Mated By Mistake

BRIA

“Bria, your sweet sixteen is next weekend. Why are you holed up in the library studying instead of planning your party?” Sage, my best friend, complains.

I roll my eyes, keeping them glued to my math textbook. “In case you’ve forgotten, Sage, we have exams in less than two months. This is important. I’m studying.”

Sage scoffs, and I finally glance up at her. She’s leaning back in her chair, balancing it on two legs. The exact thing teachers always tell us not to do.

Her auburn hair is piled into a messy bun, and her green eyes sparkle with mischief.

“I don’t know anyone else who comes to school early to study,” she teases.

“Yes, you do. You know me.”

She laughs at my retort, and before I can stop her, she snatches the textbook from in front of me.

“Hey!” I protest. “Give that back!”

“Nope. It’s homeroom time, let’s go.”

The bell rings, marking the start of the school day. Sage and I are polar opposites in many ways.

I’m practical; she’s impulsive. I’m cautious; she’s daring. She’s experienced with boys; I’m not.

I’m the beta’s daughter, expected to be a role model. My parents have raised me well, and I know how to behave.

At school, I work hard and excel in my classes. At home, I help with my siblings. Because I avoid drama and boys, I’m friendly with most of the students at school.

But I only have two close friends.

I’m the oldest at fifteen; I have four siblings: the twins, who are two, my younger sister, who is four, and my younger brother, who is six.

My parents are always busy, so I help out whenever I can.

Sage and I head to our lockers to gather our books for the first two classes. I stuff them into my bag, zip it up, and sling it over my shoulder.

We’re in the same homeroom, so we navigate the crowded hallway together. The school is bustling with over a thousand students.

The crowd parts slightly, and I soon see why. Rhett Tiercel and his friends are strutting down the middle of the hallway.

People make way for them because you really don’t want to cross their path.

Another two girls, Sage and I, all realize too late. The four of us are rudely jostled aside by the three boys storming through without a second thought.

The two girls across from us are unceremoniously shoved into the lockers. I stumble backward into Sage, who manages to catch me.

She wraps her arms around me from behind, steadying me with her body.

Then, the most unexpected thing happens. Rhett Tiercel glances back over his shoulder. His brown eyes meet mine. He gives me a once-over.

“Sorry,” he mumbles.

He turns back around, breaking the moment. He disappears down the hallway with his crew.

“Did Rhett Tiercel just apologize?” Sage asks, sounding as stunned as I feel.

I straighten up and hoist my bag higher on my shoulder. “I guess so. There’s a first time for everything.”

Rhett.

There’s no better way to describe Rhett than as a bad boy. He has a troubled past. I know both of his parents died when he was young.

His uncle is his legal guardian, but from what I hear, he doesn’t give a damn about Rhett. He’s always fighting, swearing like a sailor, and constantly in the alpha’s office, getting reprimanded by both the alpha and my father.

My father strongly disapproves of him. He says he’s a troubled kid with no future ahead of him except jail if he keeps up this behavior.

They’ve tried to reach out to him, but he won’t let anyone get close to him. Except his friends, and they’re all like him: angry and aggressive.

“Come on, let’s get to homeroom,” Sage says, tugging me down the hall.

The rest of the day is pretty average. The classes fly by, and the day is relatively uneventful until lunchtime.

I’m sitting with Sage and Annie at our usual table when everyone starts rushing outside. Curious, the girls and I follow the swarm of students.

The crowd gathers right outside the cafeteria. I squeeze through people to get to the front and see what’s happening.

My mouth drops open in shock as I see Rhett fighting Robbie Yates. The two of them are circling each other, dodging blows and growling aggressively. Robbie is a typical jerk. He’s good-looking and knows it. He enjoys messing with girls’ emotions.

I’m surprised that neither of them has shifted, but this is clearly a fight they want to settle with their fists.

There are no humans at our school, so they don’t have to worry about keeping our secret.

“What happened?” I ask Link, who is standing next to me. He’s a nice guy that I share French classes with.

“Robbie rejected Susanna as his mate,” Link whispers back.

I frown in confusion. Susanna is Rhett’s friend. I can understand why he’s angry at Robbie.

But how did Robbie and Susanna know they were mates? We can only recognize our mates when we turn eighteen. Rhett, Susanna, and Robbie are a year older, but they’re only seventeen.

“How do they know they are mates?” I ask Link.

“Susanna turned eighteen this morning; she was held back a year,” Link explains.

Poor Susanna.

I refocus on the fight and realize that Rhett has overpowered Robbie and is now sitting on his chest, pummeling his face.

Blood stains Rhett’s knuckles and Robbie’s face. It splatters across the pavement. Everyone is shouting, some are even cheering. I watch in horror, trying to get my body to move. One of Rhett’s friends, Lorenzo, I think, grabs Rhett by the shoulders and tries to pull him off Robbie. Rhett easily shrugs him off.

Even when two of Robbie’s friends try to intervene, Rhett fights them off, continuing to beat Robbie’s face.

I don’t know what comes over me. I finally regain control of my body, and I rush into the cleared circle. I throw myself at Rhett, knocking him down with me.

We both tumble to the ground, his body cushioning my fall. The crowd falls silent. Rhett stares up at me in shock. His black hair is tousled, his brown eyes are wide, and he is staring right at me.

“Stop,” I plead quietly.

He doesn’t respond, but I see him swallow. His Adam’s apple bobs, drawing my attention to his throat. He already has a couple of tattoos there.

He’s only seventeen. I don’t know how he got them. It’s illegal.

I realize that I’m still on top of him, and I scramble off. I don’t get a chance to do anything else because the principal shows up.

We are driven back to the pack house in separate cars. Once there, we are escorted to the alpha’s office. Guards stand with Robbie and Rhett, ensuring they don’t try to fight again. I stand beside them, nervously wondering how much trouble I’m in.

The alpha and my dad enter. My dad’s eyes land on me and widen in surprise as he realizes his little girl is caught up in all this.

“Explain what happened.” Alpha Byron orders Robbie to give his account first.

I’m surprised he can talk; he has two black eyes and a split lip. I think his nose might be broken too, but he’ll heal quickly. We all do.

He does, explaining how he rejected Susanna because he doesn’t want “a crazy pyro like her as a mate.” At that description of his friend, Rhett lunges toward Robbie. He’s held back and restrained by the guards behind him.

Rhett angrily gives his account of how Robbie is a jerk who can’t appreciate a good thing when it hits him. He was teaching him a lesson.

Then their eyes fall on me. I swallow hard. My father gives me a reassuring nod.

“I didn’t see much, Alpha. All I saw was the two of them fighting. I-uh tried to get Rhett to stop.”

“Do you think Rhett would have stopped before he inflicted any permanent damage to Robbie?” the alpha asks, and I swallow hard.

No. He wouldn’t have. I saw the anger in Rhett’s eyes; he probably would have kept going. I don’t know whether he would have killed Robbie, but he certainly looked like he wanted to.

I can feel Rhett’s eyes glaring at me as he stands to my right. I might be a good person, but I’m not a snitch unless I have to be.

“I couldn’t say, Alpha, I don’t know Rhett well enough.” I take the easy way out.

Alpha Byron lets out a weary sigh, dragging his hand down his face. “Robbie, you need to head to the infirmary and have those injuries looked at. I’m only going to say this once.” He fixes Robbie with a stern gaze. “You’ve been a fool to reject your mate. You’ll regret that decision, I guarantee it. You’ve earned yourself detention for the next two weeks for brawling on school grounds. And you’re to steer clear of Susanna until she’s recovered from your rejection.”

Robbie’s face is a mask of anger, but he nods in understanding and exits the room. Leaving Rhett and me alone with the alpha.

“Rhett Tiercel.” Alpha Byron sighs heavily. “What am I going to do with you? This is your fourth fight this year, and I’ve lost track of the total count. You’ve skipped every counseling session we’ve set up for you. I warned you that you needed to show progress. You haven’t.”

I sneak a glance at Rhett from the corner of my eye. His hands are balled into tight fists and his jaw is set. He’s sporting a black eye, but otherwise, he seems unscathed.

“I’ve made some calls and the decision has been made. You’re exiled from this pack for one year. You’ll be staying with your aunt on West Hemlock Pack territory. After a year, we’ll reassess your situation and if you’ve shown improvement in your behavior, you’ll be allowed to rejoin our pack. I have no doubt you could be a formidable warrior one day, but I can’t tolerate this level of disruption in my ranks.”

Rhett doesn’t utter a single word. I can tell he’s seething at the decision, but he’s powerless to change it. He doesn’t have a leg to stand on.

The alpha’s word is law. Rhett takes a moment, then simply nods and exits the room. I notice he didn’t wait for permission. He just walked out. I can’t imagine ever having that kind of nerve.

Alpha Byron sighs again, running his hand through his hair. His gaze lands on me and softens. “Thank you for providing your witness statement, Bria. It was clear to us that you weren’t involved in the fight. You’re free to go now.”

“Thank you, Alpha.”

My dad gives a nod of approval and I exit the office. I feel like I’m in a daze as I leave the building.

That was a far more eventful day than I’d anticipated. And the fallout? Unbelievable.

An entire year without Rhett Tiercel.