Chapter 4

The next day I was feeling much better. There were still traces of illness, I sneezed from time to time and I should always have a handkerchief at hand, but at least I could now go to school.

The future Alpha was leaning against his white car, gleaming, waiting for me. He wore a forest green shirt, ripped pants at the knees, and a wild smile on his lips.

So attractive, so provocative. I had an immense desire to jump on him, taste his lips and lose myself in him. He cleared his throat, drawing my attention.

I didn’t feel ashamed. Hee did the same thing all the time. I was wearing a white T-shirt and distressed jeans. I needed to buy more clothes, but I had to free myself from a couple of exams before I could get to work.

Sometimes I worked in a cafeteria in the center of the city. The owner was a kind she-wolf. She had accepted me as a daughter, despite her being a widow.

I had come into her life right after the death of her husband. Werewolves normally die after the loss of their mate, so everyone in the pack was waiting for her to die.

She was a girl in a very peculiar place, so I didn’t understand any of her rules. When I saw her, I could only approach, take her hand, and whisper that I felt the loss of her. Something that was forbidden in the pack, but just what Margaret needed.

Every day I would go to her cafeteria, who was in the pack at the time and chat with her for hours.

We were both broken, too hurt. Only we could know the pain we carried. She acted like a mother to me and I gave her a reason to stay alive.

Since then I have worked for her on vacations and off-hours.

“Earth calling Princess Sienna,” I heard Hunter’s voice, too close to me.

He was standing, his face just inches away from mine. I feel my cheeks burn and thousands of killer wasps attack my stomach.

“Why princess?” I asked the first thing that crossed my mind.

He seemed to think about it for a few seconds, putting his hand on his chin.

“Because you’re the princess of my life, I guess.” He shrugged.

I tried to keep my heart from racing at his words but it was impossible. How could I not fall in love with him? How can I avoid falling at his feet?

“I’m not a princess,” I stammered.

“You are to me. Now, Miss Princess, move those ass of yours to my car or we’ll be late for class.”

I laughed when I heard him. Hunter had humor that only flourished with me. For the others, he had to be serious and regal, like a true leader. It was when we were alone that his true personality came to light.

He drove to school. He had set me on the road during the trip. I was sure I would learn it on my own. If I had managed to get there as only a child, then I was capable of doing it again.

“Hey, Alpha!” Miguel, his best friend, called mockingly.

They clashed their fists and then slapped each other on the back in a rare greeting characteristic of men.

“Hi, Migo.” I ruffled his hair and scratched behind his ear, like a puppy.

He immediately stuck out his tongue and started moving one leg, playing along with me. He was kind of like my personal pet. He had mahogany hair, his eyes were green and mesmerizing. His eyebrows were bushy and he was handsome in his way.

Not an Adonis type, of course. But he was very attractive. Miguel was in love with my best friend, Primrose. An unrequited love, sadly.

“Sie!” A voice yelled from behind me, just before Primrose rolled me over.

She was a human. Her hair was brown with yellow tips, reaching past her waist. Her eyes were honey, her lips were thin, and always covered with some lipstick. Flirtatious eyes, carefree and smiling attitude. She was my best friend, the only human I allowed to get close to me.

If I was a lesbian, surely I would court her. She was too beautiful.

My friendship with her developed in such a peculiar way. The outgoing girl adopted an introvert as a friend type. Primrose moved closer to me no matter how hard I resisted. I must not be close to humans, since they could find out about my relationship with the pack, which was forbidden.

But she didn’t let me walk away. She stayed by my side, earning my appreciation each day a little more.

“Don’t call me Sie,” I claimed.

“Oh, come on! Everyone calls you Sie, sometimes I don’t understand if they’re just calling you or they’re saying the alphabet.”

“Don’t be envious.” I tapped him on the forehead, smiling.

She puffed out her cheeks, pouting adorably. Oh, how much I adored this girl. She was my friend for several years, and she was always with me, being my support and my anchor.

I noticed that Miguel was looking at her too, mesmerized by her beauty. I felt sorry for him; I knew well what her friendzone was and all the disadvantages of belonging to it.

“Stop with all the chit-chat. It’s time to get into a class,” Hunter urged.

I was an excellent student. I was the best in the whole institute, and that is how I had to keep it if I wanted to continue with my scholarship. The Alpha offered to pay for my education, but I didn’t want to always depend on his kindness. He gave me a roof and food, that was too much.

“Come on, Mr. Grumpy.” I gave him a slight shove with my shoulder but didn’t move an inch.

Damn werewolf, damn super strength that made me look foolish.

He laughed when he saw me sulking, mocking. It was funny to him that I didn’t have a chance, although more than once, I had managed to beat him as a child.

I grew up running and traveling all over the place, so I wasn’t exactly a young lady. Werewolves usually play heavy, always fighting each other.

At first, they were not letting us fight since the future Alpha should not be so cruel when fighting against humans, but that was before they saw that we were equal in strength. This made the Alpha so upset that he sent him to exercise much more than he really should.

A human should never have a chance against an alpha. Over the years, he had stopped being a good opponent. Hunter could break my bones just by touching me.

I wasn’t afraid of him at all. Hunter and I are so certain, thanks to all the years we’ve lived together. He was always my brave protector, even though it was not what he was supposed to do.

Once, I heard the old ages speak about us. It was strange that we could get along so well, so they held an emergency meeting within a few weeks of my stay.

Even though that hadn’t been my intention hiding in the council room, I still overheard them talking about a myth.

They say that if your mate is in danger, the real threat of death, then she can be guided to you. They believed that I had faced so many risks that the path to the pack had been marked in my steps.

Then it was dismissed, as they had never encountered a human mate.

Until I arrived, of course.

Classes passed slowly. Studying was not a problem for me. I loved spending my afternoons studying. My grades were the best in the whole institute and that made me proud. I always sought Alpha’s approval and knew that my grades and demeanor were impeccable.

Mathematics was my favorite subject but at the time, I was in no mood for numbers. My body still felt a little heavy from the disease and my head was throbbing. I wanted to go home, kidnap Hunter, and hog him for a bit.

Maybe watch a couple of movies lying on the couch. Yes, that would suit me perfectly.

“Have you seen the new physics teacher?” Primrose whispered from the position she was, right in front of me. “They say he is a beauty.”

I had heard some whispers about it, but it was a bit off, so I didn’t pay much attention to them. However, if she had already managed to get the attention of Primrose, who usually ignored any kind of gossip, then it meant that the whispers were starting to increase.

A new teacher at the end of the year? I frowned at the thought.

“According to them.” I nodded to the class in general. “Any decent man is a beauty.”

Primrose laughed as the math teacher turned his bitter gaze on us. He was an older man who should have retired by now, but here he was, throwing imaginary daggers with his look.

It seemed that he needed a good romp to see if he managed to release that bitterness.

Of course, I didn’t tell him. I wasn’t looking for punishment just for wanting to be funny. I just wanted to go home and snuggle up with my best friend.

Physics was the last thing I had to do that day, but I still couldn’t leave. Hunter was playing basketball so I had no means of transportation. He was the captain of the team and the sexiest of them all. He would have to stay until the practice was over. Of course, humans and werewolves had different outfits. Team A and Team B. They weren’t related; at least, that was always the intention.

However, some days they trained together. Wolves were forbidden to bring out their full potential, so they got bored. The workouts were after school so I used to head to the gym to see them.

It didn’t bother me at all. I enjoyed watching every game and every training session.

“Finally!” Primrose yelled enthusiastically, regardless of whether the professor was watching her. We are just one step away from freedom.

“Miss Hernaez, I can still send you to detention,” the professor pointed out with a half-smile.

Wow! It was quite a surprise that he could make a gesture in addition to that bitter one that characterized him. Too bad he was only able to smile with the suffering of his students.

Primrose made an innocent gesture, flopping back into the seat until the professor let us out. A student passed me by, pushing me. I almost fell to the ground with a bit of graceful movement, but someone was there to stop me.

I felt strong arms wrap around me as my feet stopped touching the ground. I would recognize its scent anywhere.

“You stink!” I yelled in the middle of the hall. Some students stared at us: disgust.

“Hunter. At least take a shower before you go out.”

“Nah, I prefer to hug my bunny with the still fresh sweat,” he replied, smiling, not letting go of me.

I blushed slightly at his words. Hunter would have to learn to moderate his comments if he didn’t want me to die of a heart attack. Primrose turned away from us, laughing. She headed off to our last class accompanied by Miguel.

Hunter had already finished his classes, so the coach was already torturing him.

“What are you doing here?” I questioned as soon as he put me down.

“The coach asked me to find the medical kit,” he explained. “Izaiah didn’t calculate his strength with a human and snapped his nose with an elbow.”

A horrified gasp escaped me. He knew firsthand the strength that werewolves had—poor humans.

“Is he okay?”

“Yeah, it wasn’t a big problem,” he minimized with a wave of his hand.

My few spare minutes were running out, but I loved talking to Hunter. I didn’t want to go to a boring physics class with a new teacher who would just make us introduce ourselves as if we didn’t already know each other.

“I’ll see you later,” I said goodbye with a smile after minutes of assessing whether I should attend the class or just go with Hunter.

Just in time, I thought, relieved. The professor had not yet arrived. I sat next to Primrose, who looked anxious. Beside her was Miguel, frowning. I had never seen him with such a moody pout, but there he was. Had they argued with each other?

“Something wrong?”

“I’m looking forward to meeting the new professor,” she murmured, nibbling on her fingernail.

“Stay calm. Surely the others are exaggerating.”

They did not.

I opened my mouth in shock just seeing him. He was indeed an impressive man. He had white hair, but not gray. In fact, he was an albino

His gesture was a bit serious, but he seemed to smile at the reaction he had caused. His eyes were blue, cold. His features were sharp, while his gesture was impassive.

A sorcerer.

I heard the voice in my head. I didn’t know why sometimes, very rarely, I could listen to a small, faint voice in my head. He used to tell me some facts, like that one. Sometimes I thought I was crazy, but the truth is that I appreciated the information that was being released to me.

I looked at Primrose, whose eyes shone brightly at the sight of him.

“Good afternoon,” he said in a husky, captivating voice. “I am Professor Yule Cairo Ruiz. You can call me Yule if you prefer.”

He looked around the room, lingering longer than necessary on none other than my great friend Primrose.

I did not know how the other species functioned, but the connection I witnessed was very similar to the mate’s connection.

Interesting.