Chapter 16: Chapter 16

Unedited

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I invited Jasper to come for coffee with us.

I figured that Kaden and Jasper still need to talk some things out because their conversation earlier today lasted around 45 seconds give or take.

That and I still don't have any friends at DawnStar so he's a welcome sight for me especially.

I haven't really been out to explore the pack grounds yet, and I live here now. I've only ever walked from the pack house to the log cabin, which is an isolated road leading straight through the woods. There are no shops, no houses, no people on that road so I haven't even met anyone that wasn't in the pack meeting, but still I didn't speak to anyone in there either.

The second Kaden descends the stairs I feel vastly underdressed. He's standing there, pulling at the cuff links on his suit, before flattening out the nonexistent creases in his suit jacket. He's gelled his hair so that it sits nearly atop his head, and he's even shaved his five o'clock shadow.

He's gone very all out for this trip to the coffee shop. I saw it when Jasper drove me here earlier today and it's definitely not a suit and tie kind of place.

"What are you wearing?" I gape at him, looking down at my jeans and his hoodie that's three sizes too big. "We're going to get coffee not heading to an important pack meeting!"

Kaden eyes what I'm wearing, then back at himself, before running his hand through his hair and mussing it up and grinning at me sheepishly. "I need to show everyone that I'm back on track, but maybe I should've dressed down a little bit more."

I turn and head towards the door, but the teasing sound in his voice when he mutters, "don't tell me you're not enjoying looking at me wearing this." has me spinning on my heels and raising an eyebrow his way.

I laugh at the look on his face. He looks really really proud of himself, his eyes glinting with humour, and he slings his arm over my shoulder as we walk towards the car, pulling me so close that my hip is basically attached to his.

He's holding me so close that my arm is squashed painfully against his side, so I slide it under his blazer and around the back of his waist. He gives me a slight raise of his eyebrow and I just roll my eyes before sliding into the passenger side of his car.

I fiddle with the radio whilst I wait for him to get into the car, trying to ignore that fact that his car smells just like him. I know that one inhalation will have me craving his scent, and for some reason I feel the need to bury my nose into the crook of his neck whenever I smell him.

He's intoxicating, and he very much knows it by the small smirks he sends my way when he doesn't think I'm looking.

Which I am, because I usually find myself unable to tear my eyes away.

I feel him place his hand on my knee, heat radiating from his fingertips that are splayed messily across my jean clad skin. It's all I can concentrate on, electricity flowing straight from the pads of his fingers sending shockwaves towards my stomach, a knot of desire forming deep within.

All from his damn touch.

"Stop thinking like that." He strains against his teeth as he tries to concentrate on driving, his knuckle white grip around the steering wheel.

"Well if your hand wasn't on my thigh then I wouldn't be having this problem." I mutter sulkily under my breath, scolding myself for forgetting he can smell how I'm feeling.

I think I'd still be thinking about him, but I don't think they would be as heightened as there now which his skin so close to mine.

I hear him chuckle beside me, his hand tightening around my inner thigh. "I'm sorry Lola, but not touching you is completely out of the question now."

The drive out of the woods is quick, and soon we're in the centre of town. The Main Street is full of small shops lining either side, ranging from small boutiques and quaint cafes, to coffee houses with large, spacious outdoor seating areas.

The Main Street is beautiful, with vibrant colours clashing against each other like paint on a canvas, but like a piece of artwork it all works together.

I spy Jasper sitting at the window of a small teahouse, a large mug of hot drink sitting on the table in front of him. The outside of the shop is a lime green with pastel coloured stripes along the edges. The outside seating is wicker with thick green chair cushions and pastel coloured umbrellas to block out the sunlight.

"Can we go in that one?" I ask as I point to the shop Jasper is in. Kaden's eyes quickly flit from the road to the shop and then to me, smiling ever so slightly.

He pulls up on the side of the road a few doors down from the little tea shop Jasper is in and he switches off the ignition before turning in his seat to face me. "If that's where you want to go first then that's where we'll go."

He leans across the handbrake and presses a feather light kiss on my lips, the stubble on his chin tickling my cheek. I push his face away from my own with my hand, laughing as I get out of the car and walking towards Jasper, Kaden chasing after me.

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Jasper spots us before Kaden sees him. He's gone home and cleaned up, taking off the blood stained t-shirt and dirty black jeans and replacing it with a green button up and dark jeans. He's shaved his stubble and he's wearing his signature nose ring and chain combo. I also notice a large trench coat and hat sitting on the chair beside him.

He smiles brightly when he sees us and he doesn't wince when he stands up either, so I'm guessing his wolf healing has kicked in.

I feel Kaden tense beside me, and I look up to see his jaw ticking slightly. His arm slides around my waist and pulls me forcefully to his side, my arm twisted painfully at the side of my body. "What is he doing here?"

"Kaden you're hurting me." I wince, and he quickly let's go of me, apologies written across his face. He instead takes my hand and gently intertwines his fingers with me. "And he's here because you need to talk to him."

"Lola." He growls. "I spoke to him today, there is nothing more to say. I wanted to spend the day with my mate, not my friend."

"And you'll get to spend time with me." I stress, turning him around to face me. His frown is set deep into his face, his lips sulking at me. A lot of people in the shop are staring at us now, their curiosity peaked. I can hear whispers about me being the "crazy girl in the pack breakfast", and I know Kaden can too because his eyes snap up to look at everyone and they go back to doing their own thing.

"You just need to speak to your best friend for five minutes." I urge, pushing him gently towards Jasper. He growls at me, the noise dangerously low in the back of his throat.

"Don't push me."

"Don't be a baby then and go talk." I snap, my patience wearing thin. His irises flash red and his eyes are furious, and I realise I may have overstepped my mark.

"Don't speak to me like that when we're out. I let it slide when we're at home, but don't disrespect me in front of my pack." He fumes, his teeth grinding together.

"I'm your equal and the sooner you tell your pack that, the sooner everyone will stop treating me like some disease that disrespects their alpha, when I'm only arguing with my mate!"

I push him harshly towards Jasper and stalk towards a booth in the corner of the room where nobody can see me. It's hidden by a large potted plant and is the only booth that doesn't have a view of outside, which suits me fine.

If it means people won't be staring uncomfortably in my direction, then I'll take it.

Kaden doesn't follow me which I'm glad for, so I can peruse the menu by myself, my stomach fancying one of the long list of sandwiches and toasties the tea shop has to offer.

I definitely like the sound of the chocolate milkshake and ham toastie offer.

I see out of the corner of my eyes a person stop beside my booth, their steps tentative as if they're unsure of whether the should be stood next to me. I figure it's the waiter, worried that Kaden will see them come over and he'll get all possessive alpha and attack them. But when I look up, I'm surprised to see it's not a waiter at all.

It's the girl that I found bleeding in the meeting room.

From close up, she does look around my age, maybe slightly older, her face void of any age marks or wrinkles. Her raven black hair is thrown up into a high pony tail, her olive skin free of any makeup, except for a dark coloured lipstick. He green eyes are looking at me with curiosity, cold calculation hidden behind other emotions. "Mind if I sit?"

Shaking my head, I watch as she slides into the booth across from me, her piercing gaze never faltering. "What do I owe the pleasure?"

I watch as she picks up a menu daintily between her fingers, a French manicure evident on her nails. A smirk tugs at her lips when she looks at my expression, which I know for a fact is a mixture of intrigue and utter confusion, and she places the menu back down. "I want to get to know my alpha's mate, is that a crime?"

The innocent fluttering of her eyelashes, and the teasing glint in her eyes reminds me of Sophia, and I feel a grin tug at the corner of my lips. Funnily enough I don't feel uncomfortable around her, like I thought I would. Not just around her in particular, but a member of Kaden's pack. I'm about ninety percent sure all of them think I'm batshît crazy, whilst the other ten percent probably think I'm some sort of charity case.

However, this girl doesn't seem fazed by the fact I've probably been branded psycho in the heads of every wolf in this pack, and it's refreshing.

"Do I get to know the name of the wolf who wants to know me?" I ask half seriously, my eyebrows arching. "I mean, it believe it's only fair."

"I suppose that's a fair deal." She says, extending her perfectly manicured hand across the table. "Olivia."

"Lola." I say, grasping her hand in my own and shaking.

Olivia's eyes flit up to something behind me, and soon after a waiter comes over to take our order. I recognise him instantly as the guy who Kaden lifted up by his neck, Brett I think his name was.

He's wearing a lime green apron on top of black jeans and a black shirt, his muscles constricted under the tight fabric. His short blonde hair is tucked away underneath a baseball cap that sits on his head backwards, and his brown eyes look bright under the false lights.

His face lights up at the sight of Olivia, who's sarcastic smile melts into something softer, but the second his eyes latch onto mine he winces, like the sight of me pains him.

I raise an unamused eyebrow his way, and his face pales, all colour draining from his tanned cheeks. "Brett, a pleasure."

Brett does this awkward little bow thing where he dips his head slightly, but then pulls back up like he's been burnt, or he's not sure if he's supposed to bow.

Hell I'm not sure if he's supposed to bow. Olivia looks about five seconds away from facepalming herself with the table, which makes me laugh.

Oh I laugh Internally, I'm not letting Brett feel like he's been let off the hook so easily.

"Are you ready to order?" Brett asks me, his eyes looking at the floor.

"Chocolate milkshake please." I ask politely. I'm not rude, despite the fact he was rude to me. There's no point in using disrespect to fight disrespect, like fire with fire, so being nice will make the guilt settle a little bit deeper inside his stomach.

My tactic works, because he clearly looks uncomfortable with the fact I'm being nice, like he expected me to be some raving bitch that was constantly five seconds away from ripping his throat out.

I think Olivia can sense the tension at the table, so she sends Brett a warning glance before placing her order. "I'll have a banana milkshake Brett, with extra whipped cream and..."

"And chocolate shavings and a flake, yeah I know your order babe." Brett smiles softly, writing down Olivia's shake on his notepad before closing it shit and tucking his pen into his pocket. "Your drinks won't be a minute."

I can't help but let the distain leak into my gaze as I watch him leave. I don't like the guy, mainly because of the way he regarded me at the pack meeting. Not just the fact that he basically called me a whore, but the way he spoke to me in general, like because I was a woman I was beneath him.

I just watched him show masses of respect for Olivia, just by the way he listens I her, or shuts up when she wants him to.

Shame he doesn't do that for everyone.

The scent of my mate wafts up my nose, and I turn around in my seat to see Kaden walking towards me, a small frown on his face.

"Hey." I smile when he nears. "You sorted everything out with Jasper?"

I slide over for him to get into the booth and he does so, kissing me tenderly on the cheek. "I did, I even used the words I'm and sorry I'm the same sentence."

"Next to each other?" I smirk, laughing at the jokingly unimpressed look on his face. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding."

"Wow." I hear Olivia pipe up from across the table. I feel a little bit of guilt kick in when I realise she's still there, because if I'm honest whenever Kaden is around I forget the company I'm with. "I don't think anyone has managed to get an apology from alpha Thorne."

I see Kaden look at her, and she bows her head slightly, a small smirk on her face. He however looks tense and unimpressed, the frown he had when he arrived back on his face. "I think you of all people know I'm capable of apologising Olivia."

The grin drops from her face, and an uncomfortable silence sits heavily on the table. There's obviously an issue between the two of them, despite the fact she's on his council, I can sense there is just by sitting near them.

But it's not my place to pry, and I know from the looks that Kaden is sending me he means two things. One, he's going to tell me the second we leave and two, he wants to leave.

So we do. I smile politely at Olivia as Kaden makes up some half assed excuse and goes to make my order to go.

"It was nice to meet you." I say to her over my shoulder as I chase after Kaden, and I hear her voice carry through the coffee shop as she shouts her reply.

"We'll definitely try this again some time!"

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Here's a gif of Olivia, who I may put in the cast list at some point. She's played by Eiza González if anyone wants to look her up!

Also Brett is going to be played by Armie Hammer, gif of the god below

Yes I know the ending was slightly shitty, but what I wanted written was written beforehand, and that crap ending has also allowed for the book to progress into more problems....

Oops?

Anyways, don't forget to vote and comment if you liked this chapter, hell of you haven't commented yet why don't you lose your comment virginity by commenting on....

THAT ^^^^ BECAUSE ITS HALLOWEEN TOMORROW!!

Lots of love for you all, and tune in next week same time for another great episode/chapter

(Who watches riverdale because season 2 episode 3 was MENTAL)

Lauryn xoxo