Chapter One

Payton

"I Jason Reed reject you, Payton Scott, as my mate."

Well, this was an unexpected turn of events. Really; who would have thought that the thing to break my routine of sitting under my favorite tree and reading before school starts for the last three years would be my mate rejecting me, and did he have to be so loud about it? His words were loud enough that I'm pretty sure that everyone in school heard him.

The frown that had to married my face when he stopped in front of me, blocking out the sun morphed into a glare which I directed from my book and up at him. Him being about six foot two, built like the Berlin wall with midnight black hair and forest green eyes, a future alpha and supposed mate. Talk about dumb luck. When my gaze traveled around the now way too quiet schoolyard I realized we were now the center of attention; all those who weren't outright staring at us were listening in with their wolf hearing. This is one of the two werewolf schools in this state. I sighed deeply; the first person to speak to me at this school in three years wasn't one of my friends or a faculty member and this is what happens, so not what I needed right now. On the bright side, I at least had a mate; even if he was rejecting me. I hadn't expected I would ever find a mate but, being someone that didn't like leaving anything up to chance I'd prepare myself for the eventuality that I might. I'd also anticipated rejection if and when I was unlucky enough to find a mate, and that was the silver lining in this situation.

I must have zoned out because the next thing I knew my so-called mate was in my face. I had to fight back the compulsion to punch him in the face.

"Pay attention when I am talking to you!" I blinked up at him clueless as to what he said after rejecting me. And confused at what has pissed him off. I mean I'm the one that's being rejected. He said, "Stay away from me, I'm rejecting you." As if I hadn't heard him the first time.

"Okay alpha Reed, will that be all?" Now he was the one looking confused. I hope he wasn't expecting me to fall apart, especially for someone like him.

"Yes." He bit, out righting himself, and only then did the urge to punch him went away. I didn't like his standing over me like some damn king of the castle, "he wasn't." I packed up my stuff and got to my feet plastering a smile on my face when I turned to him. He didn't just look confused now but concerned. I had to stiffen the grin that was threatening to break free. The warning bell rang, signaling we had ten minutes before the first period. Gives me the perfect excuse to walk away from the circus show but not before flashing a megawatt smile at and waving to alpha Reed.

Expected or not it still hurts to be rejected but I'd be damn if I let him or anyone here for that matter get the better of me. I must admit, the surprise I experience at finding a mate had nothing on the shocking knowledge of who my mate is, Alpha Jason Reed; or rather future alpha of the Greenwoods pack. I'm damn glad I didn't live at the packhouse anymore. I made it to my locker, swap out my book, and was in my seat before the next bell rang for homeroom. While ignoring the hundreds of eyes boring into me and the whispers that were too loud to categorize as such.

The school was pretty much awkward for the rest of the day. The staring kept up all day long. It's as if they were waiting for something grander than this morning's event to happen. Even my friends were acting strange and for my friends, that was saying a lot. By the time the final bell rang I was more than ready for this day to be over with.

I had chemistry for my last class of the day and I waited for everyone including the teacher Mr. Livingston to leave the room. I packed up my stuff and then waited another five minutes before I left the classroom. By then, the halls were empty and I made it to my locker without feeling like the main attraction at the zoo. I put my stuff away and grabbed my backpack, then went to the front of the school to wait for my friends. Five minutes later they came through the school door, both having English for the last period.

We piled into Tameka's car; me in the back, Tameka and Lydia in the front. And as we drive past the school sign on our way out welcoming everyone to Creek Wood High, I sent up a silent prayer for the time to come when I'll never have to see this place again.

Quite was a new concept for my friends. Though I was in no hurry to start up a conversation, I'd already prepared myself for the million and one questions I'm sure they'd have. Yet, not a single word was uttered except a brief "see you tomorrow" when they dropped me off. My house was on the very edge of town which was about fifteen minutes away from the packhouse. As I watched them make the U-turn towards the packhouse I sighed deeply, knowing that tomorrow they will attack me about what had happened.

"Mom, I'm home." My mom and I moved from the packhouse about three years ago after my dad died. I wanted to move away but my mom pointed out my ties to the pack which was what prevented us from leaving. This was the next best thing and within the pack territory.

"In the kitchen sweetie." She is at the stove stirring a pot. I set my bag down on the dinner table and took a seat at the kitchen island across from her.

"Hey, mom, what'd you making?" Whatever it was smelled like bubble gum which could only mean she was working on a potion.

"I'm making some adjustments to my pigment potion." I resisted the urge to roll my eyes knowing that it would most likely get me a knock on the head from her wooden spoon. There was nothing wrong with the potion. My mother was one of the most powerful witches alive to this day, she was probably just bored and had nothing else to do.

"What are you adding?"

"Well, I was thinking instead of turning you green for a month I would make it a year." I almost fell off my chair, maybe she wasn't just bored after all.

"Really, who pissed you off?"

"Don't worry about that honey. How was school?"

"School was school, I debated whether or not to tell her about finding my mate. She'd find out anyway without me having to tell but in the end, I decided it would be better if she heard it from me. "I met my mate today" her only reaction was to top stop stirring the potion. From scrutinizing the look she was giving me I knew she knows there was more to it than that and was waiting for me to spit out the rest before she said nothing on the matter. "It is alpha Conner's son, Jason Reed and he rejected me in front of the whole school."

She gave me a look that I didn't recognize and instantly I started to worry. You wouldn't be able to tell by looking at her that she was two hundred years old. To anyone that was not a witch, she is an ordinary thirty-plus woman. If you consider hair that was blacker than ink, gray eyes that glows even on the hottest of sunny days fanned by lashes that were nothing short of perfection with a naturally red lip, and not to mention the inhumane beauty standard. The only time I'd ever seen my mom look anything other than herself was when my dad died and after rogues attacked the pack. That lasted for about three months, it was against a witch's nature for anyone to see them as vulnerable. But as the dimple in her left cheek smiled at me, I got a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach.

"So we're turning a wolf into a snake? I can do that."