Her Forbidden Mate

Chapter 4

On the first day of class, Isabella awoke bright and early. She had barely slept a wink the night before in anticipation of the day ahead. Her clothes were already laid out on the bed, all long sleeves and gloves to cover her scars, and on her face, she wore a surgical mask with her hair hanging over her face. She looked like a patient instead of a student.

After looking at herself in the mirror to make sure that all her scars were covered, she picked up her bag and walked out the door. As soon as her door closed, the one next to her opened, revealing Tyler carrying a backpack, and suddenly Isabella’s heart began to flutter. Never in her wildest dreams, did she think she would be living next door to the one boy whose smile made her entire body feel like jello. Her eyes then traced down his face watching his Adams apple bob, as the image of her kissing it popped into her head. She then quickly averted her gaze hoping he didn't see. It was strange how after so many years of having crushes, this was the first time that Isabella had to stop herself from confessing her undying love or in her case infatuation.

Tyler looked at Isabella and smiled. “Good morning? On your way to class?” He asked, in that deep voice that sent chills down her spine.

What the hell is wrong with me? She thought, but said, “Yeah,” she then quickly started walking toward the elevator, afraid that she might say something stupid, that would scare him away, or to her horror, make him want to get to know her more.

“Why are you so covered up? Are you sick or something?” Tyler asked, giving her the once over, both as a way to check her out and make sure that she was ok.

Isabella shook her head then said in barely a whisper, “Or something.”

“What was that?” He asked. Normally his hearing was extraordinary, which was one of the perks of being a werewolf; however, he was too focused on trying to see what she looked like to pay attention to what she said.

“It’s nothing. I’m just in a hurry, first day and all,” she said in an attempt to change the subject. As they walked the short distance down the hall, other students started to pour out of their rooms. When they saw Tyler the majority of the girls looked at him with lust-filled eyes and greeted him enthusiastically, but the guys all either looked at him with fear in their eyes or admiration. No one dared to look at him with disgust or disdain.

“Tyler hey. I was hoping to run into you this morning,” Rebecca said, in a chipper voice that sounded almost flirtatious to Isabella. Tyler on the other hand said nothing, instead, he spotted a friend and walked away from the girls, not even giving Rebecca so much as a glance. Leaving an angry Rebecca with a confused Isabella.

Bitting back her anger Rebecca looked at Isabella and said, “Isabell, right?”

“Isabella but Isabell is fine,” Isabella said, lowering her head, unsure of how to face her.

“Right, sorry. Isabella, my mistake. Are you on your way to class?” Rebecca asked. Her eyes shifted back and forward between Isabella and Tyler. The latter of whom wasn't paying her any attention.

“Machine learning for Molecular Engineering, it’s my first elective,” Isabella said, trying to sound perky and confident. Although, making friends was not what she went to school for, just the thought of having a real one, made Isabella happy. Especially since the only real friends she had growing up were her adoptive family. Everyone else, either treated her like a spectacle or a punching bag and she hoped that Rebecca would be different.

"Really, that’s amazing. You really are an overachiever.” Rebecca said trying to sound happy for her, but coming off as bitter and jealous. It was a tone Isabella knew oh so well, and she was debating if she should continue trying to pursue a friendship with the girl.

Isabella waved her hands back and forward and said, “Not really, it’s just something I have always been interested in.”

“Of course, then I won’t keep you,” Rebecca said. Isabella started to walk away, but Rebecca stopped her, “I forgot to tell you. It’s best if you avoid Tyler.”

Isabella looked over to where Tyler was and saw him laughing and joking with another student. She then looked back at Rebecca and understood instantly what she was saying. Rebecca liked Tyler and wanted Isabella to stay away from him. And while she had no plans of getting close to him. This feeling inside her, felt the need to challenge Rebecca's claim so she said, “Why, he seems nice?” in as sweet a voice as possible.

Rebecca shook her head, then threw her arm around Isabella’s shoulder as if they were best friends, “He might seem nice, but that man is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Everyone here knows his reputation trust me on this, you will thank me for it later,” she warned.

Isabella nodded then without another word, walked with Rebecca to the elevator and pushed the button for her floor. The moment they entered, Tyler followed with one of his friends. He didn't say anything to either of the girls, not because he didn't want to talk to Isabella, but because he heard what Rebecca said, and he didn't want to blow up in front of Isabella. The last thing he wanted to do was scare her away before they even had a chance. “Come on you have to come,” The guy standing next to Tyler said, pulling him back into the conversation. He was about the same height and build as Tyler with caramel skin and a wide smile that always helped him get what he wanted.

Tyler shook his head, “I told you Rus I can’t go. I have to go back to my parents’ house this weekend,” Tyler said, with a hint of disappointment in his voice and at the same time, stealing glances at Isabella who was attempting to avoid him.

“Since when do you care about what your parents say?” Rus asked annoyed at Tyler’s response. Of course he understood the reason why Tyler wouldn't disobey his father, but at the same time it still sucked.

“Since my father threatened to cut me off if I didn’t obey him,” Tyler said. Which was a lie. What his father actually said was if he didn’t show up he would throw him down a well for 24hrs. To many, this may have seemed like a joke, but in Tyler’s experience, this was reality. When he was 11 years old and attempted to challenge the alpha, his father threw him in a well without so much of a thought and ever since that day, he had been terrified of his father.

“Oh. But still, this party is going to be so worth it. It’s the first one of the school year, and you know that the ladies are going to be expecting us,” Rus said. On instinct, Tyler's eyes shifted to Isabella for just a second as if he were trying to read her thoughts or catch a glimpse of her feelings. But before he could see anything, Rebecca linked her arm with Isabella and practically pulled her off the elevator.

Disappointed and dejected, Tyler got off the elevator and began walking in the same direction as Isabella with Rus following behind him.