Caught Between Multiple Mates

Chapter 4: Zack POV

I was 13 years old the day I phased for the first time. I was so excited that I wanted to tell Annalise before anyone else. I had told my parents she was my mate, I sensed it.

“Human mates are not unusual these days, but at your age you may scare the girl. Be careful you don't expose us to unnecessary people," my father reminded me at the Shifting Ceremony.

I went for my first run at midnight. I had planned on telling Annalise at school and asking her out on an official date so I could explain mates to her. To my surprise I found Annalise wandering around in the forest. I felt my wolf cry that we had found our mate. I ran to her and playfully pounced on her for cuddles. I'm not sure why I was surprised but I was when she started crying and shaking.

“Oh my God! A wolf! Someone help me!"

I didn't know how to shift back yet. My mother said they would teach me when I returned. Annalise seemed to be going into shock when I yipped and licked her face. I was trying to comfort her. When she calmed down and touched my fur she told me how beautiful I was. That got me excited. My mate was accepting my wolf!

Mark mate!

My wolf kept telling me to mark her. It would strengthen the bond, he said. She and I played around for a while. When she started to say goodbye I jumped on her again. This time, I licked her face and nuzzled the crook of her neck. I lapped at her spot a few times. She was giggling. She liked me! So yes I bit down, I marked her.

I just didn't expect her to start screaming and struggling. Before I could retract my teeth she thrashed around, causing my teeth to do further damage to her flesh. Blood gushed from the spot and I panicked. In my attempt to retreat my paw scratched down her face. More blood. I felt all of her pain through the bond.

I will never forgive myself for this but I ran away. My intention was to get my father and mother to help her. But the Moon Goddess was teasing me. In the same forest there was a different creature roaming, one who would covet what wasn't his.

When I returned to the spot where I left a bleeding Annalise all we found was her b****y sweater. She was gone. I sniffed the garment and found the scent of a vampire. I assumed he took my mate but didn't kill her because I would have felt her death.

My parents helped me look for Annalise for days. Eventually a receptionist at the hospital admitted they had an unidentified minor in the ICU. My dad was a police officer as well as the pack Beta. He convinced them to let us see the unidentified girl. They wouldn't let me go in the room but I recognized her and my mark through the glass door. I wanted so badly to see her.

I moped around for weeks waiting for my mate to return to school. I needed to explain my behavior. Unfortunately rumors started flying around that Annalise had been attacked by an animal and was being kept under observation because she claimed to have been attacked by a monster. No one took her version of events seriously. And sadly my parents said I couldn't vouch for her without revealing our pack.

When Annalise did return to school she had a scar running the length of her face. She also had my mark and a different mystery mark, like a vampire bite, right above it. The thought of a vampire, my natural enemy, touching and marking what was mine infuriated me.

When she approached me I smelt him on her and I lost control. My jealousy was overwhelming but instead of talking to her about what happened and why, I became enraged. I ended up going on a rant and said terrible things to her. I don't know why I did that. After I told her to never speak to me again she looked at me with the most heartbreaking expression as if I had ripped away her last lifeline.

I didn't notice at first because I was still angry but she stopped coming to school. I didn't see her for months. When I did see her again we were in the same class, she had to repeat the 8th grade.

There were whispers on the first day of school about how she had stopped talking. Some people thought she was seeking attention. That infuriated me more. What was her game? She approached me once trying to hand me a note. I ripped it up in front of her and told her I was rejecting her. She stared at me with wide eyes that eventually became soaked with tears. I stormed off, ignoring the pain in my chest. Eventually I became numb to the pain. The one to do the rejecting was never as pained as the rejectee.

Rumors flew around school about Annalise being crazy. I knew she wasn't crazy but I was insecure and angry. I let my anger get in the way of what should have been a beautiful mate bond.

And even now I'm letting her down. I have for years. She is human so she never accepted the rejection, most likely not understanding. She didn't know what I was or how to deal with what was happening. That was the hardest part. I knew how to release her but at the same time I wouldn't. I'm selfish. Even if I didn't want her I didn't want anyone else to have her either. As long as she didn't accept my rejection no one else could have her love, which was being held under lock and key by the Moon Goddess. It was a loop hole I'd been taught about as a pup. Until the rejection was accepted the bond remained in Limbo.

On the first day of senior year I smelt an unfamiliar vampire on campus and I cursed the school for letting blood suckers in. When I came face to face with the new teacher something was off but I couldn't quite put my finger on it. Then I noticed his interest in my mate and I realized the situation. He was the beast that ruined our lives!