The Alpha And The Rogue

Seven

Venus POV

"Are you going to the party tonight?" I asked Harvey. We were standing at our lockers to retrieve the textbooks we'd need over the weekend.

I hadn't thought it was such a big deal when I sort of agreed to go, but now that it was Friday I was feeling anxious about the whole party thing. I'd be less nervous if Harvey was there with me. We've been getting closer these past few days and it'd be comforting to have a friendly face there.

"Yeah. I was planning on it." He said whilst shoving books into his backpack.

"Would you take me there? I'm actually not quite sure how to get there."

"Of course. I can pick you up at eight."

"Thank you so much. I really could use a friend with me tonight." I told him.

He placed his hand over his heart as if I'd wounded him. "You know it stings a little every time you friend zone me."

I playfully glared at him knowing he was joking. He knew that Hunter and I were mates but that never stopped him from kidding about us being together.

"Good. I want it to hurt."

"You're an awful friend sometimes, you know that?"

"Yeah, but you still love me." I shrugged at him.

"I guess."

"I'll see you at eight."

"See ya."

On that note, we parted ways so we could each head home before meeting up later. I walked through the parking lot to my car, but was stopped before I could enter it and leave.

"Hey."

I turned around to see that Hunter was now standing in front of my car.

"What do you want, Hunter?" I would never admit it out loud, but I secretly loved saying his name. It rolled off my tongue smoothly and made me feel butterflies inside my stomach.

"I just want to see if you're still thinking about coming to the party." He said.

"Yeah, I'm going. Harvey will be driving me over there."

"What's going on with you and him?" He tried to sound nonchalant about it, but I could tell by the way his fists clenched that he didn't like me being around Harvey. The past few days he's only attempted small talk with me and hasn't acted overly possessive. I knew our friendship still bothered him and I gave him credit for trying not to show it.

"That's not exactly any of your business." I told him.

He took many steps forward until he was right up in front of me. I got so lost in his beautiful green eyes that my train of thoughts left me.

"No, but I want it to be. Sometimes it nearly kills me to see you with him. I could learn to be ok with him being your friend, but if you ever got together with him I couldn't survive knowing you were with him and not me."

He looked at me so intensely I didn't dare argue with him.

"We're just friends. We won't ever be anything else, I swear."

"Ok. I'll see you at the party. " He stepped back and left me standing there dumbfounded.

I had been so sure of myself that I could fight against the mate bond. Instead, the minute he got close to me I lost all of my common sense.

If I was going to be able to survive my time here, I needed to keep Hunter at an arm's length away from me. Love only led to despair in the end. I couldn't let myself turn out the same way my dad did once he lost mom. It couldn't be that for me and I wouldn't let it.

***********************

I looked myself over in the mirror once more before I had to leave. I wore a dark red spaghetti strapped dress. It hugged every single one of my curves and dipped low in the front to show my cleavage. The hemline fell around my mid thigh, so I was thankful it wasn't too short also.

A knock sounded at the door, letting me know that Harvey had come to drive me to the pack house. I waltzed over to my front door to greet him.

When I opened the door, Harvey did a double take and his eyes practically bulged out of his head. He could be quite the player sometimes and though we were friends, he never felt bad about checking me out.

"Your mate is going to flip when he sees you wearing this."

"Does that mean you like it?"

"Every male wolf, mated or not, would like this dress. It's hot." He complimented.

"Thank you. You don't look too bad yourself." In truth, he did look good. He had cleaned up more than he usually did for school. Tonight his blonde hair was pulled back in a bun and he wore a turquoise button down that brought out the blue of his eyes.

"Thanks."

"Are you ready to go?"

"Yeah."

Together we left my apartment and rode to the pack house in his truck.

The party was already in full swing by the time we arrived. The music could be heard all the way from the street that was full of cars lined up on the sides. Harvey wasn't able to find a spot to park anywhere close, so instead of making me walk a long distance in my stilettos, he dropped me off at the end of the driveway while he drove off to park somewhere.

Stepping through the doorway alone, I immediately felt out of place. Most everyone was unfamiliar to me. I could see faces from school throughout the crowd, but no one I felt comfortable talking with.

The living room was packed with people dancing to the beat of the music and I knew that wasn't a place I wanted to be at that moment. Trying to look less awkward, I moved towards the kitchen. A drink could help me right now and there I could wait for Harvey to come in.

I grabbed myself a red solo cup from the stack on the counter and filled it halfway with beer. When I turned around, I spotted a redhead that I knew standing in the corner with some other girls.

It hadn't been a great day for me the first time she tried to talk to me in math class. A bundle of nerves set in my stomach as I walked towards her, hoping she wouldn't hold our first meeting against me.

"Hey, Sheila!" I said getting her attention.

She turned to me with a wide smile. "Hey! I'm so glad you made it!"

"Me too! This is a really cool party!" It was so loud in there I had to shout just to hear even myself.

"They always are!" She turned to the other girls so that she could introduce them to me. "These are my friends, Tori and Jade!"

Tori had hair so dark it was almost black and a hooked nose. She was also tall and built in stature making her look very intimidating. Jade also had dark brown hair and she had startling green eyes. Her features reminded me of someone else and it took my a moment to realize how much she resembled Hunter. There wasn't a doubt in my mind that she was Hunter's sister.

"Hi, I'm Venus!"

Instead of staying to talk longer with them, I excused myself politely because Harvey had entered the house. Together we went to the basement where the music could still be heard but was not blaring in our ears.

In the basement, there was a cozy den full of leather couches and it even had a fireplace. There were still people down there but it wasn't as crowded as the upstairs. Off to the side was a pool table. Without much else to do I suggested we play.

"That sounds like a good idea. It looks like these guys are almost done." Harvey said. It was really only a few more minutes before one of the guys finally sunk the eight ball into one of the pockets.

With no one else wanting to play, Harvey and I completed two games by ourselves. Throughout the games we laughed and taunted one another until someone finally won. The score was one to one after the second game.

"Best two out of three." I challenged.

"Fine. I need to get a drink first."

"Will you bring me back one too, please?" I asked him politely.

"Sure thing. I'll see you in a bit."

While Harvey headed upstairs, I arranged the pool balls in order so they'd be ready for our third game.