Apprentices: First Quarter

A New Perspective

“I’m just trying to wake you up before it’s too late. I know you think I’m a jerk, but I care about you, okay? You can hate me all you want, but please, find yourself someone, who won’t give you up in a blink of an eye,” he tells me quietly, his hot breath tickling my ear as he keeps me trapped in his arms.

“Oh, and who’s that supposed to be? You?” I remark sarcastically, bitterness dripping off my tongue with every word. I can feel him shrugging.

“Maybe. I would reject my mate for a girl like you without a second thought,” he says in a casual way, like we were just talking about the weather forecast. I freeze, unable to say anything to that. Finally, he lets me go and steps away, knowing that I won’t try to punch him again.

I turn around in shock, shaking my head. “You can’t mean that. The mate bond is sacred for werewolves. You’re a werewolf,” I observe, unable to comprehend why he would say something like that. He just shrugs in response one more time.

“It’s overrated. It didn’t prevent my mom from cheating on my dad. In that case, I rather don’t meet my mate than have her cheat on me,” he remarks darkly, making all the pieces fall together.

Suddenly, I understand many things about Marcus. Not just his opinion about mate bonds, but also the way he plays around with girls and doesn’t care about his reputation or anything that comes out of his mouth. That’s some heavy s**t.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know,” I mumble, all my anger melting away. He shrugs again, clearly feeling uncomfortable, talking about it.

“It’s not something someone would like to brag about, is it?” he remarks, letting out a long breath. Then, he clasps his hands together, putting a smile on his face again. “What do you say we go take a shower, then meet up for lunch?” he suggests.

I can’t switch the button for my mood so quickly, so I just nod solemnly, not knowing how to act around him now. “Yeah, okay. Sure,” I tell him, scratching the back of my head awkwardly. Marcus tilts his head at me.

“Don’t be nice to me now. I’ll think that something’s wrong. Or that you’re starting to like me a little more than you care to admit,” he remarks jokingly, making a small smile appear on my face. I bump his shoulder playfully, not knowing what else to do.

“I wouldn’t go that far,” I simply say, surprised that I don’t have the need to say something offensive anymore. I then motion with my head towards the school. “Let’s go now. I don’t want to miss lunch.”

We both head our separate ways once we reach the hallway to the dorms, but until then, our conversation is at least civil. It hasn’t been that way in a long time. I keep thinking about what he told me in the playfield as I take a quick shower, then change into fresh clothes.

I understand where he’s coming from. I truly do now. But even if he thinks he’s right and he might be, I don’t want to end things with Jake. Can’t I just enjoy it, while it lasts? His birthday isn’t until January and many things can happen until then, right? And it’s not like his mate will just jump out of nowhere the moment he turns eighteen. It doesn’t work that way.

Sighing, I brush these thoughts aside, deciding that they’re not important. I’ve already made up my mind and I won’t change it. I want to be with Jake, no matter the cost. And no matter the hurt that might come with it.

But the moment I stop thinking about him, dark clouds cover my mind. I’m back with my aunt, thinking through everything she told me when she visited me after Cincinnati. Why tell me about my father then? Why not sooner? Was she not allowed to? Does she keep in touch with someone, who could forbid her from it, like her sister?

Everything is just so unbelievable, it makes no sense. And with all the secrets that my aunt kept from me and all the times she lied … Why wouldn’t she lie about keeping in touch with my mother as well? I’m not sure if I can trust her anymore. Not after everything she chose not to tell me.

I get to the cafeteria in a bad mood, knowing that it’s written all over my face that others should stay the hell away from me. Luckily, not many students are in there, because they still aren’t back from visiting the graves. Great. Less eyes to stare at me.

I’ve been getting even more attention after the events in Cincinnati. But it’s not the kind I was getting after I attacked Sheila and the whole school thought I was a monster. Nope, I’m being admired again. To be honest, I couldn’t care less about my popularity.

At the beginning of the school year, it was all about beating Sheila. Now? For all I care, my peers could be walking past me without sending a glance my way and I would be perfectly content. I have other things to worry about. Much more important things.

Marcus is already sitting behind our table, stuffing his mouth. He waves at me shortly, then points to the counter. He makes a gesture that lets me know the food is delicious today. I shake my head and head there, not letting a small smile appear on my face until my back is turned against him. I really don’t want him to think that I like him all of a sudden.

As I join him behind the table, we don’t start talking immediately. I still feel a little awkward about everything he’s said to me outside and the things he revealed about his family. You don’t just say that to anyone, so in a way, I almost feel like he confided in me a little too much. We’re not even that close in the first place. Most of the time we bicker.

Maybe that’s why he said all that stuff. Maybe he wanted us to grow closer, forget about some disagreements. Like him sucking at my n*****s and sticking his hand into my pants when our deal was that he can only grab my boobs. f**k, Evelyn, don’t let your mind wander there. Stupid invasive thoughts.

“Not to be rude or anything, but you look like a ripe tomato. And it’s chilly in here. What the hell are you thinking about?” Marcus suddenly asks, making me flinch in surprise. My fork somehow manages to fly through the air, landing on the ground three feet away from where I’m sitting.

I curse under my breath, completely ignoring what Marcus just said and rather dive for the fork. I take it with me to put it away, then grab a new one. As I sit back down, Marcus is laughing his ass off, clearly amused by my embarrassing performance.

“Wow, that must have been one dirty thought to make you so nervous,” he keeps teasing me, making me let out a frustrated breath. “Was it about me?” he wonders with a sly smile, while I grip my fork angrily.

“Marcus, I swear I’ll castrate you with this fork if you don’t stop saying such stuff,” I grit through my teeth, feeling the heat still flaming in my cheeks. But it’s not from anger as much as it is from the embarrassment. Because he was right. I was thinking about him. Not on purpose, but damn he knows how to handle some stuff. s**t, what’s wrong with me?!

He laughs again, raising his hands in defense. “Just stating the facts. You can’t spend so much time with me and be immune to my charms,” he remarks, puffing his chest proudly. I raise an eyebrow. Well, yes, he’s attractive. But does that mean I would do him? Nope.

“Oh, believe me, it’s completely possible,” I respond, then glance at my plate. “Can you please let me finish my lunch now, before I puke all over it? You’re making me sick,” I add, referring to his suggestive comments. He smiles dramatically pointing towards the ceiling.

“Ah, thank you universe, that’s the Evelyn Pierce I know and adore,” he preaches loudly, probably making the whole cafeteria hear him. Great. Like I’m not getting enough attention these days. I roll my eyes at him, returning back to my meal. I hope our friends get back soon enough. Before I strangle him. I don’t want to answer to Jake for disabling his only beta.

Strangely enough, Marcus and I spend time together even after lunch. We head back outside to practice some more martial arts. I don’t get to beat him every time, but it feels good to move a little and get worries off my mind. He even asks me how I’m doing about the whole investigation-of-my-mother thing.

I don’t want to tell him much, but at the same time, his question provokes me. So, instead of giving him a straight answer or just lying about it, I land a strong punch at his stomach. I’m not sure how I manage to do that, because he’s been keeping up a pretty good defense, but it makes him double over and catch his breath.

I lean down in worry, feeling sorry that I hit him so hard. “Damn, I didn’t mean to do that, I’m so sorry. Are you okay?” I ask, waiting for him to start breathing normally again. Once he does, he finally straightens up, shaking his head.

“You know … It’s fine … I brought this upon myself … But that’s one hell of an answer,” he remarks in between taking breaths, making me send him a sheepish smile.

“It’s a sensitive subject,” I explain, trying not to sound too defensive. Luckily my small smile eases the effect and Marcus just shrugs in response.

“It’s fine. I understand,” he lets me know.

We practice a little more, until finally some familiar faces start coming to the school. First, Marcus greets some of his schoolmates, then I greet some of mine, until finally, Jake’s face comes into the picture. His face darkens a little as he sees me together with Marcus, but he hides his feelings the moment I run towards him and jump into his arms.

He twirls me around, chuckling at my greeting. “Missed me?” he wants to know as he puts me down and I smile up at him.

“I’m very happy to see you,” I confirm, letting him plant a deep kiss on my lips. It awakens butterflies inside my stomach, leaving me all giddy inside. Once he lets go of me, my knees are almost too weak for me to walk. But I pull myself together, knowing that I can’t just melt into a puddle the moment Jake gives me five minutes of his attention.

We walk towards Marcus, Jake asking me how I’ve been doing today. I explain everything that I did, leaving out the little advice that I got from his beta. I don’t want to see them jumping at each other again. I’m alone. There’s no way I could pull them apart.

We all head inside because the air is getting a little chilly. By the time for dinner, we’re all already gathered in Katie’s room, talking about how we spent our time apart. It feels nice to chat about some normal stuff instead of things that might change our whole lives.

I miss the times that my only worry was passing all my classes. Because now … Now I know how the real world looks like. And once you take a dive in, you can never get out again.