Ashlyn's POV
"Fucking hell," I muttered under my breath as the orange juice dripped from the strands of my hair and into my eyes.
I didn't even know where the restroom was, so I wandered the halls blindly until I stumbled into a door and pushed it open. "Hello? Can anyone point me to the restroom?"
The smell hit me first; sweat, cologne and damp clothes. Fuck! I had wandered into the boys' locker room. I hoped it was empty. But that hope was shattered the moment I heard a voice.
"What are you doing in here, Ashlyn?"
That voice… that throaty voice sounded so familiar. I blinked through the sting of juice in my eyes, wiping them to look at the face that had the voice. It was Noah, and he was shirtless.
His body was a work of art. Clothes seemed like a useless thing that kept me from experiencing the full beauty of the masterpiece that was his body. I couldn't form a single word. I just stood there, mute, drowning in the sight of him.
He studied me from head to toe. "Who did that to you?"
"Not like you care," I muttered.
He studied me again for a long moment, then said softly, "You should leave. It's almost time for practice. You don't want to be here when the boys get here."
"Right," I murmured and turned towards the door. Then I glanced back. "Can you… direct me to the restroom?"
Once he gave me the directions, I followed them. When I got there, I looked in the mirror. My reflection was a sticky, dripping mess. That girl, Odette, had ruined my first day. I refused to let her win. I scrubbed the juice out of my hair and washed my face.
"You're not going to let her get to you," I whispered to myself.
I fixed my hair as best as I could, adjusted my damp clothes, and stepped back into the hallway.
Kayden found me almost immediately. "Hey, I've been looking all over for you."
Eyes followed us, again. The stares were back, again, even more intense than before. I was tired of it. I had had enough.
So, I snapped louder than I meant to: "Why does everyone keep looking at us? I get it, you're the football captain, the main deal, but this feels like more than that. What else are you, Kayden Shaw? And why did you suddenly pick interest in the new girl? I'm not special. I'm not popular like Odette. You don't even know me!"
My eyes burned with unshed tears and the dying need for answers.
Kayden exhaled slowly. He looked around, everyone still watched us keenly. And then, in front of them, he said, "They're staring at you because you're not just walking with the football captain, but the Alpha's son."
The Alpha's son? I swallowed hard.
He stepped closer, lowering his voice. "Earlier, when you bumped into me… it wasn't an accident. The moment you walked into this school, I was drawn to you."
"Drawn to me?" I repeated, shaking my head. "I don't understand."
He looked at me with an intensity that took my breath away. "We howl at the moon not because it answers, but because it is what we crave. Let that be your guide. Find your own moon—"
"And in the silence of the night," I whispered, finishing it for him, "howl for it with everything you have. I read your quote."
Kayden smiled. "Everything I've done up until now was me howling for my moon with everything I had."
He took my hands in his, searching my eyes. "You're my moon, Ashlyn. You're my MATE."
I froze. I couldn't believe my ears. Me? Kayden's mate? I knew what being someone's mate meant for werewolves. It meant I was Kayden's forever. I swallowed as his words sank in.
'I should give him a response or a reaction. I should accept or reject him,' I thought to myself. But I remained frozen because the only thing that ran through my mind, was a terrifying and ridiculous question:
Can my stepbrother be my mate too?
Noah's POV
I'd been trying to articulate it for days, this suffocating feeling I carried with me. But hearing Kayden claim Ashlyn as his mate made it easier to name.
It was want. Ugly, gnawing want.
From the moment I crossed paths with her in the hallway, I hoped she was just the help. It was easier to fuck the help. But when I found out she was going to be my new stepsister, I did what I always did best; retract, pull back and pretend.
But by playing the cold, indifferent jerk, I had accidentally pushed her straight into the arms of the Alpha's son; Kayden Shaw.
I leaned against a locker, watching Ashlyn fumble for a reply with a helpless look on her face as Kayden's confession dropped. The stares, the murmurs, they closed in around her, and I wanted to drag her out of it because I knew what the people of LHN High were capable of doing to her. But instead, I stayed still.
"You don't have to give an answer yet," Kayden told her gently. "I just needed you to know."
Then he pulled her into his arms. And she didn't resist. They remained like that despite the murmurs.
"Come watch me practice," he urged gently.
The corner of her lips curved slightly. "Sure, I'd love to."
I'd seen enough for one day. So, I ditched practice and drove home. I walked into the house, heading straight for my room, when my father's voice stopped me.
"Noah, you're home early," he said. "Where's Ashlyn? We've got news to share with the both of you."
"I don't know where she is, Dad. I'm not her fucking chaperone," I lied, walking past him.
But I knew exactly where she was. She was pressed against Kayden Shaw's chest, wrapped in his orbit. "Fuck!" I breathed, collapsing onto my bed and sighing.
I ran a hand over my face, trying to shake the image that refused to leave my head. "Ashlyn, fuck… why can't you leave my fucking head."
Before I knew it, I was on my feet and in the hallway. I stopped in front of her door, wondering what the inside of her room would look like when she wasn't there. I hesitated and then slowly, I turned the handle. It was unlocked.
Her room smelled like her. Clean, and faintly floral. I shut the door quietly behind me. Her bed was unmade. Clothes were scattered across it; a sweater, a bra folded carelessly, underwear tossed like she'd changed in a hurry. And a comb lying beside them, with strands of her brown hair tangled in its teeth.
I wanted to smell everything, but my gaze snagged on the nightstand. A photograph sat there, framed in silver. Ashlyn stood between her parents. She was younger, and smiling openly. Her father's arm was slung around her shoulders, and her mother leaned into him.
I picked it up and my thumb brushed the glass. So this was the man she refused to let go of. Suddenly, the door opened.
"What are you doing here?"
I turned sharply.
Ashlyn stood frozen in the doorway, with wide eyes and shallow breath. For a second, neither of us spoke.
"I was looking for you," I said easily, tucking the photo back where I found it. "My dad said he had news to share."
Her expression hardened instantly. "Whatever he has to say," she started calmly, "I don't want to hear it. Please leave."
I studied her for a beat. Then nodded once. "Sure."
I walked past her towards the door.
"And Noah," she said softly, without looking at me, "please don't come into my room ever again."
I paused, "Got it."
The door shut closed behind me. Back in my room, I shut my door and leaned back against it, breathing slowly. Then I reached for my pocket, and pulled out a belonging of hers I had snagged; her black laced panties.
I pulled it up to my nose, inhaling it deeply. Ashlyn thought closing the door would keep me out, but she had no idea how deeply she'd already let me in.