Tristan

The first Monday of January when I discovered my mate.

I'm stunned. Shocked. Flabbergasted.

First off, my mind is being bombarded with commands for me to put on my sunglasses to shield my shining eyes from the humans in the classroom.

I close my eyes before I get a headache from all the voices inside my head. Then I put on the damn thing and watch as Lex, my beloved, starts to unravel.

At the same time, my wolf is going haywire inside my chest. It knows we found our mate and it wants nothing more than to meet him.

Suddenly, it's all I can think about. Finding my mate.

Honestly, I didn't know I'd actually get a mate. Not really.

I mean, I did know about them. But as my parents have told me that they could be anywhere since I was a rogue, I had no expectations of finding him. And certainly I never expected to find him inside the classroom that day.

But once I did, my mind thought of nothing else.

I walked slowly taking in my surroundings inside the crowded classroom, instinctively sniffing out my mate, looking for them in the mix of all the students.

Suddenly, I see another boy wearing sunglasses and my wolf howls inside my chest, dying to claim its mate. It's eager for it, restless. Before I knew it, the small boy lunges towards me and jumps into a kiss that I fully welcome.

I didn't know what else to do. At that time, I had nothing else but him in my mind. My wolf howled inside my chest at the close contact with our mate. And his scent... oh my Goddess, his scent is the most wonderful musk I could've ever scented in my life.

I never wanted him to leave my arms. This was the closest thing to heaven that I've ever felt. I didn't want to part from him, not at all. Neither did my wolf.

After we introduced ourselves, we went to the next class but I was still in Evan's orbit. My focus was solely on him. He's all that I saw, all that I heard.

Of course, I did notice the state Lex was. I can't deny it, he was in bad shape. But my heart already belongs to my mate. I know I only just met the guy, but I couldn't explain it. It was as if I was trapped in Evan's world and nothing could break that spell.

It wasn't until later on when my mom asked me about how Lex took my mating that it hit me. 'Oh my Goddess, I didn't even talk to him today!' I thought to myself. I need to rectify that as soon as possible.

But the next day, I was once again in Evan's orbit and nothing else mattered.

Seeing Lex so wrecked about our separation did not feel good to me. That's the truth.

But I felt like a kid who's told he can't eat candy because his teeth will rot. So he never once ate one single candy in life, fearful of his teeth going bad. Then one day someone drops him in the middle of a candy store and tells him that he could take his pick.

Of course, he stuffed his mouth with so much sweets that he's bound to get ill.

I felt so denied of the mate bond experience, feeling unworthy of being mated, that once I was in his presence, Evan was all I could think about. I never wanted to be apart from him.

It's a strange phenomenon to explain, but the mate bond hit me like a ton of bricks. I was enraptured by Evan Wilkins as if he was the only boy in the world for me.

And then his parents wanted to ship him off to another country and I felt like my whole world was about to end. I never felt so much despair in my life over losing a boy I only just met, but I did. At that point, they might as well kill me because I'd rather be dead than mateless.

The afternoon in which Evan and I completed the bond.

We entered my three bed room, Chris wasn't here because he was stuck in detention at school and Ali has been sleeping with Ben since Christmas.

"I'm sorry I can't get you to a better room. This is all I can offer for now. I never expected to be mated in the first place, to be honest." - I croaked, blushing that we had to rush this.

"It's fine, I didn't expect to be mated to a rogue either." - He breathed out, mildly uncomfortable.

"Are you disappointed?" - I asked him, sounding worried and hurt.

"What? No, I'm not. Are you kidding me?" - He shot that down, hugging me for a minute.

"Tristan, you're the hottest, most handsome guy in that entire school. Are you kidding me? I hit the jackpot in the mating pool!" - He gloated, proudly.

I laughed out loud at his words, but mostly I felt relieved.

"I'm glad you feel this way, but I still wish we didn't have to rush into completing the bond. I wanted to take my time getting to know you." - I told him after a minute.

He looked serious at me all of the sudden.

"I know, I wanted that too. I never saw myself being one of those people who complete the bond right away. Even though I had some impure thoughts when I saw you naked in the locker room." - He admitted, humorously.

I laughed again, then I plopped down on one of the beds. I gestured for him to take a seat next to me.

"I know, I could scent your impure thoughts right away. Not only that, but I could also feel them. It was very difficult to concentrate on taking a shower without getting hard." - I confessed, blushing.

"Yeah, sorry not sorry. It's not my fault I got mated to the hottest boy of the school. I don't know how I could ever be so lucky!" - He said, taking a seat next to me and gazing upon my body with unflinching desire.

"I'm the lucky one, trust me." - I winked at him, before we spent the better part of an hour making out and getting cozy with each other.

"You fit me so well." - I told him after we just had a shower and returned to the room to get dressed.

"Thanks. I didn't expect I had so much to fit in." - He snickered, looking down at my crotch. I gasped at his remark and blushed.

"I hope you were pleased with me." - I told him, humbly.

"Oh yes, very pleased. Both of the times." - He winked at me.

I couldn't resist laughing at this. But seeing him bearing my mark meant the world to me, even if we still had to face the storm of his parents' reaction.

Evan went home and later at dinner, everyone noticed I had completed the bond. Like we always say: it's unmissable in a room full of werewolves. Even with all the cooking smells.

"Congratulations, son. I'm sure you did the best for you as a couple. But I hope Evan's parents don't react badly to this act of defiance." - Pappa told me, serenely.

Momma smiled, but she also looked worried for me.

"I hope so too, pappa. Honestly, we didn't mean to rush it but there was nothing else we could think of to keep Evan in the country." - I told him with some dread in my tone.

All the present congratulate me on completing the bond. Even though the circumstances could be better, it's still a joyous occasion.

The morning after Lex found out he was pregnant.

Evan looked nervous. I was nervous too, but since we share a connection, I didn't know how much was what I was feeling and how much was from him.

All I know is he's looking at me in pins and needles.

"Do you know what he's gonna do?" - He asked me in between classes.

"No, I have no idea whatsoever. But I highly doubt he's gonna keep it." - I replied, honestly.

"You need to talk to him, get a sense of where his mind is at." - Evan told me, worriedly.

"What? Me? Why would I need to talk to him?" - I rebuked, frowning.

"Maybe because it's your kid he's carrying. And if he does carry on with the pregnancy, it'll derail all of our plans. Not to mention my parents are gonna freak the fuck out about this. It was already a struggle to get them to trust you in the first place, if you pull an unmated pregnancy now, all our work goes down the drain." - He chastised me, peeved.

Evan genuinely sounded and looked concerned about this. Especially for what it could mean to our relationship.

Honestly, I was too scared to talk to Lex after all this time. I didn't know how to even begin broaching this subject. But I know I should've talked to him that day. He deserved better from me.

Eventually, Evan approached him sometime during lunch break and discovered that Lex was already on meds to interrupt the pregnancy. I never felt so relieved in my life... I was NOT ready to be a father, especially by someone NOT my mate.

Though I can recognize the situation was way worse for him, who was still unmated.

The morning in which Lex punched me after I tried to talk to him.

"What the fuck? Who does he think he is punching my mate? I'm gonna have his skinny ass expelled from here!" - Evan was beyond mad at this.

"It wasn't a big deal, Evan. I don't want to pursue any charges against him. I was wrong to approach him in the first place." - I recognized, feeling embarrassed at the whole situation.

"Why did you go to talk to him in the first place?" - Evan frowned at me in suspicion.

"The guidance counselor told me about this scholarship that Lex's family awards every year. I thought about asking him if it was okay for me to apply for it." - I replied, blushing.

"Aren't you training to be a warrior with my uncle? Why are you talking about college scholarships?" - He looked puzzled at me.

"Because there's no guarantee that I'll get a position as a warrior even with all the training from Mr. Gladstone. I should have a backup plan, don't you think?" - I pondered.

"What I think is that if you apply yourself with my uncle, the warrior who has the best reputation in the entire force, you'll have no problem making it." - He challenged me.

"I AM APPLYING, but it's hard. Your uncle is no joke! I'm more sore now than when I was living as a rogue walking miles a day just to get water." - I complained, feeling the weight of the hard training.

"Right. You thought making it as a warrior in one of the most respected wolf armies of the country was a walk in the park? Of course, it's hard! People train for years to make it as a warrior!" - He exclaimed, baffled at me.

"You're right, I know. But I will make it, I promise you. I'll make you proud of me." - I said, feeling a bit embarrassed.

"I am proud of you, my love. But you need to put in the work since you only have a few months before the try outs." - He spoke softly and we kissed for a minute.

Later that day after classes ended...

"I don't want you to go after Lex because of a punch. I don't want him expelled. Neither from the school much less from the whole pack. That would destroy his life and he doesn't deserve it." - I told my mate very adamantly.

"He needs to learn a lesson. You don't fuck with my mate!" - Evan barked, walking the way towards his car.

"Sure, but I still don't want him to suffer because of one mistake." - I reiterated.

Evan grunted and he dropped me off at the pack house before I rode with Ben to the training center.

"What happened to your nose?" - Mr. Gladstone asked me as soon as he saw me inside.

"I got punched today. It's not a big deal, I can still train normally." - I replied, blushing from the embarrassment.

"Who punched you? Was it a human because it's against pack law to hurt someone's mate." - He inquired, intrigued.

"I don't want to talk about it, sir. I just want to carry on with my training, if that's okay with you." - I told him, feeling more uncomfortable by the second.

Gladstone rolled his eyes but didn't object nor he inquired further, thankfully.

THE NEXT DAY.

After I yelled at Evan for pursuing charges against Lex even after I specifically told him not to do so, I stopped talking to him the entire morning. I was furious, but mostly at myself for disappointing my parents.

If my dad loses his job over this, I will never forgive myself for as long as I live. Nor will I forgive my mate. It wasn't for the lack of me repeating to him I didn't want any consequences to Lex. I think he was punished enough for associating himself with me.

After Evan showed me the emails he sent out to the people involved and the replies he got, I thanked him for deescalating the conflict and apologized for shouting at him.

I didn't mean to get so mad, but my parents mean everything to me. And Goddess only knows what pappa would do if he couldn't work. I'm old enough to know that the food and board that the pack house provides us are not free.

The first week of April.

"Tristan Maldonado. Roberto Carrera. Please report to the library for your interviews." - Principal announced over the speaker system.

"Wait, did you apply for the Houser scholarship? Aren't you training for something else?" - Lex questioned me, baffled at the news.

"Yes, I am. But I wanted to try for something else in case I needed a backup plan." - I replied, before getting up from my seat in the classroom.

"And did you seriously think you had any chance after everything that happened?" - Evan surprised me with an accusatory glance my way.

"Not unless he told his grandfather he got sick because of me." - I answered, dealing in euphemism for the sake of the humans.

"Good luck, Ali." - Ben encouraged his mate, smiling at him.

"Honestly, I just want to punch the next person who calls me Roberto." - He grunted, annoyed.

"Don't punch my grandpa, bitch!" - Lex warned him, worriedly. But with a hint of sarcasm.

Ali glared daggers at him and we went over to the library.

Later that day...

"It was actually kinda nice. He didn't talk about Lex at all." - I told my mate inside the classroom.

"Why would he talk about him? He's happy and dated. It's about you." - Evan glared at me.

"You're right, Evan. It is about me." - I smiled at him cheekily.

"It has always been about you." - Lex muttered under his breath.

"I'm sorry for everything, Lex. But I'm glad you're in a much better place now." - I told him with some remorse.

"Well, after having walked through the fire of the hell hole you left me, there was nowhere to go but up." - He jabbed at me.

I gulped at this awkwardly.

"I'm just glad you survived. And you couldn't be dated to a better guy, I hear." - I spoke, humbly. Teddy was glaring at me through this whole conversation but remained silent.

"On that we can agree. You're right. I hit the jackpot. Suddenly, all the past assholes were worth it just to get to him." - He smirked.

"Okay, you can stop now." - Evan glared at him.

"Trust me, bitch. I'm done. You can have him and be happy. I look forward to never having to glance at his stupid face ever again." - Lex shot back.

I kissed my mate before this discussion went over any further.

We don't need to fight anymore. This chapter is done. All that matters now is the future and making my life with my mate by my side. I'm done with any animosity.

I wish Lex and Teddy the best. But right now it's all about my mate and me.

Plus, let's be honest here, there is much more interesting stuff going on at the pack house. I can't wait to see how that's going to go.🧐

I know, right? Me running away from conflicts. So much for the bad guy.

https://youtu.be/DyDfgMOUjCI

A|N: I confess I didn't see this one coming, particularly.

Someone suggested to me long ago in the comments but I never wanted to write his point of view. I wasn't interested in it. But there was this song by Billy E. that I loved and it got me thinking... why not?

Oh, did you want to know what happened with Martha and Gladstone?

Me too. I love suspense.

Love,

Léo.