Chapter 10

Of all the things that could have happened to fuck up his final year and his life, his wolf snarling that the human was theirs was the last thing he had expected.  

What the fuck?

Zeke paced back and forth in his bedroom, his shoulders tense, fists clenched, and eyes glowing on and off as he tried to tame his beast.

True mates were practically unheard of. There hadn’t been any reported in his father’s time or his grandfather’s. And when those rare meetings had happened, it was never to a fucking human! How the hell would that work? They broke so easily! He would be the Alpha of the biggest, strongest pack in all of America. His arranged mate came from the second biggest pack and had been carefully vetted. The Luna of his pack had to be strong enough to hold everything together. 

Not a human. Not something so fragile.

Fuck!

He could have punched something, but he knew Shadow would grab his chance to take control the moment he let his emotions take over. The beast was fighting to go and claim her. Her scent was still everywhere. It had been stupid to follow her, to interact, to stand so close that he could have taken her right there. Why he had even taken in her scent like that when she had been standing in front of him was beyond him.

Why hadn’t he considered this possibility when he had followed this scent? It had been referred to several times in the books his father made him study in preparation for this role. Most wolves of his generation considered true mates a myth, but he knew it wasn’t because he had to learn everything passed down from Alphas before him. He’d been so stupid.

They said it was the Moon Goddess’ blessing, the other half of a wolf. But what sort of blessing was it to be forced to be with someone he would never have wanted? It was almost as bad as his father arranging his mate, but at least he agreed with his father’s choice. The Midnight Pack was nearly as formidable as his own, and the Alpha’s daughter had been prepared for her role her whole life. Their joining would make them a threat to any pack, and it would make him strong enough to finally avenge his mother’s death. 

A human would do the opposite. She would put his pack in danger. And she would put his life in danger. And on top of all of that, with her being so close, his impeccable school record was in danger. Humans were so low down on the ranking that they were never even mentioned much in all the lessons he had been taught, but they were forbidden all the same. He could only mate with another wolf. He’d always stuck to the rules, but the human had made him forget himself. 

Jared had been flirting with her at his party, and it had taken every ounce of control he had in his body to stop himself from shifting and ending that bastard. He’d almost completely lost his head in front of all those witnesses.

He couldn’t let a little human derail all of his hard work. Couldn’t let her ruin his life. That’s why she had to go.

“Zeke?”

He turned to his bedroom door with a frown as Myles entered. 

“I just heard you were at Jared’s party. Is this true?”

He looked away and walked towards his balcony doors. 

“Don’t worry about it. I didn’t even speak to him,” he answered. “Go back to bed.”

“But why did you do that? I’m just trying to understand.”

He clenched his jaw when he realised his friend was following him out. He didn’t like pulling rank on his friends; they were like brothers to him. But sometimes, he wished he was firmer with them so they would leave him alone when he needed space. 

“I don’t know,” he lied. 

Zeke put his hand on the railing and looked out to the woods. All he would need to do to reach that human was shift and cut through the woods. She looked him right in the eyes as if she were challenging Shadow, and that stupid beast wanted to show her who the boss was. How would she last here if she didn’t know something as simple as this?

His hands tightened on the railing.

“Your eyes are glowing.”

“Go to sleep, Myles,” he growled impatiently. “Don’t you have guests waiting for you in your bed?”

He didn’t need stupid observations right now; he needed the human gone so he could think.

Myles didn’t say anything else as he left, but he knew this wasn’t the end of that. Left alone, he continued looking out at the woods, wondering if she had eaten something. Then he almost kicked himself because he didn't give a shit about that. He only needed her to do as he had told her and get herself out of there. 

The sun was rising over the horizon when he finally walked back into his room. The first day of school had officially started. Two more semesters, and he would have everything he ever wanted, which did not include the human in any way.

He was sitting at the kitchen island when Derek came down. His friend paused for a second when he saw him and then walked over to the coffee pot. Then he brought his cup over and sat opposite him.

“Do I need to be worried?” Derek asked.

“Of course not. Why would you even ask that?”

Yes. Everyone needed to be worried. 

“You weren’t yourself last night,” Derek said with a shrug. 

Derek said it so casually, but he could feel the tension in the air. The last time he had been out of control had been hell for everyone. 

“I was fine,” he said. “Just preoccupied. Alpha shit.”

Derek nodded before he sipped his coffee. Myles walked in at that moment and didn’t even acknowledge them. He could understand that, though the disrespect grated on him. Myles had lost his twin brother because of the asshole Jared. Nothing less than his head on a stake would appease him. Stepping on Jared’s property was a betrayal he couldn’t even justify.

“When will our Omegas start? I don’t know why we always wait for them to be assigned when we could just pick our own,” Myles grumbled.

“Just order something from the kitchen and shut up,” Derek said. “We have to get to the assembly.”

Zeke didn’t know why he tensed. The human wouldn’t do something as stupid as attending the assembly, even though it was mandatory. Though she had shown a little defiance when she addressed him last night, she looked like a sensible girl and would probably be waiting at the dean’s office when they opened. 

All this shit would be over by the end of the day. Then he could get some sleep and forget all about her.