I was completely on edge as Buck lead me through the trees, up the hill and back to where we’d left our clothes. The boys were talking about something, but my mind was somewhere else – back there with Matias.

How could someone be so beautiful?

But it wasn’t just that. It wasn’t just his physical beauty, or the fact that he was obviously kind and protective. There was something else – an unspoken, ethereal, almost mystical attraction going on there, and I couldn’t help but attribute it to the fact that he was my fated mate.

There was no question. I’d never been so certain about anything in my entire life. Suddenly, Buck’s arm around my shoulder felt alien. It was more that just uncomfortable, it was disgusting. It felt like I was cheating on Matias, even though we’d only just met. I mean – how would he feel if he saw this? I already knew the answer.

Buck’s scent was like a dollar stole candle compared to Matias’s. Cheap perfume, designed to get your attention, but with nothing of substance beneath it, like the cologne the douche bags at my school would wear when they went out “to the club, bro.”

I still felt it in my chest, my lungs, my soul. My heart was like a glowing yellow crystal, vibrating at the same frequency as Matias’s, calling out for him to come to me. My eyes were vacant, staring off into the distance as I pulled my clothes back on and stepped into my shoes. Only when I felt a hand on my shoulder, shaking me, was I shaken out of my stupor.

“Yo, Chase!” It was Will, looking at me like I’d lost my mind. “You still with us, buddy?”

“Huh?” I replied, shaking my head. “Yeah. What’s up?”

“I said, do you want to get some pizza?”

“Oh – uh…” I was stammering like an idiot. “I’m not really hungry.”

“Not hungry? I could eat a fucking horse right now!”

No surprise there…

“What’s gotten into you, buddy?” Buck asked me as he stepped up in front of me, eyeing me like an animal handler. “Got your eye on something? Or somebody?”

I could hear the poking and prodding in his voice. Buck was no dummy, and he had obviously noticed what was going on between Matias and me back there. Part of me wanted to cry out and tell him exactly what I was feeling, but another part of me knew it was a terrible idea.

He wouldn’t believe me. And even if he did, someone as spoiled as Buck would never want to let me go. I was his as far as he was concerned – by default. Until now, I’d been lukewarm about being him with, as I’d never met anyone who really lit a fire inside of me, but now….now things had changed.

“I saw him eyeing that guy back there,” Tyler laughed. “Dreaming about that fat dick in your booty?”

“Jesus Christ, Tyler!” I groaned, rolling my eyes in his direction. But that only made him laugh harder. Nothing made Tyler happier than getting a rise out of someone. It’s what he lived for.

“Don’t deny it,” he went on as he slid into his shirt. “You want that cocccckkk.”

“Do you have to be so vulgar all the time?” I said, growing irritated at how reductive he was being.

“You’re not denying it,” Buck chimed in. I turned back to him and could see the focus in his eyes. He was definitely onto me, and I was feeling the pressure.

Just tell him! I thought. He’d understand…wouldn’t he? Even if he didn’t, it wasn’t like he could just keep me captive. At the end of the day, I was free to leave him if I wanted.

We hadn’t bonded yet. We hadn’t had sex. Hell, I hadn’t even had my heat yet, so it wasn’t like there was anything holding us together beyond his own personal claim to me.

Fuck it, I thought.

“He’s my fated mate,” I said. The words flowed off my tongue like they had a will of their own, and hung there in the air between us like a swell of music, just waiting for the beat to drop.

He stared at me for a long time. Neither of us spoke. I knew Will and Tyler were looking at us, just waiting for his reaction. Finally, a smile came over Buck’s face.

“Heh…” he said, starting to crack up. “Hehehe…haha….hahahahha!”

The tiny snicker grew and burst into a monstrous guffaw, like I’d just said the most absurd thing of my entire life. Tears actually formed in his eyes and he slapped his knee with a palm. As though his amusement were a virus, the other guys started to laugh too.

“Oh, man!” Tyler bellowed. “That dick must have looked real good!”

“Oh, he’s ready for it!” Will chimed in. “Imagine being that fucking turned on! That you instantly fall in love!?”

Their laughter was like needles in my ears, and I felt my cheeks go red with anger and embarrassment.

“Shut up!” I roared. It was so uncharacteristic of me, that the guys actually stopped laughing and looked at me like I was insane. “I’m serious! And I’m going to him. I’m going to be with him.”

I had no idea what I was doing. Something had come over me that I couldn’t explain. The smell of cinnamon and warm chai was still fresh in my nose and I could feel the scent tugging at me like a golden rope, leading back down the hill to the water where Matias was.

No one spoke, so I spun on my heels and began to march back down the hill, but a hand snatched my arm and pulled me back around.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?”

It was Buck, and his eyes were filled with anger. A look was on his face that I’d never seen before. His father had always had a temper, but I’d never known Buck to behave in a similar manner, and seeing him like this sent a chill down my spine.

“I – nothing’s wrong with me—” I began to say, but he cut me right off.

“Oh, something’s wrong with you!” He roared. His hand tightened on my arm so hard that I winced from the pain. “You think after all this I’m going to just let you walk out on me? What do you think my parents would say? Everyone knows you are mine. You’re just going to run off with some random scumbag you meet in the woods? I think not.”

“Buck—”

“Shut up!” He snapped, pulling me back up the hill. He was so much stronger than me. It was impossible to resist. “You can forget about that motherfucker. I’m not going to be embarrassed like that – letting my omega run off on me with some stranger.”

“He’s my fated, Buck!”

“Shut up with that shit!” He roared, pulling me through the trees. I stumbled over fallen branches and thick brush. He was possessed with anger and there was nothing I could do. “There’s no such thing!”

“There is!”

“I said shut up!” He snarled and spun, and I felt the harsh sting of the back of his hand against my cheek. I gasped, and even heard the sounds of surprise from the boys behind me. Buck’s temper had finally reared its ugly head. He leaned in and pointed a finger straight at me. “There’s no such thing. And I don’t want to hear any more about it. Forget him. You’ll never be with him. Never.”