A/N- Hope you guys like it so far. It's finally going to start picking up a little, but I will make sure to include plenty of Bechloe moments. It's a rainy weekend so I'll be able to get a lot done!

Chapter 8

Beca's POV

The rest of the day flies by pretty quickly and suddenly, I'm walking Chloe out. My mind keeps going on repeat from our conversation earlier in the library and than with Elder John. He once again questioned me, only this time had Luke shove me up against a locker. The aches I had, turned into a sudden searing pain that was so bad, a few tears escaped. When I still didn't answer his questions, he reluctantly let me back into class. I could tell Chloe was curious but I didn't offer any information. She's not in the middle of this and I want to keep her out of it for as long as I can.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Chloe's sweet voice takes me away from my thoughts and to her.

"What?"

"Well, you've been in deep thought for quite some time. I was thinking that you could use an ear; bounce whatever is troubling you off of me." My heart warms at how caring she is toward me when we haven't known each other long. Will she still be that way when she learns the truth?

"Oh it's nothing. School stuff." Suddenly, I'm being stopped and faced toward an angry redhead.

"We talked about this. If you don't want to tell me, just say so. Don't bother lying." My eyes flick toward the ground, guilty.

"Sorry. I would tell you but…."

"I know, it's too dangerous,"Chloe waves her hand like she's dismissing it, but I can tell she's hurt. She starts walking toward her car and I follow her.

"Chloe, I really am sorry."

"It's okay,"her smile is a weak one, making me feel even worse. "You can make it up by coming over." I shuffle my feet, going back and forth from Chloe's hopeful smile to all the things I need to do. In the end, it's no question.

"Okay." Chloe squeals and throws her arms around me. Holding back a hiss of pain, I wrap my tense arms around her, not quite sure what to do. It's been so long since I've been hugged that even though everything with Chloe seems natural, this doesn't. It's just too different from my normal.

She seems to realize how awkward this is for me because she's releasing me a second later. We both just stand there for a moment, taking in what just happened. Chloe's eyebrows are furrowed, like she's confused at my reaction. I'm confused but mainly surprised at the sudden contact.

"Umm should we?" I gesture to her car and she nods stiffly. We get in and she starts the way to her house. It's just completely silent which is weird since we can usually talk about anything and everything.

"Wow! You live way out here, huh?" I know where Chloe lives but if she knew that, she would probably think I'm a stalker.

"Yeah, my mom just wanted a new start. Peace and quiet, you know?" I nod like I do but it's been so long since I got that, it's foreign to me, just like hugs.

"Why did you move here?" Chloe's eyes dull a little and I can see how much pain lies there. "I'm sorry. You don't have to answer."

"No, it's okay. It's about time I talk about it and you'll figure it out eventually. My-my dad died a year and a half ago."

"Oh Chloe, I'm so sorry." A tear slips down her cheek and I instantly reach for her hand. The moment my hand touches her, she grabs on like I'm the only thing keeping her grounded.

"Thank you. Most people just say that because it's what you're supposed to, but I can tell you mean it. You lost your parents right?" My mood turns cold and I stare out the window, absently rubbing the scars on my stomach with my free hand.

"Yeah. When I was 8."

"Oh, you were so young." I finally look at her and can see the shock in her eyes at my lack of tears. Shame races through me at not feeling anything for them except anger. My stomach starts to knot and I open my mouth to say something, but stop.

There's a bad feeling stirring in my gut and I frown when my wolf side kicks in like it does in sign of danger. I jerk my head to the window and suddenly, a huge black wolf is right there. Luke. Chloe scream echoes in my ears. Out of the corner of my eye, I see her start to swerve and I go to stop her, but it's too late. The car hydroplanes but everything around me moves almost in slow motion. I unbuckle and lunge to cover Chloe. The car crashes into a tree, jerking my body against the wheel which sends shocks of pain down my back. Everything falls silent.

Groaning, I lift myself up off of Chloe's lap. Everything spins for a second so I wait for it to stop. It does and I check on Chloe. Her head is bleeding from where it cracked against the window and her eyes are closed. She looks almost peaceful, like she took a nap instead of passing out.

"Chloe," I whisper, shaking her shoulder. All I get is a groan in response. "Shit!" Sighing, I get out of the car and survey my surroundings. The front of the car is completely crushed having taken the brunt of the impact. We're not too far from Chloe's house so I could run her over there before going after Luke who seems to have disappeared.

I make that my plan and get to work on shifting Chloe so I can get her on my back. Once she's unbuckled and slightly leaning out of the car, I strip. Before I shift, I make sure she's still unconscious. Than, I shift, biting my lip from the pain. 5 minutes later, I'm panting from exertion and working on getting the unconscious red head onto my back. She kind of flops onto my back, her arms and legs dangling at my side. Because of my size, her fingers don't even get close to the ground.

My powerful legs take off and it's not long before I reach her house. I set Chloe on the front porch and scratch at the door until it opens, revealing .Ms. Beale. She gasps and takes a step back until I huff and look at Chloe. Ms. Beale follows my gaze and gasps again when she sees her unconscious daughter. I back up, giving her room and let her look over Chloe.

"She'll be okay. I'll check on her and make sure she doesn't need to go to the hospital." She glances at me and I can see the gratitude in her gaze. "Thank you." Nodding, I take one last look at Chloe before taking off again, back to the car wreck.

I sniff, searching for Luke's scent. It's still strong and I can tell that he's not very far. Before I go after him, I grab my clothes in my mouth. I want to talk with him rather than growl the whole time. Since I'm not officially in a pack until I choose one when I turn 18, they can't communicate with me. When I turn 18, there's no doubt I won't be joining this pack. Probably one far away from Barden.

After a few minutes, I find Luke and his friends down the road, all in wolf form. Going behind a tree, I shift and get dressed. When I come out from behind the tree, everybody also shifted back but none bothered to get dressed. I've seen them like this multiple times so it doesn't bother me. Some of them smirk and make crude gestures as I walk closer but I just smile sweetly, knowing it won't affect me.

"What the hell was that about? You could've killed Chloe!" My smile fades away replaced with anger.

"We need to talk and I wanted to have a little fun. Give you a scare, maybe open your eyes."

I scoff. "Open my eyes to what? Your stupid questions? Sorry, but that's not going to happen." Luke lets out an inhuman growl. So I retaliate.

"You will bow to your future alpha and show me some respect."

"Sorry but you're not my future alpha. I'm not 18 yet and when I am, I don't have to choose this pack." Luke's anger quickly switches to pure confusion like he can't believe I had the audacity to even think of rejecting his pack.

"Why would you do that?"

"Really? You have to ask that. Why would I choose a pack that hates my guts? One that already plans on killing me."

"Now where did you get that idea?" Bumper pipes up.

"Everybody watches me like a hawk. I can't talk to anybody new and I've gotten a punishment that was worse than any other wolf would get. So tell me, why shouldn't I join this pack?" Venom coats my voice and rage is threatening to boil over. I hold back the impulse to attack Luke and instead start to back away.

"Look, I will live on the land and go to school, but when I turn 18, you can bet that I will be leaving." Turning around, I saunter away, sure I had the last word.

"And how will your precious red head handle you leaving? Maybe she'll move on to someone better." I slowly turn around knowing that I'm giving him what he wants, but not being able to stop myself.

"Someone like you?" I laugh. Doubts though start to plague my mind.

"Exactly."

"Who would want an orphan like you?" Tom calls out, cackling. I keep my face expressionless, trying not to show that they're getting to me. What if they're right? What if Chloe doesn't accept me? Would she really go to Luke? The thought makes me gag.

"Just give up now," Luke taunts and I respond with flipping him off and walking away. "Don't walk away from your alpha!" Ignoring him, I keep moving forward, not looking back.

I rush back to the car wreck and grab Chloe's bag. Then, I walk to her house, thinking about everything Luke said. If I leave Barden, would Chloe come with me or refuse? I can't expect her to give up everything just because I despise the pack. I would hate it if she resented me later in life for it. And she may not even like me. We're mates but she might not like girls.

Pretty soon, I reach Chloe's house, too lost in my thoughts to realize it until I'm standing on the porch. Suddenly, I'm nervous at meeting her mom for the first time. In human form that is. With a slightly shaky hand, I knock on the door and listen as footsteps get closer. The door opens and I hold out Chloe's bag.

"Are you Chloe Beale's mom?" She nods and takes the back pack from me. "I was with her in the car and figured I would grab her bag for her."

"Are you okay?" I nod but she's not having it. "What am I saying? You were just in a car accident. Of course you're not okay. Come in and have a drink or something while I make sure you're fine." Not bothering to argue, I follow her into the cozy home. To my right is a living room where I can see Chloe's feet dangling off the couch. She's passed out still and I look at Ms. Beale, concerned. She notices and waves her hand.

"She's fine,"she whispers until we go through a door on the left into the kitchen where she speaks louder. "Just a few cuts and bruises. She just needs to sleep it off. So can you tell me what happened?" She gestures to a stool at the island where I gladly sit. A sigh escapes me as I realize just how exhausted I am. From Luke's punishment to the car accident, I'm all tuckered out. I could probably sleep for a week straight and still be tired.

"There was a wolf in the middle of the road. Sh-"

"Was it grey?" Ms. Beale interrupts. There's concern in her eyes which warms my heart, even though she doesn't know that grey wolf is actually me.

"No, it was black." I want to tell as much of the truth as I can since I promised Chloe I wouldn't lie. "Why?"

"Oh, just thought I saw a grey one the other day. Sorry, go on." She turns and busies herself with making coffee.

"Well, the wolf jumped into the road and Chloe swerved. We spun before hitting a tree. I passed out and when I woke up, Chloe was gone. How did she get here?"

"Umm,"Ms. Beale looks everywhere but my eyes. "I just came home and she was on the porch, passed out. She must've walked here." I nod and thank her when she hands me a steaming cup of coffee. I take a sip and close my eyes, bordering on moaning.

"Sorry, I'm so rude. I didn't ask your name."

"It's Beca,"a familiar voice says from the doorway. My eyes fly open and my heart beats faster at the sight of Chloe smiling at me. Setting the cup down, I start to stand up, my back twinging, but she stops me. She sits down next to me and is instantly given a mug of coffee.

"So, what happened?"