The pull she felt toward this stranger made her breathless. Elena couldn’t stop staring at the dark God over there.

His facial features were perfectly balanced and masculine, with a strong square jaw, beautiful nose slightly crocked on one side, like a fighter’s, and a funny mess of raven hairs that were kissing his face in a way that Elena wanted to touch them. And his eyes... their colour was unbelievable. It seemed that a piece of sky was trapped into his eyes.

When Rex dropped her, she barely realised it and had to grab the door handler not to splash on the floor.

“Mate mate mateee!” Her wolf was howling like crazy, making her heartbeat furious.

“Go to mate! Go to mate!”

Elena was feeling so overwhelmed.

She wanted to run to him but her feet and all joints were like melted. The word mate made sense now. And so the stories she had heard all her life: on how mates make you feel and turn your world upside around, on how her parents couldn’t separate each other for more than a couple of hours, on how you feel complete.

She couldn’t stop absorbing his presence, his facial and physical details. My god, he was so tall and huge, his arms looked like tree’s trunks and shoulders so board, like the wardrobe back in her room.

He made Rex look like a sardine, and Rex had always been one of the biggest guys she had ever seen. Elena wondered, in her dreamy state, who he could be. And why was he talking to Black Devil Gamma? And why didn’t he detect her?

When a puff of air ruffled her hair and her very-warmed-face, she knew why. The vents of the gym threw air flows at her direction, so he probably didn’t recognise her smell… yet.

As soon as she thought that, he stopped talking. And it was quite funny to watch: his mouth still parted because he was about to say something, his eyes first dilated and then furrowed, while his huge posture stiffen. His head turned, searching around, distracted by something…

From the corner of her eyes, Elena noticed Gamma Rolando staring at him with a puzzled and funny look… why was he talking to her mate anyway? Was he another teacher with whom Elena didn’t have classes? But he seemed too young to be a professor… so who was he?!

When her gorgeous mate scanned the crowded room, sniffing the air a couple of times, his eyes flashed a dark shade of blue. Elena gnawed on the inside of her lip. Million of butterflies were exploding inside her, while Titilas was jumping inside her head chanting the word mate. He must have caught her smell anyway, his sense of smell was impressive.

And then, after one more second of searching, he looked at her direction and saw her.

Their eyes locked instantly.

They weren’t very near, Elena was at the secondary door of the hall, just about to leave, opposite to where he was standing, at the main entrance.

But the distance didn’t matter, and the entire world vanished… there were only the two of them, staring at each other in their private, magical bubble.

The mix of reactions that passed through his face was like a carousel of emotions: confusion, recognition, surprise and then pure shock. His mouth parted and his eyes almost black, he couldn’t believe his mate was there staring at him, staring at Black Alpha…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Black Alpha ~ 10 minutes earlier

When Mirko stretched his big arms over his head and then folded his hands behind his head, lazily looking at Redwood High, Craken started pacing with agitation. That was a first, since his wolf was never scared about anything.

"Hate being a student, Crak? Don’t worry we won’t be attending any class this week, but you knew that.’ Mirko scoffed at his wolf.

’There’s someone in the school, I can sense it.’ Craken growled, growing uneasy.

’Well yes many students from Full Moon are on our territory’ Mirko said bored, while entering the school.

Several students petrified on the spot, seeing their Alpha there, other bowed their heads, while the word Alpha was murmured with a holy tone.

’It’s not that, egg head!’ Craken blurted with his short temper already on fire.

’I already sniffed those younglings way before you did.’

Mirko chuckled internally, maintaining his stoic face in front of the student population. He couldn’t start laughing like a nutty wolf while they were saluting him.

’Then what is it? I don’t feel anything different, furry head!’ Mirko retorted, grinning.

“A-Alpha.”

One of the teachers greeted him, adjusting her thick glasses with her unsteady hand. “W-welcome b-b-b-ack.” She stuttered, avoiding his stare and pointedly looking at her shoes.

Mirko sighed at the trembling leaf in front of him. “Thanks Maria.”

‘Argh!’ Craken sneered. ’Everyone is scared of me’ He continued with a proud voice.

’You mean US.’ Mirko replied, rolling his eyes at his moody wolf, barely realising that his action made two little students stumbled on each other and fell in a mess of arms and legs.

“S-sorry A-A-Alph-“ One of them stammered, with a mortified face. With another sigh, Mirko offered his hand to the tiny boy who probably thought he rolled his eyes at him.

’You made them fall on the floooor!’ Craken was laughing so much, he sounded like a boat motor that wasn’t switching on.

‘The giant has arrived!! Run away little students!’ Craken continued to mock him. Mirko helped the boy, with a grimace that was supposed to resemble a smile.

He was a bit bored by his pack members fearing him. Aware that his size was bigger than the average Alpha man and his wolf resembled more a prehistoric beast than an average mammal, he didn’t mistreat any of them though.

′Hey! Mammal who?’ Craken complained.

When he reached the gym, Rolando and several senior students greeted him. Most of them were from his pack but he knew Full Moon’s and rogues were still around.

He wanted to check his Beta’s mate, conscious that Crucifero had forbidden both Rolando and him to talk to his mate.

Mirko only accepted because he had to meet Alpha Giacomo to discuss how to proceed, although obvious: this famous Marco was going to move in with them. At Black Devil’s.

Also, there was the issue of Lord Skull pack and its mad Alpha Ciro.

Full Moon had reported an ambush from Ciro’s infiltrators but Alpha Giacomo managed it well. Many considered him a good leader, but Mirko thought he had too many soft spots. Not to mention his easy training practises.

“Black Alpha.” Rolando saluted him with a nod. Mirko smiled at his friend who didn’t need to address him as Alpha, but he was doing it no matter what.

“Cunning Fox.” He replied, knowing that his Gamma hated that name. “How are we doing here?” He continued, eyeing the large group of Black Devil students standing there, whispering among each other.

“The training went well, Crucifero has got a feisty mate.” Rolando chuckled lowly. “He defeated Brad in less then 10 minutes.” He declared, making Mirko lift his eyebrows.

“Impressive. Think this so-called mate could be a good beta mate then.” Mirko murmured, still a little shocked that his ferocious Beta had a breathing mate.

“If Cruci doesn’t make him run away.” Rolando chuckled, quickly covering his mouth ~ he didn’t want his students to see his tenderness, only reserved to a tiny circle of people.

“Do you want to bet?” Mirko grinned.

“Deal. I bet he won’t last two months. If that’s the case, then you must dress my t-shirt I love hunicorns for a whole week.” Rolando proposed with cunning eyes. “You know the one my vindictive mate made me wear when I forgot our anniversary?”

The amused face of Rolando was contagious, and Mirko laughed.

“Deal. But if you loose, then you will…”

When Mirko was about to add one more detail, his wolf, strangely silent until then, started to howl and tried to take control.

’Craken! What the f++k!’ Mirko’s angry voice yelled at him, pushing him back and stopping the shift. There was no need for people to faint and scream at the sigh of a crazy Craken.

His interior fight made him receive a confused stare from Rolando.

But then, a faded scent of honey and vanilla made his blood boil and a growl rose from his throat. Mirko sniffed the air a couple of times to catch that peculiar hint, among several other smells, some boring and some disgusting.

Craken was uncontrollable. ’Follow the smell! Follow it!!!!! NOW!’ He was shouting.

With all his overdeveloped senses in alert, Mirko didn’t need to be told twice. A sudden tickling sensation made all his hairs raise: someone was staring at him.

So, he turned toward that particular glare, and that was the moment he saw her.

The most beautiful thing he had ever seen in all his years of life. She was there, standing. One little hand was grabbing the side of the door like she needed support. Her angelic hair flew down in magical golden waves over her little perfect figure.

A pair of mesmerising green eyes were piercing into his soul.

‘Mate! She is our mate!!’ Craken roared in excitement and happiness, trying again to control him.

‘Go and mark mate!’ He ordered, getting more agitated.

But Mirko wasn’t listening.

He couldn’t stop looking this creature from the fairy world who cast a sort of magical spell on him.

She was so perfect, so stunning. Mirko blinked few times, unsure if he was day dreaming.

Who was she? Why did he never see her before? Was she a rouge? Then, like a bucket of water, a realisation hit him.

He had a mate!

Real, alive and heart-stirring.

“Mine!” He growled.