She didn’t know what was happening.

Or maybe she did.

She was talking to a male classmate of hers with a polite smile on. She had dropped her pencil case back in the class like usual – she always forgets something back at least once – and he had caught on to that fact, so he didn’t hesitate to rush behind her to give it back. He smiled at her, and she smiled back at him before realizing she hadn’t actually thanked him. That was it; literally, but she didn’t know why she was being held by the wrist by a very pissed off Sehun, whose nostrils were flaring in anger – since apparently she did something horrible – and was being dragged towards the car harshly.

“Get in,” Sehun all but growled furiously, his eyes flashing bright, angry yellow, and his fangs halfway protruding out of his upper gums – for a fleeting second, he was more of a vampire than he was a werewolf – She stared back at him cluelessly; trying to force his tight grip off of her wrist so that she could get in.

“Sehun, let go of me.” She tried to say calmly, holding on to her own anger because every werewolf who was on a close proximity to them was watching them, looking highly amused, the fact they were still close to the school premises wasn’t helping anyone. Why was he picking her up anyway?

“Maybe if you got your inside the vehicle, I will.” He shot her another highly irritated look, eyes still bright yellow, while he used his free hand to open the door of his large car roughly, yanking her closer – and ignoring her yelp – so that she’d shut up and ride the damn car.

She did as she was told, and in the process, Sehun released her hand. However, he did it in such a violent way that her hand smacked on the rear mirror of the door she was trying to hoist herself up onto, and she winced, dropping herself on the seat lazily before cradling her hands up to her face.

She jumped in her seat when Sehun smacked her door close harshly; releasing a loud noise that made her heartbeats fly to , which she was forced to swallow down to regulate them. She watched him with wide eyes, as he rounded the car of his so that he’d reach the driver seat, where he violently jumped in and closed the door, evoking another flinching reaction out of her.

She was actually scared a little of this Sehun, the version that was utterly pissed because she was talking to another werewolf – whom was harmless, mind him – and was going to hurt her by pure anger. He was mostly careless, annoying, and even slightly playful, but he had never hurt her. She never was really scared of him, but now that she truly was, she didn’t know if it was safe around him.

He started the car and drove away from the parking lot in the midst of eyes and gossip from everyone around her. Heartbeats racing, she stared down at her hands again, finding the hand she smacked on the rear mirror pulsing with heat and a dull kind of throb, all of her fingers red because of the blood gathering around her fist. She lifted her eyes upwards to the wrist of the same hand, and found three purple finger marks wrapped there.

Sehun forgot she was only human.

She didn’t know what was happening, he didn’t allow her to explain. One second, he was glowering at the guy like a possessive cat, and the next second he was pulling her away like she had committed a crime. Her lips trembled and she bit on them, curling her hands around her carefully so he wouldn’t know he had seriously hurt her.

She didn’t say anything for a whole half a minute, and he didn’t say anything either. He was having trouble stabilizing his breathing, she could hear his chest falling up and down – he was incredibly angry – but he at least, was trying to calm himself, and she appreciated the effort. However, she couldn’t even look at him.

“Did you see the way he was looking at you?” She heard him murmur blankly; and she didn’t feel him looking at her, so she didn’t look at him as well.

She didn’t answer, pursing her lips harshly and hoping she wouldn’t throw her pencil case on his face. She was incredibly angry too.

“How many times do we have to tell you of how rare a mate is? Do you know just how many mouthes there are ready to devour you?” His voice was starting to shake, raising up, and she pursed her lips more, her hands curling up around one another harshly despite the small throb of pain her wrist released at the gesture. She hoped she wouldn’t say anything to fuel more of his anger.

“God, we always have to save you from these kinds of situations. I knew enrolling you in a school was a bad decision!” This sentence of his was louder than usual, louder than Sehun could ever make his voice be, and she couldn’t hold not to stare at him in disbelieve anymore.

“What the are you even saying? I should shop my education because of some stupid, werewolves who’d die to lie hands on me?”

“That is exactly what I’m saying!” Sehun raised one of his hands from the steering wheel only to smack it back again, and she flinched. Sehun didn’t notice. “That is exactly how it should have been! Don’t you see it? We are trying to protect you!”

“Bull!” She raised her voice as loud as his was. “You don’t give a about my safety, you just don’t want to lose what is yours. I’ve been living more than seventeen years of my life knowing of your god damn existence and not even once did a werewolf approach me to have me as a mate. It’s all in your heads!”

“Oh for ’s sakes,” Sehun released a small, unamused chuckle, and the sound of it, unconsciously, ripped every piece of her heart that she was trying to glue together all of these years. “I knew you didn’t believe Minseok Hyung’s words when he explained everything to you. You’re so ing stupid.”

“You are so ing stupid, and an , and an idiot. And I hate you!”

“There are a lot of ands in your sentence!” He shouted back, not caring about the fact she actually told him she hated him – she didn’t even think he’d care, honestly; despite not entirely meaning her words. She didn’t hate him, she doesn’t think she could ever hate him with the mate bond wrapped around her neck so tightly. She tried to actually harbor any sort of negative feelings for them when she really needed to, but she always return to being indifferent and careless. Even though she could never hate him – or them – she couldn’t love them either, and she was glad a bond as strong as a mate could still not force that feeling within her.

She wanted to fall in love with them willingly.

But Sehun was making it really, really hard.

The remaining ride home was quiet; filled with tension and steaming hot sphere. She didn’t care enough to try to fix it, and she didn’t believe she was obligated to do so either, since she wasn’t the one who got all upset and dragged him to a car.

However, she couldn’t help the muted throb of her heart, and the clenching of her chest. She knew why she was absolutely affected by whatever he did, but she didn’t want to embrace that, because if she did, she’d give him a bigger hand in hurting her again, and again, and again. He was childish, and young, and immature, so there was no guarantee he wouldn’t throw such a stunt like this again.

The car drew to a screeching halt and she was already yanking the door open forcefully, dragging her feet down the ground and pulling her helpless bag along with her with another yank. She closed the door smack harshly and flew her way towards the house, Sehun hot on her trails with an invisible steamy smoke coming out of his ears.

When she entered the house looking – and sounding – pissed off, the boys sitting in the living room overlooking the door all turned to look at her with wide eyes, especially with how furiously she was stomping her feet and trying to get away from Sehun.

She did try to get away from him, aiming for the staircase and ignoring the curious question marks floating all over the boys’ heads, but Sehun was fast – every werewolf was – and he caught on to her very quickly, his hand reaching out to latch on her very swollen wrist, making her hiss.

“Wait a ing second, I’m not exactly done talking to you!”

Swirling around to face him, her face burned red; and her eyes were starting to get watery – without her consent. She was never one to get yelled at, even her own parents didn’t yell at her in the ferocity Sehun was currently using – her heartbeats were wild, running in irregular pattern, and the presence of the boys standing up to check what was happening didn’t seem to help.

“Well, I’m done talking to you!” She let out harshly, in the same tone he was using, loud and vivid, and once he actually saw the unshed tears in her eyes, she sensed his entire demeanor stiffening, his eyes growing wider than a fraction before. She didn’t comment. “I didn’t even do anything wrong aside existing in the same proximity as his and having him notice my pencil case and here you are shouting at my face about my importance as if it’s really there in your heart!”

Her words seemed like a slap to the face not only to Sehun, but everyone else. Their faces contorted into various expressions all at once, from wonder and curiosity to surprise and bafflement, before settling on pain and discomfort. None of them liked what she told them, as if she genuinely believed they didn’t care about her aside the idea of her being their mate. Sure, they didn’t really show her, since they in that department – feelings? Those weren’t the werewolves’s department of expertise – but they’ve been around each other for more than five months now, sleeping, e