The Alpha Bully’s Plus-Size Mate

Chapter 5

AURORA'S POV

"He what?" Maya squealed.

"He kissed me," I said, burying my face into my pillow.

I was back at our dorm recounting the night to Maya after we had gone our separate ways. Once I said it all out loud, I realized how utterly insane it all sounded and wondered if the night had actually happened. Maya shoved my legs aside to sit on my bed. "What do you think that means?"

I sat up. "It means Silas is a huge jerk, and I hope I never see him again."

"What are you going to do about his jacket?"

I looked down at the jacket I was still wearing. Ew. I unzipped and slipped out of it, throwing it across the room. "Maybe I can mail it back to the team, like fanmail or something. Or do you think you could go and return it? Anything that doesn't involve me seeing his dumb face again."

Maya grinned. "I can do that for you. I can't go until this weekend, but I'll do it. I doubt he'll be hounding you about a dang hoodie. And he doesn't know anything about you."

"Exactly. But I just want it returned, just in case. I don't want to risk another run-in."

*****

SILAS'S POV

Aurora Blake. Eighteen years old, freshman at St. Peter's First College, majoring in English. Of course, she looked like the nerdy English type. But based on her grades in high school, she could be anywhere across the country at a better college, so why was she at St. Peter's?

What Aurora Blake was doing in her personal life and with her education was no business or concern of mine. I stared down at the folder in my hand, which was relatively thin. There wasn't much else on her besides a large candid photo of her with her best friend, Maya Rivers, age nineteen, high school transcripts, and current class schedule. Her mom passed when she was young, and she only had her dad, who remarried last year.

Aurora Blake was as boring as they come. But I still wanted to know more about her. What would make her skin crawl and make the sight of me unbearable?

I picked up my phone, flipping through my contacts until I found Sven's number. He picked up in two rings. "Yes, Alpha Silas?"

"I need you to do something for me. You know that girl I had you run for information?"

"Aurora Blake. Of course."

"I need you to put me in one of her classes at St. Peter's."

Sven hesitated. "You're going to college?"

"Don't worry about what I'm doing; just make it happen."

"Your father would be ecstatic to hear you're pursuing academics."

I rolled my eyes, knowing Sven couldn't see my expression. "Don't tell my father. This should stay between us."

"Got it. Yes, sir. I'll have you in class before the end of the week."

"Good man. Thanks, Sven."

He paused. "Is there a particular reason you're so interested in Miss Blake?"

"Another thing that needs to stay between us, Sven. But don't worry about my reasoning for now. The less you know, the better. I'll fill you in once I handle the situation, friend."

"Yes, sir."

I wanted to spill everything to Sven right then, but I couldn't be sure that my phone wasn't somehow being monitored, and I needed to keep my conversations short and to the point. If my father found out I was going to college and basically stalked some freshman at college, he'll file it away as me "trying to get my d**k wet." Which he was so fond of accusing me of doing with everything I did.

Instead, I said goodbye and hung up the phone, staring again at the folder in my hand. There’s only so much this folder could tell. I’d need to dive deeper. And I’d start with Maya.

*****

Maya liked her coffee. She went to a small coffee shop near her dorm several times a day, before class, between classes, and after classes. Her first coffee run of the day was spent with Aurora but the multiple other visits were alone. She had a different schedule than Aurora, who also seemed to like her coffee and made frequent stops. Didn’t these girls have a coffee pot?

Walking into the shop, I saw Maya in what seemed to be her usual seat when she had time to stop and drink there. She had her coffee in one hand and her phone in another, not paying attention as I entered. She was oblivious to anyone who wasn’t in her little bubble. I grabbed my coffee at the counter and walked to where she sat. “Is this chair free?”

She looked up at me, a small o forming on her lips and then a look of disgust. “I know who you are.”

Then I saw it, her eyes flashing. Maya was a shifter. Interesting. I grinned down at her. “I’ll take that as a yes, Maya.”

Plopping down, I sipped my coffee, staring at her. How was Aurora dating a shifter, best friends with a shifter, and not knowing anything? Maya stared at me, the disgust not leaving her face. “If you’re here for your jacket, I don’t have it right now. But I can get it for you. Then you can leave me and my best friend alone.”

“Why doesn’t Aurora know?”

“Know what?”

“That you’re a shifter.”

She paused. “I…haven’t found the right way to tell her. I don’t want to freak her out. She’s my best friend, and I don’t want to lose her.”

I nodded. “Understood. Well, I need you to find a way to tell her sooner.”

“Excuse me?”

I circled the rim of my coffee with my finger. “I need Aurora to know about shifters. I have a personal matter I need to attend to with her that requires her to be aware of shifters.”

Maya narrowed her eyes. “You think you’re going to get anywhere with me by just saying ‘personal matter,’ and I’m going to jump and do what you say?”

“Of course not. I’m sure there’s a way that I can get in your good graces enough, though, that you’ll do as I ask.”

She scoffed. “Yeah, good luck with that. You’ve already made a pretty shitty impression. Insulting my best friend, kissing her, insulting. Really, you’re kind of a d**k, and I rather you have nothing to do with Aurora.”

“I can’t leave her alone until this is settled.”

“You’ll need to fill me in if you expect me to help you. So you might as well spill.”

I sighed. “Aurora is my mate.”

The more often I said it, the more it felt like I was making a declaration and making it so. Maya gasped. “You’re joking.”

I stared into my coffee, not meeting her eyes. “I need her to reject me so that I can move on and claim a suitable mate.”

“A suitable mate?” Maya arched her eyebrow.

“A non-human mate. I can’t be mated to a human.”

“What’s wrong with humans? I find them fascinating. That is why I chose to go to college with them. They’re so…innocent.”

I rolled my eyes. “I don’t need an innocent, human mate. I need someone with social status, power, and can command a pack.”

She sipped her coffee. “So this is about your image, huh?”

“Of course it is.”

“Well, I agree that you shouldn’t mate with Aurora. She deserves someone who worships the ground she walks on. So I’ll help you solely on that fact and nothing to do with how I personally feel about you.”

“You will?”

“I want you as far away from her as possible. Give me some time to speak to her, and in the meantime, just stay away from her.”

I looked away. “About that…I might have enrolled in some of her classes. Or am. I’ll tell Sven to make it just the one, though. Give her a little space.”

“Silas! Why would you enroll in her classes?”

I shrugged. “I need her to hate me, and I need to be around her to make her hate me.”

Maya shook her head. “You’re ridiculous, and that’s a horrible plan.”

“Probably.”

Maya was definitely right.