The Alpha's Mate

Rules, Rules, Rules

I don't remember my dreams that night except for they're full of forest and the breeze roaring in my ears.

And wolves? I never really get close enough to the furry things to clearly identify them, but the glances I get tell me that they're some kind of wolf-like animal.

I wake up shivering from the slap of the cold breeze on my skin, despite the fact that I am curled into a ball underneath my blankets and I can feel the warmth seeping into my room from the sun.

I stretch out my arms and legs, relishing the feel of my muscles loosening up again- I really must have slept in a ball all night. I roll over and throw my glasses on so I can see more than approximately two feet in front of my face before grabbing my phone.

I am really hoping to see a missed call from my mom or at least a text, but the screen is only full of Snapchats and a TikTok video from one of my friends back in Minnesota.

Although at this point, it's seeming safe to say that all of my friends are located in Minnesota.

I shake off the negative thoughts and push myself into a sitting position. I need to get up and get dressed for school.

If I'm allowed to go to school today, that is.

I put my feet down on the cold wooden floors, curling my toes up to keep them warm until I put on the fuzzy Harry Potter slippers Erin had gotten me for my sixteenth birthday. I am shuffling towards the door when a soft knock sounds.

"Hello?" I grumble, stopping in my tracks.

If it's Mike or Helena, I'm not feeling particularly inclined to open the door. "It's me," Jared's voice says through the door. "Can I come in?"

Despite his insistence that I stay last night, I hesitate. Why would Jared want to come into my room? He'd made it pretty clear for the first part of my stay that I am not welcome in his home and now he wants to be my friend?

On the other hand, he had been the only one to support my decision to stay. Maybe he's trying to make amends.

"Do you have breakfast?" I ask as I shuffle towards the door. My stomach is growling painfully.

Jared chuckles. "Mom didn't make breakfast this morning and we're out of cereal, so..."

"Then, no, you can't come in."

I can almost hear Jared roll his eyes and I throw open my bedroom door. Jared is already dressed and his brown hair is gelled into a carefree, yet strategic, mess. I feel like I'm falling behind in my day standing next to him, wearing my Lululemon sleep shorts and black camisole and my hair pulled back into a floppy bun on the top of my head.

He looks me up and down twice, a smirk tugging at the edges of his mouth. "Someone just rolled out of bed clearly."

I shove his shoulder. "Someone came banging in here at 6:50 in the morning, so yes, yes I did. What do you want?" I cross my arms over my bare stomach.

Jared stalks past me into my room and pulls out my plush desk chair before plopping down, spinning in a semi-circle before turning back to me. "If you want to go to school today, I strongly suggest that we crawl out your window and avoid the kitchen, dining room, and parlor areas," he says bluntly, his gaze fixed almost sternly on mine.

"I don't crawl out windows," I respond haughtily, narrowing my eyes.

I'd never even thought about climbing out of a window before, not even when one of my friends suggested I do so that we could attend a senior football player's party two years ago.