Sydney

Sunlight seeped through the windows and leaked into my eyelids making them glow pink. Slowly my eyes fluttered open and I took a deep relaxing breath.

"You're awake."

I turned my head and found Jay sitting in the corner of the room staring at me like a hawk.

"Hi," I whispered, not too sure what else to say.

"Where the hell were you!?" Jay yelled standing in front of me in a flash.

This is not the way a girl wants to be greeted right when they wake up.

"I went on a run. I got to know my wolf. And as far as I know, I did nothing that concerns you." I fired at him knowing that I still had a right to be mad.

"You will not talk to me that way!" He yelled, his whole figure tense and his eyes started glowing.

I sat up and met Jay with an emotionless face. "I will talk to you, however, I deem fit. You don't control me."

"The hell I do. You are my mate and over that, I am your alpha. You will do as I say." He growled huffing now.

Sydney, let him calm down. His wolf is trying to come out, and it's not his wolf's kind side. My wolf warned.

I don't care. He has no right to talk down to me.

"No, I won't! It's not fair that you get to control my life all of a sudden. I was just changed into a werewolf two days ago and not by choice! It's because of you and your hooligan friends!"

"That has nothing to do with you running away from me and talking back to me!" He yelled.

Rage filtered through my body and my attention was drawn to my fists that were balled.

Before I recognized what happened, I had slapped him.

His face jerked to the side with a red print on his cheek. After blinking a few times and a hard swallow he looked at me once more.

I gasped as a tear slipped from my eye.

Did I just do that? I asked myself.

"Oh my god, I-I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that. Are you okay?"

Jay just stared at me.

"Jay? Jaycen?" I asked concern burning in my voice. "Jaycen, say something. Are you alright?" I reached out to grab him, but he pulled away.

He swallowed hard and finally spoke. "I'm sorry."

☽✣☾

Jay

After I found Sydney in my bed I ran to her and checked over ever in of her body in search of any injuries. When I reached her side, I saw she was wearing one of my oversized shirts and beside her was a wrinkled note like the one we got yesterday morning. I took the note and put it on the side table then I continued to the inspection of her body.

I saw no obvious signs of injury so I tucked her in and went downstairs with the note in hand. A few of my packmates loitered downstairs, surely per my father's order to detain and restrain me.

Two of my father's higher-ranked aids, one of which was Terrence's father, watched kept an eye on me as I went to Mat, Terrence, and Terrence's brother, Ash.

"She's back!" I yelled with excitement ringing in my voice.

"What?" My father's aid asked taken aback by this information.

"Sydney. She's upstairs. And there was this note on her." I flashed the note at them.

Mat tensed. "What did it say?"

"I haven't read it."

"Well read it." The adult demanded, crossing his buff arms over his large chest.

I nodded and unfolded the old paper. The people in the room crowded closer to me. Clearing my throat I projected the note out loud.

"Normally I go by the saying 'finders keepers, losers weepers,' but this is a different situation. Sydney is different. But I'll warn you; 'all is fair in love and war.'

Sincerely, Alpha Elliot."

"Wait, Elliot's the alpha of the Fallen?" Terrence asked his bushy eyebrows cocked up.

"Shit, I don't know." I groaned. "I don't know what to think anymore."

Terrence's father, Jeremy, spoke up. "Why don't we sit down and let's think this all through?"

"No. Let's just talk about this tomorrow. Sydney will need to be included in all of this, but right now she is asleep. Plus its almost midnight and I am sure half of us are tired." My father's aid suggested.

"No. We should talk about it tonight!" I objected.

Right now all I wanted to do was hunt down this bastard along with this character Logan and the rest of their pack for threatening my mate and my pack.

My eyes locked with my father's aid. His eyes were slightly darkened due to the fact I had a challenging tone to my voice. "Boy, I know you and your wolf just want to protect your mate, but there is nothing we can do about it this late at night, your father would agree with me. Now, let's deal with it tomorrow, I'll call your parents and call off the rest of the search parties."

"Fine." I huffed.

After that people started to disappear from the makeshift meeting, I started up the stairs.

"Why didn't you protect her?" A male voice I knew very well interrupted me.

I turned on the stair I stood on and saw Mat standing there at the bottom of the stairs looking heartbroken. In a flash, I threw him into a wall and pinned him by the throat. I felt my eyes start to darken as my wolf started to unveil himself.

"What did you say to me pup?" I growled, a vibration rumbling through my chest.

Mat's eyes started to darken as well. He spat out, "You should've been there for her and not have chastized Jasmine to stroke you're on damn alpha ego."

I released him and punched the wall beside his head. Drywall clung to my hand and dusted to the ground as I removed my hand from the distorted hole.

With on last glare, I turned and started pacing the room. Making fists I balled my hands up beside my ears as I attempted to restrain the dark side of my wolf.

"Why do people think that I was protecting Jasmine!? I didn't want Sydney to get hurt or anyone calling the cops!" I vented at my ex-best friend.

He sighed and dropped his head down. "I know."

Spinning on my heels I came and faced him. "What do you mean you know?!"

"I know you wouldn't do that to Syd."

"And why would you know that?"

He looked up at me and cocked his head to the side, slightly smug. "Because one Syd's amazing. Two because even though you are one of the school's players as well as have never noticed Sydney in her whole lifetime but instead just two days, I see the way you look at her. You look at her like you truly value her and like she is truly important to you."

I let out of breath. "She is. I realize being with her what an idiot I was and all the idiotic mistakes I have made. And I haven't even been with her for more than two days!" I shouted. "I don't know. I know I don't love her, I haven't even been with her a week, but I know I care for her."

Mat nodded in understanding. "That's because your guys' souls have for the lack of better words dusted off the cobwebs. When you guys are near each other your souls start to recognize each other more."

"Huh?" I asked, squinting in confusion at him.

"You seriously didn't pay attention when we had classes on this did you?" Mat half asked. Not waiting for an answer he went on. "Folklore says that the Zeus believed that because of the cruel deeds-like killing in masses-that a man by the name of Lycaon did in the name of Zeus. Instead of being flattered by these terrible actions, Zeus punished them by ripping the souls Lycaon and his family in half so they would not be complete. But Zeus liked to consider himself benevolent, he did not want to punish Lycaon's children as severely as Lycaon himself, so as a compromise he made it that when a descendant of Lyacon found their other half, or their mate as we call it, they would feel complete again."

"I kind of want to know how I missed something that important," I said wearily.

Mat only looked mildly humored. "Yeah, well we'll talk about it tomorrow. Sydney needs to know everything."

I nodded in agreement even if I didn't like it. "I know."

"Well, I'll be going then. Tell Syd I say hi when she wakes up."

Nodding once more I walked Mat to the door. "I will, 'night."

He gave me a nod and left into the chilly night.

☽✣☾

The next morning I woke up with a stiff neck from sleeping in the chair in the corner of my room. Once I rolled my neck about I sat there and watched till Sydney's olive eyes slowly open.

I gave her a moment to take everything in before saying anything. When her eyes fell on me I said, "You're awake."

She swallowed hard then whispered out, "Hi."

All the anger and fear I felt from last night came unrestrained and I rushed at her. "Where the hell were you!?"

Her eyes held determination when she fired at me, "I went on a run. I got to know my wolf. And as far as I know, I did nothing that concerns you."

She cannot run off from us and then talk to us that way.

My eyes started to glow from the fact that my mate thought she was none of my business and also for just yelling at me in that voice. "You will not talk to me that way!"

She sat up causing me to hold myself back from making sure she wouldn't hurt herself in doing so just in case she was hurt from last night. "I will talk to you, however, I deem fit. You don't control me."

"The hell I do. You are my mate and over that, I am your alpha. You will do as I say." I growled out.

By now I was panting and trying to hold back my wolf. I wasn't just angry, I was hurt and my wolf felt deeply disrespected.

She didn't speak for a moment so I could tell she was discussing something with her own wolf.

We should talk to her wolf, she will understand better than Sydney's humanity.

I was about to submit to the idea when Sydney's attention snapped back to our conversation. "No, I won't! It's not fair that you get to control my life all of a sudden. I was just changed into a werewolf two days ago and not by choice! It's because of you and your hooligan friends!"

"That has nothing to do with you running away from me and talking back to me!"

Out of nowhere, heat flooded my cheek and my head was jerked to the side. I realized that her hand had come in contact with my face.

Oh my god. She detests us.

Long gone was the softer more caring side of my wolf. Now was the wild and untamed wolf that demanded respect and refused to let Sydney deny us protecting her.

No. Mate or not we need to put her in her place.

NO! She is our mate and she does not understand anything that's going on and here we are yelled at her like an ass. I shot back at my wolf.

"Oh my god, I-I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that. Are you okay?" Sydney's voice cracked along.

I just stared at her to perplexed with her and my wolf to say anything.

"Jay? Jaycen? Jaycen, say something. Are you alright?" Her hands came out towards me, but I stepped out of reach.

Taking a deep breath I swallowed hard and finally spoke. "I'm sorry."

Sydney frowned. "Why are you sorry? I just slapped you. And in the face."

I let out a soft chuckle. "Where else would you have slapped me Sweetheart?"

She blushed, "Uh...I..."

I shook my head and went on. "I'm sorry about what went down with Jasmine," a growl rose from Sydney, "But you have to understand I wasn't trying to protect her. I was trying to protect you from her or the cops. I know you're proud, trust me I understand that all too well, and even if you are smarter than her and you're a white wolf, she had a lifetime experience on her side. That and she's apparently a little of kilter thinking there would ever be anything more between her and me when you came along. But all that said, I want to be clear: I care about you Sydney, not her. Even though I haven't even known you for three days, I can tell you are the one I want to spend the rest of my life with."

Sydney made a small gasp and her cheeks lit up. She bit her lip like she was trying to hold a smile back.

I ran my thumb over her lip releasing her lip from her teeth. "Don't do that. I like seeing you smile Star."

Her lips formed a bright smile.

"There we go," I whispered happily.

Sydney dropped her head and blush. She then lightly pushed me away from the bed. "Now even if we are mates and are connected I want to take this slow. I'm new to this all okay? Yes, I feel this pull to you but just because we are supposed to be together doesn't mean I'm going to throw myself into this relationship without knowing what I'm dealing with." I nodded for her to go on. "I want to get to know you as a friend first. Okay?" She asked.

Even though it hurt a little I understood and slightly agreed with her.

"Okay. Then let's make a fresh start so I can know the real Jaycen Ward." Sydney smiled and threw her arms out.

I let out a laugh, "Whatever you say Star."

"So, fresh slate starting..." She started at the clock beside the bed. "...Now! So handsome what's your name?"

The smile grew on my face if that was even possible. "Jaycen, Sweetheart but for you, just call me Jay." I flirted giving her a winked.

Sydney collapsed into the pillows of my bed in laughter. She caught her breath and looked up at me with tears of laughter in her eyes. "Wow, real smooth. Is that was you call your flirty face?" She asked with disbelief in her voice.

"Trust me, I don't need to flirt to get a girl," I said jokingly huskily.

She stared at me for a minute almost like she was mesmerized.

I like that thought.

So do I! My chipper more friendly wolf yelped in excitement back to his restrained self.

When she snapped out of it she shot me with her come back. "Just keep tellin' yourself that."

"Hardy hare." I faked amusement to her statement. "Whatever, like you could do better." But before she could answer I went on. "C'mon Star, we need to get some food in you. Then we need to talk about what went down last night and the night before."

She swallowed hard but nodded. Together, as friends, we went down the stairs to find Ash and Terrence there.

"Ash?!" Sydney cried.

☽✣☾

EDITED JUNE 23 2020