Page 96 of Alpha Chase

Nessa appears overwhelmed, and honestly,same. I still don’t fully understand everything that just went down in that house, but one thing I do know is that the man at my side put himself on the line for me today, and I can’t find it in me to walk away from him just yet.

“We need to talk,” I say quietly, peering up at Chase through my eyelashes.

The muscle in his jaw ticks and he reaches out to cup my face in one of his large, rough hands. “I’ll give you a lift to work?” he offers, arching a dark brow.

I nod, tearing my gaze from the intense hold of his own and turning away to approach Nessa. Her eyes are still clouded with concern, and she reaches out for me as I approach, clasping my hand in hers.

“I’m going to catch a ride with Chase,” I murmur, giving her hand a little squeeze as I lean in closer. “I’ll tell you everything when I get up to the lodge.”

“You better,” Nessa breathes, offering me an encouraging smile and squeezing my hand back. Before I can turn away, she lunges forward and wraps her arms around me, capturing me in a tight hug. I melt into it, blowing out a shaky breath that I didn’t even realize I was holding as I wind my own arms around her snugly. Chase isn’t the only one who was there for me today. Nessa has always had my back; she’s been more like family to me these past few years than my own flesh and blood. I’m not sure what I did to deserve a friend like her, but I’m so fucking grateful.

After a few beats, I reluctantly withdraw from her embrace, pulling back to smile at her lovingly.

“Make sure you clean up before starting your shift,” she comments, her eyes combing over the blood stains on my skin and clothes. “You look like a serial killer.”

I bark out a laugh, swatting her on the arm playfully as I turn around and head toward Chase’s truck. He slams the tailgate on the twins’ truck beside his, thumping his hand down on it. “You know where to go,” he grumbles, and the other guys grunt in affirmation and pile into the truck.

My eyes catch on the boxes in the back of Chase’s truck as I make my way to the passenger door, recognizing my belongings inside of them. His friends must’ve completely cleaned out my room while the shitshow was going down with Clint- there’s a pink feather boa that I wore in a sixth-grade talent show sticking out of the top of one of the boxes; a plaque that I was awarded for winning the second-grade spelling bee resting on top of another. All of the useless shit that I’ve collected over the years that I certainly don’t have a use for anymore, but I guess I’m taking it all with me, wherever I’m headed.

Fuck, where is it all going?

“So what now?” I ask nervously as I climb into the truck, swinging my door closed and fastening my seatbelt. I cast a wary glance at Chase in the drivers’ seat as a rush of words tumble from my lips. “As much as I appreciate the whole knight in shining armor thing, you can’t just move me into your packhouse. I’m not even part of your pack. And we’ve known each other for what, a month? I can’t just move in with you, Chase.”

“I had a feeling you might say that,” he grunts, starting the ignition and backing out of the driveway.

As he starts down the street, anxiety creeps in, my adrenaline wearing off and the harsh reality of everything that just occurred bearing down on me.

“Also, are you gonna fill me in on what Brock was doing there?” I ask, my voice strained. “Because you promised…”

“That I wouldn’t tell him?” Chase finishes, sliding me a smirk.

“Yes!” I exclaim, folding my arms over my chest indignantly. “You promised.”

His smirk deepens. “I didn’t tell him.”

I whip my head around to stare at him dubiously, my mind still combing over the scene I walked into and desperately trying to fit the pieces together. My mouth hangs open, the questions on the tip of my tongue but the words escaping me.

“Did you forget his mate is a fucking psychic?” Chase asks, swinging his gaze in my direction as he slows at the stop sign for the intersection that Nessa blew through on the way here.

I clamp my mouth shut, my mind racing. “That’s… wait… did she see you coming or something?” I ask, still struggling to make sense of it all.

He gives a tight shake of his head. “No. I went to the packhouse, Astrid did her psychic ju-ju on me, and then she told Brock and he agreed to let me handle it,” he says, as if it’s the most simple explanation ever.

Meanwhile, my mind is reeling. “He… you…what?” I sputter.

The corner of his mouth turns up in a half-smile. “He agreed to let me handle it,” Chase repeats with a shrug. “So I did. No harm done to the alliance, and that dickbag got what he deserved.”

I flop back in my seat, staring out the windshield as we turn onto the forest road connecting the territories. “That’s kinda brilliant actually,” I murmur, hating myself a little bit for admitting that.

He grins smugly. “I thought so.”

I roll my eyes, delivering a playful jab to his bicep. “Shut up. I’m still not moving into your packhouse.”

Chase’s smile falls and he heaves a sigh. “No. You’re not.”

I narrow my eyes on him, my brow creasing in confusion. Not that I would’ve agreed to move in with him anyways, but… “where are you taking my stuff, then?”

His jaw ticks, his fingers tightening on the steering wheel. “To the complex,” he grits out, sliding me a side-eyed glance. “You’re a tracker, so Gray wants you on the squad.”

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