Sorry this chapter is short. I've been busy with the holidays and then the New Year and on top of that, I've been sick. The next chapter is the fight scene and then after that probably one more chapter before the epilogue. The sequel will come out some time after I finish this. It won't be a long time after the end because I don't want you guys to forget about it, but I do want to concentrate more on my other story, Rightfully His, (If you haven't checked it out, I think you should :). 

I'll post the description about the sequel probably in the chapter after the fight scene. So until next time, Happy New Year!

Thank you to everyone who votes/comments/fanned. I love you all of you :)

(Sorry for any spelling/grammar mistakes.)

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Chapter 35

Evan’s POV:

            “The hell I am!” Sutton yelled. I shook my head, frustrated. We’d been over this already.

            “Sutton, I’m not letting you go with us when we go to fight the hunters.” I repeated calmly.

            “But Elise gets to go!” She whined.

            The two of us have gone back and forth on this for the past week and we still hadn’t come to an agreement. There’s no way I’m letting her be in the fight. I can’t put her in danger like that and face the risk of losing her. It would literally kill me if she died during the fight because I couldn’t protect her. Even if she did somehow convince me to let her go, the whole time my main focus would be on protecting her. I can’t think about just her though, my main focus has to be on taking down the hunters.

            “Sutton, you’re going to be Alpha Female. Elise is not. Let’s say you’re a slightly more valuable commodity to lose. Lisa doesn’t get to go either because she’s going to be, so to speak, your Beta.” I reminded her. She huffed and crossed her arms, glowering at me.

            “I can’t just stand back while people in my pack lose their lives.”

            “Have such little faith in your mate, darling?”  I asked, slightly offended.

            “No, of course not. However, you can’t be everywhere, protecting everyone.”

            “Neither can you. I need you here, taking care of the wounded and keeping the people who are staying behind calm.” I said softly. Tears littered her eyes when she looked up at me.

            “Yeah? And what if you get hurt, Evan. What am I supposed to do then? What if you get hurt or even worse, what if you end up dead?” Her voice rose with every word until she was yelling. Choking back her sobs she turned her back to me. I walked toward her and enveloped her in my arms, letting her cry.

            “Nothing is going to happen to me. I need you here as motivation for me to be more careful so that I can come back to you. I’m not going to leave you, I promise.” I vowed, looking into her still teary eyes.

            “Just answer one question then.” She whispered softly.

            “I have a feeling I’m going to regret this.” I answered back honestly.

            “Could you stay here if the roles were reversed? Could you just sit back and relax here while I’m off fighting?”

            “No.” I finally answered.

            “So how do you expect me to do the same?” She had me there and she knew it. I hugged her tightly to me and breathed deeply.

            “You don’t leave my side, understand?” She nodded. We stood there, embracing each other, until a soft knock on our bedroom door sounded.

            “Come in.” Sutton called softly. Claire opened the door and peeked in, glancing shyly at me.

            “Am I interrupting anything?” I’ve noticed Claire has an odd habit of being insanely nervous around me.

            “No, not at all. Did you need something?” She asked.

            “Yeah, I was just wondering if I could talk to Evan a bit.” Claire snuck another shy glance at me and fiddled with her hands nervously.

            “Sure. I’ll just see you at dinner.” Sutton squeezed my arm and patted Claire on the shoulder as she passed by.

            “What’s up?” I asked once the door was closed. Claire didn’t move any closer and kept her gaze focused on anything but me.

            “You’ll take care of her, won’t you?” She finally managed to get out.

            “I’m sorry?”

            “My sister. You’ll take care of Sutton when you guys go to fight.” Seeing my shocked expression she smirked slightly. “I may not have known Sutton for a long time, but I do know she gets whatever she goes after.”

            “Yeah, she’s certainly a determined young thing.” We both laughed at that.

            “So you won’t let anything happen to her right? I know you’re her mate and all but I just want to make sure. I don’t really know much about mates, as you probably already see. I haven’t met my mate yet so I don’t know how protective mates are.” I smiled gently but made sure she understood how serious I was.

            “Claire, in a way, mates are the best and worst thing about you. They bring out a side in you that no one else can, they are the only people that will ever truly understand you and they are by far the greatest thing in the world. On the other hand, they are also your ultimate Achilles heel. Hurt a werewolves mate you undoubtedly destroy that person. Your mate is truly the only person that can weaken you.” I explained.

            “So if I ever meet my mate, is it like an instant connection?” I nodded and she got this giddy look on her face. I gestured for her to take a seat on the end of the bed while I pulled up the chair from Sutton’s vanity table. “Tell me about you and my sister. How you guys met, what it feels like when you meet your mate.”

            “You’ve never asked Sutton this?” She shook her head.

            “She’s been sort of busy these past few weeks, you know, preparing for your guys’ battle. Plus, Taylor scares me and she’s always around her.” I laughed loudly.

            “Taylor just doesn’t share well. You have to understand, she’s used to being Sutton’s only sister. Move in on her territory and she’ll bite your head off.” For a second, Claire looked deep in thought before an angry expression took over.

            “She’s not even her real sister though. They aren’t related. Me and Sutton are! She has no right to claim her as her sister.” Claire hissed.

            “Are they blood related? No. But they are sisters Claire. Family doesn’t mean biological, it means the people you surround yourself and the people that you love. Taylor and Sutton are adoptive sisters and while you are related, Taylor will always be Sutton’s first sister. You are right though, Sutton is related to you so you do have the right to call her your sister. Don’t worry too much about Taylor, she wouldn’t do anything because she knows it would upset Sutton.”

            “I guess you’re right.” She admitted after a second. A smile broke out across her face and she clasped her hands together. “Now tell me about when you met.” She demanded.

            “Alright, well, I met your sister a few months ago when she was still new in town. I’ll never forget the day. If you ever tell her any of the things I’m about to tell you, I’ll deny everything.” She nodded. “Initially, I wanted nothing to do with a mate. I thought they couldn’t provide me with anything, they would just tie me down. When I caught her scent though, I’m telling you, everything changed. It was the most amazing smell I’d ever come across. The first time we looked at each other, I knew instantly that she was my mate. It’s hard not to fall in love the first time you see your mate. Once you meet them, everything feels so right and all other people pale in comparison to mate. I can’t really tell you how it feels when you meet your mate because there aren’t words to describe it. It’s just…magical.”

I totally lost myself there and forgot I was actually speaking to someone. How embarrassing to say the word magical. I must sound the wimpiest person she’s ever met. I cleared my throat awkwardly and she smirked.

“Long story short, meeting your sister was the best thing that’s ever happened to me.” I said, getting over my embarrassment.

“That’s so cute.” Claire gushed, sighing.

            “And to answer your previous question, mates are fiercely protective of the other. With your sister and I though, I may go a little overboard. Alpha’s already are more protective of their mate than any other wolf, and on top of that with everything we’ve gone through with the hunters, it’s rare for Sutton to leave my sight. So don’t worry too much, I don’t plan in letting her leave my side during the battle.”

            “Ok, thank you. I just wanted to make sure she’s stays safe. I just found her and it would kill me if I lost her so soon after meeting her. She’s pretty much everything I’ve ever wanted in an older sister and more.” She smiled, thinking about my mate.

            “Anything else?” I asked. She shook her head and stood, walking to the door. Before she stepped out, she turned to me.

            “For what it’s worth, I think you’re a really good mate.” She said softly. I smiled and responded before she left.

            “Claire, I can’t help but notice you seem to get really nervous and shy when you’re around me. Why is that?” I wondered aloud. She smiled shyly and looked me dead on.

            “In case you haven’t noticed, you can be kind of intimidating.” She replied once again in that soft voice, closing the door behind her as she left.

            I laughed aloud at the word intimidating, Sutton never seemed to think that. Speaking of my little mate, I got up and went to find her. Following the trail of her scent, I found her in the spot she spent a lot of time in. Paige’s room was decked out in lavender and white, a total girly girl just like Sutton. Paige sat in her lap and listened quietly as Sutton read aloud to her. I leaned against the doorframe and listened as well, grinning to myself. Sutton had a tendency to treat Paige like her unofficial daughter, always spoiling her and giving in to her demands. From what I’ve seen with how Sutton treats Paige, she’ll be a great mother someday.

            I left them there to go confer with Spencer and the rest of the high ranking pack members. The fight was to take place in a little more than a day and everyone was on edge. My fighters were strong and I had no doubt that they would be able to win this fight. I also had no doubt that we would lose some people. It saddened me, but as an Alpha you have to accept the fact that while you unfortunately you lost a few good men, you also saved an entire pack. At the end of the day, the pack was what matters. That’s what we were fighting for, our pack and the safety of my pack. I’d die for my pack in a heartbeat and more importantly, I’d die in a second if it meant protecting Sutton.

Lockey’s POV:

            People rushed by, checking and packing their weapons. Knives, guns, even crossbows. Each carefully dipped in the only chemical known to poison a werewolf. Thanks to my little informant, at this time tomorrow, the Greenwood Pack will be longer. All that will remain of them will be there pack house and soon enough, we’ll demolish them. Then on to the next town, the next pack. My brother may have failed in his task to take this pack down, but I will not.