West and Abby kissing each other isn't something I wanted to see the first moment I get out of my car.

For some reason my whole entire night ruined. I'm the one who didn't want West and I to solidify our mating bond. I had absolutely no right to get angry. No right. But at that moment, I hated seeing him with someone else.

West can kiss her. Fair. I didn't give any reason to see why we would be together. In fact, I welcomed it.

So why did I feel so betrayed?

I immediately get back inside my car, and Callie- who just got out, poor thing- got back inside with me. She saw too. Because it was right in front of our faces.

I'm not going to worry about my unwarranted reaction right now. I just couldn't.

"I can't," I just told her, no explanation, turning on the ignition again and Callie, thankfully, bless her good, good heart just nodded at me.

I reversed out of the parking lot in a rush, going to drop off Callie back, but then realized how rude I was being as I entered the female werewolf dorm parking lot. "Do you want to go? Sorry I just-"

"Edith, what's going on with West and you?"

My head shot up to meet her even gaze. "W-what do you mean?"

"You don't have to tell me, of course. It's just...during gym I sometimes see you glancing over at West. And then West himself? He's always looking over at you. But his gaze is different. It's more of a longing than your sneak peeks. And then tonight. Tonight he's kissing Abby- which I don't think means anything, not the way he's been looking at you- and your reaction is like this. It's understandable if you like him."

I choked on my own spit. "L-like West? We're-" mates, I wanted to say. But with Callie's ever so observant gaze looking at me, I couldn't lie to her. She's become a good friend to me. One of the few. It's not that I don't want to make friends. It's just hard to for me. Wolves don't gravitate towards me like they do Penelope or West. When I try to smile, it's more like a grimace. Well, that's both was Blaine and Penelope tell me. I scare everyone off.

"We're mates."

I didn't expect Callie's eyes to widen that much, or her to even smile up big at me like that. "Edith! That's so awesome!" Quiet Callie just become Penelope.

"Is it?" I accidentally said out loud.

Callie, shook her head disbelieving at me. "Of course! What's so hard about it?"

She made it sound so effortlessly easy. I could just accept him. Just like that. No consequences. No Silas. Nothing.

"It all makes so much sense!" I've never seen Callie this animated, but was happy to see her this way. She looked like she put the pieces of the puzzle that is called West and Edith's weird, strange relationship together. "How much he looks at you, how deeply he looks at you- like he'd kill anyone who hurt you. How you're scared."

"I'm-"

Callie continued, "You guys are actually so cute together. I can see it happening..."

I swallowed, "So why is he kissing Abby?" Callie fully turned to me, placing a hand on my shoulder.

"From everything that I know now, you should talk to him about it. But I know West would never hurt his mate."

My phone keeps dinging that I have messages, signaling it's Blaine. He was at a dinner event at the pack he had to go to with Silas. The messages are constant.

Callie nodded to my pocket. "You should get that. Don't feel too bad. At least now I don't have to keep wondering about the secret lover's gaze during gym . Thanks for telling me about that, Edith. I'll see tomorrow. Tell me when you get home!"

I waved at her as she got out the car, and opened my messages all from Blaine.

I quickly text him aand drive to my pack.

The cook rushed me into an apron. At the dining table, Silas and his group of ugly wolf friends were eating. Blaine was helping me serve. I thought he would be eating too, but that was too much of a high hope for him to have.

I kept my head down the entire time I passed out food or refilled drinks. With my short hair, it was harder to hide. The entire dinner went without a hitch. I could breathe easier when Silas' friends left the pack house, and I was the last one in the kitchen cleaning.

I heard a crashing sound and ran to the room where I knew Blaine was with his dad.

"You are so pathetic," Silas was yelling at Blaine, and I jumped into the room when it was too late and I heard a crack. Blaine was kneeling on the floor, into one of the dining room chairs.

I stood straight in front of Silas. Last time this happened, Silas wasn't stopping when he kept kicking Blaine.

"Move," Silas sneered.

"No." I looked him straight in the eyes, always a determination to save Blaine's life even if it meant risking my own.

The slap came sharp, a loud smack that could be heard throughout the dining room. It stung.

Silas wasn't going to scare me. This is my pack.

Almost disbelieving I was standing up to him, he stared at me with his unsightly eyes and his beta, Toby broke his gaze when he told Silas about a pack matter.

Silas growled before Toby told him it was urgent, giving us one last lingering looks before he left, smashing the vase into bits.

I rushed to Blaine on the ground, asking him if he was okay. He nodded, groaning. "Could've been worse," he tried to smile, but failed miserably. A black eye was sporting on his face, and a bruise was on the other side.

Desperation and helplessness clung to me as I helped Blaine get up, to go my apartment and help him get fixed up. The pack doctor was under Silas' orders to never heal his own son, so I learned a trick or two. At least, I could put on a bandage.Werewolf healing could only do so much.

I couldn't challenge Silas. Not today. Not now. I wasn't strong enough, but I would be. For Blaine. For me. For my Dad.

When I will be ready, Silas was going to reap everything he ever did.

The next morning, Penelope took one look at Blaine.

"Let me go at him" She was livid. I loved her as my best friend. "Seriously. I'm serious. I'll kill him. How much longer?"

"I need to challenge him," I told her lowly. "I've been training, but it's not the best." I've only used the school gym and don't have a proper training ground. I've been letting my wolf out at night when I leave from work, but other than that...

"You've been almost killing yourself," Blaine said, "you should take it easy."

"I'll take it easy when he stops beating you." I glared back at Blaine.

Penelope sighed, rubbing her temples. "Sooner rather than later he needs to go. When will it be if he - if he does something worse?"

I clenched my teeth, not wanting to think about it. If I took everything in all at once, I'd go insane. I had to take it one step at a time.

By the time Callie got to us, we all looked pissed off and she didn't press on it, but Penelope broke the ice when she asked if anyone did the history homework.

None of us did.

The class I was dreading the most- gym came around the clock. Even though I did my best attempts to avoid West the whole day as he tried talking to me or even saying hello, I couldn't face him. I needed to sort out my own feelings before that.

West tried so hard to my attention, but my eyes were either down or straight ahead.

There was a boisterious laughter at Keaton's side of the gym, and he must have done something with his posse because Coach was yelling at everyone to form a circle.

I expertly used Callie as my shield to hide away from West. Yes, it's impossible to actually do it, but I tried.

"What does it mean to be an Alpha?" Coach demanded. He looked pissed. Rightfully so. Straight at Keaton who was picking on another wolf. Coach has his hat off, his hair a little dented, but his dark brown eyes were drilling holes into Keaton. Coach's lip is formed into a thin line, and the entire huge gym is silent. No one dared to speak.

Gym class wasn't supposed to be like this, but not we're getting it. "Tell me Keaton, in your own words what do you think it means to be an Alpha?"

Keaton shrugged, almost rendered speechless. "You lead. Your pack follows you-"

"Ah, yes," Coach cut him off. "Why does- why would your pack follow someone as incompetent as you?"

I tried to stifle my laughter and grin.

"You called me what?" Keaton looked flustered, his eyes traveled upward.

"Incompetent. You are a selfish, entitled incompetent small little pup."

"I'm telling-"

"Tell whoever you wish to," Coach brushed it off, not caring. I wanted to applaud him. "But tell me, do you know what happened in the last Alpha War?"

Keaton didn't say anything.

Coach's voice raised, "Do you?"

"No."

"It's Alphas like you- Alphas who think they have every right in this world- to wage war on another pack. Thinking that is okay. Do you know how many wolves did we lose?

"No." By this point, I'm sure Keaton wanted to just drop dead.

I could help him.

"Approximately 1,384 wolves."

I glanced up, blinking and my gaze instinctively roamed to West's, who I watched cringe. Coach casted a glance at West too and I breathed in. Everyone knew West's Dad, infamous for stopping the war- killing more than 6 Alphas. His nickname, the Demon Alpha was coined and it stuck forever. I don't know how West handled it. How others treated him because of it. Like they were terrified and in awe, but little did they know, West had the same power. I think about how he healed me the other day in the rogue attack. He did have the same power as his dad. but maybe even more so.

"Do you know what this meant, Keaton?"

"No."

"This meant that many, many packs- those who lost their Alphas and those important- Lunas, Betas, the regular pack members- do you know of what great importance they do? The pack doctor? What happens when the pack doctor is dead? Who is going to treat the other wounded wolves? The Alpha? Will the Alpha be able to take the pack doctor's place? No. He wouldn't. Because all he does is rule over and act like a complete nonce. Exactly like you said."

Coach turned to all of us. "So for all the Alphas out there- the Betas- those in position of power- remember this. Remember it because I am tired of you guys, really I am."

Well he wasn't holding back any punches.

"Remember that every single wolf in your pack is worth of your respect. You don't just get respect because you're the Alpha. No, you get respect because what an Alpha should do is put his pack above everything." He paused. "Do you guys agree, Alphas to be?"

I nodded.

"Do you guys get it- that I've lost my entire family in the war- everyone- because some Alphas just wanted more power. Some Alphas didn't care that their packs were at risk. And guess what you runts? My Alpha survived but his Beta died. The pack doctor died. The tracker died. Pups were without mothers, without parents. Guess what happened? My Alpha couldn't function. The Alpha dies, and the pack can survive. The Beta is there. Part of the pack dies and the Alpha dies too. The Alpha can only lead when his pack is behind him in all things."

"So I want everyone in this gym to understand that you guys, each and every one of you are important and vital to the being of your pack." Coach took a deep breath, releasing all his anger then clapped. "Now run ten laps around the outside fields."

A collective groan echoed throughout the gym.

Trying to run out of gym to get to the elementary after detention before West proved futile.

West was waiting for me by my car.

I slowed down, and his gaze traveled towards me. He walked a few steps towards me. "Why have you been avoiding me all day?"

Hearing his voice, the flashes of the kiss couldn't leave my mind. I blurted, "I saw you kissing Abby the other night."

This prompts West to actually stop, his eyebrows furrowing and he looks genuinely surprised. West started, "That-"

"It doesn't matter," but it did, we both knew it. I wouldn't be acting this way if it didn't.

"Did it mean something to you when I kissed someone else?" I've never seen West this serious, but his eyes were darkened, searching for me to understand.

At this moment, I didn't want to. Nothing made sense. Why was I even angry?

"I don't care."

West laughed then, harsh and low. "Yes, I'm sure you being angry at me means you don't care."

"I'm not angry," I tried to deflate, skirting around him to get to my car. But my reaction was anger. West didn't believe me. He looked it too.

"We're not walking away from this conversation until you understand- until I've made myself clear, Edith. There's only one for me. You." West's eyes darkened into a burnt amber. "You should know she kissed me."

I scoffed. "It doesn't matter." Does it? Does it make a difference? The hurt I'm still feeling that I can't squash away, but I will never admit to West.

"It does. It matters that you know I don't see her in that way."

"So you guys were all over each other for no reason." I crossed my arms.

West shook his head, "No, she was. She kissed me for a few seconds before I quickly stopped it. Maybe if you just stayed for one second longer you would have seen I shut it down as soon as it happened. Abby is just my best friend." West's eyes searched mine, willing for me to understand. I took a deep breath in. In a much gentler voice he continued, "She'll never mean to me what you do." He looked away, his jaw ticking.

I wanted to believe in the worst. Penelope was right, I wanted to jump at the opportunity that made West look bad.It would just be so easy to break the relationship we were forming.

"But what if she was good for you?" my worst fear come to life.

"She'll have a mate. I made it distinctly clear to her that we're never going to happen," West's head turned back to me, and he looked angry. "She's not-"

"She loves you, right?" when West didn't answer, I knew. "Why break that chance at love?"

"Maybe because I don't love her?" West's eyes narrowed. He took a step forward, slick like a panther. Barely an inch between us as he looked down at me intensely. "Stop pushing me away." That was exactly what I was doing. The wind blew on us, and a strand of my short cropped hair I wore in a small ponytail came loose. West reached out and tucked the strand at the back of my ear. His expression was a color of emotions. "Knowing you're my mate, I could never love another."

Hearing him say that heated my entire body, making the butterflies erupt. The thought of him loving me, of having a chance to have a happy life made me extremely sad. Right in front of me was a chance of happiness, but the reach had a giant hold between it. The risk was too great. If Silas didn't kill West, he would do the damage to Blaine, Rosie, my aunt and mom. And me. There is no doubt in my mind that the living heir to Alpha Derek Silva could die.

It would be better if he just could love someone else. Someone who wouldn't hurt him.

I cleared my throat. "So what are we going to do about the rogues and wolfsbane?"

West blinked then smiled. It was that annoying smile that was always present on his face that made me want to do things for him I never imagined I would. "You forgive me?"

"There's nothing to forgive," I said, shrugging. Which was true. He said he didn't initiate it, he didn't have feelings, and unfortunately that made me happier that I'd care to admit to myself.

"No, no, no," West stepped in front of me again. His entire massive body in blocked me, the cord of his muscles shifted as he crossed his arms, raising and eyebrow and looking every bit wolfish and an Alpha as anyone could be. "You understand that it meant nothing and my lips are only meant for you?"

I glowered at him at that, but warmed. "Yeah yeah," I waved him off, biting off my smile.