The Cost of Love

Chapter 12

Chapter 12- enjoy! 

Song of the chapter: "Someone Out of Town" by Yuna

Kiara POV

We stay in my room for a while, just laying there, drunk off each other's presence. Connor kisses me slowly. Slowly and lazily, like we have all the time in the world. All I could think was oh my god he opened up to me and oh my god he marked me. And for that moment, I swore I was going to become the Alpha Female, to stay home and not take off the first chance I get. As long as he's here with me.

I guess I drifted off for a while, because the next time I opened my eyes, Connor's gone, and I'm facing a very angry looking Alpha.

"Dad?" I rub the sleep from my eyes. "What are you doing in here?"  

I can feel his accusatory gaze burning on my neck. My mark is still tingling, and I smile at the fact that Connor thought he was going crazy. 

"I told Connor to wash up for dinner," my dad says, his disapproving eyes still glued to my neck. "He marked you." 

A stupid looking grin makes its way onto my face. "I know." 

His nostrils flare. "You smell like him." 

I huff, making the strands of hair in front of my face fly up. "That tends to happen when someone's marked, Dad." I unwrap myself from my blankets, stand up, and hug him around the waist. "Is this about me growing up? You know I'm still your little girl, Dad."

"He saved you from a hunter, Kiara. For the second time. You never used to be caught in danger until he showed up!" 

"Dad, just give Connor a chance! You'd like him, I know it." I give him my best puppy-dog face. "Please?" 

He hesitates before letting out a sigh and kisses the top of my head. "I'll try. I still get to scare him though," he says with a pout. For a father, mine can really act like a kid sometimes. 

I have a feeling Connor's not scared of my dad, but I don't mention that. Instead, I just laugh. "Of course, Alpha."   

Our pack house doesn't usually eat all together, but some nights we like to act like one huge family. Tonight it's the Davis family's turn to cook; Michelle Davis makes the best Chicken Parmasean, so I hope that's on the menu for tonight.  

I slip on a pair of flats and slide a brush through my hair. I stare into the mirror of my bathroom. My eyes immediately flicker to my mark; it's still a little red, but the soreness will go away. I straighten my back as far as it goes, trying to appear taller. Connor's height makes me feel so small-- I have to stand on my toes to kiss him. 

I can't believe he opened up to me. Even if it was just a snippet of his past, I'm so happy that he trusts me with the information. Growing up without any knowledge of wolves must have been so hard. I can't even imagine what I'd do on my first shift, with no idea what was happening to me. I wonder if he had someone to raise him, someone to help him understand how to be a wolf. He said that he had a good trainer, so someone must have had to know what they were doing. But if he was completely secluded from wolves, how did a human train him so well? 

There are so many questions. Ones I know I can't ask without Connor completely shutting off. Instead I leave my room, tell myself to shut up about it just for tonight, and walk downstairs to the dining hall. 

When the pack house eats all together, we obviously can't fit in the normal kitchen. Our dining hall is a huge room with tables set up everywhere. I used to love running around all the tables with Adrian when I was a kid. We would play hide and seek, and I would always win because I had the best hiding spot-- behind the huge red velvet drapes.