Gunner.
She's a girl.
I took in her appearance, her small frame cowered on the ground against the wall. Her long and messy raven hair covered most of her face, but I got a quick glimpse at her striking golden eyes. She immediately reminded me of the little wolf from my dream. I was about to help her back up but just like that, she flew off the ground and ran into the crowd of people to my left, she was tiny and able to zip through them with ease. There was something about her, something I couldn't let go. I needed to know more.
"What's going on?" asked Cole as he stepped up behind me.
"There was a girl" I said still looking down the hall after her,
"Woooo" sung Smith,
"Shut up" I growled,
"It wasn't like that, there was something about her"
"Okay, and what? What do you want us to do?" asked Cole with his serious Beta voice coming through his question,
"I want to find her" I answered him bluntly.
"The bell man, we gotta go to class" said Smith. I flashed them an image of her sitting against the wall with her hair over her face.
*Find her*
They both nodded and walked off to their class and I headed down the hall to my locker to drop off my bag. When I got to my first class, I entered the room and dropped my registration form on the teachers' desk. Everyone was staring as I made my way to the back of the room. I had just sat down when Cole flashed me.
*Gunner, she's here*
*She's where?*
*She's in class with Smith and me*
*Ask her to sit with us at lunch, I want to talk to her*
*Got it*
The first class went by quickly thankfully. After the first bell I walked over to my next lesson. I scanned the hallway for the mystery girl, but she was nowhere to be seen. I went in and sat down again towards the back of the room. As the class dragged on, I was unconsciously bouncing my knee and tapping my desk, each minute felt like an hour. I don't know what has come over me. I don't even know this girl, why am I so desperate to see her again. I was feeling anxious and nervous, like I had butterflies in my stomach. I racked my brain trying to recall the last time I was nervous enough to get butterflies. It was not since I knew I was about to go through my first change. The lunch bell rang, and I was out the door before it had stopped. I met Cole and Smith at the cafeteria. Noticing that they were alone, a swift wave of anger flew over me.
"Well?" I demanded gruffly,
"Where is she?"
"I asked her man, but she said no" Cole answered with a shrug of his shoulders. I growled and turned away walking into the cafeteria. I grabbed a tray and some food and sat at the table closest to the door. I'll be able to see her come in from here. I waited impatiently, sitting up a little as each person walked through the door.
"What's wrong with you Gunner?" whispered Cole,
"I can smell your anxiety"
"I don't know" I snapped,
"Why isn't she here yet?" I hissed.
"There she is" whispered Smith.
We all turned and watched her walk. She was so small, but her feet moved fast. She never lifted her head and her hair never moved from in front of her face. It's like she was hiding or trying to hide. You can't hide from me, little one. She sat alone in the corner of the cafeteria, by the rubbish bins. Why does she sit alone, where are her friends? I watched her curiously play with the apple in her hand. It was hard to see her features from under her hood and through her dark hair, I wanted desperately to move the hair from her face and gaze into her eyes. Oh Goddess, what am I even thinking. Since when do I get this way about random girls. But still, something about her was pulling at me.
*What is it with this one, Gunner?*
*I'm not sure, I feel drawn to her*
*I dunno mate, she seems, damaged*
I jerked up straight when she suddenly threw her hands up, I noticed her drink had tipped down the front of her.
"Did you see her face?" a blond girl giggled from across the cafeteria as she flicked her hair behind her shoulder. Everyone in the room began to laugh at her, the blonde girl that threw her food and the guys she was sitting with mocked and teased the girl.
"What happened Snow White, did someone have an accident?" the bigger guy was jumping around his friends pointing at the girl and laughing. A growl worked its way up and was bubbling out of my gritted teeth, a deep hatred burned through my chest. I wanted nothing more than to rip that idiot's arms from his body.
*Don't Gunner, let it go*
Cole flashed me. My anger was affecting Cole and Smith, I could smell it on them. They were both glaring at the table of asshole kids. I looked back at the girl, and a heavy sadness fell over me. I wanted to make her feel better, I wanted to protect her. She got up from her seat and walked quickly towards the door. I watched her as she went, drenched in juice.
*I'm gonna go check on her*
I stood up abruptly and left the cafeteria. I caught sight of her turning at the end of the hallway and I hightailed it after her. I rounded the corner and there she was, standing in front of a locker. She looks so small and frail. I felt like I needed to hold her, to tell her everything was going to be okay. What is going on with me! I walked over to her as she was reaching in her locker.
"Are you okay?" I asked her softly. She didn't reply.
I took a deep breath through my nose and I nearly moaned out loud. Fresh citrus and cherry blossoms, this girl smells heavenly. Without fully realising what I was doing, I reached out for her, I needed to hold her. I put my hand over her hand that was holding the locker door. Whoa! Sparks again. Little tingles danced across my fingers where our skin was touching.
Could this be her, I wondered? The woman my mother used to tell me about when I was a little boy. My Mate. I never actually believed that True Mates existed. I just thought they were a nice story to tell your pups at bedtime. But this girl, she felt different, she felt like…. Mine. I breathed in deeply, taking in her sweet scent. She smelled like the leaves in the forest mixed with the petals of cherry blossoms, all wrapped up in fresh orange peel.
The bell rang and it made her jump and pull away from me again. That damn bell. The hallway filled up with people and very quickly began to burst with noise. Cole and Smith, who had been watching us from down the hall, were now right behind me.
"Gunner, we gotta go" Cole said to me. She looked over at them and then put her head down. She's adorable, so small and shy. I don't even know her name, I haven't even told her 'my' name yet. I crouched down so that she could hear me.
"My name's Gunner" I smirked. She leaned away from me again, so I stood up to give her back her space.
"Can I see you after school?" I asked a little too excitedly. She didn't say anything, just shook her head a little.
"Hmph" I huffed, this is going to be harder than I thought.
*Gunner, come on man let her go*
Cole was getting impatient, and he was about to piss me off. I leaned down to her again and whispered,
"I'll see you later".
I turned and took off with Cole and Smith. I wasn't giving up, she was going to see me again if she knew it or not. This girl was special.
My next class was with Cole, we sat together at the back of the room flashing about my interaction with the mystery girl.
*Do you want to tell me what all that was? I've never seen you so interested in a girl before*
*There's something different about this girl, I just haven't figured out what it is yet*
*She just doesn't seem right, she feels broken, you can find better*
*She's been hurt but she's not broken, shit I didn't even ask her name*
*It's Zelena, I asked her this morning*
I looked at Cole and smiled. Zelena, I said to myself, how beautiful.
*You can't be serious about this one, Gunner. You deserve better, the pack deserves better*
*I don't think there is anyone better. I feel like she could be my Mate*
*You can just pick another Mate*
*No, you don't get it, I think she could be my real Mate, like my True Mate*
Cole turned his head and looked at me confused. He knows that my mum believes, and is all about searching for your True Mate, but I've never really believed. Not until today.
*Gunner, the whole True Mate thing is just a myth. They aren't real*
*You don't get it. This is different. I'll prove it*
Cole kept watching me out of the corner of his eye. He probably thinks I'm going crazy, but I'm dead serious. This could be her, I feel it. At the end of the day, as the bell rang, I flashed Smith,
*Meet us out by the gate*
*Sure thing boss*
Cole and I walked slowly through the hallway. We were both taller and bigger than all the other guys, it was hard to push through the hoard of horny teenagers. I felt eyes on us and heard whispers from all around us. We got through the doors and hung around waiting for Smith. The bitchy Blonde from the cafeteria came out and headed right for me. She walked with a sway to her hips and a seductive smirk on her over pouty lips. She stopped directly in front of me, popped out her hip, lifted her chest, and started playing with the end of her hair.
"Hey, I'm Demi". Her voice was too high pitched and held a whiney tone. Her overly confident sneer made my blood run hot. I forced a half smile and nodded, trying not to growl.
"I've not seen you around before" she said with a flutter of her eyelashes,
"We're home schooled" I scoffed.
I didn't want to talk to her. Her perfume was burning my nose and there was something about her face that made me want to rip her throat out. Cole must have felt my anger growing, he grabbed her hand and pulled her to the side.
"It ain't going to happen, Sweetheart" he told her with a shit eating smile.
She dropped her hair, glared and me, and huffed, turning on her heels and storming off towards the car park. Cole turned back and winked, I just shook my head and smiled. My man, always the bodyguard. The untapped adolescent hormones running through these kids was straight up nauseating. I could smell their desires and feel the sexual tensions in the air. I leaned against the fence and crossed my arms as we waited for Smith.