My Arrogant Mate
Chapter 6

Back at school, the bell had already rung and the schoolyard and parking lot were slowly filling up with masses of people, including my brother, who was already leaning against his car.

shit man If he saw that I was coming off the street and not from the building, I'm sure he'd ask a thousand questions I didn't feel like answering.

I nervously glanced at the stairs where Sawyer and Aleya were standing, but not only that, Viola and Trevis were with them and the four seemed to get along really well, which made me frown in irritation. Were you kidding me?

"Jady?" My brother's loud voice ripped me out of my rigidity and my eyes fell on him with wide eyes, as he looked at me in bewilderment and questioning at the same time.

I took a deep breath, swallowed hard and then ran the few meters from the street to his car, where he immediately grabbed my arm roughly.

"Where have you been!?" he asked so loudly that the eyes of those standing around were all focused on us. So much for not noticing.

Panting, I pulled my arm away from him, looked into his blue eyes and briefly considered what kind of lie I would probably tell him. Then I remembered Guiselle, who was actually one of the reasons I left and it made sense to keep quiet about everything to do with the forest and tell him the rest honestly.

"There was another forced tagging with a girl I know and I really needed some fresh air. After all, my birthday is in a week and that just scared me."

His expression was one of concern and compassion as he took a step toward me to pull me tightly into his strong chest.

"But you have me. Everyone at your school knows me as your partner. No one would dare to just tag you," he whispered in my ear and while he gently stroked my back, I thought about the black one Wolf in the forest in my head, which gave me a rapid heartbeat. "And if I replace my mate?"

Devin pulled away from me and eyed me thoughtfully before a small grin spread across his lips.

"Then we're either lucky and he's a great man, or you just reject him."

I thought for a moment what it would be like to turn down your soul mate. Terrible for sure, but better short and painful than living alongside a man who would treat you like shit. Nodding, I then looked away from him and glanced again briefly at the stairs, where only Viola and Trevis were standing, who seemed to be watching us curiously the whole time.

"Let's drive, please," I turned back to my brother and took a deep breath.

Devin ran ahead of me to the passenger door and, as always, politely held it open for me before he got in on his side and started the engine.

"Are those the upper ones?" he then asked me, looking towards the stairs and without having to look, I knew that they were still watching us.

"Yeah, they're part of it," I said, as disinterested as I could, and then tilted my head back to close my eyes with thoughts of my fateful encounter in the woods.

Devin turned on the radio softly, hummed along softly, and luckily left me alone for the rest of the drive. I didn't want to ask any more questions as I actually hated lying to him more than that. After all, he had changed his whole life for me.

When my parents were still there, he had time for his hobbies, which he now had to give up because of his work. I was homeschooled at the time and actually wanted to work after they left, but Devin was adamant that I finish my school and he would do it on my own, so I just let him do it and, with a guilty conscience, learned the best I could went to live.

Arrived at our house, he got out first, then held my door open for me and when I ran ahead, I noticed that he didn't follow me to the front door and immediately turned to him annoyed.

"You have to go to the workshop again, don't you?"

He nodded and looked at me apologetically for a moment before I rolled my eyes and dug my key out of my backpack.

Without looking at him again, I ducked into the house, heard his car's old engine roar once, and then slammed the door behind me in frustration.

It all just seemed unfair to me, because he now almost always worked until the evening and still there was hardly enough for middle and maintenance. Maybe I should just get a job behind his back, or I'll drop out of school when I'm 18. From then on, he can't stop me, because then it would be time to make my own decisions.

I wanted to see him again with his boys at the sports field. His laugh when he scored a goal, his joy when his team won. Now worry and stress were his constant companions.

Breathing heavily, I walked through the cramped living room into my little kingdom and immediately drew the red curtains to block out the sun. The dark somehow suited me better.

I set my backpack down next to my bed and then looked at the photo, on my windowsill, of me and Devin when he received a trophy for the best forward of the final game. A memory that immediately put a wistful smile on my face before I put on my headphones, turned on music on my MP3 player and fell into bed exhausted from this chaotic day.