Part Of Me { Completed ✔ }

Chapter 25. Connor

>>> EDITED <<<

I escaped Mum's grasp still in shock that I'd confessed to Callum that I'd found my mate, a human. I was a mix of emotion, I felt relief that I'd admitted my biggest secret to someone but fear still tinged my relief, fear that I'd put Kate's life at risk. Admitting one secret stirred my want to admit another, that I was in love with Kate. The feelings had been stewing in me for a while, despite the fact that most would think it too soon, I felt as if I'd known from the first moment I'd seen Kate in Monet's, that she was the one for me, that I loved her. My stomach was doing flips, I'd only managed to force one mouthful of pudding down my throat, Mum had noticed my lack of interest in my favourite food but Callum had covered for me, saying I wasn't feeling well and offering up an excuse for me to head to bed early. I was terrified of having to have so much trust in my brother but there wasn't anything I could do now, the words were out in the open.

Desperately, I wanted to go see Kate, to tell her of my revelation of my feelings, to tell her that we were mates. Well, tell her as much of the truth as I could without giving away that I wasn't human. It could wait until tomorrow, I'd admitted enough today and staying home to keep an eye on Callum and Adrian - as I'd promised Alpha - didn't seem like a terrible idea.

***

Callum was already gone when I woke in the morning but neither my Mum or Dad seemed any wiser to my confession from the night before. To my surprise, it seemed like Callum was going to keep my secret.

I left home with a to-go coffee, heading in the centre of the packlands in hopes of finding Adrian. His familiar scent was strewn all over the land, as if he were doing laps around the pack house. Finally, I found him lounging in the back garden of the pack house, an assembly of his usual groupies surrounding him. Adrian was sat on the beat up old wicker chairs that were always sat on the deck, the furniture was covered in cigarette burns and stank of wet wolf fur. The surrounding girls were giggling and chatting, trying their best to capture Adrian's attention but one voice stood out to me among the rest. Nessa was glaring at Adrian with her usual disdain, her arms crossed over her chest while Adrian looked up at her, his best charming smile gracing his warm skin. Seeing them together made my coffee taste sour, I'd only told Nessa off the other week and now she was letting Adrian fawn all over. Adrian had always had an interest in Nessa, even before we were together, when we were just kids, he'd pursued her like I'd never seen him pursue any other woman. Nessa never had any interest in him though. I strained my ears to listen in on their conversation.

"I know nothing about the human." Nessa was telling Adrian, her voice stern. "We worked together, that's it."

Adrian's light brows scrunched together, he looked frustrated. "Come on Nessa, he left you for the girl. You must want some kind of revenge?" He crossed his arms, mimicking her body language.

I was thankful that Nessa wasn't budging on giving up any information about Kate. Maybe there were some redeemable qualities still left in her.

"He didn't leave me. She's just a rebound. He'll be crawling back in no time." Nessa sounded too confident. "So I don't want any part of your sick and twisted games Adrian, you've always been fucked in the head."

Used to girls falling at his feet, Adrian looked perplexed as he scratched at the back of his neck. "You don't want to be on the wrong side of things Gamma." He warned.

Nessa only rolled her eyes at him, not concerned by his threat. "You don't scare me Beta." She turned on her heel, pissing off the higher wolf by showing him her back, expressing her lack of fear. Painfully slowly she looked back over her shoulder at Adrian, "I may not like the human but you can't touch her Adrian, Connor's stronger than you think."

I hid behind the corner of the building as Nessa passed me, unaware of my presence. Once I was sure she was gone I peeked around the corner, directing my attention back on Adrian. He was distracted for now, one of the girls who had earlier been loudly giggling was perched on his lap, smiling at him while Leah, his mate, sat idly beside him. Leah looked ill, like she always did when Adrian gave his attention to other female wolves. She rarely ever spoke up about her mate's infidelity and when she did she always quickly backed down. I'd always believed that Leah just simply liked to keep the peace, by allowing Adrian to do as he pleased but now looking at her, I saw a reflecting emotion on her face that I was feeling deep in my stomach, fear.

Leah was scared, no, terrified. My palms felt sweaty, as I watched her eyes drift away from the sight beside her, her face pale and her shaking hands hidden underneath her legs. How had I never noticed this before? Was I so caught up in who Adrian once was, that I'd refused to see who he had become? I pulled away from the sight, feeling as if I couldn't catch my breath.

I couldn't help Leah right now, not when all of my focus was on the conversation I'd just caught between Adrian and Nessa. I had to go to Kate. I had to be sure that she was safe and I had to tell her how I felt, in case Adrian successfully fulfilled his threat, she had to at least know that I loved her.

***

I didn't bother knocking on Kate's front door, knowing that as much as I disliked it, it was unlocked. Kate was in the kitchen, her palm pressed over her heart as she recovered from the scare of me bursting into the apartment. "Lord! You scared me Connor."

I ignored her as I rounded the counter and engulfed her into a hug, pulling her against me so that I could feel every inch of her body pressed against me. I buried my nose into her hair, revelling in her coconut scent, while also checking for Adrian's scent. I had to keep her safe from him, I was willing to spend the rest of my life scenting her brown waves. "Sorry, just excited to see you." I told her, my words muffled by her hair.

Wanting to feel her closer, I walked her backwards until she hit the kitchen bench and had nowhere to escape to. Kate gasped, her hold on me tightening where her arms were wrapped over my shoulder, her fingers fisting the material of my shirt. The feeling of her against me and the way her scent was invading my senses made my brain all foggy, I could barely focus, couldn't think of the right way to tell her how I was feeling. So instead I said the worst possible thing, "We need to talk."

Immediately Kate stiffened against me, her scent became tainted by the smell of anxiety.

"That came out wrong." I gave her a squeeze, trying to calm both of our racing hearts. "We need to talk about good things." I rephrased to which Kate's heart beat slowed somewhat. I wasn't sure how to tell her, I couldn't really tell her what I wanted, that I wanted her to be my mate. She wouldn't understand but I could give her words that would begin to explain how I felt. "I love you." I said it confidently, a smile on my lips.

I pulled back so that I could watch her as she reacted. I watched her, really looked at her, as she reacted. She'd changed so much since I'd first seen her that day in the café. Her hair was slightly longer, the waves cascading past her shoulders as her brown locks shimmered in the sun, filtering through the window. Her storm coloured eyes were wide with surprise, the grey and blue whirling together in a dangerous cocktail, an always brewing hurricane in her irises. Her delicious mouth was slightly parted as she gasped a sharp breath. Underneath the thick hoodie she wore I could still see hints of her curves, her lean legs displayed under her shorts.

"You're so damn impulsive. When did you decide this?" Her voice was shaky.

"Yesterday." I shrugged, still smiling from ear to ear.

Kate laughed, sounding a little nervous. "Wow." She shook her head, her hair tossing with the movement. "I... I'm not as..." Kate faltered, her eyes finding the floor as she struggled to express herself. I knew that she shared my feelings but it was just harder for her to jump off of the deep end, than it was for me. Kate was calculated, she liked timelines and schedules.

So imagine my shock when she looked back up at me, her expression steely and determined. "I love you too."

"I know." I replied without a beat, she squinted her eyes at me in a glare, that only had me laughing loudly.

*********************************************************************************************

Do I love this chapter? Nuh but it's time for me to go to sleeeeppp. 

So good night lovers, I hope those that celebrate Halloween had a great time!