Claire

Claire tossed her final throw pillow onto her bed and stepped back to admire her work. Her pale white and pink flowery comforter brightened the brick interior of her apartment. It matched the fluffy white rug she'd saved a month to buy the summer before.

She caught a glimpse of her blonde ponytail in the thrift store mirror above her bed, smiling at the way her green eyes lit up for the first time in what seemed like forever. Her small one-bedroom apartment was nothing to brag about, but it was hers. Plus, it was an hour away from her hometown where she left her miserable memories of high school.

She'd been the epitome of shy and awkward growing up, which tossed her into the shadows during her high school years. She didn't mind—blending in fit her much better than standing out. However, that wasn't the case once he showed up and ruined everything.

Claire walked into her small kitchen and opened her refrigerator. Only a carton of milk, some eggs, butter, and cheese made the trip with her. Her father gave her a couple hundred dollars to get her started, which wouldn't last long, but she intended to get an on-campus job soon because she knew her rent money would only last a couple of months.

She pulled out a small skillet, butter, and eggs to make her something for dinner. Her first class started in the morning, and she wanted to fill up before bed so she would sleep well.

Claire cooked her food, her mind racing with what ifs the entire time. What if he showed up at her university? She doubted it since he'd been accepted to a much larger university miles away, which was where she wanted him—miles away from her.

Axel Davers was that one person that never seemed to let Claire fade into the shadows. He'd pick her out of a group of a thousand and make sure to torment her in any way that he could. She couldn’t even pinpoint when it started, or why, but that it made her days tiresome, and she feared to run into him at any moment.

He was devilishly handsome, with wide shoulders and a head full of sandy brown hair. Every girl in her school lusted after him besides Claire. How could she ever crush on the one person that bullied her relentlessly?

Claire's cell phone vibrated in her pocket, and she dug it out with one hand, while taking her eggs off the stove with the other. "Hello?"

"Hey, darling," her dad said on the other end. "How's it going?"

Claire smirked to herself. Her dad was overprotective since her mother passed away when she was little. It'd always been the two of them, and he worried about Claire living alone.

"Oh, you know, just hosting my first rager and trying some drugs. The usual."

Dad sighed heavily. "Funny," he said. "Have you eaten?"

Claire silenced her own sigh and plopped her scrambled eggs down onto her plate. "Yes. I'm having eggs. I plan to go to the grocery store tomorrow after classes and after I apply for some on campus jobs. How was work?"

"Work is work," he mumbled. "I'm just—"

"Watching the game?" she answered for him.

He chuckled, and Claire envisioned him rolling his eyes, too. "Yes. Well, since you're alive, I will let you eat. Call me tomorrow and tell me how everything goes, okay?"

"Got it. Love you, Dad," Claire said.

"Love you."

Claire hung up the phone, feeling a sense of emptiness settle in the midst of her stomach. She felt it often due to the lack of a true best friend—other than her dad—she didn't have anyone to talk to or call.

However, she planned to change that. Tomorrow would open a new avenue for Claire. She could be whoever she wanted to be, and the shy awkward girl would be put to rest—forever.

***

Claire's nerves rattled around in her stomach like a pill bottle as she parked her old Dodge Dart in an empty parking space. The hustle and bustle of the campus was in full swing, and it was nearly 8 AM.

Claire cleared her throat and grabbed the strap of her bag. "You've got this, Claire," she mumbled to herself, opening the door. She felt the humid southern breeze suck the breath from her.

She didn't expect anything less than a scorcher the first few months of school, being it was August in Louisiana. She didn't mind it most days; however, she needed to make it to class without looking a complete mess her first day.

The Arts building consisted of any art, English, or psychology class on campus, and since Claire wanted to pursue psychology, she had several classes in that building. She maneuvered her way toward her class, making a beeline for a seat in the middle of the room. Hopefully, that would keep her blended into the scene and not draw any attention to herself.

She placed her book bag beside her desk and put her books and notepad on her desk. Her OCD reared its head as she put her pencil in line with the top of her notebook and slid her palms down her thighs. You've got this, she mumbled to herself.

Something in the pit of her stomach felt off about that morning, but she couldn’t place it. She'd always felt as if she had a sixth sense but never thought too much about it. A few students trickled in the closer it grew to 8 AM. Claire smiled at them, hoping she didn't come off too pushy to make friends.

A girl walked in with wild pink hair, bright neon leggings, and a torn white shirt right before class started. One of the only empty seats was in front of Claire. She walked down the aisle, sat down, and turned immediately back to her.

"I shed."

Claire glanced around. "Huh?"

She smirked. "My name is Cat, and I shed. I'm just warning you because I had a girl freak out last year because my hair fell out all over her desk."

Claire examined her wild pink hair, thinking the dying it probably made her hair frail, but she kept her mouth shut. "I'm Claire, and that's okay. I'm sure I won't even notice."

Cat popped a piece of gum in her mouth and smirked. "You're the nice girl, right? The one that keeps her emotions at bay until one day … you just pop?" she asked.

Claire laughed because that was an accurate representation. "You should go into mind reading."

Cat laughed, tossing her head back, her big brown eyes vibrant with laughter. "I totally should—"

"Alright, class," the professor said as she walked into the classroom. "Let's begin."

Claire watched her write her name on the chalkboard in big letters: Professor Sitton. She was red-haired with bouncy curls that Claire envied and a sweet smile. "We're going over our syllabus today, and then we'll cut out early. But on Wednesday," she said, lifting her index finger into the air, "we'll get to work!"

She pulled out her syllabus and passed their copies around. English wasn't Claire's favorite subject, but she was well enough at it. The door opened mid-sentence, and Professor Sitton glanced over with an annoyed expression.

Claire's gaze followed her line of sight, landing on the person walking through the threshold. Everything in the room stilled. Her mouth dried. Her heart jackhammered nervously against her ribcage.

The world blurred around her.

It was him. Axel Davers.

The one boy she'd prayed to never see again. His dominant footsteps echoed against the concrete walls of the old building, his thick throat moved as he swallowed and scratched the edge of his jaw covered in a dark stubble.

Professor Sitton grabbed her roster and glanced over at him. "Axel Davers, I presume?"

Axel nodded slowly, but he seemed distracted, and Claire knew why immediately. Did he have some kind of animal magnetism or something? His dark eyes shifted toward her, and pinned her to the seat in the middle of the classroom.

Cat turned around and glanced at Claire with both eyebrows raised to her hairline. Claire's fingertips tightened around the edge of her seat, and she shifted nervously. It was too late to transfer, and she wasn't that much of a coward to run, but it wasn't too late to switch classes.

And she would do it to enjoy the next four years of her life.

"Take a seat, Mr. Davers," Professor Sitton said while turning back to the board. "And grab a syllabus from my desk."

Axel kept his dark gaze on Claire as he grabbed his syllabus and walked across the room to one lone seat in the very corner. Away from Claire as she'd hoped. If it were up to her, that would be the closest Axel Davers would get to her ever again.

She promised he wouldn’t torment her any longer, and that was one promise she intended to keep.

Axel

He had to be wrong. Axel's wolf pawed and spun circles, wanting out, wanting her—Claire Summers. No. Axel refused to believe that she was his mate. But he couldn’t deny the pull toward her or the ungodly need to sink his fingers into her hair and his fangs into her neck. Everything she did growing up dug underneath his skin. Her smile. Her laugh. Axel hated her—and he never understood why.

Plus, she was human. Axel was the next Alpha of his father's pack. Why would he get a human mate?

Suddenly, being pissed off about Claire dating Patrick Kelly in eighth grade made sense. It didn't then, when Axel felt like ripping Patrick's arm off his shoulder for holding her hand. After that, everything she did pissed him off, but not as badly as the fact that she was human and had no idea the supernatural existed just like everyone else in the room.

The neighboring packs, the ones that wanted to, attended the local college to stay close to home. Axel had been offered numerous scholarships throughout the states, but he needed to be close to home. Since his father—the alpha—had a few more years in his reign, Axel decided to go to college for a few years, until his father stepped down.

Axel couldn’t imagine stepping up to become alpha with a human luna. Mating with a human happened occasionally but not for an alpha. He rolled his eyes and sighed loudly. Why her?

He took his seat and slung his backpack underneath his chair, while flipping through his syllabus.

Talk to her, his wolf said. Don't be stupid.

Axel slid his tongue across his teeth and tightened his hand into a fist on his thigh. He didn't want to talk to her, or even look at her, and yet, he couldn't stop from glancing over his shoulder at her blonde ponytail that she spun around her index finger.

When she looked up, her green gaze seared him. The look of disgust on her face told him everything he needed to know. Claire wasn't going to give him the time of day, and it pissed him off even more.

You brought it upon yourself, his wolf said.

"Shut up," he hissed.

Professor Sitton glanced over at Axel, her eyes narrowed to annoyed slits. "Did you say something, Axel?"

He shook his head. "No, ma'am."

She pursed her lips but went back to talking about the syllabus. Axel hadn't heard anything she said the entire period because he could sense Claire's heartbeat from across the room. With her being his mate, he could sense everything about her, and it warmed his blood.

"Alright, kids. See you Wednesday. The books you need are listed on your syllabus in case you haven't already purchased them. See you then. Stay out of trouble. The first week is always wild."

The students began to gather their things and walk toward the doorway. Axel's wolf nudged him to go forward, to talk to her, but what would he say? "Hey, how was your summer? I knocked your books out of your hands on the last day of high school and booed when they called your name at graduation. Sorry about that."

This was going to be one big pile of crap to dig himself out of this semester.

Axel got up and walked over to her desk, his shadow hovered over her small frame. When she looked up, shock traveled over her pretty features. How had he not noticed how green her eyes were before?

"Hey," he said.

Claire stood up slowly, only coming up to his chin, but she didn't seem deterred from snarling at him. "You're in my way. Excuse you."

Axel's fingers tightened into fists at his sides, and a deep humorless chuckle lifted from his chest. "So Claire has grown some balls, has she?"

Claire tilted her chin up in a defiant way that made Axel's wolf howl. "I said. You're. In. My. Way," she said, shoving past him.

Axel tilted back on his heels and watched as Claire walked out of the classroom without a glance back. The girl that sat in front of Claire snickered underneath her breath and chased after her.

That's what you get, his wolf laughed. I like her.

Axel barreled from the classroom, feeling his insides turn into an angry swarm of bees. His phone vibrated in his pocket, and he dug it out from the depths. "Hello?" he barked.

"Ouch, what a way to talk to your Momma."

He sighed and walked out into the sunlight, his skin loving the warmth of the Louisiana summer still lingering in the air. "I'm sorry, Momma. What's up?"

"I was just checking on you. You haven't called to check in today."

Axel sensed the underline reason she called and didn't want to admit anything to her. She called every day since he turned eighteen two months before to ask if he'd found his mate. It was only a matter of time before she asked again.

"I just finished my first class. I have to check in with the football coach soon, and then I'll have lunch. How's Dad? Any news about the rogue lycan he encountered?"

"No, nothing yet. Your father is good. Good. Good," she said softly. Axel felt her energy shift, and when she couldn't wait another minute, she asked, "So … have you found her?"

Axel gnawed at his bottom lip, debating on whether to tell his mother or not. It was definitely not love at first sight for them, and he was sure that she assumed it would be. Not hardly. Axel stopped on the sidewalk and pinched the bridge of his nose.

If he told her, he would have to tell her everything. How would she react to knowing he bullied his mate in school? Not good. Because ultimately, she raised him better than that.

So, he lied.

"Not yet, Momma. I'll let you know when I do. But I need to go. Call you later?"

"Sure thing. Love you, son."

"Love you."

He hung up his phone and shoved it into his pocket. The fieldhouse was on the other side of campus, and he planned to pick up his game jersey before their first game that Friday. The scholarship he earned was a full-ride, and it'd always been a way to release his stress in a way that wouldn't get him expelled.

Axel walked down the sidewalk, feeling his stomach twist at the thought of having to win Claire over. Most mates fell into one another's arms and lived happily-ever-after. Maybe the chase would be fun?

It'd been a long time since Axel had to work for a woman's attention. Being a werewolf, his charm—and his figure—drew female attention. Just like the brunette staring at him from in front of the fieldhouse.

When he passed without giving her a second glance, her heard her let out an irritated sigh, but he couldn’t act on it if he wanted. He found his mate, and if he denied his wolf his mate, he'd rip Axel in half to get to her—at any cost.

"Davers!" Coach yelled from his office when Axel passed by the door. Axel turned and walked into his office. Coach Bear was the opposite of his name, small with a balding head and a furry beard. "Your jersey is ready in your locker. We have practice in the morning at six am. Don't be late. And I know it's just the first day, but stay on top of your work because it doesn't matter how good you are or not—bad grades, and you're benched."

"Yes, sir," Axel said.

Coach gestured for him to be on his way. He'd spent the entire summer training with Coach Bear, and Axel liked him well enough.

Axel grabbed his jersey and bolted out of the fieldhouse toward his next class. He jogged toward the Science building when the wind shifted, and her scent blew against his skin.

Unable to stop himself, he sniffed into the air, the quaint smell of an ocean breeze settled deep in his soul. Claire stood on the steps of the same building as their last class, talking to some guy.

Kill him, his wolf hissed. Go get her. Now.

"Kill him? Seriously, Mr. Rational. I can't get into a fight on my first day."

However, the sight of her talking to another guy while tucking a stray strand of blonde hair behind her ear forced irrational thoughts to filter through his head. Ways to take him out.

When she took another step up the stairs, Axel felt her heart rate pick up, and she slowly moved her head to face him. He sensed the pulsating of her blood in her veins from the distance, but most of all, the anger building in her stomach at the sight of him.

Give her time, his wolf said. She'll be longing for you soon.

Axel wasn't sure if Claire would ever want him like a true mate. But it wouldn’t stop him from trying.