Chapter 15

~Previously~

“Y didn’t u tell me the council wld choose a mate for u if u don’t find 1 by ur 2oth?

“I’m in a meeting right now, we’ll talk about this at school tomorrow ok?”

“Fine.”

~Present~

He was late.

I reread the text, then placed the phone in my pocket once more. Classes had started thirty minutes ago yet I still stood outside, leaning against the ancient tree at the front of the school, waiting for him to get here. I couldn’t believe I was skipping classes for the ‘pleasure’ of getting bad news.

Ever since my mom had told me about the whole Council situation last night I’d been on edge, I was so nervous to hear what he had to say because I honestly didn’t know how I’d manage without him. The very thought of going back to the life I had without him scared me shitless.

I didn’t want him to find a mate…ever. Selfish, but I didn’t give a damn, I just wanted him to myself. When I felt the violent shiver that ran through my body my eyes widened. My wolf was actually agreeing with me!

I looked up when I heard the slamming of a car door to see Carson walking over to me, his bag slung over his right shoulder.

“Sorry I’m late, got held back by the council.” He said and my eyes narrowed.

“What no greeting?” he said again with a slight smile. When I didn’t reciprocate his face fell and he started his explanation.

“I know I should have told you, but honestly I didn’t see the point.” he began.

“You didn’t see the point of letting me know that you were just pretty much using me for sex until you’re mate shows up or the council chooses one for you?”

I knew I wasn’t being fair and I knew it wasn’t the truth but I was too pissed and scared to care.

His eyes darkened and his mouth flattened into an angry line; “Stop talking fucking nonsense Laken, you know that’s not what’s going on here!” he all but growled at me.

“You probably didn’t intend to do it but that’s exactly what’s happening. When you find a mate or the council finds one for you then that’s it for us.” I looked at him, trying to hold back the tears that had gathered.

“I’m not looking for a mate and I sure as hell won’t let the council choose one for me. Like I told you before I’m going to tell the pack I’m gay eventually but in the meantime they’re gonna have to get over the fact that I don’t give a damn about heirs and all that shit. The only thing I care about is you and don’t you dare forget that!” he poked me in the chest as he said the last bit clearly still furious with me.

My heart soared at his words because I could tell he was dead serious and when Carson was like this nothing could sway him. Maybe, just maybe this could end well for us. My face broke out into a wide grin at his words but fell immediately when something occurred to me;

“What if I find a mate?” I asked, my eyes wide

. Why hadn’t I thought about this before? If I found a mate, I would be bound to him/her and I would lose all feelings for Carson. Just like that. Werewolves (with the exception of the Alpha bloodline) weren’t able to sense their mate until they reached the age of eighteen.

I was still sixteen so obviously I couldn’t sense a thing but I could have been seeing my mate and interacting with him/her all my life and I won’t know who it is until after my 18th birthday!

If Carson was as in love with me as I thought he was then he’d be shattered when that happened. The best thing that could happen for both of us would be to never find our mates. I desperately hoped I never did because I couldn’t imagine loving someone as much as I loved Carson. I didn’t want to love anyone else.

“Then you better take good care of him because I’m sure he’ll love you more than he can probably bear.” He said, with a soft smile.

“But aren’t you worried? If I do I won’t feel the same way about you.” I said, biting my lip

He ruffled my hair; “We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it…now I’m actually late for a test, so we all good?” he asked. He was no longer angry but back to his normal fun loving self.

I smiled sheepishly. “Well we have a year and a half to figure out how to deal with my case so I guess we’re good.”

He put his arm around my shoulders and didn’t let go until we got to the front doors of the school and we had to go our separate ways; him to a history test and me to Mr. Sage’s class.

Mr. Sage; the white wolf.

………………..

I hated going to class late because other than the detention aspect, it’s like as soon as you entered everybody was looking at you like you’d committed murder or something.

However this is not what greeted me when I opened the door to his chem class forty-five minutes late. No one looked up because everyone was staring at some kind of experiment Mr. Sage was doing. All the chairs were pushed up to the sides of the walls and the desks were pushed together to form one huge table in the middle of the class room. Mr. Sage stood at one end pouring something into a beaker while all the students flocked around him, watching with obvious fascination.

Well this was new. School policy was that students didn’t get to do lab experiments until their senior year, so this was certainly an interesting change for me, for us. I dropped my bag on an empty chair and went to find a space where I could see what was going on.

“Nice of you to join us Laken.” Mr. Sage announced with a smile.

Sixteen pairs of eyes turned to look at me and I blushed scarlet. Why did teachers always find it necessary to embarrass me in front of the class?

“Come assist me with this.” He said again and I hid a sigh of annoyance.

I was on instant alert as I stood next to him holding the beaker as he poured in the solution. My help wasn’t even necessary; the table had been doing an excellent job of holding the beaker before I came along. As he leaned closer to me so he could tilt the rest of the solution out, the hairs on my skin rose up and a shiver ran down my spine, threatening to tip the solution in my hand.

“Be careful, you don’t want to spill this.” He said softly .

His voice skated over me filling my senses with its velvety sweetness. Oh hot damn, what the hell was going on with me? Why was I feeling this…this…what was I even feeling? It almost felt like when I was with Carson, it wasn’t the same level of attraction but something was definitely here.

When the realization really hit me that I was attracted to this being standing beside me took a step back, the beaker shaking precariously in my hand, my heart beating fast. No I couldn’t be attracted to someone else. It must be something he was letting off because when I wasn’t near him I didn’t feel a thing.

“Laken, what are you doing? Step back over here please.” Mr. Sage said with a smirk. Almost like he knew what I was feeling.

I took a hesitant step forward and held myself stiffly while he continued. As soon as I was free to let it go, I was on the other side of the room as fast as my legs could take me and my thoughts were confirmed because from where I stood I couldn’t feel a thing.

I was looking at him and my brain acknowledged that he was absolutely gorgeous but there was no attraction. Weird.

I knew there was something strange about him. He couldn’t be a werewolf; he was probably some sort of mutant dog with some kind of strange powers of attraction or something.

“You ok?”

I looked to my left at the sound of Lyla’s voice. She stood there with raised eyebrows and a hint of concern.

“Yeah, fine.” I assured her then pushed off the wall.

“Why were you so late, you have any idea how boring this prison is without you to entertain me?!” she went on with her usual drama. “And what was that with Mr. sexy up there?”

I looked up at her in surprise; “What do you mean?”

“What’d you mean what do I mean, you could try cutting the tension with a butter knife and it still would make a dent!”

I rolled my eyes; “I’ll tell you everything later, let’s just go pay attention before you land me in detention…again.” I said pulling her back to the group of students.

…………………..

After class I hung back until every single student had left, even telling Lyla to go to lunch without me. I couldn’t let the day pass without telling him I knew.

I walked over his desk and paused, he looked up from where he sat and smiled a smile that went straight to his eyes.

“Hello Laken.” He said in the voice.

“You’re the white wolf aren’t you?” wow way to be subtle bro.

Instead of looking surprised or staring at me like I’d possibly lost my mind, his grin widened and he leaned back in his chair.

“It’s about time you figured it out, I was starting to wonder if I would have to tell you after all. I really didn’t relish the thought of being with someone who couldn’t figure out what was obviously staring him in the face, but then I always knew you were a smart one.”

“Ah thanks it wasn’t really that hard to- wait did you say be with?!” I had to be hearing things, there was no way this practical stranger just told me casually, like it was a normal everyday occurrence that…that...

“Of course.”

“I’m sorry but I don’t think we’re on the same wave length here sir-“

“Lucas.” He corrected.

“I thought you said, well… implied that we would be together?” I went on as if he hadn’t interrupted me.

“Of course.” He said again, which had me looking at him much like the way I usually looked at Lyla when she said something that would make no sense in Heaven or on earth.

”Is there a problem?” he said again and I just stood there at a loss for words. This guy was a lunatic, no doubt about it. They’d hired a crazy person to teach a buncha kids.

“Well you… I don’t even know you!” I finally got out.

“What do you want to know? You can ask me anything.” he said calmly

“…” I opened my mouth and closed it, I didn’t even know how to proceed, this entire situation felt like a mixed up dream that I’d wake up from any minute now.

“Ok you look a bit confused, so here’s the thing.” He leaned forward, eyes and voice growing serious, the atmosphere heated. He looked me directly in my eyes and I stared back unable to break his gaze.

“I’ve been watching you for a while now, I’ve fallen in love with you and I’ve grown tired of sitting on the sidelines watching and waiting to no end. I want us to be together.” He announced.

Shock couldn’t describe what I was feeling at that moment. This had to be a dream, nobody just walks up to a person and tells them they’ve pretty much been stalking them and they think they should get together. I took a step back, “I don’t understand.”

“What don’t you understand Laken? I love you and I want us to be together. I’d think that would be pretty straight forward.” He said.

“B-but you’re my teacher!” it was the only thing I could thing to say under the circumstances.

“Technicalities… what does me being your teacher have to do with anything?” he said, then on his next words his eyes glinted; “You didn’t have a problem with being with your Alpha.”

“How did you-“ I started.

“Like I said I’ve been watching.” Then he sighed and pushed up from his chair “I understand how you feel about him, but I assure you I can make you just as happy if not more.” He whispered, towering over me.

I took two steps back. “This is insane, I don’t even know you, I’ve never seen you before the first night in the woods.”

“I’ve been in this country since the summer, I was just…passing through, I spotted you and I decided to stay for awhile.” He said it as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

“I decided to keep a low profile to observe you and if I didn’t like what I observed I’d leave without you ever having to know I was here. But I’ve looked my fill and now I’m here to claim you.” He reached out a hand to touch my cheek and I flinched away like I’d been scorched.

“Claim me? This isn’t the 18th century, you can’t just tell somebody you’re here to claim them.” What was with this guy?

“You didn’t keep your promise; you were supposed to come back to the forest the next day.”

I shook my head at the turn my day had taken; “I couldn’t I got in trouble for going in the first place.”

“I’m sorry to hear.”

I looked up at him again, “I’ve never seen a werewolf change into that form before” I said.

“I’m a shape shifter, I only chose the wolf form because I figured you’d be more comfortable with one of your own kind.” He smiled.

“Wow a shape shifter? I thought the only family of shape shifters left were in France or something!” I asked excited now. It was like history coming to life. I’d always heard about shape shifters but I’d never actually seen one.

“So you can like...turn into rats and birds and stuff?”

He wrinkled his nose at the mention of rats; “No nothing that small, the smallest animal I can shift into is a dog and the largest a bear and no I can’t fly.” he chuckled and I found myself joining in, not because it was a particularly funny joke, but just because his laugh was contagious.

“Sooo, you say you’ve been watching me…don’t you think that’s a little creepy?”

He smiled; “I wasn’t stalking you if that’s what you’re thinking…I was just…ok maybe I was stalking, but it would be a bit difficult to observe without stalking don’t you think?” he grinned and just continued staring at me.

The thing about his stares though, was that it seemed he was taking in everything about me with just a single look and for some reason it made me feel…alive?

He stepped forward, his eyes still holding mine and bent slightly to lower his face to mine but I pushed at his chest causing him to pull away.

“I can’t I’m with someone.” I said.

He sighed, “Yes you’re with a man who has to hide to be who he is with you, a man who doesn’t even have to balls to tell those he rules over that he’s gay. Trust me Laken, you deserve better. You deserve someone like me.”

“No! Carson is perfect, he’s not a coward and I’m definitely not leaving him for you so just forget it!” he had angered me with his cruel words.

He had no idea what kind of person Carson was. He was the sweetest, kindest person you could ever meet. The pack respected him and so did I. I didn’t need some bloody crazy shape shifter telling me otherwise!

I turned on my heels, grabbed up my bag and made my way to the door.

“I’ll make you see reason Laken, you’re mine and like I said, I like a challenge.”

I didn’t have to turn around to see the grin on his handsome face, I could already hear it in his voice. I rolled my eyes and pushed through the door.

“Dream on buddy.” I thought to myself.

……………………

“Before I even tell you this, I want you to know that I’m only telling you because I’d rather not keep secrets from you. I’m not dropping Chemistry and I can handle this.” I said carefully, making sure he heard every word I said and understood where I was going with this.

“This can’t be good.” He sighed, watching idly as people passed us on the crowded street.

We had decided to take a break from camp and just go into town to look at Christmas lights and do a bit of Christmas shopping. I’d gotten a few things for Lyla, but he was still walking empty handed.

“So, Lucas told me-”

“Lucas? Since when are you on a first name basis with him?!” he turned to stare at me incredulously.

“Since he told everybody to call him Lucas.” I rolled my eyes, “Anyway, long story short, he told me he’s been watching me for a while, he’s in love with me and he’s here to claim me.” saying it out loud, I realized how absolutely ridiculous it sounded but of course Carson being Carson took it seriously. He stopped walking all together and just stared at me.

“Claim you? What is this the eighteenth century?” he asked.

“That’s exactly what I said!” I exclaimed with a grin.

“And what the hell does he mean watching you? His eyes were blazing now and people were starting to stare. I grabbed onto his arm, trying to calm him

“Carson who cares! I told him there was no way I’d go out with him, so there’s no problem here. I told you I could handle him.”

“You rejected him and he just took it like that? After he pretty much confessed his undying love?” he said sarcastically.

“Well…pretty much I guess, I mean he knows nothing will come of it.”

“Pretty much? Which mean he didn’t just accept it, what’d he say?” his eyes glinted with unconcealed anger.

I sighed, “I knew I should have kept it to myself.” I mumbled then walked on. He followed and when he was at my side once again he said; “Well?”

“I can’t believe this!” I sighed again; “he said he likes a challenge. Happy?” I looked at him in annoyance, I just wanted to enjoy our day out I didn’t want to talk about Lucas anymore. Why did I have to bring this up?

“We’ll see who gets who.” He mumbled.

“This isn’t a competition Carson, you’ve already won.” I tried to make him see.

He didn’t seem convinced; “the bastard won’t know what hit him.”

AUTHOR'S NOTES

ANYONE FOR TEAM LUCAS? OR ARE YOU ALL TEAM CARSON? :p HAHA..LEMME KNOW WHICH TEAM YOU'RE ON AND WHAT YOU THINK OF THIS CHAPTER. DON'T FORGET TO VOTE!

ShOuT oUtS: YachiraMarieTorres and AnitaBlake427..Thanks for reading and just being so supportive!

-DoUbLe.A

-unedited.