City Alpha

∎Justin∎ Justin Noel still couldn’t believe this was his last year in college. He casually glanced around the large lecture hall and sighed. Professor Matthews was late, again. “Hey, did you hear about the transfer student?” he heard one of his best friends, Cane Wills, whisper. Justin shook his head; he hadn’t heard about it. Although Justin wasn’t all that interested in gossip, he wasn’t surprised that Cane had heard about it. He was the definition of gossip and they could always count on him to update them with the campus gossip. “Who cares?” Martin Reeve, Justin’s other best friend, hissed out in a bored tone. “Well, I heard she is super cute,” Cane remarked defensively, and Justin chuckled just as Professor Matthews finally walked in. Although it didn’t make much of a change as everyone continued chatting or browsing on their phones. As much as Justin wanted this specific lecture to end, he wasn’t sure if he was ready to leave the city. Justin watched as the Professor set up and he glanced down at his study book. “Are you hoping for some action?” Martin suddenly teased and Justin smiled as he could literally feel Cane’s embarrassment. Martin and Cane were two wolves he had met during his first year, almost three years ago. The three of them had instantly realized they were the same kind and immediately became friends. As much as he enjoyed the company of his two friends, Justin had soon figured out that Martin was a beta and Cane was an omega. It didn’t matter to him of course, but it did explain why his friendship with Martin was far stronger. “Settle down!” Professor Matthews shouted out and Justin cringed. The sound of that man’s voice was enough to make him hate this class. However, business is his major and Justin loved the subject. When he had told his parents that he had wanted to go to college to study, they had been ecstatic. That was until Justin had told them that he wanted to go to a college million miles away from home in a rainy city. His mother, Vicky, had immediately said no but his father, Jefferey had considered the options. Justin knew that his father had just wanted to make sure that this was what he wanted and so far, he had no regrets. Although he missed being around the pack, he enjoyed not having to deal with any pack duties or responsibilities. When Justin had first arrived at the college, he had wanted the full experience and was more than happy to room with another boy in the college dorms. Cane and Martin had the same plan but the three of them soon realized their mistake. With all the parties, the loud music, the screaming, shouting, and obnoxious, egotistical males, they realized that living in the dorms had been a mistake. Aside from the distractions, there was also a big lack of privacy. Justin had called his mother and begged for a house off-campus. “Did you email your assignment?” Justin heard Martin question Cane and he rolled his eyes. “What assignment?” Cane whispered with surprise and Martin started to snicker with amusement which eventually turned into loud laughter. Justin hid his laugh as best as he could. Martin enjoyed teasing and pulling pranks and jokes on their innocent friend. “You suck!” Cane snapped when he realized it was a joke. “Are you two quite done?” Professor Matthews asked as he glared at the two of them. It was at this precise moment that Justin started to feel uneasy. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat as he tried his best to concentrate on whatever the professor was teaching. However, Justin’s wolf, Joel, had surfaced and he struggled to get his wolf to calm down and back off.   “What the hell?” Justin questioned him roughly. “Mate!” he hissed out in response. Justin froze at his answer as he quickly looked around the room. Although he didn’t know everyone personally, none of them looked out of place. None of them caught his attention. None of them was his mate. Justin sighed as he continued to have an internal battle with his wolf. Joel was excitedly jumping around, yelling out: “Mate!”. Justin knew that he had to get out of here, otherwise Joel would continue to push through and he didn’t need nor want that. As Justin started to shove his study book into his backpack, the sudden sweet smell of candy floss filled his senses. He slowly sat upright and frowned. Where was the scent coming from? He looked around the room once again but still, no one in here caught his attention. It must be coming from outside the lecture hall. Justin finished packing away his things and just as he was about to stand up, the door to the hall started to open. A sharp tingling sensation crept its way up to his spine as he sat frozen in his seat. His dark blue eyes were glued on the door, waiting for his mate to walk in. Justin held his breath when a young female finally entered the hall. “Mate!” Joel screamed out excitedly and Justin forceable pushed his wolf back. He watched as she headed straight over to Professor Matthews, who hadn’t seen her yet. “Ahem, Professor Matthews,” the girl said, trying to get his attention. Justin quickly squeezed his eyes shut as the sound of her voice hit him harder than anything he had ever experienced before in his life. “Dude, what is wrong?” Martin questioned softly, obviously, he had picked up on the tension radiating off Justin. “Sshh!” Justin hissed out as he continued to calm himself down. “Hmm?” Professor Matthews hummed out and Justin opened his eyes. He wasn’t in complete control but the curiosity to see his mate was far too overwhelming. “I’m Zoey Carter, we spoke via email,” Zoey said as she held out a single white folder. “Here are the assignments that you requested,” she then added. Justin took this moment to take a good look at his mate and he blushed as he continued to stare. This wasn’t like him; he wasn’t the guy who checked out girls in class. “Ah yes, thank you, Miss Carter,” he said as he took the folder from her. “Why don’t you take a seat?” Zoey nodded before turning towards all of us. Justin watched, anxiously, as Zoey scanned the room. When she slowly made her way up the steps, ignoring some of the guys that offered her a seat, Justin concentrated on his breathing. He couldn’t believe his luck when she stopped in his row and sat down just a few seats away from him. The sweet candy floss smell was intoxicating, and Justin wasn’t sure if he would be able to hold out for the remainder of this class. “She is fine!” he heard Cane whisper and it took everything inside of him, not to rip his head off. Zoey glanced around as she got comfortable, and Justin was completely embarrassed when she caught him staring at her. “Right, now…where was I?” Professor Matthews voice went on and on as he continued with the lesson. Justin, however, wasn’t paying much attention to it as he kept sneaking glances over at Zoey. She had the blackest hair he had ever seen, and it shone slightly due to the stream of sunlight that came through the large windows and although it was left to simply hang loose around her shoulders, the desire to run his fingers through it was overwhelmingly strong. “Are you alright?” she suddenly whispered, and Justin tore his gaze away from her soft plump lips to look her in the eyes. He opened his mouth, ready to answer her but he felt like he could lose himself in her soft grey eyes. “Oh, creepy,” she remarked before turning away from him. Justin moaned at his stupidity and as much as he wanted to fix it, he couldn’t. Joel had calmed down, although he was still jumping around, he was no longer trying to break through and claim their mate. Justin grinned as he kept his head down, her scent was driving him insane and the fact that she was sitting so close to him was one hell of a distraction. When Professor Matthews was interrupted by the loud bell that indicated that his lecture time was over, Justin was already out of his seat, rushing toward the exit. As much as he wanted to try and talk to her, he couldn’t. “Dude!” he heard Martin call out for him, but Justin didn’t stop as he left the building and started making his way home. The fresh air helped him but not much. “Justin!” “Justin! Wait up!” Cane shouted out and Justin slowed down so that his friends could catch up. “What the hell is wrong with you?” Martin demanded when he had caught up. “She is my mate,” Justin answered as he continued along the sidewalk. Martin clapped his shoulder, but he paid no attention to it as thoughts of Zoey clouded his mind. “Congratulations, dude!” Martin yelled out. “That’s awesome!” “What’s awesome?” Cane questioned as he tried to catch up to them. Justin stopped and turned around to face them. “How is that awesome?” he complained. “She’s human,” “So?” Martin asked, he obviously didn’t understand what this meant. Justin threw up his hands in frustration before turning back toward their home. “Come on, man, what is so wrong with the fact that she is human?” Justin didn’t bother to answer his question and when he saw their three-bedroom house up ahead, he breathed out a sigh of relief. Martin broke out into a run, rushing ahead to unlock the front door. Justin followed Martin into the house and they both headed straight to the kitchen. “Can someone please tell me what is going on?” Cane questioned when he finally joined them. Justin smiled over at his friend while Martin rolled his eyes. “You know, for a wolf-” “Don’t,” Justin snapped, interrupting Martin’s comment before it came out completely. “The transfer student is my mate,” he informed Cane. “Ooh,” he said as he slapped his forehead. Justin shook his head as he got comfortable on one of the bar stools. “Not only is she his mate, but he is freaking out about it,” Martin said as he dug in the fridge. “Why?” Cane asked Justin. “She’s human,” he pointed out. “I am not human; can you imagine how that would go?” Martin slammed the box of pizza from the night before on the island with a loud thud. “How would that go?” he asked casually as he lifted the lid and took out a slice of the cheesy goodness. “Can you imagine what my mom would say?” Justin could already hear the disappointment in her voice, and he flinched at the thought. “What can she say?” Cane questioned as he too grabbed a slice from the box. His light brown hair hung in his eyes and Justin watched as he brushed away the annoying strands of hair. “I don’t know but she had a problem with me coming here, if I tell her, I met my mate here, she’d freak out even more,” Justin explained with a loud sigh as he pulled the box toward him. “It’s not like you did it on purpose,” Cane pointed out, but Justin just shook his head. They didn’t know his mother. “It doesn’t matter,” he mumbled. “The chances of me even asking her out on a date is well…” his voice trailed off as he glanced over at Martin. “Zero?” Martin offered and he nodded. “Well, you should try, just because she is human, doesn’t mean she isn’t attracted to you,” Justin knew that Martin was just trying to make him feel better, but he knew that the only one who could make him feel better was his father. Justin grabbed the last slice and hopped on the stool before making his way to his room to call his dad.