The Hunting
Chapter 9

Kia woke up the next morning alone in bed, she had to admit she was pretty bummed about that. She suddenly missed Tobias' presence.

Get it together Kia, you don't want him, remember? She said to herself. But deep down she knew she was only lying to herself. He had done something she could never forget, he broke down her walls and accepted her emotional trauma with open arms, why she didn't know. And how he did that, she didn't know either. But he did do it and she felt so much better after letting everything out. She knew she still had a long way to go, but she felt more confident in her progress now.

Kia got out of bed and took a long shower, where after she proceeded to get ready for the day.

When she walked into the kitchen the heavenly smell of dark chocolate and rain hit her nose.

"Mate.." Niri whispered, inhaling the scent more.

There at the kitchen table sat Tobias, his shirt laying on the counter. Her mother was next to him with a cloth and some antiseptics.

"What happened?" Kia asked, rushing forward.

Tobias started laughing. "I was helping your mother outside when I slipped of the ladder and fell through that window." he said, pointing out to the broken window. She stared at the broken glass and the drops of blood. All the memories came flashing back and she felt her legs give way underneath her.

"Kia..." Tobias yelled as she felt strong arms wrap around her. "What's wrong?" he asked, looking her over.

She shook her head, "Nothing, physically...." she said, giving him a small smile.

He helped her up and took her over to the kitchen table where she sat down, her mother handing her a glass of water.

"Where's dad?" she asked.

"In our room, why?" her mother asked.

"I need to talk to you." Kia said, putting on a brave face.

"Well then, let's talk." she heard her father say from behind her. She turned to him and smiled, motioning for him to join the others at the table.

"Yesterday, Tobias did something I didn't expect him to do." she said, clearing her throat. "But I'm thankful nonetheless. I came to the realization that I had to deal with Layana's death once and for all, or else I'll lose Niri forever. It's no secret that she has been unhinged lately and I also know that you've been following me around at night to make sure I was safe... "she said, eying her parents. "That's not fair to either of you. So in order for me to deal with this, I need to tell you what happened." she said, letting out a long breath.

Her mother reached over and grabbed her father's hand, her knuckles turning white from the pressure but she gave Kia a reassuring smile, encouraging her to continue.

"Layana was stubborn the whole way. Every time I made her do something that would ultimately protect her, like covering her scent or setting traps, she'd make her disagreement very clear. That night that the males were let into the woods, I heard something. When I turned around I saw a wolf looking up at the tree we were in. Layana growled behind me, saying 'mate'. I was terrified, I knew Lay wouldn't let me keep her from him, she lunged forward trying to get to him and I of course stopped her. We lost our balance and went tumbling out of the tree. I pushed her behind me, trying desperately to keep her away from the wolf. He shifted and asked me why I was keeping her from him. I explained that she was my twin and I wanted to keep her safe." she said, looking at her father.

"Turns out he knew you, dad. Said that he valued his life and that we had nothing to fear from him. Layana pushed me aside and I turned around to give them some privacy." she said, shaking her head.

"Who was he?" her father asked.

"Mathias, Delta of Crescent Sky." Kia answered and Clayton nod his head, deep in thought.

"Ah, yes. I remember him, nice young man." he said, with a edge of sadness to his words

"Everything seemed fine, I actually felt relieved that I had an extra set of hands to help keep Layana safe. How wrong was I..." she mumbled the last part, her hands shaking.

"I heard Layana scream, when I turned around, Mathias was on the ground, bloody and lifeless. Lay was a mess, she was crying and wouldn't move, no matter what I tried, she just kept going back to him. I was frantic, looking around trying to find out who did this. Finally a black wolf started approaching us, he kept looking at Lay so I knew he wanted her. " Kia explained, her whole body shaking now.

" There was just something about him, I couldn't place it but he was giving me bad vibes. I didn't want him anywhere near Lay. I told him to back off but he didn't listen, he went for Lay, I shifted and threw myself in between them, ready to die protecting her. Lay's emotions were all over the place, she wasn't thinking... She walked up to this wolf, finger in his face. Yelling about how he killed her mate, I tried talking to her through the mind link, pleading for her to back off.... " Kia said as tears streamed down her face.

"She wouldn't listen, she just kept blocking me out. I moved to get closer so I could push her away but the wolf attacked and Niri jumped forward, trying to stop him but we reacted too late, he was ripping her apart and Niri just froze. It was like she couldn't comprehend what was happening. I yelled at her and she snapped out of it. Jumping on the wolf, we tumbled around a bit before I dug my claws through his stomach." she said, the pain so clear in her voice.

"I shifted back as he hit the ground, he was dead but I was far from done with him. I grabbed a knife that I had with me and I just kept stabbing him until my arm was so numb I couldn't lift it. Everything just came crashing down around me. Niri was blocking me out, mourning her sister. Layana was dead and torn apart only a few feet from me. I didn't know how to even deal with all of that. I picked her up and laid her down next to Mathias before I buried them under rocks. Tobias found me an hour or so after, just sitting there covered in everyone's blood, singing that damn song you'd sing to us on our fishing trips. "Kia said to her father, laughing a bit.

"I'm sorry I couldn't keep her safe dad. I'm sorry I let her die." Kia finally said, openly sobbing now.

Tobias ached to hold her, but he decided to stay out of this for now. This was a family moment and it needed to happen. Clayton stood up and walked over to Kia, he knelt down next to her chair, placing his hands on her legs.

"It's not your fault." he said to her. "I should have never asked so much of you, you're only a child." he said, standing up to hug her.

They stood there hugging and crying together for a long time. Eliana and Tobias left them alone in the kitchen to have their moment and deal with their feelings. Tobias gave Elaina a comforting hug too, just to make sure she was okay after learning what had happened to her daughter.

"Tobias..." Kia said, as she walked into the living room. Tobias got up and walked over to her, taking her hand into his.

Kia gave him a sweet smile. "I, Kia Everest..." she said and Tobias tensed up, was she going to reject me? He thought as he held into her hands tighter.

".. Accept you as my mate." she finished and Tobias just stood there staring at her. He couldn't believe his ears, he turned to look at her parents who were standing behind him holding each other, they gave him a warm and happy smile. When he turned to Kia she had a hint of sadness in her eyes, thinking that this wasn't what Tobias wanted.

He gave her a dashing smile before he grabbed her and smashed his lips against hers. He had wanted to kiss her since the moment he met her, and boy was it worth waiting for. His whole body felt alive at her touch, feeling her warm, soft lips against his made him shiver in delight.

He pulled away and cupped her face in his hands.

"I love you!" he said, still smiling like an idiot.

Her eyes grew wide, before she smiled back at him. He didn't expect her to say it back, he just wanted her to know how he felt.

"So, when's the mating ceremony?" Elaina asked behind them. Clayton let out a growl at the same time that Kia said, "Mom!"

"What?" she asked, looking between the two of them.

Clayton felt more protective of Kia since they lost Layana, he isn't quite on board with the idea of his only daughter having a mate, even though he knew he couldn't stop them. When his mate mentioned mating his wolf went bezerk, growling and shouting profanities at Tobias even though he couldn't hear him.

"Let's just not talk about that, yet." Kia said, giving Tobias a questioning look. He smiled and gave her a nod, saying that he agreed with her.

Kia could see her father relax at her words and she chuckled.

"Let's go for a run?" she asked, turning to Tobias. He eagerly nodded before he stopped mid nod.

"Human or wolf-form?" he asked, concern in his eyes.

Kia laughed and took his hand. "We can go in wolf form."

He was pleased with her answer so he followed without question.

Once they were outside they both shifted, it was the first time that Kia really saw his wolf. He was twice her size, a deep brown color, his piercing blue eyes seemingly glowing beneath the dark fur. Timber walked over to Niri and licked her face before he sped off into the trees. She followed him, trying to keep up with his long strides.

When he came to a clearing with a small stream he stopped and shifted back to his human form. Tobias stood there in all his naked glory, smiling at Niri. He walked over and ran his hands through her fur, she purred in delight at his touch.

"Shift for me please?" he asked, staring into her eyes

Niri let go control and Kia took over, shifting back. She felt self-conscious, standing there fully naked in front of Tobias, so she wrapped her hands around her body.

A growl left Tobias' mouth.

"Don't hide yourself from me. You are mine..." he said in a soft, deep voice as he untangled her hands from her body. His eyes growing darker by the minute as he roamed over her body. "So, beautiful..." he said as he looked back into Kia's eyes.

The wind swept past her, throwing her hair back, exposing more of her chest to him. He growled out his approval, looking up into her eyes, asking for permission to touch her. She slowly nod her head.

Tobias reached out and lightly trailed his hands over her breasts, making Kia shiver under his warm touch. He traced every line and angle of her body with his fingers, never anything more than feather-light touches, but Kia didn't care, he was setting every inch of her skin on fire.

He moved his hands up to her neck and she titled her head back to give him more access, he leaned down and slowly kissed his way to where he would place his mark, making Kia moan. In one swift motion his lips were against hers and he was passionately kissing her. His tongue dancing along her lips, asking for entry. She opened her mouth slowly as he explored her tongue with his own, deepening the kiss as he went. Kia was pressed up against him tightly, feeling every inch of his soft skin against hers. The feeling was almost overwhelming.

A rumble broke through his chest as he pulled away and looked at Kia, his eyes were pitch black and his voice laced with lust.

"We should stop..." he said, leaning his head against her forehead. She let out a shaky breath and gave him a slow nod.

She knew if they didn't stop now, they'd end up mating and she wanted to do it the right way. Riverdale was a very traditional pack, they believed in mating ceremonies and ritual mating.

So on the next full moon, they would have a ceremony where they would be painted with fertility symbols and introduced as mates to the pack. There they will mark each other in front of everyone and then start the age old tradition of 'The Chase' where the female would run from her mate and try to keep him from catching her for as long as she could. It supposedly made the mating much better. When they were caught, they would then mate in the woods under the stars, finalizing the mating.

"You're right." Kia said, placing her hands on his chest. "I want us to do this the traditional way." she said.

"Anything you want princess." he said, smirking at her.

They both shifted again and ran back home, where Kia went to bed with a smile on her face.

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