"on't ikeepeating yself."

"Mother?" She echoes, eyes wide and mouth parted in shock. I offer a feeble nod in return, fearing what she might be thinking about me right now. My eyes slide down on their own, fixing themselves on my battered sneakers, unable to face the shock and revulsion that is sure to be there in her expression.

"Why would," I hear her swallow thickly. She seems to be at a loss for words. In the end, all she whispers is,"Why?"

I take in a shaky breath and raise my shoulders in what I hope is a nonchalant shrug, but I suspect that she saw right through it. I keep my eyes stubbornly latched on my shoes, forcing myself to study the worn-out pattern of the laces and patched-up sides. I feel a warm feather-like touch glide across the skin of my neck, and my body reacts instantly, a shiver of heated desire consuming me. Awareness of my other half blossoms from the innocent touch, spreading from my neck, raising gooseflesh. I hesitantly look up to see Alpha Seneca gazing at me, a myriad of emotions swirling in her stormy eyes.

When my eyes lock into hers, it feels like an invisible string has been wrapped around us, drawing us together with a pull so strong that it is impossible to deny. I can't seem to tear my gaze away from my Mate and hopefully, she feels the same too.

The hand on my neck applies a little pressure, and I gasp sharply at the sudden pain. Alpha Seneca withdraws her hand like she touched fire, and a small whimper escapes her lips at my pain-filled expression.

I watch with morbid fascination as the sorrow in her eyes transforms into barely controlled fury, as the fire returns back to those grey orbs, hardening them. She looks ready to kill, like a beast crouched and ready to pounce. Her entire frame ignites with the emotion, emotion that slips past the cracks in her hard exterior.

But this time, the knowledge that the anger isn't directed at me, but at the person who hurt me, does a lot to my self-esteem.

Her long fingers curl into tight fists and she clenches her jaw, looking hard at the marks marring my light skin.

"Would you mind it too much, if I hurt your mother physically?" She inquires in a clipped tone, spitting out the word 'mother' with undiluted venom.

My mouth falls open at the sudden question, my mind scrambling to reply. I open and close it like a fish out of water, unable to comprehend an answer. "I . . . um . . .yes." I reply finally, shocking myself with my answer.

She cocks one shapely brow inquisitively, and I struggle to form a coherent answer and explain myself. "I-It's because, S-she . . . um—It's hard to explain!" I burst out, throwing my hands up in frustration. I study her face for any reaction, but much to my disappointment she has ebbed in her emotions and her cool mask is back in place, obscuring anything that might give away the slightest hint to her thoughts.

"Okay," She sighs. A small nod. An infinite moment of silence. Then, "You are moving in with me,"

It takes a second for the words to sink in.

"W-What?!" I sputter, searching her face for any signs that she might be kidding.

No luck. It remains hard and stoic as ever.

"No arguments on this one, Cage. You are moving in with me, and that's final. Take care."

She then does something that shocks me more than her words. She leans forward and brushes her lips lightly on my forehead, on the spot between my brows. And then, before I know what's happening, Alpha Seneca is gone, leaving me behind with burning cheeks and the echo of her soft lips burning on my skin.

~

I prance around the rest of the morning with the biggest grin etched onto my face. What can I say, the fact that my Mate cared enough to want to make me move in with her, though frightens a part of me, excites another part.

I know, I'm the easiest person to impress.

I giggle.

I giggle like a carefree idiot.

People give me strange looks, but none of that matters. I know that my strange behavior is doing nothing to alleviate my social status because it's only confirming suspicions about my insanity, but I don't care.

All that runs in my mind is the freaking kiss.

Okay, it was not on the lips, and it's no secret that my Mate is going to be the one to give me my first kiss, but still, it was something.

Just imagining my Mate's soft, full, heart-shaped lips pressed against mine makes my stomach drop and heart race in an erratic tempo. Will she love it? Hate it? Will she be disappointed when she finds out how inexperienced I am?

It is a known fact that some Alphas enjoy it when their Mate is pure. I can only hope that she's the same and that it applies to female Alphas too.

But it is also a known fact that Alphas have plenty of experience since people just about throw themselves at their feet wherever they go. Was it the same for Alpha Seneca? Would she have done it with some good-looking, muscular, brunet guy too?

The thought puts a damper on my buoyant mood, instantly pushing it down like a deflating balloon. My wall of insecurities rises, caging me, trapping me and suffocating me.

Stop!

Alpha Seneca is not pathetic like you, so she would 've definitely had her fair share of experience. Those are in the past. Don't think about it.

But no matter what I think to try and convince myself, the fact that she might have kissed someone else, caressed someone else, hurt.

It hurt like a bitch.

"Mike!" A sweet voice sings, breaking me out of my self-pity. I force a grin and hope it looks genuine enough, before turning to meet the eyes of my best friend.

She returns the smile effortlessly, but it quickly fades away the moment she spots the forced cheer in my expression. "What's wrong?" She questions, switching over from happy-go-lucky girl to concerned-best-friend. She reads me so thoroughly that I'm like an open book and at times I don't know whether to scream or be happy about it.

"I'm moving out," I blurt out suddenly, slapping a hand over my mouth the instant the words are out. Shit, why did I say that?

I know the answer. I don't want her to see how insecure and weak I am.

"You're what?"

I grimace internally and brace myself for a long argument.

Fifteen minutes later, I'm walking down the corridor with a crying best friend in tow.

"I hate you,"

"Nuh uh. You love me,"

"That I do," Nora surrenders with a sniffle, wrapping her arms around me in a warm hug. I squeeze her back, inhaling her familiar lavender scent. She wipes her tears in vain but new droplets flow anyway, replacing them quickly. We pull back, but she still keeps her arm around my back and I let mine dangle from her bony shoulders.

We reach the steel-framed glass double doors of the cafeteria, and I push open the door for both of us with my free arm. We join in on the long line, waiting for our turn when suddenly I'm tackled into another hug by her.

"Whoa! I'm not dying! Chill out, will ya?" I tease with a grin, returning Nora's hug without hesitation nonetheless.

"Shut up, aśshole. You're leaving me soon. So, be nice." She mumbles into my shoulder, her voice mostly muffled by my shirt.

"Okay, okay." I chuckle, rubbing the back of her head when I notice something strange.

The place has gotten unusually quiet.

And that never happens, unless it's the principal, Mr. Linoski standing there with his beady-eyed frown and glaring us down.

I slowly look up to the entrance of the cafeteria and gulp when I catch sight of the intruder.

Or people also fall silent when it's a certain Alpha . . .

My heart gallops like a racehorse as the dominant presence of Alpha Seneca fills the room and I finally look up to meet her gaze. Her very essence commands attention, calling to all of us weaklings to submit. There she is, glaring at us with her Beta beside her, standing tall in all her glory with that fiery scowl that matches her temper.

Crap, just my luck.

Tension sizzles in an almost palpable manner when my gaze meets hers and I push Nora away gently, not wanting to put her in-between me and my Mate.

Alpha Seneca's hot gaze follows my every move, from my hands on Nora's shoulders to the way Nora is clinging to me, not detaching her hands from my arms, despite my gently trying to extract her, generally behaving like a glutton for punishment. Does Nora have a death wish?

I glance at my Mate uncomfortably, and pry Nora's thin fingers from my biceps forcefully, desperate to take all the attention off her.

Alpha Seneca stalks forward, the weight of her entire gaze fixed on us. Her long strides cover the distance between us quickly and she comes to a halt in front of me, face hard and lips set in a firm line. The anticipation of what's to happen, of whether or not she's going to yell at me, or do something worse thrums through me, nervousness and fear gripping my neck like a vise.

"Tsk, tsk, little Lenora. I gave you one order. One. But you couldn't follow that." She smirks sardonically, and real fear sends my heart pummeling to the floor. This angry Alpha, this person glaring down at Nora is not the person who I met earlier, the one who got angry for me, the one who wanted to take me to her home, the one that kissed my forehead tenderly.

No, this person doesn't have compassion hidden in her eyes. This person is nothing but a pissed-off Alpha, a person with almost no humanity.

Is this her true face?

I instantly feel ashamed for even thinking that. Of course, not. She is just furious because of her innate Alpha-ness that magnifies every emotion. She'll definitely come around.

"I told you already, and if you've heard about me at all, you would've definitely heard that I don't like repeating myself." She shakes her head with a low chuckle, and icy fingers wrap around my bones at the sound, because it has absolutely no humor at all. It's bitter, filled with simmering rage and something else... something like... pain.

Goddess, Micajah. I think you are slowly becoming crazy, imagining things, looking far too much into everything.

"I can practically feel the fear rolling off my Mate in waves, and I know that if I hurt you, it will hurt him. This is your last chance, Lenora. Don't test me again." She says with commanding finality, her tone implying that no more words should be spoken.

Nora nods meekly, staring at her with big scared eyes. Alpha Seneca glowers down at her for a few more seconds, before turning her gaze to me. I inhale sharply through my nose, feeling completely thrown off by the sudden change in her eyes, from complete anger to a mixture of conflicting emotions too fast to decipher.

"You. We have some talking to do." She proclaims through clenched teeth and turns her attention to her Beta on her right—whom I didn't notice was standing there, until now.

Jeez, Micajah. You're so enamored by your Mate that you completely forgot that an outside world exists.

"Ezra, Go with Cage and deal with the formalities of freeing him from Alpha Parker. I want him in our grounds by sun-fall." She orders, and he instantly straightens up. "Yes, Alpha."

She nods at him and turns to me again. Leans forward.

"I'll deal with you tonight," She whispers, her eyes flashing from grey to blue an instant—her Alpha beast flaring—and I just about pass out at the dark promise her voice carries.

What does that mean?

•••

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