Aiden ran a hand through his short hair.

"I thought I killed you." I growl through clenched teeth.

"Nope. Played dead."

"How?"

"It's very easy, actually, see, the angle I let you get me at didn't expose any veins I could bleed out from and your bite wasn't deep, so I just closed my eyes and went limp."

I want to kill him. Properly this time.

"So this is your mate, hm? She's ravishing. I think I'd like to…try a bite, hm?"

I swear to god.

"I think, actually, after I see just how ravishing she truly is, I will try a bite. A single, delicious bite right in the jugular."

Jade's paler than Edward Cullen. I know he's just trying to get to me though.

"We aren't making any business deals." I growl. "You cannot have Jade, she is mine."

"Hm, what about that pretty redhead, you know, the one Liam stabbed? Oh, right, Cat. Such a lovely name. Or her mate, she's got a pretty rockin' bod. Curves, everywhere."

I close my eyes and count to ten. "You're a pig."

His eyes glint.

I growl and step in front of Jade protectively. "You cannot have Jadelyn August West." I tell him loudly.

"Ah," he says, "I already do. I'll see you around, Tori." With that, he turns around and walks away.

I turn to the shaking girl behind me and hold her shoulders. I kiss her forcefully and look into her eyes, trying to calm her down. "It's okay, we're gonna get him, we're gonna kill him, you don't have to be afraid, he was just trying to mess with me."

Jade starts to cry a little and I know this must have really shaken her up.

I take her back to my place and she's still sniffling when we get to the front door.

"I love you, okay?" I whisper and she nods. "Love you too."

I smile and walk in. Sure enough, Skylar and Cat are tangled on the couch. Ew.

"CAT YOU ARE ON BED REST." I shout at her and they jump apart from each other sheepishly.

I peck Jade's lips and motion for her to go upstairs. She nods and I hear my door close.

"Aiden's back." I choke out. "He's back, I didn't kill him, he's still alpha, and he threatened to take Jade, he threatened to take you, he threatened to take Skylar." I feel tears at the corners of my eyes.

"He threatened to take Skylar?" I hear Cat's low voice speak. I look and her eyes are full of rage.

I nod. "He mostly wanted Jade."

Cat growls and looks at Skylar, who looks the same way as Cat. "He said he was gonna hurt her, he said he was gonna ravish her and then bite her and kill her and Cat if he does that then he's her sire and then we aren't mated anymore and I don't wanna lose her I really don't and Cat what happens if he does?"

Cat pats my back and I sob, just, sob for like three minutes.

I finally pull myself together and go find Jade. She's crying on my bed.

"He's gonna hurt you." She whispers without looking up.

I nod and sit next to her, turning her shoulders to face me. "I know he might, but if it stops him from hurting you…"

Her lip trembles and I stop it by kissing her. It's slow, gentle, everything a kiss should be. After a few minutes the kiss gets a little more heated, and there's hands in my hair but I could care less, and we somehow are laying down on the bed, and I feel a soft tongue swipe at my lips, and now my tongue's fighting hers, and now we're making out.

Our eyes pop open at the exact same time. I grin down at her and she pulls me down for another kiss, and another, and another.

I feel a tension building in the back of my brain. I know my eyes are a dark green and I see that hers are a deep shade of turquoise.

I smile and pull her into another kiss.

Somehow, my hand found its way under her shirt. How perplexing.

I look at Jade's ocean eyes. "Tell me if you want me to stop."

She swallows, shaking her head. "Never."

I smile and start to kiss down her body.

/

I wake up feeling amazing.

Jade-Jade-Jade-Jade-Jade.

I look next to me and see Jade's still asleep. She's curled into me and her head is nestled in between my naked boobs. I shake her shoulder and her eyes pop open.

"You are breathtaking."

Jade slowly blinks at me and touches my hair gingerly. "As are you."

I smile sleepily at her and kissed her before getting up to put on some clothes, and by clothes I mean underwear and a cami. I toss Jade a tank and black shorts, which she willingly puts on. We walk out of the bedroom hand-in-hand, and I catch Cat smirking at us.

I swear to god Cat if you ruin this experience for us you're demoted.

That wipes the grin off her face and she turns back to the TV. I see Jade sleepily pour a cup of coffee and I grin, helping her.

Once breakfast is done we settle on the couch, until we have to move.

Cat and Skylar leave to go on some romantic date somewhere and we have the house to ourselves.

"I love you Jade." I whisper.

She swallows. "Love you too."

I grin, stroking her hair. "I have an idea." I tell her softly. "But it's gonna require a ton of cooperation on your part."

Jade nods, intrigued by this prospect of a surprise.

I smile widely. "School starts in a few days, right?"

She nods.

"Well, why don't we act like we hate each other, and then you really piss me off and I sorta pin you and kiss/make out with you against the lockers."

Jade looks at me incredulously. "That is quite possibly the best idea I've heard all summer."

I grin and tickle her tummy. Her face screws up and she laughs uncontrollably until I stop.

I kiss her, again and again and again before the doorbell rings. I answer it and in storms a girl that I've never seen before in my life.

"My parents threw me out." she says so softly I can barely hear it.

"Why honey?"

"Because I'm a disgrace to the family." She says bitterly.

"And how can I help you with that?" I ask her patiently.

"I'm a half, a hybrid. My parents said a powerful pack could help me in LA, I ran into a few of yours and they said this is where the alpha lived. You the alpha?" she squints.

I nod and wrap her in a hug. "Are you okay?" I ask quietly.

She sniffles. "I…I just have so many emotions and it hurts my head…like I'm trying so hard, you know, trying so hard to break free of my humanity but my body won't let me and Jesus, it hurts."

I nod and rub her shoulders. "What can I do to help you?"

"You can change me I guess."

There's so much hope in her young eyes that it kills me. "What's your name?" I ask softly.

"I'm Ice." The girl says softly.

I smile at the name, it's actually very pretty. "I'm Tori, this is my mate Jade."

"Hi." The girl squeaks. I smile at her. "Why are you a disgrace?" I ask gently.

"I'm a hybrid, and my parents don't like who I've mated with."

"Who did you mate with?"

"…His name's Mickey."

"What do you feel when you're around Mickey?"

"Amazing, like butterflies and shit."

"Is that all?"

She shrugs. "Yeah."

"Sweetie, that's not mating. That's just a crush, which is normal. When I made the connection with Jade, I couldn't move. My feet were literally stuck to the ground. I felt like I was being built and rebuilt several times over, I felt like my world was shifting, I felt like my entire being depended on Jade, and even my heartbeat was her name."

Ice's mouth dropped and I smiled. "It'll happen, but first, are you positive you want me to change you?"

She nods tersely.

I turn to Jade. Her eyes are wide and panicked, yet calm and understanding. She barely nods and I smile, turning back to Ice.

I flip her hair off her shoulders and look into her eyes for a moment. "There's no going back." I tell her softly. "What's done is done."

She nods. "I've never wanted anything more."

I sigh and press my lips to her jugular. I feel the rush of blood and it's so, so inviting.

I take a deep breath and bite-ever so gently-hard enough that I feel the amazing taste of blood on my tongue.

I notice she hasn't really screamed, but appears to be in a state of shock. I feel red rivers trickle down from the corners of my lips, but I don't care. I bite again, this time a little higher.

She falls from my grasp and onto the floor. I kneel down next to her and lick the wound slowly.

I turn back to Jade, wiping my mouth. I know my eyes are their wolf color.

Her eyes are wide, but loving still. I look and make sure Ice is still breathing. She is.

I decide that this needs to move faster.

I bring her limp wrist to my mouth and I bite there, sealing it with a lick. I do the same to her left wrist, then I pull up her shirt and make three clean bites across her stomach, licking them all.

I feel her breathing speed up and I turn to Jade. "She's fine."

Jade lets out a small breath and I can't help but smile, settling on the black-haired beauty for a nap.

I wake up to what sounds like gunshots.

Another cliffhanger, I know, I'm sorry.

Dreams are forever,

Hannah