I Don't Need You

In Which Victor Feels Deprived

I know I haven't updated recently, so sorry! I got a new job and things are a bit crazy.

~Raely~

Nathan's glance at me was smug as he flourished a pen he'd scrounged up from the musty drawers of the mustier office. "Leave it to me, Peanut."

I kept my mouth shut. If I tried to forge a signature, the teacher would probably be laughing too hard to punish me. I had nice, neat, pretty handwriting--and it was way too distinctive to get away with something like this. Like I tried to tell Gabriel, I was pretty much the opposite of a troublemaker.

I took a moment to examine the forged signatures when Nathan had finished. I wasn't really sure how to judge them, but they definitely would have fooled me. They appeared distinctive and slightly feminine without being overly flashy. It seemed to fit perfectly the no-nonsense sort of nurse signature that has been gracing forms for years. Did Nathan do this a lot? Was he some sort of criminal? Ooh, was he in some sort of gang with a group of boys who call each other brothers and are each other's ride or die? My thoughts would have continued to spiral into even less realistic daydreams if I wasn't painfully aware of the seven minutes of the first period that I had already missed. "Alright then, Honey. We ought to be finding our classes."

I could have sworn a disappointed look flashed a stormcloud across his face that had been so overwhelmingly confident a second before. The smirk and blue-eyed twinkle disappeared, but they were back so quickly I questioned my own sight. Maybe my contacts were drying out or something.

Nathan nodded and held open the door. "I have Physics, how about you?"

~Nathan~

"AP Literature," Raely scrunched up her nose as she answered. Even that tiny action was adorable on her.

"Ah, that classroom is right by mine. I'll show you." Mental cheering ensued in gratitude that I could spend even a few more minutes by her side. I'd barely met this girl and already I knew that being apart was going to be miserable.

I opened up the office door and gestured toward the hallway with a flourish. "This way, My Lady," I joked.

My reward was a tiny smile, more of a twitch on the right side of her mouth. I wondered what it would take to get a grin out of her. "I like My Lady, you should stick with that one." Raely booped my nose to emphasize her point as she walked through the door. I stood there in shock for a moment. What was that?

As soon as I got over the shock of my beloved's touch (to boop my nose, of all things!), I followed her out and decided to pretend nothing had happened. What else could I do?

"So, this way to AP Lit, Peanut."

"I told you, My Lady is a much better nickname!"

~Victor~

As the teacher started explaining the syllabus for the AP Literature class, I was far from focused. The empty seat on my left taunted me. When I'd seen the name Raely on the seating chart beside my own, I was thrilled, but my hopes were crushed shortly thereafter when no one filled it. The Raely that Kota had recently discovered as our mate was here at school today, so this girl must be different (although, it was odd. How common could that name be, anyway?). 

I wished we were using computers for this class. It would be relatively simple to hack the school's system and find her schedule. Though Kota failed to provide us with her last name, he did describe her briefly so I could hopefully find her based on her school pictures. Or I could if the teacher would quit her droning and let me access the internet. 

My fingers tapped out a rhythm on the tabletop, fast and incessant. It mirrored the pulse of my heart. If I, one of the more patient among the pack, was struggling so much to keep my composure, I hated to picture the current state of Luke or North.

Just as my composure reached the breaking point, I caught the sweet and slightly spicy apple-cinnamon scent of the most perfect being I'd ever laid my eyes on. Raely walked in the door, and my heart played crescendos. The melodies of a thousand arias filled my ears. Nothing and no one had ever compared to the short brunette who had claimed my everything without even speaking to me.

For a moment, I was incapable of rational thought. Simply staring at her magnificence was paramount, overcoming any other action I could have taken. My wolf, too, was affected, blown away by the sight of his purpose, his other half, the only one he would ever love.

After the initial speechless euphoria of her presence, I thought to wonder why she was late. It was then I noticed the ice pack clutched to the back of her head and the note she held out to the teacher. My wolf went from joyful to whimpering in the blink of an eye. His mate--my mate--was hurt! I knew my brothers would need to know, though certain members of the pack (cough, North and Dr. Green, cough) would be sure to freak out.

As discretely as possible, I took my phone out and texted the group chat.

Group Chat

Victor- Raely just walked in late to AP Lit. She has a note from the nurse and an ice pack for her head. I'm not sure what happened.

North- She's HURT??? WHO DID THIS!?

Gabe- She was in my homeroom and was fine then, what the frog happened?!?

Gabe- Luke! Did you frogging mess with my phone? What the pig did you do?

Doc- I should have been there! The nurse never does anything at that school. I'm surprised she even got an ice pack.

Doc- What if she has a concussion??? I need to check her ASAP.

Mr. B- If you're trying to leave in the middle of your hospital shift, stop. One of the boys can bring her to the packhouse after school and you can look at her there.

Doc- I wasn't trying to leave in the middle of my shift. It's almost the end.

Kota- ...

Nathan- So, I sorta know what happened to Raely. And it really isn't that bad. I just kinda bumped into her and she hurt her head so I took her to the nurse's office and grabbed her an ice pack and forged us some notes since she was afraid of being late.

North- YOU HURT OUR MATE??? I CANT BELIEVE YOU NATHAN

Mr. B- We will talk about this later, and there will be hours.

Kota- Right now we have class, though, so put your phones away.

Returning my phone to my pocket, I returned my gaze to my mate. Raely was on her way towards the empty chair beside me. I smiled at her as she sat down.

"I'm Victor," I whispered. "Is your head okay?"

With a glance to determine that the teacher's attention was focused elsewhere, she whispered "I'm Raely. To be honest it wasn't even that bad of a bump. My pain tolerance is just awful. Thank you for asking though."

Her whisper was soft and slightly husky. Somehow it fit her. I couldn't wait to hear the song of her giggle, the tune of her deep breathing, and every other little piece of the symphony that makes up her.

The rest of the class period was both agonizingly slow and much too fast. My wolf wouldn't let me concentrate on the syllabus for even a second, too entranced by watching our beloved. It was a good thing she was so concentrated on the class or she likely would have been creeped out by my constant gaze.