"How was your day?" I asked Jackson as we walked out of school the next day.

"Sitting in a quiet classroom all day doing nothing but work because I fought your asshole non-boyfriend? Just peachy," he replied, trying to get me to laugh. "Yours?"

"Pretty well actually," I answered.

"Well that's good," Jackson shrugged. I smiled and then felt someone brush against my hand. I looked up to see Wes.

"I need you to come with me," he said.

"What for?" I asked. He had been odd all day. This morning he had been weird all day and I guessed it was due to the whole me-and-Chase-kissing situation, but his eyes were telling me there was something else.

"Hey, I'll see you at home..." Jackson said before leaving us alone because he clearly got the hint.

"What's up?" I asked Wes as we walked to his car.

"Something is wrong with you and Chase," he said with a frown.

"Look. I know you have a problem with us and obviously we have our own issues—"

"Not as a couple—as individuals," he interrupted. What? He scoffed and rolled his eyes as he grabbed my hand to haul me into his car. He wrapped his arm around the back of the passenger side seat before I looked over to him. His eyes lapped from my eyes to my lips and I felt my cheeks start to heat up.

When he started leaning in, Chase's name ran through my mind.

I immediately backed away—so far that I almost smacked my head on the window. I wish I did hit my head considering it might've knocked all my questions that arose. Why would Wes do this? We weren't together, he had April, and he knew Chase and I had kissed two days ago. Us being close friends didn't change that. How could Wes do this? We had a conversation about how anything he did with anyone that wasn't April made him physically ill—especially when she got back. And why would he attempt this in a full parking lot thinking he'd just get away with it?

On a normal day I thought I'd feel bad and pity Wes' denied advances, but I actually felt that sickness he described plus a bit of anger for him attempting it in the first place.

"Alicia—"

"I'm sorry. I can't. It's not right and I can't do that to Chase even though we're...whatever...and he would—"

"I was testing you," he muttered.

"Wait what?" I asked.

"It's a test," Wes said in a calm voice with a sigh before typing quickly on his phone and holding it up to his ear. "Hey," he greeted as if he hadn't caused us both unneeded pain. Who could he possibly be talking to? "Yeah I'm with her right now...Yeah, they're still bonded...Try it now."

And then I felt an excruciating pain in my torso as if someone punched me—no. It was as if someone took a blade and sliced my side open. I started gasping in pain as it traveled to my rib cage. Wes immediately began to reach over my seat and pull at my shirt, but his cold touches only pained me more.

"Wes, what's happening?" I thought it, but a female voice over the phone said it because I guess he put it on speaker. I growled in pain as if the invisible knife pierced my skin and traveled down to beneath the thick muscle.

"It's Alicia," was all Wes yelled at the phone. "Where's Chase?!"

"I don't know? He just left here!" the girl over the phone yelled.

"Go find him!" Wes yelled at her. My hand clutched my side as I tossed and turn as if the motion would eliminate the pain. It traveled up my front and to my heart. I clamped a hand over my chest and started coughing for air. My chest was tightening. I remembered thinking if this is what an asthma attack felt like before I blacked out due to the overwhelming pain.

***

My eyes fluttered open into a familiar room at the pack's house. My abs felt sore as if I'd done nothing but crunches every day of my life before today. I was the only one in the room and I sat up despite the pain.

"Where is she?" I heard a muffled voice yell before a few light bumps on the door.

"She's resting," Wes' familiar voice yelled loud enough for it not to be muffled. "I think you should leave her alone so she can—"

"I don't care," the first voice said before there was a grunt and then the door was flung open. I saw Chase break out of Wes' grasp and then he rushed over to me to engulf me in a hug.

"I'm sorry. I'm so so sorry, Ali. I never should've done that. I'm just so sorry," Chase cried as his werewolf strength squeezed me tightly. Once I put him at an arm's length, I searched his face. He had bruises and cuts along his cheeks. I reached my hand up to his cheek.

"What happened to you?" I asked, looking into both of his eyes.

"It's not important," he answered. "You're important and I screwed up."

"Hell yeah you did. Now get out," Wes said from behind. Chase started to get up and leave.

"Wait," I called. "What happened?"

"I can't—"

"He has to go," Wes said.

"I don't care," I shouted, "I want answers, goddamnit!"

"No you don't," Chase whispered. "You shouldn't keep getting hurt by me and I'm too pathetic to even explain what happened. I'm so sorry, but I can't do this...I have to go."

"No. Chase—"

I was cut off when he left the room. I felt my heart literally breaking.

"He had a spell put on you and him," Wes informed in a whisper when he cautiously sat down on the bed. "The full moon screwed that up and got stronger to break."

"What spell?" I asked Wes in a whisper.

"I can't tell you," Wes said.

"Just like Chase couldn't?"

"It's different," he said. "I'm not even supposed to know. I found out and he's forcing me to not give you any information about it."

"I don't care. When you looked into it, you should've told me then."

"I didn't know what I was getting into," he reasoned.

"Then why did you care in the first place—?"

"Because I love you," he yelled. "I don't like the fact that my Alpha is your mate and he's treating you like shit right now, okay? I'm trying to look out for you because I love you more than he ever will right now. At least I showed you my love. I know he thinks he had good intentions for doing what he did, but that doesn't make him any less of an asshole and it doesn't magically allow me to break whatever command he gives me!" He raised his voice for good reason, but his eyes softened. "I just want what's best for you and deep down I know that's Chase, but he needs to sort all of his own shit out first. I rather you two be apart for decades so he can step up before putting you through this bullshit," he expressed. I appreciated his words and felt them myself. I rather be apart from Chase if it would mean my role as collateral damage via Alpha decisions would be suspended. "I promise you I'm just trying to help him. If I help him, I help you."

"I'm pretty sure he's the only one who can help himself at this point," I mumbled.

"You might be right," Wes unfortunately agreed, "but they're gonna do everything they can to break him down so he might as well—"

"'They' who?" I asked before Wes' face indicated that he said something he shouldn't. But it was too late now and I was pressing him for answers with my eyes.

"The Cane family is in the lineage of royalty in the supernatural world," he began. "With everything with Riley and the Council, they're realizing there's a position that needs to be filled in the Lycan Tier for werewolves. Because of Jaylen, Dane turned it down and obviously Grayson is too young so Chase is now the heir."

"Meaning what?"

"They're trying to crown Chase as a werewolf prince."

***

Wes went on to explain exactly why the Council thought Chase was suited to be prince. Though the throne operated like the British monarchy with the Council as parliament of the supernatural Order involving the three main Tiers of witches, vampires and werewolves, Chase was still a good fit. Even though he was only eighteen, he was successfully running one of the biggest packs in America with very little oversight from the former Alpha (who I learned was Billy, but he was busy with a pregnant wife and adult life). We all knew Chase had good qualities within him that seemed to be missing consistency from Dane and the Council had seen it exemplified. But they didn't know that he hadn't phased in seven months and was like a ticking time bomb.

Not phasing for that long affected werewolves more than just physically. AS for the spell

"Where's Chase now?" I asked Wes hours later as I was sitting in the comfy sheets of his bed eating with him. He didn't answer me. "Wes."

"He's gone by now," he shrugged. "He needs to be alone to settle all this shit out."

"Well I want to talk to him."

"Alicia. You can't—"

"Well I want to," I reasoned.

"You really shouldn't mess with him anymore," Wes said. "He's probably out still trying to break the spell."

"How hard is it to break a freaking spell?!" I yelled. It required me getting hurt without doing anything, I knew that much.

"It's a tough spell," Wes said. "It's the miniature version of a mark. Breaking it is loads easier, but it's still difficult."

"So he got a spell to protect me but also protects me from him, which incidentally hurts me if he wants it to be broken because the full moon made it stronger towards us than anything else..."I pieced together.

"That's why I don't like stupid imprints," Wes moaned before plopping onto his pillows behind me. I turned down to him as his hair covered his face. "Then I would be with you no questions asked. We wouldn't have to go through this shit."

"Don't say that," I scolded. "You have April and she's amazing."

"She is," Wes agreed. "I'm just saying..."

"I don't get it," I said. "April is your mate, who you were literally always meant to be with but you act like you still have lingering feelings for me even though I know that you're in love with April and you know that I'm meant for Chase and I can't seem to have any leftover feelings for you—"

"It's not like we're marked," Wes scoffed pathetically with a shrug. "As mates, yeah you're right. I am a hundred percent in love with April and our bond still attracts me to her and repels me from everyone else, but I'm not gonna act like our relationship never happened. If we were marked, that'd be a different story, but it isn't. I only get away with so much because April understands I thought she was dead and you made me happy during that time and won't do anything with me knowing she's back. It's a mutual respect and she's confident enough in our relationship. I'm sure being around me will be a lot easier for you once Chase forgives me and Fate doesn't have to try as hard to push you and him together by trying to literally rip us apart."

"I don't think he'll ever be okay with us being that close," I laughed. Wes was essentially my best friend and Chase was still wary about it even when I had made it known that I would never do anything non-platonically with Wes—or anyone else for that matter.

"He'll come around," Wes promised.

"I doubt it."

"In a few years, he will," he shrugged.

"A few years? What the hell makes you think I'll stick around that long at this rate?"

"Because you're soul mates?" he answered. "In a few years, he's going to mature and then when he decides to settle down, he'll be there for you. It'll be a while, but after school and finding a new Alpha, he'll only be about you and want a family—"

"Family?" I almost choked. "That's a stretch considering where we are at this rate—"

"Alicia, don't play dumb," Wes said. "You and I both know that if Chase walked through that door right this second and asked you out, you'd say yes."

Maybe.