Nineteen Dustin

Ididn't know it was possible to be so happy. If someone had asked me at the beginning of the school year what happiness looked like, I might've said something about playing pro football and buying an expensive car. But now, my perception had completely changed. I guess finding your mate could do that to a man.

But Mark was so much more than just my mate. They don't have a word yet for old friends who've just met, but that's what we were. I felt like I'd known him my whole life, and it was easy to tell him anything, even if it was slightly embarrassing. I trusted him more than anyone I'd ever met. And being with him made me realize how circumstantial and shallow my friendship with Leroy and Travis had been. Not to mention that they fucking hated me now. Although I could hardly find the energy to care.

Speaking of those two… woof. Talk about the dynamic duo that just wouldn't quit. Even after the entire team finally came over to my side, they didn't stop trying to get everyone to hate me anyway. They made up lie after lie, trying to get the team to turn on me once more. Thankfully, the coach had my back, and those two had been warming the bench most of our games anyway. Not that they had any chance of going pro, but they were still pissed about not playing. It was hard to get all the girls to sleep with you when they didn't know who you were.

Still, I tried not to focus on their idiocy too much. I did my best at our games, not wanting to let the team down, but I'll admit my thoughts were always on Mark, even when I was standing on the field. I thought that it might hurt my playing, but honestly, I didn't really care.

Since our magic carpet ride a little over a week ago, I'd been thinking a lot about football and what it meant to me. Well, really, I was thinking about life and how I wanted it to look. Not my father's vision, but my own for the first time. And I was questioning everything.

Maybe that was just the power of good ass, right?

But all jokes aside, I actually wanted to take control of my life at last. Mark was more than just a boyfriend to me. He was my mate, and I loved him. Maybe it was fast, maybe I was new to all of this, but I didn't really care. My feelings were my own, and I was tired of letting everyone else tell me how I should live.

The only real conclusion I'd come to so far was that change was going to be hard. Telling everyone was going to be the biggest hurdle, especially my family. I was still trying to figure out how to break it to them with a possible escape route. If all my previous experiences taught me anything, it was that opposing my father in any way would lead to a fight. And an opposition of this size would probably be seen as an act of war. Having a non-wolf mate was one thing. But loving a man? There was no way he was going to be alright with that.

My only consolation was that Mark wasn't in any sort of rush. I could take my time, get my proverbial ducks in a row, build my courage, and then break it to them after college was over. By then, I'd have my degree, a solid foundation with Mark, and that escape route I needed. Then my father could decide whether he wanted to keep me around. It was sad to think about, and I really hoped he surprised me. But the realist in me wasn't convinced. Maybe he'd come around eventually though, once he had a while to get used to it. Either way, I wasn't going to change who I was for him anymore. He'd dictated the past twenty-two years of my life, and it was time for that to come to an end.

"Mr. Fangborn?"

I looked up, realizing the entire class and my philosophy professor were staring at me.

"What?" I said, shaking my head. "Sorry. What did you say?"

"Exams are next week, Mr. Fangborn," he tutted, waggling his finger at me. "Your grades are not high enough for you to be daydreaming in my class."

A flush of anger seeped through my chest at his chastising. This particular professor had been ragging on me all semester because, no matter what your argument was in his class, he never graded above a B-minus. He said nobody was ever perfect, so why should he give out perfect grades? To me, it sounded like a good way for him to be a dick to everyone and exert his power over others.

"Last time I checked the student handbook," I replied coolly. "Student grades are confidential personal information. I'd suggest that if you want to keep your job, you not announce my grades to the rest of the class like you just did."

Mark's quick wit had been rubbing off on me. Seeing him call people on their bullshit time and again opened up something within me. It made me realize how many people were just plain assholes and needed to be brought down a peg or two.

"Well, you need to pay attention in my class," the professor shot back after a moment of hesitation.

"Since you're such a great philosopher, answer me this," I replied. I flipped my book shut and stood up from my desk, throwing my bag over my shoulder. "If the highest grade you'll ever give is a B-minus, why should I give you an A-plus worth of my attention?" I glanced around at the others staring up at me. "Why should any of us? If a teacher refuses to teach, why shouldn't a student refuse to learn?"

"I grade the way I do to prove that only those exceptionally talented students are the ones who move forward," he spat. "Which you are not. You're a D-minus student at best!"

I smiled. "Everyone in this class has now heard you broadcast my private grade not once but twice." I stared him down as I headed for the door. "If I were you, I'd grade fairly on the exam, or you might find yourself outside the boundaries of the academy without a job." I narrowed my gaze as I pulled the door open. "And you and I both know that there are no jobs in the world for a philosopher except being a teacher."

His face fell as he floundered for a comeback. Before he could find one, I walked out of the class, slamming the door behind me. The door rattled in its frame, the glass panes on either side shaking. Several people in the hall looked up toward me with furrowed brows, but they said nothing. I continued down the hall and out of the building, my head held high and my chest swelling with pride.

I'd been wanting to tell that bastard off since day one of class. It probably wasn't the smartest thing I'd ever done, but it sure as fuck felt good. Besides, that gave me some extra time in my day. Instead of having to go directly to practice from class, I had close to an hour to burn. Mark was already done with his classes by now and I was looking forward to spending some time with him before heading out again. It wasn't often we got to spend time during the daylight together.

I hoofed it across campus as fast as I could, reaching the dorm in record time. However, as I came up the sidewalk to the entrance, I saw two figures step in my way.

"Going to see your little bitch?" a familiar voice sneered.

Glancing up, my eyes fell on Leroy and Travis, blocking my path. My hackles went up immediately. Even in human form, werewolves had a way of signaling their intent through posturing and scent. The only scent rolling off the pair of them was aggression. They were looking for a fight.

"I'm going to my room," I replied, trying to stay calm. "Get out of my way."

"We just want to chat with our friend," Travis said, closing the gap between us. "Are you not our friend anymore, Dustin?"

"You two stopped being my friends the day you tried to turn everyone against me."

"I don't think we were ever friends," Leroy replied. "Not when you betray us the first moment some little fag sucks your cock."

I growled the moment that word left his lips. I hated that word.

"You better shut your fucking mouth, Leroy," I snarled. "Unless you want to lose all your fucking teeth."

"Oh? Hit a nerve, did I? I guess that means what I saw the other day was real." He paused for a moment, enjoying the look of surprise that crossed my face for a fraction of a second. "Or, I should say, the other night."

"What the fuck are you talking about?" I was trying to play it cool, but inside my mind, I was in a full-blown panic.

"Well, you see, Travis and I here have been keeping an eye on you. After you betrayed us for your little witch roommate that you claimed to hate, we thought something was up."

"We just wanted to make sure you were okay," Travis added with a sickening smile, the sarcasm clear in his voice. "You just weren't acting like yourself."

"You and that little witch thought you were being clever slipping through the barrier and going out into the woods," Leroy continued. "But you must have forgotten how good wolves" noses are."

"You've been following me?"

"No. I haven't. I've just been tracking you after you get back," he smiled. "That first day, you two went to the waterfall, didn't you? I could smell that witch's scent all over the place, along with a few other things." He smirked, puffing out his chest like he was winning this argument. "But I wasn't convinced you'd turn that far. In fact, it wasn't until I caught sight of you two over the trees during the full moon that I knew for sure."

My jaw slackened as I realized what he was talking about.

"That's right," he grinned. "I saw you two up there on that magic carpet, fucking each other like a pair of common pigs." He spat on the ground. "It's disgusting that you would allow yourself to do something like that."

"Revolting," Travis added.

"And that's when I realized what was really going on." Leroy took a step forward. "You'd never do this on your own. That little fag put a spell on you, didn't he?"

"Don't say that fucking word," I warned, growling deep in my chest.

"You need to go to the school nurse," Leroy continued. "And get this little faggy curse removed from you before you get infected for good."

"I said shut up, Leroy!"

He got up in my face, his smile nearly maniacal. "I can see it in your eyes. You're turning into one, too." He scoffed, poking me in the chest. "I wonder how your father will feel about you turning into a queer. And I'm pretty sure they don't allow fags in the NFL–"

Before he could get another word out, my fist connected with Leroy's jaw. He was lifted clean off his feet with a sickening crunch of bone. A moment later, he crashed to the cold earth, completely unconscious and bleeding profusely from his split lip.

I turned my attention to Travis, teeth bared. "If I ever hear either of you say that word again," I snarled. "I will destroy you both!"

Travis took a step back, his face turning white as a sheet. He nodded dumbly, knowing the anger of an alpha wolf when he saw it. Maybe Leroy was too stupid to be scared of that, but Travis wasn't.

With one last snarl, I stalked off to the dorm, nearly ripping the front door off its hinges.

Somewhere, buried deep under all my anger, I felt a pinprick of panic begin to swell. If there was one thing Leroy was known for, it was not being able to take a hint. Whatever he decided to do next, I could only guarantee one thing.

The truth was going to come out much faster than I'd planned for.