Page 94 of Alpha Chase

“Yeah, about that,” Nessa murmurs. A mischievous grin comes to her lips and I arch a brow in question, waiting for her to go on. “Cal asked me for your mom’s address this morning. I don’t know what kind of surprise that sort-of-boyfriend of yours is planning, but…”

“Fuck!” I blurt, my eyes flying wide. “Did you give it to him?”

Nessa’s smile fades, her brows creasing in confusion. “Well yeah, I…”

“Fuck.” I whip my phone out of my back pocket, frantically hitting dial on Chase’s contact while Nessa stares at me bewilderedly. I hold it to my ear as it rings and rings and goes to voicemail. “Ugh!” I groan, ending the call and dialing again, reaching his voicemail for a second time.

“What’s wrong?” Nessa asks cautiously, pushing off the doorframe and taking a step toward me.

“We have to go,” I rush out. I grab her by the arm, pulling her out the door.

“Why?” she wonders as I yank her toward her silver hatchback. “Vee, tell me what’s going on!”

I skid to a stop, whipping around to stare in my friend’s eyes. “I told Chase about Clint last night.”

Nessa’s lips round into an ‘o’, her eyes widening as the realization settles over her.

“Yeah,” I breathe, turning back around and opening the passenger door to her car. “We’ve gotta get there before he does something stupid.”

Now understanding the urgency, Nessa jogs around to the driver’s side, flopping down into the seat beside me as I’m fastening my seatbelt. “You really think he’d go after Clint?” she asks, buckling her own and starting the ignition.

I level her with a stare and she sighs, scrubbing a hand over her face. “Of course he would,” she mutters. Shifting the gear in reverse, she peels out of the driveway, my body jerking against the seatbelt as she slams the brakes at the end and shifts the car into drive. She hits the gas and speeds off down the road, my heart pounding as I continue attempting to dial Chase, a sickening sense of dread twisting in my gut.

Nessa doesn’t fuck around- she drives fast, my heart lurching every time we sail around a curve on the forest road. I’m getting some serious flashbacks to my car wreck, but I don’t dare tell her to slow down for fear that we won’t make it on time. I’m not sure if I’m more angry at Chase for taking matters into his own hands rather than leaving it alone, like he said he would, or scared for him that he’ll face consequences that could impact his future. Either way, my adrenaline is pumping by the time we reach the turn-off for Riverton, my pulse racing and my palms clammy.

“Would it really be the worst thing for Chase to tear Clint a new one?” Nessa mumbles as she blows a stop sign, heading further into town. “I mean, that guy has had it coming…”

“Yeah, Ness,” I snap, cutting her off. “It’d be really, really bad. He’s an Alpha and this isn’t his pack. Not only that, but this could come back on me. I could be punished for setting Chase on him.”

“Alpha Brock wouldn’t do that,” Nessa states resolutely. “You’re the victim here, Vee.”

“I’m not a victim,” I mutter bitterly, clenching my jaw.

The tires squeal against the pavement as Nessa takes the turn onto my street too fast, my hands flying to the roof of her car to brace myself. My house comes into view and I see Chase’s white Ford Raptor parked in the driveway, my heart plummeting.

“Fuck,” I murmur, realizing that we’re too late. As we draw closer, I see that there’s another truck parked beside Chase’s and his friends Alec and Dare are loading boxes into the tailgate. “What the hell?”

Nessa pulls to the curb and hits the brakes, my body jerking hard against the seatbelt again as she puts the car in park. My mind’s still trying to process what exactly it is that I’m seeing, but my body’s practically on autopilot. I unclip my seatbelt, throwing the door open and jumping out of the car, sprinting toward the open front door of my house.

My mom’s sitting on the couch beside Astrid, her head swinging around toward me as I spring through the doorway, her eyes wet with tears. “Vienna?”

“Mom!” I rush out, stumbling toward her and falling down into the open spot beside her on the couch. “I’m so sorry,” I choke, wracked with guilt for bringing this chaos to her door in her fragile state. I lean in close and wrap my arms around her, squeezing tight.

Her arms come around me, bony fingers clutching at my jacket. “Oh mija, please tell our Luna this is all a big misunderstanding,” she whispers.

I pull back from her, blinking, my gaze lifting to Astrid on the other side of my mom and my brain working overtime to process what the hell she’s doing here. As she returns my gaze with sympathy in her eyes, the pieces start to slide together in my mind. My mom must’ve called her after Chase showed up, which means he’s probably in a world of shit right now.

“Vienna,” my mom snaps, drawing my attention back to her. “Tell Luna Astrid how this is all a mix-up. Clint has been nothing but good to you…”

“What?” I blurt, my eyes pinging between my mom and our Luna. “No mom, he hasn’t…”

My mom rolls her eyes exaggeratedly. “Honestly, mija, this need of yours for attention has gone too far this time.” She turns to Astrid, shaking her head. “She’s been troubled ever since we lost her father, always seeking affection…”

Bile crawls up my throat and I shoot to my feet, staring at my mother in disbelief. “How can you say that?” I demand, forcing back the sharp sting of tears forming behind my eyes. “He’s a creep, mom, he tried to force himself on me!”

She tuts, shaking her head. “Clint would never do such a thing. He’s an honorable man.” My mom narrows her gaze on me, her tone biting. “You think I don’t know why you moved away? He told me how you came onto him, how you’ve been pursuing him relentlessly.”

“Oh gross!” I shout, grimacing and shrinking back. “Are you serious? He’s lying, Mom, he…”

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