Chapter 5

Jax

"She wants to meet her Alpha, and mate." I say holding her face carefully in my hands. I feel flames ignite in my palms and travel down my arms and into my chest. I watch as her face turns a crimson color and as gold swirls around in her forest green eyes.

This girl is the opposite of me in every way. Just being around her I can already tell and I'm not sure why fate has made her mine. I'm not use to fragile little things.

I watch as my words register with her, and confusion flashes across her redden face. She doesn't break eye contact with me as she reaches up to remove my hands from her face.

"You have to be mistaken." She says softly letting my hands go. I instantly reach out for her again tracing my fingers down the sleeve of her denem jacket. "I'm human. My parents are human." She says turning back to her stack of papers Infront of her.

I keep lightly tracing my fingers up and down her arm and I see her look around the room as if trying to find an exit strategy. I knew she'd try to bolt the second I told her. That's why I chose the back corner. I needed to keep her in one place long enough to hear me out.

"One of your parents must have passed on the gene to you." Her eyes fall back on me as she realizes I'm in the path of the only way out.

"I just wanted to let you know you have a choice to make." I say looking back up at her eyes. They're still swimming with gold. Her wolf is just beneath the surface. Trapped in the cage of her mind.

"What might that be?" I can feel her pulse quicken under my touch. She's nervous. She has every right to be. There are some shifters that have out right killed their human-born mates. Saying they're inferior to shifters. It doesn't happen often but when it does it's tragic.

I don't know how anyone can feel the things I'm feeling right now just sitting next to her and want to harm their mates. I take a moment to collect my thoughts knowing if I say the wrong thing or even move too fast, she'll slip through my fingers without hesitation.

"I don't want to force you into anything you're not comfortable with. I'm not interested in playing mind games or leading you on." I say and I watch as she forces a swallow her eyes never leaving mine.

"We hardly know each other but I would like to change that." I say raking a hand through my hair and leaning slightly away from her. As if there's a string attached to her she moves slightly closer to maintain a steady distance between us. Jesus she hasn't even shifted yet and she is already making the body language of a she wolf. Though I'm not surprised with the amount of gold in her eyes. Her wolf is listening closely to everything I'm saying.

"So essentially I brought you back here so I could ask you out, let me take you somewhere after sch-" She cuts me off with a shake of her head pulling her jacket even tighter.

"I can't after school. my dad wou- I have to help my dad around the house and he doesn't like it if I don't come home immediately after." She says her eyes turning back to their solid green.

"Is that what happened to your back and your wrist?" I don't know what made me say it. She has been steady up until she mentioned her dad and now the soon to be she wolf has reverted back to the human girl she's always been. Honestly it bothers me when she looks away from me at the mention of the markings I had seen in class.

Her wolf will prevent her from lying to me and I watch as she chews her bottom lip as she thinks of what to say. "My dad and I have had a rough three years since my mom died. It's nothing I can't handle." She says looking down at her closed text book Infront of her.

I don't want to push it for now. I'm in dangerous territory and veering off course. "Fine. Then let me drive you home. You won't be late and it'll give us a chance to get to know each other." I say trying to compromise. I hook my finger under her chin to make her look at me.

Her eyes are swirling again and my wolf is loving how responsive she is to me. It's a good sign.

Sage

He's insane right? This has got to be some cruel joke. Shifters are NOT what you read about in books. They don't find their mates and that's who their with. Their mates are just their number one. The one they have an emotional connection with and who they essentially have kids with. I wish my head would stop pounding. I can't think straight.

I do know that if what's he's telling me is true he's basically asking me to run his pack with him. My brain starts spinning, seeing everything I've ever read on shifters since they surfaced in the world. I remember an article I've read about the human gene mutation and how wolfs were know to kill their human partners because of bias views. That rate is especially higher with alphas.

As I'm overwhelmed with infirmation bombarding me I feel my breath become shallow and for the first time since he grabbed my face I look away from Jaxson and start digging through my bag for an inhaler. I'm the complete opposite of a shifter they're known for being genetically superior. Not needing glasses or inhalers. They're strong. I'm the complete opposite.

I'm about to have a full blown asthma attack. He's wrong, there's no way. I find my inhaler and begin shaking it not looking his way. I don't need to have a full blown panic attack in the back of the library. It would just reaffirm what I already know. He's wrong.

I take two puffs of my inhaler closing my eyes and holding the medicine in. As the tightness eases in my chest I slowly exhale and place my forehead on the all but forgotten papers infront of me.

"Sage." He says softly.

"Jaxson." I say in response holding up a finger in response. I need a moment to collect my thoughts to remember how to breathe.

"Jax." He responds automatically his voice quiet next to me. "The people close to me call me Jax."

Once I'm capable of filling my lungs again I sit back up and shove the inhaler back in my bag. I look at the table of papers and start stacking them. I only got two of them finished that's three I now will have to do instead of eating lunch. If I even make it that far.