7. Ours.

Zev’s pov

“You’re going to lose!” I yelled as I started beating up his avatar, pushing buttons as fast as I could.

Raiden smirked, “you’re never this competitive. Did something happen? Did I get under your skin? I can’t always step it up, you know. Maybe next mealtime, I will flirt a bit harder. Or maybe, -“

I sighed, making Raiden stop midsentence. “Just stop it. It won’t work.”

“You’re lying… You like our little mouse.”

“If your aim is to get me to fall for her, why do you continue to call her ours?” I teased my friend back.

He shrugged, “because she is. Until she’s not... when you claim her as yours."

Goddess. Was he always this annoying?

Yeah. He was, but it wasn’t usually directed at me. Raiden had always wanted me to meet girls, but he never worked this hard to make it happen. He had said a few things or tried to set me up on a double date, but most of the time it was just jokes and nothing more.

But this? This felt different.

I hadn’t even seen Raiden hang around a girl he had sex with as much as he did around Atalanta.

Maybe because most girls threw themselves at Raiden as soon as he even looked at them. He never had to try.

But if he was really interested in her, why try to make me date her? It wasn’t like we could share her.

Werewolves are as monogamous as they come. Once we get our mates, that is. Before we meet our mate, we’re horndogs, having sex with whoever is willing. Except for a few exceptions like me, who would rather wait until they meet their mate. Although they are waiting because they want their mate to be their first, I am waiting for a different reason.

It’s only been a day. One day! Yet somehow it feels like so much longer. But we barely know anything about her, aside from her name and that she was raised in a small pack amongst humans.

The whole thing is confusing, but for Atalanta’s sake, I’ll tutor her this afternoon, and then hopefully Raiden will leave both of us alone. Although it doesn’t seem likely.

After we were done playing games, I decided to write a bit in my journal. It always helped me calm my thoughts. Putting everything on paper made it seem simpler.

I watched the area where I had torn out a page. As soon as I started writing that day, I felt weird. Writing in the library made me think of mom, and when I think of mom, thoughts about my dad come up too.

It’s so much easier not to think about those days. It’s been years, and I know all my triggers. Sometimes it’s just nice not to be that guy.

Everyone at the Cresent Moon Pack knows what my dad did. Although they pretend not to. But they must know. Every time someone commits a crime inside our pack, it’s common knowledge.

Not to mention, those who do wrong are usually punished publicly.

Even though my dad did something horrible, he was allowed the privilege of being punished elsewhere. I guess Ethan and Grace were protecting me, but it feels like he got off easy.

No. Zev, just don’t think about that. Especially not before going to bed.

“Hi mom,” I wrote down, hoping that it would help calm me down. It was easier here; there were fewer triggers. But something about Atalanta made me think of my dad often. Maybe because I saw something in her that I recognized.

Fear. She smelled like it, and her body language clearly showed how scared she was most of the time.

“I met a girl. Her name is Atalanta. It means hunter, which is funny, because nothing about this girl screams hunter. She’s short and timid. She barely talks and makes herself even smaller by dressing in big clothes and keeping her head down.

But her eyes are so big and blue that they stand out, even across the hallway. When I spotted her, they were like beacons, drawing me in.

If Raiden read this, he would make so much fun of me. He’s trying his best to set us up. He’s even arranged for me to tutor her.

Raiden knows I am not interested in dating. Or casual hookups, like him. Yes, mom. That little blond boy you loved like a second son is now a big womanizer. Like most alpha males, he loves having a different girl in his bedroom. It never really gets serious, because unlike me, he is keeping that part of himself reserved for his mate.

I can’t blame him. He’s seen Grace and Ethan together, and he knows how beautiful the mate bond can be.

But he hasn’t witnessed how bad it can get when that mate bond is destroyed.

But I don’t want to talk about dad right now. I’m actually trying to avoid thinking about him. It’s just hard, because every time I see Atalanta, I wonder if that would be me if Grace and Ethan didn’t get him away from me.

Maybe I’m projecting, but there’s something about her that screams, “I need help.”

Raiden can’t seem to stay away from her either. He calls her our little mouse. He claims he finds her weakness annoying, but I think he actually wants to help her. It’s the alpha in him, I guess. Taking care of the vulnerable.

He’s literally feeding her.

Yet he keeps pushing her buttons as well. As if he thinks that she’ll somehow grow a backbone and starts pushing back. But she won’t. I don’t think she even knows how to.”

I stopped writing because Raiden sighed. “Are you finished, man? I need my beauty-rest.”

I’d finish the rest tomorrow. It wasn’t like she was actually receiving any of my letters. Maybe she was reading them whenever she looked down from the moon.

I kept the letters in my journals, unless they were too awful. Then I’d rip them out and throw them away. Or burn them. Especially when they were about dad.

When I closed my eyes, dad’s face popped up, but I pushed it away, thinking of happy things. Videogames, desert, hanging out with Raiden’s family, reading, Atalanta.

No… I opened my eyes.

She shouldn't be on that list.

Okay, try again, Zev.

Good thoughts. Happy thoughts.

Yet, when I finally dozed off, it was Atalanta’s face I was seeing.

The next morning, we headed off to get breakfast. Raiden refused to eat something small in our room, instead going out to eat for every meal. He claimed that he needed it for fuel, but in all honesty, that man just likes to eat.

If he didn’t have his fast metabolism, I wonder what he would look like. Probably a big giant with a big pot belly instead of a six-pack. It wouldn’t make him any less handsome, though. Raiden has the kind of charisma that goes with any body.

When we entered the mess hall, we both spotted Atalanta right away. Mostly because she was wearing something she never wears.

Very tight legging and a sports bra. Just a sports bra.

I could see she needed to eat more, but that didn’t diminish her beauty. The closer we got, the more I realized she had been working out. She was still sweaty, and I could smell her.

Raiden couldn’t stop himself from touching her. He wasn’t wrong, though; she did smell good.

Like vanilla and something fruity.

Atalanta and I walked ahead, while Raiden checked out her ass. At least this way, he wasn’t annoying her.

“What do you usually get for breakfast?” I asked before Raiden stopped Atalanta by grabbing her arm.

She instantly flinched, but Raiden was too busy to notice.

“What’s on your back? Who did that?” He asked with a low growl.  

“It was a cooking accident,” she said, her head hanging low.

Raiden shook his head in disbelief, growling again. “How in the hell do you get burned on your back while cooking? When was this?”

Atalanta shrugged, “I was ten. It looks worse than it is.”

“Let’s just eat.” I suggested. I didn’t want to make Atalanta even more uncomfortable. Raiden always likes to push people to open up, even when they’re not ready.

“You need to stop lying, little mouse.” Raiden scolded Atalanta before stomping off towards the food.

If there’s one thing Raiden hates even more than weak people, it’s lying.

“So, what are you going to get?” I tried to ease the tension.

“I’m not sure yet.” Atalanta said in a small voice.

“You know Raiden will pay for it, so get whatever you want.”

“Why?” she practically whispered.

I shrugged my shoulders, “he’s generous? And he thinks you need to eat more. I don’t know. He always pays for everything. I’ve learned to just go with it.”

Atalanta nodded and followed behind Raiden, who was already grabbing several things.

With a tray in my hand, I took some fruit, some waffles, and some toast, motioning for Atalanta to grab something as well.

“If you don’t pick something, little mouse, I will.” Raiden threatened. I didn’t even notice he had been observing us.

Eventually she took some toast and a cup of tea, which earned a big sigh from my best friend. But I knew Raiden had probably grabbed a few extra things.

After paying for everything, he placed the trays on the table and sat down. I took a seat beside him. Before Atalanta could sit across from us, Raiden stopped her.

“No, little mouse, you can sit right here.” He pointed to the small space between us.

The more I would defend Atalanta, the more Raiden would think his plan was working. Besides, it was just a seat.

I moved out of the way slightly, to give her some space, but Raiden scooted us both closer. With one hand, he began eating, the other draped over her shoulder.

The more she tried to get some space from Raiden, the more her arm would bump up against mine. Eventually, Atalanta gave up and started eating small bites of her food.

“Is your pack poor?” Raiden asked. “Is that why you eat so little, because you had to ration your food?”

“Raiden, you can’t just ask people these things!” Goddess, he could be so blunt sometimes.

Atalanta nodded, “yes.”

“Who is your alpha? Maybe our pack can help.” Raiden suggested.

“Um, Alpha Leonard.” Atalanta said, looking at her food.

“And your pack name?”

“The Midnight Howlers,” Atalanta said, her leg tapping nervously against the floor.

Raiden placed his hand on her leg, “I’m not trying to interrogate you, Little Mouse. I’m just curious. Stop fidgeting. What’s your relation to the alpha?”

“I’m his niece.” She said.

Raiden nodded, “okay, and you’re here to train to become a luna?”

“I, no. Yes.” She seemed unsure, which made me look away from my food and towards her. She had a blush on her cheeks and was biting her lip, breathing harder than usual.

Raiden smelled it first. He took a deep breath through his nose, and his eyes darkened. Then I smelled it. It was fear, but mixed with something else. Mixed with arousal.

Atalanta was turned on right now, and it smelled absolutely delicious. 

I thought he would tease her or say something, but instead he got up and left the table, leaving half of his food behind.