Chương 78: NEWS OF REBEL

Wolfie was pretty quiet once everyone was in school. Mrs. Henderson entered the class unannounced. Really, Wolfie! I would think a "Ding! Teacher approaches" would be useful. Wolfie remained silent. It seemed like it had tired itself out playing radar just now. I wondered if it was practicing. Like me, maybe it was also growing and learning new things every day. Maybe I could teach it names and numbers. Wolves are smart, right? We took attendance, and then Mrs. Henderson gave us the period off for self-study.

She graciously handed the class to Liam and Arlene and left for the teachers' lounge to mark papers. Mrs. Henderson seemed to have a lot of papers to mark. It was like her main job as a teacher was to mark papers; getting to teach in front of an actual class was just a necessary formality. First, the boys left the classroom yelling "football" and "Liam" because the weather today was rather nice. In fact, the weather was so nice, all the kids might want to go outside… And they did.

I narrowed my eyes and turned to Maria.

"I had something to tell you," she explained.

"So you mind-controlled the entire class to leave?"

"I only suggested to the humans. The wolves were all leaving anyway."

"What did you want to tell me?" Her dark flame darkened again; her eyes gleamed.

"I found information on your boyfriend," she told me.

"I don't have a boyfriend," I growled. The joke was long over, Maria. But then she handed me a piece of magazine paper. It was very neatly folded into quarters. I looked at her. She smiled so smugly I realized the sheet of magazine paper must be significant. I unfolded the magazine page; it opened up to an ad. There was a large maroon R printed in a circle in the middle of the page. And then the main caption: "The Rebel from Ventali."

"Watch the fight live," followed by a list of dates, covens, and cage numbers. The background of the entire page was a dark photo. It looked like a very dark stage—so dark the man it featured looked like a silhouette. But studying it longer, I could see him: a mop of wild dark curls, tightly muscle-bound and shirtless, tight, tight pants and boots. He held, with one arm above his head in triumph, what looked like a head torn off.

Maroon ink covered half his face and body, the same color as the "R" emblem printed above him on the poster. If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it. Bra's description suddenly repeated in my head: "The best at fighting and f***ing." It was all dark, though. The lighting was so bad. Maybe all men looked the same in bad lighting. Because in this picture, from head to toe, Rebel did look a lot like… {Mate?} Wolfie took interest.

It did look a lot like Dumbbell. Even the blood was spot-on. Was Dumbbell Rebel? Hmmm… Maria's amusement flooded my mind. I realized too late that the vamp was reading my thoughts as I studied the poster. I growled. She fled my mind. She didn't need to be told to run for her life.

"Your boyfriend's going to be traveling around," Maria said in a bid to distract my anger toward her intrusion.

"His tour ends at the Central Covens. He must be strong. That is the most popular fight cage on this continent," she added.

"He'll have to be really strong to survive the fights there." I growled… but I'd long forgotten Maria's intrusion. My wolf was pacing. It was agitated. {Mine, mine, mine.} We don't know that for sure. He just looks like Dumbbell. But it's just a poster. It's really dark and obviously edited, too… My wolf whined. I put my hand over my mouth to stop the sound from coming out. I swallowed. No, Wolfie. It's just a picture. I sighed. Who knew the mate bond would be so perturbing?

I haven't even met the man yet, and already my wolf had claimed him with such fierce protectiveness I could barely rein her in. Who knew that my cool, calculating Alpha wolf would become this whiny mush when it came to her mate? I'm in deep poop. It might actually be better if I never met the man at all. You know what they say—beautiful men are nothing but trouble. Okay, nobody ever said that. I folded the picture so I wouldn't have to look at it anymore. Wolfie protested at putting mate away.

That's not him, Wolfie. Lots of guys can look like that. Yeah, and lots of guys wear tight leather pants and boots. I sighed heavily, then checked to make sure Maria was not anywhere in my head. Maria was politely waiting outside my mind, next to me. She must have sensed not to aggravate me further. After a while, she said aloud, "I have something to do." She got up to leave.

"Maria?" I said.

"Thanks." I sounded miserable even to me.

"You can keep that," Maria said, sounding almost kind. I looked at the folded magazine page in my hand. It was already crumpled. I smoothed it out and carefully put it in my bag, then sighed again. I was too young to be dealing with this kind of thing. I hadn't even shifted yet! Goddess, get your act together! The more I thought about it, the angrier I was. I was angry at Goddess for setting me up in this predicament. I was angry at Dumbbell for looking like Rebel.

I was angry at Rebel for getting himself caught by rogues and sold to a fight cage. I was angry at Wolfie for being so weak at just the sight of a highly photoshopped photo of not-our-mate. And I was just angry… Because I was only 15, no, I hadn't even turned 15 yet. I hadn't shifted. And there was no way I could go save my mate—I mean, Rebel—and check if he was indeed my mate. Whatever. I don't care. He can fight and f*** himself to death. I was fine on my own. Wolfie howled heartbreakingly at the possibility.

Get yourself together. By now, I've had it with my wolf. If she's going to be this emo mush now, how would she face him in person? She might just lie down and let him use her as a furry floor mat. Stupid wolf. If it does turn out to be Rebel, remember his prophecy: he won't take a Luna. We will completely lose him if we give in. And at that moment, I realized I couldn't let that happen. Even if my Wolfie would happily concede to Dumbbell, I would not. Especially if he turned out to be Rebel. I could not.

For all our sakes, I must be the Alpha. I will protect my pack. I will protect the happiness of those around me. And I will rescue my mate. Goddess, if you help me rescue my mate, I promise I will free as many bonded Lycans as you send my way. Wolfie had grown suddenly subdued. The strength of my heart was pulsating strongly; the power surged in waves, over and over again. And I fell asleep on my desk—Wolfie standing guard.