Chapter 24 #2
Ben, Thad, and Mason had all stepped back in shock.
Even my brother hadn’t anticipated I’d go this hard at Knox since he was always saying offensive shit to me and I never totally lost my cool.
But, dammit, I dominated on Saturday and proved I’m not to be fucked with. And here he was, still fucking with me.
So, I lost my temper a bit.
Knox’s light blue eyes were almost glowing as he held on, pushing at me with all of his might, looking like he’d strangle me in that moment if he could.
My wolf snarled in my chest, wanting badly to be let out so she could go for the kill.
She recognized our horrible mate's power and wanted to end him so his power would never touch us again.
I held strong. Neither of us moved, and neither of us submitted.
"I knew it," Mason said from behind Knox. "I fucking knew she could take him. They are going to be here all day."
"I can feel her wolf," Ben replied, apparently now just having a casual conversation with our enemies while I was locked in a submission battle with the most powerful wolf I’d ever faced.
"She is three seconds away from shifting and ripping his head clean off. I’ve never felt her so… enraged. Murderous."
"We need to stop this," Thad said. "Knox, Mave, fucking shut it down. Call it a draw."
"Fuck off, Nerd Porn," I barked at him. "I am so. Fucking. Tired. Of being. Disrespected. By. This. Asshole." I bit out each word as I dug deep and held on, basking in the feeling of power radiating from my body, even if it was being pushed right back at me.
"She calls me Nerd Porn?"
"It’s better than Man Bun."
"But you do have a man bun."
"Yeah, but that's like, stating the obvious. She's basically calling you a hot nerd. I'm sort of jealous."
"Will you two lock it the fuck up and help me stop this?" Ben hissed at them. "They are going to kill each other. And we have an audience now."
I was very focused on destroying Knox, but out of the corner of my eye I could see the class had all stopped what they were doing to watch us with rapt attention.
Even Ryan, who should have been over here already trying to break us up, was frozen at the foot of the bleachers to our left, probably having no desire to step between two Alpha wolves locked in a power standoff.
"Submit to me, baby," Knox growled at me. His fists were clenched and he looked both exhausted and elated, like this whole thing was turning him on. "It'll feel so good, I promise."
I shifted partially so that my hands grew claws, and my teeth elongated. Since I'd managed it once in the heat of the moment on Saturday, it came easier this time.
The entire class gasped.
"Magic, while I support you both showing off and making Knoxy here bleed for everything he's done," Ben cooed as he sidled up next to me, "We are unfortunately at school, and I worry it'll cause more trouble than it's worth if this little discussion you two are having escalates much further."
I growled at him and swiped my claws in Knox’s direction. He stepped out of the way and pushed his power at me harder.
"Hey man," Mason said gently as he slid over next to Knox. "Let's dial it back down. I think it's been established that you two are equally powerful Alpha wolves and the Moon knew what she was doing when she paired you with your mate. Let's maybe try not to piss her off again though, huh?"
"I AM NOT HIS FUCKING MATE!" I screamed, swiping at him again. This time I caught him across the stomach, tearing the front of his gym shirt to shreds.
He growled savagely at me and launched himself in my direction. We both pulled our power back in as we collided and rolled around on the floor. He climbed on top of me while I punched him in his face, hard, but then grabbed my hands in his before I could get him again.
"You are fucking fantastic," he purred at me while I struggled under him. "You're my equal in every way, and I am not giving this up. You can keep running from me, but I'm going to have you, Mate. It's inevitable, and you know it."
"Fuck you!" I screamed in his face, then I got my knee in his balls and he loosened his grip. Since we'd both pulled back the Alpha power, Mason and Thad were able to get ahold of Knox to pull him off of me while Ben dove down next to me to throw his body in between us.
"Alright! That's entirely enough!" Ryan was yelling as he waded into the fray. He pointed at the five of us. "You lot, get out of my gym and hit the showers and cool the hell off. The rest of you! Grab a racket and get moving for the next twenty minutes."
I glared at Knox, and he just smiled at me. Blood oozed from the tears on his stomach, but he didn't seem to mind. Ben, Thad, and Mason, in a tentative alliance, ushered us toward the locker rooms.
"Ceasefire, guys," Mason said as we trudged to the end of the gym floor. "Whether or not Mave and Knox ever agree on the mating thing, we are the five top wolves in this school and we should be able to be civil with one another. Work together, set an example, all of that."
"You're just lucky I didn't let my wolf out, Man Bun," I snapped. "You and Thad would've been my betas before the end of third period."
To my surprise, they both laughed at that. Even Ben was smiling again.
"I don't doubt it, Mave," Mason grinned at me.
"What is happening right now?" I asked incredulously, looking between them. "We are not friends."
"Sure we are," Thad said, matter-of-factly. He glanced at Ben, but then he winced ever so slightly as Ben's smile slid right off his face. Thad quickly slipped back into his bored, unaffected mask.
Good. Make him work for it, Benji.
They filed into the boys’ locker room as I turned toward the girls’.
"See you at lunch, Mate," Knox said, winking at me like a creep.
"Jesus Christ, Ice Man, get a fucking clue."
He wouldn't.
The rest of the day was quieter, thank the Moon.
Lunch discussion revolved around the homecoming dance, which was apparently being held a week from Friday, after the next home soccer game.
Harriet and Vivi tittered about dress shopping and dates, and I relaxed into Blake's arms while I demolished my turkey wrap.
The face-off with Knox had zapped me of all of my energy, and I was starving.
I'd whispered a quick summary of events to Blake when he pulled his chair up next to me, and presumably Ben did the same to Harriet since she gave me a look before steering the conversation to the dance.
Blake pressed a few light, tantalizing kisses into my neck, whispered about how much dating a powerful woman turned him on, then he asked me to the dance.
I pushed a little power into him because I knew he liked it so much, and he moaned under his breath.
Then I said yes.
I managed to avoid Ice Man and his buddies until I was forced to interact with Mason in Stats.
I'd pulled the same move on Blake that he had on me this morning, waltzing over to his desk, leaning down, and planting an inappropriate kiss on his lips in front of Pink Bra and the rest of his fan club, who gave me very dirty looks as I sauntered away.
Mason rolled his eyes at me as I sat down.
"Hey, Dad," I snarked at him. "Worried Ice Man's property is still not behaving herself?"
He sighed. "Mave, I'm not the enemy. And you know that the bond is making Knox feel possessive of you, no matter how he initially felt about it. He can't help it."
"False," I replied, throwing Thad my middle finger over my shoulder since I knew he was listening.
"As has now been demonstrated, we are evenly matched in Alpha power, so I know for a fact he has the ability to counter the bond's effects.
I have been working hard on it since that very first day, when he decided I was so beneath him that he wouldn't even take ten minutes to consider me.
The pull is barely a ripple now. Take that information back to him, and also tell him I said to go fuck himself while you're at it. "
"You've been able to kill the bond?" Thad asked from behind me, surprised.
"I wish," I scoffed. "I don't believe we have the power or ability to sever it completely, but I've been able to overwhelm it in a way, so that I don't notice it so much anymore.
" Of course, I did not mention that I had at least a glimmer of hope my mage boyfriend and his genius uncle would be able to uncover a spell to sever the bond completely.
"Mave, I still think you should give this a chance," Mason implored.
"Knox is coming around. I honestly think he was coming around before we knew you were an Alpha wolf.
He's never been interested in taking a mate this young, so you have to understand that he's just been trying to live his life before he has to get serious about everything. "
"I get it, Mason," I said. I did, really.
Knox was facing a future of running one of the largest packs in the country, and he wanted to do whatever the fuck he wanted to do while he was young and still could.
"But he can't erase the way he's acted toward me.
He's been a pig, an egotistical manwhore, and a lecherous creep.
He's disrespected me countless times. You're also aware that I have no interest in Pack leadership or being Alpha Mate.
There is literally nothing about mating Knox that appeals to me.
I deserve better, and I think deep down you know that, too. "
It was Thad who responded this time. "We do understand, Mave.
Knox doesn't know what he wants, and he's facing a lot of pressure from his father.
But trust us when we tell you he's realized he fucked up.
And that underneath the Alpha fuckboy bravado, he's a good person.
We wouldn't be his betas if we thought he wasn't."
I considered them both. They'd condescended to me and annoyed me to no end throughout all of this, but ultimately I knew they were good guys.
I did not feel the same about Knox on a personal level, but I understood why they still supported him as their leader and future Alpha, and as a result, wanted the best for him.
"Look, you two," I sighed as the teacher began the process of scribbling the lesson of the day on the board.
"I agree that we don't have to be enemies.
I wouldn't go so far as to say we're friends, but I'm grateful that it seems you two have at least decided to treat me with some respect.
Knox has not. He's lucky to have friends like you, and if you're truly in his corner, you'll start convincing him, and through him, his father, that this is over.
He should repair his relationship with Nikka and start treating her better if he wants a powerful mate.
And I'm with Blake now, and it's really fucking serious. Got it?"
Mason shook his head. "Maybe we could get there, Mave, if we all agreed it was what was best for the two of you. But you have to stop this shit with Agnon until we're all on the same page, okay? Knox is not handling that well, and you know that could be... risky for Blake."
I smiled at him then, and he looked shocked and confused at that. "I'm not worried, Man Bun. Blake can take care of himself, just trust me on that."
He shook his head in disbelief. "You're insane. He's a fucking human."
"Leave it, Mason."
The teacher began his lecture, so I was left alone the rest of class. I was able to avoid them all during Study Hall as well, with Blake, Ben, and Harriet surrounding me in an unapproachable wall.
The rest of the school week was just more of the same.
Knox approached me a couple of times and repeated his request for me to attend the Pack party on Saturday.
He kept it polite for the most part, but he slipped a few times and tried to flirt or touch me, which I promptly shut down.
Our encounters usually ended with us both pissed off or annoyed, but we hadn't gotten into another physical altercation, at least. He also appeared to be keeping the public PDA with other girls to a minimum, though he was a shameless flirt and couldn't help himself most of the time.
He seemed to be keeping Nikka at a polite distance—still sitting with her in classes and at lunch, but she no longer claimed her favorite spot in his lap.
Mason and Thad remained friendly with me, and they quit harassing me about both Knox and Blake. I suspected they were trying to lure me into a real friendship before they tried to thrust their opinions at me again, but for now I appreciated the low-drama camaraderie in our shared classes.
Blake and I were with each other as much as possible during school, but with homework, his daily soccer practice, and my shifts at work, we hadn't been able to spend much alone time together.
We made vague promises to try to see each other over the weekend and work on the bond-breaking project, but life was getting in the way.
First, Dad informed us mid-week that the Alpha had all but demanded we show ourselves at the Pack party, to my extreme frustration.
Since I was going to be occupied on Saturday, Blake decided it would be a good time for he and Ian to head to New Orleans to dig through their coven's archives for anything they thought could help me.
They also were out of town for their soccer game on Friday night, so I'd resolved that I wouldn’t be a needy bitch, and I'd just see Blake whenever we could make it happen.
I spent Friday night on the couch with my parents watching the latest season of The Crown, feeling hopeful that after four weeks at Blackstone Academy, things were finally turning around for me.