Nathan stopped outside of his locker room. Everyone was charging toward the lunchroom. Hunger filled the air, but something caught Nathan’s attention. All of his senses went on high alert at the smell of fresh roses, the earth, and home.Mate!His wolf came roaring to the surface, demanding he find her. “Whoa, Nathan, what the fuck, man?” Seth put a hand on his shoulder.Gritting his teeth, Nathan struggled against the need coursing through him. His body was burning up. The need to claim was stronger than ever before. This couldn’t be happening, and yet it was.“She’s here,” Nathan said.“Who?”Closing his eyes, Nathan blew out a breath. The scent of his mate was fading. Where was she? Who was she?“Mate.”“Holy fuck, for real?”“Yes.”“Shit, do you want me to call your father?”Nathan shook his head. He didn’t want his father here. It wouldn’t help. His wolf would calm the moment he found the woman meant for him, the woman who’d calm the beast inside him.“No. I’ve got to find her.”

Nathan watched as Mary laughed with Trey, the new kid. They’d gotten close, and from what he’d learned in gym, they lived next door to each other. He was pissed off and furious. His wolf was pacing against the surface.“Are you okay, man?”“Do I fucking look okay?” Nathan asked, snarling at Seth.“I’m sorry.” Seth held his hands up.They were waiting for their parents to arrive. If Trey didn’t walk away from Mary in a moment, Nathan was going to fucking kill the bastard.Out of all of the women to be his mate, he couldn’t believe it was Mary. It was just his fucking luck. She wouldn’t let him get near her. During English he’d asked Seth to make a nuisance of himself so Miss Kingry wouldn’t have a choice but to move them. If she hadn’t partnered him up with Mary, he’d have done whatever it took to make sure they were. When they’d had to share the book, the floral scent coming off her had made it hard for him to focus. He’d given her no choice but to lean against him to read the poem. I

Nathan whistled as he made his way back to his car. “What has got you so cheery?” Seth asked.“I’ve got an idea.”He climbed behind his wheel and turned the ignition over.“Are you going to tell me about that bright idea?”“Trey’s not a problem. I can get rid of him easily.” He headed back toward his home. Gym was the last lesson of the day, and he didn’t need to go back for anything.“She’s really your mate, isn’t she?”Nathan gripped the steering wheel tighter. Being close to her and knowing she didn’t trust him made his wolf crazy. His wolf wasn’t happy with him for treating her so appallingly. He would gladly go back and change the shit he’d done to her, but he couldn’t. The only thing he could do was make sure he never hurt her again. He wouldn’t. Mary calmed his beast, and having her in his arms today made him realize how important she was. When they were on the track, running behind her and Trey, it had taken every ounce of control not to run the bastard down, and cl

“What are you going to do?” Seth asked. It was after school, and Nathan leaned up against his car waiting for Mary to come out of school. He was so pissed off at what Cheryl had done. There was no way he could hurt her, not in the way he wanted to. She’d made his mate cry. When he saw Mary sat on the bleachers, he’d been relieved, but then he saw she was crying and he’d almost lost it. He’d been hunting for his mate because Trey couldn’t give a shit, only to find she’d been hurt by that slut, Cheryl“I don’t know.” He wanted to hurt Cheryl, humiliate her, make life so fucking hard for her that she knew what it was like to be in Mary’s shoes.He’d prove her wrong when it came to Mary. The best way to get back at Cheryl was by showing her to be a liar.“What did Trey say when I left?” Nathan asked.“Nothing. I don’t even know why you were worried about him being a problem with Mary. He didn’t give a shit about her when you were gone. I’m starting to think he was just using Mary until he

The days passed, and they turned into weeks. Nathan made a lot of progress with her. Whenever he could, he’d find an excuse to take her to and from school. Sometimes he’d take her back to his place where they’d study or they’d play some video games. Seth didn’t come around when she was with him, giving him the space to woo her.She didn’t invite him back to her house, but their parents had hit it off. He’d spent a great deal of time at her place while their parents talked.Trey was officially dating Cheryl, which actually caused a few problems for Nathan. With Trey and Cheryl together, it put her at their table for lunch. Nathan found Mary ate around the school wherever she wanted to. He’d found her in tears a couple of times, and it was always down to Cheryl.The wolf inside him was demanding that he hurt the bitch who’d hurt Mary. He talked to his dad about the problems, but he only advised him to keep his