Nova

"Maxon Ellis." There was a series of claps throughout the crowd, but no one stood up. Alex looked directly at me with a knowing smirk. I sighed and pulled Noni up and started cheering.

Maxon

"Woo MAXON," I heard in the crowd. I stood frozen for only a split second. It was her. Her voice. Nova. My wolf howled as she shouted out my name.

I smiled extra hard as I walked off the stage. I looked back up to where Nova and her friend were and smiled. She looked at me and smiled and waved. My wolf and I both were too excited to contain ourselves. I waved back and shouted, "Hey Nova!"

Everyone around me looked annoyed and started shushing me and telling me to shut it, but I didn't care. She smiled at me again and unless my eyes are playing jokes on me, she blushed.

She's back, my wolf shouted in my head. I smiled and nodded and then instantly stopped.

Don't get too excited about it. We don't know if she is going to take us back yet, I told him raining on both of our parades. I pray to the Fates that she does though.

She'll take us back... we must be on our best behavior.

I wish I had your confidence.

I glanced back at her one last time before turning back around in my seat. It seemed like my life was getting better and that my purpose for being here was finally obvious again. I needed to be the best mate and Alpha, guy/wolf could be. And it all started with winning Nova back and never losing her again.

Nova

"Who did we just cheer for," Noni asked.

That's exactly what I loved about her. She didn't question why we did something until after it was done. She'd do whatever if we were both safe and wouldn't get into much trouble. I turned to look at her. The principal was only on the H's, so we had time to chat.

"That, my dear friend, was the infamous Maxon," I stated dramatically. She laughed and shook her head.

Wait for it. Wait for it, I jokingly thought to myself. I mentally started counting down from five.

5 4 3 2 1...

"You mean THE Maxon. Your mate," she practically shouted in my ear. I leaned away and nodded while laughing. She was so silly.

"Yes, unless you know another Maxon who just so happens to be my mate," I replied sarcastically.

"Braden Pruitt," the principal called. She was on P's, two more letters until the S's.

"Well excuse the hell out of me. I was just making sure. So, do you mind telling me why we cheered for the jerk?"

"He needed someone to be there for him right now. His mom is dead, there's no sign of his father, and he's an only child and the one person that was destined to love him left. To say he needed a friend or two is an understatement," I explained to her.

I looked away feeling slightly bad for leaving him, especially when he needed me most. She rolled her eyes and scoffed.

"No, what he needs to do is get on his knees and apologize and beg for you to come back. You ARE going to go back to him, right?" I shrugged and focused back on the stage. Alex was next, and I didn't want to miss a beat.

"Alex Summers."

Noni and I jumped up immediately as I began to shout his name. After about two seconds I realized that I was the only one of us that was cheering. I looked over and almost fell out laughing at the sight. Noni stood there gaping at my brother like he was the only thing in the world.

Ha, I guess he was right about them being mates, I thought to myself.

Jeez, did I look like that when I looked at Maxon that day?

I knew the look on her face was that of mates seeing each other for the first time, and I knew it would only get worse when they both made eye contact.

In a way, I was happy that Noni was my brother's mate. She was already like a sister to me, so this just made it more official. Not to mention, they completed each other perfectly. While Noni was a pale skinned brunette with a wild skin of life, Alex was a tan-skinned dirty blonde guy that really didn't do much. They'd balance each other out. I knew that since Noni was also a Special the chance of girls continuing to hit on my brother would be at a minimum. She'd really hurt someone. I shook my head laughing quietly to myself. No need to disturb the moment.

Fates, how I'd missed the sunny, smog-free days of California.

Noni needed to come here to tan. Her skin was so pale it almost looked translucent. I looked down at my own skin. It was starting to pale. I sighed. I couldn't wait to do all the things I've missed. Like shopping, hitting the beaches, eating out, Maxon...

Wait did I just say, Maxon? I sighed.

If I was going to be honest, I had missed Maxon like crazy. Sometimes I just wanted to come back here and apologize for leaving and tell him how much I loved and missed him, but my pride wouldn't let me do it. I had forgiven Maxon a long time ago, but I just wasn't ready to tell him I was wrong for leaving.

You won't have to, he'll understand. Just get our mate back, my wolf coached.

She had been a very difficult person to put up with since I left. It was, I want Maxon this and I want Maxon that, it was quite annoying. She didn't talk to me a whole month while I dated another wolf from my pack. Marc begged me to stop so I could shift again. It was neither here nor there to me because I truly felt nothing for the guy.

He's going to be mad that I kissed another guy, I stated fearfully.

He will take us back, she said.

How can you be so sure, I asked her.

All those nights of sadness and depression weren't just yours Nova. They were his too. I could hear his wolf calling out to me, begging me to come back. To come home, and by the look of ,Noni we're not leaving anytime soon, anyway.

She was right. I knew Maxon would be sad that I was leaving, but I never thought he'd be this sad. And yeah Noni was going to be with my brother for a while. Hell, by later tonight she'd be marked and well on her way to moving in.

Yeah, I guess you're right. So, she's going to UCLA with Alex and me! I did a mini fist pump and sat down as the principal finished calling out the names of graduating seniors.

About thirty minutes later the graduating senior class was announced and all the kids threw their caps in the air, which never really made sense to me. Why pay for a cap if you're going to throw it in the air? Nine times out of ten you're going to catch someone else's cap and that's just downright disgusting.

We left our seats and ran to find my brother and there was no doubt that Maxon would probable is with him. Noni couldn't wait to meet Alex. She kept asking me if he was sexy and if he had a nice body, never once did she ask me about his personality, but that was Noni. Shallowness and all, but Alex would kick that right out of her.

Finally, we found Alex... and Maxon talking with a group of guys. From the looks of it, they weren't seniors, but their scent gave them away as wolves so Noni and I would be able to talk freely around them.

Maxon's back was completely facing me. I hadn't seen him in almost a year and neither has he seen me. Not a picture or anything. I looked at Noni nervously, she nodded and grabbed my hand for reassurance and squeezed it. Once she let go, she nodded once, and I knew it was now or never.

We slowly and seductively walked over to where the boys were. We heard catcalls and wolf whistles, guys and girls trying to hit on us but we just paid attention to the mission at hand. Mission name: Make Mates Jealous. Although it sounded like an easy mission because of who our mates were, we wanted to make sure that there was no mistaking their jealously. We had to execute this plan perfectly for this to work like we wanted, if not then we could ruin Alex and Maxon both.

Step 1: Seductively walk towards the boys. Ignoring all calls and gestures for immature guys and a few females we began our walk towards them. 

To achieve this our jeans must be a little tight. Noni and I were both rocking a pair of skinny jeans. Hers was a deep blue and mines were a heavy black, which now that I think about the heat wasn't such a good idea. Your shirt must also show the maximum cleavage without giving them a peep show. Showing off the maximum of skin is a must also which is why Noni and I were both wearing tube tops.

Noni loves pink and I love red. We were looking hot and everybody knew it. Everyone was looking at us and whispering, asking each other who we were and if we were here with or for someone.

I can't believe no one remembers you, Nova, Noni said through our link.

I'm happy they don't. They were all dicks to me and if I wasn't such a nice person with a family, a mate and a friend in this gym, I'd def pull a Carrie, I said to her almost jokingly. She laughed as we both decided to further our plan.

Step 2: Get our scent to drift into their noses. We were each about two feet from our mates and decided that a hair flip was the best route to go without seeming too conspicuous. 

On the imaginary count of three, we both flipped our hair at the same time while walking still. Yes. We were that talented and not to mention that practiced. We pulled this stunt many times before. We gave our scent time to drift to them before walking to them. We had to pretend to be on the phone with someone so no one would approach us.

While waiting I took the time to admire my mate's muscular back. I knew that I was close to my heat phase, but I was still going to hold out on Maxon. I wanted to make sure that he was serious about loving me for me. It was only a minute later both of their backs went ridged and I noticed that they were struggling to keep their wolves in check.

Once I got Noni's attention I motioned to the boys. We both put away our phones and started walking their way again. They turned around and had THE cutest blank stares I have ever seen. Noni and I both let out a giggle and put our third and final step into action, while she struggled to avoid Alex's gaze. If she fell into that hazel gaze this mission would be lost.

I'm so mad at you, she linked to me. She had her gaze focused somewhere behind the gawking boys.

What did I do, I asked quickly.

You NEVER told me your brother was that hot. When you described him, you made him seem average or OK, never hot or godly.

Yeah and there's a reason for that, I said with a scoff.

It is?

He's my brother dingbat. I don't see him the same way you or any female would, I explained. I giggled when I heard her growl.

Yep, I thought. Alex has a jealous one on his hands now.

Step 3: Was to bypass our mates for the guys they were talking to. Once we knew we had their full and divided attention, we each did an assortment of provocative things to keep it, while still walking to them. 

I looked Maxon in the eyes and winked while licking and biting on my bottom lip. I swear as soon as he saw that he almost passed out before we could even get to them. Noni kept her gaze elsewhere, too afraid that she would blow it for the both of us.

As soon as we were face to face with our mates as we said excuse me and walked passed them and into the arms of the two guys they were talking to. The guys didn't know what to do. They were shocked and happy that they had two good-looking she-wolves hanging onto them. Maxon and Alex looked at each other and I immediately could tell they were angry. Noni and I knew the plan had worked when we heard growls coming from the guys.

Yay! Success.

Maxon

There she was, my beautiful mate. I could see that the months apart had been both bad and good to her. She was still slender but thick in all the right places. She had a few tattoos and piercings, but her skin wasn't as tan as it was before she had left. Her hair was now the color of a raven's feathers, which gave her an even more exotic look than she had before. She was just perfect.

She was already perfect, idiot, my wolf said.

I know.

You better not screw this up for me, he warned. I did nothing as I continued to stare at Nova...

As she walked, I barely noticed that she was walking with her friend, and I still wouldn't have known if Alex hadn't growled with me.

That must be his mate, I thought to myself.

The girls were walking to us and I could barely contain my excitement to have her in my arms again. I could still remember holding her in Alex's car on her birthday. Nova and I had steady eye contact as she walked, and when I least expected it, she winked and licked her bottom lip only to bite it afterward. I swear my knees were weak for a second. This girl did something dangerous to me.

When they got closer, I thought they were going to jump right in our arms and kiss us and Nova was going to tell me how much she missed me. I thought I would be able to smell her delicious scent again as I dug my face into the crook of her neck. I had played out this moment in my head so many times that I was ready for her to just do everything that I imagined.

Fates, was I completely wrong.

Nova and her friend walked into the arms of the wolves under Alex and me. I was instantly angry. I watched as Nova flirted with my fifth in command. Rubbing on him and touching him, she should be doing that to me. I looked at Alex and saw he was going through the same thing I was. If this was the old me in this situation, I would've said let's get even but I couldn't. I wanted Nova back, and I wasn't about to jeopardize that for some stupid joke. I looked at both boys and growled, leaving them both a little stunned.

Get your hands off our mates, I commanded. They immediately dropped their hands and whispered apologies to both Alex and me before rushing away.

"Aww, come on guys, we were just having a little fun," Nova said playfully.

Hearing her voice again while she was this close felt wonderful. I could feel my wolf gnawing at the cage in my mind to get out and take her where we stood, but that wouldn't win her back.

You're right. But don't make me wait long, he told me.

I'm leaving all of that up to her, I replied blocking him out soon after.

"Hey Maxon," she said sexily.

She said my name, I shouted to my wolf. I was excited. Hell, I was more than excited. I just couldn't think of a word for it.

Yet...

"Hello, Nova." I could hear how husky my voice had become. I watched her shiver from the effects of my voice.

Yes! She still was in love with me. My mate still wanted me.

I closed the space between us. She didn't resist, so I knew I was on the right track. Our faces were just inches apart, and I could smell the roses and vanilla scent that I had grown to cherish.

"It's been a while," I said.

My voice was completely deepened, and I could feel the vibrations leaving my chest and entering hers. She let out a soft moan and nodded as she gave me a little uh-huh. I leaned in closer to kiss her and just as we were about to kiss her friend tapped her on the shoulder and decided to introduce herself. My wolf was egging to get out and rip her throat out.

Who the hell was this girl, and couldn't she have at least waited until after the kiss started?