Rise of the Alpha
Chapter 7

Magnolia

“Mate,” my wolf calls out with longing.

This can’t be! I’ve finally found the owner of the amazing cedarwood scent that’s been haunting me since this morning on the plane. But my mate?

True mates were a children’s fairy tale in our pack, and even though I often dreamed of having one, that’s all I thought it was. A dream. It was a known fact when the female population declined, the mate bond disappeared.

Shit! Shit! Shit! My father’s going to kill me. He’ll pull me from the school before I even get the chance to attend one class. How in the heavens can this be?

I’m so lost in my thoughts, listening to my wolf screaming that she found her mate, I don’t even notice how close he’s moved towards me until his lips slam down on mine as he growls out, “Mate”.

No! I can’t! Using all my force, I reach my arms up between our bodies, placing the palms of my hands firmly on his chest, and push. Strength fills my body, and I’m able to knock him back so hard he stumbles, barely catching his balance.

Tears fill my eyes. So much has happened today. I’m overwhelmed, and I can’t deal. Turning to a stunned Wylla, I whisper with a creaky voice, “I’m getting out of here. I’ll see you later.” Then I run, as fast as I can, on the damn heels she has me wearing, straight for the wood line.

I constantly check over my shoulder, but he doesn’t follow. Maybe my wolf is wrong. Shouldn’t he have followed me?

“Not wrong. Mate. Our Mate. Need him,” she whines.

Trying to console her, I remind her the mate bond doesn’t exist. We can’t be with anyone or we will lose our freedom. What little we have anyways. Once I’m covered by the wood line, I take off my clothes, place my shoes and panties inside my dress, and do my best to turn it into a bag to hold my items. Once I’ve done that, I allow my wolf to come forward.

My wolf picks up the dress holding the rest of my things in her mouth and takes off in a sprint. I let my wolf run the distance back to my dorm as I try to clear my head. Needless to say, I resolved nothing, and I’m just as confused now as I was earlier.

My wolf begs to return to the dance and claim our mate, but I deny her that chance, pushing her closer to our dorm. Once we reach the edge of the wood line, I shift back and quickly dress.

God, I hope I haven’t scared Wylla off from being my friend. F**k, how am I going to handle my attraction to her, the mystery man outside the bathroom, the upstairs neighbor, and now a f*****g mate?

I have to keep this from my father. One slip of the tongue, and he’ll have me packed and out of here before I could even blink. My heart begins to race with all the what-ifs.

Stepping up to my dorm building, it feels like a ghost town. Nobody is hanging around like they were earlier. I guess they’re all at the mixer. The spotlights shine an eerie light down on the front of the entrance doors, casting an ominous glow. If I were scared easily, this would appear to be a haunted house and one I would run from without hesitation.

A large shadow comes across the building, causing me to jump in place. A gust of wind flows over me, and I have to look twice, even rubbing my eyes, because it looks like a huge bird of some type flying overhead.

Taking off at a run, I cross the short distance from the woods to the doors, grabbing hold of the handles and flinging them open. Once I’m inside and safe from whatever was flying around, I bend over, placing my hands on my knees, and begin to take deep breaths, trying to calm myself.

This has to be a damn dream; there is no way any of this can actually be happening. Any minute, I’m going to wake up and be in my bed at home, prepared to move to campus. This is all a result of my nerves and excitement. Just a dream.

Reaching down, I take my fingers and pinch my forearm, over and over. Each time triggering pain, but not waking me from this nightmare I’ve found myself in.

Fuckitty! F**k! F**k!

Okay, it’s fine, Magnolia. You just need a plan. This is a big school. I can avoid the wolf whose scent makes my core pool with desire, even the a*****e who clearly wants nothing to do with me. Hell, I can even run in the opposite direction when I see the hot guy from upstairs. The only downfall to the plan is if he hangs around Wylla. He did seem attracted to her, so that’ll make it harder to ignore him. The worst would be having to watch him and her together when all I want to do is crawl in between them. Yeah, that will prove a little harder to avoid.

Choosing to skip the elevator, I take the stairs. No way do I want to be cramped inside a tiny box with anyone right now. Slowly climbing, I make my way up the three flights of stairs to our floor before opening the door and stepping into the vacant hallway.

There’s no noise, not even a soft humming of music. Clearly, everyone is out and having fun. Not me, I ran from a man who called me his mate, my hot roommate, and an even sexier neighbor. I craved the solitude I hoped my room would provide. It’s only when I get to the door to our room, I remember the one small flaw in my plan. Wylla has the key to the room since she has pockets.

Sighing deeply, I lean my back against the wall and slide to the floor. Stretching my legs out and crossing my feet, I close my eyes. Nothing I can do but wait, especially since there was no one at the desk when I came in. I just pray she comes back alone and not with him.