Snapped

RORY

The last thing I expected to see when I walked into class today was my mate with his arm wrapped around my professor’s neck.

“Everett!” I cry out, horrified. “What’s going on!?”

“Stay out of this, Aurora,” he growls, slamming Xander down on his desk and sending papers flying everywhere.

Everett’s bicep presses tighter against Xander’s throat, whose face is growing beet-red as he struggles hopelessly against my mate’s inhuman strength.

“Let him go!” I scream. “You’re hurting him!”

“Aurora, get out of here!” he roars. “This is between me and him.”

His eyes flash with a fury that would make anyone in the world want to turn and sprint in the opposite direction.

But I’m his mate, and I’m not scared of him.

So I take another step closer. “Please, Everett…,” I plead. “Whatever this is about, let’s just talk about it.”

I can tell his mind is racing, debating whether or not to listen to me. But then, after a moment’s hesitation, he suddenly lets go of the Professor.

Xander drops to the floor like a ragdoll, gasping for breath. I meet Everett’s furious glare, feeling my own anger bubbling up inside me.

~How the hell could he just barge in here like that?~

~Xander did nothing wrong.~

Sure, my mate can be overprotective, but since Xander did absolutely nothing wrong, this is way too far.

“Are you okay, Professor?” I say, rushing over to Xander and helping him to his feet.

“Yes, yes, thank you, Aurora,” he says, adjusting his crooked glasses. “As you can see, I’ve finally had the pleasure of meeting your ~charming~ mate.”

I turn back to Everett, who looks even more pissed as he watches me comfort the professor.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” I cry out bitterly.

“It seems as if there’s a misunderstanding about what’s going on between us,” Xander says.

“MISUNDERSTANDING?” Everett roars. “Tell me, how could I possibly misunderstand ~this?~”

He pulls a picture from his pocket, shoving it in my face.

~Oh my Goddess…~

My heart drops when I see a picture of Xander and me.

We’re sitting across from each other in the university cafe. We’re staring into each other’s eyes, and my hand is gripping his.

This was the ~exact~ moment I healed the cut on Xander’s hand.

But by the way it looks in the picture, I could see why Everett would think Xander and I are in the middle of some romantic date!

Suddenly, all of Everett’s jealousy makes sense.

~Who the hell took this picture?~

~And why would they try to do this?~

“Everett, this isn’t what it looks like…,” I stutter.

“Right,” he says bitterly. “Just normal, everyday office hours.”

He runs his fingers through his hair, trying to calm himself. The rage has disappeared from his eyes, leaving only deep, bitter sadness.

My mate looks heartbroken.

I hate that he would even think I could be with someone other than him.

My mind starts racing as I try to figure out how to fix all this. I want to throw my arms around him and explain to him exactly how this happened, but since I don’t know who took the picture, I’m at a loss for words.

Then suddenly, my eyes widen as I remember Mia’s snide comments at the coffee shop.

~That bitch…she was there too!~

~It must’ve been her!~

I’ve dealt with bullies my whole life, but this…this is something else entirely. It’s genuinely psychotic.

“Mia,” I tell Everett. “She was there, at the coffee shop, and she must’ve taken this picture when I was healing a cut on Xander’s hand.”

I move another step toward Everett, who searches my face with a pained expression. He looks so torn.

I’m not sure if he believes me.

I can tell he wants to, but I honestly understand how bad this all looks…

“Please, Everett…,” I say softly. “Nothing happened.”

I reach out and grab his hand comfortingly, placing it on my cheek.

“Trust me. Please.”

***

EVERETT

I close my eyes, feeling her warm, soft skin against my hand. Just a single touch from my mate instantly calms me.

But I’m not sure what to do.

A part of me wants to give in, to pull her close, to believe every word she’s saying.

But the other part of me doesn’t believe her and wants to finish what I started with the professor.

Ever since I saw that picture, I couldn’t stop obsessing over what had happened between them.

The more I thought about it, the worse it got, and the more I felt like a damn fool for ignoring all the obvious signs right in front of me.

~The long hours that she’d been spending here with Xander.~

~The way she lit up whenever she talked about him.~

And even though I was furious at her, I felt that it was all my fault. I’d been so absorbed with uniting the pack that I hadn’t been able to give my mate the love that she needed.

It all felt so logical, like putting together pieces of a puzzle.

I was ~sure~ that I’d lost Aurora to another man.

But now that I look at her—at those big, beautiful eyes staring right into me—I feel like the picture I’d put together might be completely wrong.

~“Look at your perfect mate,”~ Chaos says. ~“She’s yours, forever. She would never hurt us.”~

For once, Chaos is the one bringing ~me~ back down to Earth.

I put my other hand on Aurora’s cheek, holding her face, feeling the bliss of her touch flood my body.

Because of our mate bond, I can actually feel all the emotions coursing through her. I can feel that she’s scared of losing me, but she’s also calm, because she knows our love is just as strong as the day I marked her.

And suddenly, I realize that all of that love is ~mine~—and only mine.

It doesn’t belong to anyone else.

I pull her into my arms, feel her body meld into mine.

“I believe you,” I whisper, feeling relief spread throughout my whole body.

“I love you, Everett,” she says. “I would never do anything to hurt you.”

I lean down and kiss her, and she returns it with passion.

“I’m sorry, little one,” I whisper breathlessly.

“It’s okay,” she says, leaning down and nuzzling her nose against my chest. “But…I think there might be someone else you should be apologizing to.”

I turn to Xander, who’s awkwardly picking up the scattered exams all over the floor.

“Ah shit, I forgot he was even here…,” I mutter. But Aurora jabs me lightly in the ribs, urging me on.

“Professor…I’m sorry for choking you,” I grumble. “I was out of line.”

Xander stands up, stacking the papers on his desk and flashing an awkward smile.

“Well, I wouldn’t expect anything else from an alpha,” he says. “I’ll accept your apology under one condition.”

I frown. ~What the hell is he talking about?~

“Aurora and I have lots of work to do,” he says, turning to me. “And I’d like you to be able to trust me enough to spend time with her. So I’d like you both to have dinner at my house. Tomorrow night, eight o’clock?”

Both Aurora and I share a look of shock.

I just tried to strangle this guy, and now he’s inviting us for dinner?

“Um, we’d love to, Professor!” Aurora says, turning to me. “Right, Everett?”

I let out a sigh. I guess I owe this one to her.

“Yes, of course,” I say, putting on my best friendly smile. “That sounds great.”

“Fantastic,” he says, looking remarkably happy for someone who just got choked. “I’ll see you then!”

***

RORY

I’ve only been at Lupus University for a short time now, but I’ve got to say—that might have been the weirdest class yet.

I’ll have to deal with Mia when I see her next, but for now, I’m just happy Everett and I worked everything out.

Everett pushes open the giant doors of the School of Divination and holds them open for me as we walk outside.

It’s a beautiful day, and scattered all over the grassy quad are students sitting in groups in the shade or playing fetch in their wolf form.

Everett puts his arm around me, pulling me close and steadying me so I don’t trip down the stairs leading down to the grassy lawn.

“Careful you don’t accidentally choke me, too,” I say jokingly, squeezing his arm.

“Only if you ask me to,” he growls, making me laugh.

Other students give me polite smiles as we pass them, but not daring to make eye contact with an alpha like Everett. Normally, I’m just the human girl walking to class by myself, but with him, I feel like the most popular girl in school.

“I want this whole board, like, covered!” I hear a shrill, girly voice call out. “This has to be the best party of the year. You all hear me?”

~Speak of the devil.~

I turn to see Mia standing by a bulletin board, bossing around a posse of her Red Moon minions, ordering the girls to furiously staple posters to the wall.

“That’s Mia, right?” Everett asks, noticing my glare.

“Yeah. That’s her,” I growl.

I can feel his body tensing up with rage as he takes a step toward her, but I put my arm out to stop him.

Mia has had it out for me since the first day I started here. This is my fight, not Everett’s.

“Trust me, it would actually make her day if the alpha gave her some attention,” I tell him. “Let me handle this.”

He nods hesitantly, watching as I storm up to her.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing, Mia?” I cry out.

“Oh, hi, Aurora,” she says, acting surprised to see me. “Just putting up some flyers for our sorority’s Date Dash party tonight. The only requirement…you have to be single and ready to mingle.”

An evil smirk grows on her sparkling, pink glossy lips. “You wouldn’t happen to be recently single, would you?”

“Why would you do that, Mia?” I ask angrily. “Why would you send Everett that picture?”

“Well, I just thought an alpha should know what his luna is getting up to,” she says, savoring the look of anger on my face.

I can’t believe that she’s treating my relationship with Everett like it’s some game.

It’s not a game. It’s my life.

And I want her to stay the hell out of it.

“I’ve dealt with jealous, petty girls like you my whole life,” I say angrily. “But I’m not some weak little girl you can torture all you want.”

Anger rises up in me, and I give her a shove, pinning her up against the bulletin board. The other girls shriek and leap out of the way, staring in disbelief.

“I am your luna,” I tell her. “And if you so much as say one more word to me…the next party you’ll be going to is one with the ~rogues.”~

Her eyes widen, and now it’s my turn to savor the look of terror in her eyes.

But then, I let her go, turning and walking back to Everett.

“Goddess, Aurora…,” Everett says in disbelief. “That was…incredible.”

My heart is racing, my body is trembling with adrenaline, and I feel like I want to scream at the top of my lungs.

But most importantly, I’m grinning from ear-to-ear.

~I have a feeling Mia won’t be much of a problem anymore.~