Chapter 1

It was the first day of school for Matt and his pack members in this new town. They had to move after they were raided by rogues in their old town, which they werent strong enough to fight off since their pack consisted of only 12 members, including himself after two of them were killed during the attack.

He sat on his bed, waiting for his father, the alpha to call for him from downstairs. He was staring out his window, at the beautiful forest just outside the house, the dog laying low between the trees, hiding the secrets of the forest from any onlooker at the moment.

Matt longed for a run, to stretch his legs in wolf form, feeling the cool air brushing through his fur and the fresh air that would surround him. The thought made his wolf, Zane, whine in his head, approving of the idea, but they had no time unless Matt wanted to be late for school.

Instead, he stood up, tired of waiting for his father, and started getting dressed, deciding on a pair of blue Jean's and a plain white shirt. Going over to the mirror, he looked at himself, running a hand through his thick blond hair, trying to tame it.

It was quite a cold morning, with a few dark clouds in the sky. He went to get a jacket he picked up off the floor and pulled it over his head, shielding him from the cold. With that, he took his phone off the bedside table and headed down the hall.

His bedroom was the only one on the bottom floor, the rest, including his father resided on the other two top floors or in the three small sheds outside, preferring the privacy.

Originally, Matt wanted to take one of the sheds outside but decided against it, not wanting to leave his father and pack out of his reach after the attack they had a few months ago.

They were all still devastated over the two lives they had lost that day and Matt wansnt taking any chances. That was one of the reasons he took the downstairs room, figuring they'd have to get past him first before they could hurt any one else he cared about.

Matt's stomach rumbled just as he entered the kitchen and headed towards the fridge. His father stood infront of the stove, cooking away. Matt could smell the pancakes before he saw them, the smell intoxicating.

"Someones hungry," James, Matt's father commented.

"You heard that?" Matt asked in amusement.

"Yes, the whole house probably heard," James said smiling at him.

"I know I did," Mark, Matt's best friend said, entering the kitchen.

"Told ya," James chuckled, pointing the spatula toward Mark.

Matt shook his head and opened the fridge, grabbing a soda and going to sit at the kitchen island. James shot him a judging look, but approving of Matt's choice of drink so early in the morning.

Matt ignored the stare and opened the cap, sippingbon the can slowly to torment his father. Suddenly, something was thrown at his head.

"Ouch," He yelled, rubbing his head and turning to find out who the culprit was.

His father was missing a shoe, most likely the thing that hit his head. He looked at him, disbelieving.

"What was that for?" He winked, sounding like a child.

"No fizzy drinks this early in the morning," James said in a fatherly tone.

"You'd didnt need to throw anything at me," he said sarcastically.

"it's not like you'd listen to me," James retorted, sticking his tongue out at his son.

"You both are like children," Mark said, laughing at the both of them before going to sit down beside Matt.

After that the room fell silent as James continued cooking, the white kitchen cabinets wide open as a result. There were still a few boxes that lay on the grey quarts counters, full with crockery that still needed to be put away. Everything was new, when they were attacked, they hadn't gotten the chance to grab anything as they fled.

Most of it was gifted to them from the local Moon Pack, a gift of welcome. There was no way they would have been able to afford all this stuff along with a house big enough for all of them, but luckily for them, the Moon pack was very generous and kind.

"So are you boys exited for the first day of school?" James asked from the stove.

"No," Matt sighed.

"Why not?" His father turned to look at him.

"Ya, why not? I'm very exited," Mark said, bouncing in his seat.

"What's there to be exited about? I already endure hell with you most of the day and now I need to sit through it for five hours?" Matt retorted.

"Well there's a few things to be exited about, cute girls, interesting classes, cute girls," Mark repeated, a dreamy expression on his face as he stared off into space with a lazy smile on his face.

"Yah right," Mark said uninterested.

"Why dont you boys come dish up before the rest devour everything," James said putting two palates down infront of them.

Matt and his father looked over to Mark who was still daydreaming with a lazy look on his face, not paying them any attention.

"Earth to Mark," James said, waving a hand infront of Mark's face, bringing him back as he blinked rapidly.

"Oh, sorry," he said, his cheeks turning slightly red.

"Save the dream porn for when you're alone," James laughed, shaking his head.

They both stood from their seats at the kitchen island, heading over to the stove, grabbing a couple pancakes and going to sit down again. Matt's father followed, taking the open seat beside Matt.

"Breakfast is ready," James called out to the rest.

"Couldnt you wait till we were done?" Matt whined.

His father just shrugged at his complaint, a small smile playing at his lips. Matt heard rushing, the stomping of feet coming from the floor above. The whole roof shaking as everyone ran to get to the kitchen. Steve and Aiden were the first two to rush in, Steve pushing Aiden to the side to grab a plate first.

This was the one thing Matt hated about the mornings. It was never relaxed and quiet as everyone started shouting over one another, running into the kitchen, eager to get food.

Sam and Julie were the last two to come through the door, heads held high as if they owned the place. They both stopped by the counter, each taking a plate and stacking them with what was left of the pancakes. The two started arguing over the last pancake, all the while their plates were stacked like mountains.

"Will the two of you shut the hell up?" Niki shouted at the two, rolling her eyes.

James stood from his seat sighing while we walked he walked over to the two wild animals still arguing with one another. "This is mine now, thank you very much," James said, taking the playe with the pancake on and waltzing back over to Matt and Mark with a triumphant smile on his face when the arguing stopped.

While Matt, his father and Mark sat quietly at the island, the rest went and squeezed in by the large dining table on the one end of the kitchen, talking and laughing amongst themselves.

Niki came and stood by the other end of the island, facing them. She put her playe down, leaning on the counter.

"Could they be less at each others throats the whole time," she retorted under her breath, referring to the twins, Sam and Julie, "They act like wild dogs majority of the time."

"Hey, I heard that," Julie shouted from the table, glaring at Niki.

"Sould I care?" Niki shot back, letting out a frustrated sigh, rolling her eyes.

"Dont fuss over them, itll only make things worse," Mark said, smiling at her kindly, though the laughter was still evident in his eyes.

"Yea but they get so annoying, it's hard to not say anything when you just want to rip their heads off," she said, glaring back at Julie.

"Oh I know that feeling all too well," Matt said, looking at Mark accusingly. James chuckled.

"Hey I'm not annoying," Mark argued, sitting up straight, pouting.

Matt just shook his head at his best friend, a playful smile playing at his lips. He turned back to his food and continued eating, figuring it would be no use to argue back with Mark as he'd just argue back and they both knew from experience that they could go on for days.

"You know, we could find our Mates!" Sam yelled from the table, so loud it was hard to ignore. She leaned into Julie, whispering, "I heard the local pack attend the school too," she shreaked at the end.

"Women and their damn mates," Niki said angrily.

"Last I heard, you're one of them too," Matt retorted, earing a scoff from Niki.

"I dont understand why they get so excited over finding their mate, I mean dont they understand that from then on, they will be prisoner to that one person forever?" she said frowning.

"Its not always like that Niki, and you do get the choice to reject the mating," James said seriously. Matt knew of his father's concerns about Nikis distaste in the mating bond, and so did Matt.

Niki was practically a sister to Matt as they had grown up together, though Niki still remembered the way her father controlled his mate and she didnt like it one bit.

"I'm just saying, when you do find your mate, give him a chance to prove himself before you reject him," James said wisely, looking directly at Niki, his eyebrows drawn up, exposing his wrinkles.

"Why, so he can pretend to be the perfect man just to betray me and think he has some higher power over me? I think not," Niki said, straightening up and throwing her empty plate into the sink.

"Its not always like that," Matt's father repeated, but Niki was already out the door.

"Looks like someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed," Julie commented.

Mind your own business Julie," Mark growled.

-----

Matt and Mark walked into the school building, everyone else followed behind as they made their way to the front office to collect their books and schedules.

After that, they all went in separate directions to find their lockers and set them up. Matt walked down the long hall, looking for the number written on the paper in his hand. The school floors were a plain white tile and the walls were full of dark green lockers and posters around every corner

After walking for what felt like forever, he finally found his locker. It was the last one in the row with a board next to it filled with posters and club sign up sheets. Right beside that was a plain white door with a sign ontop that indicated that it was the girls bathroom.

Matt opened his locker, putting in the pin provided by the sweet old lady that helped them at the office. He started packing his books away into the locker, checking his schedule to leave other the subjects he had for the first three periods and shoved them into his bag.

Matk appeard behind him, grabbing Matt's schedule out of his hands and studying it intently.

"Cool, whe share first period," Mark said excitedly, as soon as the excitement came, it left, being replaced with a disgusted look, "Chemistry, I hate chemistry,"

"Good, we both share a subject we hate together," Matt laughed at the look on his best friend face.

Just as Matt closed his locker, the door to the girls bathroom opened. A short girl with long brunette hair walked out wearing grey sweats and a black hoodie. Her back faced towards them, Matt's interest peaked, wanting to see her face.

His wolf, Zane was pushing through his mind, trying to come through. He was whining and howling in his head but when Matt asked what the problem was, he was ignored. Zane was fighting for control but Matt proceeded to push him back, trying to get him to heal.

Just then, the girl turned, now facing them. Her piercing green eyes meeting Matt's brown ones and he felt his knees go weak. Her dark hair framed her face, contrasting with her light skin and rosy lips.

He could see the sadness in her eyes, even though her expression was blank as she stared back at him. He could smell her scent, she smelled of mint and wet grass. He could tell she was human, but for some reason he felt a strong pull towards her.

'Mate!' Zane chanted annoyingly in his head, over and over. Matt was confused, werewolves and humans couldn't mate, but he couldnt deny the feelings that washed over him from just looking at her.

He felt the need to protect her, to wipe away that sad look in her eyes. He longed to see her smile and make her laugh. He just needed to talk to her. Before he realized, his feet started moving, making his way toward her.

"What?" Mark asked but Matt ignored him and let his feet take him to her. As he got closer to the girl that left his mind confused, he saw her tense up, making him frown.

"Hey, are you ok?" he asked her, reaching an arm out but she pulled away, not answering him as she stared at his hand before looking back into his eyes. "I'm Matt," he introduced "What's your name?"

It took a second for her to respond, "Chloe," she said in a small voice, averting her gaze to the ground.

"What a beautiful name," he breathed out, his eyes widening when he realized he'd said that aloud. "This is my friend, Mark," He said pointing in Mark's direction. He waved and walked over.

"Hey," Mark said, extending his hand to Chloe, she didnt take it. Matt cleared his throat.

"Were new her, I was wondering if you could show us to our first class?" Matt asked, hating how desperate he sounded.

"Sure, which class," she asked, looking up at him through her lashes, she looked so cute, Matt thought to himself.

"Chemistry, the worst class in history," Mark answered.

"I like chemistry," Chloe said so softly Matt alsmost didnt hear, looking to the side.

"Oh really?" Matt asked, "Are you any good at it?" Chloe looked at him properly this time, her expression shocked, she probably didnt intend for them to hear, he thought.

"Yea I guess," she said, sounding unsure.

"What makes you like chemistry?" Mark asked, he sounded interested.

"I dont know, I guess it's fun when you get to play with chemicals and change their chemical makeup," she said, a small smile playing at her lips.

"Is that so? do you know what you're doing?" Matt asked curious.

"Oh yea, it definitely took a while to figure it out, but once you know the basics, it's pretty easy," she said, "Here, let me show you to class,"

She walked past them, eyes on the ground as lead them down a few halls.

"Maybe you could teach tis buffoon a few things, he sucks a chemistry," Mark said, elbowing Matt with a grin on his face.

"Sure, just tell me when," she said, stopping infront of a door, "Here you go,"

"Thanks," Matt said, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Its no problem," Chloe said walking away.

"wait, where are you going?" he asked, chasing after her and grabbing her wrist, stopping her. She flinched at the contact, staring at Matt's hand wrapped around her wrist. He loosened his grip, worried that he hurt her.

"To my locker. It's on the other side of the school," she stuttered, sounding scared.

"Well how do I get hold of you?" he asked, letting go of her wrist.

"Well we do go to the same school," She said with a small smile, looking up at him. Her smile sending tingles down his spine at how beautiful she looked.

"Yea, right, I'll see you around I guess," Matt said, taking a step back.

"See ya," she waved, walking back down the hall they had just come from.