Chapter 7

ARLO

“Talia!” I call out to her, watching her turn her head to me.

She gives me that gorgeous smile—the one that causes my heart to skip a beat.

“Yes?” she asks in her sweet, soft voice. Her voice sounds like heaven. It’s too perfect and pure for this world. Why couldn’t she be my mate?

Why am I stuck with a human that doesn’t know what I am? Life would be ~so much~ easier if I was mated to Talia. However, fate has other ideas for her.

And for me, apparently.

Eyes twinkling just at the sight of her, I give her a soft smile—the one that is reserved just for her. “I wanted to talk to you.” I pause and scan the packed hallway. “Privately.”

Talia smiles her heart-stopping smile and nods her head nervously. I love that she’s brave but shy at the same time, even around people she’s comfortable with.

I guide her into one of the empty classrooms, checking to make sure nobody is planning to intervene. I hate having my time with Talia disrupted. I used to spend a lot of time with her, alone. But recently, things have changed.

I have pack business, Talia has school, and Arden. We’re both busy ~constantly.~

Talia plops her cute butt down on the table and gives me an expectant look.

Her beautiful eyes stare into mine, and for a moment, I think about how different my life would be if we were mated. Thoughts of what it would feel like to have her stare at me with love, pure and passionate, circle my mind.

How I want that to be true. How I want her to look at me like that. I would do anything to swap places with Arden.

“So what is this all about? Been missing me too much?” she jokes, giving me a goofy smile.

Talia always manages to make me smile, no matter how shitty I’m feeling.

~Oh Talia, if only you knew how much I miss you.~

For a split second, I think about my ~real~ mate Lily.

We are not together and never will be but for a moment. I think about ~her~ making me feel like this. But then I realize that it will never happen. Mate or not, Lily is not the girl I have my eyes set on.

She will never be Talia.

Chuckling, I place myself next to her. “A little birdie has been telling me you have been having doubts about a certain important decision.”

She turns her head away from me and blows out a breath.

Hopelessness and worry flow off her in waves. She is nervous and worried she won’t be good enough. How can she not know how amazing she is? So many people aspire to be like her, to have courage and compassion like her.

Talia has always been bold yet shy. She will speak up for people who hurt her close friends—she will always be there for people when they need her, but she is shy when it comes to talking to certain people.

“I just.” She pauses and collects herself. Edging closer to her, I soften my eyes. “I can’t stop thinking that I’m not worthy enough.

My family doesn’t exactly have a high status in the pack, and my mum is seen as a traitor in the pack…”

Anger pulsates through me at the mention of her mother.

Not because I’m angry at Talia for her mother’s mistakes—I never get angry at Talia—but because of what her mother did.

She cheated on her father multiple times and then ran off with a human, leaving her mate and child behind.

That is seen as the ultimate sin in our world. A few pack members look down at her as if she’s trash.

“Arlo?”

At the sound of her sweet, silky voice, I break out of my train of thought and blink at her.

Her eyes widen in fear.

Fear of ~me.~ I hate that I made her feel like this. She should ~never~ be afraid of me. ~Ever.~

“Sorry, Talia,” I say, giving her an apologetic smile. “It just makes me mad, hearing you think like that. You should ~never~ think like that.”

Talia gives me a crooked smile.

“Talia,” I start, grasping her soft, dainty hands. It’s not very often I get to feel physical contact like this with her, so when I do, I savor it.

“You’re going to shine so brightly as the luna. You are so beautiful, kind, and intelligent. You are everything a luna should be and more. Arden is very lucky to have you.”

~So, so lucky. If only he knew how lucky.~

The corners of her lips quirk upward into a smile.

“Thanks, Arlo.” She smiles brightly like a star. “You’re the best.”

Wrapping a ~friendly~ arm around her shoulders, I gently pull her toward me.

If only she knew that I am in love with her.

“Arlo!” a familiar voice shouts down the hallway. Turning my head in the direction of the voice, I give Arden a curious look.

Arden approaches me with an eager and mischievous smile on his face. Playfully narrowing my eyes, I cock my head to the side. “Yes?”

“Why aren’t you at the party, man? I’ve been told it will be a blast,” he questions me, wondering what’s keeping me from a party. I’m usually drunk out of my mind by now, searching for a new girl to prance around with.

I think I know why I’m not, though. My ~mate~ is the reason I don’t want to.

She’s making it harder for me to look at other girls—sometimes it’s even hard to look at Talia. That ~never~ happens. Nobody can ever change how I feel about Talia.

To my utter dismay, my plans on staying away from her aren’t working very well. It appears fate really doesn’t like my attempts to avoid her. Every time I have tried to keep my distance, she is pulled to me.

First, it was by joining my friendship group. Why Talia had to choose to become friends with ~her~ of all people, I will never know.

Second, she is my partner in art class.

I have to draw her—her golden locks, sapphire blue eyes, and her delectable face. Mental images of her pounce onto me. When that prick approached us at lunch and flirted with her in front of me, I almost lost it.

I had to keep chanting ‘~she isn’t mine and she never will be.’~ I had to breathe through my nose in an attempt to calm down. She will ~not~ affect me. ~No way.~

“I have a bad headache,” I lie, knowing Arden won’t buy it.

It’s rare for werewolves to get ill. Unless it’s a life-threatening condition, we never get ill. “I was just going to sleep it off.”

Arden arches an unimpressed eyebrow at me. As I suspected, he’s not going to buy it.

“Brother, is there something you’re not telling me?”

~Yes. I have a mate whom I can’t accept because I’m in love with your own mate.~

I don’t think that would sit well with him. Not one bit.

I’m sure Arden’s wolf would break out and attack me. Werewolves can be very possessive of their mates—we’re basically very insecure creatures.

“No.” I shake my head. “I’m just tired.”

Arden presses his lips together and assesses me for a moment. “Fine.” He sighs. “But you’re still coming with me, even if it’s only for an hour.”

Before I can protest, I’m being dragged off by my brother to the party.

The party is at its wildest by the time we arrive. People are either completely wasted or very close to it.

Arden leads me into the main room, where people are dancing, making out, and gossiping.

A few girls notice me and bat their eyelashes at me seductively. Irritation washes over me when I realize I don’t feel turned on by it. I ~should~ feel horny by now.

We both walk over to the minibar and order our usual drink: Bloody Mary. It’s a tradition my family has had for generations. The Golds are the only ones who crave it.

“Where’s Talia?” I yell to Arden over the music, fully aware he can hear me perfectly well. Supernatural hearing—got to love it.

“With Lily,” he responds, leaving me tense and cold. ~Dammit,~ I curse inwardly, wishing that I hadn’t asked.

So now there’s a high chance I’m going to bump into my mate. ~Brilliant.~

After hearing the dreadful news, I swing back the drink the bartender just gave me and order another.

Soon, I’ve had ten glasses of alcohol, which is enough to make a werewolf woozy. My brother prevents me from ordering my next drink.

“What has got into you?” he queries, analyzing me with his dark eyes.

His eyebrows are knitted together while his lips are pressed together firmly.

“~Her~,” I spit, venom clear in my voice. “I don’t want her yet…”

“What?” my brother blurts out, surprise evident in his features. “What are you talking about, Arlo?”

“Nothing.” I shake my head and stand up abruptly, causing me to nearly topple to the ground. ~Now that would be a sight.~ “I’m off, don’t wait up for me.”

For some reason, I end up walking through the house, searching for something. What? I do not know.

Suddenly, feeling the effects of the drinks I had earlier, my body collides with the wall beside me.

Groaning, I shut my eyes for a second, praying the dizzy spell will pass. It doesn’t.

“Arlo?” a sweet and almost angelic voice whispers into the air. My eyes shoot open at the sound of ~her~. At the sound of Lily.

“What are you doing? Are you okay?”

A simple groan leaves my lips, giving her the answer she needs.

“You’re drunk,” she states, bitterly laughing. “Great.”

~I could say the same myself.~

“D-do you want me to help you?” she stammers uncertainly.

~No, I don’t. I want you to leave me alone. I don’t need you. I never have and I never will.~

She sighs tiredly and steps closer to me. It’s when she’s closer that I smell her hypnotic scent.

A sin in disguise. I also take the quick opportunity to check out what she’s wearing. She’s wearing a sapphire-blue dress, one that matches her eyes.

Her hair is pinned back into a firm ponytail and she’s wearing golden eyeshadow. I nearly snort at the thought: ~Arlo Gold, golden eyeshadow.~ It’s now that I also come to the sudden realization that her hair is gold.

It must just be a freaky coincidence. Lots of people have golden hair.

~But not like Lily.~

“I’m going to help you,” she says. “But I need you to help me too; I can’t carry you all by myself.”

At this point, my body has taken over.

I don’t care if she’s taking me back to my room. I just want my bed.

However, I do become aware of her body against mine when she places her arm around my back.

She lifts my own arm and puts it around her shoulder and begins dragging my drunk ass back to my room. I wonder what she thinks of me now.

“I’m sorry,” I blurt out, unaware that I just said that.

I’m hoping I will forget it in the morning. She shoots me a confused look, silently begging me to expand. “I’m sorry for being a prick. You—you don’t deserve that.”

Mate or not, nobody deserves to be ignored and spoken to as I did to her. I hope when I’m sober, I remember this.

“Okay,” she mutters and plows on. We soon make it out of the building, heading to the school dormitories.

I guide her to my room, using my muscle memory. With great difficulty, she manages to pull me into my room. I hear her panting beside me as she brings me into my room. Immediately, I feel myself whooshing through the air.

My body hits the bed with a thud.

I notice from the bed that she examines my room, more specifically, my books.

“I didn’t know you read,” I hear her say.

“Yeah,” I mumble, my words slurring together, forming incoherent words.

“You have one of my favorite books here,” she continues, edging closer to my bookshelf.

I watch with interest as she delicately takes a book out of its place and flicks through the pages. Her eyes light up with awe and admiration.

“What is it?” I ask, somehow managing to get into a sitting position.

She glances at me, her sapphire eyes meeting my brown ones. “~Wuthering Heights.~”

Shock. That’s one thing I feel as she announces her favorite book. I never would have expected that from her—not from a teenage girl.

“That’s my favorite too,” I tell her quietly.

At that moment, we form a connection that I wish I avoided. We both bonded over something we enjoyed and got to know a lot about our personalities in the process.

~This is not good.~