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When Beca hit the edge of the forest on two legs, she began to shift. The bones in her body broke all at the same time, but each just as painful as the last. They broke and reshaped themselves to create the form of her inner beast. Her eyes flashed between dark blue and bright red. The hair on her arms and legs grew into long white fur with dark brown tips on the ends. In all but a few seconds Beca hit the ground on all fours, running faster than any human could. Her senses heightened with animal instincts. She dashed through the forest and ran until her legs grew tired and she was no longer thinking about the redhead. It took miles before the warmth in her brand went away and she could focus on the world around her. It took time for her to regain her sense of total control.
She couldn't quite get her mind off what Stacie had said though. In a way, the Beta was right. It was unusual for an Alpha's mate to be born human, but Chloe would be an Alpha nonetheless. If Beca stopped fighting and gave in, if she did claim Chloe, Chloe would not only be an addition to the pack but another Alpha. She would be Beca's equal, her mate. But Beca wasn't sure if she could do that. Fate had a funny way of making things difficult and Beca didn't want to make Chloe turn because of some destiny bullshit. She didn't want to force Chloe into her life - into immortality. It had its perks and downsides. She wanted Chloe to know all of that before she made a choice. She wanted Chloe to have a choice, but Fate didn't give anyone much of a choice. If Beca had learned anything, Fate was inevitable. Which is what made the whole thing a million times worse. Besides that, she had other things to think about. She had to take care of her pack and finish getting their lives set up in Atlanta. She didn't have time for a relationship.
Beca didn't stop running until sunset when she decided that it was about time she headed back to the apartment. The pack would have questions and she still had to deal with Stacie's mate, whom Beca had a feeling she would have a hard time getting along with. But nevertheless, she was Stacie's mate. That meant that eventually, Aubrey would be apart of her pack and they had to deal with that. She had to explain to Stacie what her ground rules were, how they would have to have a talk with the whole pack before Stacie told Aubrey the truth and the risks of doing so. And the more she thought about Stacie's mate, the more she thought about what her own ground rules had to be with Chloe.
Beca wouldn't be able to avoid Chloe. Chloe's scent was all over Aubrey and vise versa. They were close friends. If Stacie were to date Aubrey, Chloe would be an add on to the situation. Which meant ground rules. She would try to avoid getting to know Chloe if she could. The more she knew, the easier it might be to fall for Chloe… if they really were mates. She would also avoid getting physically close to Chloe at all costs. She had a hard time learning to control herself around the girl already and she couldn't risk doing something stupid. Those were the ground rules.
On her way back to the apartment, Beca walked through campus. The second she stepped on campus ground, she felt the warmth on her shoulder come back to life. She rolled her eyes at it and continued her walk. In an attempt to avoid the inevitability of going home, Beca took a pit stop at one of the dorm showers to rinse off the run. She walked to one of the showers and turned it on. Without even realizing it, she began to hum 'Titanium' by David Guetta. The hum turned into singing and the singing only got louder with each verse. The shower rinsed through her hair as she sang, "Bulletproof, nothing to lose, fire away, fire away…" A burning rose through her shoulder, but before she could recognize it as something different from the hot water, the shower curtain shot to the side and Beca jolted near a foot in the air.
"You can sing!" Before her in absolutely no clothes, was Chloe. Her hair was stuck up in a bun and her hands were on her hips. Beca's face flushed red in embarrassment from how loud she screamed, "How high does your belt go?"
"My what?" Beca stuttered, her eyes still unavoidably looking over the ginger while trying to hide herself.
"The tone of your voice was beautiful. You have to try out for the Bellas." Chloe smiled with all of her teeth and Beca had no idea how one person could hold so much confidence while nude. This girl, no matter how absolutely gorgeous she was, could not be her mate.
Beca looked up at the ceiling in an attempt to give Chloe privacy. She just met this girl and they were crossing so many boundaries. She had just set up ground rules that she herself was breaking. Her body felt like she was on fire, "I can't concentrate on anything until you cover your junk."
"Just consider it, one time we-" Chloe started again and Beca could feel another long winded story coming on.
"Seriously, I'm nude." Beca tried to explain, her attempts falling to a meek plea for Chloe to leave before Beca did something she would regret.
"You were singing Titanium right?" Chloe was persistent, Beca had to give her that. Beca also had to give her the knowledge of music. Not many people Beca knew had a range of the Wonder Years to David Guetta.
"You know David Guetta?" Beca asked, losing herself in how badly she wanted to get to know Chloe. She was losing control with every second that the conversation continued and she could feel her. Her wolf was desperate.
"What, have I been living under a rock?" Chloe giggled and Beca could've sworn that kind of laugh was contagious. Did she really like someone being so absolutely opposite of her? Then Chloe winked and bit her lip, "That song's my jam...my lady jam." She was playing coy and Beca wondered whether Chloe was trying to flirt.
"That's...nice." Beca wasn't giving up on her plan just yet. She would not let herself go down this road.
"Yeah, it is. That song builds. Sing it for me?" The sudden flip of innocence in Chloe's voice was an absolute whiplash to Beca. Who was this girl, really?
"Ew! Dude, no! Get the hell out of here!" Beca's breath was staggering now.
"Not for that reason! Look, I'm not leaving here until you sing so…" Chloe leaned on the tiled wall, a smirk on her face.
"This is ridiculous," Beca argued.
"Maybe, but I can stand here all day." Chloe bit her lip and her eyes covered Beca's body. Beca absolutely couldn't stand it. Her wolf was near the edge and even if anything ever happened with Chloe, this is not how she wanted it to go.
"I'm bulletproof, nothing to lose, fire away, fire away," Chloe chimed in to a harmony and Beca felt like she could hardly keep her breath going, "Ricochet, you take your aim Fire away, fire away, You shoot me down but I won't fall, I am titanium, You shoot me down but I won't fall, I am titanium." Beca couldn't deny it. It sounded absolutely beautiful. By the end, their eyes locked and Beca wondered if Chloe had felt something too. Seconds went by and neither girl made an attempt to break eye contact.
Finally, Chloe did and cleared her throat, "Yeah, I'm pretty confident about… all this." Chloe smirked again and Beca rolled her eyes.
When Beca's eyes met Chloe's again, her voice dropped into a more serious tone when she said, "You should be."
Beca wanted to say more. Her wolf was dying to. She wanted to ask Chloe out, to make another remark. To do anything that made it so she could see the redhead again. But she didn't. And just as Chloe was about to move, a boy came up behind them both, also nude. Suddenly Beca realized by the scent of him that they were together. That the boy was with Chloe and was near with Chloe before Beca entered the bathroom. Beca's inner wolf growled and Beca had to cough to cover it up. Her eyes flipped red and back to normal and her wolf howled inside. The burn intensified in her shoulder and all of her control was about to go out the window. "You have a lovely voice," The boy told her and Beca's nostrils flared.
"Thanks?" Beca replied, sarcasm brimming at the surface. The moment went on for longer than Beca could hold herself still, until finally Chloe and the boy walked away, leaving Beca to the rest of her shower. When the door closed behind them, Beca took a long, deep breath in. She was even impressed by her amount of control over the situation. Her wolf was jealous. Beyond Jealous. She wanted to destroy the boy and leave him dead in the forest. She wanted to rip his throat out. But she hadn't. She hadn't ruined anything in Chloe's life and she wanted it to stay like that. She had every intention of leaving Chloe's life as simple as it could be. Chloe deserved that. Beca could tell.
'BECA! BECA! ALPHA!' A piercing scream shot into Beca's mind just then and Beca covered her ears at the pain of it. It was Emily's voice, forcing itself in her mind from miles away, which Beca didn't even know they could do yet. It was fear-inducing. 'BECA HELP, PLEASE. HE'S GONNA DIE.' Beca's eyes shot yellow immediately as she dressed and left the showers. She let her inner wolf guide her as she ran in the direction she could only guess was where Emily was. 'ALPHA PLEASE!' Beca had never heard the young girl so scared in her life. Beca could feel it in her bones, her blood. As soon as she hit the forest floor she transformed and followed the scent. It was muddled and hard to identify, but it was Emily's, Beca was sure of it. It was just mixed with something else. Someone else's.
Beca ran as fast as her paws could carry her and finally reached her destination. She tried to take in the information as fast she could process it. She turned back to human form. Emily was on the ground. Her face, shirt, and arms were covered in blood. Bright red blood. But it wasn't hers. Emily didn't have a scratch on her. Below her, a boy Beca had never seen before was bleed out. His curly brown hair was standing straight up and dripping. His shirt was a Houdini shirt and covered in his own blood. "Beca, Beca, Thank-" Emily's breath was ragged as her hazel eyes were pleading for Beca's help, "I met him at th-the school performances. He-he's my mate. Beca, he's gonna die."
Beca looked at her younger protege and her throat went dry. The boy was dying. Beca could see it and smell the amount of blood he had already lost. His skin was pale. There was no chance for him to live on his own, no matter how fast they got him to a hospital. She had one choice and one choice only, "Emily, look away." Emily gave her a skeptical look and Beca could feel the Beta's will and how bad she wanted to ignore the command, "Emily," Beca growled, "Look. Away." Emily did as she was told and turned away from the boy, but stayed by his side.
Beca approached him and knelt on the forest floor. She took a deep breath in, "Hold his hand." She told the Beta and Emily immediately obeyed. Beca swallowed and took his wrist in her hand. She bit down on his wrist, hard. She felt the moment that her canines broke through his skin and blood filled Beca's mouth. She could feel parts of her energy flow into his body and she could feel him coming back to life. He was breathing, again. She pulled her mouth away and she could feel the next part of the transformation. His bones broke all at once and the hair on his body grew into a thick black coat. His body turned into that of a wolfs. Beca watched the transformation with wide eyes and hoped to whatever Gods there were that it was enough. That he could live. For Emily's sake. Emily only turned back when she realized that the hand she had been holding was now a paw. "Come on," Beca ordered, "We need to get him back to the apartment. Discreetly."
