Chased By The Light: Scion Series Book One

by L. P. Dillon

  "No, baby, it's me..." he replied, taking my hand.

  "Chase?" My voice came out hoarse.

  When I tried to sit up, I winced in pain. My body ached all over.

  Chase, as gently as he could, pushed me down on the bed. "Baby lay back and don't try to move. You're in the hospital. You were hit by a car," he told me.

  Letting out a long exhale, I laid back, but the minute my head touched the pillow, I shot up again, flinging my eyes open as everything that happened flooded my mind. "Jesse!"

  I looked around the room for him, but he wasn't there. Bear and Dawson stood still, glancing at each other in confusion. I looked at Chase, noticing the worry and sadness on his face.

  "Where is he? Where's Jesse?"

  Chase dropped his head and pulled his hand away from mine, looking at the guys and then back at me. He rubbed the back of his neck. "Aubrey, Jesse's dead. Don't you remember?"

  "Yes, of course, I remember. How could I forget losing the love of my life?" I snapped at him.

  Shock and hurt passed over his features, but I was too consumed at the thought of Jesse being alive I didn’t notice the pain I’d caused him.

  "He saved me; he was there when I got hit by the car. Didn't you guys see him?" I shouted at Bear and Dawson.

  They looked at each other again, and then back at me, concern shining from their faces.

  "Dawson?" I asked hopefully.

  He shook his head and then lowered it.

  I turned to Bear. "William, you saw him, right? The guy that was holding me?"

  Bear cleared his throat. "Brie there was no one holding you. When we got to you, you were passed out in front of the car, with blood pouring out of your head. I'm so sorry..." he replied, and as much as I didn't want to believe him, I knew he was telling the truth.

  With my eyes on Chase again, I raised my hand to my head, cringing when I brushed against the bandage. Looking at my forehead, Chase touched my arm, guiding it down while laying me on my pillow.

  His face filled with trepidation, he leaned over and gave me a chaste kiss on the lips. "I'll go and get the doctor; they want to do another head scan. Your parents are on their way. Just get some rest and I'll be back before you know it. I love you..."

  I didn't reply. Instead, I rolled over and closed my eyes, hoping that when I awoke, I’d see Jesse waiting for me. While waiting for sleep to take me, I listened to the guys’ quiet chatter.

  “She's confused, don't worry, she will be fine in a few days," Chase whispered.

  "But someone had been there," Bear replied.

  "What do you mean?" Chase snapped.

  "When we got to her, I could smell the Alpha that had been in the woods..."

  My heart leaped at the thought that it had to be Jesse, but I was too exhausted to respond. I just smiled with hope and drifted off to sleep.

  After my accident, everyone tried to convince me that I'd hallucinated seeing Jesse. They insisted that they'd had a traditional werewolf funeral for him, and that me thinking that I'd seen him that day was because of the knock to my head when the car hit me. And even though common sense and logic told me they were all right, in my heart, I still held hope that he was alive.

  I'd started up classes again and decided against joining the cheerleading team despite the insistence of most of my Sorority sisters. Instead, I focused on track and took up my old ritual of an early morning run. This morning I was up at four forty-five, had a protein shake, and left by five.

  Chase didn't like me going for a run alone and kept going on about Alphas, Sires and, kings. Blah, blah, blah. He would send different guys out with me each morning to run behind me, or Arabella would come with me, but today I left an hour early so that I could get some peace. I needed to clear my head and I couldn't do it with people constantly chattering away.

  I ran down the dirt path at the edge of the Sorority garden and decided a bit of cross country was in order, so I headed into the woods. The fresh morning air filled my lungs as I ran along listening to my music. Running had always been therapeutic for me. I could drift away and forget everything, and just tune into my music and mindlessly go. I went through leaves and twigs, slowing down every now and again to watch my footing, and when I got to a clearing, I picked up the pace again. After about an hour, I decided to stop by the lake and take a breather. I sat down next to the water and took the buds out of my ears, catching my breath while listening to the beautiful song of the birds hidden in the trees and tracing my fingers across the top of the crystal-clear water.

  This place was beautiful, and if I didn't have classes, I could have sat there all day listening to nature and watching the day pass me by. Unfortunately, I had a future to build, so I got up and went to put the buds back in my ears. All of a sudden, a branch snapped behind me, the sound breaking the silence like a bomb going off. I spun around, freezing when I saw a huge blond wolf standing only a few feet away from me. He was bigger than I'd ever seen a wolf, and usually I would have been petrified, but looking into his gorgeous bright emerald green eyes, I guessed it was Chase.

  I had been out running for a long time, and I knew his Frat brothers would have told him I wasn't at the Sorority house when they got there. He probably shifted to come and find me.

  The wolf approached me, and I instinctively knelt down for him. He moved closer, standing just in front of me. Our faces were only inches apart, and I could see a soft twinkle in his eye, almost like he was smiling. He let out a low purr and, without warning, he licked my face. I giggled and patted his head, and seeing how he let me pet him, I decided to lean in and wrap my arms around his neck. He vibrated into my ear as his purr deepened, and I snuggled into his luxuriously soft fur. He was so warm and comforting I could have easily curled up with him on that woodland floor and fallen asleep.

  "Aubrey? Aubrey? Where are you? Answer me!" I heard Chase calling out to me in the distance.

  I gasped and pulled away from the giant blond wolf. I stared into his eyes with confusion, and when he looked back at me with sadness in his eyes, I whispered, "Jesse?"

  He whined slightly, then he moved forward and rubbed his face against mine. I closed my eyes as his velvety-soft fur brushed against my face. He pulled away, licked my cheek, and turned around, sprinting off into the trees. Crumbling into a heap on the ground, sobs overtook me. It was him. I couldn’t believe it, but deep down, I’d known it all along. He was alive.

  Not too long passed before I heard Chase again. I knew I couldn't tell him about this, else he would have his pack searching the woods all night trying to find Jesse, and if he found him, I didn't know what he'd do to him. I needed to give him a head start.

  I dried my tears, put my buds in my ears, and stood up, splashing my face and hair with water to make it look like I was sweating, and then I ran in the direction I'd heard Chase. I found him quick, and when his eyes fell on mine, I slowed down so he could catch up to me. With my music blaring, I couldn’t hear him, but I could see his mouth moving. By the look on his face, it wasn’t good, either.

  Plucking the buds out of my ears, Chase then said, "Aubrey? Where the hell have you been? Didn't you hear me calling you?" He’d said a lot more than that, but I was kind of glad I hadn’t heard it.

  I decided to play the innocent. "Chase? What are you doing up so early? Did you say something? I couldn't hear you over the music."

  I heard him groan and mutter under his breath as he stormed towards me. When he reached me, I expected another rant, but instead, he just picked me up and pulled me in tight against his chest. Hearing his labored breathing and feeling his heart racing made me feel a little guilty. Okay, a lot guilty for what I’d just done.

  "Don't ever do that to me again!" he ordered in a low voice, and there was hurt swirling in his words.

  "Do what, Chase? I don't understand."

  "Don't come out running alone..." he began, but as he did, the wind ruffled through my hair, blowing strands of it into his face.

  Before I had a chanc
e to do anything, he grabbed a piece of my hair and took a deep sniff. My eyes widened when his eyes turned pitch black. I jolted away when he growled, a deep, guttural growl that made the hairs on my arm stand on end, and the howl that followed didn’t help. Other howls answered Chase’s, making the birds fly out of the trees.

  Jesse didn’t have long.

  "What's wrong?" I asked, trying to sound as convincing as possible.

  "Have you seen anyone out here?"

  "What? Like who? It's six in the morning. who's even awake this time in the morning?"

  "Aubrey! Just answer the question!" he demanded, his voice all business.

  "No," I said plainly.

  He let out a low growl, then turned to look in the direction Jesse had run off in. He inhaled deeply through his nose, closed his eyes, and a low growl rumbled through his throat.

  "Chase, what is it? What happened? I don't understand!" I pleaded with him while placing my hands onto his arm.

  He held my hand. "There's an Alpha out here!"

  "What!? Like right now?" The words rushed out of me, and I made it look as real as possible.

  "Yeah, I need to get you out of here, now!" He spoke through gritted teeth.

  Without warning, he picked me up and threw me over his shoulder, sprinting as fast as he could back through the woods. I remembered when Jesse ran with me like this on his shoulder. We were running away from Chase.

  Not sure why, but I looked up, finding a naked Jesse leaning against a tree by the lake. A smile stretched across my lips, and I blinked, but by the time I opened my eyes again, he had disappeared.

  I went on runs around the same time every morning for the next month hoping to see him, but I never did. I did ask Chase if they found anyone in the woods that day, but he said that the Alpha was too fast and cunning for them. He stepped up security on me, and I could barely get five minutes to myself. School, track, and wedding planning occupied the majority of my time, but I couldn't really focus on anything.

  "So, I was thinking of Paris for our honeymoon?" Chase spoke, but I wasn't paying much attention.

  I stared out of the car window, not even glancing his way. "Um-hm."

  "Or maybe somewhere else in Europe? I know you loved the idea of going there..."

  "Ah-huh."

  "Or we can go somewhere hotter, like Hawaii or something?"

  "Yeah, sounds good."

  "Or maybe we'll just fly to the moon?"

  "Yeah, that would be perfect," I answered.

  "Aubrey!" he cried out.

  "Huh?" I replied while turning around to look at him.

  "Are you even listening to me? I'm trying to plan our honeymoon here, and you're acting like you don’t give a shit. What gives?" he asked me.

  "Nothing. I'm sorry. I guess I'm just a little distracted."

  "A little? Are you kidding me? It's like you're not even here anymore. I'm pretty much planning this whole wedding with Payton and your mother," he shouted and then paused as he skidded the car to a stop at the side of the road.

  I jolted forward and then slammed back into my seat, staring at him while he gripped the steering wheel tight enough to make his knuckles turn white. He then took in a deep breath, and eventually exhaled it, seeming to try and calm himself.

  Sucking in a deep breath, he slowly exhaled it "Look, if you don't want to do this, I understand. We can call it all off." He twisted his hands around the steering wheel, and I had a feeling if he kept his grip on it, he’d break it right in half.

  "I don't understand. Of course, I don't want you to call it off. I love you..." I leaned forward, cupping his chin.

  Trying to turn his head so he would look at me only made his shoulders stiffen as he pushed my hand away from his face. It took a few minutes, but he finally looked at me, his emerald green eyes tearing up. "I love you too. More than you can possibly imagine. I've loved you since the first day you arrived here and slammed into me with your box of underwear. Hell, even seeing you blush after I tripped over your vibrator made me love you even more. But I'm not convinced this is what you really want, that I’m who you really want."

  I placed my hand over my face, closed my eyes, and sighed. "Of course, I want you. I want this, want a future with you. I love you, Chase."

  "You love Jesse!" he bellowed, and there was so much anguish in what he’d said it hurt my heart.

  My hand fell from my face and my eyes sprung open in shock, "What?"

  "You heard me. You dream about him all the damn time, and you call out his name while you sleep. Even when you're with me, you're not really there. You're off in some dreamland with him, aren't you?" he asked, his voice harsh but quieter than before.

  I searched his beautiful emerald green eyes, and the sadness on his face broke my heart. But no matter how much I wanted to tell him that he was wrong, I couldn't find the words. I sat there just staring at him while his heart broke in front of me.

  After a few minutes, he closed his eyes and sighed, turning the car around to take me back to the Sorority house. He drove in silence, and I wanted to make it better, I really did, but I didn't know what to say, or to fix it. I couldn't lie, either. I was still in love with Jesse. Christ, if he was truly dead, how messed up was it that I was seeing the guy all the time. Out the corner of my eye, I'd catch a glimpse of him, then when I'd look, he'd be gone. Even I was beginning to believe I was losing my mind.

  How could I be the wife and mate that Chase needed when I couldn't stop thinking about and pining after his dead cousin?

  We pulled up outside the Sorority house and I expected Chase to get out, but he didn't. He just sat there gripping the steering wheel again, staring straight ahead.

  "Get out, Aubrey," he said in a low and defeated voice.

  "What? Aren't you coming in? We need to talk about this..."

  "No, we don't. It's simple, we're done, it's over..."

  I grabbed his arm and shouted, "What? No, it's not. Chase look at me!"

  He pushed my hand off of his arm and turned his head away from me.

  "Chase, please don't do this. Look at me. Please, Chase, I love you. We can work through this..." I begged him, tears streaming down my face.

  I knew I was in love with Jesse still, but I loved Chase, too. Yeah, maybe I needed to work at showing him more, but I could do that. He just needed to talk to me.

  Slowly, he got out of the car, and with measured steps, he moved to my door, opening it. "Please get out of the car, Aubrey. I need to leave..."

  I did as I was told and got out of the car, but I didn’t standstill. Instead, I threw my arms around him. He didn’t return the hug but stood with his arms hanging at his sides and his body as stiff as if he had been a corpse. Tears still fell down my cheeks, and when I angled my head to get a look at his face, he had started crying, too.

  "Chase, please don't leave," I begged, my voice as broken as my heart.

  "Aubrey, I have to... My heart is breaking, and I can't keep competing with a dead man." His voice cracked, and more tears streamed down his cheeks as he wiggled out of my grip.

  With those words, Chase turned and walked to the driver’s side of his car. After one last look at me, he got inside, closed the door, and sped off. That was the moment all the light left my life. I was alone, broken, and shrouded in eternal darkness, and it was all my fault.

  It had been nearly six months since Chase left. I’d spent weeks trying to call him and sent thousands of texts, but eventually, his phone was cut off completely. I tried asking Arabella about him, but she just said he was off travelling, and she barely heard from him. I didn't want to put her in the middle. so eventually, I quit asking.

  I focused on my classes, and track, even began training every morning with Arabella. Running against a team of werewolves was not easy, but I was slowly catching up. Being heartbroken helped in a weird way, and I pushed myself as hard as I could. The physical pain during and after running took away the ache in my heart, even if it was only for a short while.
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br />   I already knew I was delusional before Chase left, but now I was certain. My visions of Jesse, which brought both joy and confusion, disappeared along with Chase. After a while, I began to think of Jesse less and less, and even when he did pop into my mind, I didn't feel guilty for not thinking about him all the time. It took a while, but I was just starting to get my life back on track.

  "You ready?" Arabella asked from my bedroom door.

  "Yeah, one sec," I replied while sitting on the edge of my bed, doing up the laces on my sneaker.

  All tied, I jumped up and headed to the door, following Arabella down the stairs and out the door. We did some stretches in the driveway and then jogged towards the road. We ran at a slow pace for a while, and then Arabella kicked it up a notch. She used to go easy on me, but not anymore. Now she had me running at full speed, trying to push through my barriers.

  "Come on, Aubrey, keep up. The coach wants you breaking your personal best, and you’re not going to get anywhere close running like that!"

  I chuckled and picked up speed, easily catching her. I raised an eyebrow as I passed her, and she scowled at me. I kept my eyes forward and a smug grin on my face as I picked up my speed even more, now running the fastest my legs would carry me. I felt a slap to my behind, and when I turned to look, the bitch overtook me. All I could do was watch as she sprinted past me, her eyes jet black.

  I shot a scowl her way, but I doubt she saw it. "Hey! No fair. That's cheating. No using werewolf speed, Bell!"

  She poked her tongue out at me, turned back around, lowered her body, and sprinted off faster into the distance. Eventually, I couldn't see her anymore, so I slowed down my pace. I knew she would meet me at the diner, where we'd grab a fruit smoothie, have a chat, then we'd race back to the house. I had slowed down to almost a jog, and by the time I reached Darlin's Diner, Arabella had already ordered our drinks and was sitting at a table by the window. She held her hands up at me through the window, presumably asking me what took so long. I shrugged and entered the building, slumping into the seat opposite her and trying to catch my breath.