Hold Me Closer, Hate Me Harder: He Loves My Mate

Chapter Four

Another chapter of my life wasted; my dad has been yelling at me ever since I stopped by to see Jake. Apparently, Dominic came to my parents about me skipping class today and told them if I didn’t get my grades up he was going to have to drop me. If only he would. He wouldn’t give me to some other classroom, especially after this morning when he overheard me talking about sleeping with Jude. He was hurt, I could tell, but it’s not like I meant to hurt him. I didn’t want to sleep with Jude. Now he would want to keep an eye on me to make sure I’m not sleeping with anyone else. It’s like I’m in prison here! “That’s it! After your classes you are to come back here every day! You are moving back home!” Dad yelled.

“What?! No, I’m not!”

“You are because you are my daughter and I say you are!”

“Yeah, you keep reminding me! Why can’t I have my own life?!” I sprinted from the house and ran through the path in the woods. I didn’t care if I tore my clothes in the midst of forming, I just ran. Ran until my paws were barely touching the ground, I ran until my legs ached and became weak. And when I did, I fell to the ground on some soft, green moss and whimpered. The day sky slowly turned to stars and the moon replaced the sun. The moon was bigger and brighter than the sun and it always soothed me when I was upset. So, I let the moon do its work as I closed my eyes and tried to drift off.

My head shot up and I looked around the dark forest. A strong musky smell filled my nose. I stuck my nose high in the air to get a better whiff when a crack of sticks sounded in the distance. I lowered my head and showed my teeth, letting out a low growl. “Don’t get your tail in a bunch, woman!” His voice came into my head after two bright yellow eyes came through the dark.

“Go away John!” I warned. He snarled at me and his brown fluffy body fell next to mine.

“Keep cool girl, I’m not here to antagonize,” He said. I rested my head on my paws and snapped my jaw at him.

“Then why are you here?”

“Your father wanted me to follow you, make sure you got back to the dorm.”

“He sent you? My father is one stupid bastard.” I sighed and closed my eyes again. John was the last person I wanted to be by my side right now. I shifted my body a few inches away from him and tried to fall asleep but it seemed impossible with two little yellow eyes staring at me. “Don’t you have anything better to do?”

“Not really.” I heard him shake his fur, probably shooing the flies away that kept buzzing around us, and groan. “Let me take you out tonight.” I snorted at him. Then, something ran across my mind that made me jump to my feet and take off through the trees. John was quickly at my heels. “What are you doing?”

“I forgot about David!”

“Who?” He asked.

“My best friend. I’m supposed to be going out tonight with him!” Unsure of why I was telling him this, I picked up my speed. My legs threatened to give out from under me but I kept on going. I hadn’t seen David in years and I wasn’t going to blow it tonight to hang with John. We broke through the entrance and right up to the house. I didn’t bother stopping to form, mostly because I would be naked, and ran up the stairs. Mom’s shrieks followed me up as I formed and looked for clothes in my old room that still had some old clothes of mine in them.

**

David laughed at my misfortune and licked the melting ice cream off his hand. We had been circling the Fair Grounds for a half an hour talking about our years in high school. I had finished telling him why I was late again when we stopped in front of the Ferris wheel. “You want to go up?” He asked, leaning his head back and staring up at the very top of the ride. I shuddered at the thought of getting stuck on it. He must have seen it because he chuckled at me. “Are you afraid of heights?”

“Kind of,” I whimpered. I couldn’t even look up or I’d feel like I would fall backwards.

“Since when?”

“Since…” I paused, my attention losing him and following a familiar figure holding hands with a young girl. They laughed together as they made their way to a game stand. My ice cream slipped from my hand and splattered on the ground.

“Nellie?”

“Uh…sorry David. I thought I saw someone I knew. Could you hold on for a minute?” He nodded looking confused as I started walking towards the couple. As I neared them I heard a bit of their conversation as the male grabbed a baseball from the Carney.

“Okay, you throw it but if you win I want that teddy bear,” the girl laughed. She stood up on her tip toes and pointed to a large pink bear hanging above their heads.

“Dominic?” The man, with a large smile on his face, turned to me with his arm back ready to throw the ball. His arm dropped along with his smile when he seen me. I glanced from him to the little blonde girl that stared at me, confused.

“Nell, what-uh…what are you doing here?” He asked. I stuck my hip out and placed my hand on it as a smirk played at my lips.

“I’m here with a friend,” I answered. Dom blinked at me for a moment then peeked around me at David. His jaw clenched. “Who’s this?” He looked at the girl then back at me.

“This is an old friend of mine, Meagan.” I slowly nodded my head at him. The girl almost looked afraid of me. Her pale skin shined against the light of the carnival stand. “Meagan, this is Nellie.” When he said that her face lit up and she quickly stuck her hand out in front of her.

“Oh, hi! I was wondering when I was going to meet you!” I raised my eyebrows as I took her hand. “Dominic has told me so much about you!”

“Oh?” I glanced from her to Dom. He brushed the back of his neck with his hand without looking at me.

“Nice to meet you!” She squeaked.

“You too…Well I should get back to my friend. I only have him for the night,” I laughed. She laughed too and dropped her hand. “See you tomorrow, Mr. Keith.” She giggled when I called him that and I turned my back to her.

“See you, Nell,” Dom said low. I acted as if I didn’t hear him. I don’t know if it was jealousy or distrust but I didn’t like him with her. But why should I care? I slept someone else and I denied him. If he wants to date around then more power to him. The thoughts made me angry towards him. David’s smiling face came into view as I neared him and it put me in a little better mood.

“You’re teacher? Do you normally say hi to your teachers outside of school? Last time I knew you hated all your teachers.” He laughed.

“Yeah well like I said, he’s a family friend. It’s hard to get away from him.” He laughed again and we headed deep into the Fair to ride some rides. I shot Dom a quick glance over my shoulder, catching his eye as the little blonde girl failed at throwing the ball.

My eyes were threatening to close as I slipped lower in my seat. Mr. Keith was talking at the front of the class and the students copied what he was writing on the board. The sleepless night hit me like bricks. Brienne sat on her phone all night talking to Mark. The room hasn’t been cleaned all day and I still had yet to pack my stuff. I didn’t want to leave but maybe spending more time away from Dom was better. Questions floated around in my head about the girl from last night but I knew asking would be wrong. “Nell.” Dom’s voice was so close. My eyes cracked open to his handsome face.

“Hmm?” Was the only thing I could say.

“Are you falling asleep in my class? I don’t think you can afford a nap.” I yawned and straightened up in my seat. I opened my eyes as he turned his back to me and I stuck my tongue out at him. Then, a familiar smell filled the room as someone walked into the classroom. My heart raced at what I was afraid was going to happen. Dom noticed it too, his eyes darting towards the door and turning black. His jaw clenched.

“Hey Mr. K,” Jude laughed. “Mind if I borrow Nell for a sec?” The thick board marker in Dom’s hand snapped with little force. The mistakes of the night before came back to me and I groaned.

“No you may not.” Dom’s voice was firm. He was trying to calm himself before running over and ripping Jude’s head off. I knew him all too well.

“It’ll only take a sec.” Before Dom opened his mouth I stood up and jumped away from my seat towards the door. I glanced back at Dom, whose face turned red. When I was outside I crossed my arms and glared up into his gorgeous eyes.

“What do you want Jude? I am in the middle of learning,” I said stupidly. I added the last part for Dom who I knew was listening.

“Mark and I are planning a trip to California for a few weeks. We thought maybe you and your friend would want to tag along, ya know…keep us company.” I let my arms drop to my side and sighed.

“I can’t Jude. My parents would never let me go away for that long. I’m failing school and have kind of a crisis on my hands…” I paused. For some reason I started thinking of last night when Dom walked hand in hand with that girl. I know I destroyed him by sleeping with Jude but I wasn’t going to give him satisfaction until I knew who the girl was. “You know what? Count me in! I’ll talk to Brienne tonight but I’m sure she’ll agree!”

“Great!” He leaned down and pecked me on the lips then left me there to face my mate. Not wanting to hear Dom's complaints, I stuck my head in the classroom.

"I'll catch you later Mr. Keith. I need to go do something.” I didn't wait for him to chase after me. I ran down the hall at more than a normal speed. There were no students in the hall so I was safe. I made it back to my dorm in no time and quickly locked myself in. My hands worked fast to pack all my stuff and in less than thirty minutes everything was in the suitcases and ready to be taken out. The bell rang for next hour and quickly there was a knock at the door.

"Nell?" Dom's voice followed another loud knock. I sighed and glided towards the door, placing my ear against it.

"What do you want Dominic?"

"I want to talk.”

"Then tell me about that girl.” Silence crept over us and for a moment I had thought he had gone. "Dom?"

"She's an old friend, I told you that! Let me in!"

"Uh, Mr. Keith?" Brienne sounded from the other side of the door. Once I heard her I flung the door open, causing both Dom and Brienne to stare at me. "Nells, what's going on?"

"Uh...nothing.” Dom turned back to her, trying to sound as normal as he could through the anger that wanted to burst out.

"I need to talk to Nellie alone." He said. She looked from him back to me.

"Whatever. I just need my notebook" She pushed past Dom and went to her bedside where she shuffled through her stuff. The room was quiet and awkward. Dom leaned back against the door and stared at the floor. When Brienne was done she came up to me. "Mark told me about the trip. Are you going too?" I just nodded. I could have sworn I heard Dom's teeth scrap against each other.

"Well if things are going to be anything like last night, this road trip is going to be awesome!" She gave me an excited smile and turned away. "See ya, Mr. Keith."

"Yeah," He answered. He slammed the door behind her as I turned to close my last suitcase. "You're not going on that trip!"

"Excuse me?" I turned back to him. "Who are you to tell me where I can and can't go?"

"You are NOT going Bell! I will make sure of it!"

"What? Are you going to call my parents?" I snapped. He raised his eyebrows. "I can't hang out with friends but you can prance all over with little miss goldilocks? Screw you Dom!" Angrily, I zipped the bag up and slammed it on the floor.

"I wasn't sleeping with her!" I snorted at him.

"Yeah well no one is stopping you! You don't have to waste your life waiting for me! I have told you a thousand times before, I want to live my life and that means having different partners." He didn't seem to like that last comment. His face turned red and his eyes went cold.

"There is no way in hell that I'm letting you leave! If I have to call your parents then I will!" I could feel the anger rise throughout my body. I guess I wouldn't blame him; if my mate wanted nothing to do with me and wanted to go out with someone else I would be pretty ticked off too. He just doesn't see that I am still young and want to experience stuff before I have to grow up and take care of the pack. He was being so selfish right now and I couldn't stand being near him anymore. I pushed him aside and ran out the door.