Chapter5

---Testing “So, genius, how did you do on your tests today?” “Oh, jeez, would you believe I couldn’t remember the second amendment?” I glare at Gia who laughs out loud. Cora comes up behind her and joins in on the fun. She has just come out of cheerleading practice and is sucking on a bottle of Gatorade. To sum up: Cora is a cheerleader, Gia is in choir, and I’m a prefect, though I was vice captain for my grade last year. “Maybe the moon goddess will allow Mrs. Fridge to win the lotto so she won’t have to teach anymore and she wouldn’t care to grade those tests.” Cora rolls her eyes. “Oh, stop it. You always do well, bitch.” “You didn’t actually eenie-meenie-minie-moe the multiple choice stuff,” Gia teases, pushing my shoulder. I sigh. “No. Of course not. I studied a little, but not enough.” Alera huffed. I think you should be thanking me for having a good memory during class. Gia gives me a side-hug. “Come on, Ada, I’m sure you did great. You can practically speak French and you’ve got our Ancient History on lock.” A group of girls in skirts shorter than regulation dictated and a face full of makeup walked by us, making Cora groan in disgust. “I don’t know why these girls get all dolled up when the only male in our vicinity is old Mr. Gringe, who is a hundred years old.” As I start to sing “I Feel Pretty” from The West Side Story, Gia grabs my arm. “Oh, my Gosh. Look.” She stops suddenly and Cora and I nearly crash into her back. I scowl at her. She can really be melodramatic sometimes. “Ugh, what now?” “Lucky bitch,” Cora hisses, pointing at the far end of the school gate. “Mate,” screams Alera. He’s taken, I tell her. I saw him hovering over the same girl from the mall the other day and this morning. Jay and the other boys from last night are sitting on the benches under the big oak tree, surrounding Mr. Green Eyes and his static cling, who is sitting on his lap and whispering something in his ear. They don’t belong on school grounds and should really get kicked out, but no one’s going to kick out the Alpha’s son and his little gang. “Gosh, I can’t believe that junior bitch Quinn got Matteo,” Gia grumbles behind me. “Matteo?” I repeat, savoring the syllables on my tongue. “The future Alpha, dear, the one with the green eyes. I don’t know what’s so hot about those little bitches. These jerks are probably intimidated by real women who know what they want, so they settle for little jailbait whores who…” Cora puts her hand over Gia’s mouth to stop her from rambling. “Okay, slick, we got it. We’re hot stuff and they don’t know what they’re missing. But you—” She turns to me and gives me a push. “Aren’t you supposed to be marching over there to tell them off? Boys aren’t allowed on campus grounds. You’re a prefect, girl, one of the school enforcers. You should be kicking their asses out.” I flash my teeth at her. “You said so yourself, bimbo. He’s the Alpha’s son.” Sure, but they don’t know I’m trying to avoid him because he’s my mate. We continue to make our way toward the front gate until Gia pinches my arm and hisses, “He’s coming this way.” She’s all smiles even though she practically ripped my skin off. I look up and see he’s fast approaching toward me. Feeling light-headed and close to panicking, I tell the girls that I forgot something in my desk and ask them to meet me at the back gate on the other side of the compound. There are really two gates to this campus: the one in the front, which is used primarily by students, and the one on the other side, which is used for deliveries and stuff like that. They looked confused as I left them, but I had to go. Of course, my poor friends don’t know that I’m trying to escape from someone. Alera is calling me a coward and all sorts of names for not running to claim her mate, but what sane person would do that when there’s another female clinging to his side? I rush back down to the corridors that lead to the classrooms and try all the doors, but all of them are locked. I dash up to the second floor and begin to fiddle with the knobs, but everything has been locked up tight for the day. I run down to the music room, which is usually left open late for practicing students, and breathe a sigh of relief when I twist the doorknob and gain access to the room. I make a mad dash for the window and visually measure the height. “I should thank the moon goddess for making me a wolf,” I tell Alera before I brace myself to jump out. “What are you doing?” His voice is so deep and husky, sending shockwaves of pleasure throughout my body. I look over my shoulder and see him leaning against the door jamb, his arms crossed over his broad chest. “Testing,” I say glibly while I ransack my brain for an excuse. “Testing,” he repeats with uncertainty, looking at me with a raised eyebrow. “They say jumping from this height won’t harm our kind. Like cats.” Embarrassed, I pull my legs back inside and straighten my posture. I was about to take a step toward the door to leave the room until his bonding scent threatened to overwhelm me. “Damn.” Alera is almost hyperventilating. In a near blink, he is in front of me. I know our kind has supernatural speed, but he moves even faster than I’ve ever seen. I retreat, but he only closes in. My heart is clambering within my ribcage. Each movement he makes speeds up the tempo of the pulse in my throat until my back hits the blackboard. He takes another step, ensuring I have nowhere to go. “Oh, Lordy,” Alera moans in my head. He locks his eyes onto mine and I swallow hard, unable to look away, unable to move at all or say a word. He stares at me for a long moment before he sweeps my hair to the side, cradles me to him, and buries his face in my neck. His arms close around me as he breathes me in, sniffing my hair, my ear, my throat. Then he opens his mouth and sucks the flesh between my neck and shoulder between his teeth, biting gently. My knees turn to water and molten fire surges through my veins, while a heavy tugging sensation builds up in the area under my navel. He puts his hand on my waist and slides it up along the side of my torso before angling forward so he could cup my breast through my blouse. His mouth and tongue continue their exploration of my neck and ears, teasing me, teasing himself. He peppers kisses along my jawline before he swoops down to suck the sensitive skin under my chin once more. He is so very close to kissing me that I can feel his breath on my mouth, but for some reason, he is restraining himself from doing this. “What are we doing?” I ask out loud, gasping as his mouth descends and bites my nipple through my bra. He lifts his head and our eyes lock together once more. “I am testing you.” Testing me. I wonder if he knows what I’m thinking now. Alera tells me yes, of course he does, because our wolves are connected and we could communicate with each other telepathically if only we would trust each other and open the doorways for ourselves. He is also my future Alpha, so he holds that power over me. He yanks me back into his arms and buries his face in my neck again. He pulls me tightly against his body, wrapping my legs around him until I could feel his desire pulsing against my core. This is what we’re supposed to do, Alera shouts in my mind. He cups my face in his hands and touches his forehead to mine before pushing me away. “I can’t be with you. We can’t be together,” he says harshly, extricating himself from my legs. He’s shaking his head as he continues to back away from me. “But I won’t reject you.” He leans against a desk in the front row. Feeling shame for letting him do all those things to me when I don’t even know him, I look away. “Then let me do the rejection for the both of us.” His answer is a fierce growl and he is suddenly in my face again. “As your future Alpha, I forbid you from doing that. Do not test me on this. I want this to remain a secret between us. I don’t want anyone else to know.” Even though it crushed my wolf’s heart and battered her soul, I acquiesced. “Fine, but what about your friends? They seem to know what’s going on,” I call out to him as he starts to walk away. He doesn’t even look back at me. “They don’t.” And stalks off. I cover my face and let out a long agonized sigh. My mate doesn’t want me, but he won’t reject me, either. And he forbids me from rejecting him. What does he want from me? I gather what’s left of my pride and take my time before shoring up my confidence to go outside and see my friends again. They are waiting for me at the back gate, looking bored. “Bitch, what took you so long?” Gia demands. I force myself to smile. “I was testing.”