CHAPTER 3
1162 Words
POV: KAEL.
The ball bounces once, twice. I dribble it, spin, shoot and miss. Again.
“Damn it!”
"Kael! What the hell, man?"
The coach's voice cuts through the gym, but I barely hear him. My eyes are glued to the far side, where she stands. Sera. Human. New. Mine.
I can still smell her. The way her scent hit me like a slap. Rain-soaked earth and fire and something softer underneath, something that burns. She has no idea what she is to me. But I know.
Mate.
“Kael!”
I flinch at the sound before I grab the ball.
“Sorry, coach,” I call before I shoot again. The ball bounces off the rim.
"Kael, is your head in the game or not?"
"Yeah, sorry, coach,” I mumble, wiping my hands down my shorts. “I am just a little… out of sorts.”
Sweat stings my neck. My wolf won’t shut up. Pacing. Whining. Growling. Watching her. Always watching her.
“Is this why you were so antsy to get to school this morning?” I ask my wolf. “Because of her?”
“I didn't know our true mate was going to show up,” he grumbles at me. “But look at the bright side. We don't have to mate with ice queen Aria.”
"In case you haven't noticed, she is human.”
“And the elders will never accept her as my mate.”
“Since when did their word rank higher than that of the Goddess? What right did they have to disagree with your ordained mate?”
“Since I was born the heir of the pack!”
“You guys and your politics. You create unnecessary problems for yourselves.”
“That-”
“Kael!” The coach's voice interrupts me.
“Sorry!”
“Get your head in the game, damn it!”
“Yes.”
Eli slides up to me and mutters, "You good? That is the third shot you have missed."
"I'm fine."
"You don’t look fine. You look like you saw a ghost. Or, I don’t know, your soulmate or something."
I shoot him a look. Too close.
"Shut up and get back into position. The humans are watching."
"Jeez, okay. Chill. Just… get yourself in order. Coach is this close to taking your head."
I try. I do. I run drills. I push through layups. But every time I glance across the gym, she is there, calling my attention back to her.
Like a magnet.
She is sitting off to the side, twisting her fingers in her lap. Watching the other girls fly and flip and shout.
She is not cheering. She is not clapping. She is just there, and it’s like she can't be bothered or unfazed.
A quiet contentment and strength.
“A fitting trait for a Luna,” my wolf whispers, and I almost run into Mason during a pass.
"Kael, you wanna wake up or what?" he snaps.
"Yeah. Whatever."
"You okay?" Coach yells again.
No. Not even a little bit.
They call out for the cheer tryouts next to us, and I know I should be ignoring them. I usually do. But when Coach calls a timeout and we stop to hydrate, I can't help it. My eyes find her.
She’s on the mat now. Standing awkwardly next to Aria, who looks like she is barely hiding her sneer. Of course, Aria’s leading the tryouts. Of course, she’s going to make it hard for her.
Why the elders think that she should be the Luna of the pack is beyond me.
There is nothing soft or nurturing about her.
Only dominance.
“A dangerous trait for a Luna,” my wolf comments.
“Would you shut up?!” I snarl at him.
I can feel the tension radiating across the court. Aria steps back, arms folded, and gives Sera a nod. "Okay then, show us what you have got."
I lean forward without meaning to and watch as she takes a breath. Bounces once on her feet, then runs.
A simple tumble. A cartwheel, maybe. Nothing complex. But halfway through, she stumbles. Her foot slips and she hits the mat hard.
Something snaps in me, and it's only by sheer will that I don't shift right there.
I am about to hurry up to her when I stop myself.
It won't be smart to go to her now.
Not when everyone is watching.
The coach calls for the next play, and I run through the next play like a hurricane. Mason lobs the ball my way, and I catch it with both hands, pivot, launch it with every ounce of force I have.
CRACK.
The goalpost splits with a sickening sound as the ball blasts through the net, smashes into the wall, ricochets.
Someone screams. The goalie, Jonas, poor guy, clutches his arm and curses.
"What the hell was that?!" Coach shouts.
Everyone’s staring.
Everyone.
Even her.
Sera’s on her feet now. Not hurt. But wide-eyed.
My chest heaves. My hands shake. I can’t do this.
"I’m out," I mutter.
"Kael, get back here!"
I don’t stop. I push through the doors and out into the hall. The cold air hits me like a slap, and I lean against the lockers, trying not to shift.
My wolf wants to go to her. Wants to curl around her. Snarl at the ones who let her fall. Rip Aria in two for smirking.
"Kael!" Of course.
Aria storms after me, her ponytail swaying like she’s in some damn music video. "What was that? You almost took Jonas’s head off."
"It was an accident."
"Since when do you miss? Since when do you break the goalpost like you are trying to end someone’s life?"
"Let it go, Aria."
She steps in front of me, arms crossed. "You were watching her. The new girl. I saw you. Don’t deny it."
I stay silent.
“Why?” Her eyes narrow. "You don’t even know her. And she just got in last night."
"I said let it go."
"Why? Are you planning on sampling a human? A rite of passage, as they call it?"
I slam my fist into the locker behind her. Not hard enough to dent it. Just enough to make her flinch.
"Back off."
She stares at me like I’ve grown another head. And maybe I have.
She huffs. "You’re such a freak sometimes."
I let her leave.
When the hall is quiet again, I slide down the lockers and sit. Knees up. Hands buried in my hair.
Why now?
Why her?
My mate. My literal, soul-bonded mate. And she’s human. Not the girl they picked. Not from the bloodline they want. Not even close.
I’m supposed to be mated in two months. The Binding Moon. My people planned it.
But then she walked in.
And everything changed.
And I have no idea what the hell I’m supposed to do now.
- Writer
