Seven

Sara couldn't believe it. It had to be something else. That jolt she had felt the moment he nipped her neck…

How could it be the mate bond? It had only been a few days since she had broken her bond with Victor.

The chances of meeting another mate after breaking the bond with your first one was rare. But now, only two days after breaking her first bond, she was feeling it with someone else.

Christian Rivers. Her new roommate. Who she now knew for certain was an Alpha.

Only the most powerful werewolves could shift partially, using both their human and wolf forms at the same time.

That was why she had been shocked when her fangs extended when she bit Victor, and why she was labelled rabid. She was convinced it was due to her desperation that she had been able to do that. But to anyone else, she was an Omega to be kept locked up.

Christian looked so mad, she cowered and took a step back.

"What did you do to me?" he demanded, his blue eyes narrowing as he took a step towards her. His handsome face looked terrifying, and she stumbled back to get farther from him.

"I…I didn't do anything," she stuttered, his question and angry demeanour surprising her. He was the one who had tried to bite her neck, and she had no control over the mate bond. What was he accusing her of?

"I know about you," he said, taking another threatening step.

"What?" she asked, her heart hammering in her chest. He was now standing between her and the door, and she knew she couldn't get past him if he didn't let her go.

"You attacked the Alpha King because you wanted to be Luna so badly. If you think I'm going to be your backup, think again," he said.

Sara swallowed. He didn't like that he had a mate bond with her. And he also thought this was some sort of…what, exactly? Witchcraft? What could she possibly do to create a mate bond between them? No werewolf could do that. It was up to the Goddess.

"What do you mean?" she asked, her hands forming fists.

When she had broken her bond with Victor, she hadn't entertained the thought of finding a mate again. Few werewolves who were rejected or lost their mates found another one.

During those first few seconds after Christian bit her, her emotions morphed from terror to shock to elation. And then he had looked at her with that angry face and her feelings of joy had withered.

Finding another mate after the first failure was a miracle. Finding one who hated the idea of being mated with her was not.

"You can forget about being my mate," he told her coldly.

She pressed her lips together. Someone had to hate you so much to reject you at the spot.

Pain registered in her chest, and Edna whimpered. It was indeed a mate bond. Was she going to go through the torture of having a bond broken twice in one week? How would she survive?

Christian was also an Alpha. If he rejected her, the damage would be as much as breaking the bond with Victor had been. She wasn't sure she could recover.

But oddly, that didn't bother her as much as his assumptions did.

"Who said I want to be your mate?" she shot back, looking him dead in the eyes. The nerve of him, to first accuse her of somehow being responsible for this, and then act as if she was desperate to have him as her mate.

He might be an Alpha, but she had her pride. Sure, her life had appeared brighter for a second when she realised he was her new mate. But that was before she realised he was a conceited asshole. He could reject her if he wanted, but she wasn't going to let him talk her down like that.

As Christian looked down at the girl in front of him, a myriad of feelings coursed through him. None of them were happy.

Red hot, dark, angry feelings that made him want to snap her neck into two and forget he ever met her.

He had turned nineteen without meeting his mate, and he had been hoping the Goddess had spared him. Most werewolves met their mates by the time they were eighteen. There were werewolves who never did, and he hoped he was one of them.

To him, there were more important things in life than the mate bond. He thought of it as an unnecessary nuisance that would only be in his way.

Everything had been going his way…until she showed up.

He should have known something was up when he saw her the day she arrived in his dorm and his heart skipped a beat.

Sure, she was pretty and all. But he had seen prettier girls and his eyes hadn't even wanted to linger, leave alone his heart skipping beats.

But that evening, when her brown eyes met his, his heart had stuttered. He had quickly brushed it off and forgotten about it.

If he had known, he would have gotten rid of her before he had the chance to feel the bond between them.

But it wasn't too late. He knew how to deal with this, once and for all. There was nothing better than death to sever a mate bond…especially an unwanted one.

He took another step towards her, and she stepped back. Her back hit the wall, and he detected the panic that filled her eyes as she realised she was cornered. Still, she glared up defiantly at him. Her fighting spirit was adorable…but unnecessary. And none of his business.

He splayed his hands, gathering his strength, wanting to turn them into claws. One swipe across her neck and he would forget she ever appeared in his life.

"NO!"

He glowered at his wolf's resounding voice in his head. "What?" he shot back, annoyed.

"Don't harm her!"

"We don't want a mate, remember?"

"You mean you."

The girl's eyes moved from his hands to his eyes, and that panic she was trying to hide turned into full-blown terror. "What…what are you doing?"

"You are scaring her," his wolf pointed out. "Stop."

"Ian, she is a weak, conniving Omega. Even if you were to convince me to keep a mate, it would never be her. So back off and let me finish this."

He tried to channel his energy into his hands again, but Ian fought against him.

"Just reject me," the girl said. "I get it, you don't want me. But you don't have to harm me."

"Don't reject her," Ian said. "Do you have any idea how happy I am that we've finally found her? I thought I was going to die sad and lonely–"

"You are," Christian interrupted him.

"If you hurt or reject her, you can forget about me," Ian threatened.

"Yeah, right," Christian shot back, unmoved by the threat.

"Wait and see," Ian grumbled.

Ian's annoyance was so great that Christian stopped trying to bring out his claws and took a step back from the terrified girl.

"Don't let me see your face again, ever," he warned her.

She stood there, staring at him, as if frozen. But then he growled and she startled before rushing towards the door. She opened it and disappeared to the other side.

"Just get to know her first, okay?" Ian whispered.

"No thanks," Christian grumbled and walked back to his bench.

But no matter how much he tried, he couldn't get back to sleep.

---

That evening, when Sara got back to her dorm, she went into her room, locked the door, and didn't dare leave.

She couldn't believe her rotten luck.

To miraculously meet a second mate only for him to resent her so much that he almost slashed her throat open?

What had she done to deserve all this? She had always felt lucky to have been adopted by Victor's family. Not many orphaned Omegas found someone willing to take them into their homes, leave alone an Alpha family. Most ended up slaving for others in exchange for food and shelter.

Now, she felt anything but. Maybe her luck had run out.

She was not only stuck in North Academy, but also with two roommates who hated her.

The next morning, she repeated her routine of leaving the dorm after everyone else had left. How much longer would she have to live like this?

The day progressed in the same fashion as the past two, with the alienation, shoves, and insults. She didn't go to the cafeteria, so she avoided the food shower.

She was on her way to grab a bite in the dorm when she came across a large crowd in the quad. On approaching, she found that two male wolves from different packs were fighting.

"Hello there, little wolf."

She cursed inwardly as Kai's voice came from directly behind her. So much for trying to stay out of his way.

"Who do you think will win?" he asked, lowering his head to bring his mouth right beside her ear.

"I was just leaving," she said, starting to turn away. But he lay his hands on her shoulders and held her in place firmly.

"You can't miss the fun," he said.

Female students around them were already throwing glances at the two of them. As if she needed to stoke their hate towards her anymore.

"So, who are you betting on? They are fighting for a she-wolf, both claiming she is their mate. If they were fighting for you, who would you like to win?"

Sara frowned as she looked back at the two wolves. They were in their wolf forms and going at each other like they were fighting to the death.

She had never heard of a she-wolf with more than one mate at the same time. One had to be rejected or lose their mate to ever find another one.

The fight went on for a few more minutes, until one of the wolves, Eddie, won. However, he shocked everyone when he rejected the she-wolf right after.

Sara bristled at his arrogance. He wasn't fighting because he wanted to be with her. He simply didn't want to let the other wolf win.

She tried to leave again when the president stepped forward. Apparently, duels were a normal part of the school life at North Academy. Two wolves with a rivalry fought, and whoever won got a prize.

The president told Eddie that since he had won, he could choose an Omega to serve him.

Sara's jaw dropped. She hadn't expected that to be the prize. She tried to wiggle out of Kai's hold and disappear before she could find herself in another horrible situation, but it was too late.

Eddie's eyes were already on her.