Mate

Chapter 13 - Rogues

Brooke's POV

"So where to next?" I asked Jace, smiling widely.

"I'm going to show you around a bit. I'll bring you to the mall first, in case you ever need to buy anything, you can go there." Jace said and started driving.

The drive was quiet and I guess you could say, it was awkward. I turned the music up and stared out of the window. Thinking.

Yes, I still haven't decided whether or not to forgive him. And no, I will not rant about that to you again. Because well, I've been ranting a lot, and frankly, it isn't helping my case at all.

I was so deep in thought, that I didn't realise we had reached the mall, until Jace opened the car door for me. "Milady." He had said graciously.

I didn't reply to that, merely smiling at him awkwardly. Truth is, I didn't know how to act. He was treating me like I wasn't just his friend, when I actually was.

Suddenly, Jace stopped smiling. He stiffened. I never saw him like this before and it scared me.

"Jace! What's going on?" I demanded to know. He didn't answer.

"JACE!" I said loudly. This time he answered me, with one word.

"Rogues."

Now I would like to say, that I took the whole thing under control and that I did what was necessary during a rogue attack, but that was certainly not what happened.

I had gone into shock. I didn't move. I didn't say anything else. It was as if someone had froze me, and prevented me from moving. At that time, I was sure the only emotion shown on my face, was how terrified I was.

But Jace, on the other hand, snapped into action. He slammed the car door, making me jump a little, got in the car and sped off.

He had the whole thing under control, not that I ever thought otherwise. Being the alpha, he was in charge of many things. It was not unusual for an alpha to be in control of what was going on.

Within minutes, we were back at the pack house. Jace got out of the car, and motioned me to follow him. He broke off into a run. But me, being the incredibly physically unfit person, I couldn't keep up with his pace. I was panting heavily, calling out to him to slow down.

He realized this, and I guess he didn't want to slow down, with the fate of his pack in his hands. So he ran over to me, and lifted me with ease. He carried me all the way there. I might have been scared before, but now I wasn't as scared. I may hate Jace, but even I can not deny that with him, I felt safe, like he would protect me from all danger.

Blood. That was my first thought when we entered the pack house. I could see it. I could smell it. It was splattered everywhere. I resisted the urge to puke at the sight of it. Bodies - dead bodies - were strewn carelessly all over the room. In short, it was utterly gruesome.

Cayden was already there waiting for us, standing in a protective stance in front of his mate, Taylor. The minute he saw us, he told Jace briefly the pack's situation.

"Brooke. You and Taylor need to get out of here. There's a secret hiding place at the basement. Cayden already told Taylor about it. Go. And hurry. I don't want you getting hurt." That was all Jace told me, before they ushered us away, down to the basement.

"Wait, Jace!" I stopped him. I brought him into a tight hug, squeezing him so tight that I was sure I had cut off all blood circulation in all parts of his body. "Stay safe." I told him.

Even in this situation, he managed a small smile. I wanted to say more, but I knew we had to go now, before the rogues came and found us. I pulled Taylor away from her mate, and said a final goodbye, before we ran downstairs to the basement.