The next morning I felt like I'd actually had the worst cold ever, my nose was stuffed full of snot, my eyes felt sore and puffy, my throat was dry and I had the most disgusting aftertaste stuck in my mouth. No wonder when my alarm went off for school, I was in a bad mood.

Rolling out of bed with a groan, my feet landed on the floor and I stood slowly, dreading what my reflection was going to look like. I walked over to my mirror and grimaced, just what I was expecting.

"Oh god," I moaned, poking at an eye with my finger. "Looks like it's sunglasses day."

"What are you talking about?" I almost screamed when I heard Emeli's voice in my room. Spinning around to my bed again, I laughed slightly when I spotted her sitting in a slumped position on my bed, rubbing her eyes.

"You're still here," I said, and she looked up at me and smiled.

"Of course I'm still here, I'm your best friend, I'll always be here when you need me." Emeli sent me a geniune smile, and I wondered how I ended up with such an amazing friend.

Maybe because my mate was so shit, the wolf gods channelled all the good qualities into her instead of spreading them out.

As soon as I thought the word mate, my heart clenched painfully and I let out a shuddering breath as Emeli stood up and walked towards me, looking concerned.

"Hey, you don't have to go to school today, I'll cover for you if you want to." She murmured, but I shook my head fiercly and squared my shoulders in the mirror.

"No, no I'm going. I need to get over this myself, and going to school will be the first step to doing that," I could tell Emeli didn't agree, and she opened her mouth to argue.

"You only met him yesterday, the wounds more then just fresh, Katie. Maybe you should-"

I held up a hand, grateful for her concern but not wanting to hear it. "No, I've got this."

Emeli sighed, then nodded as if to confirm my words in her head. "Alright. I'll meet you at my car in an hour."

I nodded, then turned back to the mirror once the door clicked shut quietly behind Emeli. Something was different this morning, and other then the obvious, I realised my wolf wasn't as present as she normally was.

A small whine came from her, and I knew she was there, just hiding away, licking her wounds. I understood completely, but I missed having her with me all the time.

She was hurting all because of some stupid guys high and mighty-ness, and that's when I realised the anger. Why? Because I didn't have a descent line present at the moment? What sort of excuse was that?

My cynical side would say a good one, but I told that side to piss off and pushed all thought's of Kade Pelletier to the back of my mind as I opened the door to my small, yet functional bathroom beside my room.

Once I'd showered, I walked into my room and pulled on some underwear and put on a bra, then rifled through my wardrobe until I found my favourite light blue denim shorts and white v neck, then tucked it in slightly so the ends where still loose. Pulling on my ankle boots, I blow dried my hair, left it out in it's natural waves, and then applied a little make up, trying to hide the signs of my crying.

Grabbing my ray bans, I took a deep breath and grabbed my bag, stepping out of my room. Woodsy, dark scent hit me strongly, and I gasped slightly, trying to breath through my mouth so the smell wouldn't affect me so much.

It was almost like he's just walked past my room...but that was impossible. He didn't want anything to do with me, so I ignored it and walked down towards the stairs, hoping not to bump into anyone on my way down.

I think we all should know by now that when I say hope, it normally turns out the opposite.

"Oh...hi, Alpha Davis." I said in a tone that lacked any real emotion. I gave him a small bow, and Alpha Davis frowned before smiling and nodding his head at me.

"Good morning, Katie. How are you?"

Well, considering your son just rejected me not 24 hours ago, and that you're staying in the same house as me, with him, I'm not doing so great.

"I'm great, thanks." I sent him a quick smile, before trying to slip past him before he could ask anymore questions. Sighing in relief when the bottom step met my left foot, I bit my bottom lip and went to rush towards the door when a voice made me stumble.

"Hey dad, where are the keys to-" Kade's rough voice trailed over my skin, and my foot caught the carpet, making me fall forward and gasp, closing my eyes before I hit the floor in a heap.

But I never made it that far. Arms, strong and warm and hard, were wrapped around my waist, holding me to a solid chest. The scent literally wiped everything from my mind as I looked up and saw Kade's face fighting off some emotion.

Until his eyes met mine, and everything dropped away.

They were such a beautiful colour. Chocolate around the edges, with a bronze haze around the dark pupil. The colour started to disappear as his eyes grew black, and I felt his arms shaking as we stayed glued to one another for a few seconds longer.

Then, Alpha Davis cut in.

"The keys are on the kitchen counter." He said, his voice not betraying anything, but their was suspicion in his eyes, and as soon as the words were spoken, Kade unwrapped his arms and took a hufe step back, a low growl emitting from his chest.

His eyes held mine a moment longer, before he scowled and stalked off, leaving me standing in the hallway feeling warm and cold at the same time.

"Have a good day at school, Katie." Alpha Davis commented, and I nodded in response, not trusting myself to speak.

Rushing outside, and spotting Emeli sitting in her car waiting for me, I threw open the passenger side door and shakily sat down, trying to put my seatbelt on but my hands shook to much to do anything at that moment.

"Hey, hey, what's wrong?" Emeli asked, grabbing the seat belt from me and clipping it in herself. "What's happened?"

"Kade...he caught-I fell and he caught...me...and then he-walked off." I stuttered, my mind too focused on deep brown eyes to worry about speaking properly. Emeli's face grew concerned as she stared her car and pulled out onto the road.

"You saw Kade?"

"I touched him."

"What? How?"

Regaining some breath, I replied. "I met Alpha Davis on the staircase, and as I stepped onto the last step Kade appeared and he threw me off with surprise and I fell and he caught me and then we just stared at each other and then-"

"Slow down!" Emeli laughed slightly, shaking her head. "So then what happened?"

"He just walked off." I said, and my wolf whined in defeat when we both realised he stuck to what he said yesterday. He hadn't caught me because we were mates and he didn't want me to fall on my face. He caught me because that's just a reflex to stop someone from falling on their face right in front of you.

Feeling the sad, defeated feeling sit back down on my shoulders, I sighed and looked out the window for the rest of the trip to school.

I had got excited over nothing. Kade didn't care. He just didn't want to deal with me.

* * * *

Don't get me wrong, I am so happy for Emeli to have found her mate, who's name was James, by the way, but to watch them ogle eye each other for a whole hour while learning the impossibility that is physics, really put me in a top mood for the whole morning.

Was I being sarcastic? Yes, thank you.

It's an amazing thing and all that, but it just made me think of my mate, who I hadn't seen all day. Maybe he's skipped out on his first day. I was really hoping for that option, because facing him after this morning would do nothing for my already scattered thoughts.

"Finally! Lunch time!" Max hooted behind me, making me jump in surprise. His arm landed around my shoulders casually, and I looked up to see his careless grin lighting up his face. "You know, I'm really looking forward to what you packed for lunch today."

Elbowing him in the ribs, I muttered, "In your dreams, buddy."

"I do dream of your mother's turkey sandwich specialty, actually. They are the best!" Max's grin widened, but the one I sent back to him must not have been convincing enough, because he grew concerned in a matter of seconds.

"What's wrong?" He asked quietly, his serious side taking over. Max wasn't the next alpha of our pack or anything, but he that leadership quality that just came naturally, so he was really well liked by everyone. As to why he was my friend, I still had to answer because let's face it, why would a 'cool' guy be hanging out with a freak like me?

Time to stop the pity party, Katie.

"Nothing, I'm just tired. Big night's study and all that," I said, punching his shoulder gently. "I'll meet you in the cafeteria, I need to drop my books at my locker."

Max nodded, then started to walk in the opposite direction. A message drifted down our mind link, and I bit my lip at what he said.

You're going to tell me what's really wrong after.

So that won't be happening yet. I didn't want to tell him about Kade because it was embarrassing enough for me, let alone someone else knowing about it too. I doubt Kade told anyone, because of his 'oh so high' opinion of himself. He wouldn't want to ruin that because of me.

Just as I thought his name, a growing familiar woodsy, dark scent invaded my nostrils, and I thought I must be going crazy until there was a growl behind me, and I spun to see Kade stalking towards me.

Glancing around quickly, my eyes widened when I realised the corridor was empty. Typical. This sort of dramatic shit either happened with a huge crowd or when every seemingly decided to disappear all at the same time.

"Who was that?" He growled, getting closer and closer.

"Who was who?" I asked, extremely confused with him.

Kade had the audacity to roll his eyes, before settling the dark pools back on me. "That guy who was cuddling you."

My mouth fell open in an 'o'. That guy. "It was Max." I replied, tilting my chin up to look at him with as much strength as I could muster. "Why do you want to know?"

Kade looked a little lost for words. He growled again, then spat out, "what the fuck was this morning all about?"

Okay, so he liked to confuse people. Not an attractive trait, but I suppose if he'd given me a chance, I could've gotten used to it. "What do you mean?"

"Throwing yourself at me? That was a little desperate, don't you think?"

I stumbled back at the hate in his words. Where was that coming from? It was obvious I tripped! My wolves hackles rose, not liking the way he was talking to us.

"Excuse me? I tripped!" I spat back, and Kade's eyes lit up with shock at my tone before they dampened back down to frustration.

"No, you tried getting to me by touch. It's not going to work, because I'd never touch you. Ever." He began to step towards me slowly, trying to be intimidating.

My wolf snarled suddenly, loud and feral. I was as shocked as Kade as he stilled, frowning. Trying to figure out why she was so angry, I was confused because normally, the female wolf was the more submissive one to the male wolf.

But my girl wasn't backing down, and a swell of pride blossomed in my chest at the thought.

"For the last time, I tripped on the last stair because you startled me. Believe me when I say I'm trying to follow your orders to stay away from you." I said in a surprisingly strong voice, and Kade looked even more confused.

Why was I being so strong towards him? For starters, he was my mate who had rejected me, so I should be crying or something stupid like that. My wolf shouldn't be challenging his either, because he's a fucking alpha.

Either she was stupid, or stronger then I thought.

"Why are you growling at me?" He snarled, stepping closer again, obviously not liking the fact that my wolf was standing up to him. His nearness scattered my thoughts for a few seconds, but I gained control and realised that he had me backed up against my locker. He was about half a metre away, close enough to touch.

Trying to clear my head a little, I focused on breathing through my mouth and spat out. "Maybe she want's you to stay away from her too, you did reject her after all. That, or she just doesn't like you."

I swear, hurt crossed his features for half a second. "Or, it's both options."

Kade's jaw tightened, the muscle in it jumping. "She should be more submissive towards me."

"Oh, am I not meeting your expectations? Should I be crying or screaming right now? Maybe a bit of both?" I asked, feeling an overwhelming surge of strength from my wolf as I stepped forward. Kade didn't move, so our chests were almost touching as I continued to speak. "Or should I be doing both? Since I'm so pathetic, right? Pathetic people do that sort of thing I've heard. Well, Kade Pelletier, you rejecting me isn't the end of the world so stop feeling so damn superior. And aren't you supposed to be avoiding me? Yelling at me not to come near you when you're following me. I don't need to be reminded every few minutes of how much of a fuck up I am by my own mate."

Silence enveloped us both, and we stood, chest to chest, both breathing heavily for air. I saw something like appreciation flash in his eyes, before Kade's face became an expressionless mask and he stepped away.

"I only came to make sure you haven't told anyone we were mates. I don't need people finding out, okay? So keep your mouth shut."

"Whatever you say, your highness." I bowed, holding eye contact with him as he glared at my action, then turned and stalked away, shoulders so tense his muscles clenched every step he took away from me.

I watched him until he'd disappeared around the corner, and then realised my legs were shaking, and my eyes were wet. My wolf, feeling so strong and bold before, slunk back into her ball and went silent, her energy deflated.

Why me? Why did I have a mate that didn't want me?

Because deep down, my wolf still craved hers, and a little part of me wondered what it would be like if Kade had accepted me.

But I pushed those thought's aside quickly as walked, heart heavy and cracking, towards the cafeteria.

This is a bit of a rushed chapter, but it sort of came to me while listening to a song that I looooove so I hope you enjoy! :)