Word Count: 1814

~Brielle

It's cruel how all the wrong moments feel so right.

My entire body is betraying my mind right now, which is telling me this is not right, and I need to stop this before it goes to far. I'm aware I shouldn't be pressed up against Chase's body as he lays me down on the couch, leaning over me. I should push him away and get the space between us that we need. Yet, I can't.

"I should really stop," I say, my breath hitching at the feeling of him licking and kissing my neck, right where he had bitten in order to get to Ren. Only minutes earlier, Chase had saved me from being hurt by Ren. Now, I'm lying under him on a couch.

"Do you want to?" he asks softly, his hands pulling my legs apart to lay between them. I grip his hair, pulling him back to kiss me.

That surely answers the question.

It's never felt so right to kiss someone before. In school, behind the back building I would sometimes make out with the odd boy for fun, but this is so much more different. It's full of passion, as we can't get enough of each other. His hands slip under my clothes, exploring my skin with his fingertips until I can't wait anymore. I pull off his shirt, hardly thinking.

He resumes kissing me immediately, stealing my breath away once again. My hands drift down the plane of his back, feel each muscle move as he kisses his way down my neck to the curve of my breasts.

And then, he stops.

His pause makes me sit up, looking at him expectantly. I was excited to keep going, to forget all rational thoughts for awhile, but he doesn't seem to be feeling the same way.

"I'm not going to continue right now. When I have you, it will be private, Ren will be out of my mind, and you would have thought thoroughly about it. I don't want you to do this because your body wants you to," he tells me, as he gets to his feet, leaving me lying on the couch, utterly dumbfounded.

"Ren wouldn't interrupt. He doesn't want me," I remind him. The last thing Ren wants is to kiss me after what happened today. I wouldn't be surprised if he came back into control to tell me I cannot remain on this island anymore.

Chase grabs his shirt off the ground, pulling it back over his torso. I can't help, for a shameful moment, to admire his physic. He truly is beautiful.

"You'd be surprised."

"If you ever think I'll want you again like that, you should start being honest. I'm not going to go to Ren with any information, so why can't you just tell me what's going on? I'm desperate to know what your plans are," I tell him, adjusting my own clothes also. Chase rumpled them to the point I'll have to change them before confronting the Alpha's again.

Chase kneels down in front of me, grabbing ahold of my hands to look up at me. "It might not seem like it, but I'm doing this to protect you. If Ren finds out you know my intentions, who knows what he would do to you for the information."

As sincere as Chase seems, I'm still skeptical. Part of me is beginning to think he doesn't plan to tell me at all, and he is just stringing me along.

Just thinking that hurts my heart.

"Tell me anything. Tell me something, unless you're planning to leave me once you're done with your mission you're planning," I say, wishing I didn't sound so desperate. This entire time, I've been so swept into the feeling I get when I'm around him, not considering that maybe he's crazy, and both him and Ren are the bad ones. Maybe I need to escape while I can.

Chase furrows his brows, eyes clouding. "My last intention is to confuse you. I promise you of that. What I want is not to lure you along, I just don't want to risk anything happening to you. Maybe there are some questions I can answer to put your mind at ease."

Quickly, before he can change his mind, I sort through my mind for questions I want answers to. It forces me to look back to the beginning of all of this.

There is no shortage of questions, though.

"I once saw you in that basement area that a group of girls snuck into, me included...And I know, it wasn't something I wanted to do, but when I was down there, I saw you with a girl, and you were so rude to her. Did you have a mistress then ditched her?" I question. I want to know the answer, but I don't doubt it would hurt if he told me he was with her.

Chase breathes in deeply, searching for an answer. "That wasn't my mistress, it was Ren's. She continuously tried to bother me at nights, assuming I wanted anything to do with her. Ren pretended to be me, so the rumour wouldn't spread."

Blinking a few times, I try wrap my head around that. When I saw him that night, he had been so dismissive with her, and frankly hurtful.

"Why were you so unforgiving with her?"

It's not like I care for the girl at all, considering how she acted around me. Maybe she was scared, thinking Chase wanted to hurt her for speaking out. Or Ren...It's confusing to wrap my head around, considering I've believed Chase has done such horrid things this entire time. If he is telling the truth, Ren really is a monster.

"It was out of context, I don't doubt. She was incredible persistent, and knowing girls like her who only wanted the Alpha's wealth, she wasn't going to stop unless I was firm with her. And if hurting her feelings kept her safe, it doesn't bother me much," he explains.

When I look at Chase, I see a man who is trying to get things done. He might pretend to be callous and not care much for anyone, but I see right through it.

Even if I don't know much about him.

"What about the girl who got mysteriously injured? She uttered your name and told me to escape," I tell him, wondering how he is going to talk himself out of this one. I believe him, almost. Ren was so kind back then to me, and has only turned recently. He must be one great actor for convincing everyone he was good.

"She witnessed something Ren didn't want her too. It's that simple. Whatever he did to her, I wasn't there to see, but I don't doubt it was cruel," Chase explains to me. I loosen a breath, unsure of how I should feel about this.

He holds my hands still, tighter than ever. The way he looks up with me, that blue eye searching my own for faith in what he is telling me.

I do believe him.

"And all the times you pinned me against a wall, or said something unhinged?" I ask. I remember the night I came out of the Alpha's room and he was there. It was the first time I noticed there seemed something different about Ren in the way he talked and the way he looked at me. Little did I know at the time, I was dealing with Chase.

A smile slowly spreads across Chase's face, sly looking. He moves up to sit back on the couch again, still holding my hands. I watch him skeptically, wondering if he is going to confess his love to me or something along those lines.

"Well, you might not believe me, but the moment I saw you, I felt a feeling I've never had before. It was so foreign, I had to scare you away from me, in order to protect us both," he tells me.

I'm not sure how to feel about that.

"The point is," Chase says, reaching out to brush a piece of hair behind my ear fondly, which is a moment of affection I would have never had assumed would come out of Chase, "I really like you, and you're my mate. But although I made Ren seem bad, I'm not so great either. The difference between us is that I actually care for you."

"Do you think that makes you weak?" I question swallowing the lump in my throat nervously. I'm anxious for his answer.

He hesitates, considering what he has to say. "Finding my mate was not part of why I came here. In that degree, maybe I am weak for finding you irresistible right away. However, I don't regret anything."

His words are warm, yet there is still that undertone of apprehension. I'll find out why he is here, whether I have to do it on my own, or not. He must have evidence of his secrets somewhere. And if he is the demon I believe he might be, I want to explore that, hopefully with his help.

"I hope you can trust me, for I'll make it worth it soon. There is just one more step I need to do before I can be honest with you," he tells me.

He kisses me promptly before I leave. I can't stick around when the Alpha's are here.

Moving down the hallways, I head toward the kitchen, hoping for a snack so I can have a moment to think. I quickly catch sight of Asher and Kaden, moving toward me. When they catch sight of me, they quicken their step. They don't look as friendly as usual in their approach.

"Everything okay?" I ask once they reach me, shoving my hands in my pockets. Asher simply stares at me with those lucent golden eyes that narrow skeptically.

"We have reason to believe you are a traitor," Kaden tells me, folding his arms over his chest. "Do you have a relationship with the demon, Chase? Are you with another man when you are mated to Ren?"

I gape at him.

"You don't understand..."I say quickly. All I want is a chance to speak to them about Ren, and how his agenda might not be as innocent as they assume.

Much to my surprise, Kaden reaches out, grabbing my arm. I pull against him, but there is no chance for me to escape.

He looks down at me, the unmistakably the Alpha of Vengeance. "We need to have a little talk."

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Hey guys! If you want more, the rest of Ren is up now on Radish (:

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I've also just posted the second novel in the Immortal series (in no way in correlation to book one which is Fate

It's Time!

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Instagram: Sophie_Midika

~Midika 💜🐼