Ellie was nestled in between two warm bodies and once she had eaten her burger her eyes felt heavy. She drifted to sleep, her head dropping onto Stefano's shoulder. He reached around her and pulled her into his arms, nestling her against his chest protectively. He watched her sleep, her features soft in the setting sun. The day had passed and Sunday was coming to a close. He had planned a date for her today, but it would have to wait for another day. He was just glad she was back, safe, with them.Thatcher looked at him, confusion clouding his eyes, "You know she has a mate, right?"Stefano nodded, "It's Jake, I know.""So, what's going on between you and her?" Thatcher asked kindly."Jake's not free to be with her. He's intended to another. If he can't have her, why shouldn't I?" Stefano asked honestly."You're not just a regular human, are you?" Thatcher asked as he watched Stefano carefully.Stefano shook his head no. "Want t

Ellie wasn't the type of person to skip class, but she ran out of her art class, waving to Sam as she rushed to get to the walkway to town. She wanted to meet Stefano before she went to Astronomy class. She didn't have much time, but she decided being late today wasn't the end of the world.  She saw Stefano sitting on a bench by the forest, smiling at her as she reached him. "Hi, did you sleep well?" Stefano reached out to give her a hug and a peck on the cheek in greeting.  She looked up at him uncomfortably, "I did actually. Listen, I wanted to talk to you." Ellie said. "You mentioned as much," Stefano laughed as he gestured for Ellie to sit on the bench next to him. Ellie sat uncomfortably, shifting to face Stefano on the bench, wanting to tell him more but unable to start. "You wanted to talk about Jake, right?" Stefano asked as he smiled gently at her. "Yes," Ellie's eyes betrayed her confusion. "How did you know

Ellie avoided Sam and Meredith for over a week before they finally caught up to her the following Saturday morning. She was leaving her room, heading into town, intending to spend the day with Amanda browsing through the shops and eating lunch with Stefano before he had to work in his brother's diner. She closed her door softly, knowing Sam wouldn't be awake yet, and assuming Meredith would be listening for her. Sure enough, as soon as she engaged the lock on her door, Meredith's door opened in a flurry. Sam's door opened, too. Ellie looked up in shock, not expecting to see the bubbly wolf awake this earning in the morning, it was just after 6 am after all. Sam didn't usually see this time of day unless it came before she slept. "You can't avoid us forever, Ellie," Meredith said as she watched Ellie turn toward the stairs. "Please, Ellie, let us talk with you? We'll go with you, wherever you're going. We'll explain things, as best we can, just don't ignore us anymore. I can't take i

"WHAT.""THE.""HELL.""ARE.""YOU.""DOING?" Ellie yelled, gritting her teeth against her fury. It was consuming her, she could feel the flames lick through her blood. She grabbed her shirt snd pulled it over her head, leaving her bra for another time. She didn't even care when both Jake and Stefano got an eyeful of her chest as she dropped the blanket to pull the shirt over her head. Jake looked between Ellie and Stefano before he put his hands on the door frame, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. "Stefano, we need you in the headmaster's office," Jake said, still standing with his eyes closed. Stefano turned to Ellie and gave her a tight hug. She looked up at him uncertainly, her eyes apologetic."He can't help it. It's the mate bond. Don't be angry with him," Stefano said softly down to her, kissing her nose lightly. She smiled up at him begrudgingly and nodded. He released her and stepped bac

Ellie was nervous. She didn't know why, she had been around Hannah before, but knowing that she was mated to Hannah's intended made her squirm. Ellie knew that Hannah would be on campus that day, it was Sunday and Hannah was going to start classes the next day with all of them. She was there to hopefully bring a truce between the packs. Ellie wiped her palms on her pants and glanced around the table where she was eating lunch. 'Calm down,' a voice said in her head. 'Get out of my head,' she replied, rolling her eyes. 'You know I can't help it,' the voice replied.  She glared at Jake and he smiled back at her, winking as he ate his sandwich.  "Ellie?" Sam asked. "Hmm?" Ellie replied, glancing at her friend across the table. Firash was watching Sam with hungry eyes and Ellie rolled her own. She still couldn't believe Sam didn't see yet what the rest of them found obvious.  "Are you going to tap your foot all day?"