Crescent

Chapter 15

Chapter 15

I walk out of the classroom feeling confident. I know I did well on the test as well as on all the other assignments Alexander had left to turn in. I'm free, for now. The debate is still up in the air if I'm going to try for a doctorate. Right now, I think my life is a little hectic to try and go for that. I might take a semester or two off to get my feet under me and try to balance my home life.

My thoughts are still running one hundred miles per hour when I step out of the building. I realize no one is gathered at the SUV yet, so I take a seat on the bench Alexander and I had occupied earlier. It's a big campus, so I have no worries that everyone is on their way back and just taking their sweet time.

"Is this seat taken?"

I glance up and lock eyes with the blond stranger from earlier. His eerie eyes glow wilder than any other werewolf I've met and a shudder almost escapes me. He gives me the creeps. "Actually, I'm waiting on some one," I say politely.

"Funny. Me, too." He sits anyway, closer than I want him to. Actually, anywhere on this bench is closer than I want him to be. "I'm James."

It's never my intention to be rude to someone, but something inside me can't shake the feeling that I should leave this man alone. "And I'm leaving," I snap harder than I mean to.

He grabs my arm as I stand. "What's the rush, sweet heart?"

My lip twitches and I attempt to yank my arm away to no avail. "I have a boyfriend," I try.

"A maefali? Alpha Crescent right?" My lips remain a thin line at his question, unsure if James is friend or foe. "I see there's no mark on your pretty little neck."

Definitely foe.

"Did he tell you another wolf can claim you before he does? It's a bit painful - more like a lot actually. I believe it's worse than a rejection." James uses his grip on my arm to force me closer to him, the smell of cigarette smoke filling my nose. He flashes his teeth in a wicked grin, or maybe it's a smile, and a crazed look takes over his eyes. "I'd love nothing more than to force my mark on you as you writhe below me, sweetheart. All the better if Alexander," he spits the name, "is tied up watching." His smile is sadistic and I struggle in his hold, trying to get away. "He shouldn't leave you so vulnerable," he chastises.

"Let me go," I cry.

"Pathetic," he hisses. "Too bad I want him to feel everything I do to your body once the time comes. Let him mark that pretty neck, baby, so I can come in and tear it apart." He has a death grip on my arm and I can smell his cigarette breath against my face. I think spittle hits my forehead from his angry words.

I grit my teeth, tired of this game. James, whoever he is, isn't ready for what is waiting for him. I know without a doubt Alexander could rip him to shreds in a heartbeat, and would for the way he is treating me. With a snarl, I put as much command in my voice as possible. "Let. Me. Go."

James actually listens, surprise flashing across his face before he scowls again. "Don't say anything to your precious mate, brat, or your mom will be the first Rivers to be screaming underneath me." He turns tail and bolts into the nearest crowd crossing the street. Between all the students leaving class, I lose track of him almost immediately.

Feeling exposed out in the open, I hurry over to the SUV and, despite how sketchy it might look, I climb in through the broken window. I move all the way to the trunk of the car, feeling safest there.

My arms wrap around my knees for comfort as I try not to cry. I've been targeted by someone - an enemy - specifically for being Alexander's mate, and my mom is in trouble, too. An overwhelmed feeling washes over me. This is not my world and this is not something I think I can handle.