Werewolf Academy

Chapter V

~Three Months Later~

"Oh. My. God. You are absolutely gorgeous!" I frown. I hate dresses and Rachel had forced me to sneak out of the school with her this weekend to find a dress for the winter formal. "I  don't know why you are so against this dance, Adalynn. This dress was made for you." The floorlength gown was a rich emerald. The shoulder straps and waist had clear gems sewn into the fabric. There were small slits in the waist. Flirty, but appropriate. Now Rachel was ranting about getting heels. Lovely. "So these black..."

My worries had nothing to do with fashion in any way.  What was I going to tell The Master when I came home for winter break with Brian as my enemy? The dance was tomorrow and everyone went home the day after that. I go up to the register with Rachel and I start  to pay for the both of ours. Her sapphire grown and silver sandals were about the same price as mine.

"No," she says. "I can get my own. You don't even want to go to this dance. If anyone should be paying for both sets it's me." 

The receipt was already coming out. I smirk. "Too late. Yours is covered."

"Adalynn—"

"Look, if youre really that upset, I'll let you by lunch. My guardian is filthy rich. A couple dresses didn't even put a dent in my account."

"Fine."

After eating lunch we go back  to the school. We go upstairs together. Unfortunately for our other roommate, we walk in on she and Nathan making out. She pulls back as the door opens, obviously embarrassed that they had been caught. She clambers out of his lap quickly as Rachel and I start to giggle. I was only further amused as Nathan rubs the back of his neck awkwardly rushing from the room.

She plops down on the couch, covering her face in attempt to hide her embarrassment. We sit on either side of her. "Don't worry. Brian walked in on Jake and me last year."

"Really?"

"No." Hannah flips her off. "Wanna see the dresses?" Rachel asks. I suppose she was trying to make Hannah feel better about her previous situation. "They're both pretty sexy."

"Go put them on." I groan. "Please?"

I take mine from the bag and walk to my room. For the second time that day I pull on the green dress and join Hannah in the living room. She already had her dress from home in her bag. Despite the overly cheerful attitude in both my roommates, I had come to like both girls. I think that taking out the pack might be a bit more difficult than I thought. Leaving these girls packless... I couldn't  think about that. I can't let them influence my assignment.

I hear Rachel come up behind me. "What did I tell you? Sexy, right?"

"Indeed they are."

-----

I stand at the refreshment table alone, watching my friends dance with their mates. Jake was absolutely hopeless. I think that by the end of the night Rachel might kill him for stepping on her toes. Nathan was doing a fair job at leading the dance with Hannah and they both seemed to be enjoying themselves. I stood alone, monitoring. I had been to a few formal dances before, tracking targets. Flirting my way into an office I needed to access. Because of this I had become skilled in dancing, though I rarely put the skill to use.

"Care to join me?" I look up to find Brian standing before me. "You look like you could use a dance."

"I'm miserable on the dance floor," I lie. "I prefer to watch. Maybe take advantage of the food and drinks."

He was stunning, honestly. I take in his appearance. He wore a black suit. It was the same shade as his hair, the dress shoes obviously new. His jade eyes lock with mine. "Let me determine your skill level." He led me onto the floor, my heels clicking lightly. We slip into an easy waltz. I had learned this one long ago and knew it like the back of my own hand. "You seem alright to me."

"And you havent stepped on my toes yet."

He shakes his head in amusement. "You look nice tonight, Asher."

"You're not too shabby yourself." Despite the heels I wore, I had to tilt my head up to meet his gaze. In normal shoes he had at least ten inches on me. "Are you gonna tell me why you asked me to dance?"

He shrugs. "You and I have made ourselves enemies. We still have a few months to turn things around. Why not start trying tonight?" 

Thank the goddess. He just saved my ass from whatever The Master would have done to me for the negative force I had set between us. "Sounds good to me." 

We continued dancing together for a long while. I knew I would be questioned by Rachel and Hannah, but for now all I worried about was gaining leverage with him. I was trying to break through doing as little as possible. While I knew one way in was sleeping with him, I wanted to try to leave things very little complication. 

I knew that in the future I would have to kill him since he is the heir to the Nightshade pack. I didn't want to have any reason to hesitate. Besides, I wasn't sure if he was the type of guy to wait on his mate or not. While he was popular for his family's power, he didn't make a name by sleeping around.

Eventually we step out, he heading for a drink, I to talk to my two friends. "Hey," I greet them. They look at me with shock. "What?"

"Well, I don't know. You just walked up here after spending thirty minutes dancing with your enemy. We have absolutely no reason to be surprised at that, do we?" Rachel says. "What's going on? Holy goddess. Is he your mate?"

"What? No! Look, we realized that having enemies in the school isn't a great idea. Tonight was a sneak peek of the two of us cleaning things up. Maybe becoming acquaintances. He is not my mate, Rachel."

"Sure," both girls drawl. 

"The bond just hasn't snapped," Hannah said to me. "You two are totally gonna hook up."

"Come on, guys. Think about it. It took you a little under a year, yes, but you hadn't met Jake before your Hunt, Rachel. Hannah, it took you less than two weeks to find Nathan because he was hanging out with Jake. It was practically a double date. I met Brian on day one and it's been nothing but fighting until tonight. A mating bond is love, not war. Brian and I were not given the goddess' blessing. Get over it."

"What's going on?" Jake asks.

"Jake," I start, "please tell my two friends that Brian and I are not mates. They're convinced we are because of a few dances."

He shakes his head. "Nathan and I support it."

"Just because two people want to fix a negative boundary does not mean they are a destined pair. Can you all please get your head out of whatever romance novel you're reading?"

"If you two aren't mated by the end of The Hunt, we will stop," Jake agrees.

The Hunt. From sunset to sunrise on the last full moon of the school year unmated male wolves shift to chase the scent of the unmated females who stay in human form. If they can distinguish their mates sent and find her, The Hunt is over for the pair should they reject or accept one another. I will be rejecting my own mate no matter who they are. 

"Fine."