MATE AND HIS LOVER 11

2. The Problem

Ethan Mortimer stares out the window from his seat in the classroom.

"What is it?" Ken Wong says from next seat, noticing his friend's unusual behavior.

"Nothing," Ethan says and faces forward.

Not even a minute is gone, Ethan's gaze moves back to the window. There really is nothing outside. The trees and the river. Nothing he hasn't seen before. But somehow it's... bewitching, today.

After class ends, Ethan, Adam and Ken get to the basketball court for the break, and find that the court's already taken. Leland and his boys are running the ball.

A sharp look is exchanged between Ethan and Leland before Ethan turns around and heads towards the open field at the side of the school. Friends turned foes are the most spiteful tales. Especially when they vie for the same Alpha title.

At the field outside, they decide on volleyball. Shirts are off under the searing sun. Giddy girls and onlookers flock over. When Ethan picks up the ball, bombshell Amy is on him at an impressive speed. "Hey, Ethan," she says, with what-meant-to-be a shy grin. "There's a party at my place this evening. Of course, it can't be a party without you and your friends. Are you in?" She moves closer. Her breasts almost graze his arm.

"Sure," he tells her and returns to the net.

"It's painful to see their wasted efforts," Ken says, taking the ball from him.

Ethan smiles.

"What if your would-be mate is seeing someone now?" Adam says during mid-game.

"I don't care." Ethan sends the ball far enough that others can't reach, but close enough it doesn't cross the white line. One more point for his team. "I'm not interested in dating. And I don't care if she'd dated before she met me. Her past doesn't matter."

———

"Achoo!"

"Helena," a stern voice quickly calls her name before a piece of chalk hits her head.

"Sorry, Ms. Frey," Helena says, among a few of her classmates' snickers. Miss Frey abhors any disturbance in her class, even if it's an inescapable sneeze.

Once the class resumes, a balled up paper quietly bounces off Helena's head and lands on her lap. She smoothens it out. "Want me to warm you up?" it reads. Helena points a middle finger so the last row, where Devon Stalter is, has a clear view of her gratitude for his concern.

There's only one boy who she has the hots for now. Helena bites her lips to stop herself from smiling at the thought of him. A habit she had developed recently.

———

Ouch.

"Ethan, dude, focus," Ken says.

Ethan turns around to pick up the ball that hit his face but it's already in Ken's hands.

"Focus!" Ken repeats, before serving it back to the other side. Ken sure likes to boss Ethan around whenever he gets the chance.

Ethan scans the field. He thought he heard something next to his ear. But there's no one nearby.

"Ethan!" Adam shouts from the other end. These two. Ethan shakes off the odd feeling and gets his head back in the game.

———

Pasta for lunch. Helena skews her lips to the side. "Move," Connie says, pushing her friend away so she could scoop up her favorite.

Sandwich it is for Helena and Bess.

"I guess it was a shitty plan after all," Bess says.

"I guess," Helena says, while they pick up their trays at the dorm cafeteria. The food here is slightly better than the school's, so the friends make the fifteen minutes midday walk each day.

"There's got to be something," Connie adds.

The three of them sit down with their meals, wondering how can it be possible for Helena to even befriend Ethan when they both live in different worlds?

Only on rare instances do different races come together. The kids get the chance in Super Camp trips, held to promote Inter-Supernatural friendliness. Friendliness, in theory, it should say.

Helena has seen Ethan two times in her life. Both during a Super Camp. First time was when they were twelve. When the "incident" happened. And second time was a week ago, when the other "incident" happened.

"There's got to be something!" Connie repeats, out of frustration. "What are you doing?" She nudges Helena out of her trance.

"Thinking about his pretty face."

The other two groan like they have swollen something disgusting.

"Stop daydreaming about him and find a way to see Ethan in person!" Connie says.

"There's no way." Helena sets her spoon down. "The only witches that visit a pack land are invited by the pack."

"Invited for what?"

"I don't know. Maybe to get rid of a curse or something."

Bess claps. "That's great. You put a curse on his pack. Then we can go there to lift it."

"Bess, let's for a second imagine I'm an almighty, most powerful witch in the world, and manage to curse an entire werewolf pack anonymously. Who do you think their Alpha would go to for help? The Supreme Witch? Or even the Guardians? Or any one of the experienced witches? Or... us three student trainees?"

Bess takes a moment to answer. Which makes Helena worry. "I see the problem," she says, making the later relieved.

At the end of lunch, on their way back to campus, Helena is pushed on the shoulder. The bumpee, Devon says, "Heard you were last again at DOS. You know Helena," he leans into her face, "I really admire your consistency."

"Fuck off," Helena says to the second most obnoxious person she knows.

"Don't be mad. If it's fucking, I can only do you."

Helena grabs his collar angrily. Devon smirks at his win. His friends laugh.

"Helena!" Bess says, pulling her away, "it's not worth the detention."

Devon kisses in the air at her as Helena is lead away by her friends.

There's something about that uptight attitude of hers that he can't resist. Her pretty face and slender body, helps, too, but that relentless ego is the cherry on the cake.

Connie pushes Helena into the cafeteria's entrance. "If you pick a fight with him, you'll be the one in trouble, after you had lost to him miserably."

"Focus on the problem at hand," Bess says, distracting Helena, "If you can't go to Ethan, can Ethan come here?"

"How many werewolves you have ever seen visit our coven?" Helena says.

No one answers.

"Exactly."

"There's got to be a way!" Bess says, picking up the routine from Connie, "Is there no place on earth we can get to see a werewolf?"

That's a question Helena begins to fear she might never find an answer to.

So much for having a mate. She can't even see him.