Intimacy | ✔️ {Wattys 2017}

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"Your loss, Amory," he mutters just as the whiteboard is filled with Calculus and we spend the next hour taking notes. Every now and then Flynn will write something on my paper and have a small conversation. It mostly consists of school topics or pack business. You might be thinking why the future Alpha and I girl like me have conversations for, after all, the majority of werewolves at this school question it as well. It's as if there's some unspoken rule that if the future Alpha associates himself with an individual of the opposite sex, that they must have some tie to them. What's my tie to Flynn?

None. I simply joined his group of friends two years ago for early morning runs and we hit it off. I've seen him break up with countless girls, one in particular that caused him to knock on my window one night and just stay the night as he was heartbroken. She tossed him away the second she found someone else. She was a bitch and I agreed with him.

As the class ends and I leave the room as fast as possible, who awaits me the second I make it to the staircase causes my heart to skip a beat. Augustus stands there, hands in his pocket, his eyes upon me, and a smile on his face. "Amory!" I offer him a weak smile. "Where were you this morning?"

"I was late," I lie, not even taking the time for a pause to occur between the two of us. He simply raises an eyebrow and watches me as I look over my shoulder. I want to go for a run, I want to feel the wind in my hair and my paws hitting the ground. My wolf doesn't want to. She wants to be locked away. She's still mourning the loss of a mate. We know we have lost him. "I've got to get to my next class."

"You've never cared about being punctual," Augustus comments, stepping forward as his scent envelops me and my body instantly becomes warm. "Are you okay? Is there something wrong? Did I do something?"

Yes. He did something. He did something without even having the knowledge to know that he did it.

"I'm fine, nothing wrong," I say, my voice chirpy as I can hear Molly calling his name. "I'll leave the two of you." Stepping away, I scurry up the steps of the school, my legs feeling like jelly as I can hear them laughing down below. All I want is for Augustus to be by my side, for him to cuddle me, hold me, confess his feeling for me, and make me feel like I'm the only girl in the world day after day after day. But he cannot. He has someone else and he is in love with her.

"Amory!" I can hear him call out, the sound of his shoes against the pavement allowing me to know how far away he is. Simply, I take in a slow and deep breath, turning around to see Augusts chasing after me, worry in his eyes as my heart swells. At least I know that he cares for me, that he is drawn to me...but as a friend. As nothing more but a friend. It hurts me to realize. It hurts me to acknowledge. "You have some explaining to do. You're acting like we're in some fight."

I see Molly follow quickly behind him, her slender legs covered by a simple pair of jeans, her flat chest covered by a pretty white blouse. She's the girl that could wear a sun dress any day of the year and no one would question her, for they would not be able to take their eyes off her. She's not hot, not sexy, but she's beyond beautiful. She's the classy beautiful that lets you know she holds herself to high standards, has self control, and cares deeply for everyone. She doesn't get selfish. Augustus fell for her. He fell for the perfect girl, while his perfect match has been beside him for three years.

"Augustus, please, I'm tired right now and have a migraine," I inform, Augustus coming to a halt as he stands before me. Molly follows quickly behind, offering me a gentle smile as my wolf growls within me. I haven't heard from my wolf in hours. "I need to go."

"What's wrong, Amory?" Augustus asks. Pain fills my heart as I watch Molly take his hand, their fingers interlocking as all I can feel is pain. Pain. He causes me not only mental pain, but physical. Physical because I cannot reject him, because any moment I try and shift into my wolf, she digs herself deeper into a hole and I feel a pain within my chest.

"Nothing."

Unlocking my car, I leave them alone, driving off as my vision blurs. The waterworks occur as I drive, my hands shaking as sobs escape my mouth. Not wanting to go home, I pull over onto the side of the road, right to the entrance of the private drive to the pack house. I used to spend tons of time at the pack house until a year ago when I realized I had found my mate. Now, it is a distant memory, yet a warm one, one when I didn't feel pain every time I saw my mate. Back then I didn't have to watch my mate fall in love with someone else.

There's a knock on my car window. I jump, looking out to see a familiar face. Quickly I wipe away my tears, composing myself as I roll down the window and fake a smile. "Hey."

"Get into the passenger's seat, I'm taking you home, you're in no state to drive," he announces. Looking over my shoulder, I see his car parked behind mine, a girl looking pissed as she sits in there with no idea what to do.

"What about your date?" I ask. "I can drive myself back home."

Flynn, shakes his head. "Get in the passenger seat, Amory, I'm driving you home," he demands, his Alpha voice present as I know he's serious. Sighing, I climb over to the passenger seat, watching as Flynn hops into my Prius, rolling his eyes at the music playing. Turning off the music, he puts the car in drive and pulls out back onto the street. I look back around, seeing his date driving his car, his most prized possession as his parents spend a shitload on it. "You're in no state to be driving."

"Thanks, dad," I mutter, tone flooded with sarcasm as I look outside to see the trees pass by. "Thank you."

Flynn nods, meeting my gaze as I know he cares. He wants me to get home safe. He's doing what every Alpha should do: care for the pack members. Care for them even when they want to push the world away.