by Simone Elise
I arched an eyebrow in my mother’s direction before I reached for my own glass of wine. The table fell silent. Awkward.
I glanced at the clock on the wall and it was only showing 6:30. Great, I still had ages. I cut my steak and stabbed a small piece before bringing it to my mouth. If I wanted to, I could really add sex appeal here. I could slowly drag the piece of meat from the fork. But I didn’t want to play any games with him, so I just bit it off quickly and swallowed.
My phone buzzed in my purse. Reaching for it, muttering, “I’m so sorry,” I faked a large smile as I pulled it out. Glancing at the caller ID, I frowned. Why would he be calling me? “Sorry I have to take this.” I slid my finger across the phone and answered it while getting up from my seat.
“Hey, Chloe.” Dan’s voice was fluent on the other end with happiness.
“Hey. What are you calling for?” I smiled slightly as I walked into the foyer. I knew they could still hear me though.
“I was just wondering, my family are planning this trip away in a couple weeks. They said you could come too, if you wanted. So, you interested?”
I frowned slightly. “Is that a good idea?”
“Why wouldn’t it be?” I heard Dan’s surprise.
“Because you aren’t my mate.”
I covered my mouth as soon as I said it. I hoped Emily hadn’t heard that. Though she would think I used it as a friendly term. Not meaning a forever soul mate.
Dan let out a sharp sigh. “I don’t have a mate.”
“Just because you haven’t met her doesn’t mean you don’t have one.”
“Will you come with me?” Dan dropped the subject, skipping right back to his invitation.
“I will have to ask my parents.”
“Well, ask them,” Dan encouraged, and I smiled slightly.
“I’m at dinner with them and guests. After it’s over I will ask them,” I said with a smile. Getting away from here meant getting away from Xavier. Space meant separation. This could be a good thing.
“Actually, erase that. I will come,” I added quickly.
“Really?” Dan’s voice got higher, as his excitement bubbled over.
“Really.” I smiled back. “I’ll talk to you when I see you. I’ve got to get back to the supper.”
“This is going to be awesome, Chloe. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Dan’s voice burst with pure excitement. I hung up the phone and walked back into the dining room, still with a grin on my face.
“Important phone call?” Chad asked as I took my seat. Nodding my head, I knew they had heard every word I had said. So I knew I had questions to answer from my parents, but that would be later.
“Well, let’s get started on desert then.” Emily beamed while getting up from her seat, but I stopped her.
“I can get it.” I smiled. I really didn’t want to keep having this argument of expressions with her.
“Oh thanks, Chloe. Just bring the tray in with the plates and the apple pie is on the bench.”
I nodded my head as I walked in the direction of where I thought the kitchen was. Sure enough, I walked into a fancy kitchen. Spotting the tray, I walked towards it.
I snapped my head around as I felt Xavier walk into the room. His eyes were narrowed and held no expression. He moved towards me so fast that I couldn’t dart away. Before I knew it, I was crushed against the fridge. His breathing was heavy as he held me against it.
I gulped, trying to ignore the pleasure I was getting from his touch. “What are you doing?”
His head drove forward and claimed my lips. My body felt on fire as his hand clenched my hip, pushing his body against mine, pinning me to the fridge.
My back arched, pushing my chest into his body. I cupped his face with both hands, passion ripping through my body, taking control. I ran my upper lip across his bottom lip. A low growl left his mouth.
His other hand ran down my arched back and stopped under the hem of my dress. With one hand, he lifted my body to his, pulling me from the fridge. He walked across the room, carrying my weight against him, placing me on the edge of the bench. I was now eye level with him.
His white plain t-shirt clung to his defined body. Running my hands over his shoulders, I wrapped my legs around his waist and pulled myself tighter to him. This was how it was meant to be.
My dressed moved up my legs slightly. When he caught sight of my tanned, creamy thighs, his lips moved more insistently against my own.
“Xavier, Chloe?” Emily sang from the dining room. I pushed myself away from his lips, our kiss breaking off.
Taking in much-needed air, I attempted to steady my breathing. But it was close to impossible. I was high on fumes of Xavier.
His eyes stayed locked with mine as he slowly pulled away. His posture was tight when he took a few more steps away. Lust covered his eyes. He wanted me as much as I needed him.
Shaking his head, he sidestepped me and balanced the tray on one hand before scooping up the pie in the other. I watched as he walked out of the room with no explanation.
I ground my teeth. Had he done that on purpose? To fan the flame I had for him? Well, it worked. I felt completely and utterly under his control once more. All I wanted was him and I knew that I would do close to anything to make him mine.
“Chloe had to go to the bathroom. I just showed her the way,” I heard Xavier say as he walked into the dining room.
I jumped from the bench. I had to get control over my emotions before I walked out there. If I walked out in this state, Xavier would know he now had full control over me again and my parents would know something was up.
Closing my eyes and counting my heartbeats, I took control over my outer expression. My inner body could be knotted with love and lust for Xavier but my outer body was not going to show it.
Walking out of the kitchen and with a fake pleasant smile on my face, I joined the table once more.
“What did I miss?” I asked politely while noticing the piece of pie in front of me.
“We got pie, Choc.” Charlie smiled up at me. “But Dad forgot to grab the chocolate.”
Not looking at Xavier, I kept all my attention on Charlie. “Aw well, more for you later. Don’t have to share.” I winked at him.
That’s it, Chloe. You are doing an amazing job. No one knows you are currently bathing in complete and utter lust for your mate.
I glanced sideways at Xavier and saw he was glaring at the pie in front of him. Because he had every reason to be in a bad mood, I wanted to roll my eyes.
“So what did Daniel want before?”
Turning my head to my mother and frowning, I asked, “How did you know it was Daniel?”
My mom rolled her eyes. “Please, your voice changes when you speak to him.”
“Um, well, he invited me to go away with his family in a couple weeks. I said yes.”
“Did you now?” My dad entered the conversation “Forgetting you need permission?” He raised both eyebrows.
“I knew you guys would let me go and he needed an answer right away.” I lied to some degree, but it was true Dan did want to know right away.
“Right. Well how long for?” Dad asked lightly.
“Um. Not sure. But it should be fun.”
“Doesn’t this send the wrong message to Cole though?” My mom asked. “Going away with another boy.”
“I just met Cole.” I tapped my finger on my thigh under the table. “Beside I’m single. I don’t answer to any man.”
I didn’t glance in Xavier’s direction, but the last part was all for his enjoyment. The table went quiet again and I sort of wished someone else would take the lead in conversation. Was it just me or were all the questions being thrown my way?
“Apart from me, of course.” My dad winked at me and I laughed lightly before rolling my eyes.
I would try to fight Xavier’s pull on me, but I knew a part of me wanted to surrender before I even started.
***
I laughed lightly with Cole as he walked me to my front door. I noticed how his hazel eyes darted over our pack house, taking in the size of it.
“Nice house.”
I smiled at him. For a human he was handsome, friendly and funny. “Yeah, we have a large family,” I piped up. Walking up the last porch step I stood next to the door, turning back to face him.
“Thanks so much for coming out with me tonight, Chloe.”
Cole’s shaggy brown hair swooped across his face. I looked at the lip ring in the corner of his mouth. “Um, Cole, I should be thanking you.” I pulled my eyes away from his mouth and looked back into his hazel eyes. “Really, it was a great night. Thank you.”
Cole smiled shyly, stuffing his hands in his jeans pockets. “It was a little boring. Sorry about that.”
Cole had taken me out for supper and then to this function his college was having. I found it pleasant being around humans for a full night. Personally I loved how they couldn’t pick up on your emotions from your change in scent.
“Cole, it was a great night.” I stepped in closer to him and placed a hand on his shoulder, and pecked his cheek. “Thanks for inviting me. I am so glad I went to the mall today.” I smiled widely as I stepped slightly away from him.
Cole was eyeing me with a pleasant smile on his face. I frowned. What was so interesting?
“What, Cole? Do I have something on my face?” I quickly wiped my hand across my cheek, which caused him to chuckle.
“No, Chloe, I just can’t get over you.” He shook his head slightly. “I’ve never met anyone like you before.”
Well, I doubted he had met another werewolf, let alone gone on a date with one. “Good or bad thing?” I asked.
“Good thing.” He took a step closer to me. “I’m not usually the type of guy who says this. But can I see you again?”
My smile blossomed and I nodded my head. Fiddling with the purse in my hand, I wondered what he had meant by he wasn’t usually the type of guy. Letting it drop, I edged closer to my door.
“Well, you have my number, Cole. You should use it.” I winked at him as I twisted the doorknob.
“Night, Chloe.” He shot me a large smile before he turned and began to walk down the porch steps. Sighing softly, I walked through my front door and closed it gently behind me. Leaning against it, I thought, man, I hated to admit it, but I actually didn’t mind the guy.
“So how was it?”
My mom was in her dressing grown with a very large smile on her face.
Rolling my eyes, I walked towards her. “It was really nice. How was the rest of dinner?”
I now remembered how Xavier shot daggers at me when I left, and his unfriendly greeting to Cole when he rang the doorbell. I tried to get to the door before Xavier, but he beat me to it. I ground my teeth when I thought about Xavier, the way my blood boiled for his touch. I loathed his control.
“Uneventful,” Mom answered and she turned to walk up the stairs with me. “So was he a nice human boy?”
Rolling my eyes, I really had to get out of the habit of calling him that too. “Yeah, he was, very handsome.”
“I’m so happy for you, Chloe.” She shot me a sideways smile as we walked up our long staircase.
“It was only one date, Mom.”
“Yes, but it’s a start.” We reached the top of the stairs and she turned to face me. “I don’t know how you are doing it. You really are a strong person, Chloe.”
Reaching over, I wrapped my arms around her. She hugged me back tightly. “Thanks Mom.”
Pulling away from each other, we both had smiles on our faces and tears in our eyes. We both knew that not being with your mate was painful, physically and emotionally.
“Night, sweetie.”
“Night, Mom.”
I walked toward my room. Maybe being with a human wouldn’t be that bad. Cole would never find his mate like Dan could, and sure I could never love him the way I would love Xavier, or have that pull towards him. But at least I knew he could never hurt me in the way Xavier did. And that was the strongest reason why I wanted to keep seeing Cole.
***
I was running laps around the oval with the class. One good thing about attending a werewolf-only school was that you didn’t have to hide your abilities. I suppose that was why the school was set up. Humans thought it was an elite, private and expensive school, when really you only needed one thing to get in and that was to be a werewolf.
Because our pack was so large it was really needed. My father and other alphas were sick of us werewolf teenagers having to hide our abilities. Plus a lot of extra classes were added into our schools subjects. For example, our health classes weren’t all focused on human health. They were mainly centered on werewolves, how we develop, et cetera.
Our history was just that, our history. We did not spend hours and hours studying the boring history of humans. A history they only knew half of anyway.
The school was located in the heart of town, but no one apart from students who attended it came into the grounds. Of course we still kept up appearances at school sports events and competitions. When we competed, we only went half way. We always won though. We just didn’t show our true talent. Except when we faced off against other werewolf teams from different schools across the state. That’s when all gloves came off.
As we all sprinted around the oval, over and over again, it was fair to say we were running at an extremely fast pace.
My fitness levels had gone downhill, to say the least. Since I had given up all fitness to focus solely on Xavier, I had really let myself go. So I was pushing myself today in gym, because I needed all the training I could get. Which was why I put my hand up to go to the basketball meet this afternoon against a human school. Sure I knew it would be a breeze, but still I would be competing.
“TIME!” Xavier shouted and we all dropped back to a slow jog, before going over to him. Sweat was running down my legs and my neck. The hot sun wasn’t helping either. “Nice work, class. Alright. Shower and change. All students attending Riverdale School for the sports meet, the bus is leaving from the gym at one.” Xavier clapped his hands and everyone began to break off.
“Gee, Chloe, you weren’t joking when you said you were unfit.” Dan patted my back as I attempted to get my breath back. I nodded my head weakly, not trusting myself to talk.
“Are you going to the meet this afternoon?” Dan asked as we walked together back to the gym. His chest was shining from the sweat dripping from his toned muscles in the sunlight. I nodded my head and pulled my eyes away from him.
“Are you?” I finally puffed out, keeping my hands on my hips as I walked.
Dan chuckled lightly. “Yeah, all us guys are going. The guys want some more numbers.”
I shook my head. The boys went to play sports, but really they played a different sport while there, human girl hunting. Because the boys were, well, let’s not beat around the brush, they were hot. And human females noticed this.
Thus, the true reason the boys even bothered going. Human girls were easy hits. Their words not mine. “Sit next to me on the bus?” I asked as we entered the gym.
Dan grinned at me. “Actually, that’s why I was asking. Did you want to ride with me, in my car? Give the bus a miss?”
“Are we allowed to do that?” I asked. I thought we had to ride the bus, show school spirit and all that. I wanted to roll my eyes at it.
“Yeah. Mr. Clark said I could.” Dan shrugged his shoulders. “He didn’t seem to care.”
“Sounds like a plan. I’ll meet you at your car after lunch?” I asked, pulling my hair from the high ponytail I had it in. I was looking forward to the shower I was about to have.
“Have lunch with me. Then I can walk you to my car.” Dan smirked at me.
Smiling, I shook my head. “I’ll see you in the cafeteria then.” I waved my hand over my shoulder as I jogged to the girls’ locker room. I could never
get over Dan’s sweetness.
***
I towel-dried my hair before I flung the towel into the school’s laundry basket. Scooping up my gym bag, I walked out of the locker room to find Xavier casually leaning against the wall, with his arms crossed. I bet he was waiting for me.
“Chloe, can I talk to you for a minute?”
I rolled my eyes as I dragged my feet towards him. Was his day not complete if he didn’t torture my emotions? “What can I do for you, Mr. Clark?”
Xavier grunted lightly before pushing himself from the wall and walking in the direction of his office. Trailing behind him, I couldn’t rip my eyes away from his defined muscles that the tank top he wore clung to. I licked my bottom lip, before biting it.
Xavier pushed his office door open and I walked in while he held the door open for me. I pulled down on the hem of the school tank top I wore. It was light blue, with the school logo over my left breast. I was wearing the tight black shorts that went with it. I was all ready for the meet. I didn’t see any point in getting dressed in something else when I knew I would have to just change again in an hour.
“About last night.” Xavier sat on the edge of his desk with his arms crossed. “I’m sorry I attacked you like that.”
I kept my face blank. He was sorry. Bet that was a lie. “I doubt that. Your plan worked. You rekindled my emotions for you.”
Xavier narrowed his eyes. “How was your date?”
“Don’t change the subject.”
“What? I’m not allowed to ask my mate how her date with another man was?” Bitterness coated his words.
“Sure. But first you tell me, how did you sleep next to your wife last night?” I fired back. How dare he make me feel like I was cheating on him! He was the one with a wife.
I felt like slamming my fist into the side of his face. Wow, that was violent, Chloe.
“Just fine,” Xavier snapped at me. “So, your date?”
“Just fine.” I crossed my arms. “Can I go now? I said I would have lunch with Dan.”
“Oh, how could I forget your other boy toy,” Xavier scoffed. “The one you sleep with.”
