Alistair

The morning of New Year's Day.

We're all having breakfast in the guest dining hall with the rest of the boarders when Beta Babcock entered the room.

Immediately every single warrior gets up from their seat and stands up to greet her. She greeted them back and asked them to please give her a minute alone with us.

They exited and she stayed back, smiling politely at us who looked pretty much confused at this. Except for the children who couldn't care less about her and only cared about the food on their plate.

"Good morning, everyone. I apologize for the intrusion. But now that you're all part of our pack officially..." - She started, gently.

Yesterday, Alpha Livingstone had swore us into the pack. Every single one of us who shifts. He did it in groups.

"I need to warn you that with it comes a set of rules that are commonly known as pack law." - She continued in a serious tone.

"It's not that different from what you're probably already doing on a daily basis. You know, you can't touch a mated person except for self defense. You can't shift into a wolf in public areas or in front of any human, save if this person is your mate."

"But most importantly, the one that encompasses our very existence, you can't expose us to humans." - She said with a dead serious tone.

"I know you are all aware of that. I'm not saying anyone here has ever done anything to that effect. But as protector of the pack, it's my duty to relay the importance of this message." - She affirmed looking at us attentively.

"That means no glowing eyes in front of humans, no fighting humans unless it's self defense. And like I said, no shifting in front of or near any human." - She warned us.

"Now, to you teenagers who are going to school next Monday, it's very important to mingle with the humans. You can't stand out from them too much, unless you do it for your brain capacity."

"That means you should study hard and apply yourselves as much as possible. But you can't give away our abilities. If you listen to a conversation that humans aren't supposed to hear, you can't engage with humans on that knowledge. If you get angry and your eyes start glowing, put on sunglasses. Luna Alicia has purchased some for you to take to school."

"It's very important that you heed these warnings so none of you get caught in a bad situation that you can't explain to humans. Even if you find your mate at school, you shield your eyes immediately. If you need any pointers or tips, ask my daughter or Benjamin. They're already used to blending in and are here for you if you need them."

We all watched her speak feeling a bit spooked by all this. We're not used to blending in with humans, so this will take some adjustments.

"Before I go, I just need to say one more thing, the penalty for exposing us to humans is death. So please be aware." - She concluded, startling all of us.

She left the dining hall and we all kept looking at each other thinking what the hell did we get ourselves into?

TWO AND A HALF WEEKS LATER.

It's the middle of the week. My mate has sat me down to inform me that his parents are not so thrilled about him sleeping late on school nights.

Basically, he said I had to tone down my appetite for him. First, I'm like what the hell?

But after much reflection, I came to the conclusion that we have been sleeping late lately. It's not fair to him who has a busy schedule with school plus training.

Also, if I don't concentrate on school work as well I'm not gonna graduate even with summer school. So I told him it was fine, we don't need to go over the entire kama sutra every night.

Lisa and Chris are still estranged from each other even though he has apologized one million times to her.

Lena has gone back to her normal self, but she stopped interacting with Chris whatsoever. He refuses to acknowledge her existence.

I keep on visiting Bruno every afternoon and he should make a full recovery, though we're yet to talk properly since he's been sedated.

But that stops now. He's awake and conscious. Except now I'm scared to visit him because I don't know if I wanna actually talk to him. I was doing such a good job of ignoring him like he did me.

And I'm fine with it. I just didn't want him to die.

Roger and Elodie are exchanging googly eyes while we're inside the classroom and people are like... who is this girl and what has she done to him? He seems completely smitten by her. And vice versa, of course.

Lex has been quieter than usual lately. First because of Tristan's mating, now that he has suffered an abortion he seems so out of character depressed. I feel bad for him. He gets an undeserved bad rep.

Sometimes people get so focused on one aspect of life - like sex - that they forget we're complex human beings with multiple aspects of our identity. To put it plainly, he's not the nymphomaniac that people peg him for. He just wants to be loved like everybody else.

Yes, he fooled around. But he wants love just like the rest of us. Though I had some reservations about him during my mate rejection period - what was I thinking again? - I do wish him well for the truly loyal and decent person that he is.

Honestly, we all deserve better than Tristan who's yet to offer him a single supportive word about the fact that he was carrying his baby. I mean, what the actual fuck?

"Hi, Lisa. I know I'm the last person you wanna hear from..." - Lena approached Lisa at the end of the third period. Both she and Chris were baffled by her attitude.

"You got that right!" - Lisa interrupted her, glaring.

"But I couldn't live with myself if I didn't tell you what a wonderful guy Chris is. I don't need to tell you about the circumstances of what happened between us. You know what really occurred. I just think it's a shame that you can't get over it because both you and him deserve each other. And you won't find a more loyal person than Chris, even if you get 'dated' to another." - She declared in a soft tone.

Lena left the classroom towards the gym and Lisa wept at her words. Chris kept looking at her gobsmacked until he offered her a hug, which she welcomed.

"I really am sorry for everything." - He spoke as she wept on his shoulders.

"I know." - She agreed, then she kissed him on the lips and the world was bright again.

After we finished P. E., we entered the locker room to find a much different Christian smiling and engaging with other students. It's a complete turnaround.

"I'm so happy for you both, my friend." - I spoke, smiling at him.

"Thanks, Ali. I hated feeling like a cheater." - He said, sighing.

"How are you feeling my friend? If not even shower time puts a smile on your face I know something is wrong." - Ben asked Lex, who quietly started to undress. He didn't even glance at anyone.

"I'm fine, surviving. I don't wanna look at anyone. I'm over men." - He sulked, causing some unsuspecting students to laugh at this.

"Don't be this way, Lex. You'll find your person too. I let you look at me showering. I don't mind it." - Chris tried to cheer him up by exposing his naked self to him. I'm like: is this the same boy who said he didn't want to take a shower at school?

"Thanks, Chris. You're sweet. And hot. But I'm good." - He declined, though he got wide eyed at my friend's anatomy.

During lunch break, Lisa was back at our table and everything felt right in the world again.

"We missed you, Lisa. It's not the same without you here." - Elodie said, reaching out her hand to touch hers.

"Thank you, Elodie. I missed you guys too. I know I got in my head a little about what happened and I know it wasn't either of their faults. But I have some trust issues with men." - She admitted, painstakingly.

Chris kissed her gently on the cheek with a soft enamored gaze towards her.

"How did you like your first high school party? I heard you arrived pretty late." - She asked Elodie, who blushed.

"Yeah, my parents were not a fan of me arriving at four in the morning but Roger and I-"

"Don't need to go into details, El. We get it." - Chris cut her off, uncomfortably. Both the women glared at him for this.

"Ignore him, tell us." - Lisa insisted, sideways glaring at her boyfriend.

"We lost track of time and before we knew it Teddy was expelling us from his house. Then, he drove us because Roger was a little tipsy and I don't have a license." - She replied, sounding excited.

"Good for you, sis! You deserve it!" - She encouraged a radiating Elodie, who smiled.

"I'm sorry for everything that you're going through, Lex. You don't deserve to be alone in this and I'm just glad you made the best decision for yourself." - Lisa told him, incisively.

"Thanks, Lisa. Fortunately, that was an easy decision for me. I don't want to risk mate rejection on top of all my boy problems. Nor did I want to be linked to that dirtbag for the rest of my life." - He said, pissed off. Chris and I got wide-eyed at this, but I totally agree with him.

"Good for you. You're so much better than him. Sometimes we need to take a step back to clearly see what's not good for us and what's causing us harm. Even though you were happy by his side, I could already tell what type of person he is by the manner in which he treated Ali." - She spoke wisely.

Damn, Lisa is killing today. Girls do rule. Lex smiled at her, though I got uncomfortable real fast. But I agree with her 100%. Maybe now that he's mated, Tris can get his act together. Hopefully.

The next weekend, all couples got out on their dates like usual and my mate took me on a road trip to a nearby town for a winter festival. We even went ice skating, if you can believe it. Up until a few weeks ago, I didn't even know what that was.

We stayed in a hotel to avoid the road at night and enjoyed our mate bond thoroughly. Honestly, I had a blast. When we returned home, I got a text from Mrs. Carrera saying that Bruno had awakened and had asked for me.

I got a little tongue tied about what to reply to her, so I just texted her 'thank you'.

That's it. I have no desire to face Bruno right now. I'm happy that he's okay. But we don't talk about Bruno. Nor to him.

As the days went by, Lex was slowly returning to his normal self joking and making inappropriate remarks about the male anatomy. But he never sought any male companionship for himself outside of his friendships. I understand wanting to wait for your mate, though I don't know when his birthday is. So that could take a while.

What I do know though is that someone else's birthday is coming soon.

But instead of being happy about it, he's taking a different approach.

Roger shows up at school and it seems like he's been crying. Teddy tries to comfort his best friend while Elodie is worried for him.

"What happened, Roger? Are you okay?" - Elodie asked him as soon as he entered the classroom with Teddy.

"NO! My birthday is tomorrow and I have a horrible feeling that you're not gonna be my..." - He trailed off, devastated. Elodie grimaced at the thought. She hugged him.

"It's fine, Roger. We had a good run. I'm sure you're gonna be happy with whoever she is." - Elodie tried to console him, but that only made him ugly cry.

"I don't wanna be happy with anybody else. I want you, Elodie. These past few weeks have been the best of my life. I'm falling in love with you!" - He confessed and we're all swooning. Elodie started to weep too.

"I'm falling in love with you too. I don't wanna be separated from you. I want to be your 'date'." - She admitted, feeling wrecked. Humans are completely lost at this line of conversation, but we werewolves get it very well.

They held each other close until class started and they had to get back to their seats. For the first time ever, Elodie had lunch with Roger today. They didn't want to spend one minute apart. Though I can't relate specifically to this situation, I can certainly empathize. There was a time when I didn't want to be mated away from Tristan. I know, right?

Roger and Elodie walked out of the school together after the last class, he asked to spend the day with her even if it was their last day together. Her parents didn't mind it as long as he brought her back home in time for dinner.

At night, Elodie was quiet and sorrowful. And we all can see how hard she has fallen for Roger. Even in such a short time.

"It's gonna be fine, sweetie. You'll see." - Allison reassured her in a sweet tone.

"No, it won't. He's gonna be mated away from me. I know it. Then I won't have anyone once again." - She burst into tears during dinner and we're all feeling her pain.

"What are you talking about? You have family and friends who love you!" - Her mother argued in a soothing tone.

"I'm sorry, momma. I love you all, but it's not the same." - She refuted, sobbing.

"Roger makes me feel seen, appreciated for the first time in my life! He makes me feel loved. Without him, I'm back to square one. Being the leftover while everyone else is paired and happy." - She ranted, devastated. She's crying so much it's difficult for the rest of us to eat dinner.

She excused herself and went upstairs to her room. The next morning, she had breakfast as she was preparing to go to a wake. Gloomy and saddened. We tried to encourage her the best we could, but there's no circumventing the mate bond. It is what it is. It's inescapable.

We arrived at school and Roger is nowhere to be found. We saw Teddy alone and Ben went to ask him about his whereabouts. He said Roger is in the bathroom crying. He doesn't wanna be mated. At this, Elodie starts weeping.

Chris hugged his sister and we tried to encourage her to go to the classroom anyway.

We're all sitting there nervously in pins and needles waiting for him to arrive. The teacher entered and he followed her inside, already wearing sunglasses.

That's when we see it. Her eyes shone the brightest it ever shined. And their lives would never be the same again.

https://youtu.be/FxYw0XPEoKE

A|N: For some reason, I started tearing up as I wrote Roger and Elodie's final words to each other. Damn, this book gets me so emotional and it's not even the most relatable to me. Not like The Refugee's Mate or The Twins' Mates.

Lately, I have written the chapters with specific songs in mind and I absolutely LOVE this classic from the greatest voice of my generation. Needless to say, I also love this film.

Speaking of tears, there will be plenty in the next chapter aptly called 'OVER YOU'.

Another chapter written with a specific song in mind. I can't help it. He will NEVER get over you.

Love,

Léo.