Axel's POV

My heart pounded something fierce in my chest, in sync with my foot tapping against the ground. I halted my foot, realizing I probably looked desperate. 

I was not desperate. I changed positions, leaning against the hood of my car. The fresh coat of white paint made it glimmer in the sunlight, looking eons better than any of the other mom-vans and dirty pickups around. But strangely, that didn't calm me down or make me feel any better, for once. 

Damn it. Why was Oliver taking so long? I felt like I'd been waiting for ages. When was he going to get here?

Van finished his conversation with whomever and stepped towards my car, sniffing lightly and then flinching. He eyed me up and down as he approached.

"Axel, holy shit. You reek. Are you trying to set the other wolves off in a nervous fit?" He gestured behind me, and I then noticed the cars around mine. Oh, oops. I waved at my packmates, and they began driving out, the instinct to stay close to their distressed leader eased. 

Van sat up on the hood beside me, lying down and enjoying the feel of the metal, warmed by the sun. I couldn't do the same. "Jeez, Axel, calm down," he snickered at me. "Did you run out here the moment class ended? Give the guy a break, I'm sure Oliver's at his locker or in the washroom."

"I know," I responded briskly. 

"Yet you're waiting out here like a charming prince riding a white horse," he smacked the hood of my car. I couldn't find it in me to tell him off for touching her. "Are you sure you haven't fallen in love already?" he teased. 

I turned to face him, scowling. "Hah? I don't love shit." Van nodded appeasingly, mockingly. I scowled harder. 

"Seriously, I only need him to become the Alpha. But I don't give a shit about him. In fact, let's go out to that party this week, I want to pipe some girls. I'll fuck some fat-assed bitches until they're screaming and creaming—" 

I cut myself off as I realized that Oliver was standing in front of my car.

He walked closer with that polite smile still on his face.

"H...hey, when'd you get here?" I asked, scratching my brow and clearing my throat, standing up straight.

"I just got here." Oliver raised an eyebrow slightly. "Sounds like you're going to have a fun weekend, eh?" He smiled at me carelessly, making my chest sink. Shit, he heard me? How much did he hear? And yet he continued to smile? I hated it.

Oliver turned to Van and gave him a much more friendly smile—dammit, why can't he act that way around me? "Hey, I don't think we've met before," he greeted Van with a nod, warmth appearing in his voice.

Van played along, nodding back. "No, but I've seen you around. Oliver Lockhart, right?" Oliver nodded. "I'm Van—"

"Van Sileian," Oliver cut off, grinning, easy and casual. "Who doesn't know the school valedictorian?" he teased.

Van tucked his hair behind his ear, embarrassed. "It's not certain that I'll be valedictorian," he refuted, humble. 

Who was he kidding? He was the brightest in our school without a doubt. I didn't say anything, knowing better than to interrupt Van.

"Please, nobody can compete with you," Oliver laughed his refusal away. "Didn't you win the national science fair again just last month? Congrats, by the way."

"It was only the provincial science fair," Van emphasized. "Nationals is next month... but yeah, thank you."

"Oh, then congrats in advance, because you're going to win that again too," he teased. "What was your project this year? Did you cure cancer again?"

"Please, I'm not that smart," Van retorted, blushing but rolling his eyes. "It was just a study on the effects of radiation therapy on—"

I cleared my throat. The smile faltered on Van's face vanished as I raised an eyebrow at him, and he cleared his throat, his scent giving a sheepish apology.

Sorry, he linked me. He's such a flatterer, but he knows how to talk. I hate that it worked.

I huffed quietly. Oliver cocked his head, eyes travelling between us curiously, but before he could say anything, we were interrupted by the last of my usual crew.

"Sorry!" James apologized, wheezing, books spilling out of his bag. 

Finally they show up, I rolled my eyes. I linked him and Jayy when class ended, and yet they still had the audacity to be late! 

"Mrs. O'Leary decided it would be nice to give us a quiz ten minutes before class ended. I barely finished," James moaned, collapsing against the side of my car.

Oliver picked up the calculator that had fallen out of James' bag. "Oh, that sounds awful," he sympathized, handing it back. "I don't have her, but I've heard she's the worst."

James nodded emphatically. "She is! All she does is yell and pick on students, and these crappy, unfair tests just come out of the blue! I don't know how I'll pass bio," he complained.

Oliver made a pitying noise. "Let me know if I can help out, alright? We're covering the same content, so I can give you my notes if you need them."

James' eyes widened. "Really?! Honestly, that would be a huge help — Van never shares his with us, and I never know what's going on," he blabbered.

"Of course, just let me know when you need them!" Oliver grinned. "We're in math together, right? I'll let you know what's on the quiz before class, if you want."

James grinned wildly. He threw himself at Oliver, weeping overdramatically. "Thank you! That'd be a great help!"

Oliver stumbled back a bit and for a split second, the natural grin on his face froze, letting a hint of something like annoyance on his face, but he was back to normal in just a second, laughing and helping James up.

I stared at James, irritated myself, and it took just a few seconds for him to smell me. 

He flinched. Quickly getting off Oliver, James sent me a sheepish grin, apologetic submission clear on his body. I stared, hands clenching my bag strap tightly.

How dare he throw himself all over my mate when even I didn't have that right? Who did he think he was to touch Oliver so casually when even I couldn't?

Van's calming aura quickly wrapped around me, filling the area up. I looked away from James, huffing, and released the strap in my hands. 

Even if James was pack, and didn't mean any harm, I just didn't like seeing what was mine — Oliver — so close to others.

Van elbowed me. I looked over an caught his eyes flickering towards Oliver, who was glancing between us, confused. 

I cleared my throat. We didn't always need to speak words to communicate, but humans wouldn't understand. "Let's get going," I ordered, opening the trunk to put our bags in and passing my bag to James.

I unlocked the car, getting into the driver's seat. I frowned when Oliver got in the back, James and Jayy settling in to his sides.

"Oliver, move up front," I told him. 

Van, sitting shotgun beside me, rolled his eyes, but unbuckled his seat-belt, ready to comply.

Oliver, instead, buckled his seatbelt in his current seat, sending an easy grin my way. I hated how fake it was. 

"I'm alright here, thanks. The interior design and decor of your car is absolutely charming," he gestured down to the crusty thong I remembered was peaking out from under the driver's seat.

It was from one of my last hookups. Not my fault we got wild and couldn't wait to get home. She was hot.

James looked back and forth between me and the thong Oliver was pointing at, and gave out a nervous laugh. Van just sighed, putting his seatback back on.

It was Jayy who snickered at Oliver's remark. I looked back at the silent giant, sitting to the left of Oliver, raised an eyebrow. He quieted down, looking away.

I could feel Van's amusement. Jayy was generally silent, preferring non-verbal communication if he had to communicate at all. We were used to it — he was quiet and unresponsive, but loyal and efficient. We trusted him fully as the future Gamma, but we didn't expect... anything, really, when it came to talking to others.

Trust Oliver to get along with literally everyone but me.

I sighed but started the car when Oliver ignored me and began conversing with James about the bio homework.

Why was my mate so difficult? If only he was like my exes. That would be so convenient. It was maddening, that I had to sit with my mate in my car, going to my place, and I couldn't even have him sit next to me or talk to me. 

I turned right onto the highway, noticing some of the other werewolves' cars settling around us, as was usual. 

I didn't even have to tell Van—he was linking them in just a moment, warning them to stay out of sight.

Just a few moments later, the cars began to slow down and pull over. Oliver was quick to notice and frowned, craning his neck to peer out the window.

"Is there a car accident?" he asked. 

"I think there might be an animal on the road," Van pretended to look out the window. "There's been sightings of some creatures out and about recently. It's good to be cautious." 

Oliver sat back, persuaded. "Really? I've never seen anything bigger than a raccoon."

"There's plenty of deer here," James chirped. "Sometimes we go and—" he abruptly shut his mouth.

"Hm?" Oliver asked.

"We, uh—" James looked over at Van and I.

"We hunt," to our surprise, Jayy covered for James before we got a chance to. "It's a hobby." 

Oliver blinked. "Oh wow, really?" he questioned. I could see Jayy regret speaking up. "What's that like?"

Reluctantly, Jayy continued. "A lot of us are Indigenous to the land here," he told Oliver. "We have hunting and fishing rights."

Help, Jayy linked us. I huffed a laugh. He was almost overdramatically asocial.

Van snickered quietly. "By the way, Oliver, James was saying earlier that you've been sick recently. Are you better now?" He casually brought up. I sent out my gratitude in my scent.

"Oh, I'm fine now, thanks for asking. Don't worry, I won't give you anything," he laughed.

"Dude, you passed out on the field," James frowned. "Are you sure you're alright now?"

I frowned hearing that as well. 

I knew Oliver had some human sickness, and that I got sick because of him, but I didn't know he had the passing out at school kind of sickness. 

We werewolves never got sick like that. 

Wasn't that bad? Didn't humans need to go to hospitals for that?

"It was just the common flu," Oliver assured. "I missed too many days of school, so my mother wanted me to go. I was just a bit tired on Friday," he sighed dramatically. "Of course I'd fall asleep after calculus," he joked.

I didn't like that. Why did his mom make him go to school if he was sick? Didn't she care about his well being? And if he was feeling bad, why didn't he just go home?

"Your mom made you go to school even though you were sick?" James asked, sympathetic. "Tough. That sounds awful."

Oliver shrugged, easy-going. "She's a doctor, so she probably knew it wasn't that bad."

Van's eyes flickered over to me. I thought back to Oliver's phone-call with the distracted woman earlier. Was that Oliver's mom?

There was so much I had to learn. It was frustrating.

Van's scent rising distracted me from my brooding. Talk to him, Van urged. I nodded, clearing my throat.

"Oliver, where do you live again?" I asked, feeling a bit awkward. 

Van smirked, enjoying my conundrum. Well, sorry! What else was I supposed to ask?! How the hell do you seduce a guy, anyways?! 

"You know, for when I drop you off," I added self-consciously.

Oliver hummed. "I live in the city." It was a valid answer, considering we were driving out of the city limits to get to my place, but that wasn't what I wanted to know. I wanted his address, postal code, and a copy of his front entrance key.

"No, I mean, like where in the city?" I asked again.

"In a little neighbourhood." 

"Which neighbourhood?"

"One in the city."

I rolled my eyes as Van and James snickered. He was doing it to piss me off! 

"Just kidding. I live a bit down there." Oliver laughed easily, pointing in an arbitrary direction. 

I sighed, pissed off. Why was he so annoying? He really couldn't make anything easy for me.

James asked Oliver about some other homework assignment or the other and I drummed my fingers on the steering wheel impatiently.

It was so frustrating to have a human mate. 

Our high school was quite large—one of the largest in the province—with a plurality of students being werewolves. Wolves were pack creatures, and it was in our blood to congregate where we could. Strength in numbers, and all, and our pack was one of the strongest.

Which is why even though our pack controlled the most of the territory in the area, we allowed rouges and smaller, sub-packs in the area. It was comforting to be around our kind—and more importantly, it was easier to find your mate.

Zoe was the latest rogue to join us, she and her rogue family had joined our pack not long after she and Mia mated. Kai had also joined us not long before, finding Roman with us.

There were plenty of wolves in the area for me to potentially be mated to. If not someone from my pack, there were enough rogues and ally packs nearby.

And yet I found myself mated to the most unwilling human possible. Why were the fates testing me? 

The thong under my seat flickered to mind. Was this divine punishment? Having this crappy human as a mate?

I looked into the rearview mirror and saw James sending me a 'come on man, I'm trying, keep the conversation running!' look.

But I didn't know what to say. This human had me so out of my element. I couldn't stand it.

Oliver, however, was a natural at keeping conversation flowing. "So why are you all going to Axel's? Sleepover? Or do you live in the area?" he questioned.

"We all live together," Van explained.

Oliver cocked his head. "Are you all related? You don't look alike," he pointed out the obvious, looking between James' dark skin, Van's paleness, and Jayy's tanned glow, or Van's long red hair, James' tight curls, and Jayy's pitch-black hair.

Van snickered. "No no, it's kind of like, communal living," he gave a vague explanation, aware that Oliver was too polite to question further. 

As Van expected, Oliver nodded and left it at that, switching topics to something about James' class.

We were halfway to my place, and I hadn't been able to make conversation with Oliver properly even once. 

Van, James, and even Jayy were able to speak to him, but the moment I joined in, it felt like Oliver politely shut down and ignored me.

Axel, how do you expect to get him as your mate? Van asked, exasperated after another attempt to get me to join a conversation about fitness ended in awkward, stilted silence. For goodness' sake. I have a better chance of getting with him than you do.

I scowled at him. It wasn't supposed to be this hard! He was supposed to just fall into my arms. That was how this whole mate shit worked!

I think you're going to have a little more trouble than you expected, Van snickered through the mind link.

Shut up, I growled back, pressing on the accelerator in frustration. 

It didn't matter if Oliver wanted to be a bitch to me right now. 

Soon, we'd be in my territory, and then, we'd play by my rules.