Mated To The Outcast, Loved By The Alpha President

Knowing Karl Oakley

Chapter 3

Knowing Karl Oakley.

Aria Silvercrest.

“So, you're saying there's more like us?” My lashes fluttered as I stared up at our handsome school president.

Karl was leaning against one of the pillars of the school, staring at me with soft eyes. A small smile stretched across his face. “The vast majority of students here are werewolves, Aria. Only a tiny number are humans, and Melisande is unfortunately one of them.”

“But…" I was still trying to wrap my mind around the revelation of what I was. A mythical creature that could switch between a human form and a werewolf form. “Everyone looked shocked. They were all scared. They saw me the same way Melissandra saw me. Like a… Monster.” My voice trailed off at the last words, a cold feeling washing over me.

“The only people who reacted were the humans, Aria.” He said, his voice getting darker, and he stretched out his hands and firmly placed them on my shoulders. “Our kind are not monsters, Aria. Always keep that in mind.”

A little blush crept up my cheeks at the contact of his warm palms against my school uniform. I lowered my face to hide the blush that was forming and nodded meekly.

I heard a light chuckle escape from his throat, and it sounded strangely comforting. “It’s either what I just said scared the hell out of me, or you’re insanely attracted to me. That's the only explanation as to why your heart is pounding as if you just ran a mile,” he teased me softly.

My hands instinctively flew up to my chest, and indeed, my heart was thrumming. Karl laughed out loud at that little gesture.

“You know that you could just listen with your ears, and you’ll hear your heartbeat?”

I shook my head. I didn’t know that. Not only that, but I only thought that I could hear other people’s heartbeats.

“I guess I have a lot to teach you, yeah?” His hands reached out the second time towards me, but this time he grabbed the stack of books that I was clutching tightly to my chest. “Come on, I’ll walk you to class.” He leaned in closer so that I was bathed in his cologne. “Let’s take the longest route so we’ll have more time to talk.” He winked at me.

This time I grinned at the little bad boy streak he had, a fresh breath from his usual sweet and charming personality. I nodded my head very fast like a little lizard and skipped happily beside him, eagerly listening to hear what he had to say.

“Are there really so many things to learn about what we are?”

He thought for a while. “Well, yeah. There are tons of things you’ve missed out on. Like, how we all came to be, how pack hierarchies work, and most importantly…” His head whipped back to my face again, and I could swear I saw a twinkle in his eye.

My curiosity was piqued. “What?” I could tell that my eyes were round and shiny.

“Ever heard of soulmates?” His voice dropped now, and his eyes got even softer.

I avoided his eyes, trying to steady my heart from racing. His eyes were distracting. Attractive, but really distracting me from my thoughts.

“Isn’t that some kind of stupid fantasy that girls always have? Soulmates don’t actually exist in real life. You’d just have to find someone to partner with and bear children, and everything would work out well if you have respect each other.”

“Is that what you really think?” He raised a perfectly arched brow, looking at me with an expression I could not really decipher.

I nodded.

“It’s different for us, Aria.” His voice was still soft, and I could hear the desire in his voice now. “We have our designed soulmates, given to us by the moon goddess. She designs everything and makes us a perfect match for each other.”

“How’s yours, then?” I asked all of a sudden, my heart clenching a little at the thought of Karl having a mate who wasn’t me.

“Oh, mine? She’s doing perfectly well. She’s like the most beautiful woman I’ve ever laid my eyes on.” My heart sank and my face fell. “The way her face lights up when she smiles makes the highlight of my day. And my heart? It beats erratically anytime she’s near me.”

I tried to narrow my hearing, and I heard it. His heart was indeed racing, and I looked around to see if there was any other girl around us.

“And now she’s whipping her head around as if searching for another woman.” Karl continued teasingly, and it took me a while to realize that I was the only girl around, and he had been talking about me all this while.

“Stop it! That’s not funny!” I slapped a hand over my face, racing out of his sight, and his heavy footsteps behind me told me he was still following me.

My heart swelled at that. “But… am I really your soulmate? Why can’t I feel it?”

“Not yet. Your wolf’s consciousness has not fully been formed; that’s why. And I will only feel the bond when your wolf is active.”

“But… you’re certain it’s me?”

His eyes held mine for a full second, and I felt countless things in that one stare. And I couldn’t help but wish that it was true… that he was my soulmate.

**

“Stay away from Karl Oakley!” A girl, a senior I recognized, held me by the scruff of my shirt and banged my back against one of the lockers. Her strength told me that she was a werewolf too because no normal human could lift me as if I was some rag doll.

“I… I’m not…” I was overwhelmed with fear, especially as I felt a vast difference in our strengths.

“I don’t give a damn that he is teaching you about the ropes of being a werewolf, Aria Silvercrest!” she said my name with so much hatred in her voice. “Stay away from my mate! He is mine, and mine forever! Take your tiny claws away from him, or I will make sure no one remembers you ever existed!” Her threat was clear, especially with the way her eyes flashed with possessiveness.

Karl said he didn’t have a soulmate… but this girl was saying something else. Could he be lying? Or was she sent by Melissandra to try to shake me up? It didn’t seem plausible, but neither did the girl look like she was bluffing.

She disappeared around the corridor as soon as she threw me to the ground. I gathered myself up despite the pain that shot up my thigh. I winced, adjusted my shirt, and began to make my way back to the dorms when something caught my eye.

It was one of my books… torn, with its pieces trailing towards the school’s swimming pool. The longer I followed the trail, the more books of mine I saw.

“Do you like what you see?” I heard a crazy taunt behind me, and I knew instantly that it was Melissandra.

I didn’t have the chance to turn around and face her when I was pushed by multiple hands towards the wide and looming swimming pool, and my mind froze as I realized one thing.

I didn’t know how to swim.