His Dawn

4 - Her

AARON

Campus is crawling with students: human, wolf, vampire, even a couple of witches. We are careful to keep the species separated in their dorms, and all the supernatural classes are generally catered to one species or another. We don’t often have many problems or infighting between the students. Nothing out of the ordinary college problems, that is.

I see Alex pacing outside of the Bean Coffeehouse. The scowl on his face is even deeper than normal; his eyebrows furrowed in thoughts, his fists clenching and unclenching at his sides. I bump against Max with my shoulder, tilting my head in the direction of my pacing twin. We head his way with hurried steps.

“Alex! What the hell man? What was so urgent that you needed us here right this very moment?” I ask. I very rarely— if ever— question my brother, or him to me, but I was enjoying a relaxing day at home after all of the last-minute work I had to do the last few days.

“I met a girl.”

We all just stare at him slack jawed, waiting for him to elaborate on that very insightful comment.

“Dude, this campus is crawling with girls,” Dan deadpans.

“She wasn’t just any girl!” Alex growls. Tilting my head, I narrow my eyes at him. Alex is not a wolf that would call us here for no reason. Obviously, to him, this girl is important. Though, he is not quick with the information right now. He just seems agitated; like the encounter with her has left him in a tailspin.

“Just explain, Alex,” I tell him. He sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“I was walking around campus when she ran into me. Just a mass of curly red hair about to barrel straight into me in the middle of campus. She had her sweater off and—”

“Is it really important to note that she wasn’t wearing a jacket?” Max asks, and Dan punches him in the arm. Alex glares.

“If you would let me finish, you would know why I said it!” he huffs before continuing, “I grabbed onto her shoulders— her bare shoulders— and I felt a weird … connection or something.”

“You found your mate?!” That would be great news for my brother, but he waves me off.

“No. I don’t have a mate, but still I could tell the connection wasn’t nearly obvious or potent enough to even possibly be my mate. The connection felt more like what I feel with Nat. So, naturally, I must assume that she is actually your mate, Aaron.”

Callan perks up at the comment. My mate? Could he really have found her? Is she really here on this campus just waiting to be found? I wonder which of the wolves she is.

“Who is she? What's her name? Why didn’t you bring her to me?” I fire the questions at him rapidly; not giving much thought to one before moving to the next. I have so many swirling through my brain right now.

“I didn’t get her name,” he grunts. Of f*****g course, he didn’t. he met the woman who will become my whole world, and he didn’t get her name. I rub the tips of my fingers together; focusing on that feeling so I don’t lash out and snap at my brother.

“What can you tell me about her?” I grit out instead.

“She is a master’s student, and she came out of the science building after her first class.” He shrugs. “Oh, and she likes strawberry tarts,” he adds.

I try to think back on all of the master degree applications I went through. There were not that many this year. I wrack my brain, trying to imagine the pictures on each app to find one that fits Alex’s vague picture.

A mass of curly red hair.

I need to know more. I need to find her.

“Where did she go after you saw her?” I ask.

“We went to the Bean, which is how I know she likes the strawberry tarts, and then she went back to the science building.”

Okay, so probably getting her degree in some type of science. An advanced degree in any field of science requires intense amounts of work, so at the very least, my mate is dedicated and hardworking, if not incredibly smart. That bodes well for a future Luna. I tilt my head back and forth as I consider what my logical next step should be.

“Max and Dan, you two can go back to the pack house. Alex will be there as soon as her next class is out, so he can point her out just in case,” I finally decide. They nod, heading off home without encouraging grins.

“Why do you need me to point her out? You should know who it is,” Alex says.

“I know, but just in case there are too many people around her or something. I just want to be sure.” He nods, clapping a hand to my shoulder.

Alex and I are close, always have been. We have a special bond between the two of us because we shared a womb. It is our twin bond; it allows us to be more perceptive of each other. I would kill or be killed for any of my siblings, but with him there is a deeper connection.

He waits with me in silence; both of us just sitting in the grass outside of the science building. He lounges comfortably, though I know he is almost as on edge as I am. I cannot even attempt nonchalance right now. My spine is ramrod straight, my eyes riveted on the doors as though I could make her appear by sheer will alone.

After an hour, she does.

I don’t need my brother’s helpful hand as he points her out. I don’t need to guess between the hundred other students around her. I am locked onto her body, mind, and wolf the moment her red hair comes bouncing down the marble steps.

And she is perfect.

Tall and thin with bright green eyes that I swear I can see shining from here. Her curls are fiery red and tamed into a knot at her neck. Her lips look soft and pink as she swipes her tongue over them before popping something between her teeth. She smiles at the person next to her, lifting her hand in a wave as they go their separate ways. Her steps bring her my way, and the smell of orchids overwhelms me in the most glorious way.

Then finally— finally— her gaze darts to me, our eyes clashing in an immediately heated stare, and everything in my world, just stops.