Blake's POV
She has been hiding for six months. I let her experience some freedom it made the chase all the more fun. The thing she doesn't know is that I know where she is now. For the past six months I couldn't find her but when she used her gift for the first time and she stopped my from killing Gabe I found the exact place she is hiding. The down side to that is she has the protection of an elder which is annoying but then again I could always kill that old hag. A knock interrupted my train of thought. "Permission to enter sir?" "Permission granted." I replied. Dwayne walked in and stood attentively in front of my desk."Sir, we have someone who can help you get the stray." He said handing me a file. I took it and looked at it. The man in the photo was David Gushing. He hired fighters for his little illegal fight club. He payed a hefty price to each fighter he hired. He was forty-five and was pretty rich from what I could tell. I looked through all the people he hired for his little club. There were only three names on it.
Shadow wolf: aka Chloe Verose
Stone heart: aka Rail Bailey
And bones: aka Canton bloom
The list of his people were from the best to the worst and the best looked like "stray"
*Note: Stray is a nickname that they gave Chloe for running.*
Chuckling I stare at the photo of David . "Dwayne get me a flight to Canada we're gonna pay out little friend David a visit." My voice was cold as always. I only showed my warm voice to Chloe when she did a good job. But when I get her back in my claws she will never escape. I'm going to kill the last people she loves then she will be completely broken. "Yes sir." Dwayne said before leaving. Standing up I go to pack my bags we were going to be staying in Canada for a couple days.
Chloe's POV
Waking the boys was hard because they played so hard yesterday that they were super tired. It made me laugh they really loved it here. And honestly I did too. When I finally woke them up they jumped out of bed and hugged me so tight it hurt. But I told myself not to wince otherwise they would worry. "Your ok right?" Ryjel asked hugging me tighter when I didn't answer right away. "Of course I am! With you little munchkins I'm always alright."I said pulling them closer. "Chlo-Chlo will you be fighting tonight?" Reilly asked. "No, I won't be fighting until this Saturday." I said pulling back. "That's in four days." Ryjel said looking at me to make sure I was ok. "I know but we need the money. And I have a surprise for you." I said smiling at them. Their eyes widened and big smiles spread across their faces. "What is it!?" They asked in unison. "Well, I was thinking we could take a little trip for a couple weeks and we might be able to talk Jim, Eliot and Michelle to come and bring Tanner and Eli."I said smiling along with them. "YES,YES, YES!!!" They said jumping up and down. Reilly stopped and looked at me in complete seriousness. "But we can't forget about Granny." He said. My eyes widened as I faked my shock. "Yes, we can't forget granny now can we. I think we'll have to find a way to convince her to come to, won't we?" They both nodded their heads in agreement. "You know we could make chocolate chip cookies that mommy used to make for us" I said pretending to ponder over the thought. "No I don't think that will work." I kept pretending. "No! We should do that but we should make ice cream too." Ryjel said. Reilly nodded his affirmation. "Ok then we'll make it this afternoon when she goes out." I planned as we smiled at each other. I don't know what I would do without me to little brothers. I loved them so much.
Telling them to get dressed while I make their beds was the easy part. The hard part was to get them not to tell Granny on accident. We went to enjoy the breakfast that she made for us. They entire time I was avoiding Jim and Eliot's stare. They knew something was up because my cheek and nose looked better and it had only been a couple hours since they found out. I stuffed my mouth so I could yet again avoid conversation. After we ate breakfast they boys and I ran outside with Michelle and her brothers and we played in the sprinklers. After playing for a bit we went inside to eat lunch. Granny had made ham sandwiches with lettuce tomatoes and cheese. "Thank you granny this is really good!" I said shoving my last bite into my mouth. "Oh it was no trouble dear. I'm thankful you enjoyed it." She smiles and started to clean up everything. Michelle and I helped her while Jim took the all the boys out to play again. "I was think about going to the store after lunch. Would you to like to join me?" Granny asked breaking the silence. "I think I want to go with you this time." Michelle said as she put the last of the dishes in the dishwasher. "I'm gonna stay behind this time." I said looking out the window to check on my brothers. "Ok, but you don't have to worry Chloe we will protect you." Granny said love patting my shoulder. I nodded then left. It was hard for me to believe that they could protect us from Blake so long but I would try to trust them. When granny and Michelle left I got all the boys including Jim. Eliot had decided to go with Michelle and granny. We started on the cookies while Jim made the ice cream. When he was done he put it in the freezer and started helping us with the cookies. We all laughed and told jokes. Just playing around. While we waited for the last batch Jim and I sat in the kitchen while the boys went back outside. "You doing ok? I mean how are your bruises?" Jim asked turning toward me. "They're fine. They'll heal up soon. It's no problem." I said shrugging. "Why do you fight in the first place?" Jim asked. "It the only thing I'm good at that'll get me good money. Well enough money to be able to eat that is. It's the only thing that kept my brothers beside me." I looked down and my boots. "Well now you can quit. Because you have us and we will always help you. A pack always looks out for each other." He said nudging me with his shoulder. "I don't have a pack" I said. It slid out before I could stop myself. My eyes widen in shock of what I just I did. "Don't worry I won't tell anyone. I'll let you do that. You have a pretty good job of it." He teased. I glared at him. "I'm a werewolf yes, but only half. Or so I've been told." I shrug. "Which one was werewolf?" He asked looking at me. "My biological dad." I admitted. "Cool! Both my parents are Alpha and Luna of the Sunlight clan." He said. He said it so casually as if he had no problem but then again he grew up in a perfect home. He didn't have anyone yelling at him hunting him down or threatening to kill his family. The oven went off in the moment of silence. I pulled them out then set the cookies on a plate in a cute way. Then I dished up the ice cream and put three leaves of mint on top. I had the boys come in and cleanup promising that they could change back into their play clothes when we finished eating the dessert. As if on cue granny's car pulled into the drive way and I got the little ones in place then we all stood waiting for them to walk in. Granny came in first and stared star struck the Michelle and Eliot. They stared eyes wide and mouths open. "Granny will you please go on a trip with us!!?" We all asked in unison. She smiled and her eyes gleamed with joy. "Of course I will my sweets!" With that the boys jumped with joy and she gave us all big hugs we'll except for me I kinda hid so I could avoid it. "Okay everyone let's eat the ice cream before it melts!" I shouted. They all laughed and and grabbed their bowls and napkins of cookies and sat down out on the porch. The boys wolfed theirs and asked for more. When they were told no they all ran and got changed then went straight to the playground.
Later that night after I put the boys to bed I helped clean up they mess we made at dinner. Jim and I sat with Michelle and Eliot on the porch while granny went to go get whatever she left for. I watched Michelle and Eliot as they snuggled closer and as Eliot put his arm around Michelle. It was clear that they were meant to be. If only Michelle would come out of her shell and just tel him she love him. Then they could do whatever werewolves do when they got married. That got me thinking what did werewolves do when the mated. I was to embarrassed to ask Jim so I decided to ask granny. Getting up I went to ask her but Jim gave me a look that said 'is something wrong' "I'm going to ask Granny something real quick." I said walking in the screen door. I heard her rummaging through some stuff upstairs. Following the sound I found her quickly. "Hello there sweet, did you need something?" She said turning towards me. "Well I had this question and I have been wondering about it for some reason. So I was thinking you would know since you know the werewolf way." I said looking at my shoes. "Okay, well come sit and you can ask away." She said motioning to the couch. "Now what is it that you wanted to talk to me about?" Her expression was the tender and kind one she always wore. "Well the thing is when I was with Blake he used to say that we were bonded forever and I thought it he meant it was because of the blood bond that he made me share with him but I was also thinking from what my mother told me was that werewolves had this strong bond to their mates and that's how they found their perfect mate but how would one mate with the other?" I asked. My question isn't what startled her it was the fact that I didn't hesitate and didn't feel embarrassed. "Well, you're a human so it would be different but a werewolf would know the moment he saw her and she would feel the same thing he felt and then he would not hesitate to bite her. That is like engagement thing then you would have a mating ceremony and that is basically like getting married." She said. My eyes widened in realization. I was engaged to Blake. "What's wrong dear?" She asked worried. "I'm half werewolf does the same thing apply to me since I'm a half blood?" My hands started to shake afraid of the answer. She didn't react like Jim did when I told him I was werewolf. It seemed like she already knew. "Well, since you're a half blood all rules and laws that apply to the full bloods do apply to you also." She said nodding. My stomach immediately dropped to the earths core along with my heart. "Can werewolves mate with someone else other than their destined mate?" If they could I might go hurt myself. My question made Granny more worried. "Sweetie where are all these questions coming from. Did I werewolf hurt you?" Her eyes held a lot of concern and I started to feel my buried feelings rise again. "No! Well Blake is a werewolf. And he did something and I just need to verify it before I kill him." I say not getting too deep into details. "Then yes, destined mates can reject each other and mate with others but it's very painful my dear. It almost never happens." She said rubbing my back. No. No, no, no, no, no, NOOOO! That was a I could think. I immediately stood up and ran outside and towards the house we were staying in. I heard Granny follow me to the porch but stopped following when I went the guest house. I was aware the others were staring at me as I was having a panic attack.
Jim's POV:
After Chloe left to talk to granny Eliot and I both listens attentively. Eliot would whisper what was going on to Michelle while I just listened as wordy bloomed in my chest. She wasn't my mate but I cared for her like she was my little sister. When Chloe asked if our kind could have different mates than the ones made for us it made my heart ache that she was thinking about this stuff. Then she ran out and went straight to the guest. She had stopped a split second and I saw tears in her eyes. Seconds later Granny came out but stayed on the porch. I was going to follow her when I smelt someone exiting the tree barrier that surrounded our property. In that moment I knew Gabe had arrived. When he came into sight Granny bolted toward him. She grabbed him and pulled him into a big wolf hug. We all greeted him but I still felt uneasy about what happened with Chloe. I needed to check on her after this. "Come in my son you must be tired and hungry." Granny said not letting go of him. Instead she rapped one arm around his waist and walked beside him. "Welcome back Buddy!" Eliot said shaking is hand then pulling him into a hug. Michelle stayed quiet but she gave him a small wave. After granny got Gabe settled and asleep I slipped out and went to Check on Chloe. When I found her she was sitting in a tree feet dangling down at me. She ignored me as if she was in her own world. He face was emotionless but her eyes held fear. It was as if she was in the middle of a battle with her past.
Chloe's POV:
I heard and smelt Jim coming but I ignored him and continued to try and keep myself from falling apart. I knew deep down that I would never be able to escape Blake. And I was right. Gosh how I hated being right. Sometimes I enjoyed being right but most often than note I hated it. I remember when I first met Blake. I was eleven years old when we met. He was so kind to me loved playing with me. I loved playing with him at the time too. When I turned thirteen he started to change the way he acted around me but I didn't mind. Then he admitted his feelings for me when I turned fourteen and we dated for two months until both parents died and then he basically controlled my life for two years before the foster care system took us away from him and he didn't stop it. And I was so thankful he didn't. But now I realize what he did to me those two years. He was changing fate. He had made us where we wouldn't have a mate in the future but instead we would be mates. He hadn't it's me yet or claimed me but I had a feeling it would come soon and I hated the fact that it might. Jim moved and sat by me on the tree. Then hugged me which caught me by surprise. Squeezing too hard he started to hurt my bruises. "Ohhhh let go let go you're hurting me!" I said pushing him back. "Oh sorry!" He said pulling back. His eyebrows were drawn into a frown and he clenched his teeth and inhaled through his teeth. "No your fine just don't squeeze. Please it hurt." I say relaxing again. "You ok? I mean not physically but ya know emotionally?" He asked giving a tight smile. I returned it but mine wasn't tight it was genuine. "I'm fine. I'll survive I mean with the physical and abusive trauma I've survived this is nothing." I shrug it off ask if it was but behind e the mask I was afraid. My phone buzzed I interrupting the peaceful silence. Taking my phone out to look at it my eyes widened.
David: Hey Chloe you forgot to pick up your cut yesterday wonder'in if you're goin to tonight.
Me: yep! I'm in my way! Be there in thirty.
With that I jumó off the tree and Jim follows suit. "What's wrong?" He asks grabbing my arm so I'll have to answer. "I forgot to grab my cut last night cause somebodies made me leave in a rush and forget." I say shaking off his hand. "Want me to go with you?" He asks continuing to follow me. "No I'm good I can handle myself so don't worry and if I need to you I'll send a emergency mind link to you." I reply before running to my truck.
Thirty minutes later I arrive at the arena and head straight to David's office. When I enter his chair is turned around so I'm facing his back. "Hey, let's make this quick I'm kinda busy at the moment do t got time to mess around." I say in a cold voice. The chair turns and I see Blake. My eyes widened and I flip around to run but when I go to open the door it's locked. Squeezing my eyes closed I try and calm my ragged breath. "How did you find me?" My voice shakes a little before I can stop it. "That was easy Stray. You knew the moment you used your gift I would know where you were at exactly." His voice was cold. Silently pleading that this was a nightmare I slowly turn around to find him smirking at me. "Aww did you really think you could hide from me forever?" My jaw clenched and unclenched as he stared at me. "You did didn't you. Didn't I teach you to expect the unexpected? You failed Chloe give up." He said crossing his arms. "NO I WON'T I WILL KEEP RUNNING! I WILL KEEP FIGHTING I SWEAR I WON'T HELP YOU EVER AGAIN!" I yell at him. With that he snaps. He bolts up and around the desk and slams me into the wall. My eyes widened in fear as my hands shake so hard and my heart rams into my in my chest threatening to explode. "Don't ever speak to my like that again. Am I clear." His voice was dead cold and I knew he wouldn't hesitate to hurt me until I begged for him to stop. I nod as my hands shake even harder. "Good" he whispers then licks the rim of my ear. "Found you." He whispers again but this time he smiles against my ear.