My jaw drops in awe as my eyes roam the gymnasium. This year's theme was The Great Gatsby with a modern twist to it. Sparkling chandeliers hang from the ceiling and reflect the golden light they emit. "Wow. For a ratty old gym, this place sure does look hella amazing." Claire says as her eyes pop out of their socket. Tiffany simply nods in agreement as I slightly chuckle at her choice of words.

"Nice job." I nudge Anna's arm and offer her a smile. "Why thank you." She puts on a fancy accent and curtsies. We all begin laughing as we make our way to one of the tables. We all showed up in different rides and decided to meet near physics lab B. The girls went with their mates in separate cars while I drove with the car mother and father gave me on my birthday.

Huh, I really am going to miss this place. My eyes skim each and every single detail in this place. Not a single spot is left untouched by my concentrated gaze. I can feel a pair of glimmering orbs,intently watching my every move. A chill runs down my spine as my senses start to familiarize with the detected person.

His expensive and intoxicating cologne floods my nostril as a nauseated sensation spreads through out my stomach. A hand settles at the small of my back a bit too comfortably. Noticing this, I also realize my journey to the table my friends are comes to a halt. My hand retracts and snatches his away, twisting it as I turn around to face the idiot that dares to disturb me.

"What?" My brows furrow as I make eye contact with Tyler. "Hey babe." He smirks and tries to hide the pain lacing his voice. "What a sissy." I can feel Sereana roll her eyes and snort. The side of my lip twitches but doesn't manage to break through my bored facial expression. "What do you want?" My voice remains flat and as uninterested as I can possibly make it. His eyes trail from my face and all the way to my chest area in the saddest attempt to look seductive.

I'm not going to lie, he looks supper gorgeous right now. If only he wasn't such a perv... No no no, I'd still hate him for a fact. "I was thinking," he inches closer to me and actually keeps eye contact with me. "Maybe we could teach your little friend a lesson." I raise a brow at him, not knowing where he was going with this. He rolls his eyes and glances at something to my left before starting back at me. My eyes follow his and meet the one and only Christopher. He stares right back at me with no intentions of looking away. I hate to admit it but he looks H.O.T.T. hot. He could probably give Francisco Lachowski a run for his money if he wanted. His usually messy quiff stands neatly on top off his head looking slightly darker from the lighting, some strands here and there hang loosely onto his forehead. His eyes bore into mine with nothing but pure longing, any traces of sarcasm or boredom gone. A ghost of a smile plays on his lips. He's paired everything with a black fitted suit with a navy blue shirt and black tie. Lord knows hot guys in black are more than enough to give me a heart attack.

"Look, you're a great girl and all and the dick wad of a mate you have can't man up and get you back so," his hand snakes around my waist completely and holds me flush against him. "why not be my partner in crime in a little game I like to call revenge."

He begins to lean in as his right hand grazes my cheek. My eyes begin to shut, not from instinct but from discomfort. His chilled breath fans my face as his lips slightly brush against mine...

***

My eyes haven't left Hayley since she walked into the gymnasiums. She looks so beautiful. Her caramel skin is displayed well but entirely in some places giving me a little peak-a-boo of her cleavage. My wolf purrs at this and even more at her innocence. She hasn't even noticed any of the flirtatious stares being thrown her way by the human guys and unmated wolves, even some girls. Like hell they're going to make a move on mate, the love of my life.

I watch her closely as she stares at the gymnasium in complete awe. She turns as she tries to get the best possible view of everything in here. All in all, I remain perfectly still, watching her eye everything like it had a secret to spill. It would be considered alarming to stare at anyone for this long but who am I to care. I've never been one take any opinions to a chord. Besides, she's my mate. It's not like there's a hand book from the moon goddesses, instructing us on how exactly we can look at our mate for a duration of time.

I notice the school's biggest dim wit stalk his way to Hayley. This puts my wolf and I on edge but nonetheless, I remain still, wanting to see how far this will go. Xavier (my wolf) growls at me deadly and tries to push to the surface but I hold him down.

His hand settles at the small of her back and she stiffens at this. Her eyes harden as if in recognition of who exactly touched her. Usually, when anyone else but your mate comes into contact with you, your wolf's primal instincts kick in and go into defense mode. Her hand reaches out from behind her and snatches his, twisting it as she turns around to face him. I noticed the pained look he has as he starts to talk and at this, I smirk.

She suddenly turns to my direction for a split second and in the moment our eyes meet, I feel my discomfort come to a standstill as she looks at me with such shock. My smirk grows even more as she eyes my tall frame, with a pleased nod. My wolf begins to howl in joy as an odd fuzzy feeling spreads in my stomach. I'm pretty sure I heard Xavier squeal a moment ago. My eyes roll mentally as I tell him to stop acting so girly and spineless but in reality, I could most probably cartwheel around the school but that would simply make me look utterly stupid.

Suddenly, all my joy comes to pause as he holds her tightly against him. His lips start to brush hers but she immediately pulls away. My heart almost shatters at the thought of Hayley being with someone else. "So you can imagine how much it hurt when you kissed Monica." Xavier growls at me. My eyes roll as I begin to speak. "She kissed me. I didn't do anything but push her away. Besides, would I really go for that, even if I didn't have a mate?" Xavier stays silent but doesn't block our link.

"Chris," Matt calls out from behind me. "What time did you get here?" He pats the back of my shoulder. My brows slightly scrunch up at his friendly gesture. Daniel stands a few inches besides him and offers me a nod to which I return. I met the two of them on Friday at the homecoming committee meeting. "A few hours ago I think. I needed to make sure the last minute checks were run through." I felt guilty for wasting the paints on Friday when they poured on Hayley and I so I promised Anna I'd make it up to her by carrying on with everything when she's busy. I've been here from 10:00 am with the sound check and lightning guys trying to make everything into perfection. I carried my suit in my gym bag so I wouldn't have to drive back home and change.

"By the way, you're needed on stage. You're one of the finalists for the homecoming king and queen rally." Daniel says as his gaze shifts from mine and onto his mate near the snacks table. Him and Matt are both werewolves from the Rosewood pack. Matt hasn't found his mate yet but isn't really in a hurry to. "Yeah, sure." Anna had put my name on the ballot sheets earlier since I owed her one.

***

I hate crowns. It's the most ridiculous thing I've worn since Hayley made me wear tights. As it turns out, I ended up being elected as homecoming king. Coach Carter has been taking his sweet time to announce the homecoming queen. It's between Nina, Maria and Hayley. I've been secretly hoping and wishing she'd been crowned queen after her name was called on. "And this year's homecoming queen is," he slowly pulls out the the gold and black card from the envelope in the worst slow motion imitation I've ever seen. I shake my head and slightly snort at his strangeness. Mrs. Benson doesn't find his humor appealing in any way as she snatches the card from him and speaks through the microphone. "Hayley Monroe is your homecoming queen." She turns to coach Carter and glares at him in irritation. Anna takes the crown and tries fitting it onto her head but doesn't turn out as planned.

Anna eventually gives up and grabs a hair pin or something like that from her hair and pins Hayley's front hair away before slipping the crown on her head with much more ease. As expected, I walk to her and reach my hand out for her to take. We make our way down the steps and onto the middle of the makeshift dance floor. The song Turning Page by Sleeping At Last begins to play.

We sway in unison, one hand on her waist and the other in hers. Her eyes stare deep into mine and unveil everything I've kept hidden from the world for so long in one simple glance.

I've waited a hundred years

I'd wait a million more for you

Nothing prepared me for

Of the privilege of being yours would do

If I had only felt the warmth within your touch

If I had only seen how you smile when you blush

Or how you curl your lip when you concentrate enough

I would have know what was living for all along

What I've been living for

The distance between us lessens as her scent surrounds me even more

Your love is my turning page

Only the sweetest words remain

Every kiss is a cursive line

Every touch is a redefined phrase

I take our outstretched hands and place them near my heart as I start to whisper the words to her.

I surrender who I've been for who you are

For nothing makes me stronger than your fragile heart

If I had only felt how it feels to be yours

I would have know what I've been living for all along

What I've been living for

She pulls away and begins to drag me out of the room. I can hear her heart race, every single emotion of her hits me like never before. Each step we take louder as the echo of the lyrics decrease into a whisper.

She stops walking when we reach the field and turns to face me. For a moment, no words are said, nothing but exchange of inhales and exhales. Her hazel eyes sparkle in the moonlight like pools of chocolate and gold. Small flecks of grey reflect the portioned lighting from the moon. I find myself sinking deeper and deeper into her enchantment. I don't take note of how close we are until her nose brushes against mine.

"I love you." She whispers to me but remains as loud and clear to me. I capture her red plump lips in mine. Passion dripping with every single moment our lips connect. Her mind opens up even more to me as her emotions flow into me as if they were my own. She feels loved, contentment, saticefied.

💕✌🏾️