Any hint of a snigger soon leaves the lungs of the onlookers as silence envelops the entire crowd. No, no no no no no no no this can't be happening. He must just be pulling a prank, like the stupid jock he is he probably just wants to mess with me. I wait for the punchline to fall out of Micah Holts mouth, for his entourage of wolves to follow suit and laugh at stupid ol' me sat on the floor in paint but they don't and neither does he.
Micah Holt. The Alpha's son, the schools captain, quarterback, a-lister golden boy is staring at me with eyes full of adoration and relief.
"Are you okay?" He asks, a concern different to the first time he asked, like this time his entire heart was poured into the three-worded question. A sheath of tears cover my eyes and I want nothing more than to cry out for Henry to come and rescue me from this mess but the truth is I am surrounded by strangers who are no help whatsoever.
"No no no, don't cry, don't cry," he coos, worry taking over his face before he scans his eyes over my uninjured body and turns to the crowd. "Everyone out now!" The boom of his voice startles me but it's only a split second before his team mates start escorting the onlookers from the scene, leaving only a few of us stood in the hallway.
I push my palm out flat onto the floors surface and begin to stand up, my sudden movement making his head snap towards me. I'm shaking like a leaf, stood in front of him holding my soaking wet bag of books with paint dripping from my hair onto the floor.
"Woah, steady there are you okay? Did you hit your head?" He asks and I stare at him with wide eyes, the nerve to answer him not rising up. His arm reaches out to touch me and I flinch away from it, taking two shaky steps back. The entire mood of the rest of his team members shift as they stand alert, waiting for me to make a run for it.
"Hey, it's okay, I'm not going to hurt you. This is-" his arms extend out to me in surrender and he breaths out deeply. "This is hard, I know you're scared but there is no need to be. My name's Micah, what's yours?" He asks gently but I don't see something gentle, I see a weapon honed from pure muscle standing an arms length away and many more surrounding the halls.
"I need to go home," I squeak shakily and his face falls.
"You need to- you need to go home, right okay," he nods to himself, thinking over what I have said before looking at me with a pained expression. "How about we just talk for a little bit? Then I can maybe give you a lift to your home if you'd like," he suggests and my stomach turns.
Although it is an unofficial rule in our household, getting into a car with a stranger, let alone a wolf stranger is a definite way to find yourself in a sticky situation. I need to think, I need to do something other than just stand here looking like a complete quivering mess.
"I'm human," I blurt, hoping that he'll receive my answer of no laced within the words.
"I know, I know, shit," he curses to himself before attempting to take a step closer to me again which I meet with another step back, holding the distance between us.
I lift my hands tentatively in front of me, a sign to not take another step, one that he doesn't appreciate. His brows furrow and he looks back at me through clouded eyes that switch so briefly its like he wasn't mind linking at all.
"Its getting late and I don't mean to be rude or anything but I have this, thing, that I have to be at and it's like super important, sooo," I say, cringing at the words as they fall from my mouth in a jumble of complete nerd. A language he no doubt doesn't understand.
"I'm sure it can wait," he says with a huffed laugh, looking at me like I'm crazy before running his hand through his now rugged hair, "We're mates, you know what that is don't you?" He asks, the question coming out in full seriousness. My blood runs through my veins like an icy ravine and I clench my hands into fists to stop them shaking.
"Yes," I breathe out, the word barley audible but to his ears it doesn't matter. I need to think, I need to think harder and better than trying to convince him I'm running late for an imaginary event. He opens his mouth and I clutch onto my stomach, leaning over in pretend pain.
The boundary I set becomes non existent and he rushes over to me, his insanely hard arm catching me, the support sending sparks flying through my body.
"Whoa, what's wrong? What happened? Are you alright?" He rambles out and I lift my gaze from the floor to inspect his frantic face before letting out a groan.
"I think I swallowed some paint," I grumble out and his skin turn a shade whiter, pure panic overcoming him and I can see where his paranoia stems from I guess. He finally meets his mate and within five minutes she already looks like she's going to die.
"It's okay, you're going to be fine, let's get you up," he says soothingly and moves to lift me but I stop him before he can carry me out of here to wherever he pleases and gag into my hand.
"I need to go to the bathroom," I announce, moving my hand to clutch onto his bicep as I try to pull myself up. He assists me cautiously, supporting my entire body weight with his as we move down the corridor hastily. He mumbles comforting words to me, looking back every so often as if he is waiting for something to pop out from behind us. The bathroom door rapidly approaches and he pushes it open, ignoring the female only sign on the door.
"I can go in myself," I interrupt, making him stop short to assess me.
"There's nothing to be ashamed of mate, you're ill, let me help you," he says softly, pushing aside a piece of blue hair from my face.
"It's not that, please," I pretend to retch yet again, "Just give me some privacy, if I need you I'll yell," I reason and the shakiness evoked from my genuine nerves must add to my plea as he takes a hold of my vibrating hand, squeezing it gently. His eyes swirl with conflict, looking over me in my state with angst but he pushes them aside and reluctantly leaves me stood in the bathroom.
My hand fishes into my pocket to grab out my phone and I want to cry as I hold down the power button and the screen doesn't start to light up. A knock sounds at the door and I shove my phone back into my pocket before it can fall rom my shaky grasp.
"Are you alright? I've called help and they're on the way," Micah's voice sounds from right outside the door and my breathing picks up. Trapped, I am trapped with a wolf guarding the door and an entourage on the way.
"Gimme a minute," I yell back, biting down on my lip to stop a sob from escaping with it. I turn around the bathroom, my eyes scanning every single inch square of the place until they land on a window above the very last stall.
"Just hang on a few more minutes okay? Help is almost here," Micah's encouragement gives me all the motivation I need to rush into the last stall and prop the seat down, stepping up onto it with my paint covered bag still slung onto my back. My hands move up to the windows edges and I push the seal open with all my strength, the window not budging. Paint smears the edges of the window, marking my failed attempt to flee and I know if he walks in here and sees me, and then that, he won't let me go. I push with all of my might, putting every last ounce of strength I have into my arms and with a light pop, the widow opens.
"How are you holding up?" The muffled voice asks again from behind the door and I push my pain covered bag out the window, praying for a grassy surface beneath.
"I just need a little more time," I respond truthfully and there is no response so I lift my boot up onto the cistern, grabbing onto the windows edge tightly and with all my might, I push myself up and through the small opening, large enough just to allow my body through head first. My body jams as I dangle over the edge of grass, thankfully, that isn't a massive drop down and I look like the biggest fool on the planet.
The second my feet near the edge, I curl up into a ball, letting my body take the impact of the fall with a thud. A slight ache starts up in my lower back but its not enough to leave me writhing on the floor in agony. A siren squeals in the distance and I look to my right just as an ambulance speeds into the school carpark.
I take it as my cue to leave and clamber up from the ground, grass and leaves sticking to my blue body making me look like an actual monster no doubt. It takes me two seconds to break off into a sprint home, which is impressive considering I can barely walk without falling over apparently. I don't have much time, in fact they probably already know that I'm missing and I'm not exactly dressed in camouflage.
I rush down through the back alleys of peoples homes, running only in sight when I get to the docks and I have to doge past people to avoid smearing paint onto them. No patrolling wolves line the roads and I count my lucky stars as my apartment building comes into view. My thighs burn with the acid of running so hard but I push onwards, taking the steps two at a time until I make it to my level.
"Slow down dear, you're gonna knock over my shopping," I don't have the chance to apologise to Mrs Jahdee and make a beeline for the door leading to my home. I clamber inside and slam the door behind me, shaking like a leaf as my mom rounds the corner and sees me covered in paint, her furrowed brows soon turning to panic when she sees the expression plastered over my blue face.
-
"She came home around an hour ago," my mothers muffled voice sounds from outside the thin wall. I nervously twirl the piece of blue stained hair in my hand around, letting the cool water seep into my skin.
"I don't think so, she said he never got her name but it's only a matter of time until he figures out where she is," I peer around the corner and my Dad's eyes catch mine before I can pull away.
"Athena come out here," he says and I peel myself up from the floor, walking out to the living room with my head hung low. I look into my fathers eyes and all I can see is fear.
"I'm sorry," I choke out and he pulls me into his arms, rubbing my back in smooth circular motions.
"It's okay, it's not your fault. Athena we are going to get through this okay? I won't let them hurt you I promise," he says and I open my mouth to thank him only to be cut off by the sound of rapping at the door. My stomach drops and my hands begin to shake.
"Don't let them take me please-" my dad raises a finger to his lips and points to behind the wall in the kitchen and I nod just as another set of knocks sounds throughout the apartment. I rush behind the fridge and crouch down, pushing myself up against the wooden back panels as I listen to the sound of my Dad's footsteps walk towards the door.
"Parker Mennison?" I bite down on my clenched fist as Micah's smooth voice echoes off the small walls of the apartment.
"Yes?" my father responds.
"If it's okay I'd like to speak with your daughter, we have some things that we need to talk about and judging by the trail of blue paint I'm guessing she's in," he says with a slight, almost nervous laugh.
"It's not okay, my daughter has had a very eventful day and she'd appreciate some time to herself," my Dad responds and I sense the mood shift instantly, hostility oozing off the two men like a tap was turned.
"Sir I don't mean any disrespect but I'm sure you are aware by now that this situation is slightly more complicated than that. I'm not going to do anything irrational, I'd just like it if you could go and get Athena so the two of us can talk." The second my name rolls off his tongue, shivers run down my spine.
"That won't be happening, she doesn't want to see you." The bones in my body tense up as my dad disobeys the future Alpha of the pack without any hint of regret in his tone.
"She's my mate," Micah growls out, getting increasingly frustrated as the seconds tick by.
"She doesn't want to see you," dad spells out and my heart rate picks up. I look down the corridor to the room holding my mom and my siblings who don't utter a single sound.
"I won't touch her, I just want to speak to her for a few minutes. We can talk right out here but I'm not going to let this go so take it as a warning." I watch my dad's hand grip around the handle tightly and I don't waste another second, jumping up on pure impulse to protect whatever urge my father might have and stand in direct eyeline of my mate.
Micah's face changes dramatically from its peeved origin and I bite down on my lower lip, resisting the urge to cower away as my dad turns around and looks at me in shock.
"Athena go to your room." My dad instructs me firmly, his shock soon turning to authority.
"Need I remind you that standing in the way of a mate bonding is still punishable under pack law?" Micah warns lowly, his dark gaze fixated on the only barrier between me and fate. I break free from my glued spot on the living room floor and edge my way between the two angered men, pushing lightly on my dad's chest to get him to move.
The sparks that light up on my back disappear in an instant and that brief moment of warmth offered to me by the wolf now stood in the hall vanishes without a trace. My dad's hand reaches out to take ahold of me but I step back in just enough time, giving him a look of warning to not be reckless. He knows who Micah is, he knows not to be stupid.
"Athena, come back inside," he instructs and I glance down to the hallway where the rest of our family sit in hiding and his stony expression falters.
"I'll be fine, I won't go two steps from the door and if I need you I'll call in an instant," I promise him and he struggles against the invisible force pulling him back into the house to protect the rest of the family residing there, trying to resist it in someway and save his firstborn. I give him a small smile of reassurance and his fight concedes, not without him shooting a lethal look, one that could have him tried and hung, in the direction of my mate still stood patiently in the hall.
"If you need me you knock," he tells me seriously and I nod, gulping as he reluctantly steps back into the threshold of our home and closes the door behind him. Silence fills the hall and I turn around to meet the imposing form of my mate, taking the time to assess him in the full view I now have.
He's strong, one glance at a wolf would give any sane person that indication but he's strong. Like he has been crafted from birth to be made into a weapon of destruction, every muscle on his body concealed in a velvety tanned skin. This pack has roots deep into the history of this nation and his indigenous ethnicity shows that, the bloodline of his family never straying too far from its native beginnings. I don't remember him ever looking this scary, last year I'd watch on from the occasional football match and admire how he dominated the field with ease but it's like over the summer holidays he grew from a boy into the beginnings of a man.
"Athena," he breathes out and I break free from my observations of him, staring straight into his eyes before averting my gaze. "Do you know who I am?" He asks and I nod, gulping as I do so.
"You're the Alpha's son," I point out and he stares at me formally, clearly trying to detach any emotion that might make me run and tuck tail again.
"Well I guess that's a start," he comments and I stare at him, waiting for whatever message was so important that he had to deliver.
"Are you okay? From the paint, I mean. I know you said you ingested some however I'm starting to think that you were only using that as an excuse to get away from me," he says and I shuffle from foot to foot, my hands wrapping around my waist.
"I'm fine," I say and he nods to himself before pointing at the door.
"So I take it that your father isn't very accepting of you having a boyfriend then," he states and my eyes go wide.
"I don't have a boyfriend," I rush out defensively and he raises his hands slightly in surrender.
"No, right, that's... that's not what I meant. I'm just trying to phrase this in a way that you might understand better rather than throwing around the word mate because I don't think you quite get what that means," he rambles out. He thinks he's my boyfriend? Just like that?
"I don't... you're not my boyfriend," I reiterate and he furrows his brows in hurt for a moment before regaining himself.
"That's precisely why I came to talk with you, to figure these things out," he says and I stare at him with sceptic eyes.
"Figure what out exactly?" I push and he lets out a heavy sigh.
"How to make this work. I want to get to know you Athena, and I want for you to get to know me too," he says and I look at him with sympathy.
"What if I don't want to try make it work," I mumble out and my eyes snap up to meet his for a split second but the pain that flashes through them is enough to make my heart pull.
"What are you trying to say?"
"I just, I don't know if this is really for me okay?" I respond, beating around the bush as best as I can. He lets out another deep sigh, like he is exhaling out all the trouble my words have caused him.
"I think that we really got off on the wrong foot, it's no lie that your family are opposed to the ruling of wolves and-" he stops as panic takes over my face, "I'm not going to harm you or your family, Athena, no matter what prejudice they may hold against my kind. Look, all I'm saying is maybe we should just press a reset button okay? Forget about me being your mate and just look at this as one person asking the other person out on a date," he says and I stand dumfounded, staring at him warily. This is unexpected. Really unexpected.
"A date?" I say and he nods, the corner of his lip raising slightly at my completely astounded reaction to his proposal.
"That is what you humans do isn't it? When you want to be someone's boyfriend you ask them to go on a date," he says, his head cocked to the side and heat rises to my cheeks as he refers to himself as that again... my boyfriend. I don't want to seem like a complete introvert but this is the first time I have ever been seriously asked out on a date, sure its what humans do if said humans were in a 1980s chick flick.
"Um, I don't, I don't think, I don't," I struggle, the right string of words not forming in the slightest.
"You don't have to decide right now, I think it'd be a good idea if you just slept on it and we talked more later," he says and I nod, not that I'm going to get a wink of sleep.
"Well, I guess I'll see you at school tomorrow Athena," he says with a wink and his body moves forwards, like he is going to try and embrace me and every muscle in my body stiffens making him stop himself and give me a tight lipped smile before walking away down the hall, his presence lingering even after his defined back is no longer in sight.
I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding and push myself against the hallway wall. That was so far from what I expected to happen I don't even know how to feel. He didn't sink his teeth into my neck or drag me away screaming or threaten to hurt the people I love, all of the things that you hear whispered about human mates were just stories floating in the air when it came to Micah Holt apparently and I don't know if I should be relieved by that or scared.
I twist the door handle and come face to face with both of my parents, my mom rushing forward instantly to embrace me tightly. She detaches herself from me and pulls my face into her soft hands a tear of relief sliding down her cheek.
"What happened? What did he say?" She rushes out and I look to my dad as I answer them both.
"He wants to take me on a date,"
a/n
soooo how r u liking it so far 😆
I'm thinking to do a twice weekly update for this book as I have pre written some chaps but would also love to work more in promoting it on my Insta via sneak peaks etc etc, let me know your thoughts!
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khalesi
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