Page 5 of The Alpha’s Chosen Mate

He sputters and slams his hands over my mouth to shush me, blond brow arching in warning. “You need to keep that to yourself. I have a reputation to uphold.”

“A reputation.”

“As a single male.”

“So you don’t want everyone to know you and Stephanie spent every night of summer break making out behind the shed?”

He scowls, shifting his backpack strap higher on his shoulder. “We weren’t making out. We were gardening.”

“Gardening?”

“Planting flowers.”

A slow smile stretches across my face. “I’m sure you were.”

“Fuck off.”

He shoves me halfheartedly. A group of students—human students—passes us in the hallway. Brad’s expression turns inward as we wait for them to move out of hearing range. I’m curious about what has him so twisted up, but I let him gather his thoughts instead of switching to the mindlink.

Some conversations are best had out loud.

“We kissed—we kissed a lot—but that’s it,” Brad admits, all his bravado gone. “Nothing else happened. She wants her mate.”

“Most shifters do.”

“I want her.”

That gives me pause. It’s not the words themselves, but the tone with which he speaks them. His voice is full of certainty and ownership, as if he and his wolf are already staking their claim on her.

“It’s still three years until both of you are old enough to know if you are mates,” I remind him.

He groans. “I know. And even though she agrees we have something, even though she enjoyed our… moments… together over the summer, she wants to focus on school and training this year. She’s aiming for valedictorian and a warrior position in the pack.”

Brad leans against the lockers, and I join him, hands in my pockets.

“What are you going to do?” I ask.

“I don’t want to be pining for her for three years if we’re not mates, but I also don’t want to do something that pushes her away or destroys our bond before it even has a chance if we are mates. So, I’m going the aloof route until we’re old enough to know for sure. Single—available—but disinterested in everyone.”

“You really think that will keep the females from fawning all over you?”

“It works for you.”

He’s not wrong. My apparent disinterest in the females at school kept me safe from their advances for my entire high school stint. Not that I’ve never met anyone who stirred desire within me. There were plenty of females I found myself attracted to over the years. But I have no intention of finding my luna and bringing her into a situation where she’s comparing herself to everyone who came before her.

Like Brad said, I don’t want to destroy my mate bond before it even blossoms.

“True. But I’ve always been this way.”

As if to prove my point, a trio of females passes us. They glance at me briefly, but when they spot my future beta, their eyes all light up, and their lips tilt into soft smiles.

“Hi Brad,” the redhead says, wiggling her fingertips at him in a little wave.

The old Brad would have winked at her or blown her a kiss or tossed her a cheeky smile. But today, he doesn’t acknowledge her or any of them. He unzips his backpack and pulls out his schedule, pretending to check where his first class is.

Redhead is undeterred. “Do you have a date for the football game this Friday?”

“No.” Brad folds his schedule in half, and his light-blue eyes peek at her over the top of it. “I haven’t decided if I’m going yet.”

Her smile drops. “Oh.”

The trio meanders away. Brad returns his schedule to his backpack with a rough shove.

I chuckle. “It’s not like Stephanie asked you to save yourself for her.”

“But that’s just it!” His head slams back against the locker. “I know I could easily distract myself with any number of willing females from this school or the packs, but I don’t even want anyone else. No one compares to her.” He pouts and makes a noise I can only classify as a whimper.

My face twists into a grimace as I keep myself from laughing harder. “I thought you weren’t going to pine?”

“Clearly, I’m failing.”

The bell rings, and I clap him on the shoulder. “You’ll survive.”

“Will I? Because I’m not so sure.”

He takes off towards his first class before I can reply.