Filed to story: The Rise Of The Lycan Queen
“Are you making fun of me?” The guy stood straight and glared at her.
This wasn’t good. No one was paying attention because they were on a high from the fight Mason had won.
“See, this is what I’m talking about.” Ella took a step toward me, trying to gain distance.
While her head was turned, the guy snarled and raised his hand, aiming it directly at her head.
Oh, hell no. Before I thought twice, I lunged and caught his punch midair. I pushed him backward and kneed him in the crotch as he fell back.
He fell to the ground with a large thud.
That’s when I realized that the small crowd around us had their eyes on me.
“Hell, yeah.” A guy broke out into a grin and stared me up and down.
I turned, ready to take him on too.
“Oh, no.” He lifted both hands in the air. “I was just admiring your work.”
“Was he about to fucking hit me?” Ella’s eyes stayed on the grounded prick.
“What the hell is going on here?” A dark, raspy voice called from behind me.
Butterflies took flight in my stupid-ass stomach. They should know better than to do that.
“Now you come here.” Ella stood and placed her arm around my shoulders. “After Aria took care of the problem. Figures.”
“First off, you were supposed to come here with Alec, not her.” His emerald eyes landed on mine, and he took a quick intake of air. “What the hell is your name again?”
My damn heart took off, and I could smell the wolf on him so thick. His strong musky scent told me more about him than I should know. He was an alpha, and he expected me to cower in his presence. “None of your concern.” I lifted my chin, making sure he knew he had no control over me.
“I don’t think you realize how this works.” His nostrils flared as his nose wrinkled. “Newbies don’t get to run the game.”
“Well, first off, I’m not interested in this… game.” I wasn’t sure what he meant by that. “And secondly, I only came this one time for your sister. It has nothing to do with you. In fact, if I knew we were going to talk, I would’ve kept my ass home.” Really, I would’ve. I didn’t know what the hell was going on with me. My wolf was clawing to get out, and I’d never felt this way toward a guy before, much less a wolf. I wondered… is it possible he’s my mate?
In my position, I couldn’t take that chance. This was too dangerous. I needed distance and fast, especially before his wolf figured any of it out.
“Damn, she’s feisty.” Alec grinned at me. “I knew I’d like you when we met earlier today.”
“You should be thanking her.” Ella nudged Mason’s chest with her finger. “She saved me from the asshole who was trying to hit me.” Her nose wrinkled, and she rubbed her pointer finger against her thumb. “Yuck. Go wipe off your sweat and put on a shirt.”
“That’s a good idea.” The words were out before I could stop them. “Because you smell horrible.” Yeah, good save.
Ella’s eyes lit, and a damn huge smile spread across her face. “How often does a girl tell you that other than me?”
“Are you being serious right now?” Mason’s jaw clenched, and his nose wrinkled in disgust. “You almost get hit by some asshole and you’re more concerned about her wanting me to put a shirt on?”
“Someone needs to take you down a notch.” He shouldn’t have been talking to her that way. “And she’s not upset because I handled it, unlike someone else here.” I was being crueler out of fear of what was going on inside me. My wolf, even though suppressed, wanted to be part of a pack and stand by her mate. How badly I wanted it scared me.
“Alec, take the girls home.” He nodded his head in my direction, but his eyes stayed focused on the jackass I took down. “I’ll take your car and meet you at the house later.”
“Yeah, all right.” He waved us forward toward the back door. “Let’s get going.”
The last thing that I wanted was to be told what to do, but I bit back my complaint. Right now, I needed distance and fast. The longer I stayed here, the harder my wolf was forcing our connection. I had to keep it separate for Kassie’s, Mona’s, and my protection.
“Hey, Aria,” Ella called out as I pushed myself through the crowd.
This had been a very bad decision. I shouldn’t have been here, never should’ve walked through those doors. My parents had told me about mates. If you were lucky enough to have one, destiny had a way of making sure you meet. At the time, I wanted exactly what Mom and Dad had, but since I lost them, I vowed to do everything I could to stay away in case something like this happened. But here I was, desperate to leave, but a part of my heart had already been fractured and left behind.
That Wednesday morning, I almost decided not to go to class. The last thing I wanted was to see Ella after that night, but the longer I put it off, the worse it’d be.
“Hey, are you okay?” Mona turned toward me as I entered the kitchen. “You were moping all day yesterday.”
“Yeah.” I hadn’t told them what happened the other night and planned to keep it that way. They’d lecture me on needing friends and at least being a normal ‘human’.
“Well, did you at least have fun?” Her chocolate brown eyes took me in.
“That’s part of the problem.” I had. But part of being friends was telling your past and your future. Neither one of those were things I needed to share for multiple reasons. One, if I shared my past, people may figure things out; and two, if they figured it out, they could be captured and tortured at some point.
“It’s okay to let others in.” Mona took a bite of her standard cinnamon raisin bagel and sighed.
“No, they are weaknesses that could be exploited.” I wasn’t willing to chance risking Mona and Kassie. They were my family now, and I’d be damned if I let anything happen to them. “Besides,” I walked over to her and tapped her on the nose. “I’ve got you and Kassie, I don’t need anything else.”
She shook her head at me. “You need friends your own age.”
“You’ve been telling me that for a long time.” I made my way to the cabinet and grabbed the peanut butter. “I figured you’d give up by now.”
“No.” She chewed for a moment and swallowed. “It’s just I’m hoping you give it a shot. The worst thing that happens is we pick up and move somewhere else.”
That was what we did the first couple of years after the wreck. We constantly moved to ensure that no one figured out I was alive. Finally, we settled down here, and I homeschooled through twelfth grade. I had hoped to do online college classes, but Kassie and Mona refused. They said if they were paying for my education, then college was a must.
I grabbed a banana and peeled it. “Look, I’m going to college onsite. I’m holding up my end of the bargain. You should’ve made friends a requirement too.”
“Maybe we’ll consider that for next year.” Mona winked at me.
“Hussy.” I stuck my tongue out at her as I spooned peanut butter all over my banana.
“I’ve been called worse.” She chuckled as she took another large bite of her breakfast.
“All right, I’m out.” I grabbed my bag and purse from the coat hanger by the door. “I’ll be home later.”
“Have a good day.” She hollered before the door shut behind me.
As I made my way to the car, I scarfed my breakfast down. I had spent too much time considering whether to show up today or not, so I was running on the minute, which I hated.
* * *
My hands were sweaty, which was completely ridiculous. I mean it wasn’t like Ella and I were dating or something. When I reached the doorway of the classroom, I took a deep breath and stepped in.
