Cursed

Expectations

Scarlett

I drummed my pen on the table as I waited for everyone to arrive for detention. So far, only two other students had arrived. They were sitting in the far corner, whispering to each other about some girl they fancied. Humans always whispered, thinking no one could hear them. But their conversations were never private, our heightened senses meant wolves heard everything.

The smell of cinnamon wafted under the door, thick and spicy. I felt a part of me stir awake. A part which had lain dormant for so many years. The sole reason I was hated by all of my pack was finally arising. I had never felt this before, a presence forming in my mind. It started dim but quickly brightened. It's full force, causing me to gasp. I clenched my teeth together, allowing the strange sensation to settle. It became calm. An ease washed through my bones at this presence.

The door opened, dragging the cinnamon smell in stronger. My hair stood on end as my heart thundered in my chest. The presence whispered to me, its voice a silkier version of my own.

Mate.

It was one word. That echoed around my head as the scent grew closer. I fixed my gaze on the desk, watching my fingers pick at the pen. I couldn't look up. It was too soon. I had planned to spend the rest of my time at school dating Sam, then hoped to move far away from here. But that was now impossible. There wasn't a chance that it was Sam who had walked in, who strode towards me and was now stopped directly in front of me. It wasn't Sam who grasped my chin and forced my gaze to meet their haunting green eyes. It was my alpha. It was Cole Black.

My heart plummeted. Any trace of hope died as soon as I saw his face. Those thick brows knitted together, a muscle ticked along his defined jaw. I watched as those green eyes shifted to almost black. It was a punch to the gut when he dropped his hand from my face in disgust. The presence howled in my head, wounded by his coldness.

"What twisted joke is this?" He growled out, his voice rough. My muscles coiled as the wolf in my head pushed forward, reaching out to him. I knew my eyes were starting to darken, the blue bleeding out of them. He stepped back slightly, confusion clouding his features.

"I thought you were without a wolf." Cole wasn't asking me a question, no, he was stating this. I could feel eyes burning into me. The pack members who had followed their alpha in here were watching this unfold. I dared to glance over my shoulder, and dark eyes and clenched jaws met me. I could feel their anger, it crashed over me.

I turned back to Cole, "As did I." I blinked, forcing the wolf within me back. It whined but allowed me to take full control again. I raised my chin, trying to ignore the intensity of those green eyes watching me. Cole leaned closer, his breath fanning my face.

"I should reject you. It is what is expected of me." I swallowed thickly. My head tilted downwards in acknowledgement. Cole squatted down before me. My eyes met his again.

"I won't do what is expected, my wolf will not allow it." Hope exploded in my chest, my wolf cried out.

"But, little one, this is a trial. I have seen that you have a wolf. If you don't shift within the next few weeks, we will need to re-evaluate this bond." His eyes never leave mine. I nod. My wolf, however, stilled at this, uncomfortable with the expectation placed on us.

"Thank you, alpha." I dip my head, showing my neck slightly in submission. It was customary to submit to the alpha, even for his mate. My neck stiffened slightly as I displayed it. The presence in the back of my mind is protesting. If Cole noticed this, he didn't let on. Instead, he rose from his squat position.

"I will see you tomorrow, little one." I shuddered as he left, his cinnamon smell still lingering in the air.

I tried to reach out to my wolf, to engage with her, but she had gone quiet. Her presence still lingers. For many, their wolf speaks to them regularly, they are one. Yet my wolf had only just shown she existed and seemed uninterested in talking to me.