Chapter 8 CHAPTER 8

“Here,” I mumbled, splaying the options I'd asked Tiana to get for me so we wouldn't stand in the cafeteria any minute longer.

With all the eyes on us, she seemed to want to bury herself in the ground.

Which was sad, because she's the most beautiful girl I've ever seen and her voice and laughter should have been gracing these walls. She deserved to walk with her head held high, to have friends that wanted to be her friend, to stay closer to her light.

She didn't say anything as I arranged the food, avoiding contact as much as possible. I wasn't much of a talker myself but with the nerves eating up at me, I didn't even know where to start.

But I needed to.

“So, how are your classes coming along? Mrs. McCain nearly gave me detention today,” I began, trying to sound light-hearted.

“It was fine, I'm fine.”

“I'm happy to hear that but I bet you'll be better if you eat your food, hm?”

“I'm not really hungry.”

Her stomach called her a big liar in the next second with a growl.

“Well your stomach is going to cause a mutiny soon if you don't give it something,” I joked again and I felt like I'd gotten a gold medal when she smiled.

Finally. Some progress.

She took a stick of fries and dipped it in sauce and tasted it tentatively. That seemed to open the door as she began eating faster, trying to fill in her stomach.

I didn't say anything, I just put more in front of her and smiled each time she looked at me with those captivating green eyes.

“I'm… full,” she replied as I brought a pizza slice closer to her front. “You haven't eaten anything yet, why?”

I couldn't tell her watching her eat was giving me a hard on, that would end this relationship before it even had a chance to bloom, no matter how intense this truth was.

“Watching you eat is… very satisfying,” I said instead.

“You should eat. An alpha has to eat, my dad used to… I should go,” she jerked sideways, reaching for her bag.

“No wait,” I rushed closer to her, holding her arm. “Don't go. I'm sorry if I did something wrong. I'll eat my food now, okay?”

“You.. It's not you Stephan. I'm sure you're a great guy and you deserve a beautiful, smart, confident Luna who will –”

“Shh,” I stopped her, placing my hand on her soft lips. “I deserve you. Not just because the moon goddess made us for each other but because you're the only person that can get me to eat my vegetables,” I added with a corny smile.

“You're…” she giggled, a sound I wanted to hear all the time. “But you have to be fast, I don't want to be late for class again. I already have one detention.”

“Uh oh,” I shook my head, “I'll speak to the headteacher about it.”

“Oh no, don't do that. They already think I'm troublesome enough, I don't want to come off as trying to evade punishment because the school's most popular guy called me his girlfriend.”

“I'm sorry, I couldn't tell everyone you're my mate because of the humans.”

“Oh that's not what I was talking about. Being your girlfriend just puts me in a weird position. I just wish you'd asked me before actually… announcing it to everyone.”

“But you're my mate. We belong together, I didn't think you'd… object.”

“Oh yea? Because you're an alpha and no one can say no to you?” She snapped, a fire slowly burning through her eyes that I was drawn to.

“Very few people can say no to me, you're quite high on that list,” I told her with a sigh, dropping my sandwich and grabbing her hand. “I'm really sorry I acted without consulting you. I have no idea how to go about this without scaring you away and that's the last thing I ever want. Damn, I'm already ruining our first date.”

“This is a date?” She asked with a frown but I could tell she was trying hard not to smile.

“It's not an official date but it's a date to ask you on a proper date.”

“I'm not sure, I have a lot to do at home and a ton of homework.”

“Oh that's fine, I have an insane amount of those too cause I missed out on a lot of classes so let's leave it till this weekend. How about Saturday?”

Her eyes darkened and she looked away from me, like I'd brought up a bad memory.

“I'm sorry, I want to but I really can't. I really have to go this time,” she insisted, grabbing her bag and running off.

This time, even with my wolf demanding it, I didn't chase after her.

---

Something was wrong, that much I could tell but I couldn't place my hand on it, and with how defensive and secretive she was acting, she wasn't going to tell me what it was either.

“Dude, you look like someone stole your new car or something,” Jason spoke up from behind me as I walked out of class, lost in my head. “Wait, did someone steal the new car?”

“Don't be ridiculous, the keys are in my bag.”

“That doesn't mean it can't be stolen, car thieves are really creative and they've got this…..”

His voice droned on in the back of my head about some mechanical and electrical thing he'd studied but I was drowning in worry instead.

If I lose my future mate because she rejected me, I'll never be the same again. Since I was a child, I've always wanted the love my parents have.

And the chance for that was slowly slipping through my fingers.

“Stephan!” Jason drew my attention, flicking his fingers in my face.

“What is it?” I growled, my fingers fisting.

“No no no, you don't get to growl at me when you're the one spacing out in the school hallway. You've nearly knocked three people down. Come on, let's go to that class, there's no one there and you're going to tell me whatever is wrong with you or I'll –”

“No need to threaten me, I'll tell you,” I grumbled, rolling my eyes.

“Oh. Okay,” he nodded with a frown as we headed over to sit down.

“I've found my mate,” I dropped the bombshell.

“Oh my goodness!” He jumped up in excitement, “You've got everything you need in life men! That's amazing!” But he paused, frowning and coming back to his seat. “But you're sad. Why are you sad? Is something wrong? Does she need our help?”

“That's the thing, I don't know. She says she can't be my mate because I deserve better but what on earth does that even mean? We're literally made for each other!”

"You know what? I think it's too soon to jump into conclusions, okay? Let's go home. We'll brainstorm date ideas after Pack dinner."

I nodded and I gave him the key to drive us home. His excitement brought me out of my sad mood for a bit.

After dinner, I quickly went to my room, not in the mood to socialise with anyone. My wolf would probably lash out at somebody if care's not taken.

Jason and Henry came with me and we're on their third round of playing a game on the PS5 console I got for my seventeenth birthday when I felt a sudden shift in the air.

"Look Stephan, I beat him –" Jason started talking and then stopped, coming closer to me where I was struggling to breathe clearly, "wait, why are you sweating?”

I couldn't respond to his question, I couldn't do anything but shut my eyes and force myself not to scream.

My wolf howled in pain, our nether region on fire.

“Stephan?!” Jason's terrified voice screamed and soon, I could feel so many other people standing around me.

But slowly, the pain dissipated, and replacing it with equal intensity was heartbreak, rage and a realization.

Now I know why she doesn't want me.

She already has someone else.