I was randomly partnered with Chase for science. Of course there was an awkward silence for the whole class and I just mixed chemicals by myself as Chase answered the questions.

"Don't mix those," he said when I was about to pour a mixture with something else. I glared at him. Whose grade was higher in this class? Mine. So he should just shut up. I shrugged and poured it and Chase grabbed my arm to pull me away and then the glass tube exploded. Broken glass and liquidly substance fell on the floor. I was up against Chase and he looked down to me. "You're so goddamn stubborn." The teacher came over, gave us the "safety talk" and then cleaned up. So now we just sat there and I sighed heavily even though I chose my stubbornness over safety just now. My phone started buzzing and I checked it beneath the table.

I looked over to him and he sat, looking down at the paper with the questions—like he never sent the text, although if I checked his hoodie, his phone would be there in perfect grasp for secret communication.

"Maybe I do," I responded verbally. He gave me a look before I saw him look down to his phone

"Why?" I asked, contradicting.

I shrugged and looked down to my phone.

I shot him a look. I was literally telling him the same thing yesterday about me and Wes!

"I'm about to slap you," I informed with a serious voice.

"I rather you not hurt yourself," he teased. He went back down to his phone to text.

When I finished his text, I looked into his eyes. They were deep chocolate. I could tell that he was sorrow about something and suggestive about something else.

"What—"

"Ah. Alicia and Chase," our teacher walked up. "Just because you had a mishap in the lab, doesn't allow you to text in my class."

I sighed and placed my phone in the palm of his extended hand because I was careless enough to leave my phone out on my lap. Chase smirked and handed in his as well.

"Thanks a lot," I muttered towards Chase, but apparently my teacher heard it and took it towards himself.

"And that's a detention...for both of you," he said before walking away.

***

"I expect you two to not disrupt my class any further than today," our teacher said after detention was over and he handed our phones back to us. I was about to retort his statement, but I did not want another detention filled with cleaning dirty beakers and setting up equipment for freshmen experiments. I trudged out of the room with Chase behind me.

"Hey," he said. I rolled my eyes to look at him.

"What. You don't want to use your phone now?" I asked sarcastically. He gave me another look and I saw his gorgeous brown eyes. In an attempt to not drown in his eyes, I turned away from him and started to walk away, but his voice stopped me.

"Hang out with me," he stated. I turned on my heels.

"What?" I asked.

"Hang out with me," he repeated. I shook my head. "Come on, we need to talk anyways."

"I don't see why I should." Every time we were together, it seemed like we started fights. I didn't want that. It was too exhausting.

"Just...hang out and I promise I won't hurt you or yell at you or anything like that," he promised. I bit my lip and thought about it. He took a step near me and he was inches away. "Please."

"Fine," I groaned. He broke out into a smile and I playfully rolled my eyes. Why was I always giving him so many chances?

***

"Why does everyone always take me far away from the city?" I asked Chase as we walked through the forest.

"Not everyone," he corrected.

"Only you werewolves," I laughed. He shrugged.

"Cities mean people and we don't like people," he sighed. "Plus, we do like nature and so do you. You said it yourself.

"Where are we even going?" I asked.

"You'll see," he promised as he hiked ahead of me. I looked around and thought that I saw a pair of eyes, and started to fall to the ground after tripping over a root, but then Chase caught me around my waist. He pulled me up and I brushed my hair out of my face.

"Thanks..." I mumbled, massaging around my stitches because he brushed around it.

"I'm sorry," he said immediately.

"No worries," I replied.

"Nah," he dismissed before walking besides me through the forest. "I am really sorry about what happened with that by the way."

"Eh. It's not so bad," I shrugged. He stopped and then turned to me.

"I feel really bad about it because I caused that fight," he said down to me before continuing to walk.

"If you really felt bad about it, you wouldn't have acted like a jerk to me the whole time and then held my hand like you knew I'd feel better or—"

"It made you feel better?" he asked.

"Uhh...I meant that it distracted me and—"

"It's okay," he said with a chuckle. I bit my lip. I shouldn't have said anything. As I scolded myself for my idiocy, I then recognized where Chase and I ended up. This was the same meadow where we watched the stars. Chase sat down the grassy ground and patted next to him. I couldn't help but smile.

"You remembered," I smiled to him.

"Of course," he said. I sat down next to him and hugged my knees into my chest. I looked around at the flowers and nature. It was so different in the day time even as the sun fell. "Can I tell you something?"

"Sure," I allowed.

"I don't mean to be a complete asshole to you," he announced.

"Then why are you?" I asked, looking at him as he stared at the ground.

"It's complicated," he said. If that's his complete answer, I felt that born again need to smack— "It's a barrier."

"For what?" I asked as if anyone really needed a reason. He was a werewolf for crying out loud. He couldn't let everyone in.

"My strength," he answered. His strength was what turned him into a jerk all the time? He leaned back and laid down on the grass on his back. "Come on," he offered. I raised an eyebrow and then he grabbed my waist and pulled me down. I laughed as I rolled onto his chest and he rested his hands beneath his head and supported my head with his bent elbow. I liked moments like these so much better than when we were fighting. "So how are you and Wes?"

"We're okay," I answered. "It's just weird for me, I guess."

"Weird how?" he asked, interested.

"The fact that he's my mate and I still haven't really opened up to him about some things," I said nervously. Chase sighed heavily. I looked up to him. "What?"

"Nothing," he lied.

"Don't lie to me."

"Well if I tell you, you're not going to care," he assumed.

"You don't know that..." I mumbled.

"Fine," he settled. "Wes is not your mate."

I let a sarcastic laugh and sat up. From the corner of my eye I saw Chase prop himself up on his elbow.

"I'm not saying it to be a douche," he said first. "I say it because it's true."

"And remind me to why I'd believe you?" I said down to him.

"Because you just should," he reasoned. I cocked an eyebrow. "If you were mates, you'd feel more comfortable around him by now."

"I have this wall—"

"It doesn't matter," he interrupted. "He would've torn that wall down...just like he tore up your back. Mates aren't even allowed to hurt each other so there's strike one, two, and three."

"It was an accident," I groaned like the millions of times I've told him that.

"What's an accident is you still insisting that he's your soul mate," Chase responded. I looked to him.

"And what the hell do you know about soul mates?"

He kept quiet.

"Ask Wes," he replied right before I'd speculate that he wasn't being honest with me about his possibility of having a mate. "Ask him about his mate." I frowned. "There's something that Wes needs to tell you about his past," Chase whispered. I looked to his eyes and they were a medium brown and they held the truth. "Trust me when I say he's not yours."

"I can't just believe someone like you over my boyfriend—"

"Someone like me?" he asked while taking full offense.

"Yes. Someone like you," I repeated. "You say we're friends, yet we fight all the time because you and your stupid mood swings and whatever 'strength' excuse you want to use. We haven't had a civil conversation in about a month. And—and I give you so many chances, but I don't know why and...and..."

"Opposed to your boyfriend that has hurt you physically three times, treated you like shit when he met you, is lying to you about—"

"Shut up," I commanded.

"All I'm saying is that there's a reason why you act different ways toward me and then to Wes," he said.

"Oh? And why is that?" I asked, doubtfully.

"Because..." he started in a mutter and sighed. "Because that's how we are."

"It's different," I started. "Me and Wes are like opposites who attracted each other. It happens to people all the time and we work. You and me though? It's like some love/hate relationship that I don't want—"

"You love me?"

"No," I denied. "No, no, no, no, no."

"You love me, you love me," he sang. I stomach literally turned at the sound of that.

"No. I'm just comparing it to some f*cked up relationship where we go to having ridiculously stupid fights to moments like this," I reasoned.

"And what's this moment like?" he asked in a quiet voice.

"Like we can bicker all we want, but it's because there's a level of understanding and unfortunately comfort—but it's different than with Wes obviously and I feel like I'm able to be totally honest with you even though you're quick to throw it in my face when you get mad," I answered honestly. I sighed at finally getting that off of my chest before looking down at his eyes before the sun set completely and wouldn't allow me to. Surprisingly, they were hazel with green. "You're happy."

"Yeah. I am," he said, running his tongue on his bottom lip and a smile revealed on his face, "because I got my friend back."

I smiled faintly and then he shifted positions to where he wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me down into him so that we were in a hug. I squeezed against his shoulders and closed my eyes. I smelled his chocolate scent as he hugged me around my waist. "Just so you know, you can always be honest to me and I'm gonna try not hitting you with low blows when I'm upset. I'll do anything in the world to try my hardest and keep calm when we bicker on and off."

I pulled away from the hug and swallowed hard.

"What happens if you don't keep calm?" I asked in a cracked voice. Ever since Wes, I had been afraid that I'd get hurt by a werewolf—or even bitten. Apparently, Chase recognized my nerves as I spoke and started to frown.

"Unlike the other wolves in this pack, I will not phase out of anger just because of some fight—especially with you," he whispered. "Are you really that afraid of us?"

"No..." Not all of you...

"Are you of me?" I shook my head no. "What about Wes?"

I gulped.

"Ali—"

"No. I don't want to hear about how 'mates aren't afraid of each other' blah, blah, blah," I said first off.

"I was only going to say that just because that already happened, I'll make sure it won't happen again," he said, looking at each of my eyes, back and forth. "I can scream and yell and go ballistic to the extent of hitting and throwing shit, but I won't risk actually hurting you."

"I don't get it," I said.

"What?" he asked, his forehead wrinkling.

"How come you're so confident in yourself?" I asked. "No one can know when they're gonna be blown-over with anger."

"It doesn't matter if I'm angry or not," he shrugged.

"But you need to be mad to phase—"

"Not necessarily," he cut-off. "Anger is just an easy trigger. It can be anything to raise our blood pressure for us to phase. But I have control."

"About that..."

"What?" he asked with a confused smile.

"I asked Wes the reasons for werewolves to exist..." I started. "He said for hunting and protecting."

"Sounds about right," he pursed his lips.

"You said there was three reasons for existing, but you only phase for two," I reminded.

"And?" he asked.

"What's the third reason?" I asked, impatient. He looked down to me.

"The first and most important reason why we exist is—"

A howl broke out through the forest and Chase tensed up.

"We have to go," he said, standing up with me.

"What—"

"Just come, Alicia. I'll explain later," he pleaded as he started to pull me along with him. Sooner or later, he threw me over his back and started to run. We made it to the big house and I saw as the pack standing outside as if waiting for us. I slid off of Chase's back and Wes immediately walked over and slid an arm around my waist.

"Who called it?" Chase asked in a sharp voice.

"I did," a voice said from behind. We all turned to see Dane walking up in his same usual dark clothing and his leather jacket. However, he arrived with an unconscious girl in his arms. Her head and limbs flopped around as he walked, but there was flexibility to indicate that at least she wasn't a stiff corpse. Chase walked over to meet them and put a hand along the girl's face.

"Carina," Chase breathed. And just like that, I thought I saw Chase Cane show love.