Zach opened the door to Ms. Fredley's office and noticed a girl the secretary was helping. She had long brown hair that hung down her back in waves. A nice body from what he could tell from the back. She looked to be a little bit taller than five feet, with a slender build. He noted the girl was looking over the papers Ms. Fredley had given her.
*C'mon, turn around so I can see your face. *
Ms. Fredley glanced up after Zach got done checking out the new girl, and he cleared his throat to alert her someone had come in. "Zachary, how are you? I just had the privilege of having your brother in here a few moments ago." She grimaced about having to deal with Jacob so early on in the day. "So, what can I do for you?"
The call of his name again pulled Zach out of thought. "Um, Paige said she didn't have my schedule and to check with you." He kept his focus on the girl ahead of him.
The girl turned at the sound of his voice and smiled.
*'Ours' *
Zach's wolf screamed inside of him. He tried to calm himself and his wolf down. All these different thoughts were running through his mind. '
If she was my mate, wouldn't she recognize I was hers?
*Wouldn't she have this same feeling and want to be near me?'
His wolf was fighting to get out and go to her, while Zach was fighting to stay in control.'She is so beautiful. Dark eyes to go with her dark brown hair, porcelain skin.
She's so...unbelievable. I can't even smile back.'Zach stared with a blank look at his supposed mate.
"Zach, this is Emily." Ms. Fredley handed the lost schedule to him. "She's new to West Lakes this year. I think you two may have some of the same honors courses together since you're both seniors. Maybe you can help her get acquainted with the school and students."
Zach didn't know what to do. Half of him knew to act normal, and the other half wanted to give in to his wolf. The screaming in his head continued. His wolf wouldn't let up on the fact this was his mate. He knew he had to get out of there quickly before he lost the battle of control. The girl wasn't showing any signs of recognition. She couldn't be the one. Restraining his wolf and going against what he wanted to do, Zach acknowledged each with a nod and walked back out the door.
***
"Damn, what's wrong with you, dude?" Danny asked Zach as he walked over to the group.
"Nothing. Why?" Zach tried to hide any confusion written on his face.
Alex placed her hand on Zach's shoulder. "You look like you either want to kill someone or puke on them. Are you feeling okay?" She gave him a small hug.
He responded to Alex's hug. "Oh, I heard in the office Jacob was already in trouble again, that's all." He lied to cover up what was bothering him.
"What the fuck! We all know Jacob never gets any type of punishment for anything he, Anthony, and Will do," Madison began ranting. She and Jacob had never gotten along. Nobody knew why, but it was constant bickering between the two of them. "It's like he's cast a spell over the entire school, except us, of course. He is Lord Jacob, does whatever he wants, whenever he wants." Madison was still going on.
Zach rolled his eyes at her performance as she imitated bowing to royalty in reference to Jacob and his entourage.
"You know," Madison continued her Jacob beat down. "Alex and I have always gotten our fair share of detentions for skipping. But no, not Jacob, he's like the king of all shit." They all left the cafeteria as Madison continued fuming over Jacob. "I think they are going to start rolling out the red carpet and hiring security so all the girls don't tackle him when he arrives at school. Damn, I bet there can be a reality show in his honor and follow him around twenty-four seven. You know there can never be too much Jacob for this school. He has to be the most annoying, self-absorbed, arrogant person I've ever met, but no one can seem to resist him. Am I the only one who doesn't put two thoughts into him?"
Zach, Danny, and Alex looked over at Madison, who had finally stopped talking, and laughed.
"What?" Madison appeared oblivious to the fact she'd just did a thirty-second tyrant about the man himself.
The group walked up the staircase to where the classrooms were located, each comparing their schedules. Alex and Madison's were almost identical as they were every year. While Zach and Danny only had one class together, PE. Zach's first class was honors microbiology, and the rest of his crew had regular biology together.
The group went to their lockers, which were the same ones they'd had for the past three years. It was a small school with only one central hallway that branched out for different sections. The main hall was lined with green and gold-colored lockers and was the usual place for everyone to congregate before and after classes. As they moved down the hall, Zach felt changes going on inside of him, like his wolf wanted to break out again.
The reemergence of his wolf could only mean one thing.
That was weird. What the heck was that guy, Zach's, problem? Didn't he ever hear of common courtesy? Someone smiles at you, and you smile back.Emily took one step at a time, looking over her schedule and trying not to bump into anyone running up or down the stairwell. Her thoughts filtered back to the guy, she'd seen in the registration office.There was something about him. Like I'd seen him before. Like there was some type of connection. Maybe he resembles someone from my last school? "Oh, sorry." Emily reached out and touched the arm of the girl she almost accidentally smacked into on the second landing. The girl gave a brief nod, then continued walking.Nah, someone like Zach, I would definitely remember. But, what was it about him that made my whole body tingle. OMG, Em, you're thinking way too much into this. He was just a boy, and now he's gone.Emily opened up the door leading to
Emily followed Zach as weaved his way through the science center. She could see into the classrooms as each door was a glassed entryway, most were filled with students which made her stomach spin even more. Instead of focusing on the attention she would get arriving at her first class as the new student, Em concentrated on the guy walking two steps ahead of her.What did I do to this guy that would make him act this way? We don't even know each other.He is either stuck-up, shy, or not freakin' interested in talking to me.Good thing he's taking me to this class because the science department is a maze of classrooms, labs, and teacher's offices.At the end of one of the halls, Zach stopped and opened the door for her to enter.Emily noted the classroom was quiet when they entered. Everyone turned to watch them, well, mainly her. There were only about fifteen other kids, but it felt like hundreds when all
Why didn't I find a place she could sit beside me?What the hell is wrong with me?Why am I running from my 'supposed' mate?I didn't hear one word Mr. Warner has said since I walked in here. Doesn't every teacher use the same freakin' spill on the first day? Welcome to blah...blah...blah, this year we are going to learn about blah...blah...blah.Zach was trying not to look back at Emily or Paige.There's just something about her.'She's our mate,' his wolf said once again.'Yeah. Yeah. I get it. You said this before.Zach was once again having an internal conflict with his other-self. If he didn't know he was a shifter, he would begin to suspect he was going insane with having a wolf talking inside of him. He knew he had to speak with his older brother Adam or his father if he returned soon. There hadn't been any other girl who had made him feel and
Danny, Alex, Madison, and Zach were all in PE class together right before lunch. It was always an experience when they were all together. Today they played a quick game of B-ball. Zach and Dan liked to show off their skills in sports. It was the wolf in them that wanted the competition.The girls tried to keep up, but the guys knew they wouldn't be able to. Madison bitched, and Alex kept looking at Danny as if she was in awe of everything he did. After they changed their clothes from PE, they met back in the gym to head down to lunch."Hey, where did Alex go?" Zach noticed her abrupt disappearance.Madison smirked like she knew something was going on. "Oh, I think she had to head back to our locker for something." Zach started to walk away, but Madison tugged on his arm. "C'mon, let's get a table before they are all taken."Like they had to worry. They'd sat in the same spot for the past three years. Nothing ever changed here, well, until this year. The t
Zach dropped Danny off at his house, which was like five minutes from his own. Now he had the task of pulling up their never-ending driveway. His father wanted a piece of property that was way off the beaten path. So, he bought a house with a mile-long driveway that weaved in and out through the trees. The house sat on one hundred and fifty acres of woodland. So yep, you could say they were pretty secluded from the world.As Zach got to the driveway's end portion, he noticed Adam showed up on time. He wasn't outside, so he must have already let himself into the house. The front door was unlocked, so he must have gone through this way instead of the garage. Although technically Adam still lived at home, he didn't sleep or hang out there much. He was usually with the rest of their pack, the ones around his age. But he had full access to the house whenever he wanted."Anybody here?" Zach yelled into the empty hallway when he walked in. There was no answer, so the next bes
It seemed the rest of the younger pack members, Jacob and his crew, were on high alert on the day of the alpha's arrival. They appeared to be more wired and less tolerant of other students, which could be a good thing since they had a big football game coming up.Zach felt things with Emily was going okay. He listened to Adam and allowed his wolf to have his way. Even though she showed no genuine mate interest in him, he still felt the need to watch over her. He hoped he didn't look like some stalker type and scare her off. He kept his distance but yet tried to appear friendlier than he was the first couple of days.***Although she'd been at her new school only a week or so, Emily felt content with how everything was going. She, Alex, and Madison were getting along well, and she was excited to be included in things they were doing, like shopping and planning on going to the football game on Friday. She was on her way to her first class, not minding anything tha
It was after six o'clock in the evening when the whole pack assembled at the Lovell residence. The boys' dad came back earlier in the day, but they hadn't seen him until now. There were about forty men gathered in the living room when Zach and Jacob came downstairs. Most they recognized, but some looked new to the pack. Their dad and his beta, Luke, who was Marshall's dad, were standing in the front of the room, speaking with two other elders. Adam and his smaller group were off to one side, waiting for the meeting to begin. The conversation between his father and the elders stopped as soon as the boy's presence was noted."What's going on?" Jacob was always the first to speak. Although they'd been taught not to talk to the alpha, beta, or elders while gathered as a pack, unless a conversation was initiated with them, Jacon constantly pushed the buttons for confrontation.Their father gave Jacob a warning look, and he took a step backward away from the group. "Zach, yo
Jacob ran until he knew he was far enough away from the house that the others wouldn't follow. He stopped once he reached the meadow's outlying trees on top of the hill, which looked down over the community park everyone with little kids enjoyed going to during the warm months. He knew no one would be up here since it was too steep of a climb for most mundane humans to climb. It wasn't an issue for him in either form, man or wolf. But being in wolf form helped to move quicker and smoother through the trees and narrowed pathways on the hillside. He sat on his hind-end and took a deep sniff of the air around him. Although his wolf had taken over during the heated moment back at the house, Jacob was fully aware of everything going on outside.'No...No...and no!'Jacob screamed at his wolf, who paid no mind to the rambling human part of him.'Don't do it.'Once again, Jacob tried to persuade the wolf not to do what he knew was about to