Chapter 7 - Shaun

Before leaving my room, I stopped to check myself in the mirror. I usually didn’t do a mirror check before heading out, but Robin said she’d bring me the book to school today and, well, I wanted to look good. The thought of Robin made my heart race with excitement and my stomach twist with guilt. I should’ve told her that we were mates by now.

I knew it was wrong to keep it from her. It’s not like I have a problem with her. No, that not it at all. Robin is perfect. Dad. Dad is the problem. He can’t stand weakness and with Robin being an omega, I was afraid he’d insist I reject her.

Just the idea of rejecting Robin made my soul hurt, and if I refused to obey an order from Dad… I shook my head to get rid of those kinds of thoughts. What Dad thought of Robin was a problem for another day. For now, I’d just enjoy what time I got to spend with Robin. 

As I left my room, I took the elevator instead of the stairs. On the way to the ground floor, I flipped through the book I’d just finished reading. Traces of Robin’s scent were still on the pages, though they were fading pretty fast. I wondered what parts were her favorite or her opinions about the guy. Did she like guys like him? I found him kind of stupid, but it seemed girls really liked jerks in these books. 

The doors opened, and I focused back on getting ready, hiding the book so Dad didn’t see it. In his mind, reading was a waste of time. What was the point of living someone else’s life when you should be living your own? Or at least that’s what he keeps telling me. 

As I walked around the curve of the stairs, I noticed Dad was in the living room with his beta and chief of security. They all looked serious as they spoke softly to each other. Something must have happened. I walked up to them. “Good morning. Dad, did something happen?”

“Morning Shaun,” Dad said, and the others repeated the same. “We’ve got news that some hunters were spotted on the borders. We’re organizing a party to see if they’re settling down or passing through.”

Alarm shot through me as my thoughts went to Robin. What if that hole she fell in wasn’t a sink hole after all? Fingers of panic gripped me, but I felt my wolf press on my mind, reminding me that whatever that hole was, Robin was safe. We’d walked her home. Finding I could breathe again, I focused back on my dad. “Give me a minute and I can join the —” I said, turning to go back up to my room when my dad refused. 

“No, we don’t need anymore numbers. You go to school and focus on your studies.”

“But—” As the future alpha of this pack, I should be out there too. 

“I said no,” Dad repeated, saying the words slowly and letting me know he wouldn’t be arguing about this. 

Irritation filled me, but I kept my face blank. “Yes, Sir.” I turned and continued to the foyer and the front door. Well, at the very least, I’d warn Robin to stay out of the woods until Dad has more news. 

I got into my car and drove to the school, parking in the last row of the parking lot. As I walked to school, I looked for Robin. I see her walk into the building just ahead of me. My spirits lift seeing her. Even my wolf is in a better mood at the sight of her. I hurry through the crowd, trying to reach her. A few people call out to me. I wave at them with the promise to talk later. Not wanting to waste any time, I continue to wade through the mass of people until I reach her. “Hey, Robin. How’s it going?”

She turned to me with a brief expression of surprise and what maybe is alarm. “Uh, Shaun? Uhm, hi.” Her voice sounded tight, and she fidgeted nervously as she put books in her locker and took others out.

With my wolf on full alert, I asked, “What’s wrong?”

Again, her expression flashed alarm before she hid it with a smile that was too brittle to be real. “Wrong? Nothing’s wrong.” 

That was the most obvious lie I’d ever seen in my life. I’d bet my right arm it was her family again. They were so toxic. It was like seeing the Dursleys from Harry Potter in real life. I always wished there was something I could do to help Robin get away from them, but no one else in the pack seemed to care what she was going through. Omegas do get a raw deal.

I decided not to make Robin’s life even harder. “Okay, but if there was something wrong, you know you can tell me, okay?”

Her pulse raced as she gave me another smile, this time a real one. “Yeah, okay.” She started to say something, then hesitated. “About the book… I looked for it, but not sure where it is.”

Again, another lie. So that was it? Did they do something to it? I bet it was Declan. He was the kind of loser that liked those kind of ‘pranks’. “It’s cool. No rush.” I threw a smile in there too, so she’d know I was serious. Her smile grew and all I could do was stand there and watch. She was just… wow. It was only when the bell rang did I realize I was staring a little. 

“Well, see you around,” Robin said with a wave and walked off down the hall and it was only then did I realize I didn’t tell her about the hunters. Damn it. I’d have to catch her at lunch or after school. I blew out a breath and pushed off the lockers, heading to class.

Despite that, I knew Robin was in no immediate threat, I worried about her all day. I debated on having a ‘talk’ with Declan and tell him to leave her alone, but would that even help? Also, what would I say if he asked me why I cared about how he treated Robin? I couldn’t let anyone suspect we might be mates unless it got back to my dad.

My worry grew when she wasn’t at lunch. I’d have to wait until after school to warn. It was a small window because I had practice. I put my things away five minutes before the bell rang. It earned me a dirty glare from the teacher, but I ignored him. He was a werewolf and wouldn’t dare say anything to me. There were times being the future alpha had some perks, though I try not to abuse them too often. 

As soon as the bell rang, I jumped up from my seat and hurried out of the class room to look for Robin. Her scent was hard to track with so many people, and when I got to her locker, she wasn’t there. My anxiety notched up a level, and I hurried outside to search for her. At first I didn’t see her, then spotted her crossing the road ahead of me. I started after her when I heard Declan call me. “Shaun, my man,” he greeted with that cocky smirk on his face.

How could someone so low on the pack hierarchy be so cocky? Did he really think arrogance was the key to climbing the pack social ladder? “Hey man,” I replied, glancing at where Robin was, but she was out of sight now. Damn it. I bet she was going for another walk in the woods. I had to warn her. Turning to Declan, my wolf growled deep inside me. While I didn’t like the guy, my wolf hated him. Trying to keep the anger from my voice. I added, “I gotta go get something real quick before practice. Talk later?”

Without waiting for an answer, I jogged across the parking lot and followed Robin’s scent. Just as I feared, she was heading right into the woods. I ran and only slowed when I saw her. She was heading into the woods. I took a breath to call out to her when a vampire appeared in front of her, the shadow of the leafy branches protecting him from what little sun got through the cloud cover. 

Alarm shot through me and I stumbled to a halt as I watched it smirk at her, showing a slip of fang and say something to her. My panicked pulse pounded so loud in my ears I couldn’t catch what he said to her, but she shrugged with a nod and said something back. Horrified, I watched as she followed him deeper into the woods. What the hell?