Chapter 4 First Day: Dual POV

• Cyrus POV
• I haven't slept in four days and I hadn't been able to catch anything for the last two. The sleep deprivation had turned me into a walking noise machine, making it impossible to hunt. As if it couldn't get any worse, it was also the first day of school. I was an irritated mess of nerves as I pulled my clothes on. I'd washed them clean of the cat's scent the day after and had stayed in my wolf form since. After double-checking to make sure my sleeves were pulled down to cover my arms, I wrapped my lanyard around a belt loop and shoved my schedule in my pocket. It was just after sunrise as I walked to the city, smoking the last cigarette in the pack.
• By the time I took my last drag, I was halfway to the school. I crushed out the small smolder left in a trashcan's ashtray and continued walking. As the doors came into sight, I pulled out my schedule to check my locker number. Committing it to memory, I made my way through the doors. Struggling to keep my face neutral, I made my way through the already crowded halls. It was too fucking loud and too fucking crowded. Why the hell were there so many people here already?
• I was reading locker numbers as I slid through the annoying crowd. This is fucking ridiculous. Finally, I reached mine. I put in the code fucking four times before it opened. It was filled with schoolbooks, notebooks, and other basic supplies. I closed my eyes as my head started to pound. It felt as if it was going to explode. My door was yanked from my hand as it slammed in front of my face. I was surrounded by the scent of jaguar. I turned slowly and was facing three of them. An alpha, a beta, and a gamma. I kept my face blank as I clenched and unclenched my fists in an attempt to calm down. My voice sounded like ice,
• "What the fuck do you want?"
• The alpha slammed his hand next to my head, looking me in the eye, irritated,
• "Pretty big words for a wolf without a pack."
• I just continued to glare at him, barely holding myself back from ripping his throat out. He took my silence as an invitation to continue,
• "Ohh, did I hit a ner-"
• "Fuck off."
• "The fuck you just say?"
• "Fuck off."
• At first, he looked surprised, but that quickly turned into anger. He growled at me and started to say something else. I was reaching the end of my patience, but just as I was about to throw him out of my way, a scent reached me. It took over my thoughts. Chocolate mint. I scanned the packed hallway until my eyes landed on a pair of beautiful silver ones.
• Leo POV
• As soon as I'd entered the school, his scent filled my senses. My mate was here...somewhere. I followed the scent, making my way through the crowd. I scanned the faces the further in I went. In the distance, I saw Tyler and his crew crowded around...someone. As I got closer, my mate's scent became stronger. Trying to get a better angle, I was finally able to see the source of this sweet scent. He had crystal blue eyes that seemed to shine. Even from here, they were piercingly visible.
• His hair was mostly blue-black, like his wolf, except for a white streak that framed the left side of his face. All of it hung down to his shoulders. A few strands had fallen into his face, getting caught in the thick eyelashes that framed his gorgeous eyes. He was a little shorter than me, so probably 6' or 6' 1". Even though he was tall, he wasn't big. In fact, he was very lean. A little too lean. But that was beside the point right now. At the moment, he was blocked in by Tyler's gang. His face was expressionless and his eyes were cold as ice, with the sharpest stare I'd ever seen.
• My wolf and I were pissed seeing him like that. As I started to make my way over, my mate's eyes widened slightly, breaking their cold stare. His hair shook slightly as he began looking around. Suddenly, his eyes met mine. As we made eye contact, I stopped in my tracks. He gave me a small smile that was filled with enough warmth to melt the world. He was beautiful. Then he turned back to the three douchebags, and as quickly as the warmth had come, the ice returned.
• I still wanted to make my way over there but, something in that smile had calmed both me and my wolf. It was like he was reassuring me. What I saw next confirmed my feelings. My mate was fast and much stronger than he looked because within the next minute he'd floored Tyler's two lackeys and had him up against the lockers with one hand gripping his throat. I didn't hear what he said, but by the time he dropped him to the floor, with the rest of the trash, he was damn near running, looking pissed and scared. Damn. My mate then turned his head enough for me to see his smile before opening his locker. Heh, so he could be coy, too. I finally reached him as he was closing the locker, now holding two school books. His scent surrounded me as I leaned against the locker that was next to his,
• "Hello, beautiful."
• "Hi...handsome."
• By The Mother, I wanted to kiss him right then and there. Gathering all the self-control I had, I settled for gently brushing the stray strands behind his ear, causing him to look down, blushing slightly. His cute response caused me to smile,
• "Would you mind telling me your name?"
• He looked up apologetically,
• "Sorry, I'm Cyrus. Cyrus Black-Moon."
• "You don't have to apologize. My name's Leo Black-Sun by the way."
• "It suits you."
• "If you think so, then I'll take it to heart. Well cutie, can I walk you to class. I don't want to leave your side yet."
• He smiled back at me, those crystal blue eyes catching the light,
• "I don't want to leave yours either."
• Now, that one caused me to blush. Between the sexy, lightly gravely quality in his soft voice and that smile, I was losing my grip. Luckily, he was focused on pulling his schedule from his pocket. I calmed myself down as he handed me the paper. Smiling, I was pleasantly surprised to see that we had a few blocks together, including free period, lunch, English, and our first-class Advanced Battle Training. I gently slid his books out of his hand and handed him his schedule,
• "Luckily, we have class together."
• "Something tells me it wouldn't have stopped you if we didn't."
• "Maybe you're right. Come on, let's go."
• As we walked, his hand brushed my empty one, which was between the two of us. I grabbed it and slid my fingers between his. When I looked over, I saw that beautiful, small smile again. We talked as we continued through the hall. He asked different things about the school or we talked about classes. Just getting used to each other. I had started to notice the finer details of his features. He had a small cut in his eyebrow and every once in a while, when he said the right words, a dimple would appear in his left cheek.
• Unfortunately, not everything was as adorable as that, particularly the slight bags under his eyes. They weren't extremely noticeable against his tanned skin, but they revealed that he probably hadn't slept in days. I'd also noticed a deep scar across his throat that I forced myself not to examine more closely. Not right now. To take my mind off my slight worry, I had taken to occasionally staring at his lips. They were full and slightly reddish pink against his skin. As the sparring gym doors came into view, I couldn't help but imagine what they felt like. What he tasted like. I started to make my way through the doors when I felt a tug from my hand. I looked back to see Cyrus staring directly at me,
• "I feel like you want to kiss me."
• I felt my face heat up slightly,
• "Was I that noticeable? I didn't want to seem forceful or like I was going too fast."
• He shook his head and smiled,
• "Believe me, I'll let you know if I'm uncomfortable."
• I smiled back and nodded,
• "Can I kiss you?"
• He smiled, his eyes half-lidded as he leaned forward and pressed his lips to mine. I got over my surprise real quick and kissed him back before he pulled away. The imprint of lips still had me feeling dazed as he dragged me by my hand through the doors,
• "Anytime you feel the need."
• He looked around for a second before walking over to the bleachers, which already had a few students in them. As we walked up, I saw that Josh was already sitting next to Fin and Jax, our friends from the River Shadow. I leaned down towards Cyrus' ear while pointing towards Josh,
• "Let's sit over there."
• I watched as he nodded, surprised to see that his face was blank and completely neutral. As intriguing as it was, I couldn't help feeling a little happy realizing he reserved his emotions for me only.
• Cyrus POV
• We headed up the bleachers to the fifth row where Leo's friends were. My face was blank since it was no longer just us walking and talking. Only my mate can pull those emotions to the surface. As we sat down, Leo made himself a barrier between me and his friends. I almost kissed him again. He must have realized that I wasn't extremely comfortable. I settled for holding his hand and leaning into him. His thumb rubbed against my hand as he introduced me to his friends,
• "Josh, Jax, Fin, this is Cyrus my..."
• Leo looked to me as if to ask if I wanted to put a name on us yet. It was sweet. I nodded and gave a quick smile to the one that had spread across his face,
• "My mate. Cyrus, this is Jax, his mate Fin, and my best friend and Beta Josh."
• I nodded to each of them before closing my eyes and laying my head on his shoulder. My head was still pounding, but being near Leo eased it slightly. I felt him kiss my forehead before he began to talk to his friends.
• "Hey man, you finally found him. I'm happy for you, but why did you bring him here? Shouldn't you have taken him to his class?"
• That might have been Jax. Leo was quick to answer,
• "This is his class."
• "You're telling me your overprotective ass is fine with watching your mate spar every day?"
• "I became fine with it."
• A new voice chose to interject then,
• "What made you become fine with it?"
• "Watching Cyrus kick Tyler's ass faster than I could process what happened."
• "He beat up Tyler?"
• I was getting irritated with being the topic of conversation so I answered what I assumed to be either Jax's or Fin's question,
• "I did. Is there a problem?"
• My voice was even, but there was still the slightest warning behind it. Leo rubbed circles into the back of my hand as Josh answered quickly,
• "Nope, just asking."
• I hummed in response, my eyes still closed. They moved onto other topics of conversation for a while before an authoritative voice rang out through the gym,
• "Alright, settle down. Class is in session. Before we get started with the lesson review, there are a few new students in this class. I need Cyrus Black-Sun, Riven Cloudrunner, and Nathan Ignis to stand."
• I opened my eyes and sighed before standing. On the plus side, I was still holding Leo's hand. I used that thought to keep my irritation at bay while the teacher continued,
• "You will each state your name, rank, and pack starting from Cyrus."
• His eyes turned to me, revealing the barely veiled look of disgust in his eyes. My hand twitched before I took a breath and did as I was told,
• "Cyrus Black-Moon. Rank: alpha. Rogue."
• As I finished, a few people tried to meet my eyes with looks of disgust and judgment. The teacher nodded with a slightly satisfied smile,
• "Thank you, you may be seated."
• I sat down and relaxed into my former position, this time with eyes open. That fucking teacher knew exactly what he was doing. Putting a target on my back. Fuck'im. The other two students did the same as me. Judging from the names of their "packs", one was a vampire, and the other was either a dragon or lion. As the last guy sat down, the teacher began again,
• "Now, before you three can be formally accepted into the class, you will be tested by way of a sparring match with whomever I choose. The first match will be between Nico and Cyrus. The two of you will store your clothes in the locker room and take your stances in the middle of the floor. Shifted. The challenged can choose to surrender at any time."
• As the smug teacher said the name Nico, a huge guy sitting two rows down stood up. Leo tensed up next to me. I looked at his face and saw that he was pissed. Before he was able to do anything, I put my hand on his thigh, drawing his attention to me. I shook my head once and gave his hand a quick squeeze before releasing it and standing.
• I followed a fair distance behind the aforementioned Nico as he made his way to the locker room. As I walked through his scent trail, I realized he was lion alpha. Well, that accounted for not only his size but the teacher's smug look as well. He expected me to receive a nice beating. As I entered the locker room, I claimed the one nearest the shower. This way I could strip down without revealing my body. Before I headed into the shower, a nude Nico appeared at the end of the row of lockers,
• "Don't worry, I'll go easy on you."
• "Don't."
• I slipped into the shower and stripped down. After shifting into my wolf, I carried my clothes to the specially made locker. I set my clothes down and opened it, using the horizontal handle. Shoving my clothes in, I slammed it close with my paw and headed out. As soon as I walked out, the whole room filled with murmurs. Most likely, it was a discussion about my heavily scarred wolf. I ignored it and continued to the center of the floor, where I sat across from a huge white lion.
• The murmurs seemed to be getting louder and louder, doing nothing for my headache. My ears perked, though, as a steadily increasing growl echoed through the room. Eventually, it was loud enough that everyone noticed and quieted down. I pinpointed the sound before it stopped and blinked at Leo appreciatively. He smiled at me kindly before I turned my attention back to Nico. The teacher cleared his throat,
• "At the sound of my whistle, the match will begin. When I blow the whistle again, you will cease fighting immediately."
• He said the last part to me as if he expected me to fight with some sort of uncontrollable blood lust. I mentally rolled my eyes as the sound of the whistle rang out. Nico rushed toward me immediately, and I jumped over him. He was strong, but he was slower than me and he most definitely didn't have actual battle experience. I heard a growl of confusion as I landed behind him. I turned quickly and walked to the edge of the circle painted on the ground as he turned to face me.
• He looked surprised, but he brushed it off as he ran at me again, leading to the exact same results. He stared at me, his wheels turning. Once was luck, but twice was skill. Looks like he's going to change up the tactics. He ran at me again, but I stayed right where I was. He lept with his paw outstretched, ready to smack me to the ground. I crouched low at the last second and reared back to grab one of his hind legs in my teeth as he sails over. Throwing all my weight and strength into the floor, I yank him from the air to the ground with a satisfying thud.
• I released his leg and stepped away, watching him closely. It was clear to see that the wind had been thoroughly knocked from his lungs. He might have hit his head as well. The silent room was filled with the sounds of him catching his breath. After a few seconds, he forced himself to stand. Unfortunately, he swayed, almost losing his balance completely. I reached his side before that happened and pushed him back onto his feet. He quickly took a wider stance and gently shook me off. I sat as he shifted back to his human form,
• "I forfeit due to injury."
• The teacher nodded in shock before saying,
• "Winner: Cyrus Black-Moon. Nico head to the nurse's office."
• I didn't shift back as he called out the next match's pairing. Instead, I head up the bleachers and lay on the bench with my head in Leo's lap. It was still pounding, and his touch was the only thing that even slightly soothed it. I savored the feeling of his fingers running through my fur. My wolf purred involuntarily. I quickly put a stop to it, though, causing Leo's torso to vibrate slightly as he chuckled. The rest of class went on normally, I think, as the teacher taught us a few techniques before having us practice with partners of his choosing. I had been paired up with Fin. He was pretty good.
• Throughout the rest of class, Leo and I threw looks at each other. Upon seeing his wolf, I instantly recognized it as the golden boy who'd been searching for me nonstop. His actions began to make a lot of sense, and I felt slightly guilty for avoiding him now. As soon as class ended, Leo was next to me. He nuzzled his head into my neck as we walked. He probably noticed that I was getting increasingly more uncomfortable since the pounding in my head became stronger. I purred softly, loud enough for only him to hear, trying to ease his worry. After I was dressed, I waited outside the locker room. It was too loud and there were too many scents, all of which mixed with my headache and caused me to be extremely agitated. My patience had worn very thin.
• I was shoved to the side, causing me to be pulled out of my thoughts. I turned towards the raging scent of lion and saw a huge guy. He was, in fact, quite large, but he was smaller than Nico. He also smelled like he had beta's blood, which meant he was probably Nico's. I felt my anger blaze as I took all of this in within a few seconds. I growled loudly, letting my alpha aura run off of me in waves. The sound bounced off the walls and reverberated through the floor. He stepped back quickly, trying to make himself smaller and avoiding my gaze.
• All of these were signs of submission, but I was too pissed and in pain to really care. I felt my canines come out and snapped them at him, causing him to flinch. My fist clenched, but before it could make contact with his face, I felt arms wrap around my waist. Leo's scent enveloped me, calming my nerves and, once again, easing my headache. My canines and anger receded as I relaxed into his touch. He said something along the lines of 'you should leave' to the lion Beta before turning me to face him. I looked up at him as he kissed my forehead,
• "Thank you."
• "You don't have to thank me, I'm your mate. I'll always be there for you. Now, are you okay?"
• I nod, not wanting to worry him any further. He doesn't look convinced but doesn't push it. Instead, he grabs my hand and gently guides me to my next class, math. Unfortunately, we don't have it together, so he leaves me with my books and a quick kiss on the lips. I sat in the back right corner of the class after he left. As the class went on, the weight of not sleeping for four days, and not eating for two, seemed to fuel my headache, making it almost unbearable. In fact, at this point, I'm almost certain it's a full-blown migraine. My vision was hazy, and it felt like the room was spinning. I don't know how much longer I can take this. I need Leo.