Harry

Whoever said college was all about fun and freedom probably didn't major in pre - med.

My name is Harrison Staedler, I am 20 years young and currently attend Rice University as a sophomore.

I come from a small town in Texas where two feuding families battle it out for revenge over something that happened many decades ago.

Not even my dad remembers what it is we're fighting for anymore. All he told me is that the Barnett clan had killed an ancestor of his.

Honestly, I have way bigger fish to fry.

Being born the second son of a mighty werewolf dynasty has afforded me the opportunity of planning my own future, instead of having to simply follow in my father's footsteps like my older brother.

He is the one who ascended as the next Alpha of the Blood Moon pack last year. I know that being Alpha is all that he has ever dreamed of, good for him.

I don't have the same ambition. Even if I could, no thanks. I'm a lover, not a fighter. Though technically I was taught to fight from a young age because my father made sure of it. Something along the lines of keeping the family strong.

I can't say it never came in handy. Back in high school, I was more than willing to stand my ground against some homophobic bullies.

I hate to give him credit, but my dad raised no victim. I'm far from being a pushover. I just don't seek any unnecessary conflict, but if you come for me, you'll find me ready to go.

Not that I can say I had a bad high school experience, I didn't. I did okay. I had good friends, occasional boyfriends, I mean, boys I had no 'strings attached' flings with. I was even voted most likely to be successful after highschool.

Good times.

There's just one little caveat.

I was supposed to find my soulmate when I turned 18 just like any other werewolf. I did everything I was supposed to, even applied for out of state colleges in case he was accepted into one of them.

But no matter where I looked, he was nowhere to be found. And I did look everywhere.

I'm not the first werewolf to attend college still unmated, but having a front row seat to all my friends' mate reveals, I can say from experience that it was almost traumatizing.

I personally hate pity parties. It's just how I was raised. But that really stung... I was so ready to go to college with my mate, hopefully to the same one.

I was even prepared to go to a different college than my original choice. But no mate for Harry. I guess I'm just one of those people whose mates are younger and they got disconnected from me back in high school. It happens.

Though I'd love for him to go here at Rice. If we were to discover each other here it'd be wonderful. But I'm not holding my breath.

I'm nearly at the end of my year and still nothing. Since I'm 20 now, the only hope I have left is to return to my home town and find my mate to be graduating high school.

Other than that, I have no clue where to look for him that I haven't already done. I wouldn't mind even if my mate were human, I just would like to find him as soon as possible.

Actually, scratch that. I definitely would mind, but I'd accept him just the same. Growing up in a majority human population town, I learned since I was a pup to blend in with them.

And now that I'm in college, this place is so overrun with humans, there's barely any werewolves to connect with me.

And yes, the few werewolves that I found here are all already mated. Even the ones who came from different packs.

It's funny. When I first talked to them - we can scent each other, werewolves know how to differentiate us from the humans, so it gets easier to know who belongs to our 'tribe' - all students were like:

'You're still unmated? How is that possible? Do you come from a small pack?'

No, bitch! I've come from a pack of 10 thousand people. But still I didn't find him, okay? It's not like I didn't look for him. My dad even sent me out of state and Texas is already a big place to search for someone.

Anyway, there's no use dwelling on it. It is what it is. Like I said, I'm not the first person to remain unmated after high school and I'm definitely not gonna be the last one.

Though I'm not going to lie, I'm anxious to return to my town this summer. Because now that I'm 20, this will be the last chance I have to find my mate [graduating] out of high school.

If he isn't among the graduating seniors, because of my mating range, I have no idea where he could possibly be and that scares me the most.

It's not like I can't have any relationship while still unmated. I can do whatever I want. But who am I taking back to my family other than my mate?

I can't exactly take a human to present to my parents. It's forbidden to expose our true nature to them unless that person is our mate.

And yes, the consequences for those who expose us needlessly are harsh. I don't need that kind of hassle in my life. Nor do I want any. Plus, I don't really have any desire to shack up with any human unless I'm mated to them.

I hate having no control over it. But all I can do is move on with my life the best way I can.

I woke up in the morning inside of my college dorm. My quiet roommate seemed to have already left for classes. I went through my morning rituals and quickly got dressed.

I made my way to the campus for my first class of the day, where I greeted other students as I met them.

"Long night?" - Spencer asked me as he saw my sleepy state.

Spencer Jonas is one of the few friends I was lucky enough to have here from my hometown. I didn't have that many friends to begin with, so I was very fortunate that he got accepted into Rice like me.

He's mated, but his mate stayed back as he got approved to work as a warrior for our pack, which is why he picked a college closer to our town instead of an out of state.

Good for him, honestly. I would've done the same if I could. I mean, if I needed to.

"Not really, no. Just cramming for tomorrow's exam. Me and organic chemistry don't get along so well." I replied in a sarcastic tone.

"I feel you..." He agreed enthusiastically.

"Yes, but you got an 'A' on the last exam." I raised my eyebrows suspiciously.

"Because I'm on a partial scholarship. I can't afford to let my grades go down." He was quick to reply to me.

"I get it, but even though our situations are not the same, my dad keeps track of my grades online. So the pressure is on." I explained, trying to relate to him. Yes, the (former) Alpha is on to me, especially now that he is retired.

Spencer gulped awkwardly at my remark. He knows my dad well since we came from the same pack.

I took my seat in the massive classroom and opened my laptop to take notes. Several hours later, Spencer and I went to the cafeteria for lunch.

"Are you excited to go back home this summer?" - He asked me, starting to eat his food. We take seats at a table near other werewolves to possibly overhear some unsuspecting gossip.

"More nervous than excited, to be honest. I don't need to tell you what's at stake for me." I replied with a knowing glance and nervous tone.

"You'll find him, Harry. Maybe he's already at a different college. You never know..." He conjectured, eyes wandering the packed place.

"That's actually worse than if he's graduating high school. It can take years for us to find each other. Maybe even after our graduation, that is if he returns to our hometown after college. Honestly, I'll spiral if I even entertain the possibility." I said, scrambling to make sense of it.

There are numerous explanations for people to remain unmated. There are reported cases of people that only find theirs in their 30's. I'm only 20, if I even think like that I'll get depressed and then my life will derail completely.

I just can't let myself get into that mindset. I'm not desperate, I'm curious about him. I can't help but to feel like I'm missing a big aspect of what it means to be a werewolf. And I do want companionship after all.

"Don't even think like that, Harry! He's gonna drop into your lap when you least expect it." Spencer winked at me playfully.

"Anyway, are you visiting your man this weekend or is he coming here?" I asked him, trying to change the subject. Sort of.

Because of the long distance relationship he maintains with Kevin, his mate, they take turns traveling back and forth to see each other. Bonded mates can't go for long periods of time without seeing one another. Your (inner) wolf starts getting depressed without its mate and then you'll suffer from the absence.

Unfortunately, warriors don't get weekends off because they work on rotation and schedules can go over the weekend and all hours of the day. But young warriors get some leeway when their mates are away in college. Naturally, our Delta (head warrior) knows about their situation and a sick warrior is no good for anyone, much less protecting our pack.

"He's coming here. Honestly, I can't wait. I miss him so much." - He practically drools in anxiety. Though I can't relate, I can understand longing. I don't have a mate, but I miss my family. Even my obnoxious Alpha brother.

"Good. At least you don't have to drive." I said, contemplating his fortune. It's almost 4 hours from Houston to our little town. And it can get exhausting doing every weekend back and forth, which is precisely why they rotate.

Spencer and I spent the rest of our lunch break talking about college stuff before we had to return for the afternoon classes. Later that evening, I came back to my dorm to find my roommate sitting on his bed with a laptop over his lap typing away.

"Hi, roomie." I greeted him with a modest smile and a chipper tone.

He grunts in response.

"Are you gonna give me the silent treatment for the whole four years of college? That's a lot of time to be silent!" I exclaimed, really annoyed at his bratty attitude.

When I first moved here, two years ago, I was happy to find out that my college roommate was also a werewolf like me. Unfortunately, it only took a simple introduction between us for him to get riled up and treat me with indifference.

As luck would have it, he is from the Regency Falls pack. Our rival. I tried to reason with him, saying that I had nothing to do with that idiotic ancient rivalry. But he never warmed up to me after that introduction. It's been two years of silence or short answers.

I have absolutely nothing against the guy; by all accounts, we should be best friends at this point. We're the same age, species and he even has a male mate. In theory, I couldn't have asked for a more compatible roommate. It's just sad that we can't seem to get along, no fault of my own.

However, after his Alpha was killed on my brother's order a few weeks ago, things only deteriorated between us. Even though I've told him I had nothing to do with that. I didn't even know what happened until I was told by Spencer.

I didn't know my brother had it in him to have another Alpha killed. But I fear for the push back that our pack is gonna sustain after that. This is not something werewolves take lightly. I hope my dad stays safe.

"There are only two years left." He rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"Good one. Have a nice evening then." I said in a snarky tone, unbothered.

I grabbed some things and went to take a shower down the hall. I'm not a fan of showering outside of my room, but that's college for you. When I returned to my room, he was video chatting with his mate. He is in a long distance relationship too. That happens a lot after we go to college.

I remained silent because I'm a polite boy and despite everything, I don't want to antagonize him. Like I said, I don't have anything against the guy. Not yet, at least.

"Why don't you move to another room?" His mate asked him over the call.

"I've already tried. They told me there were no other vacancies." He replied and I rolled my eyes in annoyance.

"Try again next semester. Maybe something opens up." The mate suggested.

"What does he think I'm gonna do? Kill you in your sleep?" I couldn't hold back anymore. I'm too irritated at this line of conversation. Also, it's not the first time they've talked about this.

"I swear, if you touch my mate you won't escape Houston with your life!" He threatened me, though he couldn't see me from the angle of the video chat, he could hear me perfectly.

My roommate turned to glare daggers at me from his bed.

"I'm not touching your precious mate, moron! I was the one with him when he got struck by heat. I was by his side, not you. If I had any ill will towards him, I wouldn't be nursing him to health." I jabbed at him, aggravated.

"He wasn't sick. He was in heat, it's different. All you had to do was make sure he got his medicine!" He shot back at me as if that was a small feat.

"That's more than you did." I retorted, getting a very angry boy to growl at me.

"He couldn't come here in the middle of the week, psycho! It's not like he didn't care!" My roommate snarled at me, fuming.

"If anyone is a psycho in this room, certainly it's not the person who has absolutely nothing against you or your mate and still is treated like the enemy." I rebuked, peeved.

"That's because you ARE the enemy!" His mate shouted through the speaker phone.

"I'm tired of this same old rhetoric." I said, utterly aggravated. Then stormed out of the room.

I never asked to pay for the sins of my pack members. I have nothing against anyone. All I want is to get my degree and possibly find my mate. I actually have many more years to study if I want to become a doctor.

But right now, I'd settle for this silly animosity to be over. Like I said, I'm a lover, not a fighter. I don't like conflicts, especially needless ones. And right now I couldn't care less about a roommate from a rival pack.

All I want is to have the best college experience possible and if he wants to move away to a different dorm, then good for him. I don't fucking care. I'm over it at this point. Maybe I'll fare better with a human roommate, who knows?

When I returned to our room later, he was lying in bed with his back turned to me. I changed clothes and laid on my bed.

Over the next morning, I told Spencer about the ridiculous argument I had yesterday with them. He told me I shouldn't take that to heart. The image that they have of me does not represent the real me.

He continued by telling me that I did everything I could to be on good terms with my roommate and that any animosity he may harbor against me is not my doing. My conscience should be clear.

I agreed with him and smiled at my friend.

He's absolutely right.

It's not my responsibility to shape how other people view me. All I can do is be true to myself, lead with empathy and hope for the best. People will do what they gotta do, but I can't worry about the opinions of others.

The only man whose opinion I should care about is my dad, who actually pays my bills. I spent my next days ignoring my roommate just the way he likes.

I carried on studying and talking to my friends and family, people who actually matter to me. I can't worry about anything else, I have plenty on my mind as it is.

Here's hoping my upcoming return home can be fructifying.

https://youtu.be/j2WWrupMBAE

A|N: You do you, Harry!

Buckle up, because a storm is brewing.

Love,

Léo.