The whole school was buzzing about it.

Fight news spread like wildfire, with one student telling the next, and another like telephone. I'm getting text messages from all my friends, people I've barely talked to and some teachers even stop me and asked if I was okay.

Me. The one who apparently sent someone to the hospital.

"I still can't believe you got in a fight without me," Theo grumbled as we're almost finished up eating lunch.

I rolled my eyes, "Really you're still angry about that?"

"Yeah," Theo said, crossing his arms, "what if the guy hurt you and my lil Westy couldn't defend himself-" quick on his feet, he dodged my fist coming straight towards him.

"You do this to yourself," Abby said to me. "Whatever your punishment is-"

"Got it," I muttered. "Where's Maddox?" I needed my silent friend. With one look, he can read me like a book. His presence spoke more words than anyone's right now. I craved him.

"He's been since before lunch, says he's just taking care of some things," Jax replied, shrugging as he crumpled his milk carton.

I heard the girls whisper something, Sophie telling Abby about Callie. "She's so easy. Look at her talking to him."

I spotted my gym friend, the shy Callie talking to a male wolf, but it looked like she was arguing with him. The male wolf shook his head and left her.

"What was that about Callie?" I asked Sophie. Surprised, Sophie looked at me.

"Uh, nothing," Sophie shrugged, smiling at me. "You know her?"

"Puh-lease tell me you do not associate with her," Abby said.

"She's my friend," I said defensively. Sophie looked at Abby who slammed her fork down.

"West, trust me, she's not wanting to just be your friend," Abby said. I frowned, wondering what she meant about that.

"Girls are mean," Jax interrupted us. "Do you know who I want t

After lunch, my entire day was uneventful. Last period gym class almost left me excited because I was going to see Edith, maybe strike up a conversation, but our teacher forced the males to be running, doing push ups the whole class and the females to be doing weights.

Friday nights are supposed to be filled with parties and galore. If it was next week, I would be out in the field playing football with the entire school cheering for me. Fridays are the fun days.

So here I am laying down on my bed, trying to avoid everyone in the entire world.

Mom texted me I love you and I texted her to tell me if she's made him home safely even though Dad is probably going to be on the phone with her the entire car ride and make sure she's home. Dad hadn't called me yet. That's what I'm most afraid of. Lying to my parents isn't something I want to get used to, but I don't want to worry them about what happened earlier this morning. I don't want to think about what happened.

What I'm most afraid of is snapping and not being able to control myself. My magic. My wolf. I sent an Alpha wolf to the hospital. That's not an easy thing to do. Principal Greer was right.

Mindlessly, I raised my hand in the air staring at it.

Combine Mom's powerful half witch side and Dad's dark magic that's his wolf....I'm a freak of nature. Wyatt has life easy- he's just a normal Alpha with no magic or curse or anything. Why I got all the crap genes and my twin gets the normal one is a mystery. Wyatt can shift anytime he wants. I can't. I won't. I don't think I ever will be truly able to roam free. The beast within me is trapped inside.

What if I can't stop when I'm angry? Why can't I have Dad's control? He can control his wolf to a level of expertise. He has no trouble staying in control all the time. Sometimes I want to lose control. Sometimes I feel like I'm holding back so much anger, and it absolutely terrifies the ever living crap out of me.

My phone rings on my bedside next to me.

Dad.

Sighing, I hold my phone up and stared at it for a few seconds. Let's get this conversation over with. Dad's disappointment is the worst thing. He'll never get angry at me- he'll just be quiet, say a few words, not talk to you and make you feel even worse.

Screw it.

I chuck my phone on the ground.

Screw everything.

I bolt up right, knowing I needed to get my emotions out in the form of running. Taking my dorm key card, I shove it in my pocket and rush out the dorm.

Running in my human form felt freeing. It's the main reason why I love sports so much. The running. Taking out my aggression. A distraction. Focusing on one thing is easy. It makes me forget about everything else.

Halting my run, I don't know how far I've gone running into the forest, nor do I care about which direction I'm going until I just walk. Lost in my own thoughts of nothingness.

Today was a wreck. Maybe I should spend the weekend with one of my uncles. Uncle Zeke would take me out into an adventure. Uncle Sargon would let me do whatever I want, but give the best advice, and Uncle Bo would straight out just make me laugh and cheer me up the most.

I shouldn't have ignored Dad's phone call. But I also don't want to talk to him just yet. Give me maybe a week... or five.

I squinted as I finally saw lights in what seemed to be a small strip mall. No surprise that all the stores were dark meaning they were closed. My stomach growled, and the only thing that seemed to be open was this coffee shop.

I dig into my pocket, hoping to find some loose money, and walked inside.

Her scent hit me like a brick.

Taken completely off guard, I stared directly into my mate's eyes. The last place on Earth I expected to see her was working behind the register at a coffee shop on a Friday night.

Her long hair was up in a pony tail, and she was wearing a black hat making her look like a hipster barista. She looked really good in her work clothes.

I frowned, thinking about how I knew no one worked, yet here Edith was.

One blonde human next to her gave me a very big smile. "Hello there," she said, blinking up at me. My eyes never left Edith's narrowed ones.

I coughed. I didn't expect to see my mate here, and her calculated looks always left me off kilter. Like I forget how to walk when I'm around her. Remembering why I came here, I looked up to see what I wanted even though I was going to get iced coffee.

"What's good here?" I asked casually.

"Everything," the blonde purred at me. There was a sudden phone ringing, and the blonde groaned out, going into the back of the restaurant.

"Stalking me?" Edith accused once her co-worker was out of ear shot.

I put both my hands up. " No! I just went for a run and came across this place." Last thing she needed to think about me was being some creep.

"This is like 30 miles away from the school," she gave me a skeptical look.

Welp. She got me there. Didn't know she lived so far away from the school... "Do you not live in the dorms?" If I was a stalker, I'd already know that, I wanted to add.

Her gaze cut through me. I thought it was an innocent enough question. "Not everyone is rich and privileged enough to have their parents be able to afford the dorms." Ouch. She didn't say it in a condescending way, but the message was clear.

Almost everyone I knew lived in the dorms. Alphas and Betas were usually wealthy.

"I didn't- I mean it doesn't matter if you did or not," I blabbed. "It's inspiring. Working hard. Whatever it takes to get by. You do you. I love caffeine."

Edith gave me a weird look. Way to be cool in front of her. I cleared my throat. That means she had to go to and from school that long of a distance?

"What do you want?" she asked, not unkindly nor friendly. Pretty sure this was not her customer service voice- something I'd love to hear.

"Can I just get a caramel iced coffee with cream?" I pulled out the money I had, a $5 bill. Whew. "Medium?"

Edith waved off my money. "We're about to close and throw everything away, so no need."

"Okay," this act of kindness was too nice from her, something I wasn't expecting. In fact, I thought she'd charge me double for the fun of it. I quickly placed my bill in the tip jar, and walked over the table. I hated to be that customer that came in super last minute.

The best thing about phones is that you can easily get away from situations where you can act cool and have stuff you do, but my phone is currently on the ground of my dorm, forcing me to look at my surroundings as I sat down in the long tables. The only one here.

This shop is a little homey and what Abby would call "hip". Two brown high stool tables were in front of the window with two large book shelves next to them on the side of the walls. There were three long light brown tables in the middle of the shop with silver chairs. Next to the register was the condiment bar. Some modern art decorated the walls.

Did Edith like this place? I think about what Mom did with her own bookstore added coffee shop.

Edith walked out herself to hand me my drink, setting in on the table. I took my iced coffee because let's face it, iced coffee makes life worth living and thank her.

"Did you really come here by foot?" she questioned, her brown eyes held a hypnotic gaze, like I couldn't look away and it demanded that I give her all the attention there was.

"Yeah, I guess I didn't notice until now how far I walked," I rub my neck with the palm of my hand, sheepish. Adrenaline makes you do crazy things.

"You didn't shift?"

How do I tell her I can't? "I don't shift. Period." She looked deep in thought for a second. "Don't worry about me." Who knew what time I'd get back, but werewolves' stamina are incredible. 30 miles isn't that much. Especially if you're pissed off. But I've cooled down a lot since seeing my mate.

"I'll drive you back." Her suggestion surprised me I almost choked on my coffee. "I usually drive here."

"You don't have to. It'll be too much of a hassle. I don't want to bother you." 30 miles to and from school was a lot. A good chunk of her time would be lost.

She sighed. "Do you know the directions?"

Not in the least. "I'm phone-less, but I can manage."

"You'll get lost then if you can't shift," she scrunched up her eyebrows, hesitating about something. Her voice lowered, "Besides, there's been some rogue activity in this area recently."

Alarm spiked through me. "Doesn't this mean I should be more worried about you?"

"Don't worry about me," she mimicked my words, but something didn't set right with me. Edith would be in danger. Is this where her pack is? She would be safe, wouldn't she? My wolf's protective instincts surged forward, thinking about Edith in trouble, and I shut my eyes tightly, trying to calm him for a moment. The last thing she needed was my wolf coming out. The last thing I needed was my wolf coming out.

"How about that?" I opened my eyes feeling my wolf calm, a grin spreading across my face. "Twice in one day you're worried about me."

"Let's just say this is a thank you for earlier. Now we're even. I'll go get my stuff."

I faintly inhaled my mate's rich and addictive scent -as addictive as coffee. "Thank you, Edith."

"You're welcome," she gave me a curt nod averting her gaze before going to the back.

As she walked away from me, I could see the ice fortress my mate built around herself. The way she acts towards everyone, but showing glimpses of her true self to her cousin and friend. That huge ice wall around her making it impossible to get close. Except, I'm going to take a sledgehammer and break off the pieces, so I can get a tiny peek inside. Maybe I'll get to see what it was like for her to smile at me. For her to look at me- actually look at me like I'm her mate. Because I am her mate and we're mean to be together. I want her to see that.

Too bad that ice wall is going to take a long time to crack.