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  She is beautiful. I keep looking at her. All I want to do is get to know her. Touch her. Claim her. Before I know it, class is over. She gathers her things.

  “See you tomorrow,” she says with a smile and leaves.

  That smile, holy shit. Thank God, I’m sitting. I stare at her hips as she walks away. Good lord. Lucian taps me on the shoulder. I see it on his face too. This girl is about to turn our lives upside down.

  Lucian

  I tap Zeke on the shoulder. We need to get going or we’ll be late for our next classes. When he looks at me, I see the sucker punched look on his face. I know because I have the same expression on my face. I wouldn’t have believed anyone if they told me. But I found her. I really found her.

  My mate.

  And she is the most beautiful girl I have ever laid eyes on. We grab our stuff and hall ass. I make it to my class right before the bell rings. I sit in the first available sit. I pull my phone out and hide it under the desk as I send a message to Zeke.

  Me: Damn, chem is going to be interesting.

  Zeke: Yeah. I need to tell you something, but I want to wait until lunch, when Graydon and Max will be there. I want to tell everyone at the same time.

  Me: Everything ok?

  Zeke: Yeah, just something important happened. If I’m honest, I still don’t believe it.

  Me: That works, because I need to tell everyone something too.

  Me: I don’t know what to do about it.

  Zeke: Is it serious? You know we will all be there for you.

  Me: I know. It is life changing.

  Zeke: Same here.

  Well, shit. I wonder what his could be? I’m going to have to talk to my grandfather about this. As far as I know, no human has ever been mated to a shifter. Let alone, that human being a destined mate. Destined mates are few and far in between. They are the one being put on this planet, that is made for you. They are the other half of your soul. Destined mates mean everything to a shifter. Now, more so than ever. Less shifters every year are able to find their destined mates. Eventually, shifters will cease to exist, because of some war that happened 200 years ago. That war ended the life of the Alpha Queen and her mates. Ending the last true alpha mate pairing.

  True alpha mate pairing, helped stabilize the magic that makes shifters possible. It is said that the Alpha Queen, with the help of her mates, helped harness the magic. I’m not quite sure how that works, yet. My grandfather has yet to teach me this. But now, with me having a human destined mate, he can’t put this off any longer. I found her. I need to know.

  I put my phone away and try to pay attention, but I can’t. My mind keeps wondering back to Callyn. That is how I spend my next couple of classes. Lunch couldn’t come fast enough. I grab my lunch and sit next to Zeke. Max and Graydon are sitting across from me.

  “So, there is this cute red head in my English class. We got paired up to work on our first project,” Max says as I sit.

  “There was this cute red head in my math class, that got called on to work this problem out on the board,” Graydon says.

  I look over at Zeke. It couldn’t be the same red head. “Me and Zeke are paired with a cute red head in Chemistry.”

  “Huh,” Max exclaims. “Petite, long, red hair, brown eyes, freckles? New?”

  All of us nod. I swear it’s as if we somehow manifested her, because there she is walking by our table. We all follow her as she takes a seat at an empty table.

  Mine.

  The urge to go to her is overwhelming.

  Zeke clears his throat, grabbing our attention. “About her. She’s my mate.”

  What? How? That can’t be right. Am I wrong? No. I’ve been told you would know, and I’ve never had this feeling before.

  “You’re not going to like hearing this, but she’s my mate.”

  Graydon

  What the hell is going on here? Zeke says she’s his mate. Then Lucian. But they’re wrong. They must be because she is my mate. I knew the moment I caught whiff of her scent. The smell intoxicating.

  “Hate to burst your bubbles, but she is mine. My mate.”

  “No, all of you have it wrong because she is my mate,” Max chimes in.

  Now, the whole table is glaring at each other. There’s no way she can be the mate to all four us. So, three of us have it wrong and it’s not me. Her scent called to my bear. The lazy fool perked right up the moment the vanilla and strawberry scent hit his nose. Now, he is lumbering back and forth telling me to go and take what is ours. Can’t say I disagree with him but now we need to sort this mess out.

  Lucian sighs, “Looks like a trip to the Elder Council is in store for us. Maybe my grandfather will know what is happening.”

  Lucian’s grandfather is a member of the Elder Council. Lucian is being groomed to take his spot once he is old enough and his grandfather is ready to retire. Glad it’s not me. It’s a shit job, but that’s just my opinion. It’s really a position of prestige and honor. Yeah, fuck that.

  “No since in arguing about it now. Side note, since she’s new that means she has no friends. I say we fix that, and be the first.” Max says with a Cheshire grin.

  I know what he is doing, and I can’t fault his logic. He wants us to stake our claim. I was up and out of my seat in a heartbeat. No way was I going to sit here and let my mate sit by herself. I am at her table in a couple of strides.

  “Do you want some company?” I ask as I sit down taking the seat across from her. I’m not really giving her a choice. I’m trying to be polite. Her eyes widen in surprise when she looks up. I saw her earlier, but nothing beats sitting this close. I get to really see her. Her eyes are a light brown, like a rich honey color. And we all know how bears love their honey. I could get lost in her eyes. Creamy pale skin, dusted with freckles. Her red hair hangs well past her shoulders. I could drink my fill of her and it would never be enough.

  “You don’t have to. I’m fine being on my own.” Her voice grabbing my attention. The raspiness is the sexist thing I’ve heard.

  “I know I don’t have to, I want to.” She smiles at me and it could very well be my undoing. I smile back. The rest of the guys quickly follow. Max taking her right side, Lucian her left, and Zeke sitting next to me. “I’m Graydon James. You know Zeke Montgomery, Lucian Harris, and Maximus Anderson, or Max to us.”

  “What are you guys doing? Is this some kind of prank? I really don’t need to be the butt of a joke. Did you come over here to pick on the new girl?” she questions.

  “No, Callyn. This is not a joke. We didn’t come over here to pick on you either. We all want to be your friends,” Lucian says and gives her arm a gentle squeeze.

  She winces. My eyes narrow. Did Lucian squeeze her arm to hard? I swear if he did, I’m going to beat his ass. I don’t care who you are, no one hurts my mate.

  “Why? What makes me so special?”

  Well, shit. I don’t know how to answer this. I want to tell her the truth, but chances are she would think I’m crazy. Doubt she would believe me anyway. I look to Lucian. He is usually pretty good in these kinds of situations.

  “I know for me and probably the rest of us, we all feel a pull towards you. We would like a chance to get to know you and we hope you’ll want to get to know us,” Lucian states.

  “I don’t know. The hottest guys at school all want to be my friend. It sounds fishy.”

  “So, you think we’re the hottest guys in school, huh?” Max ask as he gently bumps her shoulder.

  Callyn rolls her eyes, flinching slightly. If that isn’t the cutest thing. Man, this girl is already making me soft. I just thought something was cute. I’m going lose my man card, if I ever say this shit out loud.

  “You know you are. Plus, some girls have been giving me the side eye since the four of you sat down. You all must be a big deal here.”

  You could say that, but I only have eyes for one girl. The one sitting right across from me.

  Maximus

  Ha. She thinks we’re good lo
oking. She’s not wrong. All the girls that go to school here have tried to get our attention. Don’t get me wrong, the girls are pretty, but some have some ugly insides. The way things were going, I would have ended up with one of them, because of how hard it is to find your destined mate. Thank whatever forces brought Callyn to me.

  As I look to my friends, I can see that they are all enamored with her as well. I know even if she wasn’t my mate, I would still be interested. But the fact that she is makes it all the sweeter. The bell rings and we get up to throw our stuff away. Callyn tries to sneak away, but I grab her hand.

  “And just where do you think you’re going? Trying to give us the slip?”

  “I’m trying to head to class.”

  “Which are…,” I trail off.

  “Art, gym, and study hall.”

  “Good, I have art,” Zeke says.

  “So, do I,” Graydon claims.

  “We all have study hall,” I say.

  She nods. “See you in study hall then?” she questions.

  “Definitely.”

  I reluctantly let go of her hand. I watch as Zeke and Graydon flank her sides and walk down the hall. I look over at Lucian and see he is staring too.

  “We got to get going or we’ll be late, and I was almost late once today,” Lucian says.

  We head in opposite directions and I think about Callyn the whole time. I saw the wince she gave when Lucian squeezed her arm. He didn’t squeeze that hard. There is no way that should have hurt. I know the others saw it as well. Eventually, we’ll find out. I make it to class just as the late bell rings. I take the only available seat which is in the front. I can’t concentrate. I can’t even pull out my phone. Sitting up front sucks. Focus Max. I laugh to myself. No way that is happening. I just give in and let my mind wonder to Callyn.

  I can’t wait to learn more about her. The little bit of time I’ve spent with her today, you can tell she’s different. In a good way. I was a little hurt that she questioned why would want to be friends with her. I wonder what happened to make her think that. I guess it doesn’t help being the new kid. Makes me wonder if she was picked on in her other school. Well, that is about to change. Callyn doesn’t know what’s coming her way with the four of us in her life now.

  Chapter 3

  Callyn

  I didn’t have much time to think about what this could mean for me having four big, muscular, good-looking guys as friends. Zeke and Graydon kept me occupied during art. They make it hard to concentrate. I already checked Zeke out during chemistry, but Graydon is no less hot. His inky, black hair is long and thick on top and faded on the sides. I have the strangest urge to run my fingers through it. His eyes are green, like moss. He must not have shaved yesterday, because he has the shadow of stubble on his face. It only serves to increase his hotness. Muscle wise he is almost as big as Zeke.

  Graydon can fill out a pair of jeans. I may have looked once or twice. His biker boots were working for me. Ugh. Having them around is going to be hard, because I can’t stop looking at them. They are good looking individually, but together…together the view is stunning. Even Maximus. He has your boy next door looks. Blonde hair and blue eyes. His hair is long and reaches the top of his shoulders. He smaller than Zeke and Graydon, but you can tell there is some muscle tone to him. At my old schools I was never really into any of the boys. But these four are a different story. I feel this usual pull toward them. I want to be near them. Their presence is calming. I don’t know what to think about that.

  While we were in art they told me about themselves and asked me questions, which I tried to deflect. I don’t have a lot of good memories and I don’t do anything. I hide in my room and study. I try not to be around my father. I keep hoping that one day he will forget that I am there, but no such luck.

  I’m out of here when I graduate. I won’t be coming back. The way that my father treats me, I’m glad I don’t have any siblings. I can only image what he could be doing to them. I shake my head. I digress. As much as I tried to keep changing the topic from me back to one of them, they wouldn’t let me. So, I gave them answers, but they were vague. I got a little break from them in gym. Luckily, none of them were in it. Gym kept my mind occupied as well. No time to think about them while you are too busy trying not to fall over your own two feet. Athletically gifted I am not.

  I make my way to study hall. The boys are already there. There is a seat open between Maximus and Graydon. Lucian is in the seat in front of Graydon, and Zeke is in front of Max.

  “There she is,” Max says. “We saved you a seat.” He does a gesture with his hand toward the empty, that reminds me of the models on the Price is Right.

  I smirk and shake my head. I make my way over and sit in the open seat. I look at Max. The smile on his face is charming and I can’t help but smile. I sneak a peek at Graydon. He seems to have a permanent scowl on his face. I just want to reach over and smooth the wrinkles that form between his eyebrows. I look away before I do. I don’t think he would appreciate my hands on him.

  Instead, I take out my books and start working on math homework. I know, I know. It’s the first day and we already have homework. Well, at least I have an hour before the end of school to start it. I can hear the boys around me making plans for the weekend. I ignore it and continue working. A little while later I feel a tap on my shoulder and almost jump out of my seat. I turn around. It was Graydon. I take a deep breath and try to calm my rapidly beating heart.

  “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you,” Graydon says sheepishly.

  “It’s okay.” No way was I telling him that I thought my father was trying to touch me. I forgot where I was. It is kind of alarming. I’m always on guard. I never know what can happen on a day to day basis. I feel comfortable around them. Safe. I don’t know how. I just met them.

  “What are you doing this weekend?” Graydons question breaks my train of thought.

  “Oh, um. Nothing.”

  “Really? Do you want to hang out with us? There is a party out at the Michaelson’s Saturday night.”

  “I can’t. Plus, partying isn’t really my thing.”

  “We’ll make sure you have fun. I promise nothing bad will happen. We’ll be your own personal bodyguards.”

  “I don’t know. I’ll think about it and let you know.”

  “Do you have a cell phone, so we can all exchange numbers? That way if you change your mind you can get ahold of us.”

  “Yea.” It’s the one thing I have kept a secret from my father. He doesn’t know about it. I make sure the bills are paid. It’s the only way I can have it. I pull my phone out of my pocket. Its takes a couple of minutes but we all exchange numbers. Their numbers are the only ones in there. I honestly don’t know why I have the phone. I never call or text anyone. I guess I like the security it gives me incase if I ever need to use it.

  The bell rings. We all gather our things and head to our lockers. Max and Graydon are first. I keep walking, but a tug on my hand stops me.

  “Where do you think you’re going?” Zeke asks.

  “Trying to slip away again? Twice in one day. You’re starting to hurt my feeling.” Maximus gives me this puppy dog look and pouts his lips. He pushes his hair behind his ears.

  The look is pathetic, but it does make me feel guilty. That is exactly what I am trying to do. “I was just going to my locker.”

  “Just wait. We’ll all go together to everyone’s lockers.”

  “Why? Doesn’t it make more since if everyone goes to their own lockers, get their stuff, and then meet outside?”

  “Yea, probably, but we have always done it this way.”

  I roll my eyes. I really don’t have time for this. I have to walk home. I need to beat my father. Surprisingly, he functions enough during the day to keep a job, but the second that he gets home, he starts drinking.

  “Do you have to catch the bus home?” Zeke questions.

  “No, I just have to get home.” Max and Graydon close their lockers
and we walk to Lucians and Zekes next. Of course, mine would be the one closest to the front door, and therefore last. Ugh.

  “We can give you a ride home,” Graydon offers.

  “NO.” I clear my throat. “No, that’s okay, I can walk. Thank you for the offer though.”

  I look at Graydon and see him sharing a look with the others. After Lucian and Zeke are done getting their things, we walk to my locker. I quickly grab my bookbag and shove in all my books and notebooks. I carefully put the straps over my shoulders. Even with the bookbag lying flat against my back, it hurts like hell. The bruises are only three days old. They are still sore. The walk home is going to be torture. I turn to look at the guys and see that they are all staring at me. I know they saw I how eased my bookbag on my shoulders. Luckily, none of them said anything.

  I follow them out to the parking lot. They stop by a black SUV.

  “You all ride to school together too? Is there anything that you do by yourselves? How exactly does that work when Zeke has football practice?” Seriously Callyn. Shut up. Since when do you open your mouth about anything. You don’t know these boys. You don’t know what they’re capable of. You have been doing this all day and you need to stop.

  But one of the things that Zeke mentioned about himself in art class, was that he played football. He is a defensive end. I’m not sure what that means, since I’m not that into sports, but he seemed excited about it. Graydon told me he liked motorcycles and sometimes picked up a shift at the local bike shop. He says he mostly helps clean up, but he is hoping that one day he can become an apprentice to learn to build them from the ground up.

  I shake my head. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that, it was rude.”

  “No worries,” Zeke says with a wink. “But yes, we all ride to school together. We don’t live that far from each other. We just take turns on who is driving in the morning when none of us have to stay after school. Though usually they don’t mind waiting. Since today is the first day of school coach gave us the day off.”