The Girl He Marked by Laila Callaway novel Chapter 3

Axel's POV.

I can barely contain my excitement. I grip the desk so hard that I leave a dent when I finally let go.

I can't believe I've met my mate, and she's sitting right fucking next to me!

'Morning, class,' Miss Mooney finally greets us. 'We have a few new students today. Please give a warm welcome to Grace Barlow and Ryan Horton.'

Grace.

I smile as I hear her name. I turn to her and she's blushing under everyone's gazes. I want to tell them all to look away.

'Grace, huh' I get her attention. She looks at me and smiles shyly. 'I'm Axel.'

'Nice to meet you, Axel,' she whispers.

Her blue eyes focus back on the teacher, and I realize the goody—two—shoes are worried about being caught talking whilst the teacher is.

Cute.

I lean back in my chair and rest my arm over the back of hers. She looks at me out of the corner of her eye and then quickly focuses on the board again. She's blushing once more, and I like it.

I barely listen to the whole lesson. It doesn't matter, I already know what the teacher is talking about. Like I said, math is easy.

I spend the lesson watching Grace and trying to be subtle about it. I tell myself to look away, that I don't want to creep her out, but her blush is addictive. The way she bites down on her bottom lip as she concentrates, man, it sends me crazy.

She's fucking perfect.

I text Xaden under the table, telling him I've met my mate.

His reply makes me sigh.

Sucks to be you bro!!!

No, it really doesn't.

As the bell rings, signaling the end of the lesson, I turn to Grace.

'Do you want to join me and my friends for lunch' I ask her.

She blinks up at me, surprised by my question. She hesitates and I carry on.

'You're new here, right I thought you might like to have someone to sit with at lunch. Do you know anyone yet'

Her cheeks turn light pink, and she bites her bottom lip.

'No, I um, I don't know anyone yet. That would be nice, thank you.'

I resist the urge to put my arm around her shoulders. I clench my hands into fists to stop myself from touching her.

'Come on, cafeteria's this way.'

I lead her down the busy corridors. She sticks close to my side, her arm brushing against mine now and then. It makes my wolf very happy, having her so close.

When we get to the cafeteria, Rory and Xaden are already at our usual table, with the rest of our friends.

I queue with Grace to get our lunch. On Fridays, sixth formers are allowed to go out for lunch.

I watch as Grace pays for her food, holding myself back from paying for her. She's not my girlfriend, she'd find it weird.

She blushes when she sees I'm waiting for her and then she follows me over to the table. Her paces slows and she hesitates, seeing how many people are at the table. She clutches her drink and sandwich to her chest.

'Um, are you sure you want me to join Your table is already pretty full,' she comments.

I frown. 'Of course, I do. Come on, you can sit next to me.'

It doesn't help that all of my friends stare when I usher Grace into the chair next to me. She's obviously a human and every one of us is a shifter.

They're probably wondering why on Earth I've invited her to sit with us.

'Guys, this is Grace,' I introduce her. 'She's new here, be nice.'

A couple of them say hi, but they all look at her with interest. I shoot them a pointed look, making them turn away.

'Hey, Grace.' Aurora leans around me. 'I'm Rory and this idiot here, is Xaden.'

Xaden winks at her. 'Hey, gorgeous.'

I bite my tongue to stop myself from growling. As Grace looks down and blushes, and I glare at Xaden and bare my teeth at him in warning. He just smirks.

He knows she's my mate, he's trying to wind me up.

It's working.

I take a deep breath, breathing in Grace's scent to calm me down.

'Ignore Xaden,' I tell her quietly. 'He's a player.'

She nods. 'Noted.'

'So, Grace, what subjects are you taking' Rory asks her.

I grin at Rory, pleased that she's making the effort and also because she's asked a question that I want to know the answer to.

'I'm taking math, business studies and physics,' she replies shyly.

I look down at my mate with pride. She's my little nerd.

'You must be very clever then,' Rory comments. 'I can't do any of those subjects.'

Grace's brows furrow.

'Not really. I find math hard sometimes.' She looks at me. 'Like, what we did today, that was difficult.'

I smile at her. 'I'm happy to help you study, if you want,' I offer eagerly.

'Really' Grace asks, disbelief in her voice.

Why is she surprised that I want to hang out with her

'Yeah, of course!'

Rory scowls. 'Maths is kinda his thing. He's a nerd.'

I smirk at her. 'Just cause you're jealous, Ror.'

She snorts. 'I am not jealous, mutt,' she retorts.

Her eyes widen as she realizes what she said, in front of a human. She quickly looks at Grace.

'It's just this insult I've used since we were kids, cause he's like an annoying dog,' she hurriedly tries to explain the weird insult to Grace.

Grace just smiles and nods, not suspecting anything.

'So, you've got business studies after lunch' I ask her and she nods.

She takes a bite of her sandwich and pulls her planner out of her bag.

'Yep, and a study period last thing.'

'Great, so have I. How about we go over the maths lesson'

She bites her bottom lip again, driving me crazy.

'Um, yes, please. I'd like that.'

I grin at her. 'So would I.'

Grace leaves after she's finished her lunch to collect her books for the next lesson from her locker. I'm about to go with her, but Rory grabs my arm and pulls me back into my chair.

'I can't believe you've met your mate!' She hisses as Grace walks away. 'She's so cute!'

I smile at that comment. 'I know. She's adorable.'

Xaden makes a gagging sound and sticks his finger in his mouth. I roll my eyes at his immaturity.

'Just you wait, big boy,' Rory comments. 'You'll be just as whipped as everyone else when they meet their mate.'

Xaden scoffs. 'No way has the Moon Goddess given me a mate. She knows I don't want one.'

Both Rory and I roll our eyes this time.

'Anyway, do we know anything else about her'

This is why I love Rory. She's the perfect best friend, always so supportive.

'Not much, only that she's new here. I don't even know if she's new to the area.'

Rory considers something for a moment. 'How about you ask her out on a date You could use the pretense of showing her around the town, you know, if she's new and all.'

'Actually, that's not a bad idea.'

I meet Grace in the business studies classroom. Xaden and I usually sit together, but he agrees to sit next to Dustin instead, so that I can be with Grace.

She blushes as I sit down next to her. I watch with amusement as she gets 247 things out of her bag again and lays them on the desk.

'I know.' She sighs. 'I have a lot of stuff.'

I grin at her. 'It's cute. You're cute.'

She blushes at my compliment. I'm addicted to her blush; it makes me want to wrap my arms around her and squeeze her.

The teacher is late for the lesson and I'm grateful for that.

She rests her chin on her hand and looks at me thoughtfully. I can't help but smile, liking the attention from her.

'What' I ask her.

She looks shy again. 'I'm just wondering why you're being so nice to me.'

I frown. 'What do you mean Why wouldn't I be nice to you'

She shrugs. 'You're obviously very popular. Why are you making such an effort with the nerdy new girl'

I feel like laughing.

This girl has no idea how important she is to me.

'I don't know what kind of high—school cliché you're thinking of but being popular or nerdy has nothing to do with whether I'm nice to you or not,' I respond, and she gets embarrassed.

I lean forward and I hear her breathing hitch at our closeness. 'I like you, Grace. I want to get to know you.'

She visibly swallows and I watch as her tongue darts out over her lower lip.

Shit.

'O—okay.'

The teacher finally comes in. I lean back and give Grace some space to breathe.

'Axel' Grace whispers my name.

Fuck, it sounds good from her lips.

'Yeah'

She turns bright red. 'I like you, too.'

Best. Fucking. Day. Ever.

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