A few days have passed since I made up with Grayson. Each day I texted and called Eli, and each day I received no response. I have class with him today, so hopefully we can speak in public to work through this conflict.

Each night was a sleepless one filled with the same nightmares. In every single scenario, no matter where I was or what I did in my dream, it always ended with Grayson dying. Whether his head was chopped off, a stake was stabbed through his heart, he was pushed off of a building- he always ended up dead. I also always ended up waking in tears. Once I was awake, I became aware that the dreams weren't real, regardless of how real they felt to me. It didn't make things any easier.

Grayson is starting to get suspicious. Even Cooper has said something about me "looking worse than the undead." I try and brush off my lack of sleep and avoid the situation entirely. I continue drinking copious amounts of coffee, even more than usual. I've become a jittery mess, and I constantly am drifting in and out of lectures. I hope these stupid nightmares go away before our first exam. I can barely function as it is.

I finally make it to my Ethics class only to find Eli absent from his usual seat. The lecture goes on without him, but I find myself missing his eye-rolling and ethical debates. We always found ourselves disagreeing with each other when it came to moral philosophies. It always entertained me when he would get so baffled by my honesty and ethical decision-making in assignments from class. He could never understand how I could sacrifice my own well-being for a stranger's solely because it was the right thing to do.

Class went by slowly without him. Luckily, the teacher decided to let us out early today and I couldn't be more ecstatic. I also managed to only close my eyes twice during the lecture, and that was only during the videos the professor played for us. I close my eyes and shield them with my hand from the bright sun that seems to be mocking my lack of sleep. I trip on my own feet three times just walking out of the lecture hall. When I hear my name being called, I actually trip and fall down-hard.

My hands scrape against the rough pavement as I land on my hands and knees. Although I'm wearing jeans, I'm pretty sure my knees are scraped up. "Ow," I whine as I slowly rise to my feet. I look forward to see a wide-eyed Cooper staring at me with a face full of guilt.

"I didn't think calling your name would make you fall! Sorry!" he apologizes profusely, dragging me to the side of the Psychology building to get away from the few people staring at me. I'm honestly too exhausted to get too worked up about the attention.

"Dang it. You humans and your fragile human skin," he frowns as he inspects my hands that are now bleeding from the scrapes on my palms. I quickly retract my hands from his grasp and wipe them on my jeans. They still sting a little bit, but I don't want Cooper worrying about me unnecessarily.

I try to convince him that I'm perfectly fine, but instead of words coming out, the largest yawn falls from my lips instead. My eyes are already starting to close on their own when Cooper lightly shakes me awake.

"What the hell is wrong with you? You've been a zombie all week long. Are you sick or something? Wolves don't get colds, but I can find out the right meds to get you." He wraps an arm around me and I gratefully lean some of my weight on him. He walks in the direction of Java, which I'm grateful for. I need coffee if I'm going to get through the rest of the day.

"I haven't been sleeping well," I mumble, hoping to not have to get into the details of my nightmares and what they're about.

"I have a theory on why that could be." The anticipation builds inside me as hope blossoms. Maybe there's a wolf reason why I'm having these dreams and am unable to sleep. Stupid me didn't even think about that possibility. I only thought about me getting back together with Grayson and being scared of him dying, but maybe it's the mate bond or some other magic that I don't understand.

"I think it has to do with the mate bond," Cooper adds. I stop walking and look at him, waiting for him to continue. "Well, I'm not 100% sure, but you are a human and the mate bond works differently for every single person. I think because you haven't been seeing him as often, the bond is plaguing you in your sleep, not allowing you to relax fully."

"But, I've seen Grayson every day this week..."

"You haven't slept with him, though." My jaw drops and my cheeks brighten from the mention of sleeping with Grayson. Is he saying that I need to have sex for these dreams to stop?

Cooper begins laughing hysterically at the look on my face- which is probably horrified and embarrassed. "I love you, Thee." He covers his mouth with his palm in an attempt to stop laughing at me. "I didn't mean sex. I meant you physically haven't been sleeping in the same bed as him, which could cause some unrest for you. Maybe that's why you can't sleep."

It's an interesting theory, but I'm not sure if that's why I'm having these nightmares. When I slept over at Grayson's house last week, I still woke up with a horrible nightmare. He was with me the entire night. I want to tell Cooper my suspicions but my phone rings before I have the chance.

I grumble out some choice words as I dig through my backpack until I find my phone. I'm currently getting a call from Cassidy- oh, crap! I forgot that I'm supposed to go shopping with her today. I promised her a shopping day from when she helped me avoid Eli and I still haven't fulfilled that promise. I slowly slide my finger across the screen and bring the phone up to my ear.

"Hello?"

"GUESS WHAT DAY IT IS?" Cassidy's loud squeal sounds through my phone and my head backs up instinctively from the sheer volume of her voice.

"I know, I remember." I pout, and thankfully she can't see how disinterested I am in this outing we have planned.

"Aww, don't be sad! We're gonna get you some really cute outfits for that mystery guy! He's gonna be obsessed with how you look after I'm done with you. We'll go to Forever 21, then maybe H&M. Ooh! And of course Victoria's Secret for some-"

"Nope! Not going in there!" I need to stop her train of thought before her imagination takes her too far.

"We'll see about that," she says smugly, and I know she's grinning at me through the phone. She gets in these "boy-crazy moods," and I never know how to calm her down. It's an obsession with her, and now that she knows I have an interest in someone, she'll talk non-stop about it. From the two shifts I've worked with her this week, I know for a fact that she won't let me get away without telling her the details of every time we hang out. Most of the time it's actually really nice to talk to her about Grayson, but I don't want to talk about buying bras and lingerie for him... we haven't even done anything to suggest we are close to that stage of our relationship!

"Whatever," I grumble. "I'll meet you at the mall at three."

"Okay! See you soon!"

I hang up and stuff my phone in the back pocket of my jeans- I am so not in the mood to fish my phone out of my backpack again.

"So we're going to the mall?" Cooper asks, his eyes lit-up like a kid on Christmas. "Because I've been wanting to take you ever since we met!"

"Oh no. No, no, no! I'm going with Cass. You can't come. I can barely deal with one fashion critic, but two? No way, I'm sorry."

Cooper smirks at me as he puts an arm around my shoulder and walks us into Java. "We're absolutely going shopping. As much as I love hanging out with you, right now I'm acting as your supernatural bodyguard. Alpha's orders."

I jerk away from Cooper, causing his arm to fall rapidly to his side. My jaw drops in shock. Bodyguard? What?

"Why on Earth would Grayson ask you to babysit me?" I'm actually a little annoyed that I wasn't informed of this earlier. Why do I need someone watching me if I'm just going to the mall?

"Because," he drawls. "You're an Alpha's mate. You're human. You're physically weak and can't go without protection. There's always at least two wolves guarding you wherever you go, but Grayson wants close protection now since..."

I wait for Cooper to finish his sentence, but he begins ordering us coffees instead. I wait until we receive our coffee's- mine is an extra large cup- before I drag Cooper out of Java so I can scream at him.

"What the heck to you mean I always have wolves guarding me? I've literally never seen one around me. And why do I need close protection? What happened? Oh my gosh, am I in danger?"

I want to go on and on, but Cooper places a calming hand on my arm. "Relax, Thea. Nobody's gonna touch you, okay? And if you saw the guards, they wouldn't be doing their job well enough. I'm just here because Grayson's paranoid when it comes to you, obviously."

I nod my head slowly, then decide to chug on my coffee. I'm gonna need the energy if I have to keep up with Cass AND Cooper while shopping...

This is going to be a disaster.

~

Just like I imagined, the shopping trip is a disaster. Cass and Cooper ended up getting along really well, which would normally make me happy, but they decide it's a great idea to team up on me. We've only been at the mall for twenty minutes and I've already tried on ten sundresses, seven tops, four skirts, and a romper. Now, they're sending me back into the dressing room with more clothing. This is pure torture.

With every outfit I try on, the two of them decide to give their two-cents about it. I do really like the clothes they pick out, but I just hate having to try them all on. It takes the fun out of clothes when I have to keep taking things on and off and trying that shirt with this skirt and those shoes with that dress. I was exhausted before I got here, but now I know I'm gonna crash as soon as I get home.

The entire time I'm trying on clothes, I'm secretly adding up the cost in my head. The expense is rising and rising, and I worry how I'm supposed to pay for all these clothes that they keep picking out for me. Cass' dad is a lawyer, so she's well off. Cooper is a part of the pack- which is loaded- which means he doesn't have to be concerned with money. Maybe I'll charge it to my account and come back this weekend to return it all...

I hesitantly walk over to the counter and watch in horror as the price rises and rises. $243.19 for clothes! I don't have that much money in my account! I bite my lip as I work to figure out the best way to put back 2/3 of the clothes without making a fool out of myself, but I stop as I see Cooper hand the cashier a black credit card without even blinking.

"What are you doing?" I say, the words falling out of my mouth. I stand there shocked as he pays for my clothes. All of them! "Cooper, you can't-"

"Hush," he rolls his eyes playfully as he accepts his card back and places it back in his wallet. "You think I would let you pay for all of this? You think Grayson would let you pay for it?"

I stand there like a fish out of water as I try to find the words to tell him how unnecessary this all is. He doesn't have to pay for my clothes! That's a lot of money! I have a job for this exact reason. I'm fully capable of purchasing my own clothes, and I don't want Cooper to think I'm taking advantage of their kindness.

Based off of the serious look on Cooper's face, I can tell that arguing with him will not help the situation- he's made up his mind. It will take me a little while to pay him back, but I vow to myself that I will.

"Thanks, but you really shouldn't have."

Cooper only gives me a side hug and drags me to the front of the store as we wait for Cassidy to finish paying. She ended up buying two tank tops and a pair of cute purple shorts resembling the color of the bags under my eyes. The color is not so cute on me...

Before I know it, I'm being dragged to the one store that I desperately wanted to avoid.

"No! I don't want to go in there..." I stare at the pictures of the models who are posing provocatively in front of the store. I know I'll never look like that. I'm not ashamed of the way I look, but I definitely have some extra weight in my stomach and thighs that the models don't. Ever since I went to the pack house and noticed that all werewolves happen to look like fitness instructors, I've been very self- conscious of my body. Grayson is absolutely amazing and never forgets to tell me how beautiful I am, but I still have insecurities about how I look in comparison to everyone else he's used to spending time with.

"Oh we're DEF going in there," Cass says as she links her arm with mine. "Based off of everything that you and Cooper have told me about Grayson and how obsessed he is with you-"

"He's not obsessed with me," I interrupt.

"He's definitely obsessed with her," Cooper adds in, and I give him an evil glare for disagreeing with me.

"I know he'll appreciate what you buy here. Don't think about it, just buy something cute. You don't have to show him what you buy until you're ready." Cass gives me a reassuring smile and attempts to walk forward, but my feet remain planted on the floor in front of Victoria's Secret. Can I really buy fancy bras and underwear for the sole purpose of wearing them for Grayson?

"And you need more clothes anyway. They have cute nightgowns, and who can't benefit from more underwear?" Cooper says matter-of-factly. How would he even know what's in this store? He's GAY! He shouldn't be concerned with women's clothes.

Before I can ask him, Cooper links his arm with my left one. I'm now trapped between the two shopaholics who are dragging me into the store- literally. My feet are squeaking against the shiny tile floors of the mall. I grumble to myself and eventually push them away from me and begin browsing. Now that I'm in here, I do see some really cute bras...

Maybe it's because I'm so exhausted and I give up trying to fight my friends, or maybe it's because I actually want to buy something nice for Grayson, but I end up picking out a few different things and try them on in the dressing room. I pick out a lavender and periwinkle lace bra, a light pink bra with a cute shimmer along the edge, and per Cass' request, a matching set of lingerie in a bright red. I'm not sure when I'll be wearing it, but at least I have options for when I want to impress him.

I check the time and realize that it's almost 6:00. Three hours of shopping is definitely enough for me. I'm fighting sleep as it is, and I definitely want to eat dinner and then sleep for the night.

"Can I go home now?" I make sure to add a little bit of a whine to my voice so they understand how desperate I am to leave. I've been a good sport today!

"Don't worry. Don't think that I didn't see you falling asleep as I was checking out. I already called Grayson to pick you up."

I shouldn't be surprised that Cooper called Grayson, but since I didn't see him pick up a phone, I'm fairly confident that he mind-linked him.

"OMG! Do I finally get to meet him?!" Cass jumps up and down while doing a little happy dance in the middle of the mall. I laugh at her dance, and when Cooper joins in, I bend over while gripping my stomach. I don't even know what kind of dance Cooper thinks he's doing, but it looks like a cross between the electric slide and the chicken dance.

When they finally finish dancing, we decide to head to the food court and wait for Grayson there. Since I'm thirsty, I go up to a restaurant in the food court and order three waters. Cooper looks like he's about to pay, so I slap him and insist that I can pay for water. Thankfully he lets me.

While we sit down, Cass starts looking around the mall for cute guys. "Oh! He's kinda cute, right? Do you think he's taken?"

I turn around slowly and as discreetly as possible and see an attractive brunette with dark eyes who's looking right at our table. He's not as muscled or attractive as Grayson, but I can see why Cass would be curious about him. His dark eyes are alluring, but the only eyes I'm interested in are blue-gray ones.

"Yeah, he's cute. Go up to him, if you want." My answer comes out half-hearted, but I don't mean for it to.

"Wow," Cass exclaims with wide eyes as she slams her hands excitedly at the table. "You really like Grayson! You're not even looking at this guy!"

Blushing, I bite my lip shyly and direct my gaze at the table. She's not wrong...

"Holy shit! Thea, don't look now, but a guy that's ten times hotter just walked in. Oh my god he's straight out of a magazine! His arms are huge. He must work out literally all the time!"

I turn my head and a face-splitting grin spreads on my face. Grayson walks towards our table, and I definitely agree with Cassidy. Grayson looks incredible today in his snug jeans that hug his thighs in just the right way. His simple white t-shirt clings around his muscled arms and shows off the eight-pack along his abdomen.

He looks like a god amongst men, and when he smiles at me, my heart quite literally explodes. Although I'm exhausted, I wake up a bit just being in his presence.

"That's her boyfriend," Cooper laughs, noticing how my best friend is fangirling about Grayson.

"SHUT UP! I'm so fucking proud of you, he's gorgeous! Oh my god does he just take control? Like, grab you and-"

"Stop talking Cass! He can hear you!" I give her the disapproving- friend look, but she only shrugs it off.

"There's no way he can hear me from that far away. Let me know how great he is in bed."

I shove Cassidy's shoulder, partly out of embarrassment but also because she didn't listen to me. She assumes that Grayson can't hear what she's saying from across the food court- but she doesn't know he has werewolf hearing. By the proud smirk he's wearing, I know he heard every word of what she said. He doesn't need more of an ego boost!

When Grayson reaches our table, the first thing he does is pick me up off my chair and hug me. His face finds its usual place in the crook of my neck and he wraps his arms around me.

"Aww! They're so cute!" Cass smiles. I hug Grayson tighter.

"Told ya," Cooper adds as he watches the two of us with a proud gleam in his eyes. I'm sure he's thinking about how he's the reason we met. That smug little wolf.

"But, you should know that my boyfriend's hotter." Cooper pulls out his phone and begins showing Cass some pictures of Axel, and based off of her squeals of excitement and awe, I can tell he's showing her shirtless pictures. Show off.

Grayson takes a step closer and looks at the pictures Cooper is showing Cass, and he scoffs. He actually scoffs!

"I have better abs than him." Then, he lifts up his shirt and shows her his toned stomach. I honestly can't tell if he's insecure or just boasting.

Cass looks like she's about to drool, so I quickly grab Grayson's shirt and pull it down to cover the heavenly sight. I appreciate his body, but I don't want other people fawning over him. I think that's a reasonable request.

"Stop it, Grayson. Keep your shirt on!" After I scold him, he pouts and grabs my hips to bring me closer to him.

"I just had to remind you who was more attractive." He smiles at me, and I didn't know any better I would think he lost some of his confidence.

"You're the most attractive guy I've ever met. Happy? Can we go now?"