I'm apologizing in advance. I'm out of school for the summer so I hope to bring things up again, but right now, I've sort of lost my focus on this story. The plot I had isn't working as well as I wanted it to and I feel like it's going nowhere. So. This chapter's short and I know you hate me for 1) not updating for nearly three months and 2) this being an absolute plotless story now.

I'm hoping to get it back again but for now, this is a filler chapter and not much will happen.

As Alek looked across the room, seeing Chloe talking with a few people from other prides, he felt his own sense of pride ring through.

The past few weeks have been easier. Him and Chloe were together for real, making it much easier to act together with people around. They've had more meetings than he was comfortable with, but oddly, Chloe didn't seem to mind. She was falling more and more into the way she should.

He noticed how at the beginning when they were first meeting people, her heart wouldn't stop beating twice it's speed. Now, it was as calm as it when they were talking with old friends. He was thankful things were okay.

But, as things get better, some get worse.

The two girls from Sao Paulo, Lilah and Nikki, gave him a weird feeling. He didn't like them. Especially when it seemed they only enjoyed communicating with the male population. And that meant him when no one else was around. If anyone else noticed, they didn't say anything. Then again, maybe he was just being paranoid since the whole Zane thing.

Alek pulled at the tie around his neck, wishing he could rip it off. He hated wearing the pointless things. All they did was sit there; there was no purpose to them other than make him look like a fool. He didn't feel suits were his thing and the tie just added to that feeling.

Chloe gave him a small smile as he kept his eyes on her. Only her. He could rarely look away from the girl when she was wearing the most perfect things. He thought he'd get used to seeing her in those dresses but he never did. The only thing they made him want to do was rip them off of her in the heat of the moment

Wouldn't be the best thing to do in front of guests.

He nodded at what one of the men were saying, one of the leaders of some other pride. He nodded at all the right times but his mind was completely made up in Chloe.

He excused himself and walked over to where she was, smiling at the few other people she was communicating with.

"If you don't mind, I'd like to steal this beautiful girl away from you for a moment." He gave the guests a wink and pulled Chloe gently by the arm, just a few feet away.

She looked up at him as they stopped, a curios glint in her eyes. She waited for him to tell her why he pulled her away. He didn't. Just stared at her and she almost laughed.

He finally gave a small smile and leaned down, bringing his mouth to her ear.

"I truly don't approve of that dress," he said teasingly. "It leaves no room for imagination. My imagination." His hand slid to her back, where the dress sank down to her waist. It left her skin bare and pale against the silver fabric.

Chloe released a small giggle as her cheeks flamed. She looked away from the taller boy and bit her lower lip, hoping to bite away her warming temperature. His hand felt hot against her skin as it trailed softly down it, to where there was no more visible. Chloe almost jumped away, knowing that where the dress left off was dangerously close to a part of her body she'd rather he not touch. In public, at least.

"Well," she started, looking back at him. "That just means you know what's in store for your future. Congrats." She threw back, almost laughing at herself. He smiled at her and leaned down quickly to brush his lips against hers, ever so lightly. She closed her eyes and pulled him by his tie, kissing him fully.

Knowing how heated things got for them, she pulled away when his other hand met her waist.

"Guess ties aren't so useless after all." He commented as he looked at her pink lips. He leaned down again, this time grabbing her lower lip between his teeth before pecking them softly.

Her face flushed again as she walked away.

Alek still kept her eyes on her backside as she strolled away to the front of the back of the room, towards the kitchen where snacks were laid out. The meetings were much less intense and a not a lot of people showed up anymore. Not as many as before. They were starting to take less time, too.

The less people Chloe King had to meet, the less time it took. Alek lost count of how many they'd had, but there were only a few rumbles here and there. Mostly from an older and "more knowledgeable" Mai, claiming Chloe and Alek had no idea what love was and that getting married was "immature." Made so much sense.

Surprisingly, Alek didn't get any chances to fight off any males about taking Chloe's hand, for which he was thankful for. And maybe a little disappointed in. He figured it would happen at least once. He would get plenty enjoyment out of tossing some guy around that thought he'd be so much better for Chloe.

Throughout the weeks that were passing, he was finding that bedtime was the best. No, they weren't getting hot and heavy under the sheets, but Alek found something that made him feel better than any other bed he's ever been in. Those perfect new sheets.

No, really, in all seriousness, it was Chloe, of course. Every night with Chloe, rather he kissed her or not, felt absolutely amazing. He couldn't shake the feeling of just being happy, and knowing he wasn't crazy, that his feelings were reciprocated, it all just made the nights that much better.

Besides, Alek didn't want to go that far with Chloe. Not yet at least. He was fairly sure that he was only the second boy she'd ever even kissed, so going farther than a few light teasing and somewhat passionate kisses was something Alek didn't want to happen yet.

It was funny. As he thought about the partners he'd had in the past (there weren't that many, calm down) it was like he got this sinking feeling. Like he regretted it. Them.

Back to the beginning, when Alek had only just cornered Chloe, he was attracted to her. She had a beautiful body, golden hair, and a scent that drove him up a wall. Or, more precisely it was her that was driven up the wall when he pushed her against it. At that moment, he remembered being practically already turned on just from being near her, seeing her reaction.

It was pure lust, that day. But somewhere along the way, Chloe became a lot more than just someone he wanted to get in bed with. In fact, the idea of him thinking that way made him want to hit himself. Blame it on being her protector, the way she brushed off his earlier advances, how she blushed when he made those comments just to get under her skin. Whatever it was, it made Alek want Chloe as so much more than just sex.

This whole thing. The way this was going. They were "engaged" and getting married in roughly just 2 months. For the first time in his life, Alek found himself hoping the marriage would turn. That maybe Chloe would suggest something crazy and tell him that she did actually want to be married to him.

But he knew his own luck. He knew the chances of that happening were close to none. And for some crazy reason, this made his heart sink to his knees.

For the first time in roughly 19 years of living, Alek Petrov thought he might be in love with a girl. One that one day, might love him back.

But he couldn't know what love was. Not really. How could he? He was a tool. Someone who relatively only got friendly with a girl so that they could have a fun time later. He'd never even had a crush for Christ's sake. Yet, there he was, thinking those absurd thoughts.

Was it possible for him to love Chloe? Deep down, he thought he knew the answer. But on the surface, he grimaced.

So instead of getting lost further in thoughts, he watched her again from across the room. She was talking to Jasmine and he was too lazy to try and listen in.

"Hello."Alek heard a familiar and overwhelmingly annoying voice. He turned slightly to face Nikki, one of the sisters from Brazil. He gave a curt nod, feeling like he couldn't care less about the female beside him.

"I was just thinking about how boring this is when I saw you. You're expression tells me you feel the same way."

Alek looked down at her, eyes narrowing. "I'm doing quite fine actually."

"Oh, come on." She said, walking around to his other side. Alek saw how hard she was trying to get him to notice her. "You've been doing this for weeks, it's got to be boring after so long."

He stayed silent, hoping she might just go away. When she didn't, he felt his teeth grind a bit. He kept his eyes on a laughing Chloe hoping it would keep him from lashing out on the girl beside him.

He wasn't kidding when he said the sisters had been bothering him since they started staying there. In a relationship or not, apparently he was their target. Their advances were subtle, but he was Alek. He knew flirting when he saw it, when it was being done with him.

Nikki was definitely the instigator, however. Lilah mostly left him alone if she saw he wasn't close to communicating. Actually, she'd left him alone within the first week. But Nikki just wouldn't stop.

"You know, after tonight, we have a few days to ourselves again." Alek wanted nearly gag at her words. She was talking as if it was just going to be the two of them. "We should all head out tonight or tomorrow, do something. . .fun."

Alek didn't miss the light teasing in her tone.

"Wouldn't be ideal."

Again, he tried his best to keep a bored face and not let himself be bothered by the visitor. She stood there, not saying much of anything. Alek walked away before anything further could happen, going to Chloe who smiled at him as his hand slid around her waist. His mouth fell to her hairline, pressing a heavy kiss against it. His eyes closed for a split second, staying shut longer than he would have like to admit. Chloe's head hit his shoulder and rested there, making Alek feel content.

He glanced over at Nikki who was now joined by her sister. They were both staring at the two of them with a look that made Alek uncomfortable. They were leaving in just one more day, he had to remind himself. Then things would be okay again.

Mostly, anyways.