Solar Flare (bxb)

Chapter Five

-Luis's POV-

As Josiah summoned my mother, Serena pulled me away from the wall and put her hands on my shoulders. Werewolves are incredibly dependent on physical touch. It's usually soothing. On that day, however, the only one I wanted to touch me was Rowan.

"This is amazing, Luis. You might not see it now, but Rowan is perfect for you. Plus, you're exactly his type. He's told me that thick, messy, dark eyebrows are a turn-on for him," she joked, reaching up to smooth my right eyebrow. I managed a small smile as I soaked in that one solace. My world had been flipped upside down, but at least my mate would like my eyebrows.

As we waited for my mother, Serena told me about Rowan. She told me that his parents were divorced but were still very amiable. She said Rowan's stepmother regularly invited him and his mother to his father's house in a neighboring town for family dinners. She told me that hates country music but has a soft spot for acoustic folk. She told me he plans to go to college on a swimming scholarship and that he was passionate about causes supporting reproductive health. She told me laughingly that he struggles with science as much as I did, but is a human spell-checker and could spot a grammatical error a mile away.

With every word, I felt like a piece of him was given to me. With every word, I fell more in love with him.

My mother arrived moments after the second bell rang. Josiah, Serena, and I were all officially late for our first class.

My mother was dressed sharply in clean black high heels, black slacks and a beautiful but businesslike golden blouse. She wasted no time in pulling me into a hug, which I gratefully accepted.

"This is perfect, honey. Rowan's such a good boy," she said warmly, straightening the collar of my jacket. "This is amazing. He'll make you so happy." She smiled over at Josiah and Serena. "Come on. Let's get passes for you two."

My mom slung her arm around me and led us back into the building. Maybe a human my age would have cringed at the idea of being embraced by his mother at school, but such affection is common among wolves and I was nothing short of grateful for the love.

Rowan's scent was stronger in the building, standing out among the hundreds of other scents. It was so fragrant and sweet I just wanted to follow it into his arms. I wanted to hold him until the pain in my heart stopped. I wanted to smell nothing but chlorine and pine needles until the day I died.

My mom seemed to sense my instinctive struggle and led me more forcefully into the office.

The man at the front desk, Stuart, is part of the Northwest Collective. He flashed my mom a huge grin and immediately began writing passes.

"Hey, Maria," he said. "Business?"

"Yes," my mom said happily, rubbing my shoulder. "It's Luis's eighteenth."

We didn't dare speak of werewolf matters where unknowing human ears could hear us, but Stuart understood the significance of someone with alpha blood turning eighteen.

"Congratulations," he said warmly. He handed Josiah and Serena their slips. I wished them goodbye as Stuart called back to Arti's office. He set the phone down and smiled up at us again. "She's ready for you. Head on back."

I followed my mom down the hallway to Arti's office, my heart pounding. Isaac Childress hung in Arti's doorway, grinning like a fool. I swear that guy has a crush on her.

"Isaac, it's only Monday. If you get sent to me again this week, it'll be a detention," Arti warned him from inside the office.

"I know. Thanks, Arti," he said eagerly. He gave me a respectful nod as he passed us. He's human, but someone as problematic as him understands that respect must be given in the proper places.