I knocked on the door to Dylan's cabin, subconsciously holding my breath, feeling the anxiety racing through my veins before he opened the door, standing before me shirtless, his body still wet from his shower.

I gazed up at his dripping tousled hair, pushing the arousal aside, knowing Dylan and I needed to have a conversation about everything, and it wasn't the time for sex, no matter how good my mate looked.

"I don't want you to feel like you're in the dark, Clara," said Dylan as he stepped aside, allowing me to squeeze past him, settling on his couch.

"I know you don't like to open up Dylan, but I want you to feel like you can talk to me, and if you're not ready to tell me everything, just at least please reassure me that I'm safe around Dean," I replied, sighing heavily as my mate walked over to me, leaning up against the chest of drawers placed in front of the couch.

Dylan sighed, running his hands through his hair nervously, nodding. "You remember what I told you about my Father, and how he had schizophrenia?"

I nodded, chewing on my bottom lip.

"Well, before that, when Dean and I were kids, his parents died, so mine decided to take him in, raising him, since his older siblings had decided to leave the pack already. Dean and I were really close, but when we grew up, we all decided it was best for the pack that my Father stepped down and I took over."

"I remember that part, and your Father didn't want to."

Dylan nodded, avoiding eye contact, focusing intently on the wall behind me. "He told us that he would rather die than step down, but we made him anyway, because we knew if we didn't, one day, everyone could be killed because of his impulsive behaviour. Dean was the last person to speak to him before he..."

I watched my mate as he swallowed harshly, his jaw tensing up and closed his eyes, tilting his head back, growling.

"You don't have to say it, Dylan," I said, making my way over to him and running my hands down the front of his chest, feeling his muscles untense at my touch.

"After we had found him hanging the next day, Dean had told us about a conversation they had had that night when out for a walk. Apparently, my Father had expressed how he couldn't go on anymore, and knew that he was a burden to the pack, but didn't want to give up his Alpha position, despite the dangerous episodes he would go through. He had basically told Dean how he planned to do it, and Dean didn't tell us a thing. We could have stopped him if we knew, but Dean decided to keep it to himself, so I blamed him for the death of my Father."

"Is that why he left?" I asked, swallowing harshly.

Dylan nodded, moving away from me and moving over to the couch, sitting down on it, resting his hands on his knees, his ocean blue eyes fixated on the ground.

"He knew he had made a mistake, and after I refused to forgive him, he left. He returns every now and then, possibly to try and fix things and see if I'll act differently towards him, I'm not sure, but he turned cold after everything, and seeing him is a constant reminder of what happened. Part of me knows it's not his fault, but I can't help but direct my anger towards him. I needed someone to blame."

"Thank you for telling me," I whispered, crouching down in front of my mate, stroking his cheek softly, placing a gentle kiss on his forehead.

"Do you think any less of me?" asked Dylan, gazing up at me with dead eyes, his mouth set in a firm line.

I offered him a small smile, shaking my head. "You lost someone very important to you, and you're still dealing with it now. I know seeing Dean must be very hard for you, but I'm sure if he really thought your Father was going to do anything, he would have told you. I'm sure he regrets it everyday."

"He used to, I'm not sure he does anymore. He tried so hard to patch things up, but I didn't want anything to do with him," replied Dylan, sighing.

"What about now? You refuse to banish him. Is that because a part of you wants to hold on to what you used to have?"

Dylan shrugged, shaking his head. "This was his home. I want to tell him to leave and never come back, but I couldn't do that to him."

I leaned forward, pressing a soft kiss to Dylan's lips, pulling away before wrapping my arms around his neck, engulfing him in a hug, enjoying the tingles erupting all over my body. Dylan stroked my back softly, gently kissing the crook of my neck, causing me to moan.

"I have to get ready to go to Heron Valley for the Alpha meeting, I need to leave soon," mumbled Dylan, pulling away from the hug, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear, offering me a small smile.

"Are you going with Alpha Paul?"

Dylan scrunched up his nose, chuckling. "No, there's no way I could spend four hours in a car with him. We'll be driving separately."

"Okay, how long will you be gone? I'll miss you," I said, pouting slightly.

"Just a few days, but I'll be thinking of you the whole time, trust me."

I smiled, standing up, gasping as Dylan hoisted me up, wrapping my legs around his waist, standing up and pushing me up against the wall, his body grinding against mine as he kissed me passionately.

His tongue invaded my mouth, causing me to laugh, running my hands through his hair, gripping the nape of his neck.

"Dylan..." I moaned, causing him to growl, pushing me harder against the wall, allowing me to feel how excited he was.

Suddenly, a loud knock echoed throughout the cabin, causing Dylan to groan, pulling back from the kiss, shaking his head, slowly setting me down.

"That'll be my ride," grumbled Dylan, grabbing his suitcase from his room quickly, pulling me in for one last kiss, his hands gripping my waist tightly.

"I love you," I whispered, smiling up at him, feeling my wolf whine at the thought of our mate leaving us.

"I love you more," he replied, grabbing my hand and pulling the door open, revealing a very smart looking man dressed in a suit, his hands placed behind his back.

"Alpha Dylan, I am your driver for today. If you would like to come with me, your car is ready. Alpha Paul has just left, so we will be a few minutes behind him."

We followed Dylan's driver through the pack territory, passers-by bowing their heads respectively at my mate, while a few unmated young females smiled at him flirtatiously, completely ignoring the fact that his hand gripped mine.

I wanted to growl at them, warning them to back off and that Dylan was mine, but I didn't want to ruin our goodbye. I was thankful that Dylan had finally opened up to me, and he looked a little relieved that I hadn't turned on him, but instead, supported him, understanding his reasonings.

I couldn't help but think that Dylan's and Dean's relationship was salvageable. Dylan gave Dean a lot of slack and didn't punish him like how he would with other pack members. I knew there was still something there.

Once we had reached the gates to the territory, the driver pulled the back door open for my mate after placing his suitcase in the back of the car, offering him a small smile.

"Look after yourself, and don't do anything stupid," said Dylan, kissing me on the forehead slowly, breathing in my scent one last time.

"I won't."

"Dean will be looking after you," said Dylan as he turned towards the car.

I raised my eyebrows, shaking my head. "Why is he looking after me? You just said-"

"Because he's one of the best fighters out there, and I trust him to not make the same mistake again," Dylan replied, leaving me standing by the gate as the driver shut the door, hopping in the front seat and starting the car, quickly pulling away.

I sighed, running my hands through my dark hair as I watched Dylan's car disappear around the corner, furrowing my brows, my wolf longing for his touch already.

"Well this is going to be fun," laughed Dean, causing me to gasp, spinning around.

"You scared me!"

He chuckled, shaking his head. "A few days without the big bad Alpha, we better make the most of this."

"Meaning?" I asked, raising my eyebrows and crossing my arms over my chest.

"Parties every night."

I rolled my eyes, making my way past Dean, heading for my house. "No, no more parties for you. We know how the last one turned out."

"I am sorry about that, Clara," said Dean, causing me to stop in my tracks, shocked by how genuine he sounded.

I turned to him sighing, shaking my head. "You can't come anywhere near my house. If Jared sees you he'll flip out, and I'm not putting him through that."

"I understand," said Dean, holding his hands up defensively, "but Dylan did say I have to keep an eye on you, so I guess we'll be staying at his house."

"Excuse me?" I asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"I was told not to let you out of my sight, and as annoying as you are, I have to make sure you're safe. I can't let anything happen to you, and you seem to be prone to idiocy."

I furrowed my brows, taking in Dean's words, ignoring him snarky comment, knowing that he just wanted to prove to Dylan he could look after me. "It wasn't your fault Dean."

Dean dragged his bottom lip into his mouth, averting his eyes from me, taking in a deep breath. "What are you talking about?"

"Dylan told me about what happened. I know he blames you for his Father's suicide."

Dean cleared his throat awkwardly, shoving his hands in his pockets, furrowing his brows. "I didn't think he would actually go through with it."

"I know," I replied, stepping forward, offering him a small smile, causing him to scowl at himself, looking uncomfortable.

"I'm going to head home for a bit. I need to spend time with my family and friends, but I'll meet you later and we can go to Dylan's, but only if Gia can stay too."

Dean shrugged, shaking his head. "I really don't care who you bring, but call me before you leave your territory so I can meet you. You aren't going out alone."

I nodded, making my way back to my house, knocking on Gia's on the way, smiling as she flung the door open, engulfing me in a hug.

"I feel like I haven't seen you in forever," she mumbled into my hair, laughing.

"I know, that's why we are all watching a movie at mine. Text Matthew and get him to meet us there," I cheered, grabbing her and pulling her towards the direction of my house, elation overcoming me at the thought of spending some good quality time with my friends and family again, missing having them around.

I burst through the front door, calling my brother's name loudly, hoping that he would to join us to take his mind off things.

"Why are you being so loud?" groaned Jared as he wheeled around the corner into the living room, rubbing his eyes groggily.

"Have you been asleep?" asked Gia, laughing, causing Jared to nod.

"Well wake up, because we are having a movie day," I sang, causing Jared to turn his wheelchair, attempting to exit the room, but Gia strode over to him, standing in his way.

"Jared, you're going to feel worse if you coop yourself up in your bedroom," she said, frowning.

"Gia, please get out of the way or I'll ram you in the foot," mumbled my brother, causing me to chuckle, signalling for Gia to leave it, not wanting to push Jared too far today, knowing he was feeling extremely fragile.

"Thank you," he sighed quietly as Gia stepped aside, allowing him to wheel his way down the corridor towards his bedroom.

"We tried," I sighed, settling down on the couch, leaning my head back.

"Do you think he'll get better? I hate seeing him like this," whispered Gia, causing me to smile sadly.

"I hope so."

"Okay, close the blinds, let's make this place look like a real movie theatre," ordered Gia.

I stood up, making my way over to the window, grabbing the toggle, ready to close the blind, but as I gazed out, my brows furrowed, noticing who was standing by the treeline.

Alpha Paul hadn't left for the Alpha meeting after all...

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I hope you all enjoy this chapter! Please vote and comment if you enjoyed it!

What do you think of Dylan's confession about Dean?

What do you think Alpha Paul is up to?

Also, I have just published the first three chapters of my next book 'Alpha Lorenzo' as sadly, this one will be coming to an end soon!

Please go and check it out and let me know what you think! I'm very excited about it! I really appreciate you all.

Lots of love xxx