The boys

Unfortunately for he-who-must-not-be-named and me, saying we reject the bond isn't enough to make it disappear. The goddess would not let what she probably considers trivial human matters and childish behaviors affect something she willed into existence.

So, even if we have said the words and cleared our feelings, the mating pull doesn't seem to give one fuck about how we feel about each other. It wants us together.

For the rest of the week since our heated discussion, the dark lord and I have simply resorted to ignoring one another. This is no easy task, considering I want to set clueless Erin on fire anytime I see her close to him. It is only by sheer stubbornness and practiced control over my wolf (maybe for my pride as well) that I don't go over there and rip her hands away from his annoyingly fit body.

The mating pull is driving me mad, filling my head with jealousy and petty thoughts over a guy who absolutely does not deserve them.

Thankfully, they have yet to kiss in my presence, I'm not sure I could control myself then. He probably knows that which is why they've refrained. The mating bond exists in him too after all. I'm just curious about what he tells Erin to stop her from doing it because considering her constant gooey eyes over him, she still knows nothing about our predicament.

The moment the final bell of the day rings, on the last day of the week, I bolt from my chair and make my way to freedom. Finally, I get a few days without having to deal with the shit-show that my life has become. Cami runs out after me, probably annoyed I didn't even wait for her.

"Slow down, Violet." She says as she catches me. "You jumped from the chair like your ass was on fire."

"Not my ass, my head. If I have to look at Erin and him one more time, I might just combust."

"You know what you need, honey?" she offers.

"What?" I narrow my eyes suspiciously.

"You need a weekend of fun."

I know all about Cami's idea of fun, which usually includes boys. And boys are the last thing I want to think about right now.

I'm about to shake my head in refutation before she interrupts me.

"You remember Cayden and Marcus? We share a few classes with them." I knew it.

I nod before speaking. "Yeah, they're nice. But I'm not interested in anyone right now, Cami. For obvious reasons."

She shakes her head. "Relax, I would never suggest that, I'm pretty sure they're not even straight."

"Oh"

"But they did mention the packs are having a little bonfire on Saturday night for the new students to meet everyone."

"I'm not in the mood, Cami..." I tell her.

"Which is exactly why you should go, Vi." She insists. "Look, I'm not going to pretend I can imagine the amount of pain you are under. True mates are supposed to be together, no matter what. But, as your friend, I'm going to do everything I can to help you through this. And part of that is forcing you to have fun."

"I'm not sure I can..." I confess, knowing that it would be close to impossible for me to enjoy myself right now.

"Maybe not," she agrees "But you won't know if you don't at least try."

"I don't know Cami; I'll probably just ruin your night."

"Honey." She gives her serious voice. "I have your back. It doesn't matter whether that is in our pajamas watching a movie or at this bonfire dancing our asses off."

She starts twerking her butt and I snort, shaking my head in shame. Cami is such a good friend. Coming to Woodbridge is worth it even if just for her. If we weren't both straight, I would say she is my actual true mate. It's hard to believe we have only known each other for the three weeks we have been here.

"Okay." I concede. "Let's go to the bonfire."

My friend is right. I should at least try to have fun instead of simply laying in my bed every night hating life as I've been doing.

Cami shrieks. "Yeyyy!!!"

"Shut up before I regret it," I say, grabbing her elbow and pulling her with me in the direction of the car.

When we get to our dorm, I open my laptop and notice I have a missed video call from my mom. I have been sort of ignoring my family for the past week, too afraid I would start crying as soon as I saw them and end up having to confess everything to them. My communication has been restricted to text messages.

For some reason, I feel protective about my mating pull and, well, the rejection. I didn't want to share it with them and turn it into a problem for the packs as well. With me being our alpha's daughter and the evil one being the future alpha for the Shadow pack, our issue is doomed to turn into a conflict between packs instead of just us. Packs are very protective of their members and wolves see the mating bond as a sacred connection. Ignoring the mating pull would be seen as a grave offense. My family, especially my brothers, would probably want to kill the future alpha of the most powerful pack of the world and, while no one would allow that, people could eventually get hurt.

Therefore, before speaking to my very intuitive mother, I need to be 100% put together. Otherwise, she would see right through me and make me fess up.

Instead, I decided to call my dad.

It rings for only two seconds before he picks up.

"How is my beautiful daughter?" His voice sounds like home and gives me an instant smile.

"I'm good, daddy."

Do not judge me for the "daddy". I am a very spoiled only daughter with a very caring father.

"Your mother called you, baby girl." He tells me matter-of-factly.

"I know," I answer cautiously. "I just didn't want to video-chat right now. She'll annoy me about my hair." It's not a complete lie. My mom hates seeing my hair messy, and it's been quite a mess lately, with all the hair-pulling I've been doing courtesy of stress.

"Hmm, alright little pup. But please call her when you can." My dad lowers his voice to a whisper. "She's been driving me crazy complaining you don't care about her anymore."

I laugh out loud at that. My mom is a total drama queen. "I'll make sure to give her a call. Promise."

"Good, she'll be happy."

"And she'll leave you alone," I accuse.

He laughs quietly before saying "Yes, thank the goddess."

We talk a little more before I hang up the phone with a promise to take care of myself and call mom sooner rather than later. Despite his teasing, dad is completely fine with mom's complaints. He is so in love with her that she could spend the whole day complaining and he would simply stare at her with adoration in his eyes. Not many wolves find their true mates, but many find someone with whom they feel a deeper connection. Not quite a true mate bond, but a bond, nonetheless.

Those bonds aren't felt immediately, they take time and effort to reveal themselves. True mates have an advantage because they not only recognize each other immediately, the goddess gives them extra abilities that will both help deepen their connection and help them in the mission she chose for them. True mates are often leaders, holding positions such as alphas or close.

But, despite the simpler bonds lacking the advantage of the latter, it doesn't mean the two people love each other less. They simply may have a harder time identifying their connection. Both bonds need the two parts to put in work and dedication in order to fully come alive.

Seeing how my parents act, sharing one of those special bonds, makes me grieve for the future I could have had with my mate. If he wasn't the dark lord, I mean.

I notice Cami is busy studying at her desk, which is something I don't really feel like doing. I have been blessed with a decent memory, trained and improved by my enjoyment of reading. This means that I can get away with studying a little less.

But my only friend here being busy right now means I'm left with little to do and zero distraction from my broken heart. So, I text the only other person I'm close with who is within a reasonable distance from me.

-What are you up to?

My phone vibrates less than 5 minutes later.

-Just with the guys at my place, why?

A second text comes through before I reply.

- you okay?

I roll my eyes.

- Just bored. Can I meet you?

- Of course. Want me to pick you up?

- No. I need to let my wolf out.

- K. Be careful.

"Cami?"

"Yeah?" She says, not lifting her head from the book in front of her.

"I'm going to my brother's place."

Cami drops the pencil she has in her hand and turns around to face me. "You bitch."

"What did I do?" I gasp innocently.

"First, you have a hot older brother you never told me about. Second, you are going to see him when I have to study. Therefore, bitch."

"I told you about River," I defend myself.

"You mean the older brother that has a girlfriend and doesn't even go to Woodbridge anymore? Versus the one who is single and five minutes away?" She questions using an insulted tone.

"Point taken." I allow. "But trust me, you want nothing to do with Colton."

Cami scoffs. "Oh honey, I want everything to do with that brother of yours."

Ew.

"Ok. I'm leaving now."

She has the audacity to wink at me. "See you later"

As soon as I'm outside the building, I walk further into the forest that surrounds it and find a nice big tree to undress behind. Many shifters do not even care if someone sees them naked but I'm just not one of them.

My wolf takes over, her reddish-brown fur protecting me from the cold. She stretches her spine and buries her paws on the ground, enjoying being outside. I haven't shifted since the second day here and it's clear she misses her freedom. I used to shift almost daily on my pack, racing often with other members.

I use my mouth to pick up the clothes from the ground and start running, taking the longer route to Colton's shed. The university offers the option of actual houses, deep into the grounds, for students who prefer it over the dorms. Mostly, only high-ranking pack members or last-year students can get one. Colton, however, inherited River's in his first year. There are perks to being the son of the Blue Moon's Alpha. He can either become our older brother's beta or leave the pack and create his own. He certainly has enough alpha in his wolf.

He shares the house with Noah, another member of our pack that is my age and wanted to come here as well, and some other guys I don't know yet.

Our pack consists mostly of adults,

I'm so busy enjoying being in my wolf form, that I almost pass my brother's house without stopping. Rapidly backtracking, I find a nice fat bush and shift again, putting on my clothes.

Before I knock on the door, someone opens it and I find myself face to face with a huge blond guy. A broad smile fills my face. "Noah!!"

He smiles back at me with the same enthusiasm and lifts me in a hug. "Shortie!"

I hit his arm with my hand, still enclosed in his hug. I may be short for a werewolf, but he is overly tall.

A familiar yell comes from inside the house. "Hands of my sister, dude!!"

"Why haven't I seen you in class?" I ask him. Since we are both first-years it would have made sense for me to have seen him already.

He gives me a sheepish smile. "You never learn anything in the first two weeks...River gave me the hint."

I shake my head at him. "I won't give you my notes if that's what you're counting on,"

Noah smirks. "Yes, you will. I know you, you're too nice not to."

He's probably right.

We both make our way inside the house after I hit his arm in protest. My brother is sitting on a dated brown couch, playing video games with two other guys.

One has red hair like me and the other has a clean shaved head and cute dimples adorning his face. I also notice his cute honey-colored eyes, similar to Noah's.

"Violet," Colton nods in my direction and then points with his chin to the side "this is Finn and Ryland."

They both smile, looking at me curiously. Finn is the first to speak. "Glad to not be the only ginger here anymore."

I laugh. "Happy to help."

I get the red hair from my mom, while my brothers inherited my father's rich brown shade. We all share the same eye color, a defined blue that only changes in intensity. Mine and River's are almost identical in their lightness, while Colton holds a darker tone.

Ryland, the one with the dimples, gets up and stands next to me, looking me up and down before muttering "You're really hot."

A blush creeps its way up my face.

Noah chuckles while Colton immediately pauses the game. "You motherfucker."

"What?" Ryland says feigning innocence. "I'm stating facts."

Colton groans. "Just shut the fuck up, asshole."

"Don't mess with him when it comes to this one here, Ry." Noah points at me. "I warned you, he and River take overprotective brother to an insane degree."

Unfortunately, I can't deny that.

"What are you playing?" I ask my brother, moving to sit next to him, to the place Ryland just vacated. Growing up with two boys means that most videos games aren't news to me.

"Call of duty." He answers and passes me one of the remotes. "Wanna play?"

"Sure." Shooting things sounds like a nice way to spend my afternoon.

"You know how to play?" Ry questions.

"I'm not an expert," I shrug "But I know enough."

He puts his hands on his waist and whispers. "And hot just became hotter"

A pillow hits his face.

Noah and I burst out laughing while Colton looks for another pillow to throw at his friend. Finn stays quiet, but a smirk appears on his face.

An hour later, we are all still very much immersed in the game, when we hear voices outside. I don't pay them a lot of attention, focusing on using the momentary distraction to finally beat Finn, who seems to be invincible at this game.

The voices are getting closer, so I quickly take my shot, almost succeeding when, suddenly, my heart starts racing. Whoever was out there is making their way inside. They have to be familiar because none of the guys seem alarmed.

"It's just our neighbors, they're cool," Colton says, noticing my sudden discomfort.

But I'm not uncomfortable at the possibility of strangers coming inside. I'm panicking because of the familiar sensation that fills my chest and lets me know exactly who is coming through that door.

My eyes shoot up, dreading the inevitable.

"What the fuck is she doing here?" His voice booms from the entryway.

And... speaking of the devil. (Or in this case, the dark lord.)