The Girl He Marked by Laila Callaway novel Chapter 3

Axel's POV.

I pull on my hoodie, grab my backpack and jog down the stairs. I come into the kitchen to get some breakfast and find my parents practically eating each other's faces off.

'What the fuck,' I curse as I spot them.

They pull away and my mum gives me a sheepish look, whilst Dad smirks.

'Sorry, Axel,' Mum apologizes. 'But no swearing!'

I roll my eyes and she hands me an apple. I shove it into my bag.

'I'm off, see you later,' I call over my shoulder.

I snatch my keys from the side and dash out to my car. I'm going to be late already and it's the first day back from summer break.

Great.

My parents are as loved up as the day they met, or so I'm told. They both had to wait for twenty—eight years to meet each other. I hope I don't have to wait that long.

I'm seventeen, eighteen in four months, which means I've already had nearly two years of being able to find her. Most shifters meet their mates within the first five years after turning sixteen.

Xaden, my best mate and cousin, is waiting next to my parking spot. I pull and cut the engine.

'Morning, bro,' he greets me.

I give him a half—hug and slap him on the back.

His parents are Lexi and Rixon, his dad is my mum's brother. We've always been close, especially since we were only born four months apart.

'Damn, there are some fine new girls joining the school,' Xaden comments appreciatively.

I roll my eyes.

I went through the whole obsessed with girls thing last year. This year, I'm so over it and I'm ready to meet my mate.

Xaden Not so much.

His only goal is to get into a girl's underwear. I have no idea where the player gene came from, cause his parents are as loved up as mine.

Mind you, I'm an only child, which means I get all the attention (which I hate sometimes). Xaden is the oldest of four, which means he doesn't get as much attention off of his parents.

If you ask me, he sleeps with lots of girls to try and feel wanted for once. But he's too scared to let any of them get close to him.

It's your classic man—whore complex.

But he's my best friend, so I stand by him despite his promiscuous ways.

'Who's she She's fit as fuck,' Xaden's running commentary of the new students breaks through my thoughts.

I follow his gaze and shrug. Okay, this time, I might actually have to agree with him.

The girl is beautiful.

Definitely a newbie, and a human. You can tell straight away because she's much shorter than the rest of us, she's only about 53.

She's adorable. Her long red hair is tied up high on her head, the strands almost touch her perfect ass.

She's wearing a short, pleated skirt and a jumper. She's both hot and cute at the same time.

'She would be a challenge, I'm sure of it.'

Xaden's words make me snap out of it and I shove him.

'The fuck, man' He asks angrily.

'Don't talk about her like that,' I tell him.

I don't know where this anger has come from, but I know that girl is way too good for him. I don't want him going anywhere near her.

He holds his hands up in defense.

'I get it, alright You called dibs.'

I open my mouth to tell him that I haven't called dibs, but then I close it. I like the sound of that, and I want Xaden away from her.

During form time, Xaden decides to list the new girls he's seen so far. He's counted four already, so that's him busy for at least a month.

I don't understand it. The girls he sleeps with must talk to each other, so why don't they warn each other to stay away from him

I think they each think that they can change him. They romanticize his behavior and want to be the one who finally makes Xaden Moretti settle down.

Annoyingly, his dickhead behavior of pursuing them until he gets sex, and then cutting them off, means that a lot of them come running to me for advice. Or comfort.

I didn't mind at first. I used to get Xaden's leftovers, or better yet, my own first's. I'm not exactly unattractive and Xaden and I are the strongest in school.

But now, I'm bored of it. Over summer, we spent time at the beach and sure, it was fun checking out half—naked girls, but it gets boring.

At some point, you want to have an actual conversation. You want to have fun, discuss interests, debate big questions, get to know someone. I got sick of the temporariness of it all.

I want my mate. I want a permanent partner. I want to stop having conversations that are only focused on getting the other into bed.

Our friend Aurora joins us at our desk. Everyone calls her Rory. She's been friends with Xaden, and me since we were kids.

I want to have a relationship that has the banter and closeness I have with her, with the attraction, too. We're purely friends, but we have a deeper connection than a one—time fuck. Something Xaden doesn't seem to appreciate. He prefers the one—time connections.

'What are you thinking so hard about' Rory asks with intrigue.

I shrug. 'Nothing much.'

She rolls her eyes at me.

'Please. I know you, Axe. You're thinking about something,' she comments and then looks more thoughtful. 'Or someone.'

Xaden's ears prick up at that.

'Someone Who That blonde chick from the beach'

I frown at him. 'Her name was Lyanna, and we haven't spoken in a month.'

Xaden raises his eyebrows in surprise. 'Why She was smoking.'

I resist rolling my eyes.

'Because not everything is about looks and girls,' I retort dryly.

Rory nods. 'Amen.'

Xaden snorts. 'Yeah, it is, dude.'

I sigh heavily.

There is no hope for him.

All I can do, is pray to the Moon Goddess that she pairs him with someone just like him to give him a taste of his own medicine. That would be interesting.

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The first two periods pass without incident. For my A—Levels, I'm taking P.E, Maths and Business Studies.

The math and business studies are to keep my parents off my back, the P.E is for me.

I want to be a pack warrior when I leave school, but my parents have hopes for me to go to university, as neither of them did. Too bad I'm gonna disappoint them.

My third class is maths and I reluctantly make my way there.

I don't mind maths. It's easy when I concentrate, I just can never be arsed to concentrate. School's too fucking long.

I take my seat at the back of the class and get out a notepad and a pen. Folding my arms on the table, I lean forwards, resting my head on my arms. I close my eyes and decide to doze until the teacher starts the lesson.

Miss Mooney is always late.

'Um, excuse me' A quiet voice makes my eyes snap open.

I sit up and my gaze lands on the hot redheaded human. I look her up and down, unashamedly checking her out. It makes her blush.

I like the blush on her. I want to make her blush some more.

'Do you mind if I sit there' She asks, gesturing to the chair next to me.

It's the only free one in the classroom and I'm so fucking grateful for that.

'Sure, go ahead,' I reply, and she quickly sits down.

I watch as she gets out so many fucking things.

A notepad, a pencil case with about a billion fucking pens in it, highlighters, post—it notes, ruler, pencils, rubbers, you name it. It's like she bought everything at the stationery shop and brought it with her.

'Do you need any more stuff' I ask, unable to keep the amusement out of my voice.

It's a funny contrast, her elaborate setup, compared to my notepad and my one pen. It doesn't even have a lid.

She looks and me and giggles. 'Um, I guess I wanted to be prepared.'

I'm about to ask her what the hell she thinks she's preparing for, but she flicks her hair over her shoulder, and I'm hit with her scent.

Her mouth—watering, sweet as hell, fucking delicious scent.

Holy shit.

She's my mate.

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