The Broken Warrior's Daughter

| watch as Cyran reacts to Kai’s challenge. Cara turns and | can see that she is taking control of Artemis, which is good. Artemis won't mind two Alphas fighting over her. But that is the last thing we need right now, and Cara knows it.

Cyran starts to push Cara behind him, about to accept my challenge. His canines and claws are extended. | watch as she turns and puts both hands on his chest. Kai is about to lose it and it’s all | can do to help Chase get us outside.

Chase and several of my warriors finally get me outside and Kai continues to snarl and fight against them.

Chase gets up in my face, “ALPHA! Think about what you are doing. Get out of here and go for a run. There is no other way that this does not end in a battle of two packs with many students dead.” He stresses the word students, trying to get through to Kai. “We'll stay and make sure nothing happens here. Go get yourself under control.”

I'm able to get just enough control of Kai to turn and run toward the forest. As soon as | hit the tree line, | shift. We run for hours before | finally feel able to return to the packhouse. I’ve missed training and as | walk in, Chase is waiting for me. | shift and walk over to him. He holds out a pair of shorts.

“How are you?” ‘Better. Thank you for earlier. Was there any backlash?”

“Nah. Cara calmed Liam down, he left with his bear, and everyone went back to normal. Although the betting odds have definitely ramped up in your favor, and for some ridiculous reason, mine. | guess everyone thinks you fight my battles for me.”

| scoff. “As if you need me fighting your battles for you.” He slaps me on the shoulder. Then his look turns serious. “That was awfully close today.”

“Yeah. Too close.” | look at my Beta scrubbing my face with my hands. “I think she might be my mate.” His eyes go wide and he whistles low. “Seriously?” “Yeah. Kai has never acted like this. Never been this...” | search for the right word. “Territorial. Possessive.”

“I've watched girls I’ve hooked up with the night before practically going at it with another guy the next night and Kai wasn’t phased at all. But with her, and

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her, talking to her and | sure as shit don’t want him touching her. Kai was. snarling the minute he walked in with that bear, but when she accepted his offering, Kai lost it. He wants her and he sees Liam and Cyran as a threat to getting what he wants.”Copyright Nôv/el/Dra/ma.Org.

“Can | ask you a question?”

“Yeah.”

“| mean this with the utmost respect, so please, know that | am asking as your friend.” I give him an ‘out with it‘ gesture when he pauses.

“Do you think it might be because she is a Guardian, not because she’s your mate? She’s a powerful she—wolf. Any male wolf would want her. Hell, even Nash recognizes that she would be one hell of a mate.”

Alow growl rumbles in my chest and Chase puts his hands up in a surrendering gesture. “I’m not staking any kind of claim, I’m just saying, our wolves respect strength and power and she has both. As an Alpha wolf, it would make sense that Kai would want her for those reasons.”

| reach out to Kai, but he doesn’t have an answer for me. He probably won't until after my birthday, or maybe not until her birthday in a couple of months.

“| honestly don’t know Chase. | guess we'll have to wait and see.” With that, | head up to my room. For the first time ever, | will not be joining my mother at Lily’s memorial site. | need to go see Cara. | need to make sure that she is ok and that | didn’t ruin everything with her today.

Cooper Author Liam and Rik can’t both be her mate- so who wants her as a mate and who wants her as a Guardian? Or maybe, they +15 BONOS