I woke with a start, morning light streaming in. Cole wasn't here, but Hannah was. She was asleep, looking peaceful. She stirred. I pretended to be asleep. "I know you're awake, Iris." I sighed, turning back to face Hannah. "I wish I wasn't." I wasn't lying. Thoughts and memories clouded my head. I took breath. Then came the memory about when Drake touched my shoulders. I reached up to touch them. They stung like a sun burn. I winced, not at all liking the burning feeling. "I'll go get you some ice." Hannah left. I heard yelling and a loud bang. I rolled my eyes. Probably the boys fighting about me again. I stood and walked to the door. I heard something and footsteps ran towards the door. I jumped out of the way as Drake was thrown through my door. "What the heck?!" Lionel came in. It was the first time I had seen him sense the accident at Cole's house. "Lionel, stop or I will banish you from the pack!" Lionel went to deliver a punch. I grabbed his hand. "Lionel, stop!" He looked at me. Then hurt flashed across his features. He pulled his hand away. "Don't touch me. You only used me!" I growled. "That is so not true!" He gave Drake a murderous glare. "I'll let him live for you." I narrowed my eyes. "Lionel, do you even know what happened?" He looked at me weird. "Drake rejected me." Lionel's eyes went wide, then anger took control. He pushed me out of the way and turned back to Drake. "YOU DID WHAT?!" I started to panic. If he killed an Alpha, the punishment was death. "Leland! Cole!" I pressed myself up against the wall, afraid of what might happen. Lionel was about to shift when Cole came in, stabbing a needle filled with wolfsbane in his arm. He yelled and fell to his knees. Leland ran over to me and took me in his arms, guiding me out of the room. "What happened?" I explained everything that I knew. "Ok, you go find Hannah and stay with her." Another loud bang sounded through the house. "Ok." I ran down the hall and collided with Hannah. Ice spilled everywhere. Hannah groaned and bent down, trying to pick it all up and put it back in the bag. "Are you going to help me or not?" I snapped back to reality and bent down to help. "What was that all about?" I hurried and stuffed the ice into the bag. "I don't know what you're talking about, lets just go to the living room." I pulled her along with me. "Iris, you better start explaining!" I hushed her. "Iris, what's going on?" We both screamed as a large wolf collided with us. We were both stuck under who I presumed to be Lionel. I looked at Hannah. She was unconscious. "Dang it!" I rolled over onto my back and kicked Lionel off of us. Grabbing Hannah, I camped out behind the couch. Lionel got up, shook himself off, and ran up the stairs. Snarls sounded. "That's it." I changed to my wolf and bounded up the stairs, anger and power radiating off of me. Everyone was in wolf form. Connor, Kyle, Bruno, Leland, Cole, Drake, and Lionel. Lionel was against all of the others. I walked up and stood next to Lionel, growling. Drake narrowed his eyes and shifted back to a human. Connor, Bruno, and Kyle did the same. Lionel growled. I growled with him and we both took a step forward. Leland and Cole shifted. I shifted and so did Lionel. "I think the problem is solved. Connor and Bruno, go help Hannah. Leland, Cole, and Drake come with me. Lionel and Kyle, make yourself scarce." Everyone did as I said. At that exact moment, a certain person popped into my mind. "Where's Chelsea?" Drake became tense. Us four were the only ones left in the hallway. "Drake, answer me." He swallowed. "She went looking for you. Rouges found her and we haven't seen her since." I blinked a few times. The poor girl. "I see." We all fell silent. "I expected more out of you. I'm disappointed. You should have avoided a fight. Instead you put Hannah and everyone else in the house in danger." I turned to walk away and an unbelievable scent reached my nose. It smelt like the forest and the streams that run through it, my favorite smell. It was said that rare wolves got a second chance with their mates if destiny allowed it. I heard Cole mutter something under his breath. "Mate." I turned and faced him. Drake was still. No one dared move. I looked between Drake and Cole. No. No way. This was impossible. "What did you say?" Drake's expression was blank, but I could tell he was fighting his wolf. "Mate." I reached up slowly and felt for the mark Drake had put on me. It was gone. Racing to the bathroom, I stared at my neck in the mirror. No mark. I ran back into the hall, tears in my eyes. "It was just there this morning, I remember feeling it when I felt my shoulders!" The pain in my shoulders was gone, too. Cole stared into my eyes, walking closer to me. Leland took one step and he was next to me. His arm brushed mine and Cole let out a fierce growl. Leland backed off. I didn't move. I felt tears coming into my eyes. Tanner walked out of a room, a sleepy look in his eyes. I couldn't believe that he slept through this morning. He felt the tenseness in the air and froze, his sleep waring off. He instantly tensed up as Cole took my face in his eyes. I was searching for an answer in his eyes, but all I found was the look of love and relief. "I didn't think I would get a second chance at having a mate, but now I see a beautiful girl standing in front of me. She's more than a second chance. She's amazing, brilliant, vibrant, and unique, and in all her beauty something stands out. It's not the silver, it's not the red, it's her amazing personality, the smell of snow and orchids filling the empty space around her. It's the fact that she's mine, she's all I ever wanted. Iris, I love you." I was crying silently, the tears rolling down my face. Cole wiped them away. "I love you, too." He filled the space between us as our lips met. Sparks erupted throughout my body, making me melt into his touch. He pulled away, a loving smile on his face. I looked past him to see Drake crying silently, sadness and regret in his eyes. Tanner walked over, grabbed both Drake and Leland, and dragged them downstairs. I heard talking, then a door close. We were left alone in the house. "I smell like snow and orchids?" He nodded, his smile growing. "I love that smell." I smiled. "I happen to love the smell of the forest and streams, and you happen to smell just like it." He kissed my nose, making me giggle. I walked around him, suddenly wanting a piggy back ride. "Give me a piggy back ride." He laughed and bent down. I jumped onto his back. He ran around the hall. I laughed and squealed, holding tightly onto him. He was holding me up by my legs and I had my arms wrapped around his torso. He slowed to a stop. I was laughing my heart out. "What's so funny?" I giggled and finally got my laughter under control. "I was just having so much fun!" His phone started buzzing. He sat me down and walked into my room texting. I followed him. "Ok, well, apparently we have the whole house to ourselves for the week. Everyone went over to Erik's mansion, even Jose and Tom." He went to put his phone away, but pulled it back out. He typed something in and grinned as Bumpy Ride by Mohombi started playing. I laughed and listened to the music.

"I wanna boom bang bang with your body yo

Were gonna rough it up before we take it slow

Girl lemme rock you rock you like a rodeo

It's gonna be a bumpy ride."

I sang along to it, dancing like a crazy person. Cole laughed.

"I wanna pull you over, pull you under

Make your body surrender to mine

Girl you can make me suffer, do whatever

Cuz I know you're one of a kind

Tell me who can love you, nobody

Hold you, nobody

Make your body wind, like me

You will never find someone like me

Who can love you, nobody

Hold you, nobody

Make your body wind, like me

You will never find someone like me."

He started singing the lyrics, his voice was surprisingly good. I felt a blush creep up my cheeks as we sang the chorus together in perfect harmony.

"I wanna boom bang bang with your body yo

Were gonna rough it up before we take it slow

Girl lemme rock you rock you like a rodeo

It's gonna be a bumpy ride."

He wrapped his arms around me. I snuggled into his touch. I felt like he should've been my first mate. I felt at peace with him, he had something Drake didn't, something that drew me into him. He laughed. I took in his scent and brought my eyes up to meet his. "Kitten, you're just adorable." I furrowed my brow. Kitten? "It's your new pet name, Kitten." I growled softly. "No." Anger and sadness laced my words. "Kitten, what's wrong?" I violently shook my head and backed away from him. He looked like dad. "No, don't call me that." He looked hurt. "Ok, baby what's wrong?" He opened his arms and took a step towards me. He looked like dad. "Dad, oh god no." I backed into the wall, my arms wrapped around my body protectively. "Baby, what is it?" Love, hurt, and protectiveness rolled off of him. I wanted nothing more to be in his arms, but something was holding me back.

Crimson

what are you doing, go to him!

Iris

I can't

I blocked her, she wasn't going to help me. "Dad used to call me that. You look a lot like him, too." Tears ran down my cheeks. "Come here." I ran into his arms, squeezing the life out of him. "Easy now." I smiled and eased up. He wiped away my tears and sat me down on my bed. "Want to talk about?" I shook my head. I wasn't ready. He nodded, pulling me onto his lap. He leaned against the head post of the bed and I leaned against him. His warmth and the explosions against my skin from his touch made me ease into sleep. But, before I was in deep sleep, my stomach growled fiercely. I jumped up and ran out of the bedroom door. "Food, I need food!" I heard Cole laughing behind me as I threw open the fridge door. "Oh, yummy!" I saw some chicken casserole in the back. I pulled it out, smelling it. "Still good." I put it in the oven and warmed it up. Cole smiled and sat down at the table. "I'll get you some too." He smiled. "Thanks." I made two bowls, each filled. The casserole dish sat empty in the sink. When we finished I found some coffee ice-cream in the freezer. I felt tears sting my eyes. "Me and my dad used to eat this together." I found myself crying into Cole. He took the ice-cream and a spoon with us to the living room. He put in the movie Titanic and watched it with me as he fed me ice-cream. "Thanks, I needed this." Cole smiled, putting a spoonful in my mouth. "It's my job, and to be honest, I like this movie." I stared at him in disbelief. My eyes searched his for a lie laughingly. "I'm serious. Jack's someone I'd like to know." I giggled, eating another bite off the spoon. Snuggling in closer to him, I watched the movie until I feel asleep. It was only 1:23 p.m, but I was extremely tired. I could tell that Cole had fallen asleep by the change in his breathing. I knew I would be sleeping great with him in my dreams.