Seneca Mordecai's PoV:

- "lpha, ou're ate o chool,"

'I want absolute silence,' I dictate in a firm tone through our link, and my voice — even without the Alpha command — quiets them down immediately. We are here in the ass-crack of dawn before our normal training time even starts because sightings of one of his men have been reported, and that's something that cannot be postponed to be dealt with.

I can feel my comrades' anticipation through the link as we near our target. The link I'm referring to is the tele-link. It's a sort of a mind link that all packs have between its members, which allows them to communicate among themselves. It can also be used to project emotions, though, at almost all times if we're not careful, our emotions flow into the link even without our intention to do so.

Ezra nods at me, pointing his chin to the thick cover of trees ahead of us. I nod back, an almost imperceptible shake of my head, letting him know that I can feel the stranger's presence, too.

I signal them with a wave of my hand, and we trudge silently across the covering of trees. The green blanket of leaves forms a roof over us, letting almost no sunlight through them, which makes this part forest darker than the others.

Once we reach the point where the scent of the intruder is the strongest, we — which consists of Ezra, David, Jonathan and Me —pause and each of us takes cover behind one of the thick trunks of the abundant pine trees surrounding us. We wait a few seconds and that's when we hear it.

The silent crunch of shoes hitting the dry leaves and stones littering the ground.

I spread my palm and raise it in a silent message; which, with years of training, is understood as 'I'll do it. Back me up if anything goes wrong.' I receive three silent nods in answer, and I take a slow breath, preparing myself to do what I've done so many times before.

I walk swiftly, yet silently, my feet making absolutely no sound as they hit the gravely ground. I peek cautiously behind the tree trunk — behind where I sense his presence — and sure to my guess, there he is, looking at the forest in front of him with wide, careful eyes.

Just as I near him, he senses my presence and spins around fast, but not faster than me. I swiftly reach out and punch him, catching him off-guard and making him stagger back in the force. I use his surprise as my advantage and before he could comprehend the truth of what was about to happen, I punch the side of his midriff, bruising his internal organs.

He bends forward, clutching his stomach with a groan and not a second later, I grab the knife strapped to my forearm and reach out to grab him by his neck. I push the sharp blade into his chest cleanly, killing him instantly. Blood oozes from the puncture in his body, and his dead face is set in a permanent mask of horror, but I don't let my mind linger on it; as looking at him further would only stir up unwanted emotions.

My fingers uncurl around the grip I had on his neck, letting the dead corpse fall to the ground. I hear footsteps and I turn around, meeting my Beta's eyes, "Dispose of this filthy spy," I command and make a move to go in the direction of the river. In the last second, I stop and turn around, "Oh and I'm going for a run," I inform them, just in case my company is requested by someone in my absence.

Quickly, I spin on my heel to leave, but David—my Delta's urgent voice stops me. "Alpha?"

I stop, but don't turn around; which he takes as his cue to speak, "You're late to school."

"Fuck!" I swear, hurrying in the direction of the house.

~

We reach the familiar gates of Greenville High and I pull my car to a screeching halt in the best parking space available, smirking slightly at the fact that it's surprisingly empty.

Hm, I see that the school's prepared for my arrival.

I grab my bag from where it's resting in the passenger seat — which is almost always not occupied since rarely anyone ever accompanies me anywhere — and pull my keys off the ignition. I glance at my rearview mirror to see that Ezra has just parked his car—a blue Nissan GT-R, in the spot behind mine.

Yes, he decided to come to school again just for my sake.

I know, he deserves some kind of award.

He meets my eyes and gives me a nod and a smile, and the small gesture reassures me. The next moment is almost like a scene right out of a cliché teen movie as we open our car doors at the same time, gaining numerous whispers and looks from the kids loitering around the parking lot. I studiously ignore all of them but keep my head high like the Alpha I am, slamming my door shut. Ezra walks the few steps from his car to mine and falls into step with me and we make our way to the main building.

Just then, the warning bell rings loudly, making everyone rush to their classes in a hurried frenzy. We both exchange contemplative looks, knowing that no one would dare question us even if we bunk our classes or arrive late. I give him a lazy shrug, and he smirks knowingly.

"I like the new attitude," He comments as we continue our lethargic trudge to the receptionist's office.

"Don't count on it. I'm not one to abuse my power, I'm just not feeling too eager today go to class," I reply, looking straight ahead sourly.

"Hm, I know. But I like it," He states and we exchange smiles. Or more exactly, he smiles and I just look back.

~

We receive our identical schedules and I let Ezra do all the talking since the receptionist — with her dyed red hair and hot pink nails — annoyed me at first sight. She completely disregarded me — disrespectfully turning a blind eye to the fact that I'm the Alpha, which she surely must've realized the moment I stepped into her room — paying full attention to my Beta, not even smart enough to put two and two together and figure out who we are. He shamelessly flirted with her and she flirted back before she finally asked for his name.

The look on her face when she heard him say our names was downright comical and I had to resist the urge to smirk evilly. I'd just raised an impassive brow, not in the mood to teach her a lesson on respect, making her shrink back and hand me my schedule with shaking fingers. I snatch it out of her hand and pirouette on my heel, leaving Ezra to finish his flirting.

I walk just a few steps before Ezra finally decides to wrap up his conversation and join me, his long strides matching mine. We walk in silence and the second we round the corner, he bursts out laughing heartily, the happy, booming sound reverberating loudly across the silent hallways.

"I-It's been a w-while since I've been out of the Pack. I almost forgot that people give such reactions whenever we tell our names! Her reaction was priceless!" He chokes, forcing the words out in between his uncontrollable guffaws. I look at him — his laughing face and mirth-filled eyes — and shake my head, wondering how I have a person so immature and juvenile as the Beta of the largest pack.

"It's not that funny," I respond and just as he's about to shoot back some smart-ass remark, we reach the doors of our homeroom, so he falls silent. I exhale deeply and push open the double wooden doors with a loud creak, drawing all eyes in the class to the intruders disturbing the teacher who seems to be taking attendance.

Ezra and I set foot inside at the same time and the class erupts into a series of hushed whispers and panicky looks when they feel our presence and identify who we are. The teacher — a new man who wasn't there last year when I'd been studying, looks up with an annoyed look from his seated position in the front of the class. But just as I'd predicted when realizes who we are, all indignation vanishes from his expression, and I watch with concealed amusement as fear and apprehension cross his eyes – before they shift to a kind, professional mask.

"Welcome to Greenville High, Ms. Mordecai, Mr. Harland," He greets respectfully, nodding at both of us. I nod in return and so does Ezra, which apparently seems to shock him.

Prejudiced much? I may be an Alpha, but I can respect people who should be respected.

I barely control an eye roll before he motions us to sit. I nod once again, while Ezra thanks him and we make our way down the aisle between the rows of desks. My Wolf takes pride in the fact that people seem to move away ever-so-slightly when I pass them, feeling the almost primal instinct of a predator approaching them.

I catch sight of the last desk which is empty and walk towards it, while Ezra chooses the vacant one adjacent to it. After the two of us are seated, the class slowly goes back to its previous state of mild chatter, though one could tell that the normalcy was forced and tension still hung thick in the air.

I grab a random text out of my bookbag and place it on the desk with a silent thud, feeling bored and out of place already. Believe me when I say that I already know the entire book by heart. It's just that, some incidents had occurred during the final exams last year and had distracted me from writing the exams well. Those incidents had also earned me a black mark the size of Texas that had tainted my college application and had ended up ruining my dreams.

"Hello, beautiful," An annoying voice interrupts my mental monologue, making me glare in displeasure. I focus my attention in the direction it's coming from to see that the vaguely familiar blond boy — probably an Alpha heir of some sort — who'd been sitting in front of me has turned around in his seat and is currently smirking cockily at me; the arrogant expression on his face clearly conveying the message that he's one of those guys.

The players.

The realization makes my irked glare hateful, my despise for the kind of guys who think that girls are just things to be used and played with clearly visible in my face. He looks taken aback by the instant dislike from me since he probably would've expected me to swoon and gasp like the other girls probably did around him.

He quickly composes his expression, hiding his shock behind the arrogant smirk he previously wore. "Wanna go out sometime?" He asks, still maintaining the same look on his face.

Whoa, if that is a line that works with other girls, then the girls in this grade must be completely, utterly pathetic. I tune him out him blatantly, focusing my attention back on the book I was pretending to read. Yet, he's barely fazed by my obvious rejection of his offer, which anybody with two cells in their brain could understand was a charade for trying to get into my pants.

"I'll bring my Ferrari, we could go to the new restaurant in town . . . You're Seneca, right? Well, your name is as sweet as you, Seneca. I'm Chance Parker, by the way —"

And that's when I decide that it's enough.

"Fuck off," I snarl at him, standing up furiously as I put my book back into my bag. Ezra follows suit immediately and I make a move to leave, but stop, turning around to shoot him one last look of venom.

"It's Alpha Mordecai to you," I pronounce, ignoring his baffled look and the gasps and whispers from others as I storm out.

~

"I thought I could do this, but ugh, I just can't!" I cry out, punching the tree on my right in an attempt to vent some of this pent-up rage inside me. The small tree cracks at the impact, falling to the grass-covered ground of the school garden.

"I know that high school kids are annoying," Ezra agrees, shrugging helplessly, "But try to bear with them. We did last year." He reminds me, trying to be the ever-patient-one when in reality, he's usually the hothead that flies off the hook out of the two of us. I take a deep breath, trying to be positive about this.

"Tell you what, we can spar for another hour if you keep your cool," He offers complacently, changing tactics and gazing at me with unconcealed smugness. Damn, the fucker knows that it's almost impossible for me to can't resist that offer.

"No," I pass it up anyway, shaking my head ruefully.

"I'll even let you kick my ass!" He adds excitedly with a Cheshire grin, still not budging. I glare at his weak attempt at humor, unimpressed. Everyone knows that I can kick his ass. No need for him to go soft on me.

"Please, it's your dream at stake." He implores, giving me his infamous puppy eyes and pout, but his reasoning strikes a chord in me, reminding me that it was me who decided to do this. No one forced me into anything, and in the end, I'd been the one to decide that I had to attend Hillbrigde.

I have to do this. I can't back out now.

"I hate you," I mumble and he grins radiantly, doing a little of his trademark victory dance.

"Well, then. Let's go to the next class," He ushers, and I follow him with exasperation and just plain aggravation evident on my expression.

Ugh. It's going to be a long day.

~

The rest of the morning passes by in a blur, with me sporting a permanent scowl. Everyone backs away when I walk down the halls, sensing my irritation that is probably rolling off of me in thick intimidating waves, scaring everyone in a ten-mile radius.

"Ezra, I'm going to leave my bag in the locker. Meet you at the cafeteria," I inform him when we leave AP Econ, the last class of the morning. I barely wait for him to respond before I spin around and power walk to my locker, my fast pace unaffected since people part like the Red Sea for me.

As I continue my path to the lockers, I feel something strange, an unexplainable urge in me growing more and more by the passing second, almost pulling me in the direction in which I'm walking. I try to push this uncomfortable — or more exactly, unfamiliar feeling away and carry on and that's when my Wolf starts getting impatient, pacing in the back of my head.

Something is definitely not right.

'What's wrong?' I ask her but get no reply.

This just irks me even more and I struggle to comprehend the reason behind her sudden strange behavior. I grit my teeth in frustration, and my hands fist automatically, the primal instinct of danger or something akin to it kicking in.

That's when I see it.

A group of boys standing in the far end of the hallway with well-built physiques, dressed in jerseys and letterman jackets that makes it easy to label them; jocks. They are laughing and pushing at something and when I get closer, I can see that they aren't laughing at something, but rather at someone.

Just as I near them, I see that Alpha kid from earlier — Chase or something, pulling his fist back to punch the helpless guy lying on the floor. All the other jocks' legs obscure my view of him, so I can't see anything except that said person is in a lot of pain.

Red fills my vision at the sight, an unexplainable urge to kill the guy who's punching the one on the floor fills me. I don't think twice about it and give in to the violence building inside me, gladly accepting the chance to punch this bully. I place a hand on his shoulder and turn him around with sheer force, surprising him, and before he could think, I punch him squarely on the nose; the loud 'crunch' resonating through the room.

He yelps in pain and falls to the ground in the impact. I remove my attention from the groaning bully on the floor and quickly scan the group to see three of my pack members, bowing their heads in submission and shame. They mumble a chorus of "Alpha," and I glare at them in silent warning, letting them know that their actions will be charged with repercussions, but like a magnet drawn to metal, my attention is quickly dragged away from them to the boy on the floor.

When I finally see him, my heart almost stops, my breath hitching in my throat.

There lying on the ground is a guy.

I hear incessant yelling from my Wolf and it takes me a second to understand what she's telling.

'MATE, MATE, MATE,'

He is not just any guy.

He is my soulmate.

"Mine," I say, or my Wolf does through me, coming forward and claiming what's hers.

〰〰

Dedication: CuteInside

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