Chapter Three

Brad’s POV

Walking back into the boy’s changing room, I slammed the door behind me and collapsed on a bench.

Rejecting Scarlet turned out to be more difficult than I prepared for. She wasn’t the typical mate I expected to have, yet, the bond between us tore through my heart like a spear.

Scarlet wasn’t my type. My girlfriend, Valerie was sleek and sophisticated. She lavished hours at the salon and gym as though it was her full time job. She knew how to keep her lips red and to welcome me in her room wearing nothing but silk lingerie. And most importantly, she was easy to control.

Scarlet, on the other hand, was beautiful—maybe. But she was attractive in her own way. She wore no makeup and clearly saw her hair as a chore. In her constant baggy shirts and jeans, she obviously had no interest in fashion, or even showing her figure to any guy.

She was so unguarded, so innocent, and I thought it would be very easy to reject her. But when she stared up at me with her large and luminous eyes, my wolf melted away.

“Hey! Can we talk?” A voice jolted me out of my thoughts and I lifted my eyes to meet Elias’ cold gaze. He was towering over me and I felt intimidated. I slowly gathered myself from the bench and rose to my feet. What the hell was he doing in our side of school?

“Seeing you here, I assume it must be very important.” I dug my hands into my pocket. “I hope what you want to discuss is worth my time.”

Elias, three years older than me, was the Lycan Prince of the Noble crest pack. As much as I hated to admit it, he was feared and respected more than everyone in school. But I was happy that Lycans and wolves were not allowed to interact at school due to years of dispute.

Lycans were aggressive and tended to spiral out of control, crushing anyone who came between them. They were possessive creatures who left their claim on girls whether they were mated or not. The separation was important for peace and as the Alpha’s son, I maintained that stability at school.

“It’s about Scarlet.” He said, calmly. But Elias was no mind reader. How could he know about the mate bond already? I wasn’t even sure he was supposed to know who Scarlet was.

“Who?”

His brows furrowed. “Your mate.”

I stared at him for a long moment. “What about her?”

“Did you reject her?”

“No. Not yet.” Obviously, if he knew about the mating bond, he had to know that I wasn’t going to accept it. But why was all these important to him? “Why are you suddenly concerned about Scarlet?”

“You need to reject her.” I was starting to get suspicious.

“Why?” Who did he think he was to try and make decisions for me? And why on earth did he think I would listen to him?

He was silent for a while, then smiled as he looked back at me. “She’s not yours to play with, Brad. Valerie is your girlfriend and I’m sure she keeps you entertained enough. Stay as far away from Scarlet as you can.”

I was starting to get pissed off. “She’s my mate and I can do whatever I want with her. If you have something else to say, you can say it now or–”

Elias shoved me to the wall before I could finish and wrapped his hands around my throat. “Listen to me, Brad. I know you have no intentions to love her like she deserves. So, back off or you’ll have to deal with me.”

I pushed him off me and adjusted my shirt. His eyes were a blazing red with dark veins around them. I had only seen a Lycan that way whenever he was defending his mate or trying to claim her from someone else. But how could it be? How could my Scarlet be his mate? How could he try to take her from me?

“From your reaction, I can tell you want her.” I said, rubbing my elbow. “But she came to me first and luckily, I’ve changed my mind. I’m going to claim and mark her.”

Elias turned his back to me, with hands clenched beside him and his body shaking with rage. “I’m going to rip out your throat if you hurt her.” With that, he walked away without looking back once.

“Fuck!” My fist punched through the wall before I could stop myself. Rage, pure rage washed over me as I considered Elias’ threat. How could he come to my territory to threaten me? How dare him try to take my mate from me? “I’m not going to let him have her.”

“Brad, are you in here?” The door creaked open with Valerie poking her head through it. “Why are you hiding in the changing room?” I sighed and bit back a curse. She was the last person I needed to see.

Valerie came to stand in front of me, her scent of expensive perfumes and shampoo swamping my nostrils. I was painfully aware that she smelt nothing like Scarlet who scented like natural wet roses and vanilla.

“Why didn’t you tell me you found her?” Her hands were on her waist and she was tapping her foot gently.

I wrapped my arms around her and faked a smile. “Because I didn’t think it was important to tell you. After all, I was planning to reject her.”

“You were planning? Did you reject her and did she accept it?”

It was hard to keep eye contact especially when I was thinking of a lie to tell her. “I didn’t but I told her we couldn’t be together. She begged me not to reject her because she will be kicked out of the pack.”

Valerie’s eyes were cold and angry as she stepped back from me. Her face was curled into a malicious frown. “We promised to reject our mates when we find them. Don’t you consider this a betrayal to me? Why are you choosing that freak over me?”

I straightened up and ran my fingers through my hair in frustration. Every minute I was wasting with her, Elias was probably taking the advantage to get closer to Scarlet.

“I’ll reject her tomorrow, I promise.” The lie was easier to tell than the truth. “I was just trying not to hurt her so much. She’s probably crying her eyes out right now.”

She sighed and placed her palms on my chest. “You’re mine and I don’t want to share you with anyone.” She pressed her lips to mine and wrapped her hands around my neck. “Besides, I’ve already taken care of her. She wouldn’t dare to ever come close to you again.”

Without thinking, I pushed Valerie away from me. “What did you do to her? Tell me!” My voice thundered across the room as I rose to my feet. “Where is she?”

“We–we just–she’s at the back of the cafeteria.” She was nervous. “Elias stopped us from hurting her.”

“What have you done?!!” I dashed out of the room to the hallway, without waiting for an answer. I couldn’t let Elias take her away from me.