Ethan glared at the Chemistry test he was supposed to be finishing. The black letters swam on the white paper, and he clenched his eyes shut. He gave his head a quick shake to clear it and groaned as pain speared from his jaw to his temple, worsening the migraine he was nursing.
The painkillers were wearing off.
A sharp kick to the back of his chair cut his cry short, and he whirled to meet Eri's meaningful glare. With a sigh, he turned back to his paper, rubbing his temples.
His whole body was going haywire.
An ache had settled in his gums, spurring on waves of brutal headaches over the last couple of days. Despite that, he wanted to bite something... anything. He flexed his jaw, trying to soothe the tension there and an image of his canines scraping over his mate's flushed skin popped into his head.
No, no, no. Don't think about Jan!
But it was too late.
A wave of heat rolled over him, causing his pants to grow uncomfortable. The skin on his back stretched tight, and tiny strands of coarse hair started poking through it. Adrenaline-fueled tension coiled through him as if preparing his body to burst out and run towards Luna-knows-where. Ethan's next groan dropped an octave lower into an unmistakable growl.
Sharp eyes belonging to other Lycans flicked towards him. Thankfully, fate smiled on Ethan, and the bell went off.
Eri and Brent sprung up, scraping their chairs against the floor and startling everyone else.
"C'mon, big guy," Brent urged as they each hooked an arm under his pits and hauled him from his seat.
Ignoring the startled cries of their teacher, they dumped their answer sheets on her desk and hustled out of the class.
"What happened?" Eri hissed. "You almost lost it in there."
"I know. First, it was just my teeth, and then I thought about my mate, which drove my wolf crazy," Ethan responded, hating the whiny note in his voice. Still shuffling along with them, he cupped his tender jaw as if that might soothe the pain.
"Kitten? Why would he set off your wolf?" Eri asked in a high whisper.
Ethan did not even bother correcting him on using the nickname Breanna had given his mate. "I haven't set eyes on him in three days! I think he's avoiding me."
"What?"
The hallway quickly filled with excited chatter from students, glad they had just one more day to go before the semester was over. Two human boys hurtled out of a classroom, playfully shoving each other around. They rammed into the three wolves and skedaddled, blissfully unaware of the flash of amber in the eyes behind them.
Ethan let out his frustration in another muted growl.
"In here. We won't make it to the parking lot," Brent said. He directed them into the first bathroom they came to.
Ethan paced in front of the row of white sinks, breathing deeply and willing his heart to stop racing. He needed his wolf to calm down.
"Why's Kitten avoiding you?" Eri asked, narrowing his eyes at Ethan as if he was to blame.
"I dunno. I guess he's busy... with all the meetings: his brother, his council, your dad, the other alphas, Jeb... Every day he's either going over reports or on that fucking phone! I know he's doing this partly because of me. I get it, and I don't want to bug him, but it feels like he has no time for me. I can tell he's around only because the scent on his pillows is fucking fresh every day!" Ethan burst out, carding an angry hand through his dark curls. He had not realized how sore he was at his mate's absence over the last few days or how deep he missed him.
YOU ARE READING
Blooded Mate
Fantasy[[MATURE CONTENT]] Pack, family, mate. Loyalty, respect, honor. These are the words that form the foundation of the wolf society. At six years old, Ethan had to choose between his Alpha title and his survival on the night of his father's death. As a...
