by Regan Ure
“It’s a long story and I don’t really want to get into it right now,” I said. I hadn’t expected the question so I didn’t have a suitable lie.
“Are you guys dating?” she asked, wide-eyed with excitement.
“No way,” I answered, slamming my locker closed. I spotted Blake walking past us.
“I need to ask Blake something,” I told her. “I’ll see you at lunchtime.”
“Sure, see you then,” she said and walked away.
I caught up with Blake. He smiled at me when I grabbed his arm to stop him.
“Hey,” I greeted, a little out of breath.
“Hi,” he said. “You okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine, I just wanted to ask you some questions,” I told him.
“Okay,” he replied and started to walk to the parking lot so we had some privacy, away from busy hallways.
“Does the pack have to do what the alpha says?” I asked Blake as he walked beside me.
“Yes, all except the alpha’s mate,” he answered.
Yes!
I wouldn’t have to do what Cade said and it was the best news I’d heard since I’d found out I was a werewolf.
We’d just exited the school and were walking to the parking lot when I saw something that I hadn’t seen coming.
The moment I saw Cade sitting on a bench with some blond girl straddling him, it felt like someone had hit me in the chest. It fucking hurt! I was dazed for a moment, trying to get a handle on my emotions, but nothing could stop the tidal wave of anger that rushed through me.
I’d thought he’d been attracted to me, but I must have been wrong.
“You okay?” Blake asked softly from beside me. He was the only one who understood why I was angry and upset.
I couldn’t pull my gaze away from them. Cade smiled at the slut and I felt like someone punched me again.
“Yes,” I said with determination, but I couldn’t stop the anger and hurt from overwhelming me.
“Hold this,” I instructed him, giving him my school bag.
“Don’t do anything stupid,” he warned as he took the bag.
I ignored his warning. I was way beyond thinking before I acted and there was no way I was going to stand by and do nothing. It wasn’t logical thinking that propelled me forward—it was the raw emotions flowing through me that made me throw caution to the wind and stalk over to the couple.
“Get off him,” I demanded to the girl as I stood in front of them with my hands on my hips. Her skinny jeans were so tight they looked like another layer of skin and the dark red halter-top barely contained her massive boobs.
“What the hell?!” said the girl as she turned to face me.
Cade’s surprised gaze found mine as the girl shifted off him. She gave me a confused look, but the look I gave her told her not to mess with me and she took a step back in fear.
I’d kick her ass if I needed to and at that moment I really had a need to hit someone.
“Get lost,” I told her as I shifted my eyes to Cade. She hesitated for a moment before she turned and walked off in a huff.
Students around us began to watch the unfolding drama with interest.
“What is your problem?” Cade demanded as he stood up.
I knew he was trying to intimidate me with his height but it didn’t work. The fact that he didn’t know he was my mate and that it was something I’d kept from him didn’t let him off the hook.
“You’re my problem,” I bit back angrily, struggling to contain my temper.
He was my mate, and he was about to play tonsil hockey with some random girl. That was a big problem. Before I could even stop myself, I stepped forward and I slapped him.
The instant my hand touched his face, I felt a bolt of electricity shoot through me. And in that moment I felt a rush of emotion for the boy in front of me and I saw my emotions mirrored in his eyes.
He knew.
This hadn’t been the plan, but it was too late. He knew and I couldn’t take it back.
Ah, crap! What had I done?
A red handprint began to form on his cheek as he glared at me. He was so angry he was shaking. I remained rooted to the spot in shock at the rush of emotions still coursing through me.
“Fuck,” Blake said from next to me. A little dazed and confused, I turned to look at him. It was the first time I’d realized he’d followed me. He yanked me back from a stunned and angry Cade, and shoved me behind him so he stood protectively between my mate and me.
Is this what Blake had meant when he’d said not to do something stupid? Was he scared that Cade was so angry he might lash out at me and hurt me in the process?
Maybe slapping him had been a bad idea. I don’t know whether it was because we’d connected or if it was because I’d calmed down slightly, but I regretted it.
“Get your hand off her,” warned Cade in a deadly tone while fisting his hands at his sides. I could feel the anger radiating off Cade in waves. It was so powerful that I could only stand in awe of him. All the fear I’d felt before vanished even though he looked like he was about to tear into Blake.
Blake released my wrist and held his hands up in front of Cade to show him that he wasn’t touching me. With his eyes still on me, he took a step toward me but Blake refused to move, remaining protectively in front of me. Was he really scared that Cade would hurt me?
“Calm down and I’ll get out of your way,” Blake tried to reason with the angry alpha and his best friend.
Cade closed his eyes for a moment and took a shaky breath to try and control the anger building up inside.
“I won’t hurt her,” he whispered hoarsely as he opened his eyes and fixed them on me.
I could see the possessiveness evident in his eyes. I was his whether I wanted to be or not. Before touching him I would have fought against it but it was too strong to deny. I wanted him and he was mine.
“Get out of my way,” Cade warned Blake, not moving his eyes from me. “You’re keeping me from what is mine.”
I couldn’t stop the flutter of butterflies in my stomach at the possessiveness in his words.
Blake didn’t budge. I understood he was worried about me, but I knew Cade wouldn’t hurt me. Don’t ask me how, I just did. Blake was making things worse by keeping me from him.
“He won’t hurt me,” I assured Blake as I stepped around him. Blake grabbed my arm. Cade growled at Blake again and he let go of me.
I took one tentative step toward Cade. His intense gaze held mine and I took another step. Blake stood behind me, ready to spring into action if Cade lost it.
One more step put me so close to Cade that we were only inches apart. I stood in front of him unafraid but a little nervous. With one touch, things had changed. I liked to be in control of situations, but I had no control now, something bigger than the two of us connected us together.
His hand lifted to my face and he trailed his knuckles down my cheek. I closed my eyes at the feel of his touch. With one touch I felt the emotions that had stirred inside me resurface. The nervousness and anxiousness I’d been feeling evaporated and I felt content, complete. It was the stuff that soul mates were made of.
He was my soul mate.
I opened my eyes and tilted my face to gaze up to his. My thoughts were mirrored in his. I was his soul mate and he felt complete and at peace like I did when we touched.
His hands threaded through my hair as he pulled me closer. His eyes flickered to my lips and he leaned closer. He was going to kiss me and I wanted him to. I couldn’t fight it even if I wanted to.
The moment his lips touched mine I felt something inside me come alive and overwhelm me. I gripped his arms to hold myself up as my knees weakened and I struggled to keep myself up.
Blake and the crowd of people were forgotten as he tilted my face up to his to get better access while his lips moved against mine. His tongue swept across my bottom lip. I held on tighter to his arms as I opened my mouth and he deepened the kiss.
I wanted
more and I held him closer as his tongue tangled with mine. All thoughts vanished and all that mattered was his kiss. I groaned when he pulled away and I tried to get my breath back.
He rested his forehead against mine. Both of us were breathless.
“We need to get out of here,” he whispered to me. Normally I would fight against anything I didn’t have complete control over, but this time I didn’t fight. Instead, I said, “Yes.”
It was only when Cade turned to Blake did I notice the crowd of people that had been watching our show. I’d just slapped him and then the next moment we were kissing. The werewolves watching would understand but the humans would think we were crazy.
“We need time,” Cade said to Blake who was smiling as he watched Cade take my hand in his. “I’ll be in touch later.”
“Sure,” said Blake with a nod.
Cade walked me to his car and opened the passenger side and he helped me in and then closed the door. He walked around the front of his car and got into the driver’s side.
He started up the car and as we pulled out of the parking space, he took my hand in his.
Normally, I’d ask where we were going, but I was content to just hold his hand and revel in the calm I felt when I was with him. It was different from before when we’d been at each other’s throats. I couldn’t help thinking it was because we’d been attracted to each other.
He drove to a part of town I’d never been to before. It was more secluded, with tall trees lining the dirt road that led to a house surrounded by more tall trees. He parked in front of the house.
I opened the door and got out. It was beautiful and I couldn’t help but take a deep breath of the wilderness. Cade took my hand in his and led me to the door of the house. He reached behind a potted plant beside the front door and pulled out a key. It was such a typical hiding place for a key.
He opened the door and stepped inside.
“It’s not much, but I like to come here when I need to be alone,” he said as I entered the house.
I looked around. It was a small house. The lounge had a sofa facing a fireplace with a simple wooden coffee table in between. It was nothing compared to what I was used to, but I liked it. It felt homey. The massive houses that I’d lived in my whole life had been cold and empty.
There was a small kitchen in the corner of the lounge. It had a stove and a small fridge.
“I like it,” I said honestly as he watched me for a response.
“I thought it would be better to talk here than at the house where there are too many distractions.”
I nodded my head.
Gary was at his house. He was right, we needed time to talk about what had just happened and we didn’t need other distractions. Like how Gary was going to take the news that Cade was my mate.
Besides, I knew that our talk was going to get heated. Irrespective of how he made me feel and how right it felt being with him, I wasn’t prepared to just drop my life to be with him.
“But before we talk I need to do this again,” he said before he reached for me and pulled me closer. His hands cupped my face and tilted it upward as his lips covered mine. His seductive touch sent a shiver of awareness through me.
I wished we didn’t have to stop kissing. Once the kissing stopped and the talking started, things were going to get heated and we’d be back to fighting.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Cade
I’ll never forget how I felt the first time I saw her.
I’d missed the first day back at school because I’d been out with a couple of members from my pack trying to track down a rogue that had shown up a few days before.
We’d managed to track him to the town’s border but then his tracks had just vanished. It was never a good thing to have a rogue roaming in your territory. I had to up the patrols and security around my property.
The only reason I’d been waiting outside the school was to talk to Blake. I was leaning against my car with a couple of girls keeping me company when the smell of wild daisies hit me and I looked to the source standing at the entrance of the school.
It wasn’t her outer beauty that kept my eyes glued to her. There was something about her—maybe it was the confident air about her or the defiant way her eyes had clashed with mine.
When I’d watched her walk over to the beautiful Maserati I’d raced the day before, my interest in her had gone up a level. The thought of a girl being able to drive a car like that made her sexier than before.
She was so different from the girls I was used to. She was like a breath of fresh air and I couldn’t dispute the fact that I wanted her.
When I’d found out from Blake that she didn’t know what a pack meant and he was convinced she had no idea she was one of us, I’d felt protective of her. That protectiveness had made me watch over her that night from the boundary wall of her property.
When I’d managed to get her to come to my house so Blake and I could reveal the truth to her, she’d lost her cool and left.
The fear that had hit me when she’d hit the rogue with her car had scared me. I was in charge, so there were plenty of lives I was responsible for, but I felt something very different when Scarlett had been injured.
But it didn’t matter that I was attracted to her or that I cared. She couldn’t stand the sight of me.
And it seemed the more time I spent with her, the more she disliked me and the more she gravitated to Blake. I usually never got jealous, but for the first time I wanted to hit my best friend because he’d seemed to have caught her interest. Watching it unfold in front of me was more than I could handle.
I looked forward to seeing Scarlett as I made my way downstairs.
When I walked into the kitchen and spotted her sipping her coffee, I felt the attraction I had for her come alive. Even though she’d spent most of the day before so close to Blake, it didn’t stop how I felt about her.
I’d never felt jealous before and it took all my self-control not to beat the crap out of him.
“Morning,” I greeted her as I grabbed a cup of coffee.
“Morning,” she greeted back, holding her cup to her lips to take another sip.
“Are you ready to leave for school?” I asked.
“Yes,” she answered as she set her still-full cup of coffee down on the counter.
“Come on, let’s go.”
Scarlett was quiet as she gazed out of the window. I couldn’t help sneaking a few glances at her. She was an enigma that I couldn’t figure out.
I had lots of experience with girls. Being an alpha, I never had a shortage of girls wanting my attention, but Scarlett made me feel things I’d never felt before. Maybe I felt this way because she refused to fall down at my feet like the rest of the girls did.
As soon as I parked in front of the school, she got out of the car and disappeared into the school. I felt anger and frustration at the fact that the girl I liked couldn’t get away from me fast enough.
I’d never been in this predicament before, wanting someone who wasn’t interested in me, and I didn’t know how to handle it.
Feeling unsettled, I got out of my Jeep and slammed the door closed. I wanted to go into the school, but the thought of seeing Scarlett getting closer to Blake was too much to handle. So instead, I sat down on the bench outside the school contemplating whether I should skip school for the day to see if I could track the rogue that was after Scarlett.
I didn’t like the idea of someone out there being hell-bent on hurting her.
“Cade,” I heard the seductive voice say to me.
I looked up to see Nancy standing in front of me. She was a werewolf from Blake’s pack. She wore skin-tight jeans and a halter-top that struggled to contain her big tits.
“Hi,” I greeted her, giving her a smile.
Then it occurred to me. Maybe the best way to deal with what I was feeling for Scarlett was to get another girl to take my mind off her.
“I thought I’d come and keep you company,” Nancy cooed and
I smiled. She was definitely game.
“Sure,” I said, running my eyes appreciatively over her figure.
I expected her to sit down on the bench next to me but she surprised me when she stepped closer and straddled me. My hands reached for her waist as she smiled at me seductively.
I smiled at her, thinking that she was exactly what I needed to work Scarlett out of my system.
“Get off him,” a female voice demanded. Why would anyone care that Nancy was straddling me and getting a little friendly?
“What the hell?” said Nancy as she turned to look at the girl who’d issued the demand. I was shocked when Nancy shifted off me and I saw Scarlett, angry as hell, with her hands on her hips.
What the hell?
What surprised me even more was the look she gave Nancy. Nancy was about to argue, but the look Scarlett gave her made her bite her tongue.
“Get lost,” Scarlett told her as her eyes shifted to mine. Nancy hesitated for a moment before she turned and walked off in a huff.
I was trying to figure out why Scarlett was acting the way she was. Why would she have a problem with what I did with another girl? It made no sense. Students around us began to watch the unfolding drama with interest.
“What is your problem?” I demanded as I stood up. Most people would have been intimidated, but not Scarlett. She stood her ground.
She was acting like she was jealous. She’d been getting closer to Blake yesterday so I couldn’t understand why suddenly she was standing in front of me acting like a jealous girlfriend.
“You’re my problem,” she snapped angrily. Why would I be her problem? She wasn’t making any sense. She looked so angry and I was trying to figure out why. It was like trying to do a puzzle with half of the pieces missing.
She took a step forward and I felt her hand connect with my face.
Stunned, I stood rooted to the spot. The instant her hand touched my face, I felt a bolt of electricity shoot through me. And in that moment I felt a rush of emotions for the girl in front of me and I saw the emotion for me mirrored in her eyes.
She was my mate.