The Cost of Love

Chapter 17

Isabel touched Adrian's busted lip lightly, tracing her finger down his chin. "Let's put something on that, baby." He nodded and kissed her cheek and they were off, too.

I chuckled at Kiara's disgusted face. "Baby," she sqealed at me, holding out her hand. "Let's go for a walk." I laughed at her imitation and followered her lead to the gardens.

I realized she liked to walk there, and I thought it was pretty cool. She told me that she and her dad used to take walks in the evening, but he couldn't as much because of Alpha stress. Alpha stress. I wondered if, in a normal life, that would be me. Worrying about pack pressures and how to lead. The idea seemed ridiculous. I could barely take care of myself. 

I'd never get tired of looking at her. Her eyes were concentrated on our intertwined hands, a soft smile etched on her face. She was fucking beautiful. Suddenly, she nudged me.

"Did you hear me?"

I shook my head. "Sorry. What?"

She laughed a little but then grew serious. "I asked if you would tell me about your past," she said nervously, biting her lip as if her words had just slipped out accidentally.

My heart stopped. Caught of guard completely, I ground out, "I don't really want to talk about it." She hung her head, slipping her hand out of mine and running it through her long hair. I shook my head and trained my eyes on her. "Hey," I said in a calmer tone, leading her towards a stone bench. We sat down, facing each other. 

"I don't understand," she said, her voice shaking. "Did someone hurt you? What did they do so bad that you can't tell anyone, can't tell me?" 

I rubbed her shoulders, taking the slight chill out of them. I chose my words carefully. "No one hurt me. Not physically, anyway. My, uh, brother," I said the word through my teeth, "would try to fight me." Her grey eyes widened. "But he was human," I said quickly. "And not a brother to me. Not at all. I don't even know why I said that word, I just... don't really know what else to call him." I was rambling now; shit, I couldn't slip up. "They, uh, they all said I was shit. Shouldn't have been born. I was a freak. Something that needed to be contained. A monster." 

"What made you finally leave?" She whispered. I leaned in close to her, our breath mingling in the cool air. I pressed my lips to hers for a moment, pulling away with an unclear head. 

"I just... I thought that there might be something better for me. Away from there." I wiped the tear that escaped from her stormy eye and kissed her all over her face. "I'm okay, I promise," I mumbled between kisses. She cupped her hands around my face and slanted her mouth over mine. 

We sat there kissing for a while, until her hands were under my shirt and tracing her fingers along my body. I kissed her eyelids, her nose, her jaw, her cheeks, until I pulled back just to stare at her flushed face. A shit eating grin was probably on my face but I didn't care. She was like, a fucking angel or something. 

Then I sensed movement in the gardens. 

I pulled my arm around her, making her head snap towards the direction of the movement. A figure was sprinting down the gardens, arms flailing, tension rising. 

"What's happening?" She called to the figure. As he came closer I recognized him as someone from the pack. 

"There's trouble," he replied, eyeing me suspiciously. My heart was beating at a mile a minute. Fuck, what did he mean? That could be anything.

We ran as fast as we could to the front of the house. Everyone was crowded around the Alpha as he commanded orders to the wolf fighters. He caught my eye and moved so that he was standing in front of us. 

"You need to protect her," he said seriously to me. "The first priority, remember?" I nodded immediately, remembering our last conversation. 

"Dad, what happened?" She grabbed the pice of paper from the Alpha's grasp and then dropped it, eyes widened in fear. I picked it up from the ground and instantly recognized the mark. 

"What is it?" I asked, knowing damn well what it was. I pulled Kiara into me, and she responded by wrapping her arms around my waist. 

"We've been threatened," boomed the Alpha. Chatters were immediately heard along with gasps and screams of a few. "The hunters have chosen our pack as their next target. They've sent us a note with their mark on it, signalling the end to come. There is no need to evacuate. We will increase protection around the pack house, along with the surrounding neighborhood. I need to meet with armed wolves this evening after meals are over." 

With that, he exited the scene and went straight into the pack house, Mrs. Everhart following close behind. I could feel my claws coming out in rage. What the fuck was happening? It's not time!

"I need to go run." 

Kiara whirled to me, panicked. "Are you crazy? Did you not just hear my dad? We're being threatened by hunters!" 

"I know, I just," I paused, not knowing how to get out of this. "I need to train. I need to protect you." 

She started to get worked up, her eyes narrowing into slits. "I'm not some glass doll, Connor. I can take care of myself. I'm not the one risking myself getting killed five minutes after our pack was just threatened!" 

"I'm not going to get killed!" I raised my voice, begging her to understand. I shook my head. I needed to talk to Nick.  "I'm going," I started to leave, but she grabbed my arm tightly, pulling me over to her. 

"Don't go," she said, her voice starting to get raspy. "Come inside. Please," she begged. "My dad will have a safe running route set up by tomorrw. Please don't go tonight." She pulled on my hand, urging me up the porch steps. "Please don't go. Please, Connor," she whispered.

I hesitated. I couldnt do it. Not tonight. It would be too suspicious anyway, and I can't fucking leave her like this. 

"Okay," I wrapped my arms around her as she buried her head in my chest. I kissed her and let my head rest agaisnt her shoulder. "Okay." 

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Hi!!!! 

Okay, so first of all, I'M BACK!!! WOO!

Second, I uploaded!!!!! I'm so excited to be back with this story. Wow. Okay. Anyways, awww I love Connor. 

I also really like how Savannah is turning out, I hadn't really expected to go that direction with her but shes not what anyones expected lol. 

So What do you think will happen? Will the pressure be too much? Why the hell are the hunters attacking now???

Don't forget to vote/comment/fan and enjoy :) xo