It was lucky that Luke and Grace had the social skills for all of us. I was never one to talk to unfamiliar people (and I was afraid I'd stammer in the presence of alluring male specimens) and North appeared to be method-acting a caveman, merely grunting if he answered at all. I took over the job of scribe for the get-to-know-you worksheet given to us by Ms. Lake. Noting the food allergies of my three classmates; Grace, as I'd known, was allergic to shellfish, North wasn't allergic to anything, and Luke was unable to eat... Wait, vegetables? He had to be kidding. I was about to speak up when North made his first example of human speech.

"Don't lie, Lucian."

Luke did not look the least bit guilty. "Northie, I would die if I ate a vegetable," he insisted.

"That's a shame," I spoke up. "No chocolate?"

Both North and Luke turned toward me, matching expressions of utter confusion on their faces. I kept a straight face, though inwardly I was laughing like a maniac. "Chocolate comes from cocoa beans. Beans are vegetables. Therefore, chocolate is a vegetable."

North looked at me, aghast. "That's not right at all!"

"I don't know, it makes sense to me," Luke said with another heart-stopping grin my way. "I guess you're right, North. I'm not allergic to vegetables after all!"

At that, North appeared so conflicted that my giggles burst free. He wanted so badly to correct me, but because of my false statement, Luke had taken back his own, so North was unable to correct either of us! Grace laughed too, a much more melodious sound than my uncontrollable giggles and snickers.

Luke, Grace, and I spent the rest of the period in stitches, unaffected by the eye rolls and glares from our other groupmate. Maybe Luke could become a friend.

~North~

I had tried not to get my hopes up about our mate. I had always f------ knew that I was hard to get along with, and I was pretty sure she'd like my brothers better than me. To protect my heart, I told myself I wouldn't care that much.

I had already failed.

The second I walked into that classroom, the combination of Raely's sweet scent and beauty had me hooked, and her shy but funny personality sealed the deal. I was done for. If this girl didn't care for me the way I had somehow begun to care about her, I would not be able to bear it. At that moment, I knew the guard I had put around my heart was completely ineffective.

I couldn't bring myself to care.

The class period was both torture and bliss. I was thrilled to be near her, but she barely looked at me after an initial hopeful smile was met with my usual hard expression. D--n. I should have smiled, winked, said something... but it was too late. Silas would make fun of me if I told him. The great Greek flirt would have done the right thing. I'd have to do better.

Later, when Raely had intervened between Luke and me--my brother is not f-----g allergic to vegetables!--I was dumbfounded. She managed to leave me completely speechless. Instead of being mad, I couldn't wait to see how it went when she met our alpha.

~Luke~

I had daydreamed the moment so many times, in so many ways, that I had thought it could only be a disappointment when I met my mate in reality. I couldn't have been more wrong. She was stunning, kind, and saved me from North. What else could I want in a partner in crime?

Raely was so, well, perfect, that I didn't spend any of the class period zoned out as usual. All my attention was on her (though I tried to avoid staring at her; that would be kinda creepy). I saved up the moments, taking in every detail so that I could replay them later. Especially her giggles. I would be teasing Doc about hearing them first for ages.

As the bell rang, I turned toward Raely to ask her to join the pack and me for lunch. Somehow she'd slipped past me and she and Grace were out the door. I ran to them, careful not to use my supernatural abilities (Mr. B would kill me if I let our secret slip). "Grace, Raely... Sit with me at lunch?"

~Raely~

"...do you think he's cute?" Grace kept talking, but the noise from behind me caught my attention.

I glanced back to see Luke looking at me expectantly. Had he asked a question? I didn't want to ask him to repeat what he said, so I hesitantly responded, "Sure?" Hopefully, that was the right response.

It seemed to be because his face lit up. The sunshine of his smile hit me again. I was afraid I'd end up sunburnt at this point.

"That's great! It'll just be us and my bro-friends. Yeah, bro friends," Luke exclaimed.

Grace finally stopped her own one-sided conversation to notice Luke. "What will just be us and your bro friends? Also, what are bro friends?"

I was inwardly grateful to Grace for asking the questions I had been silently asking.

Our new groupmate was a tad red, but he answered promptly all the same. "Bro friends are... friends that are like brothers. And as for what we're doing, well, eating lunch together of course!"

It was at that point that I wished I had just asked him to repeat the question. Grace didn't have this lunch, but Ben did, and I had planned to sit by him. He was understanding to a fault, but I couldn't just desert him in favor of seven guys I barely knew.

"I'm going to have to take a rain check," Grace told Luke. "I have B lunch today. Raely will eat with you guys, though!"

My best friend was trying to play matchmaker... but I was most definitely taken! Now what? I didn't want to be that person, but "Could my boyfriend join us?"

Luke's expression flickered. I couldn't quite read it for a moment, but his smile quickly reappeared, if slightly less exaggerated. "Why not? The more the merrier."