CHAPTER 20

Kiara's P.O.V

It's been 3 weeks since Nick's parents came around to visit. Nicki's gone back to Spain with Jace to be with her mate and pack with the promise to definitely come back before the wedding. Everything's been pretty normal around the pack. There have been no attacks, no messages, nothing. Which is somewhat good for the pack but it still put me on edge. The full moon is tomorrow and I can't help but wish I could keep Nick and the pack away from the fight. Nick keeps trying to get me to talk to him since he can feel how on edge I was but of course I didn't want him to worry so I always told him I was fine but even I was having a hard time believing in my own words. As if that wasn't enough, I could feel something had changed inside me physically but I couldn't tell what. I was getting tired more easily than I always do among other changes but I brushed all these things off so I could focus on the battle that might take place tomorrow. I could worry about myself after that.

"Kiara, Kiara. Kiara." Korra said loudly, bringing me out of my reverie. We were sitting in the house we were staying in previously before we moved to the pack house.

"What? What is it?" I said, giving her my attention.

"Did you hear anything I just said?" She asked.

"Sorry, sis. What were you saying?" I asked.

"Are you ok, KK? You've been out of it all week? Is it because of what's gonna go down tomorrow?" Kara asked.

"Yeah. I don't want the Shadow Pack to be involved tomorrow. I wish there was a way to get them to not fight tomorrow. This isn't their fight." I said.

"We wish that too. They shouldn't have to fight our battle for us. If only there was a way to keep the fight away from them." Kara said.

"But we can't. Kiara, this started being their fight the day Richard ordered the first attack on their home. For them, this isn't just about protecting you. It's also about protecting their home and also fighting to keep their loved ones safe. Because as long as Richard lives, none of them are safe." Korra said.

"I know. Doesn't stop me from still worrying about them." I said.

"That's why we have the plan B that they don't know about if things get bad. Remember we have an advantage that Richard doesn't know of." Kara said. I smiled and nodded.

"Thanks guys, I don't know what I'd do without you." I said.

"Lucky for you, you won't ever have to find out." Kara said. We laughed softly at that.

"We have to go see Alana." Korra said.

"Right, I have to go train anyway." I said.

"Kiara, you've been going non-stop training all week. You need to take a break and relax. You're the one always lecturing everyone about taking it easy. Maybe you should take your own advice." Kara said.

"Girls, you know it's the only way I can keep my anxiety for tomorrow under control. I'll go crazy with worry if I don't train. Nick's been a little busy with meeting other pack to re-establish old alliances and stuff. Lately, there've been no meetings for me to go for so it's like I have nothing to do." The two of them sighed and nodded then left me in the house. I went upstairs into my old room to change into a pair of black sweatpants and a black sports bra then I went into one of the rooms which I had had transformed into a gym/training room of sorts.

An hour later into my workout, I felt the presence of someone in the room at the doorway. I stopped punching the practice dummy and looked up to see Nick leaning against the doorpost.

"Hey," I said, a little out of breath. I grabbed my towel hanging on the treadmill and took a swig from my water bottle.

"Hey, baby." He walked up and pecked me on the lips.

"When did you get back?"

"Just now. Rae told me I'd find you here since this is where you usually were whenever I wasn't around this week."

"Oh, I see. So how was the meeting?" I asked to shift the attention from me.

"It went well if you disregard the many times Brittany's brother, Casey, tried to bait me into fighting with him, Someone's a little unhappy about our engagement."

"Well, that was expected. I did after all turn his proposal down."

"Mm-hmm. Baby, you've been training and not resting enough for two weeks straight. You need to relax. I get it. You're on edge, tomorrow's the full moon and you're worried about the pack. You wish we weren't fighting against the rogues tomorrow. You wish there was some way you could keep the fight away from us. You think this isn't our fight."

"Wow, are you a telepath or something?" He chuckled and took my hands in his.

"No, I just happen to understand you very well. Honey, you can't keep us from the fight because this is also our fight. It became our fight the day Richard set his destructive sight on our pack. Besides what kind of pack would we be if we didn't fight for our queen, our Luna, our pack member and our family? Even if Richard hadn't attacked us or whatever, we would still stand and fight by you. So please stop worrying about us because your worrying is causing the pack to worry about you. From what I'm hearing you're eating but not eating enough. Karen, you're not gonna be able to fight if you're not well-rested and not at full strength."

"I know but..."

"No buts. Let's get out of here and get you something to eat then you're not gonna do anything for the rest of the day but relax."

"But I have a meeting with the Elders in two hours."

"Not happening. No meeting today. If there's a problem let them hold on until after tomorrow. While you take a shower, I will have Kara or Korra call Eliara and have her reschedule that meeting. Now let's go." I sighed.

"Fine." He smiled and led me out of the house to the pack house.

"Why don't you go on up ahead? I'll find Kara. I'll be up soon. Oh, and wear something casual. We're going to the beach after you eat." I nodded and went up to our room then stripped out of my workout clothes and jumped into the shower. I came out minutes later and dressed up. I towel-dried my hair and left it that way. Nick stepped in later with a tray with a plate of food and a glass of juice.

"Nick, you didn't have to." He nudged me over to the window seat and motioned me to sit down. He then place the tray in front of me and sat down in front of me.

"I do have to, my love. You are my queen and as such need to be treated as one." I smiled as he uncovered the plate of food.

"Mm, thank you."

"You're welcome, my lady." I smiled again and began eating. When I was done, he took me straight to the beach where we spent the rest of the day. And true to his word, he made sure I did nothing but relax. It's was getting dark by the time we went back. Kara and Korra had organized a bonfire to help take everyone's minds off what's gonna happen tomorrow.

"You see, Nick. This is why you needed to be by her side and to have let me and Rae handle the meetings. You're the only one, besides her sisters and Eliara sometimes, who can get her to relax." Alec said when we sat down by him, Rae and my sisters.

"Yeah, this time even Kara and Korra couldn't get her to relax." Rae added.

"Ok, ok, ok. Note taken, can we now stop focusing on my stubbornness to relax and talk about other stuff?" I said.

"Mm...alright but only because you're actually relaxing." Korra said.

"Thank you." I said, through my hands up in relief. We all laughed at my actions. We started chatting about random stuff and reminiscing for about an hour.

"This is really nice." Kara said.

"Yeah. You know, we haven't shifted and run through the woods in a long time." I said.

"You're right. How about it then? Why don't we all shift into our wolves and take a run through the woods." Nick said, raising his voice so everyone around could hear him. Everyone cheered and those who wanted to shift gathered and got ready. Nick then turned to me with a smile. "Would you care to do the honors, my queen?" I grinned at him and got up. My sisters, Alec and Rae got up as well and joined everyone else while Nick and I stood in front of everyone. I felt my eyes glow their violet color. I threw my head back and let out a very loud howl and shifted into my white wolf. Everyone followed suit and shifted into their wolves. We then began our run through the woods. We ran for hours until we had to go back. Everyone went into various directions, some to the pack house and others to their houses. Nick and I retired to our room and went to sleep.

Nick's P.O.V

I woke up the next morning before Kiara. I just lay there looking at her, admiring her. She looked so calm and peaceful when asleep as opposed to the serious and worried look she's been sporting on her face recently. I sighed as I remembered what day it is. I could already tell her anxiety today would be over the top. My phone began buzzing from beside me on my nightstand. I picked it up to see a message from Alec asking to see him outside my room. I carefully slid my body from beside Kiara and out of bed, making sure not to wake her. She stirred a bit but didn't wake up. I pulled on a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt then opened the door as gently and quietly as I could and stepped out to meet Alec standing there.

"Hey." I said quietly.

"Hey. Is she still asleep?" He asked just as quietly.

"Yeah, I didn't want to wake her. She hasn't been getting enough sleep as it is."

"Yeah, wait isn't your room soundproof? (I nodded) So why are we talking quietly?"

"You keep forgetting her hearing is way sharper and way more sensitive than ours. So she can hear kind of perfectly through the walls and door while we can only hear minimally as if the sound were far away."

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot."

"Uh-huh. Anyway so why did you wanna see me?"

"Oh yeah, um... our friends got back to me yesterday concerning what we discussed with them but I forgot to tell you about it. And they've agreed to do it. They just need the time and place."

"Oh man, this is awesome. Could you send a message back to thank them for me?"

"Already did that. And they said—Wait, can you hear that?"

"What?"

"It sounds like someone's being sick. It's coming from your room."

"Kiara..." I mumbled. I rushed back into the room with Alec behind me to hear retching sounds coming from the bathroom. I went in there and saw Kiara kneeling by the toilet puking. I rushed to her side to hold her hair back and rub her back till she was done. She went to the sink to wash her mouth then went to back to the room and sat on edge of the bed with her head down and in her hands. Alec excused himself and left the room to give us some privacy.

"Sorry, you had to see that." She said.

"No, no, it's alright. Are you okay? What happened?" I crouched down in front of her and lifted her head to look at me.

"I woke up and suddenly felt nauseous. But it's nothing. I'm fine. I'm sure it was probably just from anxiety. Anxiety sometimes causes me to be nauseous and makes me wanna hurl. I'm fine."

"Honey, I've seen you anxious before, I've felt anxiety from you before and it didn't cause this reaction."

"That's because we weren't about to take on an army of rogues led by my psychotic uncle those times, baby." I chuckled at the sass she was giving me, making her smile.

"Isn't it a bit too early for sassy comments from you?"

"It's never too early for sass."

"Of course, it isn't." I said sarcastically. She giggled making me smile.

"Nice to know you agree." I shook my head at her and leaned in for a kiss.

"Come on, let's go downstairs to get you something to eat." I got up pulling her up off the bed.

"Yeah, not a good idea. I'll only bring it back up and out."

"Well, you can't also not eat. You'll need your strength."

"Yeah, I'll just take some of the energy elixir Auriana gave me."

"Elix--elixir? Is that what that drink which looks like juice in the fridge is? The one labelled 'Do not touch or drink'? The one Raelynn tells me you've been drinking for the past two weeks whenever I was not around? Is that what it is? So instead of eating properly you were taking an elixir to keep you active. Baby, why would you do that?"

"I could barely eat, Nick. I've been on edge for the past two weeks and I can't eat when I'm on edge. I had to keep my energy levels up and make up for not eating somehow so I had Auriana send over some of her energy elixir for me. Besides it's not as strong as it's supposed to be. The real elixir is so potent that drinking one glass of it at a go can make you act like a bunny on steroids. For some reason, Auriana diluted it for me before sending it over and she won't tell me why."

"Ok, it's ok. Just no more elixir unless it's absolutely necessary like if you're still not able to keep any food down."

"Fine. Then let's go get me something to eat." I chuckled and let her drag me downstairs to the kitchen. I made her sit on one of the stools by the counter and then went on to make breakfast for both of us. As I was cooking, Korra and Kara joined us downstairs as well as Alec and Rae.

"Mmmm...I smell pancakes and bacon." Rae said.

"That's because I'm making them." I said.

"Wow. I hope it ain't only breakfast foods you can make." Korra said.

"Nick is one of the best cooks you could get. He learnt from his mom. I guess you guys are lucky today because he never cooks for us common folk." Alec said.

"That is very true so thank your queen because she's the only reason why I'm cooking for you guys." I said, placing plates of foods in front of everyone on the counter. Kiara got up and grabbed a carton of juice in the fridge and poured the juice into the glassed I placed by everyone's plate then threw the empty carton away. In that moment, it didn't feel like we had a battle we were going to have to fight. Like we weren't being threatened by anyone. It looked like we were just a family having breakfast. I looked at Kiara as she laughed at something Alec said and hit him playfully. It made me so happy to see her so carefree and happy. To see her not looking as if the weight were on her on her shoulders because of her uncle. To see her not so troubled.

"You know, Nick, I know I'm beautiful and all that, but you've been staring at me for way too long to be just admiring. Something's on your mind, spill." Kiara said, bringing my mind back.

"What? Can't I just admire my queen for a long time?" I said.

"Well, that depends on exactly what you're admiring." She said with smile.

"What's not to admire? Your beauty, your smile, your laughter, your body..."

"Ugh... Could you two be any more obvious and cheesy?" Korra said.

"Would you rather we made out and had sex in front of you?" Kiara sassed.

"No, no, no. We wouldn't wanna be scarred for life. Keep that activity for when you're in the privacy of your room." Rae said. We all chuckled at that.

"So what's on the agenda for today minus our full moon appointment?" Kara asked. I immediately looked at Kiara to see her reaction but I got none. She still had the happy expression and her smile on.

"Well, Al, Nick, Alana and I have a meeting with some alphas in an hour. What are you three gonna be doing?" Rae asked.

"Oh, Eliara and Auriana called us back home to take care of something so we're gonna have to head back to the castle." Kara answered.

"I didn't know that. When did they call us back home and why didn't you tell me?" Kiara asked.

"She informed me yesterday and I didn't tell you because you, dear sister are not coming with us. You are gonna stay back today and get all the rest you missed out on the past two weeks. That means no training, no paper work, nothing but rest." Kara said.

"But I..."

"No buts. Butts are for sitting. You'll need all your strength and then some for tonight. Orders from Eliara and Auriana. They know everything." Kara said, staring at her sister intently.

"That's because you and Korra told them." Kiara said.

"No, we actually didn't. You gave everything away when you asked Auriana for the energy elixir since according to her this isn't the first time you've been this way." Korra pointed.

"I'm sorry, what? You're saying this isn't the first time she's fallen into this 'Less Eating, Less Resting and More training routine'?" I asked.

"Ugh...here we go." Kiara muttered lowly, rolling her eyes

"According to Auriana, yes." Korra answered, ignoring Kiara's glare.

"Ok, fine. Whatever. I'm going upstairs. I'll see you all later when you get back." Kiara said, wiping her mouth then headed upstairs.

"Kiara..." I started to say.

"Let her go, man. She needs to cool off." Alec said, when I made to follow her upstairs. I sighed and gathered our plates and glasses and put them in the dishwasher.

"He's right. KK doesn't like it when she's been told off or ordered even when it's sometimes for her own good. Makes her mad. Not furious mad, just annoyed mad." Kara said.

"Are you sure? Because that did not like just annoyed mad to me." Rae said. Al and I agreed with her.

"Oh, you guys haven't seen her mad, like actually really mad, before. This is just a minor silent tantrum. When Kiara's mad, no one can calm her down. Not even we, or our mom and dad could get her to calm down when she got extremely mad. No one can stop her either." Korra explained.

"Oh, yeah. You wouldn't wanna be around her when she's really mad. All she sees is red and she doesn't stop not until whatever or whoever caused her anger has gotten what they deserve." Kara added.

"Like that day at school when she beat up Brittany for hurting Korra." Rae said. Kara and Korra chuckled.

"Nope, not even close. That was her with her anger under control. If it wasn't, Brittany wouldn't be alive. She was actually calm that day." Kara said.

"Why do you guys say it like that?" I asked.

"Because we've seen Kiara's anger before and also because that is exactly how our anger is like. Why do you think she's almost always working out or sparring with either one or both of us? She does it to get most of the anger out of her system. If you wanna see how we get when we're really angry, you might get your chance tonight. But let me warn you, you might not look at us the same way after. We gotta go. Carissa will be here soon to pick us up. We'll see you when we get back." Kara explained. Alec, Rae and I watched them leave the kitchen and go upstairs. The three of us shared a look before going to our rooms to get ready for our meeting.

I walked out of the closet all dressed up for the meeting and looked Kiara, who was seated by the window looking outside.

"Hey, you okay?" I asked.

"Yeah, like Kara said, I don't like it when my sisters or family tell me off."

"Oh, so you heard everything we were discussing after you left."

"Yes, I did. And I'm surprised you're here talking to me after learning I'm a ticking time bomb."

"Only when it's matters concerning family which is not bad. But really, how are you doing with everything?"

"Well, I'm not handling it very well. I just brought back up the food I just ate because of my anxiety so I took some of the energy elixir. And I just banned from doing the things that help me calm down in these situations because I have to 'rest'. I feel like I'm going to explode but right now none of my emotional outlets are working so the emotions just keep building up." I noticed her hands were shaking a bit. I sat beside her and took her shaking hands in mine.

"Hey, hey, hey. Calm down. It's okay."

"I can't just sit around today, Nick. I can't keep the anger in but I don't know how to let it out. When I just think about Richard and the fact that he killed my parents, I feel this unexplainable rage try to take over. I don't know for how long I can keep it at bay. If it takes over, I think I might hurt someone in the pack." I looked at her sadly as I didn't know how to help her. A knock sounded on the door just then. I turned my head to see Raelynn come inside.

"Hey guys. Uh, Nick it's almost time for the meeting." She said. I turned back to look at Kiara.

"It's okay. Go on, I'll be fine, sweetheart." Kiara said with a smile.

"Are you sure?" I asked.

"Yeah, don't worry. I'll be here when you come back." She assured me. I nodded and pecked her lips before getting up and leaving with Rae.

Kiara's P.O.V

I looked back out the window when Nick left. I looked down to see them getting into a car and driving out. I assumed Kara and Korra were also gone since I couldn't feel their presence here in the pack. I got up and showered then dressed up, putting my hair into a ponytail. I then went out into the forest behind the pack house and went to sit by the stream. After a while, I felt the presence of another wolf around.

"What do you want, Miranda?" I asked without looking up or around to see her coming from beside me.

"Hello, Kiara."

"What do you want? Are you supposed to be with your father? Planning for tonight's battle. Or did you come to deliver a message?"

"If I told you I wasn't going to be fighting by his side tonight would you believe me? Garret and Gia have already made up their minds to stay with dad."

"Yes, I would believe you. But it doesn't mean that I would trust you."

"I wouldn't expect you to but can you at least forgive me?"

"Maybe one day. When I'm sure of how really sorry you are."

"I get it. We put a lot of innocent lives in danger with what we did, including kids so I understand."

"Yeah."

"Could you tell me what you know about what happened?" I sighed and nodded. I shifted and motioned for her to sit beside me. I began telling her everything.

"Hey, where have you been?" Nick asked when I got back to the pack house.

"Out. What's up?"

"Nothing. I just came back and was wondering where you were since I couldn't find you around."

"Mm. Are my sisters back yet?"

"I don't know. I don't think so."

"Oh ok. I'm gonna go up and lay down, ok?"

"Ok, but are you alright? You don't usually take naps last I checked."

"I'm fine, honey. Just a slight headache." Igave him a peck to assure him then went upstairs to our room and lay down