Damn, we are at chapter THIRTY already??? Cray crayyyyy

"And so THEN, right when I was about to literally storm to his house, I opened my front door and he was stood with the largest bouquet of roses I've ever seen—totally drenched from the awful storm and now roses are like a little thing for us, you know?" Molly explains to me, her face melting with the memory. 

For the last hour, Olive, Kelsey and I have been walking around campus with Molly, listening to her many love stories. And much to my surprise, they were honestly entertaining. "You guys really do love each other," I comment.

"He is the light of my life. Sometimes, I just think about how much I love him and it makes me cry. I'm so blessed. And the story gets better! After he apologised and gave me a box of my favourite chocolates he—"

"Took you on a romantic getaway to his holiday home where you had mind-blowing sex all weekend long," Olive answers for her, making her pout before she turns to me. "That part of the story always get a little too detailed."

I laugh at the bluntness of her tone. "Where is Ben now?" I ask her and she waves a hand.

"Probably in one of his physics lectures. That boy filled his entire schedule with math, physics and football—so boring. It's either that or James has dragged him on some weird side-quest."

"Best believe James isn't with him if it's a physics lecture," Olive states with a laugh. "Remember that time when Micah and Ben were literally obsessed with planes and figured they could build one?"

Molly breaks out into hysterics. Micah tried to build a plane? "Oh my goddess. Yeah, and then James ran it over with the motorbike."

Olive joins her laughter. "I think he was so annoyed that they weren't spending time with him that he literally crushed their nerd dreams. My cousin is the biggest attention whore."

Kelsey laughs from her stomach. "He really is. Goddess, I don't know how he is going to be when he gets a mate, that boy is a piece of work. When I found out I was Xaviers mate, I genuinely did not know what to expect. He looks like he could snap someone in half—he probably could, but he is literally a giant cuddle bear. For the first two weeks he was insistent on hugging me at every chance he got that I had to make a rule around it."

I think of how Xavier almost always has one arm slung over her shoulder, pulling Kelsey to his side at every chance he gets. And the guy is intimidating as fuck, Henry and I would always joke about how he looked he would literally kill someone if they made a wrong move.

"Mates, I swear," Molly says, shaking her head. "What is Micah like?" She asks me, wiggling her brows. "You know, behind closed doors?"

My whole body heats up, my skin prickling. They can't know that we kissed. It's impossible. "I..." I gulp, regaining myself. How I react is going to influence what they already think, I have to keep my cool. "I dunno, we don't hang out a whole lot. We are just getting to know each other at the minute. What... what did you guys think he'd be like, you know, before he met me."

Molly laughs. "Oh god, he was just so obsessed with the idea of meeting you. He's wanted a mate for as long as I've known him, all he would talk about when the subject came up was getting his luna and living happily ever after. We all knew he'd be ecstatic and just head over heels but he's truly a hopeless romantic. Do not tell him I told you this, but before he found his mate he would tell me all of his brainstormed date ideas, wanting my female insight of course." Her large grin fades somewhat as thoughts clearly tick behind her bright blue eyes, her attention quickly snapping to me. "Has he taken you on any?"

I haven't really let him. Aside from literally one where we sat atop that hill overlooking the sunset. Our first and last. I don't think our interactions past that really count and I think he'd agree.

God, it seems so long ago that we talked on that hill and many sunsets have since passed.

"We've agreed to start off as friends first." But his words yesterday, about wanting to be my boyfriend, or dating me... its not something he wants, and the brief silence of his friends around me tells me they know it too. "It's just a bit easier for me without the formality, but it's been good to get to know him. He super nice, its just a lot, the title, the expectations..."

Olive shoots me a sympathetic smile. "Things are just more complicated for human mates, I've witnessed it firsthand. Micah's incredibly charismatic, but he's a lethal guy. I mean he's the future Alpha, you have to be smart, cunning and ready to defend you pack—there isn't one thing he's ever attempted in his life and not excelled at. He'll make a brilliant leader, there's no doubt, but you've got a lot more pull than you realise. You are his luna, to him your opinion is as valuable as if it were spoken by the goddess. My mom would do anything for my dad, to the point I get frustrated with her about it."

It's easy to forget that her mom is a wolf. The gene clearly skipped her, as it does to some half children, because she'd be a wolf by now. And she's an only child.

As right as she might be, I don't really want any pull, I don't have an agenda or a burning desire to possess more power than I do. I'm perfectly content at the bottom of the rung and truth is, if I weren't Micah's mate I'd likely continue life as I was—just another human subject under the pack law. I probably would have ended up living here eventually, if I didn't find another pack I liked more.

"We need to do a double date," Molly decides. "I am going to plan absolutely everything out and make it the best date of your life and give you a whole itinerary so you can change anything you don't like. It will be so chill, and so fun and like you are going to love it. It will let you get to know Micah outside of the pack house a bit better, he's more himself when he's no stressed out about all that stuff."

A double date with her and Benny? I guess its better than a solo date, maybe it will be more like a friend hang out—something just chill. Besides, the determined glint in Molly's eyes tells me she's not going to take no as an answer. "That could be fun, just let me know the days so I can check with work." My favourite opt out. I glance at my phone, noting the time. "Shoot, my first class starts in like five minutes, I've gotta run. I'll see you guys later?"They all agree fervently, smiling and saying their farewells as I leave.

The entire day passed by in a flash past that. I attended classes, workshops and lectures all surrounding journalism and it was incredible. As much as I hate to admit it, the Alpha was right when he said this pack had some of the best universities in the country. Even now, as I wandered through the stalls of clubs and society's I could join, there was a nagging pull in the back of my head telling me how much I'd enjoy to study here. I'd get in on the grades I have without a doubt, and even then, if I put this campus as my preference I just know that the pack house would pull whatever strings it needed for me to come here. And Micah would undoubtedly join in a heartbeat. 

"Hello! Are you interested to learn about the genetic sciences?" A tall woman with short, wiry hair leaps from a stall, taking the opportunity of my dilly dallying to shove a flier into my hands.

"Oh, uh," I skim over the paper that looks like some sort of protest poster and narrow my brows.

"Oops! Wrong paper," she says with a laugh, handing me another. "But our protest is also very important. Have you heard much about the genetic studies we do here on campus?" She asks and her bait catches me hook, line and sinker.

"No, what genetics exactly?"

She beams. "Well let me tell you! Our department on campus has been renowned world-wide for the studies we do on the genetic makeup of wolves and the differences to human genes. We are the proud publishers of many reports that have been used by our leaders and citizens alike to make informed policy choices, especially when it comes to human rights advocacy."

Well, shit, I'd be proud if I did that, I mean damn. "That's amazing," I say, making her smile grow.

"Thank you, we are honestly very fortunate to be able to do our great work. This pack has some of the best laws in the nation surrounding educational liberty however there have recently been restrictions and push back against our latest initiatives to study the mating bond." My stomach twists and her brows furrow for a split second before smoothing. "Do you know much about the mating bond? I think most of us humans know someone who has been affected by its... difficulty."

She approaches it like the sensitive subject it is and I gulp, nodding. "Yeah a friend of mine was mated recently, to someone higher up."

Sympathy flashes through her eyes and she nods. "Well to explain it simply, what we are trying to achieve here is a scientific investigation, we use hard data to look at a seriously complex issues in our society such as mating and hierarchal power imbalances. Our aim is to give policy makers logic beyond religion and help friends like yours better understand their situation. Our protest is to push back against the pack and university and let our anger in the situation be known."

But would I even be able to protest for something like this? I'm sure Micah would disagree. "What sort of push back has there been?" I already know the answer deep down.

"Mainly from the pack house, but our last protest ended in a brawl against some wolves devoted to being governed by their ancient laws. Our science is perceived by some to be a threat, especially those who are mated to humans and... well we all know how that can end up. So there is a side of civil unrest we are trying to challenge as well, to make sure us humans still have some voice and evidence to back up what we say with it."

I nod, my mind already turning about how this conversation fits perfectly into what Gabe was saying about his own experiences with pack authority. "I'm not much of a scientist but I do want to get into journalism and this is something that I'd love to write about. Do you have an email or socials that I can message if I have any more questions?" I ask and she looks like I've just turned the lights on her Christmas tree.

"Absolutely!" She reaches over to the table and scribbles her details down, handing me the note. "If you have any questions just reach out, I'm very passionate about this so spreading the word where I can is awesome."

"Tha—" Like my brain isn't my own, my attention snaps beyond the girl's auburn-dyed hair to Micah, stood maybe five stalls over with James, a football and fliers in his hands. "Thank you. I'll be in touch."

She offers me a final smile before I drift from the stall, my heart picking up at a furious pace. I've not done anything wrong. It was just a conversation. Yet still, I find myself shoving the papers she gave me deep into my tote bag, quickly erasing the evidence—

"Thea," I physically jump, my attention snapping to Micah who stands less than a foot away from me. His hand reaches out and rests on my arm, sparks dancing over my skin at the contact. "Are you okay? I could hear your heart pounding like the a drum. Did you lose something?"

I notice then that my arm is still stuck deep in my bag, my hand clasped around the treacherous green pamphlet that I am certain he wouldn't want to see. "No! No I didn't lose anything, I'm fine." My words only make him confused. "It's probably the large crowds. Did the match end early?"

Because he should still be on a field right now, not wandering through club stalls. "Oh yeah, we just did a half game and I thought I'd come find you. James tagged along but..." he looks over his shoulder for a good moment. "No idea where he has gone. Are there any cool clubs I should check out? The guys on the team have already signed me up for their mailing list."

Be cool, play it cool, you are not a criminal Athena. "Yeah!" I say, clutching the edge of my bag. "There is a really cool journalism club and this one club that is dedicated to baking so basically you just turn up and cook. There's even a whole campus community dedicated to Fire and Fury, people just get together and play it for hours — pretty sick."

He grins, flashing his perfect teeth. "Out of all my university trips, this campus honestly has some of the best clubs in the pack. I actually picked this up just walking here," he hands me one of his fliers. The debating society. "Figured maybe Henry would want to go to some of their events. This college has the highest scores for lawyers in the country."

"Thanks, I'll pass it on. I actually think he's come here for competitions before."

"That doesn't surprise me," he laughs and checks his watch. "Are you hungry? We've got about thirty minutes until our final class."

Right. Arts and theatre.

I pull out a campus map from my bag and inspect it. "It will take us half that to just walk to the building, and then we need to find the room so maybe we should just go now."

"Are you sure? I can quickly run and get snacks and catch up to you. I saw a pizza food truck on the way here," he offers, dead serious.

But as entertaining as the image of him running wolf-speed across campus with pizza in his hands is, I shake my head. "It's fine, let's eat after." I glance back at my map. "I think we have to this way... nope wait that's wrong, this way."

We made it to class ten minutes late somehow and endured the disappointed stares of art students, many with colourful hair and very diverse attire. The whole art block was decked out with the most beautiful sculptures and paintings that we had to stop and check them out. Besides, once Micah spotted any art that detailed the history of his pack his eyes would sparkle and he'd explain the entire lore.

"Sorry we are late ma'am, it's Micah Holt and Athena Mennison—we are signed up for an arts class." Thank god he has the balls to speak up, one glance at the incredibly intense students and I would have just apologised for being in the wrong room and fled. 

The professor's eyes light up and she stands, her colourful patchwork gown lifting like wings. "Welcome darlings," she professes like the words come from her very soul, her arms ushering us to take a seat next to the others on the floor. There is no chairs and desks like the other classes I attended—everyone is on an assortment of bright rugs with plush cushions littering the floor. "Please, join us."

Micah glances at me and places his large palm on the small of my back, guiding me out of my trance towards the little space left.

"I'd firstly like to welcome you into this shared space — a place for respect, creativity and appreciation of all things art. This is a safe space, a joining ground where all walks of life may come together to share in our cultures and express the innermost feelings of our heart. We do not consider ranks or titles within this room, not for wolves or fellow humans — here we are all one."

I notice a few looks in our directions but Micah is completely unfazed, even as everyone clicks their fingers in agreement around the room. He actually joins them. "Fantastic!" The professor leaps from her chair and moves to a stack of papers, handing them out through the group. "Today I will take you through an immersive journey through an art form that will provoke your thoughts, ignite your soul and guide you towards wholly accepting the life of another." A student next to me passes along the stack of papers and my eyes widen. It's a script. A screenplay for Romeo and Juliet. "Theatre is an essential element to the arts, learning the skills of the stage is beneficial to you all as young students in so many ways. We will first go through a session surrounding stage presence and voice work and then move to a few small reenactments of some famous scenes and monologues."

"Will we get to choose our scene partners?" Someone speaks up and I hope so. No way do I want to do this with a stranger, which weirdly puts me with Micah. I guess he's not as much of a stranger as I thought.

"Of course! We will split into pairs for most scenes so amongst yourselves please get into teams."

We all bustled together into groups and it wasn't long until

It was an effort not to laugh when Micah stood next to me, practicing his projection with a nearly scared look on his face. But the entire workshop was honestly so fun, mainly because Micah and I just laughed the entire time at every weird thing we had to do. We literally were forced to partake in a dance battle. A dance battle.

I never in my life expected to see the future Alpha of this pack dance around with a pink cowboy hat in some weird hip hop rendition of a line dance. But I did. And it was thoroughly entertaining.

And now I lay with my arms crossed over my chest, playing dead as Micah recited the lines of his monologue perfectly. I'd only ever read Shakespeare in an English class once and we all took turns to read the pages through. No one, and I mean no one, put nearly half the amount of effort into their words as Micah is now.

My eyes remained glued shut as he continued his monologue and his words became louder as he knelt down beside me. His warm hands rested over mine and sent sparks shooting up my forearm.

"O, here will I set up my everlasting rest. And shake the yoke of inauspicious stars from this world-wearied flesh! Eyes, look your last. Arms, take your last embrace. And, lips, O, you the doors of breath, seal with a righteous kiss. A dateless bargain to engrossing death."

And then his lips gently rested over mine, making my very bones melt into the plush foam beneath me. The feeling that coursed through my veins was purely addicting, like his lips were a drug my body couldn't function without. The crowd erupted with clicks and claps at his performance and I opened my eyes, breaking character to stare into his entrancing brown orbs. No one could tell from this angle that I wasn't playing my part.

He smiled gently, his hand moving to caress my cheek before he turned dramatically back to the crowd. "Come, bitter conduct, come, unsavoury guide!" He exclaimed, his expression so overly sorrowful it made my smile grow as I continued to watch the performance. "Thou desperate pilot, now at once run on the dashing rocks thy seasick weary bark! Here's to my love." He turned to me and pulled a small bottle from his pocket, throwing the cap off before pretending to drink the poisonous contents. "O true apothecary, thy drugs are quick. Thus with a kiss I die."

Micah dramatically hit the floor and the stage curtains closed as music began to play, the claps of the small audience filling the room. My whole body shakes as I burst into laughter the second we are alone on the stage and Micah stands up, bowing towards me before walking to the coffins edge. My stomach clenches in pain from my hysteria and I clutch it, my laughter slowly trickling away as literal tears fall from my eyes. This has got to be the most insane thing I have witnessed in my life. Micah Holt, the Micah Holt prancing about on a stage reciting Shakespeare hahaha.

"My Juliet," He says, his voice low as his eyes capture mine, completely entranced. My less hysteric laughs continue and he places a hand to my face, brushing away my tears of joy. "Let me help you out," he offers and my laughter dies down completely as I nod, sitting up.

He hoists me out of the coffin like I'm a feather pillow, placing me next to him on the ground. "That whole thing was incredibly impressive," I say, giggling and he beams at the sight.

His grin lowers into a smile and he stares straight into my eyes, his own darkening to a deep shade of golden brown that makes my breathing completely stop. His eyes glance to my lips, letting me know exactly what he is thinking. "The whole thing? What was your favourite part?" He questions, utterly suggestive and I bite down onto my lip, like it can draw my thoughts away from the addicting sensation.

"Bravo! Bravo!" Micah draws back, making me realise just how close we were as the professor rounds the corner. "That was just exquisite. You have such a talent! You should star in my next show! How glorious it would be to have the packs future Alpha on stage, representing the arts," she speaks like she wants to bear hug her own words and I smile again.

"I'd love to see that," I add and Micah laughs.

"Thank you," he says, a humble hand on his chest. "I may have to pass but this was a fantastic class, you should be proud of your work and if you ever need support from the pack house please contact me personally. Perhaps Athena and I will come and see your shows."

"Of course," she says, nodding her head in respect. "Well I will leave you to your day, thank you both for attending my class. I hope to see you next year!"

She leaves and Micah turns to me. "You've made a new best friend," I comment and he laughs, looking down at his costume.

"I'm going to get changed out of this. Do you want to meet me by the change rooms in like five? I'll be super quick."

"Sure," I grin and he leaves.

-

"Romeo, Romeo, where art thou Romeo?" I say as I knock on the door. He's been like fifteen minutes in the small closet of a change room.

The door swings open and Micahs bare chest greets me, my gaze shamelessly lingering on his washboard stomach before looking at his smiling face. "Romeo," he says, thinking over the word with a smirk. "I could get used to you calling me that."

"Where is your shirt?" I question and he opens the door wider, revealing a completely trashed costume room.

"I have literally no idea. I have been searching for it but I'm starting to think someone else accidentally took it — I don't know."

"Do you want some help?" I offer but I move past him before he can reject, my eyes already scanning the piles of clothes. He had a plain black skirt, surely it can't be too hard to spot in amongst all this colour.

"I've been through those two piles," he points to the largest heaps in the room. "And I was just gonna check this one."

We rummaged through three entire piles of clothes, and an hour later I managed to find a black shirt that was two sizes too small for him.

I helped him squeeze it over his head, pulling it down to conceal the defined musculature of his chest. It is so tight on him that every line shows through the shirt and the seams around his arms threaten to burst. It takes one look at himself in the stained mirror and he erupts with laughter. "Okay. We have to literally run back to our room," he manages and I stare at the way his eyes twinkle when his lips are stretched so wide with complete awe.

His eyes move to the fabric of his shirt that I still clutch, keeping our bodies held tightly and I don't think as I move my hands to glide over the smooth contours of his stomach. Every muscle clenches under my touch and I feel the shudder ripple through his body at my fingertips. "It's a bit tight," I comment with a smile, looking back at his dangerous lips.

There is no one in here, no one else who has to know. Why should I deny myself a simple kiss? He said that it goes as far as I want, that he'd keep me a secret. It doesn't matter that I don't want to be his girlfriend—why should that matter?

"It is." His voice is tight, like he's holding in a breath.

Neither of us speak for a moment, the electric air humming between us and he moves his hand to my cheek. "I want to kiss you." He states and lightning sparks in my chest.

I'm so grateful he said it, so grateful that I don't have to. I nod my head gently, flicking my gaze to the ground before connecting our eyes once more.

My whole body aches for me to lean closer to him, to just close the gap between us and feel bliss for just a moment. "So kiss me."

His face smooths with the shock of my words but one look at my lips and any hesitation is lost in his stare, replaced by pure desire.

One hand grazes the side of my hip and he draws me in before crashing his lips over mine. The sensation that flows over my body is out of this world and I crave more, need more. His thumb moves over my cheek bone in a soft, gentle movement and the small action alone makes my whole body tighten.

The edges of his teeth find my lower lip, biting down softly in another ask of permission and I grant it, opening my mouth for his tongue to slip in. He moves his mouth softly, slowly at first and then his hand is in my hair, drawing me closer.

I've never kissed someone like this before—I don't know what the heck I'm doing but every small flick of his tongue sets flames over my body. So I return his actions, his fervency and a low, guttural sound leaves his body, the vibration moving through every part of me. He kisses me like he needs me, like stopping would end his very life. And it makes my whole body light up.

"Yo Mica—" I snap my head to the door, breaking our kiss to find James stood with his hand clasped over his mouth.

My already red cheeks burn and I know my mouth is swollen without looking in the mirror. Not that it would matter, he saw that, saw us. Oh god.  

Why didn't I close the fucking door?

"James," Micah says bitterly, breaking the silence in the room and James moves his hand down like it burns, trying to erase the obvious shock from his features. 

"I am so sorry," he admits, looking between us but lingering his stare on Micah. "I didn't realise you were... busy. I did not mean to interrupt."

"You didn't interrupt!" I say, a little to fast as I step away from Micah. I pick at the cuticles of my nails, my body starting to tense like it did whenever I was caught as a child doing something I knew I wasn't meant to.

"Did you need something?" Micah asks and I can't look at him, the only person I can look at is James because what if he tells people what he saw? He surely will. And then Henry will know and then my parents and then I'm totally fucked.

"Everyone was just ordering pizza to Ben and Molly's suite to chill there before the party tonight. We were going to have a few drinks, hang out. I tried calling but..." But he was busy making out. With me.

"Okay, got it. Thanks." James nods, trying to hide his wince at the tone.

"Yep, sorry again," he says awkwardly as he takes a step back. "I'll see you guys later."

The second he is gone, Micah closes the door and turns back to me, taking my hand in his and pulling me close again. A soft smirk creeps onto his face. "I'm sorry about him. Where were we?"

He moves to cup my cheek, a move I know I'll fall straight for and so I take his hand into mine before he can, dropping it at his side. "Will he tell people?" I ask, nerves gnawing at my mind.

He looks a bit taken aback but gulps, moving back from me. He thinks over my words for a moment and sighs. "Probably."

The mumbled response makes my nerves heighten. Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck. Micah looks at the panic on my face and his features soften. James is a blabber mouth, he's probably run over there right now to tell the whole group. "I'll ask him to keep quiet, he won't tell anyone if I tell him not to."

"Please can you?" His eyes cloud over and I move over to the desk, avoiding staring at my own reflection like I'll get a disease if I do.

Instead I look at the wooden lines of the old piece of furniture, rethinking my entire life. It's just a kiss. That's all it is. An innocent kiss between two people who happen to enjoy it due to existential forces.

Micah laughs from behind me and I turn to see him holding his shirt. "Look what I found," he says, leaning next to a small hidden box it must've fell into. He stands up. "James said his lips are sealed. Should we go eat some pizza?"

I pull my worried look ax into some semblance of a smile, brushing it all away under the rug with a deep sigh. "Yeah, sure. Let's do it."