Chapter 5-

Ella's POV

Mate.

The word wouldn't leave my head. It echoed through my brain with every step I took toward English class. Kael Thorne. Transfer student. Mate. That couldn't be right. Could it?

At first I thought I was losing my mind. Three days in bed with barely any food. No sleep. My brain was probably fried. That had to be it. Just my mind playing tricks on me because I was so broken from everything that happened.

But then I remembered the stories.

Mom used to tell me bedtime stories when I was little. Stories about wolves and mates and packs. I always thought they were just fairy tales. Something she made up to make me feel special because we didn't have much. But lately my body had been changing. My senses felt sharper sometimes. My emotions ran wild. And that growl that almost escaped when Sera pulled my hair? That wasn't normal.

Maybe the stories were true.

Maybe there were other people like me.

I reached the classroom and slipped inside. Everyone was already there, finding their seats, laughing about something. I didn't look at anyone. Didn't need to see their faces. I already knew what they'd look like when they saw me.

I walked straight to the back. My spot.

The back row had four desks. I took the middle one. The desk to my left was empty. The desk to my right was empty. The two behind me? Empty. The one in front? Empty too. No one wanted to sit near me. No one wanted to be seen with the loser. The fatty. The girl who made a fool of herself in front of the whole school.

I used to hate sitting here. Now I was used to it. It was safer anyway. Less people to whisper about me when I was alone.

But they still whispered anyway.

"She's back," someone said. Not even trying to be quiet.

"I thought she dropped out," another voice added.

"Did you see her face at the awards? I almost felt bad."

"Almost."

Laughter. Quiet but loud enough for me to hear. They wanted me to hear. That was the point.

"Her dress looked like a curtain from a hospital."

"I heard she cried in the bathroom after."

"After the awards or after she ate the whole buffet?"

More laughter. Someone snorted. Someone else said "fatty" under their breath.

I gripped my pen and stared at the board. Don't react. Don't give them what they want. Just sit here and take it. Like always.

My eyes started burning but I blinked the tears away. No crying. Not here. Not in front of them.

Then the door opened.

Everyone turned to look. I looked too.

Kael stood in the doorway. His eyes scanned the room like he was looking for something. Like he already knew where he wanted to go.

Then his eyes found mine.

My heart stopped.

He didn't look at the popular kids in the front. Didn't look at the empty seats in the middle. His eyes stayed on me. Locked on.

Then he started walking.

Toward me.

Past the front row. Past the middle. Past all the empty desks that everyone else avoided. He walked right through my bubble of nothing and sat down in the desk beside me.

The desk that had been empty for three years.

I forgot how to breathe.

"What the fuck?" Sera's voice cut through the silence. She was three rows ahead, twisted around in her seat, staring with her mouth open.

"Language, Miss Moon," Mr. Scott said without turning around. He was still writing on the board. Then he finally turned and noticed Kael. "Oh. Everyone, we have a new transfer student. Kael Thorne." He looked at Kael and then at me. His eyes said everything. "Kael, be wise to choose the right friends."

The right friends. Meaning not me.

I wanted to disappear into my chair.

Sera was still staring. Her eyes were narrow now. She didn't like this. She didn't like that someone chose to sit with me when they could sit anywhere else.

"You should face your front," Kael said. His voice was calm. Quiet. But everyone heard it. "Your neck would ache you."

Sera's face went red. Her mouth opened and closed like a fish. Then she turned around without a single word.

My jaw dropped. No one talks to Sera like that. No one embarrasses her and gets away with it. I knew what was coming. She was going to destroy him for that. It was only a matter of time.

"Why are you scared?" Kael asked.

I blinked. Was he talking to me?

I looked at him. He was looking right at me.

"What?" I said.

"I can hear your heartbeat pounding so hard."

My hand went to my chest. He was right. My heart was racing. But how did he know that?

"Hear my heartbeat?"

That wasn't normal. That wasn't something people could just do.

And then it clicked.

He was like me. He had to be. The way his eyes locked onto me in the hallway. The way he sat beside me when everyone else ran the other way. The way he heard my heartbeat from across the room.

"Are you a werewolf?" I whispered. The words felt crazy coming out of my mouth.

He tilted his head. A small smile tugged at his lips. "Everyone in this town is a werewolf."

I stared at him. Everyone? That couldn't be right. I grew up here. I never saw anyone shift. Never heard anyone talk about it. But Mom's stories started playing in my head again. The old legends. The pack history. Things I thought were just fairy tales.

I didn't say anything else. Mr. Scott started the lesson and I had to pretend to pay attention. But I couldn't focus. My mind was spinning with questions.

Kael sat beside me the whole time. He didn't take notes. He didn't raise his hand. He just sat there, quiet, like he was waiting for something.

When the bell rang, everyone started packing up. I moved slow, trying to figure out what to say to him.

Sera was faster.

She was at Kael's desk before I could even stand up.

"Hi, new boy," she said. Her voice was sweet. Too sweet. She made sure she was standing right between me and Kael, blocking him from my view.

"Hi," Kael said. Short. Flat. He didn't look impressed.

"I'm Sera. The cheerleader leader." She stuck out her hand for a handshake. Her nails were perfect. Her bracelet probably cost more than my mom's rent.

Kael didn't take her hand.

My wolf stirred inside me. Angry. Why is she speaking to our mate? She was pacing, growling. I had never felt her this awake before.

I felt sick. Not because of Sera. Because of my own wolf. This wasn't me. I didn't get jealous. I didn't get possessive. But here I was, watching Sera smile at Kael, and all I wanted to do was pull him away from her.

I saw Damon at the door. He was looking at me. I felt his eyes. But I didn't look back.

Sera dropped her hand when Kael still didn't take it. She recovered fast, flipping her hair over her shoulder. "Oh, you don't do handshakes. No problem." She smiled wider. "I just want you to know I'm having a party at my place this weekend. At least get to hang out with the popular kind. Not with fatty right beside you."

The word hit me like a slap. Fatty. She said it so casual. So normal. Like it was just my name.

I grabbed my books and started packing faster. I needed to get out of here before I cried or screamed or did something even more embarrassing.

"Thanks for the offer," Kael said. "But you see, people like her are who I want to hang out with."

My hands stopped moving.

He said that. Out loud. In front of everyone.

I couldn't look at him. Couldn't look at Sera. I just kept packing my books like nothing happened, even though my hands were shaking.

Sera's smile froze on her face. For a second, she didn't know what to say. Then she laughed. A short, fake laugh. "Cute."

I stood up. I needed air. I needed to get out of this room.

Sera stepped in front of me. Blocking me.

She was smiling now. But it wasn't a nice smile. It was the smile she gets right before she destroys someone.

"You know one thing I hate?" she said. Her voice was low. Just for me. "When people say no to my nice generosity. It usually pisses me off." She tilted her head. "But I'm not angry now. I'll still text you the address of my house. Just come."

She stepped aside and walked toward the door. When she got there, she turned back.

"Kael," she said. "Don't make me be your target."

Then she left.

The room felt colder. Everyone was staring. Whispering. Watching to see what would happen next.

I looked at Kael. He was watching Sera leave, his face calm like nothing happened.

My wolf was still angry. Still growling. But underneath the anger, there was something else.

Fear.

Because Sera just made Kael her target. And I knew what happened to people who got in her way.

But the question now was sitting heavy in my chest.

Did it scare him?