Curves & Courage (2 page)

Not wanting a fight on the first day, I held my tongue.

“Hey, you, new girl.”

I spun around to find a pale, slim boy with Clark Kent glasses and extremely curly brown hair puffing out in an
Afro sitting at a table a few rows down from where I stood.

“You can come sit with us if you want.”

I glanced around, but seeing no other viable options, and wanting to avoid another shove, I strolled towards the table.

The boy sat with a compartment container with each food item separated into their particular slots. I noticed the lid was labeled with
the category of food appropriated for each space.

“I’m Jayden.” He held out his hand.

Contact. My throat tightened as I stared down at his hand. “Um, I’m Sophie.” My hand trembled as I took his.

He closed around mine quickly, giving it a brief shake before releasing it. “You came from the country, didn’t you?” I watched as he reached into his book bag and took out a
n industrial size bottle of hand sanitizer. He angled it towards me. “Want some?”

The alcohol stung my nasal passages, burning in my chest. I tried to hold my
breath as I shook my head ‘no.’

He squirted two globs in his hands, thoroughly coating his hands and forearms. “The longer you stand, the more aware of you they are. You should probably sit,” he advised, slipping the sanitizer back into his backpack.

I plopped into a seat, setting my bag on the table in front of me. I clung to it, pulling it into my chest.

And then I scented
him
.

I closed my eyes, sighing. I wasn’t ready for my mate yet. I couldn’t handle
a mate right now. Why couldn’t Nature wait another five years?

“Rough first day?” Jayden asked.

I suddenly realized I was being incredibly rude. “Um, it’s been…different.”

He smiled easily. “That’s code for rough at this table.”

I studied the Asian boy at the end; his hair was styled in a faux hawk, but that’s where his cool, edgy style ended. He was dressed in a button up shirt, khakis and had a face full of acne.

The underweight girl beside him didn’t fair well either with old school metal braces and asthma
based on the soft wheeze I heard in every breath she took.

A
chubby girl dropped her tray on the table across from Jayden. Raven black hair, black nail polish, black lipstick, a black hoodie, oversized black cargo pants and black boots made her ivory skin look stark and ghastly in comparison. She narrowed her eyes on me, a deep-set frown on her face.

“She
messin’ with you, Jay?” Her words were sharp, attitude in every syllable.

“Relax, Heather. I invited her.” He slipped a green grape into his mouth, chewing eloquently.

I listened as Heather’s pulse quickened. I caught the momentary slip in her dark eyes.
Crap.
She liked Jay…as more than a friend.

“Sorry,” she clipped; I knew it was only said for Jay
den’s approval though.

He gave her an approving smile across the table before turning to me. “So, Sophie, where did you move from?”

I opened my mouth to speak, but halted as his scent assaulted me. He’d found me.

My heart
hammered against my chest cavity. My wolf, my poor wolf, merely cocked her head, curious, but not overzealous in seeking him.

Somehow, through the mangled sounds bouncing off the walls around me, I was able to locate him. He was coming up from behind me, from the long line at the front of the cafeteria. Somehow I just knew that was his heart pitter-pattering and his assured steps getting closer and closer.

I chanced a glance over my shoulder; my breath caught as he glared at me, his powerful aura emanating off of him.

Oh God. He’s an alpha. He’s a future alpha.

I grabbed my book bag, standing abruptly. “Sorry, I’ve gotta go.”

I didn’t bother looking back as I pushed my way through the throng of students; nasty words
, derogatory names called after me, but I didn’t care. I just needed to get away from him.

I wasn’t ready.

I wasn’t ready for him.

Chapter 6

Dominick

“Dammi
t!” I slammed my fist down on the table she’d just abandoned. Food flew up, splattering.
Shit.
“Sorry.” I walked away, rage burning inside me.

She was hiding something. I didn’t know what, but I sensed it. She was running. You don’t run
from
your mate; you run
to
your mate.

I stalked angrily towards Kris, my wolf growing stronger, more determined with each st
ride. The closer I got, the hotter our blood boiled. “Did you see that shit?” I growled.

His brows drew together as he stared at the doorway. His hands were stuffed in his pockets. “Just give me your history homework and go after her.”

“Are you kidding? After the stunt she pulled? Hell no. She’s going to have to come to me.”

He neutralized his expression, meaning he was holding back a mouthful.

I sighed. “Spill it.”

“What kind of alpha abandons one of his own, especially his mate?”

My features pinched as my wolf roared. I huffed, frustration weighing me down. “Fine,” I snapped. “It’s in my locker. 54-16-12.” I turned face and grudgingly set out in search of my mate.

Her scent wasn’t hard to locate. It stood out; it called to me on a primal level. It wrapped itself around my lungs, infusing my soul with attraction. She smelled delicious. Her aroma was enticing, sweet and sensual. I couldn’t turn away from it. I would always turn towards it
instinctually, which was why I didn’t understand how she could walk away.

City schools were overwhelmed with students and under staffed. Even during lunch, the halls were crowded, though in fairness there was actually a smidgen of a walkway down the center at this time.

My wolf preened himself; the closer I got to her, the higher he pushed himself. Before I rounded the final corner to the history wing, he breeched my surface. I shoved him down, taking a deep breath to rein us in.

She’d stopped. Her footsteps no longer padded in soft, rapid taps against the floor. She’d actually come to a complete stop and was waiting for me.

As I turned the corner, I found her standing beside one of the few abandoned areas along the locker-lined hall. Her head was down, her book bag hanging heavily from her shoulders. She didn’t have a locker, I idly concluded. That wasn’t surprising considering there were nearly twice as many students as there were lockers. Her arms were folded around her mid-section as she hunched over.

Fear seeped into my chest, shoving away some of my anger.

Her breathing was shallow; her shoulders were trembling slightly. I heard her swallow hard. “What do you want from me?” her voice cracked, her emotions thick. Though I knew she wasn’t crying, I knew she was close to it.

Her weak question slammed into my gut. My wolf snarled, ready to take up arms for her.

I approached her slowly, afraid of spooking her. As I rounded in front of her, my heart stopped, splitting in two.

She was nibbling nervously on her bottom lip. Tears pooled in her eyes, though
, to her credit, she was doing her best to hold them back. She didn’t look at me; her gazed was focused downwards.

I took a steadying breath, checking the area around us. Assured we were safe, I crooked a finger beneath her chin.

She shook, wincing as my flesh connected with hers.

My features twisted, unease furling
in my gut. Something was majorly wrong here.

Slowly, I tilted her face upwards, but she still refused to look at me. It felt
like a knife was twisting in my heart each second she denied me.
Dammit.
It wasn’t supposed to be like this. I didn’t plan on caring about her so quickly. “Please look at me, sweetie.”

She gasped for air, her chin quivering; her tears still stayed though. “Please don’t claim me,” she cried, suddenly turning and racing away.

“Shit!” My fist hit the lockers sideways, denting the door of one.

She disappeared around the bend and no doubt into the crowd. I could easily follow her scent like before, but she was already distressed. I di
dn’t want to upset her further.

Damn. There was nothing like a shy mate to get your ego in check.

Chapter 7

S
ophie

He must have sensed how fragile I was because, even though we shared every class for the rest of the day, he gave me my space. It didn’t stop his assessing stares, but it kept him at bay.

All I needed was time and space. Too bad I couldn’t get the same from my dad.

I dreaded school, but I feared going home more. My days were easy compared to my nights. M
ost nights were literally nightmares, my own version of hell. It was why my mate needed to stay away. He couldn’t know. Especially as a future alpha, he couldn’t witness how weak his mate was.

A shudder worked through me; my wolf whimpered as the dismissal bell rang. I swallowed my anxiety, grasping at the last bit of courage I had within me. I only had one more year with him
; fourteen months, to be precise, until I was eighteen. I could survive that; I would survive that.

I stood,
organizing my remaining books. My backpack was filled to the max, ready to burst at the seams. Had I been human, my limbs would have been aching by now. The weight of the worn, thick textbooks was overwhelming, nearly as overwhelming as the idea that I’d learn everything in them before the year was up.

I stiffened when I caught motion in the corner of my eye. His scent grew stronger as he approached me. I eyed him warily, praying he wasn’t going to push
me. I didn’t know my limits with him yet.

He thrust a torn piece of notebook paper at me. “Just in case.”

My attention slipped to the paper. His name and phone number were scribbled on it.
Dominick. My mate’s name is Dominick.

I hastily took the information from him and shoved it into the pocket of my jeans. I didn’t trust myself to speak. I couldn’t. What
would I say? Thanks? I couldn’t give him what I knew he was waiting for in return: the same. That opened doors. That gave him access I wasn’t ready to give yet.

I picked up the stack of books
off the desk, making a play to move past him.

He didn’t hesitate, sliding in beside me. “You
walkin’?”

Panic seized me. He couldn’t walk home with me. If my dad scented him…

I froze mid-step, closing my eyes to try to control my quickening pulse. He heard everything. He knew. If he ever scented me at home, he would know the truth. He would smell my fear and know.

His scent intensified as he leaned into me. My body vibrated with awareness. My wolf
lifted her chin to sniff at him. It was instinctual. It was natural to want to be close; heck, we were supposed to want to rip each other’s clothes off right away. That couldn’t happen though. I wouldn’t let it happen.

I opened my eyes to find his face directly in front of mine. It was a challenge to keep my breathing steady
as I met his keen stare. My skin tingled, hyperaware of his nearness. I was designed for him. I was designed to be with him. My entire purpose was wrapped around my mate. Werewolves were strong individually, but unstoppable together.

I wasn’t though. As a future alpha, he would be embarrassed if he knew the
verity of my circumstances. Weak wolves died. Weak wolves went rogue; just like my dad. Only, my dad was older, larger and stronger than me, which made him an alpha in our home.

Males were naturally stronger than females; even though they had the brute strength, we had the endurance. We balanced each other.

That’s what a mate was: a perfectly created yin to your yang. We would always stabilize each other.

In the distance, I heard the seconds ticking by on the clock. The longer I took, the closer I cut it. Finally,
I could contain my fretfulness no longer. “I have to go,” I blurted. I shoved past him, racing for the door.

Please don’t let him follow me. Please don’t let him follow me.

Chapter 8

D
ominick

Every instinct had me chasing after her, but I fought it. She was hiding something. It didn’t sit well with me.
She was supposed to come to me with everything. She had to know that her mate was the one person who would never turn his back on her; I couldn’t turn my back on her. Nature wouldn’t allow it.

Yet sh
e was. Somehow she was defying Nature. Somehow she was fighting every cell in her body that I knew was demanding for her to come to me. That took strength and determination that I didn’t have.

“What the hell happened there?” Kris flicked his chin towards my quickly escaping mate.