A Rebellious Moon

Chapter Thirty-Five

As she hesitated, the door opened in front of her as if by magic. Startled, Amanda crouched backwards. Chase appeared in the doorway with a grimace, gesturing impatiently for her to come inside. She hunched her shoulders and followed him down the hallway and up the stairs.

Once in his office, Chase gestured for her to have a seat and closed the door to give them some privacy. Rather than sitting at his desk, Chase chose the chair next to Amanda's and tilted his body to face her. Neither spoke for a couple minutes, but the discomfort was evident on both of their faces.

Finally, Chase said, "I don't really know what to say. Can you just explain the situation as best you can? I haven't called your father yet, but I need to at some point." He pursed his lips. "I feel very uncomfortable on so many different levels right now."

Amanda nodded, keeping her eyes on his shoes. "I understand. I do as well. As for an explanation...I'm not sure where to start. Can I just tell you what happened today?" She lifted her head to make eye contact with Chase.

He gave her what should have been an encouraging smile, but she could see the turmoil behind his eyes. She took a deep breath to organize her thoughts.

"How about I tell you what happened today and we'll go from there?" Amanda suggested.

"I'll hold my questions until the end," Chase said with a very meager attempt at a joke.

Amanda recounted her day to Chase starting with her noticing Devon at the coffee shop. She included her phone call with Cassie, trying to relay as much information as possible without adding in her own feelings. When she reached the part where she actually spoke to Devon, she froze. Chase had been nodding along during Cassie's phone call, but when she mentioned that then Devon came up to her, his face had hardened and he leaned back into the chair.

Making a snap decision, Amanda finished her story quickly with the exchanging of phone numbers and her running off to class. Chase was already appearing upset by the situation and she didn't want to tell him that Devon still smelled like her mate. As far as she knew, having two mates was unheard of. Her mother explained why she could have a new mate after being rejected, but apparently Devon wasn't as completely out of the running as she thought.

Amanda's thoughts were disrupted as Chase stood up quickly. He paced around the room, rubbing his chin and shaking his head.

"Does he think he's going to get you back somehow?" he finally asked.

"I'm sorry, what?" Amanda had heard him, but was surprised by the question.

"Do you think that Devon is here to somehow reclaim you as his mate? Because I know that you don't recognize me as your mate, but I will still fight for you." Chase looked determined now.

Amanda was taken aback at Chase's forthright declaration. "Um, please don't. I mean, Devon's not worth fighting, so just, um don't."

He searched her face for a moment and then laughed. "I understand. I know you can fight your own battles, too. With the hunter and with this. I just want you to let me take care of you sometimes, okay?"

"Yeah, okay." She smiled, pleased that the mood was lightening. "Do you want to call my dad, or should I?"

"I'll call him. This is more of an alpha to alpha discussion, I think. Honestly, when Nina talked to me first, I thought that your father was disrespecting me. I possibly might have been being a little extra sensitive since he's your dad as well," said Chase.