Chapter 3

Babump. Babump. 

Babump. Babump. 

To the pounding, erratic beat of my heart, I let the pull take me to my destination. 

"Where the heck are you going?" the red head called out to me. "Hey!" 

I didn't bother to stop. I was too focused. Every step I took, the pull magnified to a new level. 

My feet were doing all the work, carrying me to where she might be. My whole being was different. The surroundings seemed unimportant, but I was still aware of them from the heavy thumping music of the club and loud chatter of people. However, it didn't matter. My mind was hardwired in search of her. 

I noticed I was heading for the dance floor. Though it was a full house tonight because it was a Saturday, it didn't stop me from weaving through the crowd. There were occasional grunts and curses for shoving them out of my way, but whatever. I couldn't be bothered to apologize for being rude. They'll get over it. 

A new song came on and to my surprise, it fit the mood just right. 

Without You by David Guetta featuring Usher. 

The anticipation, happiness mixed with nervousness of meeting her quickened my stride as the pull lead the way. Just as the first line of the song started, I thought I was going to be blown away, literally, from the onslaught of that out of this world scent. 

"I can't win, I can't reign. I will never win this game without you, without you." 

The scent was intoxicating- orange blossom with a hint of melon. I was never one for fruity scents, but I will make an exception. This was my mate's scent and I relish it like a man hungry for food. 

I couldn't get enough of it. 

Taking another whiff, I smirked at the musky scent underlying the fruity one. 

She was a werewolf just like me. Even better. 

"I am lost, I am vain. I will never be the same without you, without you." 

'She's here... somewhere,' my wolf said. 

As the scent grew stronger and the magnetizing pull soared into an overwhelming stage, it was a sign she was near. Now it's only a matter of time, and I just have to be patient. 

"I won't run, I won't fly. I will never make it without you, without you." 

'To your left.' 

My human side was just a tag along at this point when my wolf supplied what needs to be done  and as I turned my body to the left,  I finally found the source of it all. 

From my vantage point, I couldn't see her face because her back was facing me, and hot damn! What a fine piece of art she was. She was thin, but not like those I-just-want-a-salad stick figures that I'd been with, but she was curvaceously thin. And her hair... it was a magnificent shade of chocolate brown that fell to the small of her back like a flowing river. She was dancing with some blond chick and my girl could bust a move as she swayed her hips from side to side alluringly and I wondered what it would feel like to have her body pressed against mine. 

Well, there's only one way to find out. 

"Oh oh oh. You you you. Without you you you, without you..." 

Once again, I was on the prowl, heading towards her dancing body. She was completely unaware of my advancement as she continued to sway to the music. My breathing was ragged at each stride and finally, I was a few inches from her back. 

This was it. 

"Can't erase, so I'll take the blame. But I can't accept that we're strangers without you, without you." 

My left hand went to the left side of her waist, my other went to her other side, holding her as I felt the soft material of her dress. Unconsciously, she backed towards my body and pressed herself against me, leaning her head on my chest. I was a good six-feet-four, the same height as my dad, so I'm guessing my chocolate haired mate - I'll call her that for now since I don't know her name yet - was roughly around five-feet-eight or something. 

"I can't quit now, this can't be right. I can't take one more sleep tonight without you, without you." 

I felt her grind her ass provocatively on my sensitive part and dear lord! I had to restrain myself from bending her over and take her from behind. 

Little Keller wanted out. 

"I won't soar, I won't climb. If you're not here, I'm paralyzed without you, without you." 

As she painstakingly continued torturing me, she inclined her head to the side and her bare neck was exposed to me. Acting on reflex, I leaned in and trailed my nose on her skin, inhaling as I go. 

To my delight, she trembled. 

"I can't look, I'm so blind. Lost my heart, I lost my mind without you, without you." 

I needed to see her face. I just had to. I wanted to know what she looked like. I wanted to know the color of her eyes, the shape of her face, the texture of her lips... everything. 

I want to know it all. 

Right now. 

With that thought flitting in my head, I gently turned her body around and held my breath, bracing myself. 

"Oh oh oh. You you you. Without you you you. Without you..." 

She was beautiful, my chocolate haired mate. 

Her face was heart shaped, had high cheekbones and her lips were a definite temptation; thin on the upper lip, plump on the lower lip and I could imagine all the fun things I could do with those lips of hers. Her nose was perfect; straight and not too narrow, nor too big. 

Most importantly, her eyes; they were a sparkling shade of emerald green and as I looked into them, I was drowning like a person who didn't know how to swim. They swirled with different emotions that I couldn't keep track of but mesmerized all the same as she had this dazed look in her eye. 

As weird as this sounds, this chocolate haired beauty looked familiar as though I had seen her a thousand times before in my life. Odd, I'd know and If I did, I would have recognized her. That familiarity was too muddled to make sense. 

But for now, I'll tuck that thought away. I had more pressing things to do. 

Looking into her eyes, I raised both my hands to cup both ends of her cheeks. The skin contact brought an electrifying tingle throughout my body and then, I closed my eyes. 

This was legit. All the signs that proved that she's my mate were irrevocable. 

I finally found her and without her, I'm nothing. 

I peeled my eyes open and smiled. "Meus fatum unus (My destined one)," my wolf and I said unanimously in Latin, a dead language. This was the first stage in the claiming process and was used ever since from our forebears. 

This, however, brought her out of her daze. She looked mortified, hell she didn't know what to do as she stood there, rooted to the ground. Her expression was jumping back and forth from disbelief to anger. 

This couldn't be good. This was not the reaction I was looking for. 

"What's wrong?" I asked her tentatively. 

She hesitated at first and then replied, "It can't be," she muttered, shaking her head. "You can't be my mate," she then pried my hands off her face. "Not you, the famous man-whore, Keller Madsen." 

I panicked. This was really not good. "What do you mean I can't be your mate? And wait..." I paused, confused. "You know me?" 

She nodded. "We go to the same school." 

"Okay, but why?" I persisted. "Tell me why I can't be your mate." 

She glared at me hatefully. "You're selfish, conceited, a player and an arrogant jerk. And... and..." she stammered, flinging her hands everywhere trying to make a point, "a-and... and I hate you!" she finally said, glaring back at me again. 

She hates me? That's new. 

"Look," I started, trying to be calm, "I know I'm all those things, but I promise you I am willing to give them all up just for you. You can't possibly hate me and I don't even know you; hell, I don't even know your fucking name!" 

She glared at me. "You really don't remember me, do you?" 

I frowned. "No, I mean... I... I..." I tried to say something, anything just so I wouldn't look like a moron but eventually, I settled for something vague and safe. I let out a deep sigh. "You do look familiar, but I don't know. I'm not sure." 

She shook her head from side to side, steadying her expression of fury, but when I looked into her eyes to search for something, I thought I caught a glimpse of sadness in there, but it went away as quickly as it came. Huh. I must be imagining things. 

"I'm denying you as my mate. I will never be with an asshole like you." 

The moment she said those words, it felt like my montage froze in place, started cracking from all different places then the whole thing shattered into tiny pieces, leaving me to put them back together alone. 

"You're... you're denying me?" I asked incredulously, staring into her hard emerald eyes. "That is not a legitimate reason!" 

I can't believe this! I'm Keller effing Madsen! She can't deny me! I'm too hot for that! There had to be a valid reason, much more reasonable than an A class jerkface- not that I would deny it because it's true, but this? I won't accept this as an answer. 

I refuse to be denied for a petty excuse of a reason. 

She nodded. "Oh yes it is," she said then she slapped me across the face, hard. Ow. "That is for coming near me," then she punched me in the gut and I let out a whoosh of air. "That is for touching me." For the finale, she gripped my shoulders tight, hunched me over and kneed me where the sun didn't shine. 

Holy fucknuckles! That hurt! 

"And that is for being a perverted asshole!" With that, she left me on the dance floor in a crumpled heap. 

Un-be-lievable. 

My mate denied me and I had no idea why... apart from being a selfish, conceited, a player and an arrogant jerk that is. 

They said if your mate denied you, you will feel this inexplicable emotional pain in your heart and you wouldn't know if you'd recover from it. 

Me? 

I was writhing in physical pain. 

God help my balls...