Jax

"Fuck." I muttered to myself as I basically ran down the hall. "Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck."

I shouldered some freshmen out of the way but didn't stop to apologize. I needed to get away from that girl and her alluring scent that still clung to my nostrils.

"Why are you leaving? That's our mate!" My wolf growled in my mind.

"You know damn well why." I spat back, putting the wall up between us, if only to keep myself from running back to her like he was urging us to.

I didn't stop until I reached the parking lot and hastily climbed into my jeep. I slammed the door closed, breathing deeply to calm myself down.

It wasn't working.

I punched the steering wheel and cursed when it bent out of shape.

Ava's pretty face ran through my head again and I groaned, leaning back in my seat and running a hand through my hair.

I pulled out my phone and quickly typed a text to Arsen, my beta.

"Yo, I'm headed back to the house. I'll see you there later."

The three little dots floated on the screen for barely a second before his reply popped up.

"You good?"

I threw the phone onto the passenger seat with a humorless laugh. No, no I was definitely not "good".

I sighed and started the car, quickly backing out of the space and listened to the tires squeal as I sped out of the parking lot. A small group of students jumped out of the street as I sped past them. I ignored the curses they yelled after me.

It wasn't until I got onto the highway that I started to calm down. I reached for my phone without looking away from the road.

"Siri, call Dad." I said into the speaker, thrumming my fingers against my now bent steering wheel as it rang. I'd have to fix that when I got home.

"Hey son, I'm in a meeting, can I call you bac-" My dad said cheerily when he answered the phone.

"I found my mate." I blurted out, wincing when I was met with silence on the other end.

"Dad?" I asked after a long moment.

"I'm here, I'm here." He said, I heard rustling in the background and figured he was getting up to go into his office for privacy. "Ok, I can talk. Are you sure it's her?"

I squeezed my eyes shut for a brief moment before focusing back on the road. "I'm positive. I knew the second she looked at me."

"Well?" He asked when I didn't say anything else.

"She's fucking beautiful." I groaned. He chuckled before becoming serious again.

"Did you- you didn't um, you didn't mark her yet did you?" He asked hesitantly.

I couldn't help rolling my eyes. "Of course not. I do have some self control."

"Good, good. Come to the pack house. We'll talk about this. I'll have Arsen meet us here too. I'm guessing you ditched school?"

"Yea.." I grimaced. He chuckled again and I couldn't help feeling a little bit relieved.

"Normally I'd tell ya to turn your ass around and get back there, but today, I'll let it slide. I'll see you when you get here."

"Alright."

He hung up and I put on some music, trying and failing to take my mind off of the gorgeous curly haired girl that had just unknowingly turned our worlds upside down. I sighed in frustration as I hit shuffle, because it would be just my luck that the song she had been listening to when I first saw her began playing.

I bit my lip as I thought back to how this morning had started, so normal like any other day....

* * *

"Yo, get up!" Arsen yelled as he threw open my bedroom door. "Your alarms been going off for half an hour!"

I squinted one eye open at him, realizing that my alarm clock was actually blaring, not just a part of my hungover dream. I groaned and threw my arm over my face, blocking out the sun. A movement next to me made my eyes pop open again and I rose my eyebrows as a brunette girl glared at me from where she was laying on the other side of my bed. She pulled the sheet up to cover her nakedness with a huff.

"Aren't you going you tell him to get out?" She asked, nodding her head towards Arsen.

"No." I laughed, much to her dismay. Who's house did she think she was in, anyway? She frowned and sat up, picking her dress up off the floor and quickly throwing it on.

Grabbing her purse, she stormed out of the room. Arsen stood back to give her space, an amused grin on his face as he watched her go.

"Really?" He laughed as the front door slammed shut.

"What? She's hot!" I shrugged.

"What's her name?" He grinned.

"Umm..."

I threw a pillow at him and he snorted as he dodged it, heading back out into the hallway.

"I'm leaving in ten minutes!" He yelled. I glanced at the clock, then sighed as my stomach grumbled.

"Just go without me!" I yelled back.

Yea, I was gonna need some greasy breakfast food first.

Twenty minutes later and I was throwing my book bag into the passenger seat of the jeep. I smiled as I got in, running my hand over the dash.

"Mornin' old girl." I mumbled as I started up the 2000 Jeep Cherokee. She wasn't one of those shiny new things, made of fiberglass and plastic that couldn't take a beating. Her body was solid, American steel. And she always had a little bit of mud on her. The engine roared as I sped out of the neighborhood.

"Good mornin', welcome to McDonald's, what can I get ya?" I smiled at the familiar voice coming out of the speaker in the drive through.

"Can I get three sausage McGriddles and three bacon-egg-and-cheese McGriddles and a large, black coffee please?"

"Sure thing darlin', pull right up."

I pulled up to the window with a grin on my face, waiting for the girl at the window to turn around. She jumped when she finally turned to me.

"Dammit Jax, you surprised me!" She said. I couldn't help letting my eyes run up and down her busty frame.

"Sorry Rose," I took the bag she was handing me. "What are you doing later?" I asked, smirking as she gave me a knowing smile.

"Well," she leaned against the window frame, crossing her arms. "I get done at four. Wanna meet at my place later? I've got the house to myself today."

I winked at her before pulling my sunglasses back down and sped off, reaching into the bag as I got back on the road.

I managed to slide into my seat in my first class just as the bell rang. Arsen rose an eyebrow at me as I unwrapped my last McGriddle.

"I'm goin' over to Rose's later, wanna join?" I wiggled my eyebrows at him. He snorted and shook his head.

"I'm not into your sloppy seconds, dude." He laughed.

I rubbed my chin thoughtfully. "Is it really considered seconds if we do her at the same time?" I grinned at him. He laughed again and shook his head a second time.

"Didn't you get enough last night with what's her face?" He asked. I took a bite of my breakfast sandwich and pointed at him with it.

"I don't remember last night, so it doesn't count." I said through the food in my mouth.

Arsen's smile faded as he looked to my right and I followed his line of vision. I smiled as a dainty blonde sat on my desk in front of me.

"Hi Jax, I overheard you talkin' and... I could join you, if you want." She said, looking up at me through her eyelashes.

"Hey Brandy." I threw her a lopsided grin, the one that I knew won girls over in an instant. I ran my hand down her back, coming to a rest on her hip. I squeezed lightly and she bit her lip. "I'm headin' outta here at three. I could give you a ride."

She giggled and ran a finger down the side of my face.

"Sounds good to me." She murmured.

The professor chose now to walk in, of course. "Ms. Right, do you sit on your mothers furniture like that at home?" He yelled. Brandy hopped off my desk, throwing me one last smile before walking back to her seat. I leaned out of my seat, watching her ass as she walked away. I'd always been an ass guy.

I glanced at Arsen with a cocky grin and he threw me a scowl. I raised my eyebrows in surprise.

"What's your problem?" I asked him through our mind link.

"Don't you ever get bored of it?" He asked. I rolled my eyes, Arsen had always been more of a romantic than I was, waiting for his "perfect mate". Sure, he had messed around with a few ex-girlfriends and a chick here and there from school, but never anything serious. He wouldn't even accept my offer to be his wing man, and I was a great wingman. I had a one hundred percent success rate.

"Not really. C'mon man, it's college. There's plenty of horny girls out there looking for a quick hook up with no strings attached."

"Don't you care about what your mate's going to think of you?" He asked.

It was my turn to scowl. "I've told you, that's not going to happen. And you know damn well why."

"You can't actually still believe what that old oracle said. Do you really still think that there's a curse on you?" He said.

I shook my head slightly. "It was a prediction, not a curse. And even if it's not real, why put some innocent girl at possible risk? If I find her, I'll just reject her. It'll be less painful that way than how the Oracle saw her dying in the vision."

I turned my face away from him to hide my involuntary wince. The oracle had described to me how my future mate would die. Some faceless girl, gasping in pain as she laid on the ground, blood staining her clothes, her life quickly slipping away. Every way she had tried to envision the future, it ended the same way. My mate dying, her fate being triggered the day I accepted the mate bond. I wouldn't do it to her. Whoever she was, she deserved better than me.

Arsen shivered beside me and I realized he was seeing the images running through my head. I clenched my jaw irritably and put up the wall between us, blocking him from my thoughts.

My wolf whined and I ignored him too. He wanted his mate so badly. He hated how I slept around, giving myself away to any woman I wanted.

Not that I didn't want a mate.

Before the oracle had come to my father when I was a kid, claiming she saw my future, I had been dreaming about one day meeting my perfect mate, just like every other werewolf. But after learning about her inevitable death, I had decided to make myself undesirable to whoever this mystery girl would be, hopefully making it easier on her when I rejected her.

I glared down at my textbook, forcing myself to focus on the class instead of wallowing in my dark future. When that didn't work, I distracted myself with letting my imagination run wild about getting Brandy and Rose together later today.

By the end of the class, I had forgotten about my doomed mate. I sat in my desk, half hard as I pretended to write notes, instead imagining the girls' beautiful naked bodies, their hands running over each other as Rose slowly bent down to suck my....

The bell rang and my head snapped up. I jammed my text book into my bag and ruffled Arsen's hair as I stood up. Brandy smiled as I winked at her before walking out into the hallway.

My algebra class wasn't far and I made it there quickly.

I pulled open the door and paused as the most delectable scent I had ever smelled invaded my nose.

I couldn't describe it. It was halfway between a childhood memory of my mother baking some kind of dessert while I waited, and as if I had shoved my whole face into the worlds most potent smelling field of flowers.

I shook my head, this classroom wasn't far from the culinary wing, I might have to sneak down and steal some of whatever they were cooking today, because damn, that smelled better than anything I'd ever smelled.

"You don't have to be such a stuck up bitch." I heard Kyle Thomas say. My head snapped in the direction of his voice and I bristled.

He was glaring at some girl sitting next to him. I'd never seen her before, from what I could see she was pretty hot, long legs, tan skin, perky decent sized tits. But, curly blonde hair hid her face so I couldn't be completely sure. You never know, she could be a butterface.

She sat rigidly, her arms crossed across her chest as she angled her body away from Kyle. Her body language was screaming that she wanted nothing to do with him, but the little shit just wasn't taking the hint.

Womanizer I may be, but I had never coerced a woman into sleeping with me, let alone talking to me. My mother had raised me better than that.

I'd watched this little frat kid try to spit game before. He was pushy, and could be downright mean if he didn't get what he wanted. I could see he was ramping up, his face turning more red the longer she ignored him. I strode forward and stood behind him, crossing my arms and scowling.

"Move." I said lowly. Kyle jumped and turned quickly to look up at me from where he was sitting.

"Jax, c'mon man!" He groaned, gesturing towards the girl. "Let the rest of us have a shot at her first before you spoil the goods!" I glanced back at his little frat brothers before turning my scowl back on him with gritted teeth.

"Women aren't inanimate objects you can just call dibs on. Maybe if you learned that you'd actually get laid once in awhile. Obviously she doesn't want to talk to you." I growled, his friends snickered behind me but I ignored them. "Now, move."

Kyle glared at me but stood up, the top of his head only coming up to my shoulder. I watched him until he went and sat with his frat brothers before taking his previously occupied seat.

"I'm sorry about him." I muttered, looking at the girl. She didn't say anything and I frowned, leaning slightly closer. I was about to repeat myself when my enhanced hearing picked up some guitar solo, faintly emanating from her. I huffed out a small laugh. Upon closer inspection, I saw the pair of earphones plugged into her laptop, the cord disappearing into her thick curls.

She let out an aggravated sigh and pulled out one earphone, turning to me with a scowl.

The moment her eyes met mine my breath stopped. I blinked several times in shock, watching her eyes grow wide as she scanned my face.

She was easily the most beautiful girl I had ever had the privilege of looking at. Her curly blonde hair framed her face beautifully, its light shade contrasting against her tan complexion. Honey brown eyes stared back at me from beneath thick eyelashes. Her perfectly pink, full lips formed a small "o" as she stared at me. I could hear her heart rate picking up as my wolf howled happily in my head.

"Mine." I breathed, unable to stop the word from falling from my lips.

"No! No! No!" I screamed internally, my wolfs elation filled my chest and I desperately tried to push it down.

"What?" She asked, blinking rapidly, pulling the other earphone from her ear. She must not have heard me over the music.

"Ok, this is good." I thought to myself. "Just say the words. 'I, Jackson Hadley reject you as my mate.' She won't even realize what happened."

"I.."

"Say it."

"um, I-I said 'hi'.

"No! Say it, you dumbass!"

Her eyebrows knitted together as she stared at me for a moment and I felt my determination crumbling as a small worry line creased her brow. It was the cutest damn worry line I'd ever seen in my life.

I didn't stand a chance.

"Hi." She said shyly. I watched as her entire body language changed from what it had previously been to shield herself from Kyle's hounding.

I cleared my throat and sat up straighter, hoping she didn't think I looked like a Neanderthal sitting here drooling all over her.

"I'm Jax." I said, holding out my hand. The small, intelligent part of my brain was screaming not to touch her, I knew what was about to happen. I'd heard the stories over and over again from mated wolves for my entire life. But the rest of my brain had turned to mush, too astounded that someone this perfect had been walking the earth all this time.

"Ava." She smiled. Fuck, she even had the prettiest name.

It felt like I was watching her move in slow motion as she placed her small hand in mine. My whole body tensed as the sparks flew up my arm. I bit down on my tongue to keep from moaning out loud at how good it felt.

She jumped in her seat and pulled her hand quickly out of mine. I stared at her in silent amazement as her brown eyes grew wider. The sound of her racing heart was so loud, I was surprised all of the humans in the class couldn't hear it.

She shivered, suddenly jumping up out of her chair. In her haste, she pushed it too hard, causing it to collide with the table behind us. But neither of us paid attention to it as she began backing towards the door. I wanted to reach out to her, but the alarm in her eyes was so blatant. I knew she'd probably run away screaming if I touched her again.

"C-can you-" she stuttered, almost at the door. "Can you watch my stuff? I have to go to the bathroom."

I nodded silently as she reached blindly behind her, her eyes still glued to my face as she finally found the door knob. The door clicked closed after she slipped out and through the small window I saw her take off running down the hallway.

I ran my hand down my face in exasperation, chastising myself for being so stupid. I should leave, right now. I should drop out and transfer to a different school in another country.

But, no. Like the idiot I am, I stayed glued to my chair.

I kept glancing at the door every few seconds, anxious for her to come back. I needed to see her face again, to know that I hadn't just imagined her. She probably had no idea what just happened. Although we were spread out in their world and lived among them, humans didn't know werewolves existed. And I had probably just managed to terrify her.

After what felt like forever, the door opened again and I breathed a sigh of relief as those brown eyes met mine immediately.

She stood up straighter and walked to our table, sliding back into her seat. "Thanks for watching my stuff." She said in her melodic voice.

"No problem Ava." I smiled at her, observing the blush creeping up her cheeks. I inhaled deeply, savoring the scent of her. It smelled different now somehow. I could still smell her initial, mouthwatering fragrance that had confused me when I first walked in the door. But, underneath it there was some type of wildness, like the smell of the ozone right after a thunderstorm.

"You're not from here." I stated. She shook her head, her curls bouncing with the movement. I watched her relax a bit more.

"No, I'm from Philly. I just transferred." I hummed in thought as my eyes poured over her, trying to memorize every detail of her face. She bit down on her lip nervously and my eyes locked onto her mouth. I balled my hand into a fist under the table, imagining how those lips would taste and willing myself not to reach toward her. Not to run my hand up the smooth column of her throat and into her hair...

The teachers shrill voice called out and I snapped back to reality. Ava was staring at me wide eyed, looking breathless and I swallowed the groan threatening to leave my lips.

She let out a relieved breath and pulled her textbook out of her bag. I couldn't help but chuckle.

"Is something funny?" She whispered. I tried to wipe the grin off my face but failed.

"I make you nervous." I shrugged.

She looked so taken aback I almost laughed out loud. "What?! No, I- uh..."

"I think it's adorable." I admitted, shrugging, attempting to seem nonchalant. I turned quickly to my textbook so she wouldn't see my own cheeks turn red at my admittance. I decided to direct the attention back to her. "Do you always blush this much?"

I smiled, watching her cheeks turn more red as she opened her mouth before snapping it back shut. She glared at me instead and turned to her book, letting her hair fall between us so I couldn't see her face anymore.

Throughout the rest of the class I glanced at her, more times than I would have liked to admit. She didn't look up at me once and I started to worry that I had insulted her. What if that was something she was self conscious about?

"Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. I shouldn't be worried about saving her hurt feelings. I should be worried about getting her to hate me, to put as much distance between us as I can."

The bell rang and I threw my backpack over one shoulder, hesitating to leave the room. I cleared my throat and she looked up at me.

"Hey, listen... I'm sorry, I didn't mean to embarrass you." Her perfect eyebrows shot up in surprise as I rubbed my neck nervously.

"It's not your fault." She said.

Shaking my head, I stood from my chair at the same time as her. I was looking down at her, and I couldn't explain why it made me so happy to realize how small she was next to me.

"No, it was. And I'm sorry. It wasn't right of me to point it out like that." I admitted. She looked up at me with eyes so deep I felt like I could fall right into them.

"It's ok." She breathed. I shivered as her eyes raked up and down my body hungrily.

Suddenly, she shook her head and spun on her heel.

"Maybe she came to her senses and realized she shouldn't be around me." I thought.

My eyes traveled down her lithe body as she walked away and I groaned.

Of course, Ava had to have the most perfect ass. The cutoff denim shorts she wore hugged her curves in the most delicious way. I couldn't tear my eyes away. Holy shit, could this girl be anymore perfect for me?

"No." My wolf growled ecstatically.

A man was waiting for her in the hallway and I felt jealousy flare up inside me. He looked at me over Ava's shoulder and the smile fell from his face. She turned to see what he was looking at and a small gasp escaped her mouth. I imagined what I must look like. Like an actual, rabid animal probably. My eyes snapped up to meet hers and I growled low in my throat.

I shook my head and quickly rushed out of the room, shivering as I brushed past her and felt the electric charge between us ignite at our closeness.

* * *

I blinked, realizing I had been sitting in my dads driveway for the last five minutes. I threw the jeep into park and sighed.

I really didn't stand a chance when it came to Ava.

——————————————————————————

Hello readers! This chapter is long, but I love how it came out.

What do you guys think of Jax?

And also, how do you feel about multiple POVs? I have several in the next few chapters so I hope you like it.

Please don't forget to comment and vote!

Xx mandabrandie