When I promised her nothing would hurt her – when I promised her the Order wouldn't get her, I didn't realize that they already have.
And it was something that was completely out of my control.
Alek's POV
Fear.
Nothing is stronger than fear. And right now, it coursed through my veins like blood. It made my heart leap to my throat and made my breathing shallow.
Fear for the Uniter.
Fear for our savior.
Fear for my love.
Fear for my Chloe.
In a normal situation, like a knife cut or something, it wouldn't be as horrible. We knew what we had to do to keep her alive – stop the blood flow, disinfect it, patch it up.
But here?
We had no idea what in the bloody hell was happening. Valentina was on the phone with other Pride leaders, the phone clenched between her cheek and shoulder as she typed furiously on her computer. Jasmine and I were still trying to get Chloe to calm down.
We had tried everything – played Chloe's favorite songs, put ice on that spot in her back, put a hot pack on that spot in her back, I even kissed her.
But she just did the same thing she's been doing for the past 45 minutes – thrashing and screaming bloody murder.
"Chloe, please!" Jasmine cried, holding Chloe down so she wouldn't flop to the floor. The thought would've been quite amusing if the situation we were in wasn't so serious. I glanced at the door – I wonder if any of the neighbors could hear us, and were wondering what was up. If Chloe kept this up for much longer, someone might call the cops.
She was trying to stop, I could tell she was. Chloe's nose was pinched up and she was biting her lip, but the cries kept coming out. Tears were flowing steadily down her cheek in wet streams, and I had quit trying long ago to try and wipe them all from her eyes.
"I don't think pinning her to the table is working," I said. Jasmine nodded in agreement, sitting back onto the couch, panting. I let go of Chloe's legs and scooped her up, sitting down with her on the couch, too. I accidentally touched that part on her back, though, and she gave an extra-loud cry into my ear.
"Ow," I muttered. "I'm sorry, darling."
I sat down, one of my arms still under her legs, and other near her shoulder blades, stroking her curls. She curled up in my lap and clung to my neck, and I could feel sticky tears staining my shirt. We sat like that for about ten minutes, and I gradually felt Chloe's death grip on me loosen.
"I-I think," she swallowed thickly and took a shaky breath. "I think the worst of it is over."
Her voice was so weak that if she wasn't directly underneath my ear, I wouldn't have heard her, even with my Mai hearing.
"Are you sure?" I asked her, looking down. She came out from my chest and nodded, closing her eyes. Then she nuzzled right back into my again, and her cold skin burned my hot neck.
Valentina came back in the room and sat on the couch across from us. We sat there, all four of us breathing heavily.
After all of Chloe's screaming, Valentina's typing, and Jasmine and my pleading, the apartment seemed too quiet now, and the silence was making my ears ring.
"What...what the hell just happened?" Jasmine exclaimed, breaking it. We blinked and looked at Chloe, then back up to each other. Shocked expressions played on our faces, our eyebrows crinkled.
Chloe wasn't sleeping – I could feel her long lashes batting against my neck. But for some reason she wasn't talking, wasn't explaining. I think she was still trying to process what happened herself. It was just so sudden that none of us had any clue what in the bloody hell was going on.
"Chloe? Do you...do you have any idea what just happened?" Valentina asked, hesitant. I looked down at her, trying to get her reaction. But her face was still buried in my neck, and all I could see were her wild blonde curls framing her face. I got momentarily distracted by the flowery scent of her hair, and had an extremely strong urge to press my face against it and just inhale her scent.
I opted for kissing the top of her head instead, urging her to talk.
"I...well, obviously the Order did this. And they probably put the...thing causing the pain in my body when they took me, and that's why they let Alek and I go so easily. But...it was unlike any pain I've ever felt. Worse than breaking a bone. Worse than getting stabbed. In a way, it was worse than...it was worse than dying." her voice cracked, and she clung to me tighter. I patted her back soothingly.
"Because when I'm dying, at least I'll be put out of my misery quickly." she said drily. I tensed at the thought of her dying again, fury filling my body.
The Order had no right to take lives away from someone they didn't even know – Chloe was totally and completely innocent. She has done nothing in her lifetime that would even remotely make her a criminal, yet they were killing her just because of a damn title that she held.
Uniter.
Sometimes the word made me sick.
"Do you think this is going to become a regular thing?" Jasmine asked, frowning.
"Most likely. If that was the reason they let Chloe and Alek go so easily, then they must have control over when she gets the...the pains. This was probably a test one, to see if it works." Valentina said.
I stiffened.
"Aunt Valentina...if this was a test run, and they wanted to see if it works...how would they see?" I suddenly sat up straighter and clutched Chloe tighter, realizing we were in danger. "They must be near."
Valentina and Jasmine's eyes grew wider as they realized I was right. All three of us jumped up at the same time, Chloe in my arms. She was cold and clammy, and could barely keep her eyes open, let alone defend herself.
This was their plan all along, wasn't it? To weaken Chloe so she couldn't fight back, which would make it easier to kill her.
But they forgot one thing.
Chloe had a damn good protector.
And I would do anything and everything in my power to make sure she doesn't lose another life anytime soon. Jasmine went to lock all of the windows and doors, drawing the curtains tight. Valentina went and checked every room to see if it was clear, and to make sure no Order members were hiding inside the apartment. I carried Chloe to my room and laid her down on my bed, and looked everywhere to see if someone was in there. I checked in the bathroom, under the bed, on the balcony, behind cabinets, even in drawers. There was no one. She was safe in here.
I locked the windows in my room and drew the curtain shut. But not before looking out, checking to see for any human forms outside, peering in. I saw nothing, just some flickering street lights, and the distant green and red of the traffic lights.
"All clear?" I stuck my head out the doorway.
"Clear." Jasmine called from her room.
"Clear." Valentina shouted from her office.
"They were probably right outside our windows, dangling on the balconies, listening to our conversation, and dropped down when you realized they were there, Alek." Valentina said.
I nodded.
"I don't think they were planning to attack tonight. But once they know that their little pain device works, they'll probably use it, and soon. We have to figure out a way to remove the...thing from her body. But until we do, we'll put up extra protection. I'll call for double the guards around her house, and extra patrol on her way to and from work and school. Alek, you'll mostly be the close-distance guard, the one by her side, and Jasmine, you'll be the far-distance guard, the one skimming rooftops."
We nodded once, understanding.
"Get some rest," Valentina said finally. "I have to make a few calls."
She left, and Jasmine and I looked at each other, frowning.
"This has brought down our odds a lot," she sighed.
I nodded. "Now we have another side on our plate. We have to figure out what is causing the pain, how it's doing it, and then how to remove it. We have to figure out if Chloe's father really did kill himself, or if someone killed him and why. We need to figure out why her father had a tattoo of an Order mark on his wrist. We need to figure out how to bring down the Order once and for all. We need to figure out how Chloe is going to 'unite' the races. We need to figure out how to help Chloe with her cutting problem. We need -"
"Alek! That really is not helping," Jasmine interrupted, turning a bit pale at the thought of all that stress.
"I mean," I continued. "Why can't we just be normal teenagers? You know...worry about grades, and rubbish like that."
Jasmine smiled sadly and shook her head. "Everything would be different. You and Chloe probably wouldn't even be dating."
I thought about it for a moment. About how she preferred to hang out with Crazy Amy and Comic Book Nerd Paul. Though she had the looks to be popular, she wasn't stuck-up and snooty to fit in with the popular girls at school.
And it was true. If Chloe never became Mai, I probably wouldn't even have had the guys to come up to her and talk to her, much less date her. Our cliques were so different and distant and we would never even cross paths.
So I nodded. "Good point. I take that back, then."
Jasmine breathed a deep, gusty sigh. "Let's get some rest, yea? I'll see you tomorrow, Alek. Try not to worry too much, or you'll pop something," she smiled.
I rolled my eyes. "You, too! You stress so much I'm surprised you don't have stomach ulcers."
She stuck her tongue out at me and retreated down the hall to her room. I went back to mine, shutting the door behind me. Chloe seemed dead to the world, her skin pale and dry now, and her breaths were shallow and uneven. She looked deep in sleep, so I turned off the lights and snuggled into bed with her, draping an arm around her waist and pressing her into my chest.
As long as she was here, with me, she was safe.
And that was all the reassurance I needed to fall back asleep.
Hi guys![:
I know, I know. It's been long. Very, very long. Over a month of not updating, and I feel extremely guilty about it.]:
I went to New York last week, and I didn't have access to a computer the whole time. And once I came home, I had over 70 emails from Fanfiction, and they were all new chapters. And I kind of have this weird thing where I have to read every single email in my inbox until I do anything else, so yea. I dunno.
But I hope you guys liked this chapter! It was kind of a filler chapter, but I needed one until I started more of the action-y ones. The next one will be more intense, I promise! Review, please![:
VannaMa'Kayla: Ohh, you. You're the sweetest thing. ^_^ Unfortunately, unless you think thirty seconds is equivalent to about thirty days, I didn't make your wish come true. I'm sorry.]: But thank you for reviewing!
anon: Aaah! Ahaha I hope I explained it well in this chapter! Thanks for reviewing!
ScissorLuv21: AHAHA you're so nice! [: I love when people get freaked over my stories. I get all intense writing chapters. Like, I hunch over and I start typing really violently, and my face gets all scrunched up and I'm sure I look like a retard. My friend was over one day I was writing a chapter and she says my typing sounded like a rainstorm. Anyway...thanks for reviewing! I hope you liked this chapter.
Catlover10808: AHAHAHAH OH MY GOD. I love you. That made me laugh so hard. XD No, she is not growing a tail. Although that would be pretty cool.
Blackwidow97: Oww, that would hurt. :/ We're still not exactly sure what it is yet, unfortunately.[; Thanks for reviewing!
Listen to Relient k now: You're the sweetest! :'D Your review made my day. Thank you so much!
Chalek: Thank you! [:
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brucasforever1418: I miss the show, too!]: But thankfully, we have Fanfiction to feed our craving for Chalek. ^_^ Thank you so much for reviewing!
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Sira-the-Awesome: AHAH ohh, you. Stop twitching! Unfortunately, I've left you twitching for quite a while now... :/ I'm sorry. You're the humble little genius here, ugh. =_= I promise I'll get better at updating.[: **sticks out pinky** Really, I will. Thank you so much for reviewingg!
TNLOCKLover1: Ahahaah I'm sorry! It's been a month! But I'll update more frequently now, really! Thanks for reviewing!
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