Wanted by the Wolves

K A R A ′ S P O V :

I headed into school the next Monday alone due to the fact that Kelly had some things going on at home. I was fine with walking in by myself, it was just the thought of what people might do seeing as we weren’t side by side at the moment.

When I arrived at my locker, I found Jason leaning against Evelyn’s, texting something on his phone. He looked up when he heard me coming and a smile lit up his face when he saw me. “Hello, Kara. Funny to see you here, huh?”

I rolled my eyes and quickly unlocked the locker. “Yeah, well you are standing right next to my locker. Would you mind moving, or are you waiting for your girlfriend?” I couldn’t help but add a bit of venom when I referred to Evelyn. I think it was probably mostly because my mate was hanging out with another girl over me.

“Is that jealousy I hear?” Jason teased, amusement shining bright in his eyes.

I rolled my own as I finished exchanging my books. “Whatever helps you sleep at night.” After locking my locker, I turned to leave, only to be pulled back by Jason.

“Not so fast, Kara.” My breathing became uneven when I realized he was pushing me against the locker. Rachel desperately tried to claw through and hold her mate, but I held her back. I couldn’t reveal my true identity, not after all I had gone through, not after all my mom and pack had suffered. “You are going to sit with me at lunch, okay?”

I scowled, trying not to let the closeness effect me. “You can’t have me do anything.” With that, I shoved him hard, causing him to stumble back. I took his moment of surprise to escape.

I’d have to try harder at evading him.

When lunch came around, I hurried towards the cafeteria, trying to appear as inconspicuous as possible. I rushed in, bumping into people and repeatedly apologizing as I made my way to my table. Since Kelly wasn’t here, I was going to have to sit alone. I didn’t fathom the idea, but I would rather be by myself than with others who spread rumors.

Once I sat down, I found myself glancing over at Jason’s table. Evelyn wasn’t on his lap this time, and he had an extra seat beside him. He happened to look up at the same time as me, smirking quickly before patting the space next to him. Being my stubborn self, I quickly shook my head and stayed in my place.

I thought Jason had given up, but I should have known better... Just when I bit into my sandwich, he appeared next to me. “Didn’t I tell you you were sitting with me at lunch today?”

I only rolled my eyes and tried to ignore him. Jason smirked and leaned closer to me. I just about had a heart attack - how was he not affected by this? Oh, that’s right, he didn’t know who his mate was, let alone that they were sitting next to him. Finally, I had had enough. “Would you mind leaving me alone? It looks like your girlfriend wants you.” Just from that comment, the smirk slipped off his handsome face - that’s Rachel, not me! - and he glanced back at his usual table.

I had seen Evelyn shooting me death glares out of the corner of my eye the whole time Jason had been over here, but the minute her and Jason’s eyes connected, her face became pleading. She patted the empty seat beside her and batted her eyelashes. Jason turned back to me after taking a deep breath. “She’s not my girlfriend,” he grumbled, and it wouldn’t have been audible to me if I hadn’t had my exceptional hearing.

I brushed off his comment. “So, why are you over her anyway?”

“I’m sick of my group. They sometimes drive me up the wall. I also wanted to escape Evelyn, which you can see how that’s working.”

He was quiet, and just sat there, munching quietly on the lunch he had brought. Rachel whined in the back of my mind, averting my attention from my mate to her.

“What is it?” I mind linked her.

“I know that we can’t get close to the Alpha, but what if we gained his trust and became friends? It would help both his wolf and me...”

I knew she was right, but wasn’t it dangerous to be that close to the Alpha - or future Alpha, I should say?

It could’ve been that my lunch was poisoned. It also could’ve been that I had caught a fever. Or maybe it was just the riskiness of the situation that excited me.

Whatever it was, I did something I never expected I would do. I stuck out my hand to Jason, who looked up at me curiously. “I think we had a bad start. My name’s Kara.”

He looked shocked, but also relieved as he shook my hand. “I’m Jason.”

“Friends?”

His smile lit up the lunchroom. “Friends.”

J A S O N ′ S P O V :

I had hoped that she would trust me by the end of the day, and somehow, that actually happened.

Now, I knew through the entire thing, I would only be in this so called ‘friendship’ to snoop out any suspicious information, but for some reason, I also felt it could be something more. Ethan was completely convinced that this was a real friendship, one of the one’s that lasted for years.

It was the end of the day by now, and that’s when I heard it.

The murderous sound of high heels clicking across the linoleum floors.

Click. Click. Click.

Looking up, I knew exactly who it was. Evelyn. She was coming to talk to me about why I abandoned her during lunch for a human. I had decided that the school doesn’t really need anymore drama to gossip about, so I booked it out of the building.

Coming into the parking lot, I found Tracy and Phoebe beside my car. I growled in frustration. There was no way I was getting out of here without making a scene.

Now I know what you are wondering - is the future Alpha of the fiercest pack in the nation really going to run and hide from 3 teenage girls? No, but my dad doesn’t want me to be a part of any drama, so that nothing carries over to my rule as Alpha.

Looking around, I saw Kara exiting the building. Without putting much thought into it, I ran up to her. “Kara!”

She looked up in surprise, her eyes catching mine.

“The way they sparkle in the sunlight,” Ethan purred in my head. I quickly shut him out much to his dislike.

“Can you give me a ride home?”

She looked confused before nodding her head hesitantly. “Sure...?”

I followed her over to her small black sedan and got into the passenger side. I would have to pick up my car tomorrow morning.

Kara turned to face me once we both were in. “Jason, why did you need a ride, your car is right there.” She pointed out her window to my car. Tracy and Phoebe were still at their posts, and Evelyn was waiting impatiently.

Kara pursed her lips together before starting her car, no questions asked. She must’ve realized why I had decided to ride with her. Hey, and this served as a great opportunity to get some extra information from her.

“So, um.... where do you live?” She glanced over at me, and I quickly gave her the directions.

“Thanks for driving me. I really cannot stand Evelyn and her group of snobs.”

“No problem, but you owe me a ride now. It looks like Evelyn thinks you are still in a relationship, though, huh?”

“Yeah, apparently her skull is too thick or something.” I realized that we had already arrived at the pack house. I was about to get out when I saw that Evelyn was on the front porch, talking to the pack members as they passed. No doubt that it was about if they had seen me.

I cursed quietly under my breath, and Kara saw where I was looking. “I’ll give you a ride to my house - maybe one of your friends can pick you up and come back later?”

I was shocked at how easily she said this. Was I really going to go to her house and have Ryder pick me up? Ethan took over that moment and without my consent, immediately accepted the offer.

What have I gotten myself into?