Hmm, maybe I should leave cliffhangers more often. The response to the last chapter was amazing. Thank you to everyone who voted and and commented and fanned. You guys are the best! Thank you also for being patient. I've been very busy lately so it's been hard to upload consistantly. Here's the next chapter though.

* Remember! The more you guys vote and comment and fan, the faster I upload! *

(Sorry for any sspelling/grammar mistakes)

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                                                                                Chapter 13

Evan’s POV:

                I dragged my sorry ass out of bed around noon. After my unfortunate meeting with Luke yesterday, I’d driven home and locked myself in my room, wallowing in silence. How could protecting the person you love hurt so much? I knew though, that if the hunters knew how much Sutton meant to me, she would pay. I’d heard stories of Alpha’s mates being taken by hunters and enduring countless days of torture. Hunters found that simply killing a mate was too easy, no the mate had to suffer. The Alpha’s in those stories, well the ending was never good. After receiving their mate back in pieces, and arm here, a leg there, they soon fell to pieces and died from the heartache of losing their mate. I’d be damned if I subjected Sutton to that brutality simply because of the love I felt for her.

                That was what I kept in my head when I fought against the urge to call her, or see her, or text her. Her death wasn’t worth my happiness. I’d sworn Spencer to secrecy about my lie, and made sure that the few people who knew about Sutton being my mate kept their mouths shut. Lisa and Ellie weren’t happy but they understood. Luckily not many people knew about Sutton, just my parents and Lisa and Ellie, Kevin, Spencer and Scott and their mates.

                “Getting up today?” Jason’s deep voice resonated from the door. I twisted slightly and looked at him through half narrowed eyes. Damn, her smell emanated from him. I felt my face twist and buried my face in my pillow, hiding it from Jason.

                “I’m thinking about it.” I muttered into my pillow.

                “Long night?” Jason chuckled at his dirty joke.

                “Umph.” I grunted back.

                “Sadie?” I fought the urge to growl. Why the hell would he think I was with Sadie last night? Oh wait, that’s what I’d told Spencer to spread around. As of yesterday, Evan and Sadie were back. The mighty duo. I almost groaned.

                “Did you need something?” I just wanted to lay here and think about Sutton, seeing as how that was as close as I was going to get to her.

                “Touchy.” Jason commented. “Just wanted to hang out, so let’s go. Get your but out of bed and go shower stinky man.” He caught hold of my foot and pulled, dumping me on the floor. I glowered at him from the floor before standing.

                “Dick.” I muttered as I walked towards the bathroom, following his orders.

Sutton’s POV:

                I woke up in the middle of nowhere. I was literally lying in the middle of the woods, with no idea how I got here. My head was pounding and my mouth and throat were dry.

                “Looks like Sleep Beauty is finally conscious.” Luke called from somewhere nearby. The sun had set long ago, casting gloomy shadows across the trees. I could hear the steady beat of Luke’s heart, though I couldn’t see him. Wimp must me hiding behind a tree or something. Not too far away another stead beat ricocheted through the quite forest. Probably Lockey since the two of them seem joined at the hip.

                “You want to tell me what the hell is going on?” Anger rising in my voice, as I stood.

                “Do you know who I am?” He asked, curiosity lingering in his voice.

                “An arrogant prick who’s about to be charged with kidnapping.” I responded. He laughed.

                “Hardly. I’m above the law.” He said lightly.

                “If this is some kind of gang initiation, I don’t want in.” My voice was icy as I walked towards the far away scent of civilization.

                “Oh, no you don’t.” Luke spoke but it was Lockey that shot out of the trees, gripping my arm painfully. I growled and tried to pull back, but this hulk of a man was strong!

                “Let me go!” I shouted. He didn’t pay any attention, just continued to bore his cool eyes into the tree in front of him.

                “Now, Sutton. I’m going to ask you one more time. What are we? Answer wrong and there’s a consequence.”

                “I don’t know!” I was exasperated and tired of playing their stupid game. Suddenly Lockey twisted and pulled my arm with him, in turn, twisting my wrist. I screamed as pain shot through my arm. It wasn’t broken, but it was certainly hurt.

                “Wrong answer.” Luke sighed, seeming disappointed. “Alright let me tell you then.”

                “Go to hell.” I seethed. My arm was numb, and I was pissed.

                “Shush. Now, let’s start at the beginning. See, a very long time ago werewolves were able to keep it in their pants until they found their mate. And if they slept with anyone before they met their mate, it was always another werewolf. It was like that until one werewolf got it into his head to sleep with a human. Long story short, they created us.” He paced as he told his story, then stopped in front of me and stared.

                “Us?”

                “Hybrids for lack of a better word. Part werewolf and part human.” He seemed disgusted by this.

                “You’re lying.” I almost laughed at this. Really, this guy was a good liar.

                “But I’m not Sutton. I’m just as fast as you, as strong. I can smell and hear and see just like you. I just can’t shift.” I couldn’t help it, I laughed. A stinging pain went through my check just as the crack of his slap whipped through the air. I stopped and looked at him, tears forming in my eyes. He looked at his hand in disbelief, his breath going in and out quickly.

                “Sutton-”

                “You’re a monster! You’re not good enough to be a werewolf. You’re not even good enough to be human!” I sneered the last part, furious. He stepped back and stared at me, his face contorted into a sudden pain.

                “You don’t mean that.” He said at last, almost hopefully.

                “The hell I don’t.” I screamed. Something in him must have snapped because he roared, clearly angry, and whirled around, driving his fist straight into the tree behind him. His fist sliced through the tree like butter, causing me to gasp. He stood with his back to me, panting. When he turned around a few moments later, he seemed more in control.

                “Sutton, everything was fine until you came.” He walked closer as he spoke, looking at me like I was the greatest mystery known to man. “You’ve ruined things Sutton. You’ve ruined me.” He chuckled softly.

                “What the hell are you talking about?” I glanced up to see Lockey looking horrified and disgusted. He was obviously in on whatever Luke was talking about, and he so clearly did not like it. I turned back around to see Luke with his hand reaching towards my face. I flinched away from his hand, shaking my head. He kept coming, firmly placing a hand on my cheek with a soft expression on his face.

                “What have you done to me?” He asked softly. Was he bipolar or something? “You’ve changed the game Sutton.” He said as he nodded to Lockey. I smelled the sticky, sweet scent a second before a cloth was placed over my mouth and nose again. I screamed and struggled, thrashing around. My arm was still pinned and when I twisted to the side I heard a sharp crack rip through the air. Fire shot through my arm as I registered the pain and fresh tears sprang to my eyes, overflowing this time. I was already feeling drowsy and lightheaded, from the pain or the cloth, I’m not sure. All I am sure of is that I welcomed the sweet blackness that took Luke and Lockey and the pain away. I slipped away into sweet oblivion, just as my body slumped to the ground before being caught.

Evan’s POV:

                “Where the hell is she?” Jason roared. He paced back and forth across the living room, running his fingers through his hair. We’d come back to his house earlier to see how Sutton’s first day had been, but when we got here all we got was an icy glare from Taylor. Sutton wasn’t there and no one knew where she had gone. Lisa had said she’d been outside waiting for Sutton to come out of the restroom, but then got a text saying that she was going for a run. That was over four hours ago and I knew in the deepest part of me that something was wrong, something had happened to my mate. I couldn’t let my agitation show though, lest Jason find out. Sutton’s parents were still unreachable and Taylor was no help, she’d caught a ride home with a friend of hers.

                “She’s probably fine Jace.” I comforted him. Please let that be true I prayed. Just as the thought crossed my mind, a sharp pain in my wrist caused me to jerk in surprise. For a second there, it felt like someone had just twisted my wrist. What the hell? I inspected my wrist, noting only a touch of redness.

                “You don’t know that.” Jason’s worried voice brought me back to him. I sat by his side for the next half hour, keeping him from going out and combing the streets looking for her. Though, a few more minutes and I’m sending a search party out. I started to get worried that maybe the hunters had somehow found out and soon I’d end up with her arm on my doorstep.

                “Nothing?” Taylor’s soft voice drifted in from the doorway. Her question was directed at me, seeing as how her and Jason weren’t on speaking terms.

                “Nothing.” I stated flatly. Just then, a burning sensation filled my wrist and my eyes flashed down. For a second my wrist looked red and torn and swollen. I was filled with a horrible pain, as soon as I gripped my wrist though, it stopped. I hesitantly tested my hand, yep, everything was fine. I rolled my wrist around but it seemed like it was back to normal. I looked up bewildered, but no one else seemed to have noticed anything. Taylor and Jason were both staring vacantly out the window. Wow, Sutton really does play a big part in their lives.

Sutton.

                I’d heard that since Alpha’s were stronger, they had stronger bonds with their mates. It’s been said that if an Alpha’s mate was in pain, the Alpha would feel it, not matter where he was. Is it possible that the pain in my wrist wasn’t my pain, but in fact Sutton’s? I cringed at the though, I never wanted Sutton to feel pain.

Sutton’s POV:

                I woke up to the darkness of the woods, feeling groggy and sick. My head pounded and my stomach thrashed violently. I sat up, immediately regretting it. Leaning over, I heaved and vomited up my lunch. My body felt weak and my wrist was on fire. The details of Luke and Lockey fell over me and I glanced around, looking for any sign of them. The air was clean and no unnatural noises resonated through the forest.

Those bastards!

                They left me here in the middle of the woods, unconscious. I dragged myself over to a tree and wrestled my way to a standing position. My stomach rolled and I leaned over, heaving again. The last time I woke up I didn’t feel like this. Disorientated and confused, yes. Sick and nauseated, no. I looked around again and listened intently, trying to find human civilization. If I die out here tonight because of those two creeps, there’s nothing stopping me from coming back and haunting their asses.

                The faint whoosh of a car traveling down a highway floated towards me, and with difficulty I thrust myself in the direction it was coming from. A short, but very sickening walked later, I found myself on the edge of town. I figured I lived about ten minutes from here, but considering my condition, it would take me at least triple that. I started off down the road, clutching my wrist to my upset stomach. Sweat matted down my hair from the effort it took to continue walking. My body is screaming at me to just lie down and envelop the sweet blackness that lingered at the corners of my mind, but I pushed on. What the hell did Luke and Lockey give me?

Evan’s POV:

I glanced at the clock, quite some time had passed since anyone spoke last. About an hour to be precise, and yet we were all in the same positions. We were all hunched over with worry written across our faces.

                “Where could she be?” Jason spoke, breaking the soft silence. His question was a whisper though, like he was afraid to speak any louder.

                “I don’t know man. I don’t know.” My voice was just as quiet as his had been. We all looked up as we heard the sound of a heartbeat come closer, eventually hearing the footsteps of the person it belonged to. The footsteps stopped at the front door then a thump sounded, like someone had just fallen against the door. We all stood up and crowded into the hall, watching the door. The sound of heavy breathing rang through the air. We stood still a moment more before the door finally opened slowly.

                Sutton entered, looking pale and sweaty. Her hair was mussed and there was dirt and grass all over her clothes. She gripped the door for support and swayed on her feet, panting. She looked up at us and squinted. She had the actions of a drunk person, but anyone could see she wasn’t drunk. No, something else was wrong with her. I noticed her left hand hung limply at her side, red and swollen and twisted. My eyes widened before returning to her sickly face.

                “Oh…hey.” She uttered before breathing heavily and slumping towards the ground. Jason ran forward, catching her before she hit the ground. Taylor whimpered and fluttered around Jason and, the now unconscious Sutton, helplessly. I stood and watched in horror as my mate lay still in Jason’s arms.

                I vaguely heard Jason shout orders to Taylor to call the pack doctor, I focused more on Sutton’s pale face. Eventually though, Jason’s heartbroken voice interrupted my thoughts.

                “Sutton…oh god Sutton…what happened?” Jason was sobbing. “Wake up! Damn it Sutton, fight and wake up!” He was shaking her limp body roughly. I quickly pulled him off and he turned to me, his expression the face of a broken man. Taylor had quickly taken his place and now had Sutton’s head in her lap, stroking her dark hair softly, with silent tears falling. The only sound in the room was Jason’s sobs and three rapidly beating hearts, and the softest sound in the room came from Sutton. Her heart was beating softly and slowly. Softly and slowly, but beating. And for that I was glad.

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(A/N No, she isn't dead.)