*

Chapter 16 - Ready To Apologize?

Hayden's POV

It's been three days since the last time I spoke to Zara, and she's been giving her undivided attention to everyone else. I mean, we were all having a group discussion the other day, and I gave my input in it but she just nodded and then turned to Lilly and started a whole new conversation. She just ignored me! Just like that.

Right now, she was in the lounge playing Sleeping Dogs with the guys. Conner kept glancing at me confused that Zara was just bluntly ignoring me but I just glared at the wall. I don't know what's the big deal about what I said. She's just being a spoilt, stubborn, sexy brat...sexy--really Hayden? That's the best you could do with an insult? I mentally growled in annoyance with myself and went to sit on the couch, beside Zara. She froze then cleared her throat.

"Guys, I'm gonna go...get some more popcorn," she said getting up.

"We don't need popcorn," I protested. She glared at me and then went to the kitchen. I groaned and put my head in my heads.

"Dude, why the hell is she ignoring you like a vegetarian ignores meat?" Logan asked. Everyone looked at him weirdly at his way of comparing but he just shrugged his shoulders. I rolled my eyes and looked at James.

"Well...why is she ignoring you?" he asked impatiently. I sighed.

"Last week we had this little argument---" I started but Conner me off when he raised his finger and said something to Abigale in her ear. She nodded and then looked at Lilly and Jenna then they all went to the kitchen.

"What was that about?" I asked him. He shook his head and signaled me to continue.

"Don't worry about it, just continue," he stated and I raised my eyebrow curiously at him but continued nonetheless.

"Anyways, well we had an argument. It started when I asked her to be in my pack and when she said no I was shocked and then angry. My wolf desperately wanted her to be in the pack and when she said no, it was hell. Then I started shouting at her, saying some things about her and her past and her family. Then when I insulted her brother that drew the line and she just slapped me in the face and said that he wasn't the worthless one, I was," I finished. I looked up and saw James and Conner glancing and each other and before I knew it, both of them slapped me at the back of my head.

"What the hell was that for?!" I growled at them. Conner shook his head in disapproval.

"One, you never insult your girl. It only leads to you not getting anything," James started.

"Two, you've only known the girl for...let's just say barely for about two weeks. Why the hell would you go and insult her family? You don't even know them," Conner stated.

"Yeah, why the hell would you do that, you ass?" James asked. I growled at him warningly, my wolf not liking the 'ass' comment. James just rolled his eyes and kicked back in the couch. I narrowed my eyes at him then turned to Conner.

"What else did you say?" he asked. I shrugged at him.

"That's basically it; I don't know what's the big deal,"

"I want real words Hayden. What did you say in words? Give me some of the words that you said about her," he demanded. I sighed.

"What, about insulting her?" I asked and he nodded, "uhh...I said that rogues were just worthless, disrespectful and I think I said something about them being a disgrace to our kind," I said then watched as James slapped the palm of his hand on his forehead.

"Why the f*ck would you say that?" Conner asked as I watched him put his head in his hands out of frustration.

"It's not like it's not the truth. I just wanted her to be a part of the pack. What's the big deal? It's not like I disrespected her, I just said that to prove a point," I retorted and I heard him muttered to himself about how difficult I was being.

"Hayden, I know you're all knew to this and stuff, so I'm gonna make this clear so even Logan can understand," he said eyeing Logan who was now wriggling a pencil in front of his eyes so it looked like it was rubber. I chuckled when Logan scoffed and then paid my attention back to Conner, "O.k., lesson one: never by any means disrespect your mate. By the way she reacted when you talked about her brother clearly states that he means a lot to her, so try not to...no don't even insult any other family member of hers. Got that?"

"Yeah, whatever,"

"Good, now tell me what you said about her brother that pushed her to punch you in the face,"

"She didn't punch me in the face. She slapped me in the face," I protested.

"Dude, that doesn't make the situation any better," James said his lips twitched as he tried not to smile.

"Anyway, I said that her brother...well, she had compared herself to Lilly," I noticed that James had tensed up waiting to hear what I said about his mate, "I told her that she was nothing like her so there was no comparison. Then she went and compared myself to her brother and that's when I said that I was much better than him and he was worthless, pathetic, cares only about himself and a douche bag then before I could finish my rant, she slapped me in the face."

"Was that really called for Hayden?" James asked shaking his head then he sighed, "well, you're in deeper sh*t than I thought you were."

"Thanks for letting me know that, James," I said sarcastically. He rolled his eyes and folded his arms across his chest.

"Anytime, dude," he said then Conner was about to say something when screaming came from the kitchen.

"HE WHAT?!" we all heard Abigale shout. We got to our feet but before we reached the kitchen, Abigale stormed out and walked up to me. When she reached me, she raised her palm and slapped me in the face. Hard. My face went to the left and I could feel my wolf trying to come out. I snapped back my head to her and growled at her angrily. My wolf wanted to rip her to pieces but before I could do anything, Conner was standing protectively in front of her.

"Hayden, calm down," he demanded and I growled at him. My wolf was surfacing and he wasn't doing calm. He wanted Abigale's blood for out stepping her place and he wanted it now.

"Uhh...Zara, I little help here," Conner called over his shoulder as he stepped away from me. Wise decision. I growled at him again, feeling my wolf at the edge.

"Hayden, look at me," I heard her voice. I glared over Conner's at Abigale and growled angrily at her, "Hayden I said look at me." I moved forward at Conner and noticed that he stood in his place protectively and ready to fight. I raised my hand ready to through him across the room.

"Hayden, calm down, she didn't mean it," he said growling at me. That was the last straw before I shifted. My previous clothes lay in shreds as I walked up to him from across the room. Growling at him to move I made my way over to him. But no, he didn't move. I was ready to lunge at him but the most beautiful face came in front of me and I stopped immediately.

"Go, and calm down. Abigale didn't mean it," she said. I growled at me which made her stare harden.

"Hayden, go outside and calm the hell down," she demanded. I stood there for some minutes before running towards the door and leaping through it.

.............................................................................................

Zara's POV

I sighed and ran a hand through my hair as Hayden left. Well, for starters they're gonna need a new door. I went to sit opposite to Abigale and Conner and put my head in my hands.

"I have never seen Hayden obeyed anyone," Jonah said as he sat beside me. I scoffed and looked up at him.

"Typical Alphas," I muttered to him, "they don't care about others. They just do what they want."

"He cares about you," Conner protested and I looked at him and raised an eyebrow at him, "It's true, he's been talking to us all night trying to figure out what he did wrong and how he could make up for it."

"Oh really now?"

"Yeah, he's really trying. Just give the guy a break. He may not be the smartest in relationships...or whatever you guys are gonna do, but he's trying," he stated.

"'Yeah, plus you're not gonna get them any dumber than him," James said making us laugh, "Well, I guess you can." Then he discretely pointed at Logan.

"Hey!" Logan protested, "I am not dumb. Especially with the ladies," he finished then he put his arm around Jenna, who rolled her eyes. I heard teeth grinding together next to me and when I looked, I saw Jonah clenching his fists and his jaw. Wait, he only just did that...so that means...

Is Jenna Jonah's mate?

.....................................................................................

We all were watching a rerun of Friends when we heard shuffling come from the front door. Everyone froze when they saw him. His hair was messed up like he just came out of bed and he had nothing but a pair of short on. My eyes lingered on his chest going down to his abs and when thoughts that weren't PG came running through my mind, I looked up at his face which was covered with dirt.

"Can I talk to you for a sec?" he asked me. I stared at him and then raised my eyebrow, "please?" Wow, it must be the end of the world...an Alpha begging? Someone nudged me in my side and when I looked I saw Jonah nodding his head to Hayden, signaling me to go talk to him. I looked over at the others and noticed that they were doing the exact same thing. I sighed and looked back at Hayden.

"Fine," I grumbled as I got up and went over to him.

"Upstairs or outside?" I thinked about the two options. If we go upstairs then...well, you guys can guess that part. My mind wandered to Hayden on top of me and him kissing me then doing some...stuff. I shivered internally at the thought. If we go outside, then there is a likely chance of him showing up like in the nightmare I had a few nights ago. Sadly, upstairs was the better option right now.

"Upstairs," I replied to his question. He nodded and signaled me to go up first. I sighed and went upstairs to my bedroom.

I opened the door and went over to the bed. I made sure to leave the door open for him and as he stepped in, his lips twitched with a smile.

"I see you've rearranged my room," he said smiling down at me. For some reason, that smile brought this feeling to my stomach.

"Yeah, I guess so," I muttered looking around the room. At everything except him, "uhh...Hayden, could you put a shirt on?" He smirked at me.

"Why, is my awesome...no amazing body turning you on?" he asked confidently. I rolled my eyes.

"Quite the opposite actually," I said to him, "and don't make me regret letting you in here." He nodded and went to one of his drawers and pulled out a T-shirt. He held it up then turned to me and pointed to the shirt which was torn.

"Oh, don't mind that, I only did that to the bad one," I said waving it off as if it was nothing. He rolled his eyes and searched for one that wasn't torn.

"Zara, all of these are torn," he said getting up to look at me.

"That's because you're looking in the torn section," I said in a 'duh' tone. He sighed and got up from his stooping position.

"And where is the 'not-torn' section?" he asked and I chuckled and pointed to another draw on the other side of the room. When he searched the drawer, he smiled.

"Well, at least you didn't tear one of my favorite T-shirts," he said and then threw the shirt over his head. I rolled my eyes,

"Anyway, back to the topic at hand," I said to him which made him get back to what he was going to say.

"Yeah, I just wanted to...apologize for real this time. I know what I said to you last week was...wrong and very much uncalled for, and for that I'm sorry. I'm sorry if I insulted you in anyway, I'm sorry I insulted your family and I'm super sorry for what I said about you joining the pack and all. I didn't mean to push you into anything or for you to get angry with me. Although I would love that you joined the pack, you...uhh...you don't have to," he strained out to say the last past, "as long as you're happy, that's fine with me."

"Really?" I asked and I heard him swallow and look through the window.

"Yeah, I guess,"

"And you really mean that. Every word of it?" I watched as he rubbed the back of his neck and look at me as I got up. He nodded answering my question.

"Every word of it. Zara, I'm really sorry, it's just that I was angry...well, my wolf was angry and all that stuff just came out. I really am sorry," he apologized and I looked in his eyes and saw that he really meant it. I could see the sincerity in his eyes. I nodded and looked down.

"Alright, I forgive you," I said then looked back up at him. I laughed when I saw he was grinning from ear to ear, "but we're taking things slow. I have...a lot of past and stuff and I'm not rushing into anything anytime soon," I said when I saw him walking up to me. He nodded and wrapped his arms around my waist.

"Yeah, that's fine. I'm in no rush," he said smiling down at me. I rolled my eyes at his behavior, "what...don't you know how long I've wanted this." Again I rolled my eyes at him.

"Whatever you say Hayden, whatever you say," I said chuckling as I looked away from him. He brought my chin up to look at him.

"Believe me, I've wanted to this for a long time," he said and kissed my forehead, "and this," he kissed my cheek, "and most definitely, this," then his lips found mine. The same feeling found my stomach while his lips moved against mine. They moved in sync so perfectly and I found myself slipping my arms around his neck, bringing him closer to him. His arms tightened around me and I felt him bite my lower lip, asking for entrance. That's when I pulled back.

"Sorry, that was---" I started but he interrupted me.

"Was too fast?" he guessed as his hands ran up and down my waist. I nodded and pressed my head against his chest, "that's fine. At least I got most of what I wanted," he said cheekily. I laughed and smacked his back, "babe, that was a little high if you wanted to slap my ass."

"Wow, you really had to say that Hayden, really?" I asked rhetorically as I shook my head.

"Yes, yes I did," he answered laughing as I flicked his head. When I didn't get the reaction I wanted from him, I slapped him at the back of his head. He glared playfully at me.

"You're gonna pay for that," he said as he grinned evilly at me. I cautiously took a step back and then when I saw him ready to grab me, I sprinted through the door. Well, that went better than I thought it would...

***********************************************************

YEEEEESSSSSSSS they finally made up! I'm so happy for them. And earlier about the whole issue with Jenna being Jonah's mate? I mean, what the hell was that?

Please. Tell me what you think.

Vote.

Comment.

Like.

Fan.