A/N: If you haven't read the Holiday Special at the end of Torn, I would suggest reading it! It gives some insight into what's to come in this book!

Ortiz

I COULD only scowl at the wall in anger at what I'd done last night. I forced myself not to bite off the heavy arm that rested around my waist - attached to the one person I simultaneously ached to punch in the face and have sex with. For the umpteenth time, I'd let this stupid mating bond overpower my willpower. 

As the after-scent of our vigorous mating wafted through the air, I bit my lip to keep myself from screaming out at how badly I was losing this bet. I was always one to take a challenge seriously, but for some reason Corey was my only weakness when it came to upholding any of my decisions. With a twitch of his ever-emotionless face, he could change my entire course of thought, but of course I'd never let him know that. Who knows how he'd try and manipulate that information.

I was hyper-aware of the hard body which held me into it's sharp curvatures. Corey's grip wasn't ridiculously tight, but it was strong enough that if I moved at all, he'd definitely be able to tell (I wouldn't be surprised if the bastard specifically planned it out that way). However, the throbbing in my ass wasn't subsiding as quickly as I'd hoped, and the thought of popping a few painkillers and speeding up the healing process with a hot bath was steadily getting more appealing as the seconds passed. 

Plus, if I went back to sleep, I might wake up to Corey hovering above me to ask for yet another round - and something tells me that this mating bond would inevitably make me end up giving in to the damn bastard. 

On top of all of this, the top members of the pack (including Corey and I) had a meeting today, so getting up was inevitable.

With my firm decision, I began to gently wriggle my way out of Corey's arms, careful not to jostle him to the point of waking up. I cautiously slipped my fingers around his wrist, sliding it off of my bare waist at a snail's pace, but the moment I felt his finger twitch, I knew it was all over. His hand grabbed mine at lightning speed as he pulled me back into his body - destroying any progress I'd just made. 

Fuck, this man was the lightest sleeper I've ever encountered. 

"Where are you going?" Corey inquired calmly. The ridiculously deep bass of his voice vibrated against my back and rang as clear as day, the only indication that he'd been sleeping being a slight huskiness that sent involuntary shivers down to my toes. My eyes widened at his sudden alertness, and I cursed under my breath at his level of awareness. 

I should've known, warriors are trained to be awake in a moment's notice in case of a sudden attack on the pack. Seeing as to how I was literally in bed with the head warrior, of course he would be the perfect example of that annoying ass trait. 

"You're not my dad, I don't have to tell you everywhere I'm going." I snapped back, scowling back at him before wrenching myself from his hold. At that moment, I was so riled up that I didn't even care that I was buck naked as I stalked off to the bathroom. I could only wince as I took step after step, pain penetrating deep into my ass caused by Corey's ridiculously huge dick.

Seriously, what the fuck? Who even needs a dick that big? That thing could literally kill someone. I don't understand how that little pink-haired pack medic deals with his mate Tank, that dude was probably even bigger than Corey. I bet he used to walk differently before he met him.

"You weren't saying that last night." Corey retorted, making me freeze in horror as soon as I entered the bathroom. 

He did not just bring that up.

I whirled around so fast I thought I'd get whiplash, greeted by the sight of Corey splayed out on his back - large, ripped body out and on display. Thank God/dess the blanket at least covered the bottom half of him. 

"Shut the fuck up!" I screamed, in a sudden fit of rage, pointing an accusatory finger at him. He didn't seem to be phased by my outburst, and simply stared at me with slight curiosity in his eyes. "I'm straight and I know it! Once I find a way to get rid of this stupid ass mating bond, I won't have anything to do with you!" 

I stood with a cocky smirk on my face, but that quickly faded once I spotted the ghost of a frown that overtook Corey's emotionless features. The downward tilt of his lips made me feel as if someone shoved a wooden stake straight into my heart. 

Fuck.

I bit my lip, attempting to suppress my sudden urge to walk straight back over to the man and apologize for putting that somber expression on his face. However, the other side of me - the one that told me to run as far away from the rampant homosexuality that this man caused to blossom from inside of me - wanted nothing more than to turn our back and slam the bathroom door behind me.

So, that's just what I did. Even if it took all of the effort in the world.

"And don't follow me into the bathroom, pervert." I added for effect, rolling my eyes at him before taking the last few agonizing steps away from the man and into the bathroom, slamming the heavy wooden door behind me. 

The warm water that cascaded down my body once I entered the shower however, reminded me of the heat that radiated from Corey whenever I was in his arms. He seemed to always run a higher temperature than everyone else. Not that he had a constant fever or anything, but for some reason he was just... hot. Temperature wise. Sleeping next to him sometimes was like sleeping next to a fucking radiator.

I found myself regretting my previous actions in that moment. 

Did I hurt him even more?

Would he be angry with me?

... Is he even capable of feeling anger?

I shook my head, bracing my hands against the glass of the shower in an effort to shake the constant worry from my head. 

No. 

Absolutely not.

He deserved it.

He deserved that treatment for trying to seduce me into his homosexual ways.

I nodded firmly, my resolution to resist the man firmly back in place as I washed my body, avoiding the hard-on that stood straight up against my stomach.

-

"WILL be borders be strongly protected?" Osias inquired, tapping his fingers impatiently against the mahogany conference table in the gathering room. It was obvious that he was annoyed by the fact that his mate was not in his arms, as in the past few weeks he'd become fiercely protective over the small man who carried his pups. Today, Berlin was absent from the small couch that he usually sat in during these meetings, instead opting to stay in the Alpha suite while he was hardcore nesting. His due date was in a few days, and carrying Alpha twins took a serious toll on his body and health as an Omega. 

Corey nodded at Osias' question, rising silently from his seat to approach the whiteboard on the side of the wall. On it, was a diagram of the pack house and its ridiculously large backyard which led to the forest. 

"Strongly is an understatement." Corey started, the deep, monotone bass in his voice seeming to vibrate the very chair I sat on. Picking up a whiteboard marker, he continued, marking off areas of interest with a bright red 'X'. 

Don't stare at his muscles, dammit. 

"I have stationed patrollers and warriors at these designated spots throughout the territory, surrounding the area where the pack members will be gathered for the mixer. Due to this arrangement of protection, there is a very low chance of infiltration." Corey finished, capping the marker and taking his seat once again. 

I ripped my eyes away from him, instead focusing them on the window, where worker wolves - mostly Omegas - were busy setting up for the monthly pack party scheduled for tonight. Osias started planning and throwing pack mixers recently in an effort to get his popularity up amongst the members. The plan was once again a suggestion made by his assistant Sam, who sat beside him at the conference table. 

"Alright. I want this mixer to be the safest one yet, and I want at least 5 warriors posted in the Alpha wing along with Benji just in case anything happens. Berlin is begging me to go and fraternize with the pack members even though he knows I'd rather be with him..." Osias pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head, probably because he knew how tightly the little Luna had him wrapped around his finger. "... So I'm already going to be on edge. Therefore, I don't want anything going wrong. Don't fuck it up. Am I clear?" 

Osias glared across the table with slitted eyes to everyone as if to reinstate his point. With a nod of everyone's heads, the young Alpha wasted no time in springing from his seat and making a beeline for the door, in a hurry to get back to his beloved mate. 

I stood up a few moments later as Osias' assistant Sam sighed aloud, prompting me to take over in the absence of the Alpha. 

"Alright, lets get to work. We have under an hour before the mixer kicks off, and we have hundreds of werewolves to attend to." I stated, pushing my chair in and making my way to the door before Corey could even stand. 

(Part 2 of Chapter 2 in next episode)