Un•A•Were

4| Friends

Bryan's POV:

SHE LEFT! Damn it! I scared her off when I was just beginning to break the silence. I knew I came on too strong, but I didn't know any other way of getting close to her. For a few months, I had given her space again until I could put my plan into action.

I had James' dad, our current Alpha, get the principal to match my schedule to Amanda's. Well, almost. Except for her last period. Yes, I even joined the chorus for her! Not that I can carry a tune in a bucket, but I was willing to do just about anything to get to know her. Extreme? Yes. Necessary? Meh, but Max was on edge every day and every time I got even a whiff of her scent, my need to be close to her went into overdrive.

When she finally spoke to me and basically said that she's been ignored her entire life, it broke my heart. I didn't know what to say except for "I'm sorry." I watched her walk away to the girl's bathroom. I'll admit I waited outside, not to be creepy, but I wanted to make sure she was okay. When I didn't hear anything, I went to class. I waited for her to show up, but she never did.

When I ran into Luke and Sam at lunch, they told me she left to go home. Luke helped me calm down after I was paired to work with her during first period. My wolf wanted to crawl out of my skin right there! I almost lost control! That's never happened before. As a higher-ranking wolf, I am trained earlier than most wolves because we are stronger and need to be in constant control of our wolves for the protection of the pack as well as to keep our existence a secret. Luckily, I walked out of class and Luke understood what was going on. He is a smart warrior and may be the best asset I have in getting to know Amanda. But first, I have to get through the rest of this boring day without her.

"Hey man! You alright?" James asks with Nick's concerned face behind him.

I chuckle and take a deep breath "That girl is gonna be the death of me. But, I got to talk to her, breathe in her beautiful scent, and walk with her. It was amazing until..." my voice trails off.

"Until?" Nick asks curiously.

"She left. As we were walking toward 4th period, she confronted me about my schedule and behavior change. Basically threw the fact that I and everyone else have ignored her since 3rd grade. I couldn't help, but let her walk away." I bowed my head in shame.

"Well, if it's one thing I know about you, Bryan, you know what you want and you go after it. I'm not saying changing your whole schedule around was the way to go, but it's something!" James says jokingly. Nick starts laughing and I can't help but join in. I mean, he's not wrong. For the first time in my life, though, I'm not sure how this plan will work out. Right now, I'm just focused on getting to know her. I just have to take it slow with her. Baby steps. I will earn your forgiveness, Amanda, and your love.

I use football as a nice distraction from my situation. The coach runs us through a gauntlet of drills and plays to prepare for the Homecoming game against our rivals. He wants to win as much as us and we work hard not to let him down. Although my body is present, my mind constantly drifts to her. My natural instincts are to be near her, hold her, kiss her, and make her mine. But this, our situation, is the definition of complicated. Maybe this is my punishment. Maybe this is how I earn my forgiveness. Moon Goddess, give me strength and guidance.

"Tiller! Get your head out of your ass and pay attention, son!" Coach yells from the sidelines as I miss the play call from James.

"Sorry, Coach!" I yell back. James smiles and shakes his head. He knows what I'm going through, especially since he has already found and claimed his mate. I trot over to the huddle. "Sorry guys. Just a lot on my mind, I guess." James repeats the play call and we break from the huddle to take our places on the line.