{edited/rewritten}

go ahead, rip my heart out,

that's what love's all about

___

Before Carter could bite into my shoulder, a body slammed into his. My head was pounding from it being slammed into the ground. My wolf was screaming at me to get up and fight or run but I couldn't. Looking to my left, I saw that Luke was on top of Carter. I screamed out to Luke as one of Carter's minions attacked Luke from the side. Luke yelled out in pain and fell to the ground. The three girls were standing there, shaking in fear. I crawled over to Luke, seeing the blood pouring out of his wound.

"Why do you have to be such a bitch?"

Carter snarled at me, blood coming out of his noise. He walked over to me, claws coming out of his fingers. I made sure the girls were as far away from us as possible because if anything happened, I wanted to be the one to get hit, not them. Carter lunged at me and I tucked my head into my chest, waiting for the impact that never even happened. Carter's body was slammed into the wall and next to him, stood Chance, looking very angry.

"I thought I told you to stay off my land." Chance said while growling. I could tell his wolf was at the surface, ready to attack. Chance looked at me and eyed me up and down to look for any open wounds on me. I gave him a small smile, letting him know I was okay. With Carter and his idiots distracted, I went over to Luke. He was laying on the floor, a small pool of blood surrounding him.

"Where are you bleeding at? There's so much blood." I wanted to stay calm and strong for Luke but my voice was so shaky. Luke lifted his right hand and pointed to his stomach. A large bite was present and I could see where the shirt was ripped. The bite was really deep and I was beginning to panic. I quickly took off my shirt, leaving me in just my sports bra. I tied my shirt around Luke as tight as I could to try and stop the blood from coming out any more. I put pressure on the wound and Luke's eyes squeezed shut. He's not healing which is making me panic even more.

Looking over at Chance, I saw that he was alone. "Where did they go?"

Chance sighed and wiped blood of his forehead and kneeled down next to me on the floor. "I had two choices; Carter come after me and have his idiots kill you or let them go. I guess you can see what I chose."

The girls were still standing against the wall, clutching their animals in their hands. "Chance, we need to get Luke back. He's losing so much blood."

Chance picked up Luke and began carrying him. I grabbed the girl's hands and we rushed outside. I noticed Ryan was standing out there, his eyes looking alarmed. "What happened in there?"

"There's no time to explain. Mind link the doctor and tell him to be ready when we get there. Luke needs help. Also, send someone to come and clean up out there. I blocked off the bathrooms saying there was a water leak and maintenance was coming so we need someone to clean up the blood on the floor."

Ryan nodded and got to work. Chance put Luke in the back seat with me and Ryan took the girls to the car we came in earlier. Chance got in the driver's seat and began driving away and I kept pressure on Luke and tried to keep him awake.

Chance rushed to the pack and I prayed that we would make it back in time.

***

Later that night, the girls and I were curled up on the couch in the living room watching a Disney movie on the tv. Chance and I got Luke back in time earlier and was able to get him treated by the pack doctor. He went up into surgery and after a few hours, the doctors came down and told us he's doing good and survived. I was thankful that someone else didn't die because of me and I was so happy that I was able to see him again, awake and ready to get back out in the field.

The pack was on lockdown still and everyone had to be in their houses by night time unless they weren't on pack grounds. Security was tighter and there were more guards patrolling the boarders. My family were also still staying in the pack house with our dogs, who were laying on the floor beneath us.

My grandparents went to sleep early tonight and my parents were at Brandon's pack, visiting some old friends. I looked over at the girls and noticed that they were all asleep. There was only a few minutes left of the movie so I turned the tv off. As I was doing that, Chance walked into the house and he came over to the four of us. "Did they fall asleep?"

I nodded, going to pick up Alice and carry her to her room so that I didn't have to wake her up. "Yes, I was just about to go and put them in their room."

Chance nodded and went to pick up Aria. "I'll help you. I'll get Anna when I put Aria upstairs. They share a room here. It's the room next to Hannah and Ryan's."

I followed Chance up the steps and put Alice in her bed and he did the same with Aria. Chance went back downstairs and came back up with Anna a few minutes later. While he was doing that, I put the dog's bed down on the floor in their room. The three dogs ended up coming upstairs and sleeping on the floor of the girl's room.

I went downstairs and began to clean up a bit and do some dishes. Chance came down and helped me as well. He gave ma quick peck on the lips and I smiled. "I missed you today. I'm never letting you out of my sight again until Carter is caught and killed."

I smiled and turned around, wrapping my arms around his neck. Chance put his hands on my waist and lifted me up onto the counter, stepping in between my legs. "Okay, sounds like a deal."

I laid my head on Chance's shoulder as he rubbed small circles on my legs. "Are you ready for bed too?"

He laughed softly and I shook my head. "I was actually going to go to Hannah's room and stay there with her for the night. Ryan's out patrolling anyway and I promised her a girl's day but it got ruined."

Chance frowned. "So, not cuddling tonight then?"

"No, I'm sorry."

He sighed and kissed my forehead. "Fine, but I might come in and steal you in the middle of the night."

I chuckled. "No, you won't. I'm going to go up now. Goodnight."

He kissed me again. "Goodnight, my love."

I jumped off the counter and ran up the steps. I walked into Hannah's room and she smiled as soon as she saw me. "Took you long enough. I feel like I haven't seen you in forever."

I stuck my tongue out at her and laid down on the bed next to her. "You just saw me yesterday."

She rolled her eyes. "Same thing, that was forever ago. So, tell me about your date."

I rolled over so I was laying on my side and facing Hannah, "It was amazing. He was so sweet to me and at the end of the night, he kissed me."

Hannah squealed. "He what? Oh, my goddess! Give me all the details. What did it feel like?"

"I don't know. I've never been kissed like that before. It felt like home."

"Home?"

I nodded. "Yeah, I'm not really sure how to explain it. He just feels like home. Home is where he is. These past few months have been so crazy and confusing. I was thrown into a world I thought only existed in books and movies. He feels like home to me, like this is where I belong. He feels like everything I've been waiting for."

"He's the thing you've been searching for."

I nodded. "He is."

Hannah looked at my neck. "He didn't mark you?

I shook my head. "No, I'm not ready for that yet. I still have scars that need some healing. I was thinking of letting him soon but not yet. I need to be ready mentally after all those years where I didn't have a choice."

Hannah gave me a smile smile. I quickly changed the topic and to movies we should watch. It was nearing midnight but we decided to hack into Chance's Netflix account anyway and watch a movie. Hannah and I stayed up until four in the morning watching movies. We cried and laughed and talked about how hot Thor actually is. By five in the morning, we were exhausted and I fell asleep.

***

Somebody was shaking me lightly and whispering my name in my ear. I groaned, my head pounding and my wolf screaming at me to stay asleep. I flipped off the person who was trying to wake me up and I heard a chuckle. Someone else was laying next to me snoring. I opened one eye and saw Hannah's head under her pillow. Looking next to me, I saw Chance standing over the bed.

"What do you want?" I growled, wanting to sleep.

"I wanted to ask if you wanted to go on a run with me. Your wolf must be restless after what happened yesterday."

I mumbled something. "Maybe when I wake up again."

"It's three in the afternoon, Bailey. Wake up and let's go. If someone didn't go to bed so late, then maybe you two wouldn't be so tired."

I cursed. "How do you know I went to bed so late?"

Chance chuckled and pulled the blankets off my body. "I got an email saying someone logged into my Netflix account on another computer. The only other person that knows my account information is you. I got the email at around midnight and then saw the movies you watched."

I laughed. "Well, we were bored and didn't want to go to sleep just yet."

He hummed. "So, do you want to go on a run or no?"

I nodded. "Let me get some clothes to bring outside and then I'll meet you outside."

Chance left the room and then I left to go upstairs to Chance and I's room. He had my family help out by moving my stuff into his room, which I was grateful for. I grabbed a tank top and shorts and then we downstairs and outside. I placed my clothes on the step so that when I come back, I can grab those and get changed behind a tree

"Good morning, Luna."

I looked over at my mom who was sitting on the porch drinking a cup of coffee. "Really, Mom?"

She stood up and kissed my cheek. "You are the Luna, aren't you?"

I took cookie from the plate she had and ate it quickly. "Not officially. I won't be the Luna until Chance marks me. I am apart of the pack so I'm kind of just like everyone else."

I sat down on the porch and then my mom sat back down too. "Are you ever going to let him mark you?"

I blushed and took the coffee cup from her that she was offering me. "I'm not sure. Maybe I'll let him mark me soon but nothing anything further. I know it's been a few years since Carter but with him being back and all, it's bringing up old memories and I'm just scared to be that intimate with someone again."

"You know he'll wait till the end of time for you. I can tell he loves you."

I choked on the coffee. "Love me?"

She nodded. "Of course, anyone with two eyes can see that."

I shook my head. "No, we haven't known each other for that long."

"Sweetie, love doesn't have a time frame. He fell in love with you the moment he laid his eyes on you. He won't say anything because you guys aren't fully mated yet but trust me, he does. Wolves wait their whole lives for their mate. You're the one for him. He loves you, Bails."

I looked over my mom's shoulder and looked at Chance. He was talking to Ryan. He was laughing at whatever Ryan had said. His eyes were twinkling under the sun and a smile was spread across his face. I smiled, his happiness being contagious. I looked back at my mom and she had a knowing look on her face. "You love him too."

It wasn't a question but a statement. Did I love Chance? Did I want to be fully mated to him? So many thoughts were running through my mind and I was feeling very overwhelmed. I gave my mom back her coffee and she nodded at me. I turned and stood, shifting quickly and shredding my clothes in the process. Chance looked over at me, confusion evident on his face, probably wondering why I was going without him.

I was scared and when I'm scared, I run.

So, I did.

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