Chapter 3 Amelia

To say I was surprised by the proposal would be an understatement.

I knew that a lot of guys at the university had a crush on me, but I never expected one of those guys to be Nate. He was the sweet and silent type, always keeping to himself. He had chestnut coloured hair, golden brown eyes, and some light freckles. His facial features were on the softer side and he had lean muscle–the type of body a woman could really wrap herself around, and clung onto. More importantly than his soft curls and cute demeanor was that, unlike most guys at this school, he wasn’t interested in becoming pack leader.

I was tired of those douche bag guys. It was about time I dated someone sweet and kind, like Nate. The more book-smart, nerdy type, rather than the brawny men I usually dated. Natalie did like Nate, once upon a time, but recently Devon had filled out. It was like overnight he’d doubled in size and body muscle. He had darker hair, wasn’t quite as tanned, and his eyes were darker too. He was more of a stereotypical alpha wolf type, which was why I had overlooked him, but Natalie hadn’t overlooked him. At least not recently when she’d seen a photo of him in his swimsuit. Apparently, the boy was packing.

Big dicks and muscles didn’t interest me. Not anymore. I wanted to connect with someone on a deeper level. Maybe it was because it was almost time to mate, so I had to think about that sort of stuff. As a lycan woman, my body made me think about that sort of stuff. Pack alphas travel a lot, they’re always busy with work. They also often fucked around or had mulitple mates–it was something only the alpha could do…breed and connect with more than one woman, but someone like Nate–who would never make alpha–would be able to give me the time, dedication, and commitment I deserved.

“I can’t believe Devon likes me,” Natalie whispered as we packed up after class. She kept staring back at them, as did I. “I didn’t think he noticed girls like me. Alpha contenders usually go for chicks like, well, you.”

I wouldn’t say it out loud, but she was right. When we got the note and Nate pointed toward me, we were both a little shocked, but it had worked out perfectly.

Me with Nate.

Natalie with Devon.

“You have a lot to offer,” I said. “Besides, many guys like more submissive women.” This was also true. Often alpha-contender-types like Devon liked to prey upon smaller, more mousy type wolf girls. The kind they could dominate easier.

And that certainly wouldn’t be me. I liked to be the one in control.

Once we had our things, we made our way outside into the hall, only to be stopped by Nate of all people. He was a little out of breath, which made me smile. Devon sauntered behind him, his bag half open, like they’d chased after us.

“So,” he panted, “tonight? Around 7?”

“I don’t think there’s any good movies playing in the cinema tonight,” I said, “but…you two are dorm mates, right?” My gaze moved in between them and then I touched Nate’s arm, in a flirtatious kind of way–lightly circling my fingers against his too-soft-for-a-guy skin. “We could come by yours after dinner and put something on? Maybe stay the night?”

He swallowed visibly and dropped his arm away from my hold.

Okay, clearly he was playing hard to get. Or shy.

I loved a shy boy.

Nate looked back at Devon, who was looking at Natalie with his eyebrows tugged together, and then he nodded at Nate, but he almost seemed…confused. I also looked at Natalie, who was twirling her hair around her finger and smiling at Devon.

“Uh,” said Nate. “Yeah, sure. It’s a date.”

The guys walked off in the opposite direction, likely going to their next class, but they kept staring back at us and talking to each other. I still couldn’t shake the feeling that they seemed confused about something. Or maybe nervous? I wasn’t sure.

“Ohhh mmmm geeeee!” said Natalie. “I can’t believe I’m going on a date with the hottest guy in the university!”

I looked back to stare at them, but they’d already rounded the corner. I pursed my lips and looked back at Natalie. “I don’t think he’s the hottest, or at least he wasn’t until recently when he bulked up overnight.” That happened sometimes when men were close to the mating ritual, they had drastic changes in their body–the women too. My breasts had gone from B cups to Ds overnight. It was like a werewolf's second puberty and happened very fast.

“He’s definitely the hottest now, almost every shewolf on campus thinks so,” said Natalie.

Before Devon’s drastic body change, which apparently was releasing some sort of pheromone in the air, the hottest guy on campus was my ex boyfriend, Rule. Technically his name was Rulio, but everyone called him Rule. He was buff, with dark skin, and dark, bedroom eyes, but he was also a player. A fuckboy. The worst kind around campus. I’d tried with him, over and over, giving him so many chances, but he always ended up cheating with some wolf girl from another university at a keg party and hoping I wouldn’t find out.

Of course, I always did, and eventually I swore that no matter how hot he or any man was, I wouldn’t date anyone based on their looks. Not anymore. And that’s why Nate was perfect. Unfortunately for me, Rule was in my next class.

Animalistic Behavior & Watch Training

Or ABWT. It was one of the more boring classes on campus, but something we all had to take. It trained us about the other supernatural creatures in this world because, unfortunately for us, we weren’t alone. It was unfortunate because we didn’t have any alliances with other supernatural creatures, and some were super strong and constantly pissed off, like the vampyres.

I’d never met one, but apparently outside the protective walls of this university, they were lurking everywhere. Waiting and hungry for our blood. Werewolf blood was like crack to vampyres, juicing them up and giving them some sort of adrenaline high. I didn’t understand it, but that was why it was so important that every graduating year chose a strong leader–an alpha to keep everyone safe and guide their pack–everyone within their age group. Whether I liked it or not, I was stuck with these people around me forever, even my ex-boyfriend.

“Hey,” he said as I entered the class.

I rolled my eyes and flipped him off, sitting behind him. Another unfortunate thing about this class was the assigned seating, which meant an hour staring at the back of his dumb head.

Rule turned around to face me. “Oh come on, Ame, you aren’t still pissed about that party, are you? It was like 3 months ago.”

“It’s Amelia,” I growled. “And you mean the keg party where you slept with not one but two chicks from over at DLC?” I stared. “Yeah. I’m still pissed.”

“We were on a break!” he said.

“No, we weren’t!” I said back, a little too loudly. A few people turned to look. Luckily the teacher wasn’t here yet. Apparently they were running late.

“Well, shit. I thought we were…. It was a misunderstanding, babe. Come on.”

“I’m not coming anywhere,” I told him. “Especially not anywhere near your stank ass.”

He rolled his eyes. “You’ll miss me. I know you will. No one eats pussy like I do.”

“Only because you’ve had so much practice!” I yelled. “Besides, I’m over you. I’m seeing someone else now and he can practice on me as much as he wants!”

Rule’s expression darkened–eyes turning to slits, mouth pursed. “Who are you seeing?”

Maybe he’d always slept around, but I’d always been his for the most part, so he tended to get super jealous whenever someone else touched me. But that was his problem. Not mine. He’d made his bed years ago when he first started cheating on me.

“Nate,” I told him, folding my arms.

“Nate?!” he repeated with a snort. “That little pussy boy?”

“Yeah!” I replied. “And he’s twice the man you’ll ever be!”

Rule must’ve been gripping his pen hard because it snapped, making red ink fly out everywhere over the table. The teacher entered the room, oblivious to what was happening as they prepared their lesson plan and Rule stared at me with a look of sheer blood fury in his eyes.

“He’s a dead man,” he told me. “Let’s see how much more of a man he is compared to me, or how much you like him when he’s dead.”

I rolled my eyes and Rule turned back around. He talked a big game, but he never really did anything about it, so I wasn’t worried. Unlike Nat who had overheard and stood behind me. She leaned in closer to me and whispered, “Maybe you shouldn’t have told him that? You know all the guys get mad testosterone before the mating ritual. He might actually kill him.”

“He’s all bark and no bite,” I replied, starting to copy notes from the board. “I’m not worried. Besides, Nate’s smart. He can handle himself.”