“I’m sure I can handle it.” Marshall ran his fingers through his hair. He was so damn nervous. Both his mother and father had each warned him about his first day back at school. The smell was already getting to him. He scented the need coming off his peers in waves. “Why can I smell them?”
“You’ll smell everything. You’ll also notice that each emotion has a scent as well. Arousal, hate, greed, jealousy, fear, pain, it will all combine together. You’ve got to learn to keep focus and ignore the scents.”
“How did you do it?” Marshall already scented the excitement. They were only a few yards from the school, and already he could hear the squeals of excitement. He wanted sex and needed it. Not once this summer did he get a chance to sink into a nice willing pussy. Being at school would also provide him with girls who were more than happy to have him.
“I thought about your mother. She helped to focus me. When you find your mate, you’ll know what I mean.”
“Dad, there’s no guarantee that I’ll find my mate in high school. We’re not all lucky like you.”
“You’re an alpha, Marshall. You’ve got my blood flowing through your veins. You will have the focus of the pack, the need to be a leader. If you’re a leader, you’ll help Jack if he struggles to deal with it.”
Blowing out a breath, Marshall fisted his hands.
“If you’re lucky enough to find your mate and she’s within school, you’ll need to control the need to claim her. I know all you want is sex ,but be careful. You’re different now. Rein in those needs.”
“What do I do if she’s human?”
His father chuckled. “It has been a long time since we’ve mated with humans who don’t know about our kind. You shouldn’t worry.”
“Okay.” He didn’t want to meet his mate or even think about settling down. Marshall had seen all the mated couples, and they wouldn’t stray from their woman. He didn’t want to settle for one woman, at least not yet.
“We’re about to enter the grounds,” his father warned him.
The sounds had already gotten louder. Marshall gritted his teeth as the smells increased along with the noise.
“Jack’s already here.”
His father pulled up beside Jack’s father and stopped the car.
“Are you okay?” Luke asked.
“Yeah. I’m fine.”
Sweat beaded his brow at the sudden wash of emotion that was coming over him.
“Shut it out. It can’t hurt you. Focus, Marshall.”
Closing his eyes he thought about the pack, his mother, the forests, the world that took care of him. Slowly, he started to bring some focus to his little world, and everything else faded away.
“That’s it.”
Opening the door, he slid out.
“If you can’t handle it, come home.”
“I will.” Marshall waved to his father as he pulled out of the parking lot. Jack’s father followed as well.
“Wow, I thought they’d never leave,” Jack said.
Looking at his friend, Marshall quickly embraced him in a guy hug.
“It’s good to see you, man.”
“And you. I thought this summer was the fucking worst.” Jack had gotten huge, but then, so had Marshall. “Fuck me, Marshall. You look like a bear.”
“I grew.”
The scent of arousal came to him, and he turned in time to see Cheryl, a cheerleader whom he’d fucked last year.
“Hey, Marshall. You’re looking good. The summer did wonders for you.”
He wasn’t interested. Cheryl smelled of other men and jealousy. When he fucked her last year he’d not scented anything on her. Now, she smelled rotten. Glancing at Jack, he saw his friend smelled the same.
Ignoring her, they started to walk toward the school.
“Fuck me that bitch is hot, but she stinks now. Is this what it’s going to be like?”
Marshall started to laugh. “It looks like we’re going to need to get used to the new smells of people.”
They entered the school, and Marshall closed his eyes as the scent of the pack surrounded him. When he opened his eyes, he saw several new people from their pack. Giving them a nod of his head, he acknowledged their presence. Within the pack, you took care of your own, and the new arrivals would be under his and Jack’s protection. They were the highest ranking in the high school, at least from their pack.
“You heard the news?” Jack asked.
“What news?” Marshall headed toward his locker, ready to get rid of some of his crap.
“New family has joined. One of the guys is totally hot.” Jack spoke the last in a high pitched voice.
“What do you know about them?”
“New family, totally hot, that’s about it.”
Marshall chuckled. “I’ve got a lot more shit going on in my world than a new guy.”
“Could be fun.”
“I doubt it.” Marshall put his bag into the locker, grabbing out his books.
“This is going to be an interesting year,” Jack said.
“Yep, it is. How bad could it be?”
“Cheryl stinks, and we’ve got no chance of finding anyone else to fuck.” Jack stuck out his bottom lip.
Laughing, Marshall slammed his locker closed, heading down the long corridor toward his first lesson. He could do this. One year with heightened senses, smelling every emotion and scent, yeah, he could handle it. All he needed to worry about was trying to get laid. Once he was laid everything else would be fine.
As he entered his first class, the smells intensified, but he was determined to make his father proud of him. He wouldn’t let the pack down.
First day back at school and she was running late. Scarlett cursed as she parked her brand new car into the only available parking space. Running into the building, she noticed how abandoned the corridor was. She went straight for her locker, putting her bag inside, grabbing the necessary books before heading to her first lesson. Math wasn’t her strongest point, and the annoyance on Mr. Bunkirk’s face didn’t help any. Taking a seat in the back, she bowed her head over her text book. Sniggers hit her from the popular kids. Sitting in the back was a big mistake. She usually took a seat in the front to avoid the risk of being bullied.
Not good. Not good.
Scarlett forced herself to focus on the numbers in front of her. If it hadn’t been for her father being determined to give her a new car, she wouldn’t have been late. He’d demanded she tear off the big bow then pose for a couple of pictures. She’d never been so embarrassed in all of her life. This was her last year of high school, and her folks wanted it to be memorable. All she wanted to do was survive each day as it came.
“She’s still fat.”
“I’m surprised she showed her face.”
Doing everything she could to ignore the cruel jibes, she worked out the sums on the board before working on the ones set in the text. All too soon the bell was ringing, bringing the lesson to a close.
Slamming her book closed, she looked up as a shadow passed over her desk.
“Next time, sit in your own place, loser.”
Her heart hammered inside her chest. First day of school and already she’d fucked up. Pushing the hair off her face, she swallowed past the lump in her throat.
“Scarlett, I expect you to be on time next lesson,” Mr. Bunkirk said.
“I will. I’m really sorry.”
“Get to your next class.”
Grabbing her books, she made it toward her next class, making sure to take a seat right at the front away from the popular squad.
“Did you see how big they were?” Cheryl said, moaning. “I’m so going to be fucking one of them by the end of the week, if not the end of the day.”
“Who are you talking about?” This came from Dawn, the best friend.
“Marshall and Jack. Both of them were huge. Man, I so want to fuck them.”
Scarlett winced at the crudeness coming from the other girl. She wasn’t an idiot and knew a lot of her peers had already given up the V-card. There was no way she would be giving up her virginity to any of the guys in school. Not that they’d ever go for someone like her. She was too big, and no matter how much she tried to diet, exercise, or even starve herself, nothing helped. Her size remained the same. It was like she was supposed to be this size.
“You’ve had both of them.”
“And I’m going to have them again. They’re huge. Wait until you see them. They’re really O material now.”
Shutting Cheryl’s comments out of her mind, Scarlett listened to the teacher talk about history. She’d never been fussed for history, but it was one of those really important classes that they made you take.
In no time at all it was lunch break. Walking to her locker, she grabbed her bag where she’d packed some sandwiches and vegetable sticks. Her parents didn’t know she packed a lunch. She’d learned early at school not to put herself in danger of being in the queues. Exiting the school, she found a tree and took a seat. Pulling out a book, she grabbed her small box, opening it up.
She turned the book to the page she needed and started to read as she ate her lunch.
“So, I was hoping to see you.”
Scarlett recognized that voice. Glancing up, she was shocked to see Trey staring down at her.