Hey everyone!

Thanks a lot for being patient. This chapter is 13 PAGES on Word so it's pretty darn long. I really hope you all like it.

Rose x

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~Blake’s POV~

      “We were attacked,” Eric said.

      “What?!” I cried.

      “Actually, we’re still being attacked,” he told me. “The others told me to come and find you. They’re still fending off the enemy.”

      “Let’s go,” I told him.

      I shifted into my wolf and bounded after Eric’s dark grey one. We headed south, deeper and deeper into the forest. I knew we were getting closer because I could hear the growls and snarls of wolves echoing around me.

      Without any warning, a dark brown wolf came out of nowhere and bombarded into Eric. I immediately went to help him by locking my teeth around the brown wolf’s back leg and pulling him away from Eric. The wolf snarled and snapped its teeth at me. Eric was ready to attack in no time so I left him to deal with the wolf.

      I turned in time to see a grey wolf lunge towards me. I ducked but not fast enough. The two of us rolled around on the forest floor desperately trying to harm the other. I knew who this wolf was – Flax, Paul’s Beta – and he had some of the best fighting skills I had ever seen. He was notorious for being the one to lead one of the biggest human massacres known in America. Killing humans was sport for Paul’s pack and Flax found it the most enjoyable of the lot. They were all sick.

      Flax’s teeth sunk into my shoulder and I howled at the piercing pain that shot through my body. Using my hind legs, I kicked him in the abdomen hard enough for his body to fly off of mine. I then got up on all fours and charged at him before he had a chance to fully recover. Unfortunately I underestimated the amount of strength that this guy had and so when I rammed into him, he was ready for me. His claws dug into my stomach, ripping the flesh and drawing blood.

      I felt his weight leave my body and saw Charlie and Jason pin him to a nearby tree. More members of my pack arrived and Flax knew that there was nothing he could do. He shifted into his human form and gestured for me to do the same. I paused for a moment and then complied, the rest of my pack followed suite.

      “Paul wants the girl back,” Flax told me.

      I saw red as I realised that he was talking about Yasmin. “He’s never going to get his hands on her again. She’s staying with me, her mate.”

      His eyebrows shot up in surprise and then his mouth formed a cruel smile. “Paul is not going to react well to that.”

      “I don’t give a shit!” I cried. “She is mine and he is not getting her. Tell him that and stay off my land.”

      He smirked and gestured for the little remaining members of his pack to leave. With a small grin, he followed them.

      I made sure that he had left before clutching my stomach tightly. It was bleeding and bruised and was going to take a while to heal.

      I looked around and saw members of my pack injured and dead around me. The closest to me was Andy. I slowly went over to him and shook him slightly. To my relief, he opened his eyes and gave me a small smile.

      “You’re gonna be fine,” I told him.

      Charlie and Eric hauled him up onto his feet and supported him. Everyone worked together to get all the members of my pack, alive or dead, back to the village. I was one of the last to arrive; I had to make sure that no-one was left behind.

      Opal rushed towards me and wrapped a thin blanket around my waist just like she did to all the other men as they returned and then supported me as I made my way to the Infirmary house.

      “Oh Lord, you look terrible,” she said in a concerned voice.

      I smiled at her motherly attitude and made my way down the hallway of bustling people.

      She handed me a folded piece of material and ordered me to hold it to the wound at my head to stop the bleeding.

      “Opal!” Leslie came out of one room with blood covering her hands and clothes. She had a worried look on her face and her eyes looked frantic. “Opal quick, we need you!”

      Opal rushed into the room immediately, leaving me standing in the hallway. I was just debating on whether to just rest in one of the rooms when a beautiful smell hit my nose. I turned my head and saw Yasmin step out one of the rooms. She was holding a small First-Aid Kit and looked absolutely exhausted.

      She turned her head as she felt my presence and then froze when she saw me. Fear shot through her eyes and she took in my appearance.

      “Blake!” she cried as she rushed at me. “Oh God, you’re one of the worst! We have to get you…”

      Her voice faded in my ears. I just saw her mouth move and her eyes sparkle as she spoke. Her hands made would gestures and her hair swayed around her face. She was so gorgeous and she was worried about me. I loved how caring she was and I wanted to kiss her so badly right then.

      “Come on,” she said finally. She gripped my hand and led me to one of the empty rooms.

      She sat me down on the bed and then went to grab some more things from various other rooms. Then she set to work on fixing me up. She dipped a cloth in a small bowl of water and wiped away all of the blood from my torso. I couldn’t help but tremble slightly as her fingers brushed over my skin like a caress.

      Once all the blood was gone, she grabbed a small tube from the bedside table and started applying it to the cuts and gashes over my body. As I winced, she bit down on her lip worriedly.

      “Sorry,” she whispered.

      I just smiled at her in an attempt to show her that I was alright.

      My head was still bleeding quite badly and when I stopped applying pressure to it, I could see that it had stained the entire piece of material a shocking scarlet colour.

      “Oh God,” Yasmin said as she grabbed another cloth, folded it and pressed it against my head. “You’re losing so much blood.”

      “Yasmin, I’m fine,” I told her truthfully.

      “No you’re not,” she said. “You are nowhere near fine.” She tilted my head up slightly so that I looked into her eyes. “You’ve lost more than a pint of blood, you’ve got cuts and bruises all over you and I can’t even imagine how much pain you’re in at the moment because you’re hiding it from me.”

      I gazed into those concerned brown eyes and I knew that I had the most perfect mate. She had me all figured out in less than a day and I couldn’t wait to spent more and more time with her.

      “Yasmin,” I said softly as I brought my hand up to cup one cheek. Her breath hitched at my touch and I knew she felt the sparks that I did.

      She stepped away from my touch and I dropped my hand with a sigh. She removed the material from my head and saw that it had stopped bleeding. Her fingers lightly ran along the large gash and I winced at the pain. She immediately retracted her hand and apologised again.

      “You’re gonna need stitches,” she said. “I’ll go and get a needle and thread.”

      She quickly returned with what she needed and quickly prepared the needle. She came over to me and frowned for a moment.

      “What?” I asked.

      “Scoot up on the bed a little,” she said.

      I moved backwards a bit so that my feet were dangling off the bed but not touching the floor.

      “Okay, now spread your legs.”

      My head shot up at that comment. Dammit, that was my line. She had no idea how much I wanted to say those exact words to her before I dipped in between her legs and tasted her sweet essence. I did as she asked though and spread my legs, wondering what she wanted to do.

      To my surprise, she started getting closer and closer to me. She braced her knee on the bed in-between my thighs and leant up slightly to reach my wound. She pulled my head closer to her body and I almost groaned. She didn’t realise it but because of our heights and the fact that she was partially standing and I wasn’t, my head was at the same level as her breasts and she was unconsciously tugging my head closer to those soft mounds.

     I leant my head forward slightly and kissed her cleavage through the tank top. She shivered at my touch and arched her neck back as I tugged her top down to run my tongue along her breasts. I ripped the thin material of her top and she gasped at the force. Her bra-cladded breasts were free to view and I did just stop and look before reaching my hands up and squeezing them softly. Yasmin’s hands were in my hair and her breath was quickening as I unsnapped her bra and pulled one of her nipples into my mouth. She moaned and urged my head on as I worried the nub to make it hard before turning to the other one and giving it the same attention.

      “Oh, Blake,” she whispered in a thick voice. “Blake.”

     “Blake. Blake!”

      I snapped out of my fantasy to see Yasmin looking at me in concern.

      “Blake, are you okay?”

      I flashed her a smile and nodded. “Fine.”

      She seemed to believe me and started packing everything away. I hadn’t even noticed that she had finished the stitching. I brought my hand up and felt the small bump and knew that it would be healed in half a day.

      Yasmin left for a moment and then returned with a pair of my jeans. “Sorry, I couldn’t find a spare shirt.”

      “That’s fine,” I said as I took the jeans, stood up and shed the thin blanket that I had wrapped around my waist.

      She gasped at my sudden nakedness and turned around quickly but not before I saw the blush rise up in her cheeks. I smiled at her bashful nature and hurried to put my jeans on.

      I stepped closer to Yasmin and wrapped my arms around her waist. She was startled and placed her hands on my arms. I rest my chin on her shoulder and pulled her back into my body, enjoying the feeling of her in my arms.

      “Blake–”

      “Please,” I cut across her. “Please just let me hold you.”

      I turned my head to nuzzle slightly into the side of her neck. Her warm skin against mine gave me more peace than I could have imagined.

      “Blake?”

      “Hm?”

      “It was Paul’s pack that attacked, right?” she asked quietly.

      My arms tightened ever so slightly. “Yes.”

      “Why did they attack?”

      “They wanted something.”

      I heard a swallow. “What?” she barely whispered.

      I turned her around in my arms and cupped one cheek as I brought my face closer to hers. “Something that they’ll never get,” I answered.

      I stretched my neck, my lips inching closer and closer to hers. I was a breath away when the door opened and we jumped.

      It was Opal. She looked at the two of us and smiled. “Looks like you’re just fine Blake. It’s a good job that we have Yasmin.”

      I smiled and looked at my mate. “Yeah, it is.”

      Opal left us without another word but the moment between Yasmin and I was ruined. She quickly gathered up the rest of her stuff and then headed for the door.

      “I better go and see if anyone else needs help,” she said.

      I smiled and nodded. “I’ll see you later.”

~~~

     It had been six hours since Paul’s pack had attacked mine and everyone was finally settling down either in the Infirmary House or in their own houses. I had been running errands ever since the attack and checking to make sure that everyone was alright. I had also been organising a Wake for all the pack members that had died tonight. They were to be remembered as heroes for protecting the pack.

      I had just visited Andy and he was better than before. He would be as good as new in the morning which I was relieved to hear. I was about to head home when Opal came rushing out of one of the rooms, calling my name.

      “Blake!” she cried.

      I smiled and headed over to her. She did a quick check of my injuries and nodded approvingly.

      “You’re healing well,” she said.

      “Good to hear.”

      “Blake, I need you to find Yasmin,” she said.

      My body immediately tensed. “Why? Where’s she gone? When did she disappear?”

      She chuckled softly and patted my cheek. “Oh my dear boy, calm down. She is just fine. She’s in this house somewhere. I just want you to find her and get her something to eat. She needs to rest as well, she’s still healing herself.”

      I sighed with relief at her words. “Okay, I’ll find her.”

      She gave a kiss on the cheek and went to check on her other patients.

      I searched around the house until I came to a quiet corridor. Then I heard the sound of children laughing and the unmistakeable scent of my sexy little mate. I followed the smell to a room just before the end of the hallway and opened it.

      Yasmin was facing the bed, bandaging Taylor’s leg. I didn’t even know that he had been injured. He definitely wasn’t at the fight because he was only fifteen and I would never allow someone that young to fight with us. He must have been injured here on the compound because some wolves had managed to get into my territory and injure a lot of people.

      I noticed that Taylor’s sisters – the triplets: Amy, Lily and Macy – were there as well. They were watching with concerned faces as Yasmin tied up the bandage on their brother’s leg. Taylor was very protective of his sisters because he had raised them since they were a year old. Their parents had died five years ago which left Taylor to look after three little girls all by himself. We found the four of them in the woods one day. They had run through Paul’s territory and into ours while they were running away from rogues. I had been doing a patrol in the woods when I found them. The triplets were only two at the time and were wrapped in one large blanket, sleeping against a tree while Taylor was wide awake watching for any signs of a threat. He looked so strong and focused for a boy of only eleven and I knew instantly that he would do everything in his power to protect his sisters. I brought them all back to the camp, fed them, clothed them and found a place for them to sleep; they’ve been with us ever since.

      I looked back at Taylor and knew that he was going to be just fine. The triplets saw me and rushed over to hug me. I managed to pick all three of them up and squeezed them tightly. Then they returned to their brother, climbing on the bed and laying down next to him.

      Yasmin turned her head to look at me for a moment before turning back to Taylor.

      “Your brother is going to be fine,” she said. “He just needs to rest.”

      “Can we stay with him?” Lily asked.

      “Please please?” Amy and Macy added.

      Yasmin paused for a second and glanced at Taylor.

      “Please?” he asked.

      She smiled and nodded. “Sure.”

      I helped Yasmin pack all of her things away and then turned to face her. Her face was pale from exhaustion and it didn’t look like she had eaten anything all day.

      “Have you eaten anything?” I asked her.

      She sighed. “I’ve been busy looking after everyone.”

      “That’s not an excuse,” I told her. “There are hundreds of people here that can look after all the injured pack members. You’re still healing and you shouldn’t push yourself too hard when you’re healing.”

      “I’m fine,” she said.

      “No, you’re not,” I told her, chastising her slightly from when she said the exact same words to me a few hours earlier. “You’re deathly white, obviously exhausted and you need food in your system. You’re good at hiding how you really feel but it won’t work on me. I’m your mate, I can sense these things.”

      She flinched at the word ‘mate’ and a wave of disappoint washed over me when she did but I didn’t let it affect me. She still needed time.

      “You need to rest and eat,” I told her.

      “And I will… soon.”

      I sighed. If she was going to be stubborn about this then I had no choice. I pulled the bag out of her hands and placed it on the bedside table. Grabbing her around the waist, I lifted her up and threw her over my shoulder.

      “Blake!” she cried in shock.

      I said ‘Goodnight’ to the children and then started to make my way out of the Infirmary House. Her fists were pounding on my back all the time but I didn’t let go of her.

      “Blake, put me down!” she shouted. “Now!”

      I ignored the pain that she was adding to my back and carried on walking until I reached my house. It was the house that my parents had built for me and my mate. I had always lived there alone but not anymore. I opened the door, stepped inside with a still thrashing Yasmin, closed the door and locked it behind me before placing Yasmin down on the couch.

      She glared at me with a look that would make most men cry and grovel but she just looked sexy as hell to me. I smirked back which only infuriated her more.

      I sat down on the coffee table opposite to where she was sitting on the couch to stop her from running away.

      “Don’t ever do that again,” she told me.

      “You left me with no choice,” I told her. “I am trying to help you but you’re being too stubborn to receive it.”

      “Stubbornness is what’s kept me alive this long,” she said quietly.

      It took me a second to realise what she was talking about and my anger softened slightly as I saw pain flash through her eyes. She was reliving those horrible experiences and I hated that I was the one that had caused her to think of them.

      “Yasmin please,” I told her. “I just want to help you.”

      After a while she sighed, “Fine. I am pretty hungry.”

      I smiled. “Come on, I’ll make us something to eat.”

      I stood up and steered her towards the kitchen where I looked around the cupboards and fridge to see what I could make. I decided on pancakes because they were pretty much all the ingredients I had to make with.

      Yasmin helped me make them and I think she was surprised that I could actually cook. I chuckled softly to myself when she tasted the pancakes and a look of pure shock spread over her features as she found that it actually tasted good. She wouldn’t admit it to me but I knew that she thought so.

      She insisted on washing up and so I let her while I ran upstairs and straightened out my room so that it looked alright.

      I hadn’t realised how long I had been up there because before long, Yasmin had come upstairs and stood in the doorway of my room looking around it.

      “Come in,” I said.

      She did so hesitantly and continued roving her eyes around the place.

      “Sorry about the mess,” I told her. “It’s always like this because I’m never tidy,” I admitted.

      She smiled at the admission and wandered around, picking up things from my desk to look at before placing them back down.

      “I thought I should clear it up seeing as you’re going to be spending your time here,” I said.

      She froze and then turned to face me. “I am?”

      I nodded. “This is your room now as well as mine.”

      Fear was evident in her eyes. “Blake, I don’t think– I mean– that’s not– I can’t–”

      “Yasmin we’re mates, so what’s mine is yours.”

      “Blake please, I–” she broke off and looked away from me.

      I crossed the room to her and lifted her head to look at me. “What are you so afraid of?” I asked softly. “I won’t hurt you.”

      She didn’t answer me but did step away from my touch just like when she had been tending to my wounds. I ignored the pain that I felt when she did so and decided to give her some time.

      “I’m going to take a shower before we sleep,” I said. “You’re welcome to do that same, there’s another bathroom just across the hall. You can wear any of my clothes for the night and tomorrow we can get you some of your own clothes.”

      Then I headed to my wardrobe, grabbed a towel and a fresh pair of boxer-shorts and went to take a shower.

~Yasmin’s POV~

      I watched as he crossed the room and slipped into the ensuite bathroom, the door clicking shut softly.

      I let out a breath that I didn’t know I was holding and just stood there for a second. He kept saying that he wanted to help me and that he didn’t want to hurt me but he was forcing this mate issue on me as well. I knew we were mates but I didn’t want to be with another commanding and dominating male. I knew what that felt like and I hated every second of it. I vowed to myself that I would stay away from packs so that I could live my life how I wanted but then I was taken in by the Light pack and they were so kind to me that I felt like I could start a fresh.

      I sighed softly and went to the wardrobe. I found one of Blake’s white T-shirts and searched around for a pair of shorts or trousers. They were all really big and there was no way that they would fit me. They would fall straight off. Closing the wardrobe, I took the T-shirt and found the bathroom that Blake was talking about.

      After taking a quick shower, I wiped my body down and slipped on Blake’s T-shirt. I instantly regretted choosing it. The shirt itself was fine and came to mid-thigh but it was white and due to the shower my body was still slightly damp. The T-shirt stuck to parts of my body making it completely see-through. Oh great! I thought sarcastically. I decided that there wasn’t anything that could be done so I just gathered my clothes and head back into the bedroom.

      Just as I finished folding my clothes, the door to the ensuite bathroom opened and Blake stepped out, rubbing his wet hair with a towel. Sweet baby Jesus, he was the sexiest guy I had ever laid eyes on. How was I supposed to resist such a gorgeous looking man? He had wide shoulders and a toned torso. I felt like running my hands down his chest to his abs just to feel the taut muscles; I could practically feel the flawless heated skin under my hand. I mentally slapped myself for fantasising just by the look of him and flicked my eyes up to his face to see a smirk on the corner of his mouth.

      As embarrassment flooded through me, I turned away from him and lay my clothes on his desk neatly. I felt his presence behind me and turned around to tell him to stay away but instead I gasped. I hadn’t realised how close he was and so I came face-to-chest with his perfect body. It was then that I realised how tall he was. He was a good head taller than me which was surprising for me because I was quite tall for my age.

      I resisted the urge to lick his chest and titled my head up to see his face and instantly regretted it. The look in his eyes held me captivated. I had seen the same look of desire in Paul’s eyes but I always feared it because pain followed but with Blake, it was different. His were full of passion and care and… love? What does a look of love look like? I asked myself. I hadn’t been loved in any way since my family died but that wasn’t the way that Blake was looking at me know. He was capturing my soul with just his eyes and I wanted nothing more than for him to take me into his arms and press his lips to mine.

      As if he knew what I was thinking, his arms slowly wrapped around my waist, tugging me closer to his body. My eyes never left his as he brought one hand up and caressed my cheek. My lips parted slightly as he smiled and brought his head to mine. My eyes closed as he kissed the top of my forehead and then pressed a light kiss on each of my eyelids. His lips trailed down my cheek and stopped when I could feel them a breath away from my mouth. I opened my eyes to see what was wrong but just saw his staring at me with an expression of awe on his face.

      “So stunning…”

      His lips descended on mine and all thoughts left my head. All that existed where is lips on mine and the shocking feeling that it gave me. My hands wrapped around his neck and my fingers tangled in his hair as he kissed me harder. He lifted me up and I wrapped my legs around his hips. I could feel my whole body getting hot with pleasure and my heart was beating faster than ever before. Blake pressed my body against a wall, freeing his hands and allowing them to roam my body. Due to the fact that all I have on his own of his T-shirts and a pair of panties, Blake’s hands started to run up my thighs. His heated skin against mine felt electric. His lips had moved away from my mouth and were kissing, sucking and licking down my neck to the hem of the thin T-shirt that I was wearing.

      He pulled me into his body and I wrapped my legs around him again as his lips claimed mine for another mesmerising kiss. His tongue slipped into my mouth and connected with mine as he started to move. The next thing I knew, my back was pressed against something much softer and Blake’s body was on mine. His lips were kissing every part of my face and his hands were slowly pushing the material of the T-shirt up. I could feel his warm fingers tracing circles over my stomach inching closer to my breasts.

      Suddenly, his body left mine and my eyes snapped open in surprise. Blake only smiled and pushed my body further up onto the bed. His hands made their way up my legs until he reached my panties. He just let his hands roam over my thighs as he sucked softly on my neck. Then he lifted his head to look at me and smiled.

      “You’re so beautiful Yasmin…”

      Those words felt like someone had thrown a gallon of ice cold water over me.

     “You’re so beautiful Yasmin…” Paul said as he smiled at me.

      My breathing had quickened and I was desperately pulling on the ropes tying me to the bed, ignoring the pain that it caused. I had to get away. I needed to get away.

      “So beautiful that I can’t help but want to fuck you all night long,” he said with a laugh.

      His lips crashed into mine and his tongue entered my mouth as he roughly thrust into me.

      “STOP!”

     “STOP!” I screamed and thrashed on the bed.

      “Yasmin?” I heard a gasped voice.

      “Don’t say my name!” I cried. “Please stop!”

      I felt strong hands wrap around my wrists and tears burned in my eyes. I panicked even more and kicked out. I heard a groan of pain and tried to get away but Paul was too strong and he brought me back to the bed.

      “Stop Paul, please!”

~Blake’s POV~

      I was about to kiss her when she screamed.

      “STOP!” she screamed.

      I froze in place and stared at her in shock.

      “Yasmin?” I asked.

      “Don’t say my name!” she shouted and thrashed. “Please stop!”

      I gripped her wrist tightly but not too much as to not hurt her and I saw tears forming in her eyes. What did I do? I thought to myself. She kicked me in the chest and I groaned at the pain. She tried to escape but being stronger than her I was easily able to bring her back to the bed.

      “Stop Paul, please!”

      I was so shocked at her words that I almost let go of her. Paul, that son of a bitch is haunting her all the time.

      “Please, I promise I won’t try to run away again. Please stop, please!” she was sobbing uncontrollably and my heart was breaking.

      She was reliving a time when Paul had raped her. God, how could I be so stupid? I should’ve realised that this would happen. I shouldn’t have just let my feelings for her get in the way of helping her.

      “God, please!” she cried.

      “Yasmin listen to me. I’m Blake, not Paul, Blake.”

      She seemed to register what I was saying and she stopped moving for a moment to look at me.

      “It’s me Blake,” I said softly. It hurt to think that she saw that bastard in me somehow but I didn’t let it bother me at the moment and just concentrated on helping her to remember.

      “Blake?”

      I smiled. “Yeah Blake. Paul’s not here. I think you were remembering him and you thought that he was me and… anyway, Paul’s not here. It’s just me.”

      I slowly let go of her and she sat up on the bed. I reached out to wipe her tears and it tore at my heart when she flinched at my touch.  Tucking her hair behind her ear, I captured her gaze.

      “Yasmin, I’m so sorry,” I told her. “I got too carried away and didn’t even think to ask you if you were okay. I… I can’t explain myself. I should’ve been more aware of your feelings. I’m so sorry Yasmin.”

      She looked away from me and my hand itched to make her face me again but I didn’t do anything.

      “I’m tired. Can we sleep?”

      I sighed. “Sure, just make yourself comfortable on the bed.”

      She looked up at me then. “Then, where are you going to sleep?”

      I pointed at the couch. “It’s obvious that if I sleep next to you, you may think I’m Paul again and get scared so I’ll stay away for now.”

      “No, Blake–”

      “It’s fine Yasmin,” I said as I started to get up.

      She grabbed my arm and pulled me back down on the bed. “If you don’t sleep in your bed then I’ll feel bad, so please... just sleep here. I want you to.”

      Looking into her eyes to make sure, I nodded and we both quickly fell into a deep sleep.