Forsaken by E. M. Moore

13

Aknock comes on the door as Nathan and I are discussing plans. He jumps off the bed, clearing almost the entire room with his shifter reflexes. As soon as he’s standing on the other side, I sit up, pushing myself against the wall. All in all, two seconds later, I call out, “Come in.”

Alice sticks her head in, smiling at the both of us. “The alpha’s assistant called. He wants us all to go to the Winter Solstice meeting tonight.”

That sounds like the last thing I want to do. It’s already almost 8:00 p.m. I don’t give a shit about the solstice preparations and rules. But, instead of saying all that, I force a smile. “Sure. Sounds fun.”

She holds up a finger. “Greystone uniforms expected, of course.” She turns and leaves the bedroom door wide open, and I roll my eyes at Nathan. He huffs. “Yeah, come be a part of the pack that’s forgotten all about you. Sounds like a super fun time.” Striding across the room, he reaches out a hand to help me to my feet. We put unwanted distance between us as I make sure my clothes are on properly. Other than my panties still being a little damp, I—

“Shit,” I whisper. “Do you think she could smell it?”

Nathan presses his lips together. “I guess you could tell her you were—how do you call it—flicking the bean?”

I glare at him, but he’s not wrong. “Funny. I’ll be downstairs in a few.”

He moves closer, the hair on my arms standing at attention as soon as he’s near enough. “Just another pair of panties I’m going to ruin.”

I push him away. If he doesn’t stop, I’m going to be in a constant state of arousal. I lead him right toward the door of our shared bathroom and close it behind him. His faint chuckle reverberates as he heads to his room to most likely change into his academy uniform. Because I didn’t do it earlier, I plop my luggage on my bed and go through it, searching for unsoiled panties. When I find them, I hurry up and change, saving the full unpacking for later.

I descend the stairs. My four Daybreak counterparts are waiting by the door, and I give them all a smile. “Ready.”

We exit the cabin together while Alice chats happily about the meeting she had with her mate earlier. It sounds like they actually had a good time. You could even call it a date. When we’re almost three-quarters of the way to the Alpha’s house, she turns toward me. “You met with Sean, right? How did it go?”

I shrug. “Not as well as yours.”

The answering frowns I receive is enough to put me on edge. Alice waits like I’m going to go into more detail, but I rarely do that with anyone aside from Nathan. Once you start being the oldest person at the school, you’re almost embarrassed by the fact that you’re still there. Especially when hundreds of other shifters have come and gone.

Robbie speaks up instead. He tells us he didn’t get very far with his mate either. She didn’t even want to see him. “It’s no surprise why we ended up here instead of at our own homes.”

I’m still a bit bitter about that, too.

We look like a band of prep school kids as we approach the annex off the main house. We’re all dressed the same, no doubt intentionally. Just another thing to set us apart from the pack we’re a disgrace to.

Alice doesn’t seem to notice the attention as she waltzes happily through the entryway that leads into the meeting room. People file in after her, each of them whispering in surprise. She’d have to be blind not to feel all of their stares on her. When we finally get inside, she’s sitting with her mate.

The four of us Greystone Academy shifters hover near the back. A trickle of awareness buzzes up my spine, and I search the room. Sure enough, Sean is here, already sitting. He glances over his shoulder at the same time that I find him. He’s wearing virtually the same outfit, though this one isn’t in tatters on the floor. He holds my stare while Nathan leans in. “Should I make him jealous?”

“If you want us both to die,” I squeak, trying my best not to move my lips.

“It would be fun.”

Even though Nathan isn’t even doing anything, Sean flicks his hard gaze to him.

“Perfect,” Nathan purrs.

Sean glances away. A second later, my phone vibrates where I have it tucked away in the top of my skirt. I pull it out, checking the screen. It’s from Sean. I tilt the screen toward Nathan so he can also get a look. Sorry about earlier.

Nathan runs his hand over his mouth, hiding a scoff.

Another text comes in right after. Should we sit together?

A rumble vibrates through Nathan’s chest, making my entire body buzz down to my pinkie toe. He’s definitely acting like I’m his. A wash of aphrodisia showers over me, like I’m bathing in it. It’s nice to feel wanted. Appreciated. Fucking needed.

“Should I?” I ask Nathan. Not because I need his permission, but because I wonder if it will do any good.

“I said any means necessary.”

I take a deep breath and head that way. When I get there, Sean moves over, leaving me the chair next to the aisle. “Thank you,” he says, knee bouncing up and down. “I really am sorry about earlier. I shouldn’t have lost control like that.”

It hits me then that he’s said more heartfelt words to me today than he ever has before. Jesus, this guy is infuriating. “Sometimes it’s good to lose control,” I counter. Immediately, my thoughts go to Nathan and me in the bed.

Mating...relationships. They’re not supposed to be this hard. It feels like I have to pull everything from Sean. With Nathan, it’s like seeing everything around me. I don’t even know how I do it, it just happens. But I’d mourn it if I ever didn’t have it.

I turn to find Nathan leading Gayle toward us, and my heart kicks up a few notches. Sean must notice because he leans closer. “What’s wrong?”

Oh, so now you can feel me?I lose the chance at saying that when he peers over his shoulder. His whole body tenses. I get a front-row seat of the emotions rolling off him. Before he has a chance to really spiral, he places a smile on his face, covering everything up.

Nathan and Gayle cross in front of us. I haven’t seen her in the longest time—only little snippets here and there if I happen to be walking down the hall when she and Nathan have a meeting. He and I try to be around for the other during meeting days because you never know how it will end.

Gayle glances down at Sean as she walks past him, and a low growl emanates from my chest. The people in front of us turn, looking me over. I smile at them, and they quickly look away.

Nathan sits next to Sean, catching my gaze. “Better idea this way, huh? Sounds like you don’t want Gayle sitting next to Sean.”

My cheeks heat. I don’t know if Nathan is only saying this because we’re in front of Sean or if he’s mad that I had a reaction I couldn’t help. I’ve spent months hating this bitch, accusing her of taking Sean from me.

Nathan turns to Sean. “Don’t you think?” From the corner of my eye, I see his own spark with his taunt.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Sean deadpans, then turns his back, effectively separating the two of them from us. When he looks at me, it’s all fake. There’s a tension in his body, a coiling, like there’s water built up in a high-pressure hose. He gives me what’s supposed to be a sly grin. “I forgot to tell you earlier that I liked your hair.”

“Yeah?” I ask.

He nods, but he doesn’t even look at it again, which makes me think he’s either blowing smoke up my ass or he’s trying but really just doesn’t know how.

I peer over at Alice. Her mate actually has his hand on her thigh. She’s not going to be at Greystone for long. I envy her. I wish it had been that easy for me. On the other hand, if things were different, I wouldn’t be this close to Nathan, and right now, he’s the only one in my corner trying to keep me sane.

“I should’ve said it earlier, but I think it’s bullshit that they’re putting a timeline on us.”

“I mean, it’s been over a year,” I retort.

“It should take us as long as it takes us,” he counters.

“They don’t see it that way.”

Beyond Sean, I can tell Nathan is listening by the cut of his shoulders, but he doesn’t interfere.

Sean runs his hands through his hair. “Listen, there’s a party coming up. I thought we could go together.” He leans closer. “It’s unsanctioned.”

I know the kind he means. It’s in the woods. Alcohol, dancing, loud music. Most get-togethers are arranged by the alpha, but not these. I used to attend them all the time when we were in high school. I had no idea that older shifters still went to those kinds of things. Maybe they don’t. Maybe they have their own.

“Sounds like fun,” I tell him. “I was also hoping you would go to dinner at my parents’ house. Apparently, the only way they’ll see me is if you’re there, too.”

“That’s not what I said,” a prickly voice comes from behind me.

My shoulders straighten. My mother is standing at my back. I didn’t sense her because I was caught up in Sean and Nathan, but now that she’s behind me, I’m almost overwhelmed by her presence.

I turn immediately. Her sharp cheekbones are highlighted by heavy bronzer. She has a head full of fake blonde curls. Elegant in a silk blouse, she looks the exact opposite of me.

“But Mia’s right, I would love to have you at the house, Sean.”

He clears his throat, his leg jumping up and down even more. “I’d be happy to come, Mrs. Adams.”

Lie. That was so forced.

I smile up at my mother as if to tell her, “See. I can make this happen.”

She gives me a tighter smile back. As usual, my father isn’t with her. He must be on some business, but trust me, she talks more than enough for the two of them.

She reaches down, placing her palm on my cheek like she’s an affectionate mother. “It’s good to see you, Mia.”

With that, she strolls down the aisle. No hug. No embrace. Nothing. It certainly didn’t look like the first meeting between a mother and daughter who haven’t seen each other in months.

I frown after her retreating form. She was never like this before I got rejected. Sure, I knew she was superficial, but she was the doting, involved parent. She wanted to know everything I did. She was interested. It’s like she gave up on the idea of the perfect child when I got rejected, and it got worse every day after that when I didn’t return home with the mate I should have had.

Her disapproval hits me the most. It’s her voice that screams in my head that I’m bucking the system by not being able to secure a mate that should love me, anyway.

“That was...odd,” Sean has the audacity to say.

“Oh, you didn’t know?” I snap. “My mother doesn’t really care for me ever since I’ve been stuck at the academy. She doesn’t call. We don’t talk. She doesn’t invite me home for family time.”

Each of my harsh words hits Sean differently. His forehead pinches, eyes sinking in, like I’m actually punching him.

“I’ll go with you to the dinner,” he assures me before flicking his gaze between my mother, who’s just found a seat in the front row, and me. The panic on his face looks like he hasn’t even taken a second to think about what the rejection has done to me.

I sit back, arms crossed over my chest. I want to tell him to fuck off, that it’s a year and a half overdue, but I can’t really do that, can I?

My phone buzzes, and I peer down. It’s from Nathan. I’m proud of you.

I smile.

Your mom’s a bitch.

I smile even wider.

“What’s so funny?” Sean asks.

I quickly tuck my phone away. I don’t need to explain to my mate why Nathan is texting me uplifting words. It just so happens that my friend is a badass, sexy as fuck, honorable shifter while my mate is a spineless dick.

And that only skims the surface, honestly.

“Nothing,” I tell him. “Just a meme.”

Alpha Richard steps up to the podium, then. We give him a round of applause, and for a brief, sparking second, I feel like I belong again. Here I am, back in Daybreak, sitting amongst my peers. All together like this, the thrum of pack is heavy in the air, settling over my skin in a sweet coat of belonging—something I could easily cuddle up with.

It doesn’t matter that I’m not dressed like them. It doesn’t matter that I was forced to wear this to stand out. The palpable connection between all of us is still there.

It’s just too bad that I’m sitting next to the wrong person to enjoy it to its fullest.

I turn my head, peering around Sean to find Nathan already looking at me. Our gazes meet for the briefest of seconds, and it’s like a piece clicks into place.

This is what’s right. I know it.