Taming the Beast

After dropping Preston off at Mrs. Piggens, Aiden and I drove to school. We grabbed Aiden a schedule from the main office before we went to find our lockers. His was right beside mine. I still don’t know how Keegan managed to convince the office to let him attend with no papers or anything. Walking through the main hallway was really awkward. It was like Aiden and I both had a giant neon side above our heads that screamed ‘look at us!’ while rotated with flashing. Girls were eyeing Aiden like he was a chocolate bar and they were on their period. The guys were looking at him like he’d just landed from Mars and they didn’t know how to feel about it yet.

Aiden seemed uncomfortable under their stares. His cheeks had a light pink tint to them as he subconsciously moved closer to me. We finally reached our lockers. I opened mine before I finally took a good look at his schedule. It mirrored mine exactly. Somehow, I knew Keegan was behind that. He was trying to keep me protected. I know he wouldn’t say so, but the stranger who tried to kill me in the woods put him on his toes. I chuckled and shook my head before I handed the schedule back to a nervous-looking Aiden.

“We have all the same classes,” I informed him. He seemed to relax tremendously.

“Why is everyone staring at me?” he practically whispered, leaning closer to me. I chuckled and shrugged, pulling out my necessary books.

“Because you’re hot,” I laughed quietly. His eyes bugged at that which only made me laugh harder. “Aiden, you’re practically man-candy to girls here,” I shrugged. He looked at me curiously.

“But not you?” he asked. My lips pursued together in a tight indifferent smile.

“I don’t see you in that way. I see you as a friend. I’m in love with Keegan. He’s my mate,” I said. He nodded and smiled.

“At least I can count on that,” he said, bumping my shoulder lightly. I laughed and shook my head at him. He filled his locker and stuffed his bag in there too. He leaned against the lockers and smiled at me. “You’re refreshing,” he said. Before I could ask what he meant by that, I felt someone push me back before standing in front of me. I was now staring at dark brown curls and sandy blonde hair up in a ponytail.

“Hi,” one of the girls said seductively. I moved around them to see Aiden send a quick glare to the floor before he looked at me. I shook my head and mouthed ‘no’. He understood immediately and looked at the girls indifferently.

“Hi,” he greeted back. They smiled and I went to stand beside Aiden. They completely ignored me… which was reasonable. They were here to hit on Aiden after all.

my friend. Amber,” the girl with the sandy blonde hair said.

said back. Their smiles

you from?” they asked. That was a good question. I looked at Aiden expectantly. He glanced at me out of the corner of his eye before he

“West Virginia,” he answered.

flickered to me. “Or who to hang out with,” she added. The comment was clearly meant for me and I knew it, but I couldn’t bring myself to react. I just stared at them. I felt Aiden’s hand slip around my waist as he pulled me in front of him

knowingly. He wasn’t going to call them. They both

as I found myself smiling. They muttered something under their breath before they spun on their heels and walked away. I laughed as Aiden let go of me. I turned to look at him to see him smiling smugly. I sobered up a little and looped my arm with his. I was still smiling like an idiot as I started dragging Aiden in the direction of

was extra

not gay, he pointed out calmly. I laughed and

a mate, so I don’t have to worry about bitches being personally mad

Carly and Amber. My smile widened as I added a little bounce

on my side,” I countered as we reached the classroom. He laughed but didn’t argue.

~

to the lunch table after our fourth period ended. Keegan and the guys were already sitting there with John, Stacy, and Mariana. My friends eyes Aiden in shock. I forgot they didn’t know. It’d been a while since we’ve hung out outside of school and volleyball. I sat next to Keegan and Aiden sat on my other side. I smiled and leaned over to peck him lightly. He pulled me closer and made the kiss longer than I intended. I pulled away laughing. Keegan sat sideways, straddling the bench. He slung an arm around my waist and slid a container in front of

mom packed you a lunch,” he explained. My eyes lit up as I opened the container eagerly to find smoked salmon, spring rolls, and broccoli. I picked up a fork and dug in, going for the salmon first. “How did

of my delicious food. I took another bite and chewed before I swallowed. “Apparently, there’s only one new guy per person,” I chuckled. Keegan raised an eyebrow in amusement with a

have two?” Gregg chuckled. I shrugged. I set