Chapter 2

I'd always admired him from afar. The way his hair fell into perfect curls. The way his eyes seemed to glow with unnatural light. The way his muscles flexed whenever he was moving something heavy. How he always seemed to pull attention wherever he went. 

I mean. The guy was a Greek god reborn. Who wouldn't stop to stare.

Cade was the son of my pack Alpha. Never had I thought I'd get to see those perfect emerald orbs so up close. I was mesmerised. Staring into his eyes forgetting we were on the floor and I was quite literally on top of him with people staring. 

Ugh, geez… say something, Anaya. Anything—say words. Move your mouth! 

As my lips finally parted to speak, his deep tone snapped me out of my day dreams. 

“If you're done feeling me up can you get off me? You're heavier than you look.” 

That singular statement stunned me. Seth was already lifting me back up and asking me if I was fine. 

“I'm sorry, I didn't see you coming—” 

“Of course you didn't. Be more careful next time so you don't ruin my entire fucking day again.” 

A part of me was still not sure that I wasn't dreaming or something. Why was he being so rude? Suddenly the sparks stopped flying and confusion was etched in my face.

“It was an accident. I don't understand why you're being so mean.”

He lowered his gaze, bending to meet my eyes level before he spoke. “You girls are all the same, always looking for an excuse to play damsel in distress. Go bother someone else. I'm not interested.” 

The tension between us had sent the entire common room into complete silence. Seth cleared his throat and suddenly, he was stepping between Cade and I. 

“It's okay man, it was my fault. Let's not make this a thing.” 

“Watch your girl next time, Seth.” He whispered as he started to leave but I just had to open my mouth again.

“I'm not his girl and I can watch my own self.”

“Clearly not, if you go about falling on guys just so you can feel them up.” 

I heard some girls snicker in the corner and whisper the word slut. That made my blood boil. 

Without thinking, I walked up to Cade and hit him. I hadn't anticipated the force of my own hand as the sound resonated through the hall. But at that moment I wasn't thinking clearly. I'd always had a bit of a compulsive disorder coupled with anxiety and I could be very… unpredictable at times.

But it was too late to back down now. 

“I had no interest in touching you. I slipped. It was a mistake. Get over it. And I'm sure the only reason those girls keep tripping over you is because they don't know how much of a jerk you really are.” 

It was the first time I'd seen any emotion other than nothingness and annoyance on Cade's face. He was stunned. 

I guess no one had dared hut the golden boy before.

Then slowly, his eyes locked on mine and oh boy did he look mad. 

Very quickly, Seth pulled me from the back and muttered an apology to Cade before he could even respond we were long gone. 

“What was that?!” Seth exclaimed just as the adrenalin began to crash. And my actions dawned on me. 

“Oh... Oh… oh boy. I just hit Cade Thorne. I'm dead aren't I?”

Seth chuckled, “well to be fair he was being an ass.” 

“Yeah, who knew he was like that? Can't believe he's going to be Alpha some day. Maybe he'll wait till then to make me pay.” 

Seth Brough us to a bench outside and we sat there.

“I'm sure it's the least of his worries now. Cade can be a jerk but he's not a bad guy, I think it's the pressure getting to him.” 

“The pressure of being so… perfect?”

Seth snorted. 

“Sure. Cade is team captain now and he's only a third year. Couple that with being future Alpha… it's tough. Our pack hasn't won the games in five years so there's a lot of pressure on Cade to lead the team to victory. Exceptional as he is, it's a huge weight to carry. Enough to make you screw up.”

I'd heard a lot about the games but I'd never been interested. There was always so much clamour every year for the final games and people from the pack would go all the way to the academy just to watch.

“Why is it such a big deal? It's just a game, no?” 

“Lunar strike directly influences pack standings. If we lose this year too… things could get really bad.”

“How bad…?” 

“We lose some seats on the council. Territory, political influence drops. But that's why I spent so much time practicing. We have to bring the trophy home this year.”

Cade felt like a direct opposite of me. I had too little to live for. No purpose. No direction. But he had too much to lose. My life felt pretty shitty, but I could sympathise with him.

“How are you holding up? I heard about the ceremony…”

“Oh great, so everyone already knows I'm a failure.”

“Don't say that, pigeon. You're not, I'm sure you're just peeking late. You'll get your wolf soon.”

“Yeah…” I muttered but I knew it wasn't true. 

What was really wrong with me was the mixed blood coursing through my veins. Werewolves and Vampires weren't supposed to mix at all. Yet here I was. The embodiment of everything fundamentally wrong with society. 

“Come on, you must be starving, let's get you something to eat.” I got up, thankful for the subject change.

I returned to my dorm room near evening. Seth had insisted on doing every new fun activity on campus together. I was thoroughly exhausted and worn out. I still had the room to myself. A comforting thought. 

As I reached to put my bat aside, I noticed something was off about it. I looked inside first. Nothing seemed to be missing—

My diary. Where was it? I searched the bag, panic slowly rising as I confirmed it was truly missing. 

A crippling fear gripped my chest, as I thought of all my secrets out in the open.

Who could've taken it?