"Did I scare you?"

My eyes snapped to Xavier's. His voice had become softer than I had ever heard it. The playful light in his eyes had died, and he appeared genuinely concerned about the stalker situation.

His voice becoming soft and vulnerable honestly scared me more than him stalking me the past two days. Is that concerning?

I swallowed. "No." Then I smiled, trying to ease him. "Not yet, anyway."

His eyes flashed and I saw his wolf for a split second, it was so fast I would have missed it had I not been staring into his ocean blue eyes.

A waitress finally showed herself and took our orders, coming back with the food faster than I was expecting. Xavier and I munched on the sandwiches for a while without saying anything. Both of us gazed out the window, watching the people passing back and forth on the sidewalk in front of us.

When our easy conversation drifted back to the surface, I found out he was in the same boat as me, not really studying anything in particular. A part of me wondered if he was lying when he said this was his fourth year here. How could you be far enough in to be close to graduating, without having a declared major? My heart jumped at the thought that he had come to campus just because he found out from Everlee that I went there. That could also explain the stalker habits he was showing. But that would be very weird for him to go to college just because a girl he had met once went there.

Unless of course I was his mate.

He was an alpha. Alphas were naturally possessive, especially of their mates. His wolf would urge him to do anything to be near me as much as possible. Him attending college for me was not the worst I had heard of.

He told me he was twenty-two. And I didn't see a reason he would bend the truth for that one. That made him three or so years older than me, depending when his birthday fell.

"Do you have siblings?" We were trying to keep the conversation basic, and I think it was because he was being careful not to scare me off after I accused him of being a stalker. I just hoped he knew it had been a joke.

He grinned. "Just one. A younger sister, who happens to be in your biology class."

Staring at his face, it made sense. The tiny details they shared in some features: their hair color, their ears, their nose, even the shape of their eyebrows gave away their shared genes.

"Everlee."

He nodded, "Everlee."

I took another bite of my sandwich.

"Do you have siblings?"

I smiled, imagining May and August then. They would be at school, probably in their last subject for the day. May would be doodling in the margins of her paper while August would be staring at the clock, willing the bell to ring. "I have two. Both younger. August is fifteen and May is nine."

He raised an eyebrow and that stupid smirk that made my heart do gymnastics made an appearance. "April. August. May. Your parents just like the calendar?"

A snicker escaped and I covered my mouth with a hand. "More like they are the least creative people to walk the planet! Me: April 19th; May: May 10th; August: August 4th."

"So, your parents just named you for the month you were born in. All three of you."

"Pretty much."

His eyes darted up for a moment, thinking. "What if you had been born in October?"

"My name would probably be October."

"That's unfortunate."

I laughed, "I told you, my parents are not creative enough."

We grabbed our things, Xavier having paid the bill-after taking an argument from me that I could pay for my own food, an argument I lost in the end-and we headed out the door to his truck. I climbed in, refusing his help again.

He started the vehicle before pulling out of his spot. I peeked at him from the corner of my eye.

"That was a date. You made it into a date by not letting me pay."

He turned his head, his expression turned nervous for a split second before it reverted back to the light-hearted one he's worn most of the afternoon. In the last hour or two, he'd gone from the stone-faced, intimidating alpha I had met on Monday going into the library to a care-free guy that liked poking fun at me.

"Do you really want to pay that bad?"

I contemplated my feelings for a moment. "No."

"Then I guess it was a date." He beamed, seeming overjoyed to hear our afternoon labeled that way.

When he pulled up to the edge of the bioscience parking lot, he hopped out and went to open my door for me.

"Thanks." I told him, but ignored his hand on my way out. I caught the roll of his eyes at that.

"And thanks for lunch," I added, turning to smile at him.

His eyes flickered a moment. I wondered briefly if a real human would catch the wolf fighting for control inside his brain, or if growing up amongst wolves just taught me what that meant. Would a human even notice the subtle changes in color?

"My pleasure," he responded. "I'll see you tomorrow?"

My eyes rounded. Quickly, I ran through my schedule for the next day, coming to the conclusion that Xavier and I didn't share any classes on Thursdays. "Oh, probably Friday in math."

"Right. Friday." He nodded once, and I realized he was closing back off, reverting to the guarded alpha he hid behind. But I couldn't talk, because I was hiding behind the human.

I gave him a little wave and then turned on my heels, pulling my backpack over my shoulders as I made my way through the maze of a parking lot. I glanced once behind me to make sure he wasn't still watching me, only for the fact that he might recognize one of River's vehicles and that would only stem more questions.

After I sped home, I flew into the house, running straight for the kitchen. No one was in there today, so I tried the massive living room, the front foyer, and finally the alphas' office. I knocked on the wooden door.

"Come in." River's permitted from the other side.

"Oh thank goodness!" I exclaimed when I spotted not only River in there but also Emerald.

"Everything okay?" River asked, setting a closed file down on his desk. Emerald's eyes held the same question.

"Yeah, I was just hoping to talk to the luna?"

Emerald jumped up. "Of course. What's going on?"

My eyes flicked to River. It wasn't like he couldn't hear what was on my mind, but it would be much more awkward conversation with him than just Emerald.

Understanding crossed her expression and she chuckled. "C'mon, let's go for a walk."

The warm mid-September sun beat down on us as we slowly strolled through the section of the yard that held the garden.

"So?" Emerald asked.

"I met a guy," I blurted.

Her eyebrows raised, understanding what kind of conversation this was. "Your mate?" She beamed excitedly.

"That's the thing." I sighed. "I don't know."

"You don't know? Okay, um, was there anything from eye contact? Or any sort of electrifying buzz between you two?"

I looked at her with desperation. "That's the thing. There's subtle signs from him that he might be feeling some sort of bond, but I'm getting nothing! Eye contact doesn't affect me, and there seems to be no obvious electricity like everyone talks about."

Now her brows furrowed and she looked down. I followed her gaze, focusing on the leafy green plants we passed that would need to be picked soon before Autumn took full force.

"Okay, so tell me about him."

"It's the alpha."

Her eyes jerked up to mine. "Alpha?"

"From the pack that was here for that meeting last week. Xavier."

Emerald stopped walking, forcing me to halt my steps as well. She thought for a moment. "Okay, so Xavier might be taking an interest in you. Continue."

I inhaled deeply. "He found me in library on Monday, and then today he was in my math class. After we got out, he took me out to a little Café on Main."

She grinned coyly. "Xavier Black took you out on a date?"

I blushed. "Yes."

"But you're not sure if he's your mate?"

"I don't have a clue. I don't know if it's because of my fox, or if he's really not my mate. You know him well, and you're starting to know me. I wanted your opinion."

Emerald was easily becoming the closest I had to an older sister. My mom wasn't around, and Emerald was filling those shoes. But our narrow age gap made her more of a sister and friend than my mother.

"Well," she thought aloud. "I wouldn't expect him to be playing around. But I also can't confirm nor deny whether he's dated humans in the past. I know he hasn't found his mate, but I really don't know much about his dating habits."

I nodded as she explained. "I'm going to have to ask Everlee, aren't I?"

Emerald shrugged. "That's up to you. If you talk about it with Everlee, would you have to tell them you're included in the werewolf kingdom? Would you have to tell them who you are?"

I growled. She had a point. There wasn't a safe way to bring that up with Everlee. I had to simply rely on my instincts and current knowledge.

"How do humans do this?" I asked exasperatingly. How did they date without instantly knowing if they were right for each other? The amount of convoluted thoughts circling through my brain was exhausting!

The luna laughed heartedly. "Oh, April. Just be glad your biggest problem right now is whether or not you should go on dates with a guy."

I growled at her and she just giggled more.

"Okay, but seriously." I sobered her. "You think I should let him pursue me?"

Her laugh faded to a smile. "I think that's truly up to you."

"But I'm asking you!" My huff turned into a chuckle, because she was right, this was such a silly problem to be suffocating my mind. "What if he's not my mate, Emerald? What if he's just playing around and will toss me away when his werewolf mate comes into the picture? What if I find my mate after I've started hanging out with him?"

"That's a lot of what ifs." She said, grabbing my wrist gently and pulling me down to sit on the edge of a wooden garden planter box.

"You wanna know the most terrifying one?" I whispered. "What if he is my mate?"

Now she smirked. "I think you're overthinking this, April. You wanted my opinion and this is what I got: I think you should weigh the risks you're willing to take personally. But I also think you came to this pack and school to make friends and live your life outside of your normal. You also came to find your mate, but you're only nineteen; you have time. Your parents are making you live like you're human? Then live like you're human."

It took me a moment for it to click. "Humans date without knowing if their soulmates."

She nodded. "Just have fun and enjoy this semester of college. Go out and be friends with Xavier and Everlee, and maybe even date Xavier, that's entirely your decision. If he turns out to be your mate, then you'll have the time to get to know him first. If he's not, then you'll just gain some life experience to either take home and use as the next alpha, or to take to your future pack when you do find your mate."

I let out a long breath I didn't know I'd been holding. "Thank you."

She patted my hand without warning and I nearly flinched away from the sudden touch. "It's what I'm here for. And I'll still be here. Whenever you want to talk about everything, I'll be here."

Smiling, I thanked her again, and she stood up to go back inside. I sat there for some time longer, until the sun started sinking and air finally begun to cool off. I contemplated everything she advised, and I knew in the end she was right. I could abide by my parents wishes, act human, and still make friends and enjoy my time here in Virginia this semester. Maybe it would even be fun, playing a part, yet still getting to be myself. The only thing I was burying was my fox, and I could do that. But first, I needed to let her stretch her bushy tail out.

Glancing to the sun's position in the sky, I decided I had enough time for a short run, and I darted to dense pine trees. When I was deep enough that the shadows concealed me, I called upon my fox and let her burst from the restrains of my skin.