Chapter 19
Monte
The full reality of dating Zoey Rey didn’t hit me until I tried to take her to dinner in the cafeteria later that evening.
I’d given her as much of the day as I could muster so she could catch up on work and all that stuff.
The second her latest video posted I knew before my phone even dinged with the notification because all the guys had been waiting and watching.
This one was more about me than her though as I looked into the camera and explained what exactly the product was, but then it flashed to me helping her put the harness on and ended with her falling into my arms. The internet was losing its shit over it, and apparently so was Archibald Reynolds College.
“Look, there they are,” someone yelled when we walked into the dining hall.
All eyes were on us, and it was hard to ignore the whispers.
“You get used to it,” Zoey assured me as she walked around, ignoring them all. “I rarely ever eat in here though. We should take it to go.”
“No,” I said. “It’s fine.”
She was hesitant but nodded, put her to-go container away and picked up a tray and plate instead. I could feel her apprehension though.
I kept her by my side through the lines and then escorted her to the table the doghouse always claimed in the center of the room.
A few of the guys were already there eating.
Kevin grabbed my hand and pulled me into a bro hug. “Hi Zoey.”
“Hi.”
I motioned for her to sit down and took the seat next to her.
“How come we’ve never seen you eat in here?” one of the freshmen asked.
“She’s too famous to eat with us commoners, Oscar,” Jett, another pledge, teased.
I glared at him and his face dropped to his plate, not daring to say another thing.
“Hi, I’m Mark.”
“Zoey,” she muttered.
“I follow you on social media. It’s pretty cool that you go here too,” he said.
“Thanks. I always appreciate the follow.”
“Can I ask you a question?”
“Um, sure.”
“What in the world do you see in this lug-head?”
“Hey!” I said, a little too loud.
“I’m just saying, his head’s already a little too big. He’s super grouchy at times. And he still plays video games like he’s twelve years old.”
I growled in warning.
“Calm down,” Denny said as he and Lauren joined us. “He’s just riling you up while he can.”
“Just remember, Mark, payback is a bitch.”
I took satisfaction in seeing his jaw drop and then shut.
“It’s nice to see you again, Zoey. This is my mate, Lauren.”
“We’ve met,” the girls said in unison.
Zoey started to relax after that.
“Saw the new video. You made our boy look good,” Denny said.
She shrugged. “That’s not difficult to do.”
I beamed. “Thanks, doll.” But when I leaned in to kiss her, she stiffened next to me, so I retreated.
That’s when I noticed it—the mask.
I hated when she pulled out the fake Zoey. I hadn’t actually seen it since before our lockdown at the lodge. Glancing around the room, I realized everyone was still staring at us. I honestly thought they would go on about their business as we sat down to eat, but that didn’t appear to be the case.
She was careful not to drop the perception as we ate. Even her voice changed.
What the hell?
Everyone at the ARC should be comfortable enough to be themselves. That was the whole point of the place. We didn’t have to hide here. But as we finished and got up to leave, several people stopped us, asking her for an autograph.
I stood quietly on the sidelines just observing.
“Is it always like this?” I finally asked when there was a break in the line of waiting fans.
“Most of the time, I’m afraid.”
“I’m sorry,” I told her honestly. “This is a lot.”
Her eyes shot up to mine, and she looked devastated.
What had I said?
Something felt very off, and Zoey didn’t relax until we were out of the cafeteria.
“So, not a fan of eating there I take it.”
“It just gets like that every time. On Greek Row, it’s not as bad. I guess they’re more used to seeing me around. But around campus it gets weird fast.”
I reached for her hand, but she pulled away from me like she was embarrassed or something. Even knowing my touch would help soothe her inner wolf, she still refused it.
My wolf was angry which put me on edge.
Still, I stayed close to her. It made me feel like a masochist or something as we walked across campus.
A group of girls passed us giggling and pointing in our direction.
Next came a couple of guys.
“Dare you,” I heard one of them say to another.
Next thing I know, one of them is striding closer to us.
“Looking good, Zoey. Since you’re officially dating now, just let me know if you’re interested in a real man.” Then he smacked her ass as his friends bowled over in laughter.
I immediately saw red.
A menacing growl erupted from me. Zoey tried to hold me back, but no one was going to touch my mate like that.
I was so angry that I was shaking all over and fur was sprouting up my arms.
“Oh shit!” one of the guys warned, but I had already honed in on the one who had dared to touch her.
“Monte,” Zoey yelled.
“Shift!” I screamed at the guy, but he just backed away, shaking his head. “Shift damn it!” He shook his head harder. “What are you, chicken?”
He nodded. “Y-yes sir. I’m sorry sir.”
I kept encroaching on him until he stumbled and fell to the ground. Had to hand it to him. He was a scrappy little thing as he crab-crawled backwards as I stalked him.
“I’m s-sorry,” he continued to stutter. “It w-won’t happen again.”
“Leave him alone,” one of his friends said.
My head swiveled in his direction and my eyes narrowed.
“Run!” he yelled as they turned and took off.
It excited my wolf as I shifted right there in the center of campus and gave way to the chase.
“Monte, no! Please stop,” Zoey said, but I knew she was safe where she was and those guys had to die. There was no other option. My wolf and I were in perfect agreement of that.
I had stalked them halfway across the quad when Denny and the brothers caught up to me.
“Stand down,” Denny ordered.
I growled back at him.
“What happens if he doesn’t listen to me?” Denny asked Remy.
“How the hell do I know?”
“Monte, you’ve made your point. Calm down,” Brax said.
I snapped at him, causing him to stumble backwards.
Just beyond them, I could see the guy who’d touched Zoey. My fur stood up and I lowered myself to a crouch and growled, completely ignoring my brothers. I was fully focused on the guy.
Pushing myself between them, I leapt over a boulder and pinned him to the ground before anyone realized what was happening. I sneered and growled in his face as he cowered. But nothing I did made him shift. If anything, he was clinging to his humanity.
One of our most sacred rules was never to hurt a human or a shifter in human form. I needed him to shift to finish my kill.
My mouth watered at the thought, but I was patient enough to wait.
My brothers tried to pull me away, but I turned and snapped at them.
“He’s lost it,” Remy said.
“What’s going on?” Jett asked when the freshman pledges arrived on site.
“He’s not listening to me,” Denny said.
Denny had the authority to at least calm me. He wasn’t my Alpha, but he was Alpha of Delta Omega Gamma, and my wolf would respect that if he had been in his wolf form.
Oscar sighed. “I’ll try.”
The next thing I knew, there was a very large tiger standing before me. I could feel Alpha power coming off him in waves.
“Please don’t do this, Monte,” Zoey cried.
Between the two of them, the anger fled me and I shifted back. I was still mad, but the intense anger and need to protect my mate had waned.
I looked down at the guy and spat next to him.
“Don’t you ever even look at my mate again. And keep your damn hands to yourself.”
“Y-yes sir,” he stuttered, backing up slowly until he turned and ran away.
“Well, that confirms it for sure,” Caleb said. “Monte has officially joined the psycho club, otherwise known as the mating males club. No wonder he punched me for talking about Zoey.”
I hauled off and punched him in the face, but this time I really did feel bad about it.
“Damn it, Monte. I’m not your personal punching bag. Stop hitting me.”
“I’m sorry, Caleb.”
Oscar shifted back to his skin, but as he stood up naked, I quickly shielded Zoey’s view of him and growled.
He took a jacket out of his backpack and covered himself.
“Sorry. Wasn’t expecting to have to do that today,” he confessed.
“You’re a tiger,” I said.
“I am.”
“But you had Alpha powers pouring off you. How is that possible?”
He blew out a breath and shrugged. “Guess that’s what happens when your bio dad is a tiger and your mother comes from a powerful wolf Alpha line.”
“Oh yeah? Which one?”
“Collier Pack.”
I nodded. “Well, that explains it. Thanks for stopping me before I did something I may or may not have regretted.”
“You’re good now?” Denny asked.
I nodded. “As long as that punk doesn’t come anywhere near me anytime soon and no one else decides it’s okay to touch my mate.”
Zoey’s sharp intake of breath was not missed, but I did ignore it.
She was still there. That had to mean something.
I turned to face her. “I’m sorry.”
And then I crushed her to me and kissed her for all to see.
She didn’t exactly kiss me back, but she didn’t push me away either.
“I have some work to do,” she told me.
“I’ll walk you back.”
There was no room for argument, but I could feel her pulling away from me emotionally.
“I’m sorry if I scared you,” I whispered.
“That wasn’t you, Monte. It was like you were possessed or something.”
“They say the bond makes you do crazy things, but I’d rip the throat out of anyone who touched you like that without your permission, with or without the bond.”
That wasn’t entirely true, but I knew it was there. That deep, dark part of me that took pleasure in scaring the shit out of that guy. But that wasn’t who I wanted to be, and I hated that Zoey saw me like that. Still, I would defend her no matter what.