Page 119 of Alpha Mates

“Be careful,” Julian whispers “Your brain wasn’t built for such strenuous activities.”

“Alright, Heil,” I say, pinching his side and making him laugh. My soul lights up at the sound, and I pull him close so I can do it again until he’s squirming and laughing, trying to pry himself free.

“You done with all that smart talk?” I ask.

Vibrant blue eyes meet mine before he shakes his head. “You’ll have to beg for even the chance at that.”

I smile so wide my cheeks hurt. For a moment, there’s just me and Julian, and this perfect moment, and then the stupid fucking bell rings. I groan, resting my head against his as students shuffle past towards class.

“What do you have?” I ask, already resigning myself to a torturous hour of waiting until I can see him again.

“Nothing, a free period,” Julian mumbles, and I sit up so fast he startles. “What?”

“That means I’ve got you for a whole period.”

“Youhave a class, but—” He studies me for all of a second before shaking his head. “You aren’t going to it, are you?”

“Nope.” My grin widens.

“Well, I plan to study,” he says, balling up the empty foil and tossing it into the paper bag. “So you can sit there quietly and watch me, but that’s about it.”

“That’s enough,” I reply honestly.

Julian blinks at me, before all that pretty pink seeps into his cheeks. He tries to hide his smile, ducking his head and letting his hair fall into his face.

My blood heats, and I struggle not to touch him as he packs his things and stands. He leaves the table and I’m on his heels, mirroring every step.

“I know a spot,” I say, earning a glance.

“I know one too,” Julian replies with a fake gasp. “It’s called the library.”

“Mine’s better,” I promise as I take his hand and pull him behind me. “You’ll love it.”

“But Beckett won’t know where to find me,” he protests, even as he follows. “He knows to meet me in the library.”

Given the fact that he hadn’t returned as promised, my guess was that Beckett was preoccupied, but I don’t bother saying all of that. “Beckett has a nose.”

Julian doesn’t argue with that, and I grin as I lead him towards an empty stairwell and rush down the stairs with him close behind. Surprisingly docile, Julian lets me take him all the way to the bottom floor, which is mostly reserved for cleaning supplies, broken chairs, and whatnot, but it’s also home to my private getaway.

At the end of the hall, I push the old door open and gesture for him to head in first. He frowns but saunters into the forgotten classroom that I’d spruced up when I first found it. It’s small, with a single back window, and just enough room for the chairs and tables lined up inside.

“Found it during my first week in this place,” I tell Julian as he sets his bag down on one of the tables. “I cleaned it up, and now this is where I come for naps.”

“Of course it is,” Julian replies with a look over his shoulder that makes the hairs on my arms stand tall. His eyes are heavy, flirtatious without even meaning to be.

“Anyway, it’s your study spot,” I offer, clearing my throat. “Much better than the library, right?”

Julian hums, too stubborn for anything else, but he unpacks his bagwordlessly and settles in. I smile as I sink into the chair behind what would’ve been the teacher’s desk.

“Got a book I can read?” I ask before he gets too deep in his work and forgets everything else, me included. He looks up at me with a raised brow, and I scowl at him behind my shades. “Yes or no, Jewels?”

Freeing a book from his bottomless pit of a bag, he holds out the thick novel he’d had his nose in since the start of the week. He barely acknowledges my thanks before he delves straight into work, doing whatever it was that made coming to school so important to him, and I do my part by keeping quiet.

I skim through the synopsis, surprised at the trolls-and-elves adventure. I always pegged Julian as a biographies-before-bed type, but apparently my mate has a whimsical side to him.

I begin from the first page while he works. It’s peaceful in a way that not many things are. No pack duties, no parents, no bullshit. In this secret escape, time flies by with just Jewels and me, and before I know it, I’m turning the page onto chapter two.

It’s then I notice it—that familiar weight. I glance up, meeting Julian’s gaze before he quickly directs it back at his book.