Going Rogue

Two

JESS

I didn't get wasted at Pop's place. There were better places to get drunk. I was feeling lonely while Drew was nesting that night. I knew he didn't want me pestering him when he needed to put everything in their perfect little places.

The cups of coffee I downed, wasn't to sober up. I drank my coffee black to stay awake so I could spend as much time with Drew as possible. I sat up against the sofa, my whole being reacting to Drew as he walked back into the living room with the First-Aid kit. He tossed an ice pack at me. With a snort, I slapped it against my black eye. The cold had a bite, but I savored it. Everywhere those scumbags at the bar hit me pulsed and every move I made stung.

It was totally worth it.

If only Drew could see the other guys.

Drew's black hair was always fixed out of his face, but tonight the rain frizzed his hair a little. I also had to admit that seeing Drew wearing my sweatpants and my sweatshirt that was slightly too big for him made my head swim. My smile had a life of its own, admiring the man that took a seat on the floor in front of me. I promptly joined him.

I was in love with everything Drew did and especially the way Drew's deep furrowed brow drew a line down his forehead. I resisted the urge to smooth it down with my finger. If I touched him, I might not stop.

Drew had a strong jawline and a long swan neck. Once, when he was seventeen, when we were nothing more than friends, Drew came home with a hickey on that pale canvas and I burned with so much jealousy, I punched a hole through my bedroom wall. My mom still gave me shit for it.

"So..." Drew began, glancing up with hooded eyes, eyes like a wise cat. Usually, my attention fell to his soft lips. Drew asked, "when are you going to tell me what happened?"

I'm not the only one that noticed Drew's attractiveness. I wasn't the only one who watched Drew kick puberty's ass and became the prince of this small town he was today. The news of Drew's eighteenth birthday didn't go ignored. Drew, a wolf with beautiful silver fur, who was of age and with no mate... well, as far as everybody else knew he had no mate.

Michael Rodrigues got a little mouthy and started talking about the curve of Drew's ass a little too loudly, which forced me to claim my territory. Drew would gut me like a fish if he heard me say that. However, it was exactly what I did. After I knocked a couple of the guy's teeth out, I told Mikey and his buddies to spread the word that if anyone touched Drew, they'd lose their hands and then, how else would they jack off?

Honestly, this was all my fault.

At nineteen, when I finally met Drew, I knew he was my mate. I drove into a chicken coop just because of his smell alone. When he leaned over me, he was haloed by the sun like the angel he would turn out to be.

I also knew myself and that I was a terror and if I started dating Drew then, I would have made him miserable between all the fighting I did for no reason and running around the whole town like a mad man causing trouble. I even skipped town on occasion without warning because I just couldn't stand how everyone was in everyone else's business.

I needed to grow up.

Soon, after I finished my apprenticeship with Reggy, I'd become a proper mechanic. I'd have an income and I'd be able to get out of this house with two other guys. Somewhere near Drew's school, I would get an apartment. I'd finally be the man Drew deserved, sweet and indescribably gentle Drew.

Only the Alpha and Drew's grandmother knew I was Drew's mate. In a way, I think Drew could sense it, but his wolf instincts weren't strong enough to figure it out. No one knew where Drew was from and Drew's grandma Aggie said he could have been only half a werewolf, but she wasn't sure. They kept my secret regardless.