Chapter 3 – The Pre-game Confrontation

I glanced Liam’s way as he speed his sports car down the street. The engine revved and I held on tight to my seat, my fingers grasping on for dear life. “Thanks for taking me to school with you. I really didn’t want to have to ride with Noah today. Or ever again.” I said. “Yeah. Don’t mention it. Whenever you want a ride, just let me know,” Liam glanced my way, a sincere look on his face, which I was surprised to see. Noah had always warned me to stay away from his brother, saying he couldn’t be trusted. But maybe Noah hadn’t exactly been telling the truth all these years. “I can’t believe I just broke up with Noah,” I said. And suddenly the truth of my words hit me. Noah and I weren’t a couple anymore. Just like that. After all these years, we were just…nothing. “You should tell Susie,” Liam said. I shook my head, “No way. I can’t tell my mom. I’m just going to leave her out of this.” Liam frowned as he took a sharp right. “Why?” I shrugged. “My mom has this idea that Noah, well, your whole family actually, are like, this golden family. I don’t want to ruin our neighborly relations for her.” Liam glanced at me again, “Everything isn’t always the way it seems, Ella.” He went quiet then, pressing his foot harder on the accelerator, the car picking up speed. He was doing that thing again where he had all these thoughts and feelings bottled up inside of him, refusing to pop the lid open and share them with anybody else. … When we got to school, Liam pulled up next to the curb, right in front of the massive, brick building. Everyone was staring into the car, their eyes wide open at the sight of me and the Liam Gravens, together. My body started to get hot at the extra attention. “Hey, what are you doing later this afternoon?” Liam said as he leaned over to unbuckle my seatbelt. “Oh, um, I don’t know. Probably do some writing and get ready for classes.” “You should come to my hockey match instead,” Liam said, a hopeful glint in his eyes. “Oh, I don’t know about…I don’t think so. I’m going to be pretty busy.” Was he crazy? I didn’t need the extra attention. Sitting in his car like this as everybody stared at me, the simple human girl, talking to an Alpha-werewolf was already a lot. If I came to Liam’s game, I already knew I would get so much shit from the she-wolves that couldn’t wait to be Liam’s next bed mate. “Seriously Ella, just think about it.” Liam said, a genuine, almost pleading look on his face. I got out of Liam’s car, “Thanks again for the ride.” I headed towards the building’s front door, my head down, trying to ignore all the curious stares coming my way. … When I walked into my room inside my dorm, Monica, my roommate and best friend was waiting for me right by the front door. Her eyes were bright, her face excited. “What the hell were you doing getting out of Liam Graven’s car just now.” “What…how do you know this already?” I asked, tossing my backpack onto my bed. “Through socials of course.” I groaned. “Of course.” I wouldn’t be surprised if someone had been taking pictures or better yet, an actual video of me and Liam. “Come on Ella, tell me, what was that about?” Monica was a Beta- werewolf. But unlike all the other she-wolves at our school, she didn’t treat me like some trash nobody just because I was human. She treated me like a real friend. And I would always be grateful to her for this. She was the only person I’d told about Noah and me. I flopped onto my bed. I couldn’t believe I was about to tell Monica all about last night. “I broke up with Noah.” “What?!” Monica said, her eyes going wide. I nodded. “I saw him cheating on me with Ava. He wasn’t even trying to hide or anything.” “He’s such a bastard. But then again, that’s not news,” Monica said, a furious look on her face. Monica absolutely hated Noah. She had always despised him for the fact that he was weak and never claimed me as his girl. “And then, I ended up sleeping with Liam,” I said. There was no way I was going to keep that from her. Monica looked at me in total shock. “You’re shitting me. How was it?” I paused, reliving the fury and frenzy of my night with Liam Gravens. “Intense.” … Monica pulled me through the crowd of students trying to get into the hockey field. I had on a sweater with the hood over my head, trying not to be seen. “I can’t believe you’re making me go to Liam’s game,” I whispered. When I’d told Monica that Liam had invited me to the game and I’d turned him down, she was completely annoyed. She almost cursed me out for turning down Liam’s invitation. “Do you know how many girls would kill to have gotten that invitation. You better be glad to have someone like me who can knock some sense into you,” Monica said, her eyes razor sharp on the entrance. Suddenly, someone grabbed my other arm and started to tug me backwards. I felt the tension as I was pulled in both directions. “What the hell, Ella!” I turned to see Noah, his furious eyes boring down on me. He shifted my hood so that he could take a closer look at my neck. “Are you kidding me. Who the hell gave you those freaking hickeys?” Noah said, his face becoming even more furious. “Why the hell do you care?” I whispered, trying not to draw more attention our way. “You refuse to sleep with me during our entire relationship but then, just because I banged Ava, you go out and find the first guy you see and have a one-night-stand? You’re such a—” “You better be careful with how you finish that sentence, Noah,” I said my voice dripping with warning. I wasn’t going to take his shit anymore. “So, that’s why you dumped me,” Noah sneered. “I dumped you because you cheated on me. That’s why I dumped you, you asshole.” I moved towards Monica who was still holding onto my other hand, a look of disgust directed at Noah. But Noah wouldn’t let me go. Then, someone spoke. “What’s going on here, Noah?” Liam’s deep, menacing voice was right behind me. I turned to find him towering over Noah and me. Noah flinched. He immediately let my arm go. “I’m just talking to Ella, alright?” Noah said, annoyance in his voice. But Liam acted as if Noah hadn’t spoken. He ignored Noah, his gaze remaining on me as he said, “You’re late for the game.” I didn’t know if he was talking to me, or Noah, or the both of us. Noah turned and stormed away. “Thank you,” I whispered. Liam’s gaze remained intense as he nodded and turned, heading to the player’s entrance. As Moncia and I headed into the gym, a flashback of my night with Liam came rushing into my head. Liam had laid on top of me, gazing into my eyes like all he wanted was to stay there with me forever. He’d brushed my hair from my face and whispered to me ever so softly, “My mate.”