A Rebellious Moon

Chapter Thirty-Six

The rest of the week, Amanda successfully evaded having to deal with Chase and Devon at the same time. Luck had been on her side for the most part. In the morning she would dart out of the house and grab breakfast on campus. After hiding in the library whenever she didn't have a class or a meeting, she would head home for dinner.

The first night, she had chickened out and eaten with Catherine and Farah at the apartment. Nina had texted her numerous times about ignoring her guest and then spoken to her sternly when she returned later that night. Feeling ashamed, Amanda headed home for dinner to serendipitously find that Chase had a business dinner and wouldn't be home. That night, Devon monopolized her attention, although she found she didn't mind so much. He actually was a pretty good conversationalist and they found many things in common to talk about.

Finally, Nina, acting as a good hostess, took Devon around on a tour of the monuments and for a special dinner. Amanda, Jade, Brooke, Finn, and Zac caught up with them for drinks in Adams-Morgan afterwards. Chase declined, which Amanda was unsure if he was uncomfortable with Devon or not ready to party it up with the pack yet.

Before they left, Amanda offered to stay behind with Chase. "We could have a quiet night in," she said. "You know, as quiet as the house can be with Cooper and Dominic around."

"I almost wish those two could drink already just to get them out of the house," Chase responded with a teasing smirk. "But, no, Devon is technically your guest since he's here to see you. I appreciate your offer and I'm happy that you'd rather spend time with me, but you really need to go."

"Ok, I understand. By the way, did you speak to my father?" she asked.

"Yes. He was quite irritated, but almost resigned, if that makes sense. He told me to let Devon have a little vacation and that he would owe me one. I think Devon is in a world of trouble when he gets home though," said Chase.

"Well, what's the point of being in a pack if you're just going to do your own thing? I bet Dad kicks him out. That would suck, but I think it would be reasonable. Cassie implied to me that this isn't his first transgression," Amanda said.

Chase nodded. "I'm sorry. I know things went south between you two and I'm actually more thrilled about that, but you've known him since you were little and I know there's still some feelings."

Amanda stayed quiet, unsure how to respond. She knew that this was a good opening for her to reveal that Devon still was a potential mate for her, yet she couldn't bring herself to actually say the words. As soon as she put it out there, she knew that she would not only have to deal with the situation, but also the consequences of how that news would affect Chase. She wasn't sure how she felt either.

Chase moved in to hug her, misinterpreting her silence as sadness. "I already spoke to Devon, letting him know I was fine with him staying through the weekend and that Alpha Richard expected him home on Monday. He seemed onboard with that plan."

"Oh. Good," Amanda eked out. "Um, I mean, that's good. He won't overstay his welcome then and we can all just move on from this."

Chase raised his eyebrows. "Yes. Are you sure you're okay? Maybe you should stay home."

"No, no. I'm good. I should go get ready." Amanda pushed up on her tip-toes to peck his lips and then fled to her own room to change her clothes and fix her makeup for the night.

Fortunately, the night went smoothly from then on. The group arrived at the club to find that, not only had Nina put their names on the list, she had paid for them to have a table and bottle service. None of them had ever had this experience before and took full advantage of the opportunity. The only downside was that everyone discovered Brooke liked tequila shots, but tequila shots did not like Brooke. Finn took her home early, although he was never a big partier anyway.

Amanda found herself in a much better mood (although that might have been the tequila shots) and enjoyed herself dancing with Jade. Devon remained respectful throughout the evening, which Amanda appreciated greatly. She had initially been concerned that he would be too forward in front of the pack members causing her to have to explain herself. Jade knew some details, but Amanda wasn't sure what had been shared to Nina or Zac.

The group stumbled into the pack house in the wee hours of the morning, laughing and shushing each other. Tristan greeted them at the door with a frown and ushered them upstairs as quietly as he could.

Amanda collapsed onto the bed with a satisfied smile on her face. Between the hunter and her schoolwork, she had not nearly had as much fun this year as she had planned. Once Devon left and her thesis was submitted, she could turn her efforts to the hunter and hopefully be finally free. With that thought she burrowed into her blankets and fell into a dreamless sleep.

Saturday morning came too soon with its overly bright sun and loudly singing birds. Amanda sat up in bed holding her forehead. She moaned and then squinted to see if her eyes were ready for the light yet. A quick peek had her hand moving down her forehead to block the light and she laid back down.

All of a sudden, she sat straight up. Today was Saturday, which meant everyone was expected in the garden to spar. The weather had been particularly nice lately and Amanda had been looking forward to it. That is, until the tequila shots.

Mustering all her energy, Amanda sprung out of bed and rummaged through her clothes for a pair of shorts and a T-shirt. She burst out the door almost toppling Nina who seemed to be in a similar situation to Amanda based on the bags under her eyes.

"Morning," Nina mumbled once she had extricated herself from Amanda.

Too tired for words, Amanda settled for a nod in response.

The two women tried to maintain composure as they descended the staircase and headed into the kitchen. Finn and Chase were there preparing breakfast. Amanda gave Chase a quick kiss when he handed her a hot cup of coffee. Nina snagged a croissant from the counter and immediately started eating it.

A few seconds later Dominic popped in to tell them that Tristan, Cooper, and Devon were waiting for them out in the garden. While Finn and Nina went to wake up the others, Chase and Amanda followed Dominic out to the garden.

Amanda felt her breath quicken as they headed through the door. Her headache increased despite the caffeine. She knew Chase and Devon had interacted before, Chase specifically told her about a conversation they had, but seeing them together was a bit different.

She started to take slow, deep breaths to calm herself down, but her pounding heartbeat would not slow. As she stepped outside, she looked up and smiled at Chase as he held the door for her. Walking further into the garden, she saw Devon watching her. She closed her mouth to swallow hard causing her to breathe through her nose. Once she inhaled, she caught Devon's scent that mixed with Chase and her headache increased tenfold. A burning feeling trailed down her leg.

As the world faded to black, she could hear multiple people yell her name and a pair of warm hands holding her shoulders.

Author's Note:

Oh no! She fainted with the stimulation overload!

I hope you feel the anticipation building. I think Devon's going to show his true colors here shortly.

Do you think he decided he wants to be mates with Amanda for love or do you think he has another motivation?

Do you think Amanda should come clean with Chase about how Devon still seems to be her mate or do you think there's another solution?

Thank you for making it this far with me! Please vote and comment as well!