XAVIER'S POV-

I had a smile plastered on my face as I drove back home. We talked for hours mostly about me but still, I was content. I loved how she smiled and laughed and talked that it gave me butterflies and I started thinking accepting her as my mate wasn't a bad idea. The mere thought of having her to myself made me itch for a run and I had the mind to do just that after parking dad's car in the garage. He lets me drive his car to and from school and since he has nowhere to be except for his regular check-ins in Flouden which he can go to through a teleportation ring, he hardly drives so the car is unofficially mine. I had no intention on getting a car for myself since I'll be hauled away to Flouden soon enough. Cars were hardly used in Flouden since it comprised mainly of trees and forests. A run in wolf form would get you from A to B in less time than it took to drive there so I might as well enjoy driving while it lasts.

I made a turn to the garage, parked the car and headed inside the house. It was a moment too late when I caught his scent then his voice boomed from the living room

"Yo Xavier!" damn it. I walked into the living room to see my family surrounding a blue-haired pest. His name was Seth Rize, a noble and one of the three most powerful ones too and I hated him with every fiber of my being. Not only was he two-faced, he was also pretty damn crazy. "Where have you been?" he asked as I strolled past them towards the fridge to get a cold drink. I needed something to cool off my instinctual anger when I'm around him.

"Why are you here?" I asked instead. He was meant to be in Flouden taking etiquette lessons and having tea parties and whatnot. I grabbed a can of pop and turned around to face them. My mother had her hand on his arm soothing him like ignoring his question broke his heart. She should see what he breaks in his free time. My father had his arms folded and pinned me with a glare and I looked away not wanting to play any mind games with him any time soon. I looked over to Javier who was in the far corner with Lysia, he gave Seth a respectable enough distance and I couldn't help but smile behind my can. He believed me when I told him how crazy Seth was. He tortures commoner werewolves for fun. Women and children in particular. Mum and dad didn't believe me, claiming that he was too 'sweet' or 'innocent' or 'timid' to do stuff like that. The day they see him for who he is is the day I grow wings out of my ass. Not happening. 

"He wanted to stop by to see you for a bit since someone doesn't bother to write or visit" mum said as she fixed me with a glare of her own. I sighed as I threw out my can and made my way to the stairs, "Well, he's seen me. Adios!" I made my way up the stairs to my room and flopped onto my bed hoping for once in their lives that they read the signs and just send the bastard home. But the following reply of my mum telling him to join me in my room made me sigh again in frustration. I loved my family but most times they were a bunch of a-holes. 

The sound of my door opening and closing accompanied footsteps and a thud to my left at my desk as he sat on my study chair. I close my eyes as I try to erase his presence but the strong smell of cologne made it hard to. "You know, ignoring someone isn't very king-like" he said with a smirk and cockiness that irritated me. 

"Yeah and showing up unannounced to someone's home isn't very noble-like either" I fired back, making sure my irritation and hate were as plain as day. "You know-" he started as he made his way to me, placing his face directly in front of mine. Even with my eyes close I could envision his face in that cocky grin he only shows around me "-I never understood why you hate me so much" I could feel his breath on my face and I opened my eyes and looked at him at my side. He moved away from me in an instant his blue hair falling in curls on his face. It was strange but as much as I hated to admit it he looked handsome with his hair and his pale colored eyes but that made the women he had as victims pile up one after the other which made me sick.

"Yeah? Take a guess genius" I replied as I shut my eyes again. There were a lot of reasons for my hate for Seth besides his torturing hobby even though that was the top of the list. Not only does he hate me too but he also hates Kaden and Jace with so much fervor you might think he knew them in a past life or something. His beef was mainly because I chose them over him for my Beta and Delta positions even though we've been 'close friends' since childhood. But after a certain incident that happened when we were ten years old I stayed away from him for a couple of years only to be reunited like this by my ever nosy mother. 

He didn't reply so I cracked an eye at him only to find him sniffing me too closely. I shot up and glared at him "I thought I warned you to stay at least a meter away from-" he shot me a look that made me stop. A look I hadn't seen since we were kids, since we were ten.

"You smell like a human. It's faint but I caught it since it's my favorite scent," he smiled and my stomach dropped. One of the other reasons I hated Seth was none other than human trafficking. He traffics humans and uses them as his playthings mercilessly. I tried reporting him to uncle and the Council but since humans meant very little to werewolves, they all turned a blind eye even my uncle. That was the last straw that broke my relationship with my uncle and it damn well destroyed my relationship with Seth.

Lorelei

With a gulp I channeled as much nonchalance as I could into my voice "We live among humans Seth," I cracked open my eyes and looked at him as I tried to erase any emotions from my face. "That may be true but unlike the rest of your family, the scent lingers on you. Like you made physical contact with one of them," he grinned wider and I went into a full blown internal panic attack. I can't let him find out about Lorelei, or worse, how much she means to me. The look in his eyes took me back, to a dark, chilly night on my tenth birthday. I went to the lake in the garden of the royal palace to admire it and the huge boulders which were around it when a blue haired boy with cunning blue eyes walked up to me. He introduced himself as Seth Rize and the young me smiled at the thought of being friends with another powerful noble child besides Elane Altair. But my smile dropped as he said "I will be the next king," "But uncle said I will be the king, not you!" my younger self said in anger. The throne is mine and when I take it I can give it back to Javier. My younger self thought before I realized that wasn't possible a few months later. "Is that so?" Seth's eyes darkened and a grin pulled at his lips as he walked towards me. I walked backwards, my back to the lake as he placed his hands on my shoulder and said "Too bad. I want the throne and I will take it," I was trembling then as the chill in his voice made fear crawl down my spine "Y-you c-can't, it's m-mine," I stuttered in futile resistance. He leaned closer to me then whispered, "Then die" with that he pushed me into the lake that was deeper than it seemed. A second later a boulder landed on me as I tried to swim my way to the surface, a really big and heavy boulder that weighed me down. With the weight of the water and the rock and my rapidly depleting oxygen death became imminent but for a maid who was sent to find me. Before she arrived though I saw Seth looking down at me as I struggled and didn't miss the smirk which crossed his face before he walked off. The incident was covered as 'child's play' and he escaped punishment. I couldn't forget the look in his eyes that night, emotionless, ruthless and a glint which said he was enjoying every last minute of whatever atrocity he commits. A look that was in his eyes right now.

My brain went into gear mood as it tried to find a reasonable excuse to give this psycho that wouldn't tip him off on how important Lorelei had become to me in the last hour and it snagged on one. One that had me fuming and disgusted with myself. I tried searching but I couldn't find any other excuse that'll be believable to the likes of him and the seconds went by as he waited for my answer which I had to give if I didn't want him snooping around her. I looked him right into the eye and directed my anger and disgust from myself to my voice "Just a toy I found" bile formed in my throat but I swallowed it. I had to show no reaction whatsoever. "A toy?" he chuckled as he crossed his arms and rested against my desk "You have a toy? And a human at that. That's quite hypocritical of you isn't it?" he asked curiously. "What can I say? She's pretty" I replied knowing that he would find out her identity sooner or later. What I wanted was to make sure that he wouldn't touch her and claiming her as my...toy would do just that. Even though it breaks my heart to talk of Lorelei like that.

"Elane's not enough for ya?" the reason for his excessive questioning was beyond me and I grew angrier the longer this charade dragged on. "I wanted something...different. She's hard to win over though but I like the challenge since she isn't drooling at my feet...yet" I clenched my fists underneath my head almost drawing blood. "Ooh, she sounds interesting! I want to mee-" he didn't get to finish that thought as I growled at him, letting my wolf take over for a second.

Bastard

"Ooh, your wolf doesn't seem to like me that much" he said but the fear in him was evident as he saw the red in my eyes meaning my wolf was still in control. I calmed my wolf down then replied, "He just called you a bastard so yeah he doesn't like you. We don't like...sharing and we intend to keep it that way. So keep your paws off our toy if you want them still connected to your body" I replied coldly. Seth raised his hands up as if in surrender and replied "Okay okay chill! You can keep your toy, I have dozens more" he said with a smirk as he walked out of my room. With his footsteps receding I sighed and sat up. My heart was in pieces at what I had just said about Lorelei. 

Bastard

He's gone you know

I meant you

Thanks for the comfort buddy

Things would be less complicated if you just accept her as your mate

I was thinking that an hour ago but after this it's clear I can't. It'll be too dangerous for her to be Luna

We can protect her

And what happens if we can't!  I snapped and he whimpered. With a sigh I continued

We can't stay with her every time, and even more so when I become King. We will be too busy to protect her and I don't think I can take it if we loose her like that. Can you?

...

That's what I thought. I have to reject her, I have to

I laid on my bed for a long time then finally got up and went for a run to clear my head. It didn't work though.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I groaned as I climbed out of my car. I hadn't had any sleep and I feared even Lysia couldn't cover all my eyebags with makeup. As I made my way to the front door of the school, Kaden and Jace made it to my side and the crowd of NPCs surrounded me yet again. Not in the mood for any idle chat or disturbance I growled at all of them baring my teeth. They all flinched and I stormed my way through them, anger rolling out of me. Kaden and Jace caught up though and it irritated me more. "What was up with that?" Jace asked but I ignored him as I pushed open the double doors into the school's foyer. I continued my march till I got to my seat in math class and I dropped down on it with a huff. 

"Xavier are you okay?" Kaden asked with concern and Jace gave me a pissed off look but I knew that was his way of showing concern and I couldn't help but feel bad about shutting them out. I sighed and mind-linked them

I'll tell you guys later

They both sighed and relaxed before settling down beside me and a weight lifted from my shoulders. Soon enough more NPCs gathered around with Elane in tow. They all engaged in conversations but I was too distracted to care. I made a decision to reject Lorelei as my mate yesterday but I couldn't find the courage to do so. I stayed up all night trying to find other ways I could keep her as my mate. The thought of having her as a consort after rejecting her as my mate came to mind but having someone else as my luna did not sit right with me. I juggled other ideas in my head but I came to one conclusion, I have to reject her then disappear from her life forever. That didn't sit right with me either but it was the only logical choice. 

Now the problem was when and how I'll reject her. Being a dominant alpha, I would have to reject her on the night of a full moon when my powers and the moon goddess's presence are amplified. The last full moon was last week and the next one is in a month which meant I would have to avoid her and suppress my growing feelings for her. I have to get over her before the night of the full moon if not I might not be able to go through with my plan.

The scent of vanilla overwhelmed me a second before she stepped into the class and she was stunning. I could tell she had makeup but that made no difference as she looked just as beautiful as she normally did without it. I could tell she put more effort into her appearance today and the thought that it might be because of me gave me a boner. I released a breath as I rationalized with myself. She couldn't possibly have gotten dressed up for me, when I have done nothing for her. Calm down, calm down!

She looked around until her eyes landed on mine and my breath got caught in my throat as her eyes lit up in happiness. I felt happiness of my own as she waved at me which meant that she was happy to see me but I tucked it away deep in my heart before I could let it blossom into hope and I looked away. I looked away like her happiness didn't mean that much to me, like I didn't care she was standing there looking like a goddamn temptation, like all the laughs we shared a day ago meant nothing, like she meant nothing. Lies. I clenched my fist as I felt the mate bond trying to make me look at her but I didn't need to look to know the face she had on then and I was damn glad I didn't.

"Who does that bitch think she's waving at?" Elane asked. I growled low in anger at her words and contemplated ripping her head off. Who does she think she is? That wasn't any bitch she was her goddamn luna!

I thought you were going to reject her?

...

You confuse me

I cursed under my breath, hating myself by the second. I need to stick with my decision damnit! I released a breath and looked back at Lorelei but I made sure to harden my gaze. I put on one of my many masks I had mastered for my oncoming rule of Flouden and the one I chose was the one I wore in front of my uncle, parents, Elane and Seth. So in short, the one I wear when I'm pissed and bored at someone. "Leave her alone Elane," I said, the warning in my voice clear. The way she looked at me then made my chest hurt but I ignored the pain. She simply turned away from me and dropped on her chair her body language obviously pissed. 

"Fuck," I cursed in frustration. Elane and the NPCs noticed my immediate change in mood and moved to their respective seats. Only Jace and Kaden remained and I was somewhat glad for that because I needed them now more than anything. Kaden rested a hand on my arm and Jace punched me in the shoulder, their respective ways of showing they care.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

During lunch I found myself searching for Lorelei again and I found her but when our eyes met I found hers hardened, like she retreated within herself and was never trusting anyone again. She looked away first then walked out of the cafeteria leaving my heart hollow. I spent the rest of the day snapping at everyone, I even snapped at Kaden once which made me feel guilty. Kaden was the most sensitive one in our trio but he was also the smartest and the cool-headed one. Jace on the other hand was more wild. He was headstrong and very hot-headed which gave them the nicknames of Ice&Fire. But they were both very loyal to me and had my back always. 

Now we were in our wolf forms running through the dense forest. They had followed me home to park my car then without stepping foot inside my house we shifted and turned towards the forest to our hideout. Our hideout wasn't anything fancy, it was just a small meadow with a pond and boulder to moonbathe on. We marked it as ours so no one would step a foot or paw in it and no one did. We got there in thirty minutes and shifted simultaneously leaving all of us butt-naked. I walked towards a nearby shrub which had a red ribbon tied to one of its branches and found a pair trousers and a shirt behind it with a satchel. Kaden and Jace did the same and walked to their respective shrubs marked with blue and brown ribbons to get their spare clothes and a satchel. When we all got dressed we gathered around the giant boulder that pointed upwards to the half hidden moon. Jace climbed on top of it and laid on his back while Kaden rested against the boulder, his arms crossed and his eyes fixed on me. I turned away and faced the pond, my back to them as I tried to organize my thoughts and how to explain them. 

"So are you gonna tell us what made you so touchy today or are we meant to stare at your back all night?" Jace asked with concern that was so out of place for him. Screw organizing, I'll just wing it.  I turned back towards them and said "I found my mate," the resulting silence lasted for only three second before an ecstatic howl escaped Jace. Kaden gave me a wide smile as he walked up to me then he patted my shoulder "Really? Congratulations man," he said before he noticed how I was not jumping in glee at the news "But what does that have to do with you being touchy?" he asked carefully. Jace shot up and gave me a sympathetic look which gave me goosebumps, "Did she die?"

"W-what? No!" I stuttered in surprise as I shrugged Kaden's hand off

"Did she reject you?" Jace asked again with a smirk

"No"

"Is she a Second?" 

Anger erupted in my chest at the thought of Lorelei being mated to another bastard before me. After I reject her will she mated to another werewolf? Will she be someone's second? I gritted my teeth but they took it as a positive answer

"Dude you need to stop overreacting. There is absolutely nothing wrong with her being a Second, she'll still be my Luna" Jace replied as he made to lie back down on the boulder. 

"She's human," I mumbled too low for anyone to hear but seeing as they were my Dominant Beta and Delta they heard every syllable.

"What?!" Jace roared as he jumped down from the boulder and walked towards me "Your mate is human?" he asked

"Yes," I replied as I dropped to the soft grass with both of them following suit. "No no no that can't be right! Are you sure-"

"-you think I'll mistake my own fucking mate?!" I snapped which made him whimper but he didn't back down though. "When did you feel the bond?" Kaden asked calmly which helped me calm down. I searched through my memories and replied "Last week Friday," that wasn't even that long ago!

"Okay, so it's been four days now. Good, it's not too late" Kaden replied with a relieved sigh

"Not too late for what?" I asked and Kaden looked at me like I asked the dumbest question in the world which I realized I did a second later

"To reject her of course! It's only been four days so it'll be easy to reject her since you're not close to her yet," I looked away and that sealed my fate. Jace's eyes widened as he figured out what I had been trying to hide for days 

"Fuck, he's already fallen for her," he said simply as he sighed and facepalmed himself

"What?" Kaden squeaked in surprise as he whirled his gaze towards me. I looked away again and that gave him all the answers he needed 

"Fuck".