Hi there people! So here we are, at the next chapter! Whoo! :D Anyway I'm sorry if I didn't reply to any reviews, I'm just really in a hurry to get this up.

Just before we get to the chapter though, I wanna say something to a guest reviewer. "PEEPS" Was it? Dude, I don't fucking care if you stop reading my story. I've got plenty of awesome and loyal readers who are supportive of me and this story. They have no problem of how slow or fast this story is progressing and they definitely do not friggin order me to make certain things happen. If anything, they make SUGGESTIONS on what I should or should not do and I appreciate that.

So a big hug to my loyal readers/reviewers. Love u guys! :)

Anyway... thats that. U guys can read on.

Ally POV

It has been about five days since Jonah's fainting episode. He had gotten up after an hour on that day. Alpha Michael said that it would be best to just have him calm down before questioning him again. Austin had refused, stating that getting answers out of him would be easier if he is scared. Alpha Michael said that while that is a good point, he doesn't see Jonah being a threat and they should calmly ask him about how they had gotten here.

I agree with Mike. Jonah doesn't seem bad to me. From what I have heard from Dez and Trish, who had been going into the basement to give them food, Jonah seems terrified of Ethan.

Ethan.

Just his name makes me feel uncomfortable.

While they're down there, if they ever have to ask Jonah anything closely related to how they ended up here, one look from Ethan shuts him up.

After Alpha Michael ordered him to not intimidate Jonah, Austin shook his head and ran a hand through his hair before leaving the room with an annoyed huff.

Like I said, that was five days ago. Since then, if I ever came across Austin in the cabin or anywhere else, all he does is offer me a quick smile and then he's gone. In these five days it was only yesterday that I had actually interacted with him for more than a few seconds.

I had just stepped out of my room freshly showered and changed when I saw him down the hall. All I did was meekly wave, thinking that he would just rush out of the cabin to busy himself with who knows what. He surprised me however, by smirking and advancing towards me with one hand tucked behind his back. He nears me and reveals his hidden hand that is holding onto a very familiar brown leather bound book.

I gasp and quickly snatch it out of his hands. I obviously forgot it in my old guest bedroom.

"No worries. I didn't look in it. No matter how much I wanted to," He says, still with a smirk on his lips. I clear my throat and nod at him while mumbling out a soft 'thank you.' He gives a curt nod and is about to turn around. "Wait," I stop him by lightly taking a hold of his forearm. He glances at my hand before looking down at me and raising an amused eyebrow. I blush slightly and shyly retract my hand while nervously clearing my throat. He lets out a small chuckle before, "What is it?"

I look up at him and ask, "Uhm... I was just wondering if... If you're okay?" He tilts his head to the side and frowns. "Why wouldn't I be?" I shrug and answer, "Its just that.. You seem to be kind of stressed and busy lately. I was just wondering."

He brings up a hand and rubs the back of his neck, letting out a sigh. "I'm fine. Just been keeping myself busy. Since my dad doesn't want me questioning those idiots right now."

"Oh," I say and give him a nod. He smiles and leans in closer, bringing a hand up to rest on my closed bedroom door behind me. I gulp as his face inches closer to my own. Just as his nose lightly brushes mine, he tilts his head to the side and buries it in my neck. I breathe in and out deeply once his lips brush the flesh covering my clavicle. "Thank you for caring, I'm flattered," He mumbles out and raises his free hand to my waist, squeezing lightly. Even through the fabric of my clothes, I still feel the heat radiating from his warm hand. I grip my songbook tightly and am only able to let out a lame, 'uh huh,' before he pulls away smirking, leaving me flustered and blushing as usual.

And as fast as he came, he was gone.

Austin's attitude towards me definitely changed. He's obviously alot nicer now and that fact alone has me scratching my head.

What changed?

What made him go from cold and hard to warm and affectionate?

At certain times, very affectionate. Like yesterday. The contact from his lips left the skin on my neck tingling. I blush at the thought and lift myself off the couch that I was seated on and begin making my way outside. I'm almost at the door when I hear, "Keep those filthy paws off of me!" I spin around and instantly feel my muscles tense.

Ethan is being gripped by the collar of his shirt by Anthony who is dragging him towards me. Jonah and Wade are hesitantly following with Mark bringing up the rear. I begin to shake and take deep breaths at the sight of Ethan. He notices me and stops his futile attempts of prying Anthony's hands off his shirt. He looks me dead in the eye and grins maliciously. I feel tears threatening to fall. Anthony glances at me and takes in my expression. He snaps his gaze back to Ethan and tightens his grip. "What the hell are you lookin' at?" He roughly pulls him forward and I jerk out of the way. The oak doors open and Ethan is shoved outside. Mark orders Jonah and Wade to follow before looking at me. "You okay, Alls?"

I give a shaky nod and ask, "Wha-what are you guys doing with them?"

He shrugs, "I'm not sure yet. Uncle Mike asked us to bring them out. I think he's gonna try questioning them again."

"Oh. Okay."

He looks at me for another moment before speaking, "Come on. Cassidy is out on patrol. I'll drop you off at Trish's."

We go outside and see Jonah and Wade standing off to the side while Anthony and Ethan are glaring daggers at eachother. Ethan again, notices me and smirks. "I'm hurt Ally. I've been here almost a week and you haven't even said hello."

I ignore him and am about to make my way to the pathway leading to the ledges when he speaks again. "Just you wait until these mutts aren't confining me. We'll get some time alone."

His words send a shiver through me and I back myself up into Marks chest who growls while Anthony makes a move towards Ethan.

However, he doesn't get to do anything. No one does.

A deep, rumbling growl cuts through the air followed by the familiar russet coloured wolf bursting through the lush vegetation. Austin's bright yellow eyes immediately zero in on Ethan who has a look of pure shock etched on his face.

His muzzle is pulled up revealing dagger like canines while his tail flicks swiftly from side to side.

He snaps his jaws and in a flash, lunges forward before an echoing bark stops him in his tracks and causes him to snap his massive head towards the sound. Alpha Michael, in the form of his grey wolf, bares his teeth while stalking towards his son. Mark steers me to the side towards Jonah and Wade while Anthony shoves Ethan to the ground, ordering him to stay there.

Austin again looks at Ethan and makes another move to him. Alpha Michael growls and places his body in front of Austin who growls and tries pushing his way past. When he doesn't succeed, he flattens his ears against his skull and snarls at his father and again tries making his way around.

"What the heck is he doing?" I hear Mark mutter behind me.

At being disobeyed, Alpha Michael swipes his paw across Austin's face causing his head to snap to the side. I gasp in shock and my hand flies to my mouth. Austin shakes his head and turns back to his father, teeth bared and eyes blazing. He lets out an angry, loud bark followed by a snap of his jaws. Not seeming to be fazed at the obvious anger radiating from his son, Alpha Michael lunges forward and grabs the scruff of Austin's neck and forces him to the ground.

"Just stay down, man!" Mark shouts from behind me causing Austin's eyes to flash to us. His eyes connect with mine and I slowly nod, encouraging him to stay down. He keeps eye contact for another moment before looking away. His struggling stops and his growls fade while he allows his body to relax.

Ethan, from his position on the ground yells, "Keep that damn mutt on a leash!" This sets Austin off again. He tries to break free of his father's grip but all Alpha Michael does is clench his jaws down tighter, making me cringe seeing how Austin shuts his eyes in obvious pain. Anthony kicks Ethan on the back and pulls him up before dragging him back to the cabin doors. As they pass us, Ethan has the audacity to send me a wink with a face splitting grin. "I'm pretty sure I'm heading back to the basement. You wanna join me?"

Before I can even begin to feel an ounce of discomfort from his words, Austin lets out a huge roar and begins struggling under his father's grip once again. Mark rushes towards Ethan. Both he and Anthony shove him into the cabin while Jonah and Wade shrink back in fright at the sight of the two growling wolves. Austin is still struggling and I notice Alpha Michael place a heavy paw on his shoulder and he then bites down on his neck harder. This elicits a whine laced with pain from Austin. I step forward and yell, "Mike! Mike! Let him go! Please!" Thankfully, Alpha Michael lets up and removes his jaws from Austin's neck but he keeps his paw on his shoulder. I race forward just as he shakes off his father's paw and springs to his feet, ruffling up his fur.

"Austin," I softly say while reaching out slowly. His gleaming eyes snap to me as he slowly backs away.

I feel a small gush of wind and turn around to see Alpha Michael in his human form. He raises both his hands in a soothing gesture and begins to slowly walk towards Austin. "Son," He says in a gentle voice, "Please calm down." Austin twitches his ears and turns his gaze to me slowly. Emotions that I cannot decipher spreads across his yellow orbs before I decide to take a tentative step towards him. He lets out a low growl, causing me to flinch slightly.

"Careful, dear." Alpha Michael says in a warning tone. I continue to take small steps forward until I am right in front of him. I slowly raise my right hand and bring it to rest on his furry cheek. His eyes flutter closed and he tilts his head to rest on my hand, a contented sigh escaping him. Just when I think that he is okay and relaxed, his eyes snap open and he backs away from me.

He intently stares me down, eyes burning into my own until the tip of his tail brushes the tree line. He snaps his gaze briefly to his father before spinning around and taking off into the forest.

I turn to Alpha Michael with a helpless look on my face. He just sighs and shakes his head before running a hand through his dark grey hair. "He'll be alright, Ally. He just needs to figure himself out." With another sigh, he turns around and motions for Jonah and Wade to follow him into the cabin.

I almost forgot that they were there.

I turn and stare off in the direction that Austin had ran in.

He had looked so... pained? Confused? I have no idea what exactly. There were a million emotions dancing across those blazing eyes in that one moment.

Austin POV

Stupid.

Fucking stupid.

I've disobeyed my father before, but never to an extent where he's had to physically restrain me. I couldn't help myself. When that damn fuckstick said what he said to Ally...

'Just you wait until these mutts aren't confining me. We'll get some time alone.'

'I'm pretty sure I'm heading back to the basement. You wanna join me?'

The thought of him ever being alone with her, doing who knows what had drove me to rage.

So much so that I went as far as disobeying my father, the freaking Alpha.

It doesn't matter that I am his son. It doesn't matter that I am second in command. I should have obeyed him the first fucking time that he told me to back off. He had snarled at me, telling me to calm down and back off. He told me that we need Ethan alive, told me to control my temper. Did I listen? No. Why?

Ally. I couldn't handle the damn dick making any sort of crude remarks to her.

Ever since I had come to grips with my feelings, all I've wanted to do is protect her, keep her close, trust her.

Trust her. I'm pretty sure that I do trust her. I just can't bring myself to embrace that fact. I swore that I would never trust again and here she comes, breaking down my walls.

When she ran to me after my father released me, the amount of concern in her eyes, the soothing feeling that radiated from her touch tugged at my heart strings. But at the same time, I didn't know exactly how to feel. I disobeyed my father to protect her honour. I had my mind set on killing that pathetic excuse of a person.

All for her.

That scared me and what did I do? I ran. I ran into the forest towards the place that I hadn't visited in a while...

My mother's resting place.

It was about two miles away from the training field. A lush meadow surrounded by wild flowers of every colour imaginable. The atmosphere, vibrant and beautiful. Just like my mother.

I came to a stop and allowed myself to phase before walking to the spot of where she was put to rest. Having not been here in a while, I choke up and feel tears threatening to spill.

I hold them back.

I step forward and slowly bring myself to my knees.

"Hi, mom." I say softly while twirling a small pink flower between my fingers. "I know I haven't visited in a while. Been busy. I really need someone to talk to. It's about a girl..."

Despite her not being here, my lips still quirk up in a small smile thinking that if she were alive right now, she would coo at me and ruffle up my hair or lightly pinch my cheeks at the mention of a possible crush.

"I don't know what to do, mom. I actually really like her but... I just don't know how to fully give myself to her. She's so beautiful, inside and out. You would've really liked her. I'm sure of it. At first I kept my distance. I was horrible to her. I couldn't trust her after what Vanessa did."

My voice breaks at the next words out of my mouth. "After what she did to you."

A tear slips out of my eye and I quickly brush it away. "I need you here, mom. I need your advice on what I should do because... I have no idea what to do. I have no idea what to do about her. I want to fully give my trust to her but... I just don't know. I don't even know if she has any feelings remotely close to what I feel for her but at this point I just don't care. I just need to know if I'm ready... To trust again."

From the corner of my eye, I notice something. I glance up to see a little blue butterfly fluttering towards me. It lands on my shoulder and I notice the distinct red and yellowish markings on the wing facing me. They form a small heart.

Well shit.

If that isn't a sign, I don't know what is. I slowly raise my hand and gently coax it onto my finger and bring it to my line of sight.

I definitely have deep feelings for that girl despite knowing her for just over four months.

I blow out a small puff of air to encourage the butterfly to take flight. As I watch it flutter away, I close my eyes and slightly tilt my head up to the sky as a gentle breeze ruffles up my hair. I slowly open my eyes and allow a small smile to grace my lips.

"I'll see where all this goes, mom." I press the tips of my index and middle finger to my lips and then place them at the head of my mother's resting place. "I love you. And I miss you."

With one final glance around the meadow, I rise on my feet and move towards the tree's where I phase.

As the blur of the forest rushes past me as I run, I begin to think.

A few weeks ago, my father informed me that since we have quite a few young pack mates, they should know how to fight and defend themselves aswell as the pack. I have no problem training them, it's just that I haven't really gotten the time to do it. From tomorrow though, lessons will begin. And I will not just be training wolves.

Under the extremely unlikely chance that this dick Ethan, ever does get Ally alone, I want her to be able to defend herself. And what better way to make sure of that than training her myself, in hand to hand combat. I'll even show her what she could do if she's in a dangerous situation with a phased wolf.

Oh yeah, that'll be fun.

I curl my lip up and grin mischievously while propelling myself faster towards the cabin.

This could also be my chance to get closer to her, find out if she harbours even the slightest bit of feelings other than friendship for me.

More importantly, it could help me to realise my own feelings further.

Upon reaching the cabin, I phase and jog my way inside where I find Ally pacing in the living room. I clear my throat and she snaps her gaze to me. "Austin," She says while letting out a breath. She slowly moves to me and looks into my eyes while her own are filled with concern.

My heart swells at this.

"Are you okay?" I ignore her question and grab onto her hips, pulling her to me. She gasps in shock and steadies herself by placing her dainty palms on my chest. I smirk down at her and bring my lips to her ear.

I cannot wait to get her in that training field tomorrow.

"Be prepared, Princess. I'm gonna thoroughly work your body to its max."

And we're done ;)

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