The Cost of Love

Chapter 10

Wait, what the fuck? Why do I even care about what makes a good Alpha? It's not like I'm actually going to be one. The pack will be wiped out by Kiara's birthday. I shake my head and keep my eyes guarded from the crowd of people staring at me. 

Once we reach the car, Chase opens the door to the back seat. Kiara gives him a quick hug, and he returns it awkwardly. I fight down a growl, not because I'm overly possessive, but because I just don't like wolves touching her. I don't want her tainted by their scents. They smell bad. Kiara doesn't need to be touched by such ruthless creatures. I give Chase a curt nod before climbing in after her. 

The blast of the air conditionier instantly hits my face. Once I feel the car start to roll out of the school parking lot, I take a water bottle from the small minifridge and down half of it. I didn't realize how hot it was outside. 

Kiara giggles quietly, and I stop my gulps to flash her a smile. "Better?" she asks. I lean over and kiss her lightly, making her beathing hitch. I loved knowing I could cause that. 

          "Much better," I reply. She flushes, and I lean back in my chair, satisfied. Since when did I become so smooth? I never used to be like this with other girls.  Maybe it's a mate thing. 

Suddnely we hear a thump and the car halts, and I have to put my arm in front of Kiara to keep her from flying out the window. Chase fumbles with his seatbelt, and I hear him mutter "Shit." He whips around in his seat, and his expression is tense. "Kiara, stay in the car," he says forcefully. 

She tilts her head slightly in that innocent way she does. "What's going on, Chase?" 

He opens the door, but before he exits he shouts at her to just stay in the car. She looks at me with a raised eyebrow, and I lean forward to make out two figures through the tinted window. One is Chase, but the other makes a growl rip through my throat. And I don't even care that I sounded so fucking animalistic right then, I'm just so mad.   

Nick is standing in the middle of the road, looking cheery as hell, his personal gun in his left hand. Chase has already shifted into his wolf, snarling at Nick like he actually has a chance of fighting him. I've seen Nick shoot with that gun; the bullets are laced with a deadly poison, the only poison that can  kill werewolves slowly and painfully. Chase has no chance. 

          "Oh my god." Kiara chokes on her words. "Is that--  He's a--" 

"Shh..." I cup her face with my hands, trying to calm her down with my eyes. "You're going to be okay." I glance at the window, wondering why the hell Nick is here trying to kill all of us. This wasn't part of the plan. 

Kiara's eyes are wide and scared. "Why is he here? What did we ever do to him?" She doesn't seem to grasp why hunters kill werewolves, which makes my chest constrict at her innocence.  

          "Shh, Kiara. Just stay here, don't let him see you," I say as calmly as I can. But really, I want to walk up to Nick and tear him apart. 

         "No, Connor! He's gonna kill Chase!" She's staring out the window now, watching as Nick cocks his gun. She tries to reach around me to pull the car door open. 

Fear erupts in me, and I lean on the door so she can't get out. "You're not going out there." I can't let her get hurt. I won't. She tries to wiggle around me, but I stay put, trapping her inside the car. "Please," I beg. "He'll destroy you. You have no idea what he's capable of." 

           "Oh, and you do?" I open my mouth to protest, but I can't say anything. Not really. Because I do know exactly what Nick is capable of. Kiara places her hands on my shoulders, and I can feel how scared she really is. "Chase is my pack member. And I'm going to be a Luna. I have to protect him." 

          "You can't be a Luna if you're dead, Kiara. You're not going out there." 

She moves away from me. "I'll scream. I'll scream really loud, and that hunter will come in here and shoot me instead of Chase." 

         I narrow my eyes at her. "You wouldn't." She couldn't possibly be that stupid. She opens her mouth to scream, and my insticts rise as I jump away from the door to cover her mouth with my hand. 

She uses this opportunity to slide past me, and open the car door, running outside to stand next to Chase. No. 

          "Fuck!" I curse, and run after her. I reach to where she stands, about ten feet away from Nick and his gun. I quickly position myself in front of her, making sure she can't come out from behind me. I won't let Nick hurt her. Chase growls beside me as Nick takes a few steps closer. 

         "Well, what do we have here?" he says, giving me a knowing stare. I keep my eyes narrowed, making sure he knows that I'll kill him if I have to. 

         "You're not welcome here," I spat, because he really isn't. And what the fuck is he doing? 

Nick kept his gaze on Kiara, and I shifted myself so that I was sheilding her even more. With his smoldering stare, he let out a whistle. "Damn. I never knew that a she-wolf could be so... mouthwatering."  

I could feel Kiara's tight grip on my T-shirt, but that was nothing compared to how tight I was clenching my fists. He was trying to rile me up and, damn, it was working. 

          "Don't..." I ground out, which could mean a lot of things. Don't hurt her. Don't ruin everything. Don't force me to kill them sooner then planned. 

          Nick simply gives me a smirk and points his gun at my head. "Come with me, Beautiful. Or I blow his brains out." I narrow my eyes, but show no other emotion. He's not going to kill me, Saxton wouldn't allow it. Kiara, of course, doesn't know that. She sucks in a ragged gasp, and with no hesitation steps out of my grasp. 

Shock and alarm flash in my mind, before I instantly grab her by the waist and pull her behind me again. I'm angry, and also confused as to why in hell she would rather be taken by a hunter to keep me alive. Maybe she doesn't get the fact that they're ruthless to werewolves.  

She tries once more to wiggle out of my hold, but I'm relentless. What the fuck is she doing? Can't she see that I'm trying to help her! Once she realizes that I'm not going to let up, she lets out a sob. 

          "Please don't," she cries. I'd be lying if I said that the sounds of her sobs don't pull on my heart strings a little. "What do you want? Money? You can have it all, just don't hurt him please..." I keep my face still, when I really just want to take her and run away and kiss her everywhere until she stops crying. 

Nick, that jackass, seems amused by her tears. He steps closer to me, gun pressed at my temple. I resist the urge to punch him in the gut. Hard. He's torturing her on purpose. 

          He trains his eyes on her, his lips forming a smirk. "Why do you care so much about this mutt anyway? I'd be doing the world a favor if I just kill him now, don't you think?" Kiara shakes her head furiously, and he barks a laugh. Asshole. "Why, Angel-face? Is he your friend? You probably have plenty of friends, a hot little thing like you. You can sacrifice just one, can't you?" 

          "He's my mate," she whimpers. Nick pulls back his gun, his face stunned. He looks at me with an expression I can't read, and my resolve weakens a little. 

Guilt swarms through me like a tidal wave. He knows I'm her mate. I don't know if Nick knows what a mate actually is, but I'm sure Saxton does. He'll probably tell him as soon as he leaves us alone. I cringe. I'm screwed. 

     Nick lowers his gun, and shoots me a smile. "A mate, huh? How wonderful." 

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Okay I know what you're thinking. WHAT THE HELL JUST HAPPENED! And I know, what is Nick thinking??? He's gonna ruin the plan! just wait, I have a plan of my own, trust me :)

What about adrian's 'threat?' I wish I had a best friend who would care about me that much... lol. 

Will Nick tell Saxton about Connor's mate? What will happen then? Things are about to get crazy, I can tell you that. 

Don't forget to Fan/Vote/Comment and enjoy :D!

LOVE YOU ALL!!