Mine to Protect Chapter 136: PLOTTING

*Hazel*

God, he’s so sexy when he does that, that I don’t wait for him to kiss him, this time I pull his face to mine, and kiss him with all the force I have, our lips are definitely going to bruise, but I don’t care in the least.

Witnessing my excitement, his touch changes too, his soft caresses are replaced by harsh kneading and fingers biting into my skin, and although I loved his caresses before, I love his harshness all the same, it shows that I’m making him lose control, that he can’t restrain himself around me.

True to his word, he kept making love to me for hours, without pause; we burnt like two flames dancing with each other, flickering and burning higher and lower, touching and swirling together in the light breeze.

In the end, I was completely exhausted, feeling ache in places I thought I couldn’t feel any, and Derek was spent too, tethering between the world of sweet dreams and the reality of horrors and troubles we face every day.

“Sleep handsome,” I whisper, kissing his shoulder. Then I snuggle closer into him, and let sleep take me to his fantastic realms.

I was awoken a few hours later by my alarm, I set it for midday. Although I didn’t get nearly enough sleep, I need to get up and get ready for tonight’s secret meeting. I still haven’t decided how to get there, by car or in wolf form? Should I take a gun? And most importantly, should I tell Derek?

Derek

When I wake up, the memories of what happened yesterday come back to me, and I wish I could go back to sleep and never wake up again.

My mother is really gone out of her mind, I still can’t accept what she did to discredit Hazel, she even put the whole pack against her. I don’t regret banishing her, if I hadn’t done that, and she kept antagonizing me, in the end I would have to do much worse than that.

And Alice, where have they taken her? I know for a fact that she is still alive, I didn’t feel any other pack link break. They could be torturing her right this moment, like they did to Hazel, and I still don’t have a fucking lead on their hideout.

I want to rip my hair out, or smash something, I am not sure which, the only person that is keeping my pieces together is my kitten. Suddenly, I notice that she is not by my side anymore, I open my eyes and sit upright, looking around, listening to sounds of her in the bathroom, nothing.

My fears lead me immediately to the worst-case scenario, she left me, again. She must have had enough of people attacking her because of me, because of my position as Alpha. First Grace, then Emma, my parents, and now my mother again, pitching the whole pack against her.

And yesterday, after the “show” was over, I stormed back inside without even making sure that she was ok. She probably thought that I was angry at her, I wasn’t, I was angry at my mother and the whole fucking situation, angry that my kitten always gets dragged in these shitty situations when she has done nothing wrong.

My heart starts racing at the thought that she really must have left me, when I just got her back; I will never convince her to come back to me again. I get up quickly from the bed, and search for a pair of trousers to wear, I need to find her, she can’t have gone far. I don’t even bother with underwear, brushing my teeth, combing my hair, I get out of our room a mess of panic and regret, and start running towards the main door.

“Handsome, what’s going on? Are you alright?” Hazel sweet voice resounds in my head through the mind-link.

“Where are you?” I ask immediately, without answering her question.

“Having lunch in the canteen?”

I sprint immediately towards the canteen, barging through the double doors, and when I spot her at a table not far off, having lunch with a very sad-looking Damon, I half run towards her, then when I am close enough, I cup her face with both hands, and kiss her luscious lips hungrily, like I have just found my favorite dish in the world.

She looks startled and a little worried at first, but soon, she melts on my lips and starts kissing me back with the same fervor.

“You two are annoying,” I hear Damon complain from the sideline, I ignore him, and keep tasting my kitten’s sweet mouth, happy for this meal that I thought I would never be able to savor again.

When I release her to let us get some breath, she has a dreamy look in her eyes, and being an Alpha, I feel immediately proud of myself for charming her like that; it’s good to know the effect my kisses have on her.

“What was that for?” she asks me, a little breathless, her lips all red and swollen. Fuck, she looks even more sexy like this, and that breathy voice makes every nerve in my body spring with need; I want to grab her, lock her in our room, and have my way with her until we are both satisfied.

“That was me telling you that I love you with all my heart. I am sorry about yesterday, I shouldn’t have stormed inside like that, leaving you alone in the garden, sometimes I do things without thinking them through, I was angry at my mother, and…”

She doesn’t let me finish, she holds my lips hostage for another memorable kiss, and when she releases me, I bet I am the one looking dreamy and a little lost.

“I am not angry, and I understand. I am not going anywhere, so sit down, and eat something, you haven’t had dinner yesterday, nor breakfast this morning, you need to keep your strength up, Alpha.”

I kissed her again, this time a quick kiss of gratitude, for being so understanding and caring.

“Enough, kissing, otherwise I won’t be able to stomach the rest of my lunch,” Damon says grumpily.

“Someone needs a girlfriend,” Hazel says teasingly, while a kitchen assistant brings me a plate filled with food, which I gratefully accept. I hadn’t realized how hungry I was, until the tasty aroma of grilled chicken and baked potatoes reached my nose.

“Haven’t you usually an abundance of those?” I asked Damon, while tucking in the grilled chicken.

He shrugs looking bored, and says, “I don’t know, I am kind of tired of that. I suppose I am getting old, everyone around me is finding their fated mates, or choosing a mate, settling down, and I am starting to feel envious of that kind of love.”

Hazel and I both stare wide eyes at him, this is not the usual Damon, playful and carefree, what happened to him? Did Alice kidnapping affect him this much?”

Hazel clears her throat, and says sympathetically, “I am sure you will find the right one for you soon.”

Damon smiles at her, and starts eating again without saying anything, seemingly lost in his thoughts.

Hazel also seems lost in thought, and I can feel her worry through the bond, although I am not sure if she is worrying for Damon not finding his mate, for Alice missing, or for something else entirely. I will make sure to ask her what is bothering her after lunch.

Damon finishes eating and gets up to leave, when Hazel stops him.

“Actually, I was hoping I could talk to the both of you privately.”

Her voice is uncertain, and she looks completely guilty. Fuck, I knew that something was up. Now I am both curious and scared to hear what she wants to tell us.

We all go to my office, and I shut the door behind me. I decide not to sit at my desk, memories of what happened there with Hazel still linger, especially with her in the room, and I can’t face the regret and guilt that spring from them.

I decide to perch myself on the desk, while Damon takes a seat on one of the chairs, and Hazel paces back and forth in front of us, wringing her hands together.

“Spill,” Damon says flatly, sharing my same belief that my kitten has been up to something naughty again. She really isn’t able to stay out of trouble.

She stops pacing to stare at him, then at me, then at her feet.

“Promise first that you won’t get angry, the both of you,” she says in a small voice, still looking at her feet.

Crap, she must have really done something big this time.

“Come on, Kitten, stop keeping us hanging, just say it, we won’t be angry,” I say, starting to get a little annoyed at her indecision.

She takes a steading breath, and then says at top speed: “I have contacted Alpha Jackson to arrange a meeting with the organization that took Alice, and the meeting is tonight at 11, at the Valley of the Fairies. He said that I should go alone, but I thought it was better if I let you know, in case it was a trap.”

Silence ensues for a moment, before Damon and I yell at the same exact time, “What?!”