Alpha Mate

Chapter 21

Drake's POV

I sat across the table from Gordon, scowling internally at him as Carol talked to us, talking about our upcoming science project.

"I was really hoping to do something interesting, you know. Unique.Something that not a lot of people would think to do," she explained, looking at the two of us.

"What do you mean by that?" I asked, tilting my head to the side. Carol was in my science class, so I'll most likely get to do the project with her. That is as long as our teacher, Mr. West, doesn't decide to randomly draw straws to get us in our groups. I hated it when he did that.

"Well I mean like mythology. Creatures people don't think are real, you know. I'm not going to get into magic. Just the creatures," Carol beamed at us, watching for our reactions.

"Well that sounds great, Carol! Do you have any first thoughts?" I ask, looking towards Gordon.

"I also think it's a great idea. So which beast do you want to research?" He asked, shoveling a forkful of the school's spaghetti into his mouth.

"Well, I was thinking of doing something generic. Perhaps a dragon or hippogriff. Maybe even something with a lot of lore behind it like werewolves and zombies and vampires," Carol began, listing off a few more creatures, but I was hooked from the moment she said werewolf, though I couldn't really help but feel paranoid that her mentioning that meant she knew.

Westley, my father, a great wolf who's pawprints I'd soon have to follow in, always told us that humans are dangerous when they learn our secrets. Most shun us, some want to lock us away to study us, and others want to kill us on sight. Perhaps Carol is different, a voice piped up in the back of my mind. Ridiculous thinking, I countered. There was no way I could let Carol know.

"So, werewolves and dragons seem pretty interesting," I suggested, clearing my throat. I would love to do one on werewolves, educate people about what we are rather than the dangerous myths behind us, but, granted, that doesn't mean we can't be dangerous during actual full moons. They mess with us, make us aggressive. New moons, on the other hand, sap our strength, make us tired. They make us nearly human for a day. And honestly, it sucks. Though I've only just begun my transformations, with much enthusiasm from my mother, Riley, I was a late bloomer overall.

"They are," Carol reluctantly agreed, looking at me as I was finally knocked out of my thoughts again. "Are you feeling alright, Drake? You seem a little out of it today," Carol asked, placing a hand against my forehead.

"No, no. I'm fine. I'm just a little tired. Lost in my own thoughts. It's nothing," I reassured her, watching Gordon scowling at me as she placed her hand against my forehead.

"Well alright," she reluctantly, agreed, pulling her hand away. "I mean, you don't feel hot, so I guess you're fine." She smiled at me before taking a long drink of the cafeteria's milk. Honestly, I didn't get how she could drink the stuff. I mean, it's not real milk. I've had real milk, and this is nothing like it. Though I have to be respectful of her thoughts.

"So which one do you prefer?" I asked her, crossing my arms as I leaned back in the chair, raising my eyebrows.

"Well dragon's already have something going for them, right? I mean there's been a documentary before about how or why dragons may be real, and even theories about their saliva acting as fireproof coverage for their throat," she explained excitedly. "THough werewolves don't have much scientific evidence behind them, you know? I mean, I know transforming from human into a wolf should be scientifically impossible, but why not, you know? I mean, I think it'd be more realistic to study dragons, but it'd be fun to delve deeper into the pool of knowledge for werewolves. So, overall, I guess I'd choose werewolves," she finished, her answer seeming rather long winded.