Protect Me

Chapter 17

Here it is! This chapter is mostly a filler. Tell me what you think! 

Riley POV

I'm sitting on the edge of the pool, my legs floating in the water. Nate was laying across the edge with his head in my lap. It has been a week, and we still haven't come up with a good enough plan to help Jayden escape. One that doesn't end with us, Jayden, or Emily being killed in the process. I want Emily to finally be happy; it makes me so sad to see that she has been cutting herself. Nate's eyes are closed, and although he looks relaxed, I know he's thinking hard. 

"Jayden obviously knows our whereabouts," he stated, "But he wouldn't be the one to kill Wren and write that message. So who did?" I winced at the mention of Wren. I still can't fathom that somebody was killed. Because of me. And I still feel terrible. I used an elastic to tie my hair up into a loose ponytail. "Easy. Lindsey. She's had it out for me since I 'stole you away from her.'" I said using my fingers to air-quote the words. 

"Yeah, but would she go that far? Over me?" Nate said, opening his eyes to look at me. I raked my eyes down his strong jaw, chiseled abs, and toned legs. God, he was incredibly sexy. Enough Riley!  "Well, yeah I think she would," I replied, "You remember what she said, don't you? About the whole 'We won't get much time together' thing? It sounded pretty evil to me." Nate immediately sat up and turned around to face me. 

"Oh my god, You're right." he said while holding out his hand to help me up. "She could be a spy, for Jack. She could've been spying this entire time and we didn't know!" he continued, his eyes blazing with anger. I lifted up my hand and stroked his cheek with my thumb. "We don't know that yet. We shouldn't jump to conclusions before we get answers." I said to him and his eyes softened. 

He nodded. "She's the closest suspect we have. Let's go tell the alpha." he stated and I followed him out of the pool area to the alpha's house. 

********************************************************************************

"WHAT?! You have got  to be kidding me! You think I would waste my time on this loser?" Lindsey screeched. We were sitting in the alpha's conference room with the alpha himself, and my guards. Nate growled at her insult to me but I rolled my eyes. She doesn't affect me anymore. 

"Calm down Lindsey," Alpha said, "We just want to ask you a few questions." Lindsey scoffed. "And I already told you, I had nothing to do with the freak's guard!" Nate let out a growl again. "Don't say that about my mate Lindsey," he snarled. I grabbed his hand under the table and squeezed it, letting him know that I was fine. He interlaced his fingers with mine and seemed to calm down. 

"You said that we wouldn't have much time with each other left. The same night, Wren's dead and there's a message saying Riley's next!" Nate said, growing angrier with each word. Lindsey glared at me. "I'm right. You two don't have much time left. Because I was going to show you what you're missing while you're with an inexperienced little b*tch like her! I got dressed up and everything!" She huffed, giving Nate the puppy-dog-look. 

"Lindsey I swear if you insult her one more time I-" Nate started but I cut him off. "So, you were going to try and wh0re yourself to get Nate to leave me? Not kill me?" I asked her and she rolled her eyes. "Duh," she replied, "Who do you think I am, James Pond?" I resisted the urge to laugh and tell her it was James Bond when the alpha cleared his throat. "Well now that we know Lindsey is innocent, we can continue this investigation further. Lindsey you are excused." 

Lindsey flipped her hair and walked out of the room. I sighed. "We're back to stage one," I told Nate. The alpha shook his head and opened the door. "The guards will take care of the investigation from now on. You both should start being less stressed. You're mates! Go have fun." he finished and Nate gave me a lopsided smile. "Thanks Alpha," he said, "I'll get right on that." The alpha chuckled and sat back down at the table, shuffling some papers around. 

Nate and I walked out of the door as we said our goodbyes to the guards.  "Want to go back to the pool?" he asked. I laughed. "You just want to see me in my bikini as much as possible you perv!" I slapped him playfully on the chest. He shrugged and grinned at me, making my heart flutter. I grabbed his hand and interlaced my fingers with his. "Let's go," I said and ran to the pool. 

Nate POV

I laughed as Riley ran, dragging me along with her. She doesn't want to admit it, but she was almost as eager to go swimming as I was. Almost. I still can't get enough of her. Just by being next to her drives me wild, and seeing her perfect body just about makes me insane. Anyone could see she's breathtaking. But it's not only about her beauty. She has this grace about her, this charm, that makes even the most anxious person stop to relax and marvel at her. Kind of like what I'm doing right now. 

"You coming?" she asked, cocking her head slightly to one side. I nodded and picked her up bridal style, and stood at the edge of the pool. She wrapped her arms around my neck. "You wouldn't," she narrowed her eyes at me. I pretended to lose my grip on her and she squealed. "Nate!" 

I chuckled at her and tightened my hold on her. "I won't let you go, Riley. Don't worry," I said and she sighed, relaxing into my arms. I smirked at her and jumped into the pool, her still in my hold. When I resurfaced she was coughing and glaring at me. "You said you wouldn't drop me!" she stated trying to look angry, but I could see a small smile forming. 

"I didn't drop you," I said, "I jumped in and you just so happened to be latched on to me." She opened her mouth and splashed me. "Nathaniel Palmer!" she cried, "You sure are a piece of work." she finished and I chuckled, bringing my head down level to her so I could press my lips against her soft ones. She tangled her hands in my hair and I let out a quiet growl. 

"Really? In the pool? You do know this place is public to the pack right?" I heard a voice say teasingly. Riley pulled away and I looked over my shoulder to see Anna and Bryce in their swimsuits. Anna perched her sunglasses on the top of her head. "Relax Bryce, they're having fun!" she said and I chuckled. Anna then jumped into the pool, pulling Bryce in with her. They both resurfaced laughing and Bryce pulled Anna closer to him. Anna wrapped her arms around his neck and he brought his mouth to hers. Riley laughed and hugged my waist. "You do know this place is public to the pack right?" Riley mocked Bryce teasingly. Anna and Bryce pulled away from each other and Bryce shrugged at Riley. 

We spent a couple of hours just playing around in the water. We swam around until we were all exhausted. Riley leant her head against my chest. We were sitting on one of the lounge chairs, Anna and Bryce sitting on the chair across from us. Bryce was looking at Anna with an expression I have never seen on his face before. It looked like a mixture of love and awe. Is that what I look like when I'm looking at Riley? I didn't have time to delve more into my thoughts because we heard the metal gate of the pool being opened. 

When I saw who it was I stood up and growled, creating a protective stance in front of Riley. Bryce looked confused as he stood up in front of his mate, too. I felt Riley put her hands on my back, her cool palms soothing me a little. Just a little. I was too angry at the fact that he had the nerve to even set foot in this town again. 

"What do you want, Grey," I snarled. Grey's eyes shifted to behind me and narrowed on Riley. 

"Her," he replied. 

Please Fan/Vote/Comment and enjoy :)