CHAPTER 6.

　　~Malia~

　　"Your family is there too, apparently when Crow was done with them, they joined the Celestial Pack,"

　　"Jasmine," She breathed.

　　"No, your sister is with your brother, they sent her away," I saw how Averys' shoulders slumped and she relaxed knowing her little sister was safe.?

　　"That's good,"

　　The girls were in James’s office, talking to him and the Beta. I said that I'd rather stay in Averys' room as I needed the rest.?

　　Being away from my home and close to Amber had brought on a sense of relief and wholeness I didn't know I needed. It also made me exhausted and want to catch up on the sleep I had been deprived of.?

　　As I laid in Averys' bed, I quickly drifted off to sleep, much faster than I ever had before.

　　I had taken a shower and gotten dressed in some clothes that my cousin had given me.?

　　I brushed my hair and took a long look in the mirror, barely recognizing the girl staring back at me.?

　　I sighed heavily before walking out of the room and down to the dining hall.

　　”Cousin, please, have a seat,” Raven said with a sweet smile.?

　　I went to have a seat beside her and started digging into the food right away.?

　　”Are they starving you?” She asked me with a giggle.

　　I shook my head but saw the look of worry in her eyes.?She narrowed her eyes, tilting her head slightly to the side and I could feel her stare burning into the side of my face.

　　”Malia,” she said.

　　”No, Raven, they're not.” I said, assuring her that I was fine.?

　　”Come on, tell me, what’s going on?”

　　”I already told you,” I said.?

　　Raven sighed and nodded her head.?

　　”Yeah, you did,”?

　　”If you love her you should be with her,” Caroline chimed in.?

　　”I wish it were that easy,” my voice sounded broken and beat.

　　”Love is never easy,” Raven said and smiled as she looked down on her hands.?

　　”But it is the most necessary and powerful emotion there is,” I looked at her in shock.?

　　”Wow,” I said. Baffled by her response. Raven wasn't much for showing affection to anyone, her mother's death, and then having the dad she had, I could understand why.

　　She rolled her eyes and shrugged.

　　”It’s the truth. I know that this won't be easy for you, you will both face a lot of obstacles but nothing says that it’s impossible. If you truly love her and she loves you then we will make sure that you guys can be together.”

　　”How?”

　　”By fighting every vampire that carries our blood if we have to. You're not alone, Malia, I just need to figure some things out before, alright?”?

　　I nodded my head, feeling some peace.

　　”Just, don't start a war before I have the information I need,” she said and lifted a brow. I grabbed a piece of steak and put it in my mouth as I winked at her.?

　　We laughed and carried on with our dinner, enjoying it all before I had to go.?

　　”Hey, wake up,” my eyes fluttered open and Amber stood by my side. I looked around and rubbed my eyes with the back of my hands.?

　　”How long was I asleep for?” I asked her.?

　　”A few hours,” my eyes jerked open and all the fogginess was gone, I was wide awake.?

　　”Relax, it’s alright,” she said and placed her hand on my arm.?

　　”You want to go for a walk with me?” She said and smiled.?

　　***

　　”What did your brother say?” I asked her as we walked out to a clearing near a cliff.?

　　We sat down, looking out over the abyss.

　　”Amongst other things, he said that it was a good thing we had a powerful, immortal, vampire queen on our side,” she said jokingly making me laugh.?

　　”I guess it is,”?

　　Amber turned her head and leaned in, she placed her lips on mine, igniting fireworks that warmed me up from the inside.

　　”He said that we’ll get through this,” she said against my lips.?

　　”Not without shedding a lot of blood,” I said as I pulled back.?

　　”Maybe not. If we can work with Raven and her clan then maybe we stand a chance.”

　　Perhaps Amber was right, maybe if we could come together, we could win.?

　　It was the ’maybe’ word that I didn't like.?

　　”You’ll stay tonight, won't you?” She asked me. Her eyes filled with hope.?

　　”Yes, I will,” we wrapped our arms around each other and looked out over the view. Whatever was to happen, at least we had right now.?

　　~Avery~

　　James' hands roamed down my back as his fingers dipped under my shirt, caressing my bare skin.?

　　My body enflamed in ways only his touch could do and his scent drew me into a world where problems didn't exist.?

　　I kissed down his neck and nibbled on a soft spot under his ear.?

　　”Fuck,” he groaned and grabbed my legs, lifting me up so that I straddled him.?

　　James placed me down on top of the desk and with his free hand, ripped my shirt open.

　　I squealed but when I looked up, into his eyes, they were dark with lust and hunger, igniting my own needs.?

　　James crashed down his lips on mine violently, his tongue gracing my lips, demanding entrance.

　　I opened my mouth and he quickly dominated as his hands started massaging my breasts.

　　I raised his shirt, pulled it off over his head, and started unbuckling his pants.?

　　I couldn't wait, I needed him, all of him.?His rippling muscles flexed with each move and those large arms were the only things holding me steady.

　　I saw the smirk playing on his lips and within the next second, there was a knock on the door.?

　　James looked at me amused while I growled in disapproval.

　　”Sorry, my love, duty calls,” he said and pulled away from me, leaving me flabbergasted.

　　I jumped off the desk and started walking towards the door but before I could reach it, James was in front of me.?

　　He was looking down on me with black eyes, breathing heavily, his canines bared.

　　”Problem?” I asked him innocently.

　　”Your shirt,” I looked down on my torn shirt and then up at him again.?

　　”What about it?”?

　　”Avery.” He warned. I wrapped the shreds around me, covering my chest before I walked around him and towards the door.?

　　”Oh, sorry,” Alex said when he saw us.?

　　I groaned and walked past him, storming up the stairs to our room.?

　　”Wait up!” Lydia yelled from behind me. But I didn't stop walking until I reached the room and went in.?

　　”He’s such an asshole,” I growled as I walked over to the closet and took out another shirt.

　　”He’s still teasing you, huh?” She asked me. My head jerked to her and I could feel that Xena was taking over.?

　　”Calm down, Aves, he won't be able to do it for much longer. He’s torturing himself as well,”?

　　”Doubtful,” I spat.

　　”Ever since we got back, this has been his punishment. Do you have any idea what it does to me?”?I asked her.?

　　”I don’t, but I also understand him. This was probably how he felt when you left without saying anything, he couldn't protect you had something happened,” Lydia's words sunk in.

　　”I know,” I said in frustration and threw the torn-up shirt in the trash bin.?

　　”Come one, it’s time for dinner,” Lydia said and grabbed my arm.?

　　***

　　I and Lydia walked together into the dining hall where James and the others were already seated. Malia and Amber were sitting next to each other, laughing and talking as they savored the time they had together.

　　I saw the amused grin on James’s face when I neared the table.

　　I rolled my eyes and went to have a seat next to Lydia instead of the Alpha.?

　　I heard his low growl and his chair being pushed out.

　　My arm was gripped and I turned around only to see the amusement gone from his eyes.?

　　”Yes, Alpha?”?

　　”That’s enough.” He said and tried pulling me back to my usual seat.

　　”Nope, I'm sitting here,” I said and raised my head in defiance.

　　”Fine,” he said and motioned for Jason to get out of his chair. Just as Jason stood, all the members around the table had their eyes glazed over and when they came back, all their eyes turned to James. No words were uttered, James took the lead and headed out as everyone else darted up from their seats and ran out of the dining hall.?

　　I ran after them to see what the commotion was about. I couldn't mind-link anyone yet and I couldn't hear the others either, it hadn't been a problem this far but it was getting annoying. I was the last to know about everything and normally I wouldn't know it until after.

　　Ten rogues had gotten past the border guards and onto the territory. They were exiting the woods as we got out.?

　　But they didn't look feral, there was something about these rouges, they weren't like the others we had faced before.?

　　I pushed past James and the others, making my way through the many warriors that had gathered.?

　　”Where do you think you’re going?” James asked me as his hand gripped around my waist.

　　”Just trust me,” I said and slowly removed his hand.?

　　I took slow and careful steps towards them, making sure I didn't intimidate them.?

　　They weren't baring their teeth, they weren't being aggressive or threatening.

　　I walked closer and the closer I got, the more they lowered their heads.?

　　”You can shift, it’s alright, you won't be harmed,” I said softly.

　　They looked at each other, they were smaller than a regular werewolf, four grey ones, and six brow wolves.

　　They did as I asked, they shifted, knowing we wouldn't hurt them.?

　　Before me sat ten young humans, three girls, and seven guys.

　　”What are your names?” I asked them.?

　　James was standing behind me, I could feel his presence, as could they.?

　　”I’m Daphne,” the first spoke. She wasn't much older than me.

　　”This is Saga, Elinor, Cane, Max, Zack, Kasper, Tyler, Carl, and Jasper.” She said and pointed to her friends.

　　I nodded my head and smiled at them.?

　　”What are you doing here?”?

　　”You’re new.” James said from behind me.?

　　I looked at him and then back to the group of young people sitting on the ground. Damon came out and gave them all some clothes so that they could cover-up.?

　　”Yes, we were turned a few months ago by another pack. We were told to fight a war and kill as many as possible,” One of the guys blurted out, laughing as he did. The laugh wasn't amused, it was nervous, as though he couldn't believe what had happened.

　　”Which pack?” James asked them.?

　　”The Celestial pack. We were fighting against you in the war with Crow,” One of the girls said quietly. Her voice was shallow, I couldn't make it out but she sounded upset.?

　　”When it was done, we were tossed aside. They told us to manage on our own. This was the only place we could think of to come,”?

　　I looked at James who was scanning the people. They had gotten dressed and were now standing.

　　”You want to join our pack?” He asked them.?

　　”We understand if that won't be possible considering what we did.”

　　They all looked down on their feet.

　　”Damon, give them some food and assign them rooms,” James ordered.?

　　”You can stay here for the while being. You will join the warriors in training and we will see how you get along with the rest of the pack members. If all works out, you’re welcome to join us,” he said. They all bowed their heads and smiled gratefully, except for Jasper, he looked to be bothered by something.

　　They walked after Damon and went inside the packhouse, my eyes were fixated on the Jasper guy. Everyone eyed them suspiciously and it would take time for the new ones to gain the trust of our pack members. Just as they were about to enter the pack-house, Jasper turned his head and met my gaze.

　　”Is everything okay?” James asked me.?Jasper turned and walked after the others. I shook my head and looked back at James.

　　”I’m just tired,” I said and wrapped my arms around him.?

　　”Let’s get something to eat and then head to bed,” he said and grabbed my hand.?

　　”Do you trust them?” I asked James as we walked inside.

　　His jaw clenched and his upper body was stiff. He tightened his hold around my waist and glared ahead.

　　”I haven't decided yet.” He remained stiff as we walked back to the dining hall.