea.” He said sarcastically.

I laughed at his fake pout. I gave him a hug too; despite the fact that my mate was right behind me. “Yeah, nice to see you too!” I said enthusiastically. Logan surprisingly didn’t say anything as I stood in front of him embracing another male.

I pulled away from Dylan and returned to my mate’s side; his face showing his relief at my doing so. He gripped my waist possessively as he pulled me closer to his side. “How long are you all staying?” I ask; trying my best to remain composed as the rush of happiness I felt at being so close to my mate after what felt like such a long period of being apart, surged through my body.

“We have to return tomorrow.” Jake answered. “So we’re just here ‘till tomorrow morning. Um, we brought a few people along, obviously.” The moment he said that, Sam; the she-wolf that had been at my birthday celebration, ran up from behind him.

“Hi, Alpha Chelsea! It’s so great to see you again! You look great!” She said as she bounced up and down enthusiastically; her large breasts and her long, blonde, wavy hair that cascaded over them moving with her as she did. I happened to look over at the small crowd around us and found a few of the males from Blood Moon ogling Sam; or more likely, her chest.

I gave them a warning look. The moment they sensed my gaze on them, they looked up. When their eyes met mine, they took the hint and looked away. I was too busy intimidating them that I hadn’t noticed that Sam was right in front of me. I yelped softly in surprise as she practically ripped me out my mate’s grasp to hug me tightly.

“Hi Sam!” I replied; her happy mood rubbing off on me. “What are you doing here?”

“I brought you your presents!” She said; even more excitedly. “I especially wanted to see your expression when you got mine! You left so quickly the other day; you couldn’t even open most of them!”

She was currently dressed in a light pink, plain t-shirt and jeans; her feet in a pair of black, ankle wedge boots. Her long hair was free to frame her face in a platinum waterfall down her chest and back. Her brown eyes excitedly took me in as she dragged me along behind her to the car my brother, Dylan and she had come in.

Speaking of my brother, he was busy giving Dylan instructions as he pointed at our pack members that were currently staring at all the Blood Moon Pack members; who were doing the same thing with clear distrust in their eyes. The moment he finished; all the pack members excluding Sam, Dylan and my brother, left.

I stopped in my tracks to raise a brow at him. “What?” He responds simply.

“What did you bring half of the pack for?”

He looked a little apologetic before he spoke next. “Um, I told you I would rescue you if I had to right? I thought I might need a little more than Dylan to do that.” He explained.

An understanding look crossed my face before I walked over to Sam, who was already by the car. “I told you that that wasn’t necessary.” I muttered; knowing full well that my brother could hear me as I rolled my eyes.

She popped the trunk to reveal all the presents I’d received the other day. I helped her carry them into the living room; placing them on the floor. Logan and the other guys walked awkwardly inside behind us; their discomfort evident in the way they behaved. Logan called over a few members of the pack to help Jake and Dylan settle into their own rooms before he vanished into his office.

Meanwhile, Sam and I sat down before my haul of gifts. I was tingling with excitement as she handed me hers. “This is mine! I hope you like it!” She chirped; handing me a small, purple box. I opened it to reveal a simple charm bracelet. On it was a single charm of a letter ‘C’. “Both the charm and the chain is made of platinum.” She finished.

“Thank you!” I exclaimed. “I love it!” She nodded her head excitedly.

“Yay, I knew you would! I’ve never seen you with one so I decided to get that for you!”

“Thanks again, it’s beautiful!” I said; guilty now that I didn’t know her as well as I should. I made it my mission to get to know this bubbly girl better. I heard a knock on the door right before Jen burst in; wearing a worried look on her face. The moment her blue eyes landed on the sight of Sam and I sitting cross-legged on the floor; her expression turned to one of surprise.

“Hey Chels, who’s this?”

I gestured to Sam. “This is Sam. She’s a she-wolf from the Delaney Pack. Sam, this is Jen; the sister to the Beta of the Blood Moon Pack.” I explained. Jen gave Sam a warm smile.

“Nice to meet you.” She said; leaning down to give Sam a handshake.

Sam; the excitable person that she was eagerly pulled her into a hug. I couldn’t help but notice that Sam seemed to be sniffing Jen as she held her; much to my surprise. “You smell really good.” Sam muttered after she’d released Jen. She only gave me an odd look as she raised her brow at me, as if to say ‘what’s wrong with this chick?’

I heard someone come in from behind me. I turned to find that Ethan had frozen at the doorway into the living room; his eyes glued to Sam. She also went rigid as she noticed his presence. Jen watched them with her face contorted in confusion. My link to my old pack allowed me to pry into Sam’s mind to confirm my suspicions. What I heard had me excited immediately.

I stood up as I realised what it was. I waited for them to move closer but they seemed to be glued to their individual spots; just watching each other with eyes full of love and need. A bit of my happiness broke away as I realised that that was what I’d always wanted from my mate.

I blocked out the thought; unable to keep from grinning at the adorable sight in front of me as it warmed my heart; my body appreciating the new, less painful sensation. I shook my head and gave Jen; who was only now realising what was happening, a look before I grabbed Ethan’s arm and pulled him over to Sam.

The normally sweet she wolf shocked me as she growled at me at the sight of my hand making contact with Ethan’s arm. Her eyes were completely black as she shot towards me; attacking too quick for me to respond. She pushed me back so hard I slammed roughly onto the floor. “Mine!” She growled.

Pain shot out of from my elbow when I landed on it. The sensation must’ve travelled through the bond because the next thing I know, Logan is beside me; his hands on my arms. “Are you alright?!” He demanded; his voice panicked. The combination of his unkempt look and tone had him looking a little like a crazy person. I couldn’t reply; the worry in his voice shocking me.

Jake and Dylan ran out to see what the commotion was all about. Dylan saw Sam’s stance towards me and immediately began to go to her. “Sam, what the hell are you doing?” I didn’t have a chance to tell him that she had found her mate; before Ethan moved between her and Dylan, growling menacingly as his mate had a few moments ago.

“Stay away from my mate!” He commanded.

Realisation crept onto Dylan’s face before he stepped back; his hands up in surrender. Jake however did not let Sam go that easily. “Sam, I realise that you’ve just found your mate but you’ve just harmed an Alpha of your pack. And that is unacceptable!” He snapped in his Alpha-tone. The moment his power hit her, her brown, human eyes immediately returned; blinking a few times as she came back to reality.

“Don’t address my mate like that!” Ethan growled.

His mate ignored him as her eyes landed at my prone figure on the ground. “Shit, I’m so sorry Alpha Chelsea! Are you alright?!” She asked; taking a step towards me. My surprise spiked as Logan stood up; positioning himself in front of me.

“Don’t you dare come near my mate!” He snapped.

Ethan was at his mate’s side in a second; gripping her by the shoulders to keep her from walking over to the fuming Logan. At my mate’s angry expression; I snapped out of my condition, my wolf knowing that we were the only one that could calm him when he was like that.

I tugged gently at his jean leg from my position on the ground. He knelt beside me faster than I could inhale. “Logan, its fine; I shouldn’t have grabbed Ethan’s arm when I had figured out they’d found their mates. It’s not their fault, it’s mine and my elbow doesn’t even hurt anymore; so, it’s okay.” I explained.

He didn’t seem to accept that as he gripped me by the arms; helping to yank me up to my feet. Sam one again tried coming closer but Logan hugged me to his chest; putting me way too close to his body for Ethan’s comfort. The Beta pulled his mate back as he watched for any sign of Logan’s earlier rage; which had significantly lessened since he’d gotten a hold of me.

I turned in his embrace and reached up on my tiptoes so I could whisper in his ear as I had before. “Calm down, I’m fine now.” I whisper, so softly that only he could hear me. I pressed a kiss to my mark on his neck and I felt him shiver slightly in response. Through the bond, I could feel that his anger from earlier was already all gone. I forced myself to ignore the urge to kiss his skin again, the sensation way more addicting that it should be.

When I was sure he was calm; I turned back to face the other people in the room. Sam and Ethan were still watching each other, Jen, Jake and Dylan on the other hand were all standing around awkwardly as they watched my mate and I talk. The tension is the air was so thick it made the air feel heavy.

I finally broke the silence after a moment of hushed staring. “So, that was interesting.” I started. The expression on everyone’s face as they turned to face me screaming, ‘that was the understatement of the year’. “Is anybody hungry?” I offered.

***

After a whole day with my brother; I was feeling completely happy as we all headed back to the Alpha house. Sam, Ethan, Jen, Jake, Dylan, Logan and I had all spent the entire day driving around the Blood Moon territory. Ethan had taken over the role of tour director; Logan sitting quietly in the corner of the SUV we’d ridden, as Sam sat in the passenger seat beside her mate.

I’d been trapped between Dylan and Jake the whole ride; my overbearing brother refusing to let me sit next to my mate. Dylan wasn’t any different as they each kept beating my to the seat beside my mate every time we’d climbed into the car. I did my best not to show my disappointment every time they did; not needing to give my brother any more reasons to worry about me.

We’d had lunch at one of the restaurants Logan owned; a quaint little bistro by a lake that served the most amazing food. Sam had finally gotten tired of continuously appologising about her earlier attack some time during the ride there, much to my relief. Truthfully, I'd never really been angry at her, so it was uncomfortable to hear her appologies past the fifth time.

The tension from earlier ebbed halfway through lunch as Dylan told some stories of our past in the Delaney Pack; some of them involving some of my less than perfect moments; which resulted in my irritation and half of my food being scattered all over him. He had only laughed at me every time I’d pelted him with consumables; the attacks not doing anything to stop him from carrying on.

After lunch, Jake had offered to pay but Logan was unusually civil to my brother as he declined his offer; saying that he would handle it. Afterwards, Jake forced Ethan to drive to the mall so he could get me a new phone; not at all eager to relive the scarring experience of not having I contact him in over a week.

I had rolled my eyes at him; telling him he was being such a girl about the whole thing. He’d only glared at me for saying that in front of our group before yanking me inside. I looked back to plead for a little help from anyone but my mate was already on his phone as he waited; the new happy couple were talking to each other and the remaining two hadn’t looked like they’d wanted to be any part of a sibling argument.

When we’d gotten back, everybody; excluding Logan, agreed to a movie, Sam offering to make the popcorn. Our little group settled into the living room as we popped a horror movie into the player. Logan once again disappeared into his office; choosing not to spend any more time with my brother than he had to.

***

Halfway through the movie; most of the popcorn was gone because we had all decided to make it a rule that every time the main character made a cliché move, we would eat a piece. Jake tilted his head up so he could see me from his position on the floor. “Are you really happy here, Chels?” He asked quietly.

I kept my eyes on the screen as I answered; unsure if I could lie to him with his face a mere foot from mine. “Yes, Jake. My mate is here, why wouldn’t I be?” I replied, before popping a piece of popcorn in my mouth as the leading actress descended a set of creaky stairs into a dank, dark basement.

“Because your mate is Logan.” He retorted in a tone that suggested he thought that was something obvious.

I picked up a piece of popcorn and threw it at his head. “Enough with that already Jake. He’s treated me really well.” I lied again. “He might not be perfect, but I really do care for him.” I admitted. Jake looked resigned as his eyes returned to the screen; his head bobbing as he nodded. “Shouldn’t you be worrying about finding your own mate?” I asked; trying to change the subject.

“Nope, I have lots of time to find her.” He muttered. “When I meet her, I’ll meet her. Nothing to worry about; I’ll find my mate eventually.” He replied; throwing a piece of popcorn into his mouth as the main character made another cliché decision.

“Speaking of, I’m going to go check on mine.” I muttered before climbing over the couch and making a beeline for Logan’s office. I  heard a subtle ‘sure’ from Jake before I left.

I knocked on the door twice before I heard him say I could come in. I stepped inside and closed the door behind me; hoping to block some of our conversation from my brother who was no doubt trying to eavesdrop from the living room. “Logan, I was just wondering if you were okay.” I said quietly. “You’ve been distant and quieter than usual, all day.”

He stood up. “I’m fine.” He replied simply as he walked towards me. “I told a few pack members and Jen to bring all your belongings up to my room. You’ll be sleeping there tonight.” He explained.

My eyes widened. “What? Why?!” I was hoping with all my heart that he was going to say it was because he wanted me there but knowing my luck, that was, of course, not his reason.

“To make sure Jake actually believes that we are together and happy.” He explains in a cold, emotionless tone. “I’ll see you up there.” He continued; before walking out.

I immediately followed him out; letting him lead the way to his room. I didn’t say anything until he pulled the doors of his bedroom doors close behind us. I knew that I’d said that I wanted to give him time to decide on whether he wanted to accept me as his mate or not but spending a night in the same room with my mate was not something I wanted to do, especially considering the fact that it made the thought of having to leave him afterwards more excruciatingly torturous than it already was.

Anger immediately flared in me as the pain turned into irritation. “Why are we even bothering with this charade?” I asked quietly. “It’s not like you really want me around, Why not just let Jake make everything easier and take me back home? We can pretend that this never happened.” I said; gesturing to the two of us; the frustration I felt at his reason for making me sleep in his room seriously pissing me off then.

“I can’t let him take you, you’re my mate.” He replied; his reason not making any sense to me at all.

“So? I don’t belong to you!” I snapped; my exasperation, building.

His eyes turned dark as he looked at me; his eyes narrowed. “Yes, you do!” He growled. “That mark on your neck is all the proof I need.”

“If we separate; they will disappear.” I whispered. “If we reject each other, you’ll be free from me, isn’t that what you’ve always wanted?” I asked; my heart wrenching in my chest again as I said those words. I was even surprised there was still a heart in there to react to my pain. I had expected that through the amount of pain that I’d had to endure during the past couple of weeks that there was nothing of my heart remaining in there aside from strips of torn tissue.

He was in front of me in a second; a distraught look on his face. “No.” He muttered, so softly I almost didn’t hear it. He grabbed my shoulders; squeezing me as he spoke next. “I don’t want the marks or you to ever disappear.” His tone was serious as he said it.

“What are you saying?” I whispered; extremely hopeful that he’d meant what I’d thought he’d meant.

His tone was begging as he’d said the one thing I’d always wanted to hear from him. “Don’t ever leave me.”