- "ou ove im,"

I walk to 2nd period, AP History, expecting the class to be empty as it always is.

Because, as you already know, I always come early.

I know I'm a nerd. No need to point it out.

I hum a random show tune as I push the door open, entering the class.

But to my utter surprise, there are already two occupants; one is sitting on the chair beside mine and the other on my chair.

"Nicole?" I call, when I recognize that mocha skin in her bony arms and the head full of black hair, which is currently hidden partially, as she's lying with her face down on the desk.

The two girls jerk up, and I see the moment the Asian girl beside her startles in fear, before she calms down. My eyes shift to Nicole, and her sorrow-filled expression shows that she's clearly upset about something.

Shit, Is it because of last night?!

"Nicole, I'm so sorry! I never meant to make you upset!" I fret, as I rush down the aisle to our desk.

"What? No, Micajah! I'm not upset or anything," She protests, shaking her head as she tries to smile at me.

But I'm not stupid, and I know a fake smile when I see one.

"Nic, really!" I place my hands on her shoulders for a moment, "Some things happened, and —"

"She's not upset because of you," A voice cuts in, and I turn to the Asian in surprise.

"She upset because . . ." The girl trials off, looking at Nicole for direction, who in turn shoots her a look.

"She's upset because, Emerald said that she's taking Alpha Seneca's sloppy seconds," The girl finishes, despite the looks Nicole is throwing her way.

"Crap," I curse, shoving my hands into my hair.

"I'm so sorry," I repeat, not able to think of anything else to say.

Nicole takes in a shaky breath.

"It's okay, Micajah. Just forget it."

I oblige and place my bag on the desk. The other girl moves to another desk, and I occupy the place she vacated, slowly watching the students fill the class one by one.

Why should I always cause trouble to the people around me?

~

There's only one more minute for the bell!

I'm sitting in 3rd period, AP Maths, wondering where the hell is Seneca and her Beta.

Guess they're not coming . . .

I click my tongue in a habitual action, taking out my notes.

Finally, Beta Ezra walks in with a big ass smile.

That I want to punch off his face.

He almost skips to first bench, his bag bouncing with every step he takes.

Seneca walks in a few seconds later, and this time, she walks straight to my desk, not hesitating as she did the previous time.

I smile.

She nods at me as she places her black one-shoulder bag on the desk with a 'thud', making herself comfortable on the chair beside mine.

"You guys made up?" I inquire, nodding my head at the enthusiastic guy sitting before me.

"He apologized. I gave him a look. He concluded that I forgave him," She shrugs, looking at Beta Ezra — who is talking to the girl who lent him her notebook that day. He's leaning close to her, staring deep into her eyes with that signature smirk, and the girl is blushing so hard, she looks like a tomato.

"He's a weird guy," I observe,

"He is," She smiles, still not taking her eyes off him.

"You love him," I blurt out and her head snaps to me in visible shock.

Way to make things more awkward than they are, Micajah.

"I-I meant the platonic kind of love," I blush, realizing how she would've taken my words.

She opens and closes her mouth, as if she wants to say something, but can't find the words to do so. She looks at me once more and exhales, letting her shoulders droop slightly.

"I do," She admits looking away, her voice barely above a whisper. Suddenly, her head whips to me again. "But if you tell that to him, I'll kill you." She threatens, and her eyes take on that hard look again.

"Then you will have to kill yourself too," I joke, trying to lighten the mood. Truth is, Mates don't die when their other half dies. They feel inexplicable sorrow and loss, but they do have another chance at life, a chance to move on. But it is said that many don't have the courage to go on without their true love.

Speaking of love...Will I ever tell her my feelings?

"I guess you're right,"

Um, What?!

Before I ask anything more, Mr. Devon walks in, putting an end to our convo.

⚽︎ ⚽︎ ⚽︎

"Hey, Seneca. I was wondering...Why did you and Beta Ezra skip AP Maths during the first week?" I recall, as we walk down the hall to the Cafeteria.

Beta Ezra chuckles silently, and I shoot him a look filled with animosity.

Yeah, you guessed it right. We didn't make up.

"There were some...things to take care of," She spells out in a hard voice which makes the warning bells go off in my head.

"What —"

"Leave it," She snaps, "Please," She adds after a moment, and I hear a choking noise from behind.

I turn around and see Beta Ezra making a noise that is a cross between a snort and a laugh, clutching his chest as he does so.

"D-Did you j-just say, 'Please'?!" He gasps, still laughing at Seneca. She glares at him and he shuts up, but when she turns around, he continues laughing.

I hold the door open for Seneca when we reach the Cafeteria, and she looks at me with smiling eyes as she passes me by.

Don't ask me how, But I just know that her eyes were smiling at me.

We pay and receive our respective trays of food and go to our table. I place the tray first and pull back the chair to sit, when I hear a familiar voice.

"Aleph Micajah!" Nicole chirrups as she barrels her way through the sea of students to me. I raise my brows in surprise at her behavior — because I just met her in 2nd — and now she's way too enthusiastic for meeting me after such a short interval.

She didn't miss me that much, did she?

She comes to a stop near me, leaning forward and placing her hands on her knees, catching her breath. She then turns to Seneca.

"Alpha, Beta." She proffers a cursory nod, "May I have the permission to speak to our Aleph?" I gape at her formal behavior in surprise and it's obvious that Seneca is surprised as well, because her eyebrows go up slightly.

She nods.

"Thank you," She smiles politely like a prim little lady that I know she's not, and turns back to me.

"Guess what?!" She squeals, the previous formal façade dropping the second she turns.

"What?" I ask, suspiciously raising a questioning brow.

"Our project got an A+! Mr. White just put up the results on the notice board!"

"Are y-you serious?!" I blather, completely shocked.

"As a heart attack!" She responds, grinning from ear to ear.

"Oh my god, I can't believe it! Thank you so much, Nicole!" I exclaim, as I quickly lean forward and put my arms around her, giving her shoulders a squeeze. I pull back and put my palms up for a high-five. She slaps my palms with her own with a giggle, her elation, like mine, reflected in her features.

A throat clears and I turn to see Beta Ezra fake-coughing.

Seneca is looking away, jaw clenched and eyes hard.

Oops.

'Stupid human. Can't you control your actions for once?' My Wolf yells, and for once I remain silent, and don't counter something back.

"I'm sorry, Alpha and Beta." She mumbles looking down.

"Congrats," Seneca says, looking at her food.

Uh-oh.

"Thank you," I mutter, sitting in my chair.

"I'll take my leave —" Nicole starts,

"Just sit," Seneca snaps, finally shifting her eyes to Nicole.

What?!

"Huh?" Nicole's eyes widen in surprise.

Seneca gestures to the seat in-between me and Beta Ezra, and Nicole nods wordlessly. She lets her bag slip down her arm to the floor as she silently sits on the chair. She didn't get her food yet, and I don't want to point that out now and make it more awkward. So I slowly lean forward and take a bite of my Chicken sandwich, looking at Seneca cautiously.

She swallows her food and looks up to meet my eyes.

"You're joining the Pack this Saturday," She informs, and takes a sip from her water bottle.

When did she decide this?

"Um, okay." I agree, smiling in happiness, despite the awkward silence clogging the air.

"Will there be a party or something?" I ask after a moment of thought, curious.

"Yes." She asserts, going back to eating.

"Yes!" Beta Ezra hollers, doing a happy dance in his seat; that consists of him bouncing like a kid and throwing his hands up in some moves.

"Why are you so happy?" I ask, weirded out by his spontaneous behavior.

"Dude, are you kidding me?! You don't know about Alpha's parties! They're the wildest any Pack has ever seen!" He exclaims, grinning a cheshire grin. My stomach drops with a queasy feeling, knowing that I will have to be the host and center of attraction.

"Um, Sorry to interject, but, a party so close to the Annual Lunar Mating Ceremony? Wouldn't that be a waste of money?" Nicole ponders, blushing slightly when everyone looks at her.

Ah, I'd completely forgotten about the Annual Lunar Mating Ceremony. As the name itself explains, its the full moon day when all the unmated wolves in a country meet in a particular Pack in a formal event, which gives them a chance to meet their Beloved.

"But what about that?" I ask, confused.

"It's going to be held in our Pack this year," Beta Ezra boasts, grinning.

"Yes," Seneca interrupts, "But then again, when have we ever been worried about expenses?" She asks, tilting her head as she looks at Nicole. Nicole blushes again under her intense gaze, and swallows, nodding her head in a rapid manner.

"Wait, from where do you guys get all the money?" I query, glancing between Seneca and her friend with unmasked curiosity.

"Callum Corp.," Beta Ezra answers, wiping his mouth with a tissue.

Callum Corp.? As in the MNC that manufactures a wide variety of things?

"Our Pack owns it." Seneca adds in.

What?!

"No, her father owned it." Beta Ezra corrects. "After his death, My father is taking care of it. Soon, she will have to take over." He says as if it's no big deal.

Wait, wait, wait, back up a second.

Seneca owns Callum Corp.?! Why did I not know that before?!

'Because you never asked, dumbass.' My Wolf remarks, and I wanna punch his sarcastic face. Sadly, that would equal punching myself, so I control the urge.

"Whoa,"

"Yeah, 'Whoa'." Beta Ezra mocks me, smirking.

"Shut up," Seneca warns him and he shrugs innocently.

"Please excuse me, I'll go get my lunch," Nicole mumbles and slips out of the table.

I eat the rest of my lunch in silence, wondering how much more I don't know about my Mate.

~

It's raining.

Again.

The car ride home — which was the only other time I met Seneca at school — was extremely awkward, with both of us not saying a single thing during the entire 5 minutes.

Now, I'm in my room, doing my homework.

I drop my pencil and stand up, feeling bored. I walk to the huge window taking up almost the entire right wall in my room, and push open the flowing white curtains. A dull glow bathes my room; which is already illumined by the small light in my study table.

I watch as rain falls silently, with the occasional flash of lightning, here and there.

What if thunder comes soon?

I wonder what Seneca is doing.

Is she scared?

Is she doing her work?

Or is she doing homework as well?

Only one way to find out.

I close my room's door behind me, as I wander back to the hall.

Beta Ezra is sprawled lazily across one couch.

"Don't you have a house?" I ask, as I walk to the single couch and lounge on it,

"I do," He replies, keeping his eyes closed.

"Then, why are you here?" I prod, leaning back and pulling my legs up.

"No one's home. Sister lives with her Mate in the Karas pack. Mom and Dad are in NYC, taking care of the company," He answers, still not opening his eyes.

"Oh," I say, as I feel a pang of pity for him.

Silence stretches between us.

"I know why you're here," He speaks after a moment.

"You do?" I prompt, surprised.

"You're looking for Seneca," He says, as if he read my mind.

"Yes," I confess, resting my head on the back of the sofa, looking at the carved high-ceiling as I do so.

"She's in her office?" I question, expecting a 'yes'.

"Nope. In her room. Sleeping," He replies, popping the 'p'.

This gains my full attention. I sit up, looking at him now.

"She's sleeping now? Why?" I inquire further, as I lean forward and pour a glass of water from the jug to one of the glasses on the coffee table.

"Pghnu," He buries his head in the pillow he is lying on, so his voice comes out muffled.

"What was that?" I ask, as I take a sip from my glass.

"I said, 'Periods'!" He raises his head from the pillow and looks at me now, finally opening his eyes.

I choke on the water I was drinking, spitting it all out. I quickly place the glass on the tea-table, not wanting to spill any more of its contents.

"What?!" I blubber, befuddled, looking at him through tear-filled eyes,

I'm not crying if that's what you're thinking, okay? It's just that, the choking led to my eyes burning and tearing up.

"You don't know what 'Periods' is? It's when girls —"

"Shut up! I know what it is!" I interrupt, coughing violently. I slap the back of my head, hard, trying to recover.

"She told you that?!" I exclaim, still coughing.

"What? NO! It's her scent, you idiot! It changes! Have you never noticed with other she-wolves before?" He lectures, sitting up as well.

"Well, excuse me if I don't go around sniffing people," I snap, glaring at him. I remove my glasses and wipe them with the hem of my t-shirt, trying to clear the water droplets that splashed across them.

"Weres don't need to 'sniff' people to identify a change in their scent." He makes air quotes with two fingers, "Our senses are strong enough to be able to sense it, even if they're in a foot's distance." He countermands, sizing me up and down, "This shows that I should train you how to smell," He continues, mocking me more.

"Enough," I grumble, putting my glasses back on.

He smirks.

"Is she in pain or something?" I ask after a moment, feeling awkward as hell.

"I don't know about today. Some females usually aren't. But trust me when I say, some females suffer real bad. Unfortunately, Seneca is in the 2nd group." He shrugs, leaning back on the sofa, mirroring my previous position.

"How do you know all this stuff?"

"Mother and Sister," He replies in a 'Duh' tone.

"Oh,"

"Should I also tell you to go and take care of her?" He groans in a pleading tone.

"'Take care'? How am I supposed to 'take care' of her? It would be awkward!" I blush at the mental image of even talking to her about this.

He looks at me, sighing.

"If you're not going, then I'll be going in and giving her that back massage —"

"Okay, okay! I'm going alright, I'm going!" I laugh, standing up.

He grins at me and falls back on the couch to his previous lying position, putting his arm across his eyes.

And just like that, I know that things are okay between us.

~

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