"Just sleep here, there is plenty of room on my bed" I said off-handedly from my closet as I changed clothes.
"Ummm that's not a good idea" Nate called back.
"Why? I mean... well I don't really have feelings for you like that. And neither should you, I'm sure you've noticed we're not mates" I said hesitantly.
"Yeah, I noticed...but I'm still unmated and you're still unmated and I'm pretty sure Alpha Alex would explode if he got the wrong idea" he told me as I hopped on my bed.
"That was actually my goal" I chuckled. Nate looked at me with a quizzical brow. "I'm..." I began, "I'm having a hard time staying mad at him. Or staying away from him for that matter. But he needs to show me the good side of him. All I have seen is anger and sadness. I don't want to be with someone like that. So I want to test his anger levels. See what happens when I try to make him angry."
"That's cruel..." Nate gave me a chastising look, "can I join in?". His chastisement quickly turned to a devilish grin.
"Yes, but we also need to find your mate as well. I believe your bear said she was 'aroond'. Or around." I said.
"I can sense she's around but I won't be able to find her until she's closer" he explained.
"At least she's close enough to be sensed" I said as I crawled under the covers. Nate stayed in top, which was actually probably a good idea because I felt a little... uncomfortable... at the idea of him being in my bed, even though I told him it was ok.
"You know why that is"
"Oh hush" I thought viciously, and forced my mind to calm and sleep.
* * *
"Terri!" Sophie's high pitch voice yelled out as Nate and I got out of my car. She was violently waving us over to the stoop of the school. The group stood in a close circle, obviously enjoying the brisk morning. Sophie and Jason were huddled close, looking rather warm in each other's company. William and Sienna on the other hand looked like they were going to set everyone around them on fire. William was leaning against the wall of the high school and Sienna was holding him inside of his jacket. They were forehead to forehead, whispering to each other intently, occasionally giving each other kisses. A pang of sadness went through me as I wished I could have that. Brett looked moody as usual but even he had a better aura about him than the guy standing next to him. I couldn't see his face, but based on my racing heart, I knew it was Alpha Alex. He was wearing a tight black jacket with the good pulled over his head and loose blue jeans that hung off his hips. I could see the muscles tense in his back as he realized I was near. I took a deep breath and forced myself to calm down my insane hormones.
"Are you ready for this?" Nate asked with a grin.
"Yeah" I said with a little apprehension.
"Hey guys! Did you pick up Nate this morning? That was nice!" Sophie exclaimed. Obviously cold weather made her chipper. Or more so than usual.
"No, actually he stayed at my house last night" I said matter-of-factly and took a quick glance at Alpha Alex. He had gone from his slouched position to a rigid form in an instant. I could see his hands clenched into fists.
"Oh... that's... fun" Sophie said hesitantly with wide eyes. She was wildly looking at Alpha Alex then me, as if she was trying to warn me.
"What's even more fun is that Nate shifted!" I exploded.
"What?!" Sienna and William had finally joined the world and Brett looked up shocked.
"Man that's awesome" Jason said, clapping Nate on the back.
"He's a bear" I chirped excitedly. Nate's cheeks were violet red and he looked like he wanted to sink into the ground.
"Wait, what?! Like a... bear... bear?" Sophie asked with a shocked expression, putting her hand on Nate's chest.
"Yeah, a big, giant grizzly bear" I explained.
"So you were there?" Jason inquired.
"Yeah, I went to talk to him at his house and he passed out on me" I hesitated and looked at Nate, who's eyes widened and he gently shook his head ,"... Naked" I finished.
Sophie's jaw hit the ground. Jason was slack jawed, but he tried to recover quickly.
"N-naked? Well that's-" Jason spluttered, but before he completely gather himself, a loud bang resonated as the front door to the high school was thrown open. It smashed in to a wall and all of the glass shattered out of the windows. I could see a person clad in black storming into the school from my position, and Alpha Alex was no longer in our group.
"What was that all about?" William asked.
"Someone was being very cruel" Jason said with a pointed look at me. I gasped and looked at Sophie.
"You told him?!" I mouthed angrily to her.
Sophie donned a guilty look and I sighed loudly. The bell rang and everyone who had been shocked by the Alpha's tantrum woke up and headed to class. The group headed inside but I gently grabbed Nate's arm as he headed inside.
"Hey, is she here on campus?" I whispered.
"My mate? No, she's not that close" he said sadly, "I feel weird... I want to find her but for some reason I have no drive to hunt her down. I feel like I should wait. I mean, my Bear was more motivated to watch Boondock Saints last night than he was to find her. He keeps saying 'Patience. Whit will happen will happen when it's ready tae happen' or whatever" Nate said, mocking Ridderock's accent.
"Well... even though he's grouchy and... Scottish.... I think you should listen to him" I said as we went to our bench in the quiet space between the buildings.
"Yeah well even though he's grouchy and mean... I think you should ease up on Alex" Nate said with a serious face.
"What? How can you say that?" I felt my jaw fall open.
"I wasn't expecting his reaction to what you said to be so..." Nate trailed off.
"Violent?" I finished.
"Controlled. He should have... I don't know, ripped someone's arms off, not storm inside. He's getting better about controlling his anger".
"I guess..." I mumbled.
* * * * * * *
"Four.... hours...." Alpha Alex's low voice grumbled to me from the chair next to me, " I sat in your little bubble for four hours after you left".
"Well if you had been nicer I would not have put you in it" I sneered back.
"If you weren't so irrational I wouldn't..." his voice was steadily getting louder, but it seemed as if he caught himself. He abruptly lowered his voice again. "I wouldn't get so angry".
"Well maybe if you weren't such an..." but before I could finish, Nate elbowed me in the side. I turned to my right, realizing how much I had turned in my desk toward Alpha Alex, and looked at Nate with vehemence. He cleared his throat and gave me a condescending look. We carried out a long staring battle, which he won, and I let out a long sigh. I turned back to the Alpha to find him staring at me intently while he clenched his fists. I stared at his face, looking for any sign of a massive explosion of anger. But there was no vein or ticking in his jaw, just a slightly furrowed brow. His eyes were an odd color, a strange light blue that phased to green or dark blue occasionally. His jawline was strong and wide and his nose straight and perfectly suited for his face. He had hair that made you want to run your hands through it, thick and black, slightly tousled. Something about his lips made you want to kiss them, they were full albeit slightly chapped. And his body...
"Stop" Alpha Alex suddenly said.
"S-stop what?" I said, betraying my shock at being caught checking him out.
"Whatever you're thinking about. Stop. Stop looking at me like that" he said, clenching his fists and looking away from me.
"I wasn't thinking about...anything" I mumbled.
He turned his head slowly back to me and his eyes were smoldering.
"Liar" he whispered, and I felt my heart race.
I immediately hopped out of my desk, right in the middle of our teacher's lesson.
"May I go to... the bathroom" I said quickly.
The teacher gave me a disapproving look but nodded toward the door anyways. As I was leaving, I gave Nate a look begging him to follow me. He nodded and I went outside into the cold air. My body was so hot, I was afraid I was on fire. I stripped off my jacket and the sweater I had on over a cami and held my arms up in front of my face. Instead of my entire arm catching fire, my tattoos were a bright red.
"What the..." I stretched my arm out to look at my shoulder when a stream of fire shot out of my palm.
"Whoa! Uhh uhh...." I started panicking, hopping up and down while trying not to move my arms.
"Your tattoos are a method of focus and control for your powers. Now that the ones on your arms are complete, they will help you contain and direct your power" Memerat explained.
"They're not doing a good job of controlling anything right now!" I yelled in panic. At that instant, Nate came outside, followed closely behind by Alpha Alex.
"What's wrong" Nate ran up to me and he grabbed me by my shoulders with concern, but quickly pulled his hands away when my tattoo burned him.
"Ouch! Sh*t. Calm down Terri. You need to calm down" Nate whispered. Suddenly, Alpha Alex pushed him back from me.
"Back off" he growled.
"Stop it! He helps me!" I yelled, squeezing my eyes shut.
"Stop going to him for help! Come to me! I'm your mate!" he yelled and grabbed my upper arms.
"No don't!" I yelled, but then realized that there was no sizzling noise and Alpha Alex kept his hands on my tattoos.
"Whoa" Nate took a step closer to Alpha Alex and I to look at our interaction, but Alpha Alex snarled and pushed Nate away again. Nate charged Alex in an attempt to start a fight, but before he could, I reached out to pull Alpha Alex back.... and shot a massive string of fire at him that sent him flying into the wall of the school.
Thank you for reading! Please vote and comment, I love y'all for sticking with me! All I can say is that I'm excited to have y'all read the next couple of chapters I have written.