Days had passed since I arrived back on Nightshade Valley territory and the news of Eli and Taylor being mates.

I was elated for them both, and even more happy that she would be coming to California with us. Taylor had always been open and assertive when it came to the idea of having a mate. She had always expressed her excitement in finding him or her, the instant connection and unconditional love.

It wasn't as common to find your mate in your early twenties; you would usually find them within the first three years of your shift. The Moon Goddess always planned the meeting of mates, who she picked for you was deliberate and usually not far from you and if they were, she would make sure you crossed paths.

Eli and Taylor had been spending all their time together, they had their own private time when Jace would accompany me to library to finish my studies.

I found out that Jace was only eighteen years old but had already been chosen to be high ranked warrior.

I was impressed with his skills; we had a training session together along with Taylor and Eli. He was strong for his age, his wolf larger than most.

I had been in regular contact with Gabriel and Kennedy, Grace and Julian had been staying on his territory. I had found myself on the phone to him every night, talking for hours before I would go to bed.

I couldn't help but want to talk to him, finding myself missing his voice once the call ended.

Eli had moved into Taylor's room next door while Jace took the room adjacent to mine. Jace knocked on my room religiously at 9 o'clock every morning, to follow me throughout the day.

Eli had been more relaxed which I didn't mind, he was getting to know Taylor and I was happy for them.

It had been twelve days since we arrived and I hadn't seen Nate once, I wondered often if he had left the pack or if he had left to visit his family in Colorado. I tried not too think too much about him, the last time I saw him he had left me feeling uncomfortable.

He had been acting differently and showed me a side of him that I hadn't experienced before. It had terrified me, the memories had my hands sweating, my heart beating a little faster.

"You alright?" Jace questioned, immediately noticing my change of demeanour. We were sitting outside the pack house, getting some air while watching through the clearing where newly shifted wolves were training.

I nodded at him, bring my head up to see him frowning at me. His eyes analysing my facial expressions to see if I was lying. "I'm fine." I said, wanting to reassure his wolf who had appeared, suddenly at the surface.

We sat outside for a little while longer before heading in for food, once we had eaten, we headed back upstairs, only to walk into my bedroom to find Nate standing next to my wardrobe.

My drawers were open, and my suitcases were displayed as if he had been rummaging through my belongings. "What are you doing here and why are you looking through my stuff?" I asked cautiously, my heart rate going up as he turned around, his eyes trained on Jace.

He licked his lip before pursing his lips, his forehead scrunching up as he finally looked at me. "I heard you were back." He replied, completely ignoring my question. "I also heard that you were moving back to California, I take it that you have gone back to Gabriel."

His tone was bitter and harsh. Jace had moved closer to me, his body moving to my side, manoeuvring his body to stand slightly in front of mine. Nate noticed, his eyebrows raising at Jace's action.

The atmosphere was tense, and Nate continued to speak pointedly. "You've seemed to have forgotten what I did for you, what I did for us."

I swallowed a little but shook my head. "No Nate, I never asked you to do what you did. That was on you, not me."

Nate growled which caused Jace to growl louder, his eyes watching Nate's every move as he moved around the room pacing.

His movements bizarre and strange as he muttered to himself.

He suddenly walked towards me, Jace immediately pushing him back forcing space between us. Nate didn't fight back but kept his eyes trained on mine. "I did it for you and I don't regret it. You don't just get to walk away Lara, that's not how this works."

"You need to get this into your head, I don't want you and will never want you again." I stated, my voice loud and clear.

Nate didn't reply, he suddenly smiled, a grin erupting on his face as he held my eye contact. It was unnerving and frightening; he had never acted or behaved this way before.

He didn't say anything further, he simply walked past Jace and I. His shoulder brushing Jace's as he walked down the hall, leaving me with an unsettling feeling in the pit of my stomach.

Jace frowned, his expression showing the concern that he felt. "There's something not right about that, about him. We need to tell Alpha Gabriel about this, he isn't in the right state of mind."

Jace shut my bedroom door, locking it shut with the key. I couldn't speak for a moment as I tried to gather my thoughts, I could only move myself to my bed, looking around my room at the disarray that Nate had left it in.

"Lara?" Jace called, his hand reaching out to grab my shoulder which made me jump from the sudden contact. I breathed out deeply and looked up. Jace was right, I needed to speak to Gabriel about this.

"I'll speak to him once we're back, we're only here for two more days. Please keep this to yourself, don't mention it to Gabriel or Eli."

Jace didn't look very happy about it but agreed, he was concerned about my safety. "Ok but you have to promise to tell him once we're back. This can't be kept a secret especially when he openly searched and ransacked your bedroom. He threatened you in front of me."

I nodded, and Jace helped me tidy up my bedroom. He had refused to leave my side since, he laid in his wolf form that night, laying besides my bed while I slept in case Nate returned.

Thankfully, he didn't, and I didn't see him for the rest of the trip but that didn't settle the worry that I felt.

The last remaining day was spent packing mine and Taylor's belongings in a U-Haul. Gabriel had paid them to drive our stuff back to California while we got a plane back.

We handed our rental keys back to the rightful company before going through all the security checks, waiting for our plane to arrive before boarding and finding our seats.

I sat next to Jace; he didn't care for the window seat which meant it was my turn to look out the window.

Taylor and Eli sat behind us and soon the sound of the intercom turned on, the cabin crew making an announcement before the plane took off.

Hours had passed and we were finally collecting our baggage from the luggage claim, heading towards the exit. Where Gabriel and Kennedy greeted us along with the usual wolves who followed him when he was out of his territory.

I grinned when I saw them, the last two days had been playing on my mind making me feel uneasy, it was the first time that I had felt content as I raced over to greet them.

Pushing the thought of Nate to the back of my mind, wanting to forget about it for a moment.

Knowing that once home, I would have to tell Gabriel the details of my personal relationships, especially now that my ex-boyfriend posed a risk to me, a potentially dangerous one.