Page 11 of Alpha’s Hated Mate (Shifters of Clarion)

A ydan offered to walk me back to the dorm, but I declined. I guess it’s the Alpha in him that wants to protect me. He doesn’t realize that the hate people have for Scarlets is rooted in fear, and that means I can usually walk home alone at night without being bothered.

But I have to admit I’m regretting rejecting his offer a little. It’s really, really late. Later than I’ve ever been out before. There’s no one out on campus at all. As I walk along the lamplit path, I start to worry that a faculty member might catch me breaking curfew . . . again. I really don’t need another demerit on my record.

Even if I do get in trouble . . . tonight was nice. Aydan is the kind of lover that I’ve always dreamed of having. The kind that I’ve been waiting for my whole life. It’s too bad that nothing else fits for us. It’s just my luck I finally find the right guy for me sexually and he just happens to be the wrong one for everything else.

I keep thinking about the way he teased me about being claimed by him. I don’t know how he read me so well, but he did. The funny thing is that he could have had me if he’d wanted me. Lost in the passion, I’d have accepted his mark gleefully.

I guess I forgot the most cardinal rule of being a Scarlet. Everyone hates Scarlets. A Scarlet certainly could never be a Luna. Life will be easier if you keep your head down and don’t draw attention to yourself. I’ve never been good at that.

As I round the corner, I glance toward the woods—now off-limits thanks to the events of last year. A Scarlet went rogue and terrorized Yarra and some of the faculty. It was a weird time for the rest of the Scarlets on campus afterward. As if our reputation needed to be dragged through the mud some more.

Admittedly, I don’t remember a lot of what happened. The rogue Scarlet sent my mind into a strange, hypnotic state that I’d rather not ever go into again. That day, I learned how susceptible Scarlets can be to mind magic. It’s something that’s put me on edge ever since.

I keep walking when I catch movement out of the corner of my eye. I look back just in time to see a figure walking down the trail into the woods. Long golden hair tied back into a ponytail and sweats . . . She glances over her shoulder. It’s Nadia!

Why would she be out there? I freeze, and for a split second, I think that maybe I should go tell someone. No one’s supposed to be in those woods, after all.

I’ve never been much of a tattle tale, though. I turn on my heel and follow the path where she went just beyond the trees.

It’s pitch black in the woods, but my eyes adjust as I turn my nose up to the wind and track her scent. I’d get more distance if I change. I could even see a little better, and I’d definitely be quieter. No, I’d better stay human for now. As covert as I can be in wolf form, I’m a smaller target this way.

I move silently through the woods along the path, following her scent until I spot her standing by a large rock formation. She’s looking up at it with her hand on the stone like she’s examining it. I hide behind a fallen log and watch her as she slowly rubs her hand along the ridges.

What are you doing?

The second I think that, she turns and looks my way. I duck down just as her head turns, and I hold my breath. After a few seconds, I take another peek . . .

And she’s gone. I look around for a moment for any sign of her golden hair against the black around us, but there is none. I sniff the air. Her scent lingers on the wind.

I stand up and look around in wonder. Where the hell did she go? I spend a few more seconds looking before I give up and make my way back out of the woods.

Weird. I know I didn’t imagine that. What’s Nadia doing creeping around the woods in the middle of the night?

Sleep came to me easily last night, but this morning, spotting Nadia in the woods is still on my mind. As I get dressed, I start wondering about everything that’s been going on lately, and it makes me think about what I told Yarra yesterday. There aren’t any coincidences .

There are a lot of pieces here. I know better than to think that it all means nothing. Nothing ever means nothing in Clarion . . . even though, a part of me would rather believe that’s not true. That way I can just say I’m losing my mind. I’m just another mad Scarlet. Maybe they’ll lock me up before I go rogue. And then there are my visions. I still don’t know what they mean or why a consort of the Alpha King’s brother would be starring in them.

After getting dressed, I make my way to the quad near the center of campus. Aydan texted me earlier asking to meet me there . . . and in turn, I texted Yarra. Given that Aydan’s smell seems to drive me immediately to sex, it can’t hurt to have a buffer between us, even in public.

It’s a nice day as I walk down the stone path leading to the quad. Some students are rushing off to their morning classes, while others are out jogging. There are even a few who have already changed into wolves and are running down the track a little ways away. It’s a typical morning for everybody else.

I run into a couple of Scarlets from my English class, and we chat for a moment. One of them, Robby, is a freshman. He’s all freckles and chipmunk cheeks with bright red hair that looks a little orange in a certain light, and he seems far too pure to even be a Scarlet. The other is a friend of mine, Cyd. She’s a long-legged girl with a headful of bushy hair and a permanent scowl underneath. As the three of us exchange notes, I notice one of the security guys out of the corner of my eye—Morton, I think his name is. He’s usually the one casually patrolling the quad around this time of day. Right now, he’s eyeing the three of us suspiciously.

Cyd sees him at the same time I do and scoffs. “Time to disperse. Officer Tightass is stalking us.”

I snort a laugh, even though it really isn’t funny. Security can’t stand it when more than a few of us start to gather. I’m pretty sure they think we’re plotting to destroy the school.

“Catch you later,” I say. Robby and Cyd go their way and I go mine. Officer Tightass watches the two of them walk away.

Both Yarra and Aydan are already waiting for me as I walk toward the benches in the center of the quad. It’s bustling out here today with people walking in and out of buildings to their classes and lying around on the grass with their friends.

Yarra looks up at me and smiles, her blue eyes and purple hair shining in the morning light. “‘Bout time you made it. I believe you said eight sharp?”

I shrug. “I’m here, aren’t I?” I look over at Aydan. He’s sitting next to Yarra on the bench, but he’s looking away like he wants to give the impression that he’s not really with us. “Hey, Aydan.”

“Hey,” he says without looking at me. “You know, maybe we should have met up somewhere a little more private.”

“I’m sure your reputation will survive,” I say and sit down next to Yarra. He glares at me sorely.

“I’m just not in the mood to listen to my sister’s whining once she sees me out here with you.”

“Maybe we should focus on why we’re all here?” Yarra says. “Your visions? Did you two come up with any idea of what’s going on?”

“Well, we might’ve figured out who the woman is that Saffron keeps seeing,” Aydan says with a sigh.

“Really?” Yarra sits up excitedly. “Who is she?”

“ Was ,” I tell her. “Natasha of Hino, the consort of Alpha King Leon’s brother. She took part in the coup against the Alpha King.”

“Oh, well, that’s something, right? Maybe your visions have to do with the Alpha King somehow.”

Aydan and I exchange a silent look of disappointment. “I don’t think so,” he says. “Both the prince and Natasha died during the coup twenty years back.”

“Well, I’m not sure that’s true,” I say. “She’s pregnant in my visions, but there’s hardly anything written about her or any child she might’ve had. For all we know, she escaped and is alive in some remote Clarion Fairy village.”

Yarra goes quiet for a moment as she bites her bottom lip, the wheels turning in her mind. “It has to mean something, though. All of your visions mean something . . . right?”

I shrug. “Who knows?”

Yarra puts a hand on mine to comfort me. “You look tired. Did you get any sleep last night?”

I do my best not to look at Aydan, but it doesn’t matter. Yarra immediately picks up on the awkwardness between us. “Oh, my God. Again with you two? You’re like bunnies!”

My hopes that her analogy has gone over Aydan’s head are dashed the moment I see his face flush. “Again? You told her about the first time?”

“Duh,” I say unapologetically. “She’s my best friend, Aydan.”

“I thought we agreed on discretion.”

“ She’s my best friend ,” I repeat, enunciating every word. “Surely, you’ve already told your buddies.”

“I don’t happen to have any buddies here, and you —”

“Guys,” says Yarra. “Focus. Please.”

We stop bickering. Yarra’s sitting between us with her hands up as if holding us both back. I cross my arms, feeling a little attacked. I’m not really done fighting with him. “Did you tell your sister?”

“What?” He sounds really offended. “No! Of course not. She’s my little sister. Besides, you’d know it if I told her.”

“I’m not so sure about that.” I look over at him, and I have the quick thought that I shouldn’t say anything. Maybe he doesn’t know . . . then again, maybe he does. They’re both looking at me expectantly now. I might as well say it. “I saw her last night creeping around in the woods.”

Both of them are giving two different expressions of surprise—Yarra with eyes wide and Aydan scowling. “What are you talking about?” he says with utter distaste in his voice.

“Last night, when I was walking back to the dorm, I saw her sneaking off into the woods,” I tell them.

“Are you sure about that?” Yarra asks. “I mean, are you sure it was her?”

“I saw her as clear as I’m seeing you two here. It was her.” I’m watching Aydan’s reaction, seeing if he knows anything about it. He looks away for a moment, and I swear I see his mind turning. “You know anything about why she would be out there, Aydan?”

“No, of course not,” he says.

I don’t know if that’s true, but I can only take him at his word. Yarra says, “Chad’s been getting reports of students in those woods lately. You know how it is. You tell people to stay away from a place and it’s like putting up a sign to go more often. I can ask him about it. Maybe he and the dean—”

“No, no,” Aydan says. “Don’t. I’m sure there’s a good explanation for her being out there, and I’d rather not get her in trouble. Let me talk to her.”

Now we’re both looking at him suspiciously. He goes, “Hey, Nadia might be uptight, but she’s also a straight-A student. She’d never do anything to jeopardize her academic career.”

“Except sneaking into the forbidden woods,” I say.

“He has a point,” Yarra says, and I roll my eyes. “Saffron, Nadia is a lot of things, but she’s not a rule breaker. If she was out there, then there has to be a good reason.”

“Like what?”

“Let me figure that out,” says Aydan. “Can we drop it now and get back to the visions?”

“I agree,” Yarra says, switching gears. “So, we’ve identified the woman in your visions, and it just so happens to be someone tied to the Alpha King. That means there has to be records of her somewhere.” She pauses, one finger on her chin in thought. “Let me talk to Jean about it. She knows a lot about royal history, and she probably remembers when the coup happened. Maybe she can tell us something interesting that never made it into the history books.”

Aydan and I both nod in unison, but we don’t say anything else to one another. God, I forgot what an asshole he can be.

“Aydan, try to find out more details about the coup. Maybe there are some clues there that you missed,” Yarra says.

“Right,” he replies stiffly.

“I have to get to class,” I say, standing up. “If I have any other visions or anything else odd happens, I’ll let you guys know.” I give Yarra a quick hug and add, “Let’s meet up later, okay?”

“Okay,” she says. I walk off without so much as a glance back at Aydan. I swear I’ve never met a more stubborn ass of a wolf. And the way he jumped to Nadia’s defense was . . . His loyalty to his sister is respectable. I can’t blame him for that, really. However, under the circumstances, it’s also a little off-putting. Maybe it’s just because I’ve never liked her. I don’t know. All I do know is that I don’t trust Nadia as far as I can throw her.