A/N: I thought I was going to get the silent treatment for prolonging the wait on some Alek and pre-Chalek action and let Brian make another appearance on last chapter. Was happy that this wasn't the case.

This chapter came late because… well… I keep getting distracted by Tumblr. -scratches neck- There are too many pretty pictures of BenStone and Chalek there. Also… Ben came back to my country for vacation and I was busy getting my stalker kit together. … Joking, joking. :D

Not Enough

Chapter 6

Lana had been a blessing from the heavens when she appeared after Brian left, telling Chloe she would close down the shop and that the girl could leave.

All that Chloe wanted was to get home so she could get away from all the mess her life was. Being alone at home wouldn't exactly make it disappear but at least it might help with the sensation of being trapped that she was feeling.

After arriving and checking that her mother wasn't around, Chloe took a long nice bubbly bath to help her calm down. Her blood was still boiling from her encounter with Brian.

She was incredibly disappointed with him. But it wasn't that would stop her from liking him. Because the feelings where still there. She just felt very let down and hurt by him. And maybe she had overreacted a bit. She really had no idea why she suddenly became so overprotective of Alek. It wasn't because he was just a friend, she was sure.

Drying herself off and dressing some comfy clothes, the blonde girl entered her room being surprised by a tall figure currently raiding her dresser. More specifically, her underwear drawer.

"ALEK!"

Jumping three feet in the air and landing in all fours like just like a cat, the boy was the picture of a child who had been caught with his hand inside the cookie jar. The red that slowly seemed to color his cheeks only helped the image.

"Oh. Hey Chloe." Alek said, trying his best to sound and look nonchalant.

"'Oh, hey Chloe'?" The girl narrowed her eyes, looking all kinds of mad. "What are you doing touching my underwear drawer?"

Getting up to a standing position, Alek raised an eyebrow and smirked.

"Looking for your diary, of course. I need to know what type of dreams you have with me."

"I don't have–" She was going to deny his affirmation… until she saw what Alek held in one of his hands. Her black bra. "ALEK!"

He didn't know why she had screamed his name but he had run off her room anyway. Quite the cowardly act yes but he just knew that if she caught him, she would claw out his face and then how would he be able to woo his English teacher into forgive him for not doing his homework? Which was Chloe's fault really because he spent most of his free time protecting her. Not that he would admit it.

Running after her protector, she caught him right on the last step of her stairs, jumping him and making them both hit the floor with a loud thud and a strangled yelp from Alek.

Straighten up and sitting on his back, Chloe took her bra from his right hand and smacked him on the head.

"OW! Chloe!"

"You're a freaking jerk!"

"What? Just because I took your bra?"

Chloe hit him again, loving how pained his yelps sounded.

"Just because?" She hissed close to his head and she could swear Alek had shivered at that sound. "Why did you even take it in the first place?"

Alek, with the graceful agility of a true feline, turned them around and pinned Chloe to the floor. Smirking, he closed down the proximity between their faces to mere inches, looking deeply into her eyes. Seeing the sudden blood rush on her face, he leaned his face towards her neck and breathed deeply, a strange rumbling sound coming from his chest.

"Um… Alek?" Chloe whispered, surprised at his behavior. Then she realized what he was doing: he was taking in her scent, just like on her birthday. Was it possible that she really smelled that appealing to him? Mate type of appealing?

"You still smell very good. It… distracts me." The British Mai confessed in a low but warm tone of voice, almost as if he didn't want her to hear.

"Mai very good or mate very good?"

It was as if her question had broken the dazed spell Alek was under. He rapidly moved away from Chloe as if she had some sort of infectious disease, letting her free. He stood up and, even though he had this impenetrable expression on his face clearly to mask his irritation at her, he still offered his hand to help her up.

"The bra was only a joke, Kitten. No need to get so flustered about it." Alek's cocky nature was back, like if the last few minutes hadn't happened.

"Yeah, of course." Chloe said, disappointment filling her once again. It seemed to be the only constant emotion she felt lately.

"Well… I came here to take you to Valentina. She wants to speak to you about something important."

Surprised at being summoned by the San Francisco Mai leader, Chloe walked towards the stairs knowing Alek would follow her.

"Do you know why she wants to speak to me?"

"God knows." Alek huffed, following his protégé to her room and watch her put the black bra in the laundry basket in the bathroom. He felt slightly insulted at that. "Valentina is quite the secretive person. You only know things when she decides to tell you about it. Very frustrating if you ask me."

"Yeah, I have noticed." Chloe said and went to her closet to pick some clothes to wear to Valentina's summoning. Turning around to tell Alek to leave the room so she could get dressed, she found him already at the door, hand on the knob.

"I'll be downstairs waiting for you."

And he left, closing the door behind him, a surprised Chloe looking at it.

Generally, Alek would have made some sort of smartass comment at the possibility of seeing Chloe changing clothes, just like he had when he had caught her in a towel. That was Alek for you: a cocky, smartass bastard that just loved to pick on her whenever he got the chance. But lately… there had been a change in his behavior. Not obvious, of course, but Chloe could see it, strangely enough. The most prominent example of this was of him spending a whole day with her at home watching terrible chick flicks and even cooking for her. He was showing her that, underneath all that C.B. act of his, he could still be somewhat sweet and caring towards her. Chloe just didn't know if this was by his own choice or by the claim he had made on her. Just what exactly did it entail?

"Chloe! I know I'm drool-worthy but stop daydreaming about me and move faster. Valentina is not one to keep waiting on."

Ah, there was the Alek she knew.

"You two took your time." Valentina pointed out from her seat at the couch, a glass of wine in her hand, half full. Jasmine sat on one of the armchairs, eyebrow raised at the pair.

"Unfortunately, dressing quickly isn't an ability given by Bastet to the Uniter." Alek replied, receiving glares from the three women in the room.

Elbowing Alek on the ribs and relishing in the oof sound he let out, Chloe walked over to Valentina, an apologetic expression on her face.

"I'm sorry you had to wait for long; I have too much on my mind lately. And today just… wasn't one of those days."

Valentina smiled and put the glass down on the table, patting the seat next to her so Chloe would sit. The girl did so and saw the San Francisco leader turn her attention completely to her. From the corner of her eye she saw Alek sit on the arm of Jasmine's armchair, both of their gazes on her and the older Mai.

"I have summoned you here to discuss something I have thought for quite some time now." At Chloe's surprised look, Valentina continued. "I believe it is time for us to put your skills to the test."

"My skills to the test? What do you mean?"

"I would like for you to test what you've learnt in your training against some of the other Mai of this Pride."

"What? No!"

Chloe, not even able to clearly discern what Valentina meant, was startled to hear Alek's exclamation. Looking at him, she saw her blond protector standing up, his eyes narrowed on Valentina. Jasmine, though she remained on her seat, had an expression of displeasure on her face.

Valentina, calm as she ever was even in a dire situation, looked up at her adopted nephew with a raised eyebrow.

"Though I value your opinion Alek, this is a matter where what you think isn't taken in account. Chloe has, of course, the last word."

Feeling three pairs of eyes on her, Chloe felt her hands getting sweaty and her heartbeat go faster. She had to make a decision and she had to make it now, if Valentina's look meant anything.

"I… I've been training a lot and Alek and Jasmine are great teachers–"

"Chloe, don't even think about!" The growl that left Alek's mouth seemed to vibrate all over Chloe's body. It frightened her but at the same time made her feel protected and safe. She wasn't sure why his actions and words affect her so bad but she wanted to know. She wondered if the same thing happened to him.

"Chloe? I need an answer."

"Chloe, please think this through." Jasmine said in a pleading voice, already regretting talking when her mother's gaze was set on her. "You're still in the early stages of training, there's a lot of work to be done before you can think about fighting other Mai."

Jasmine was right, she was, but Chloe felt like she could do this. She was Mai and she was the Uniter and she had to show that she wasn't just a sixteen year old with cool superpowers. She had two races to unite while keeping her loved ones safe and maintaining her job and her good grades at school.

"I… I will do it." She finally answered, making Valentina grin widely. It really rubbed off in a wrong way to Chloe in that moment. Had she made the right decision?

"Are you out of your mind?" Alek hissed furiously, eyes smoldering Chloe. She cowered on the couch, feeling suddenly ashamed and like she had dishonored something between them. She had no idea where these feelings where coming from and it was confusing her.

Valentina stood up quickly, an angry expression on her face. It seemed Alek had never been on the receiving end of that since he had taken a step back almost immediately.

"The Uniter has made her choice, Alek. You will respect it."

"I'm her protector and I will NOT allow this!"

"I can easily take you out off that duty, if needed be."

Chloe gasped at the same time Alek narrowed his eyes which had changed into cat-slits pupils. The Uniter was hit with such a strong wave of anger and defiance that she had to grip the couch's armrest for support. Jasmine got up and put her hand on Alek's arm to stop the worse.

Suddenly, Alek laughed making Valentina look at him puzzled.

"You can do that if you want." Chloe looked at him in shock and the blond protector smirked. "I am still Chloe's protector anyway. I've claimed her as my guard."

Chloe would say, later on in life, that Valentina's shocked face had been one of the most hilarious things she had ever witnessed in her life. Aside from Alek slipping off her roof due to his half-asleep state but that is a story for another time.

The San Francisco's Pride leader turned right away to Chloe and she knew what Medusa's victims had felt right before she petrified them with her gaze.

"What is the meaning of this?"

"I-I… didn't know about any claim or anything! I'm the Mai idiot here."

"You're not an idiot." Alek refuted her, briefly moving his cold stare from Valentina to the blonde girl, warming her up with his intense look for a second. Chloe rolled her eyes, though she was grateful for him telling her otherwise.

"You claimed her without telling her? Without telling me?"

"Hey, I think I'm the one here who should be more offended, not you!" The Uniter got up from the couch and put herself between Alek and Valentina, surprising both. "I'm the one who has to deal with all this Mai craziness and still be expected to unite two stupid races that keep killing each other off. I have to worry everyday if I'm coming home to see my Mom alive or on the floor bleeding to death. I'm the one who dreams at night with different variants of my deaths. And let's not even talk about the crazy moment where I thought Alek made a mating claim on me! Because that was wonderful!"

For a few seconds there was only silence, the other three occupants of the room too stunned by Chloe's outburst. Then Valentina cleared her throat and looked between Alek and Chloe.

"Obviously Alek did not claim you as his mate. He would not be stupid enough to give himself to you when your heart belongs to a human." Valentina commented amused, quirking an eyebrow at Chloe like she had said the most idiotic thing ever thought possible. She did not seem to notice the painful grimace that crossed Alek's face for a second. "And neither would I allow that. You two belong to my Pride and you follow my rules; no mating claims are to be done without my consent especially on the Uniter."

Chloe huffed. Who was Valentina to tell her what to do? She was just a Pride leader while Chloe was the Uniter; the whole Mai race was her Pride.

"Now this… protection claim… I'm severely disappointed in you, Alek. Though I understand your desire to protect Chloe from harm, this is not the way to do it. Much less without my opinion on it."

"You mean your big fat no on it?" The British Mai laughed, no amusement whatsoever in that action. Jasmine hissed his name to make him stop taunting her mother.

Penetrating her adopted nephew with her gaze, Valentina took Chloe by the arm, surprising them.

"I am, for this once, forgetting the fact that you are clearly out of the line Alek, since someone needs to explain to Chloe the mess you created."

Taking Chloe with her, Valentina walked to her office not seeing the frightened look both Chloe and Alek gave each other.

Closing the door of her office behind her, Valentina sat at her desk and motioned to Chloe to take a seat on one of the chairs in front of her. Chloe sat down, taking every single detail in.

The whole office was what she would expect out of Valentina: something in between classy and Mai. The more prominent features were this gigantic shelf with wide number of old, worn-out looking books that she knew where related to their race and, on one of the walls, a glass display with Egyptian looking weapons. Chloe wondered how many of the Order had been killed with those.

"I believe your decision about my test hasn't changed." Valentina interrupted Chloe from her thoughts. The blonde girl seemed to hesitate so the Mai leader smiled kindly. "Don't worry, Chloe. I would not put you through it if I didn't believe you couldn't do it."

Still, deep down, Chloe felt unsure. Unsure on her skills, on the outcome of this, of her trust in Valentina. And there was this residual anger in her chest… Clearly Alek was still coming to terms with her decision.

"Well, now that we are clear on that… I'm sure you have many questions on the Mai claims."

"Um… yeah. I only know the basics, really. Jasmine was the one to explain them to me."

"Ah. For once, my daughter doesn't let me down." Chloe felt rather insulted for Jasmine in that moment. "This was a subject I expected not to explain to you in a long time. Maybe when you reached your twenties and you started to feel that pull that all of us Mai feel to find a mate. And maybe, after you had completed your Uniter duties. Those are more important right now than a boyfriend or a mate."

Valentina looked pointedly at Chloe and the girl held her gaze as if she was telling the older Mai that those decisions were her own to make. Quirking an eyebrow, the San Francisco Mai leader half-smiled.

"I'm curious to know what my daughter has told you about the Mai claims."

Taking a deep breath, Chloe told Valentina all the information Jasmine had given her. If anything, re-telling it only made the blonde girl feel more confused about it and the older Mai seemed to pick on that.

"What Jasmine has told you is correct. The Mai have this inner instinct of finding someone appealing to settle down and reproduce, yes. It's not exactly something like a soul mate but certainly something closer to a life mate. You don't necessarily claim your mate, much less nowadays with our numbers declining as fast as they are. Mating claims if taken and consummated create an unbreakable bond between a couple; their lives become entwined. It's like the air that they breathe is the same."

"Consummated? You mean, for the bond to be forged the couple has to… um…"

"Have sex with each other?" Valentina was amused at the slight blush in Chloe's cheeks. "Yes, they do. The claim in itself creates a connection between the pair where they can easily reach other even when they aren't within distance, feel the other's feelings as if they are an echo of their own and feel this instinctual need to protect each other though it is more prominent on the male. These characteristics become deeper and more complex when the bond is forged which doesn't take long to happen, really. The Mai are very… sexually active."

Chloe looked around the room trying to hide her obvious embarrassment. That and the fact that the only thing she could think at the moment was Alek and herself bonding. So not what I should be thinking about right now, she mentally reprimanded herself and focused on Valentina once more.

"The mother-child claim is something quite simple and instinctual so it does not need further explanation. Now the protection claims… Those can be even trickier than the mating claims." The older Mai got up from her seat and walked slowly to her bookshelf, her fingertips gliding lightly on the books' spines until they stopped on one book. She picked it out and placed it on the desk, in front of Chloe. She opened it to a page with an image of an Egyptian sarcophagus and two paragraphs of text in English. "All three types of claims were already part of us when Bastet herself created the Mai to be the guardians of the Egyptian pharaohs. Though the two first were solely Mai-related, the protection claim was not. Its purpose was to create a connection between a Mai and their human charge that, of course, belonged to the family of the Pharaoh. That's how the whole divide between the Mai and humans came up to be; the daughter of Ramesses III fell in love with the Mai who claimed her as his to guard and, against her father's wishes and the Mai's, they eloped. The Egyptians then killed the Mai boy for violating the protection claim rules and the war from Mai and human began."

"So… the protection claim can only be done on humans? Then how come Alek did one on me?" Chloe asked, satisfied that she got to know more about the story of the Mai but still somewhat puzzled.

"It has been heard that it is possible for a Mai to claim another as his to guard though there aren't records of such unlike the mating claims. Which is why I was quite surprised to hear that Alek had claimed you as his to protect. Have you considered the possibility that he did in fact claim you as his mate?"

"You said it yourself that he would have to be stupid to do such thing!" Chloe remembered the older woman who still looked quite unsure. "He told me himself he had claimed me in a protector manner not a mate one. He actually sounded offended by the suggestion."

"Alek does not like to put his feelings and emotions out in the open. Most especially if the possibility of getting hurt is grand which, in this case, is very high considering how confused your heart is. Or your head, for that matter."

Chloe didn't exactly understand with Valentina meant with that last sentence but she was sure she was being laughed at in the woman's mind.

"I'm curious… how do you exactly claim someone either way?"

"According to the old records, the Mai had to save the human's life to be able to claim them as theirs to protect. That plus the simple thought of wanting to do it was enough."

"Which has happened between Alek and I. Twice, as he likes to remind me."

Valentina seemed to ponder on that bit of information for a minute or two, oblivious to Chloe's impatience.

"And the mating claim…?"

"That one… I can't exactly tell you how it happens. It's unique to each couple."

"Jasmine said that the female had to accept the claim. If you tell me to consider the possibility that Alek did in fact claim me as his mate… how did that happened without my consent? Could have he forced the claim?"

"No mating claim can be forced. If it did happen between Alek and yourself... it means you did consent to it." The San Francisco Pride leader explained looking terribly amused at the idea.

Shocked beyond belief at Valentina's words, the Uniter shot up from her seat, moving away from the older woman, pacing the room.

"That's impossible! I-I didn't consent to anything! I didn't even know about it!"

"Not consciously no… but the Mai side of you might have done it. It might have felt the pull from Alek's Mai side and consent to it."

"So… what does that mean exactly?"

"That your head has been shadowing your heart, Chloe King."

Fifteen minutes later, Chloe still wasn't very sure about what exactly had Valentina meant. And neither was she sure if Alek had claimed her as someone to protect or someone to love. The possibilities were high to both sides. But Alek would not lie to her about something so serious so he had to have claimed her in a protective manner then.

"I can hear you thinking, Chloe."

Being pulled away from her thoughts by the boy himself, the blonde girl looked up to him and half-smiled. They had decided to take the normal (aka walking) way to her house, for what reason she wasn't sure.

"I'm just trying to understand everything Valentina has told me."

"Some things weren't made to be understood, Chloe, but to be felt."

Raising an eyebrow at the British Mai, the girl wondered if he knew what had been discussed in Valentina's office. Even though she had been assured by the older women that the room was soundproof.

"I believe I have to thank you." Alek said in his low but warm tone. Looking puzzled, Chloe stopped walking and cocked her head to the side. He stopped walking too and stood right in front of her. "For defending me on your showdown with Brian."

"You were there?"

"Of course. I'm your protector, Chloe; I would not leave you alone."

"But… I couldn't find you!"

"A wonderful thing about this protection claim thing is to be able to mask my presence from you. It was quite amusing though to feel you searching for me." Chloe slapped his arm and he smirked at the fact that there was no real force on her action. "You were quite the lioness, I have to admit. Wasn't expecting you to go at him that way. You do like him."

Chloe sighed and looked everywhere but Alek.

"I didn't like what he said about you. You're my friend and I don't allow anyone to badmouth my friends, no matter who he is."

"Just a friend, uh? I feel hurt." Alek said in a nonchalant manner but the intense gaze he had on Chloe told a different story.

"A very dear friend. To whom I owe my life to. That's what you are."

"You don't owe me anything, Chloe. I saved you because I wanted, not because it was my duty… although it very well was but that's a different matter."

"You can be killed, Alek. Your only life is more precious than one of my eight." The blonde girl whispered, feeling her eyes sting from a possible oncoming of tears. She could not imagine not having Alek in her life.

To her surprise, the blond boy wrapped his arms around her loosely – in case she would want to break their embrace – and softly kissed her on the forehead. Feeling a sudden warm feeling completely fill her, Chloe wondered if it belonged to her or Alek. Or both.

"No matter how many you have, your lives will always feel more precious to me than anyone else's."

Chloe smiled against his chest, taking in his scent and feeling the safest she had since her sixteenth birthday.

End of chapter 6

A/N: For the first time EVER, I actually followed the chapter plan. Amen. I deserve a cookie for it, really.

This is the longest chapter until now and it was an immense fun to write; I consider it my favorite until now. That first scene between Alek and Chloe was just for giggles really; I had chibi-Chloe hitting chibi-Alek in the head with her bra for awhile in my head so it had to be written. Then the whole conversation and confrontation with Valentina was something that I wrote all at once and that allowed me to write something I like to witness: angry Alek with a protective/territorial bonus. The Maim claims' explanation finally made sense to me so I hope it made sense to you. Finally. And the last part… it's one step closer to the Chalek-ness. It's coming guys, I swear it is.

The story about the daughter of Ramesses III and the Mai boy is actually part of the lore of the show. It's on the show's Wikipedia page if you want to check it out. Obviously the part that involves the protection claim is my own modification to the story.