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•Ryder's POV•

As soon as Mara left school my wolf was howling and whining. I never knew Caleb was so protective, but then again, we do have Alpha blood.

Layla and Trent leave and that just leaves me and Josh. Layla and Trent found out they were mates after the moment they both first shifted on their sixteenth birthday. We have all been friends since we were pups and it was great to see them be mates.

I turn to Josh, "Don't ever touch her again." I demand in my Alpha voice.

Josh is my Beta, while Trent is my Third.

"Is she your mate?" He asks.

I look away and nod.

"Congrats dude," He slaps my shoulder, "She's a real keeper."

"Are you trying to get on my nerves?" I ask as we start heading towards the school parking lot.

"She is my friend, but I know you're her mate. Anyway, I'm waiting for mine now." He smiles.

"Yeah, and you get to see a new side of your wolf." I grin.

'Hey!' Caleb whines.

'You were going crazy.' I reply.

He scoffs and I zone him out.

"But she is human. That means she's an easy target for our enemies." Josh states as we get to our bikes, we prefer motorcycles because the feeling of the wind when you ride is so free, and it makes Caleb happy.

"Yeah," I sigh, "I get that, so we need protection near her at all times. I mean, nobody knows that she is my mate, so it's not too bad now."

"I guess. But you need to earn her trust before you go telling her everything Ryder, she's not just going to take it like it's an everyday thing to be a werewolf." Josh warns.

I sigh, "I think that's going to be the hardest thing."

As people walk past us, they bow their heads in respect. Most of the students at this school are from my pack. The few others are humans that have wandered into our town. Even the teachers are werewolves, except Coach Smith of course. He just destorys sport.

"Well, I'll see you later." Josh waves as he starts his bike.

"Alright man." I reply.

I'm about to get onto my bike when a certain scent catches my attention.

Crap.

"Hey baby." I hear Jessica coo.

I sigh and turn to her. Now that I've met my mate and the beauty of Mara, Jessica just brings a sour taste to my tongue.

"Not now Jessica." I say as I get on my bike.

Caleb starts howling in disgust about her behaviour.

She comes over and runs a finger down my chest.

Agh! I made the stupid mistake of sleeping with her once, and now she thinks we're dating or something!

"I'm bored. Want to come over for a bit, you make great entertainment." She winks.

I make a disgusted face and Caleb growls.

"Just because I made a stupid mistake of sleeping with you once, doesn't mean it's going to be a regular occurrence. Go spread your legs to someone else." I snap.

She looks at me with hurt, but then it turns to anger.

She pokes me in the chest and growls.

"You'll regret this Ryder." She sneers.

I chuckle, "Sure, bye Jessica."

She's fuming when I speed off, I nearly think her wolf might take over.

Mandy told me to come see her, so I decide I have nothing better to do before.

When I pull up at her house, I notice some of the windows open at the next door neighbours house. Weird.

I get off the bike and walk through the front door, I come here often enough that I can just come straight in. After all, it is my aunty and uncle's house.

I walk in the kitchen where Mary, my dads sister, is doing some cooking.

"Hi aunty Mary." I say as I walk in.

"Ryder," She smiles, "What a pleasant surprise."

I laugh, "Surprise? Aren't I here enough for it not to be a surprise anymore?" I ask.

She just smiles in response.

"Hello there Ryder." Mandy says as she walks into the kitchen.

"Mandy." I nod.

"I'm your cousin, you don't need to go all Alpha on me." She gives me a look.

"It's not like I just saw you ten minutes ago or anything." I roll my eyes.

"Come on. I need to talk to you." She says as she drags me to the living room.

I make myself comfortable on the couch, "What's up?"

"Mara's your mate, isn't she?" She asks.

"God, was I that obvious?" I reply.

She giggles, "You just did something we never thought you would. You were so protective and jealous."

I just give her a look.

"Anyway," she says, sitting on the couch next to me, "I know that she's human and stuff, so we need to make sure she's safe all the time."

"You don't think I know that?" I ask, raising an eyebrow.

She's about to say something when there is a knock on the door.

"I'll get it." I say. This is pretty much my second home, I sometimes open the door. Also I'm Alpha of the Dark Moon Pack, one of the strongest packs around this area. So people can get pretty intimidated by me.

I open the door and vanilla and cherry blossom fills my nose and I almost drool. I know that scent anywhere.

I see her gorgeous blonde hair first, as she's looking at the front garden. She turns around looks into my eyes before just staring at me.

She snaps out of her small trance and clears her throat.

"I, uh, need to give these to Mary." She stumbles.

A small smile comes to my lips at her speech.

"Sure, come in." I open the door.

As she slips in, I move closer to her and our bodies lights brush against each other.

She gasps a little, but I know she can feel the sparks too.

"Um, where's Mary?" She asks.

"In the kitchen, come on." I say and take her hand, leading her to the kitchen.

Her hand fits perfectly in mine, it makes me smile at how perfect she is.

Great, now I'm going soft.

But I'd do anything for my mate.

We reach the kitchen and I keep my hand firmly in hers when she tries to pull away.

Mary looks up and sees us, "Mara, dear. What can I help you with?" She smiles.

This time, I let Mara go as she moves towards Mary.

"My mum wanted me to drop these off to you. They're her resumes." Mara say, giving Mary the papers.

"Oh! Excellent. Well you can just hang around her for a bit while I'll just go write this up." She smiles and walks out of the kitchen, probably to go to the office.

"So, Mara. I don't think I got to formally introduce myself. I'm Ryder Jackson."

•Mara's POV•

"So Mara. I don't think I got to formally introduce myself. I'm Ryder Jackson." He extends and hand and I extend mine, shaking it.

"Samara Banks." I smile.

"Well, it's an honour to meet you." He lifts my hand and plants a soft kiss on the back of my hand.

I instantly blush and look down.

"Hey Ryder, who was at-" Mandy pauses when she sees Ryder holding my hand up to his face and my red cheeks.

I can literally feel them burning.

"Oh. Hey Mara." She smiles and walks into the kitchen like we're in the most casual position.

I take my hand away from Ryder and instantly miss the warmth of his hand.

I sit down on a stool at the kitchen benches when I see Mandy making sandwiches. Ryder comes and sits next to me, watching me intently as I look out the window.

Ryder confuses me. Ever since I first saw him he always looks at me, he took me away from Josh and when he opened the door for me he has shown a kind of affection.

Not that I didn't mind the closeness of our bodies when he did slide near me as he opened the door. The automatic tingles I got couldn't be stopped.

I mean, I am attracted to him. And that kind of scares me, I know all the stuff that my friends have told me about him. About how he's a player and he uses girls, and I don't plan to be another one of his 'flings'.

"What are you thinking about?" Ryder suddenly asks.

I turn to him, "Why do you want to know?"

He smirks, "You just looked really deep in thought."

"Well, I only met you today. I don't plan on telling you my life story." I say looking back to the window.

Even though I am looking at the window, I don't miss the frown that forms onto his face.

"Okay, foods up." Mandy says and takes the food out of the room. A silent message for is to follow her.

We come to a living room, there are two small couches facing a television and a small coffee table sits in front of them. The room is decorated with shelves filled with old books.

I walk to the books and scan them, running my fingers along the spines.

There are quite a few old classics that I've read, there are a couple of new ones, but there are mainly ones on old mythology and fictional beings.

"Do you like to read?" Ryder asks from behind me. Like right behind me.

How did I miss the warmth and the small tingles of his closeness when I was looking at the books?

"I love to read." I reply. still looking at the books, trying to ignore the sparks.

With not much luck.

I continue trailing my fingers along the books, aware of the hard state Ryder is giving me, when my finger stops along one specific book.

I pull it out and look at the title.

Fierce Felines: Lion, Leopard & Tiger Mythology

Keyword being 'Tiger Mythology'.

"Hey Mandy?" I ask, looking around Ryder.

"Yeah?" She mumbles, her mouth full of sandwich.

I roll my eyes, "Can I borrow this?" I ask, but making sure Ryder or Mandy can't see the title.

"Knock yourself out." Mandy waves her hand.

"There will be no need for that." Ryder smirks, but for some reason I get the feeling he's being serious.

I smile and hold the book behind my back.

Mary walks in with even more papers in her hands and smiles at me.

"All done, here you are Mara."

"Thanks." I smile and she hands me the papers, "I have to go, we're still getting settled in."

"Of course. Nice seeing you." She smiles and walks out of the room.

"Bye!" Mandy waves and I laugh and wave back.

I look around and realise Ryder isn't here anymore, for some reason I feel a little hurt.

I walk to the door and as I'm about to get there, I'm suddenly pushed up against a wall.

I gasp and look into the eyes of Ryder. I'm to transfixed in them to even think about struggling.

He tucks his head into the crook of my neck and the sparks I feel are literally about to start a fire.

"See you tomorrow, beautiful." He whispers into my ear.

Then he inhales deeply. Like he was sniffing me, and let's me go before smirking and walking out of the room.

I just stand there for a couple of seconds before I realise that I need to go home.

What ever that was, it looks like Ryder has his eye on me.

And I can't tell if that's a good or a bad thing.

_____________________________________________________________________________

Hello!

Okay, I think I am officially in love with this book, and that's kind of stupid because I'm one who's writing it, but anyway I'm really enjoying writing it.

The reads are awesome! You guys rock!

Please stay tuned!

xx