Dedicated to hydms_, Happy Graduation!

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*Connor* 

It had been a week since I told off Cyrus. It was early in the morning as I noticed the tension between Asher and Constance was thicker than normal. I guess they must have had a serious battle yesterday. We sat at the table eating breakfast like normal when Tammy came badging in.

"Alright maggots, it's time for a pop quiz. I want your scrawny butts outside in five minutes" she went to leave but before she could turn the corner she looked at us both in the eyes. "Better eat fast." She giggled and skipped out like she always did.

Constance and I both rolled out eyes and continued eating.

*

Once outside I saw Tamitha standing next to Cyrus, whose hands were behind his back as he stood in a parade rest.

"Alright, one of you thinks that it's time to get the merry band back together so today we're sending you through a training coarse..." he trailed off and turned at once with Tammy and walked off into the woods.

Constance and I looked at each other shrugging as we followed behind them. It took almost an hour to get to where ever it is we were going. The moment we were close a familiar scent rushed at me and I snapped my head from talking with Asher and Constance and focused in front of me. I saw a rickety old mansion of a house come into view.

I shot forward only to have Cyrus snatch me back. I uttered a deadly warning as I growled at him. I could feel my canines descending.

"Hold it lover boy." He snapped pushing me back into the group. "This is going to be a true test of what you've learned. I'm letting Teagan join the group today only because Connor thinks its best. If anyone dies today you can blame him." He smiled.

"Wait you're setting Connors crazy mate loose? How am I supposed to focus when I'm too busy worrying about burning to death!?" Constance said in outrage. 

"I don't know, take that up with Connor." Cyrus said before walking towards the house. "Good luck with that."

"Way to go dumb ass!" Constance pushed me but I gave her no mind as I took off in the direction of my mate.

Passed the foliage I came to stop right in front of Teagan. He stood silent and watchful. His head slowly turned towards me. He was in the regulated gear as the rest of us and I had to say he pulled it off so well. I think I was drooling a bit.

"Alright, the goal of today is to get the hostages out safely." Tammy's voice distracted me from further checking out my mate.

"There are of course obstacles you will run into. You must find a way to get through them by using your intelligence, your strength, agility and of course your stealth.  You are being timed," Cyrus pulled out a stop watch at her words. "You have twenty minutes... Go!" Cyrus hit the button and we all rushed in leaving Asher behind with our trainers.

I stayed by Teagan's side as Constance opened the front door quietly.

"Where do you think the hostages are?" Constance asked me as she surveyed the house. I lifted my nose seeing if anyone was close.

"The basement" the monotone I heard come out of my mate's mouth caused me to turn in surprise.

Constance straightened from her defensive stance to look over at him to... or more like stare with a frown.

"R-right" she said and went back to the job at hand.

We made our way further in the house, on alert, watching everything. The only thing I heard were our boots echoing softly against the wood floors... scratch that, I heard Constance and my footsteps, not Teagan's. It was like he wasn't even there, I actually had to look to see if he was still next to me.

The moment we turned the corner something jumped out at me and I instantly went in attack mode. Our bodies collided as we scrapped on the floor. Whoever it was had me in a tight hold.

"Go! Get the hostages!" I told my team as I fought to get free. I heard the sound of running as they left. I got my arm free and jammed it into my opponents chin causing him to loosen his hold and I broke away. I turned waiting for another attack but my attacker chose to stay on the floor. I guess that mean he was staying out of the game.

That was when I noticed Teagan standing off the side with his hands balled up in fists. He held a strained expression as he glared at the guy on the floor.

"Why didn't you go with Constance." I asked slowly approaching him. He was giving off such a deadly aura everything in me told me to tread lightly.

"I don't know" he growled through clenched teeth.

"Okay, well let's go catch up with her."

I walked past him and heard him follow me.

I think I pasted about five groaning men on the way down to the basement. Geez Constance sure can kick some ass. We rushed down the stairs to find Constance free five hostages in white t-shirts that said, "Help".

"I got them, let's go." She told us.

Rounding up the group together we tried to go back the same way quietly but that was when all hell broke loose. A cluster of about six men in black broke out of nowhere and attached us. Constance and I stepped forward as Teagan stepped back maneuvering the group of hostages back. I suppressed the smiled on my lips at his quickly thinking. He was the most dangerous of all of us, it was better if he got the group out.

Two men came at me then and I welcomed it. All my training from the last three months came rushing to me and my body moved on auto piolet. I jammed my shoulder into the midsection on one man flipping him over my shoulder continuing forwards to grab the other man's arm with my hand as he went to punch me. I spun around inward, twisting his arm as I went, the force lifting him off the floor and flipping him to the ground.

I went to the next guy elbowing him in the ribs and kicking his legs out from under him. I glanced over at Constance who had already dispatched her lot.

"Go" she said rushing us out of the house. Someone came out next to me with a gun and I instantly brought my wrist up into theirs and knocking it out of their hands as I kicked them in the stomach sending them backwards in the wall.

The moment we got outside Cyrus hit the stop watch.

"How did we do?" Constance asked gasping for breath. I was bent over with my hands braced on my knees as I tried to get as much oxygen in my lungs as possible.

I glanced to see Cyrus and Tamitha's bewildered faces.

"Well?" I asked exasperated.

"Ten Minutes" Cyrus said dumbfounded.

A grin spread on my lips as Constance and I high fived.

"Yeah!" Constance cheered. "Let's do that shit again!" she exclaimed, super pumped.

I turned to my mate with the same grin but he held no expression as he met my elated gaze with is empty one. Frowning I turned away from him and focused on our mentors. 

"That's the fastest time I've ever seen from such a small group." Tamitha said staring at us in awe.

"Well it would have been a lot faster if my powers were working." Constance sassed.

"Yes well we have a member nullifying your powers nearby." Cyrus's eyes skipped towards Teagan so quickly I almost missed it.

"Why?" she asked confused.

"We have our reasons." Cyrus said mysteriously.

"Lets get back now, I think you three earned a day off but now that we've seen your potential we're upping the stakes from now on" Tammy giggled skipping off. Cyrus smiled and shook his head walking beside her. And I just noticed the wolf trotting beside him then.  

Again we made the long tread back to the house. Half way there I noticed that both Teagan and I were alone as the others were farther up then us through the trees.

The silence between us was awkward and tense as I watched him become aware our situation.

"So how have you been lately." I didn't know what else to say. I looked over at him when he didn't say anything and saw the frown etched in his brow as he stared at the ground.

Suddenly a horde of emotions rushed through me and I growled.

"You know if you'd just let me in I could probably help you!" I exclaimed in frustration. I was fed up with him ignoring me all the time. All I've ever wanted from him is to talk with me. I understand he's been through something terrible but was it too much to ask for a little acknowledgment? 

He was my MATE for f*ck sakes!

He stopped then causing me to do the same. We stood facing each other. I could feel the blood rushing to my cheeks in embarrassment at how childish I just sounded.

I sighed and went to apologize when he finally spoke.

"I don't know what you expect from me?" he suddenly said in his raspy voice.

I frowned in confusion.

"Expect from you?" I echoed. There was a silence.

"You think you want to know me because of this mate thing you all are so fond of but I am far from someone you want to know." His empty eyes stared me down and I felt a chill shiver up my spine.

"Well that's not fair is it? I want to get to know you, no matter what you have to tell me. You're my mate, this is what we do, we accept our other halves as who they are." I said hopefully getting through to him. He gave a cruel smile.

"Well I'm the exception, trust me." He said and walked past me continuing back towards the houses direction.

"Teagan!" I called after him but he kept going and grabbed his arm. He sprang back like I had burned him, crouched low and growled at me.

I froze,

"You don't know me! You have no idea who I am and what I've done."

"Well let me in! Tell me. That's what I'm here for, what I was born for." I stressed. I stepped closer to him and he narrowed his eyes at me in warning.

"Stop" he growled. "Just leave me alone"

"Tell me what to do, I want to help Teagan!"

"You weren't there, you can't help me!" he screamed suddenly as a blast of fire came out of nowhere, crashing into my chest sending me flying back a few feet to land on my back.

I gasped trying to get my breath back as I reached up to my chest to feel the singed hole in my shirt but no burns on my exposed skin. I glanced up at Teagan with wide eyes. He stood frozen as he watched me with I'm sure the same matching wide eyed stare as mine.

"They should have just kept me chained." he said backing away slowly, his shocked expression morphing back into the expressionless masked he always wore, his eyes dying right before mine.

"I asked for them... to take those... shackles off you. You deserved to be free." I gasped, dazed and in shock at his abrupt attack, unable to mentally understand what just happened.

"Well I'm free now but that wasn't a very good idea, was it?"  He breathed, his voice shrouded in ominous foreshadowing.

With that I watched him walk away till I could no longer see him.