The Girl He Marked by Laila Callaway novel Chapter 3

Xaden's POV.

On Saturday, I text Noelle and ask her if she wants to go on a run with me. Thankfully, she agrees.

Axel isn't too pleased about me bailing on him, but I'm sure that he's more than happy to spend the extra time with Grace.

We meet in the woods near my house. I change behind a tree far away from her, wanting her to feel as comfortable as possible around me.

When I come out, I'm in my wolf form. Noelle is a pale grey wolf, with fur that ripples in the breeze. I can't resist trotting over to her. She doesn't make any move to step back, so I keep approaching her.

Once I reach her, I bump my snout with hers. She snorts air out of her nostrils, which I can't tell if it is a good or bad thing.

I move down her body and rub myself against her. I give her my scent, but also get hers on me. Even if she won't let me mark her yet, we can still scent each other.

She lets me rub against her for a bit, and then she nips playfully at my ear. She flicks her tail in my face and starts to play.

We yip back and forth a few times, and then Noelle bolts off into the trees, starting a chase. Excited at the prospect of chasing her, I take off after her.

We fly through the trees, leaping over fallen logs and dodging low—hanging branches. I catch up with Noelle and gently nip her rump with my teeth.

She yelps playfully and suddenly changes direction, making me lose my footing. I almost fall to the ground. Almost.

After chasing each other for almost an hour, we finally stop to catch our breath back. We lay down on the cold ground, panting heavily.

Once we've recovered, we make our way back to the trees where we left our clothes. We shift back and get changed.

I step out from behind the tree and lean against it, waiting for Noelle. She comes out a moment later, patting down her hair.

'That was fun,' I tell her.

She smiles back. 'Yeah, it was.'

We walk through town, and, at my suggestion, we get some hot chocolate because the temperature has dropped.

Later on in the afternoon, I walk Noelle home with the promise of seeing her on Monday at school.

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Monday morning brings a surprise. We're all sat in the common room before the first bell goes. Noelle is even sitting next to me, making me very happy.

'Aurora Hitchfield, what is that on your neck' Grace says accusingly.

Everyone looks over at Rory, who has just walked in and sat down. She turns the color of Grace's hair and pulls her top up to cover her neck.

'What' Axel asks for us.

We all look at her confused. I sniff the air and a new scent reaches me.

'You're marked' I blurt out.

Rory keeps on blushing as everyone looks at her for answers.

'Um, yeah,' she mumbles shyly. 'This weekend.'

'You met your mate!' Grace squeals excitedly and then slaps her hands over her mouth when a few people nearby turn around.

'Sh!' Rory hisses. 'And yes, I did.'

'Tell us everything,' Noelle gushes, moving away from me to sit next to Rory.

I try not to let that sting.

Grace moves next to her, too. The guys and I don't move, but we all lean in, wanting to hear the story.

Mates meeting is a big deal, we're all interested in it.

'I went to visit my auntie in the North Shore pack this weekend and my mate has just moved to that area. We met at a party in the pack hall, and everything was just…perfect.'

I'm happy for my friend. Her whole face has lit up at the mention of her mate.

'Honestly, my mate is so perfect, I can't wait for you to meet them. I've never met someone so dreamy,' she gushes affectionately as the girls 'aw'.

Once the happiness settles, jealousy kicks in. I've known my mate a week now, and we still haven't even kissed because of my fucked—up past.

I really need to keep proving myself to her.

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I keep working on getting Noelle to trust me. She's definitely warming up to me. Like last week, we spend every break, lunchtime and after school together.

I drive her home each day, where she tells me all about her day and her art projects. I wish I was better at art, so that I could know what she's talking about half of the time. But I don't really mind if she confuses me with her fancy wording and names, I just like hearing her talk about something she's passionate about.

She never invites me in when I drop her at her house, and I never see any other cars on the drive. Her brother says hi to us if we see him around school, but she doesn't talk about her parents much.

At the diner on Friday, we end up squashed together in the booth because the boys decided to come. I'm not complaining, I love having Noelle close to me.

As we talk, I notice that her dark brown eyes keep dropping down to my lips, like she wants to kiss me. I don't try anything, because I'm trying to earn her trust, but I'm hoping to get a kiss on our date tonight.

The rest of Friday passes quickly, and before I know it, I'm outside her house to pick her up for our date.

I've dressed a bit more smartly tonight, considering that we're going to Olivier's.

Noelle comes out in another dress that has my heart beating faster. This time, she's paired it with heels and her braids are tied up on her head. She looks so perfect.

I tell her how perfect she looks when I get her into the car. She's excited as I drive us to the restaurant, and I feel happy at the notion that she's enjoying going on a date with me.

We are seated near the back of the restaurant, where it is quieter and more intimate. Noelle hungrily looks over the menu, commenting on a few dishes she likes the sound of.

I order a side of chips with my food. It isn't classy, but I love fries and Noelle doesn't seem to mind.

Our food comes and the conversation is momentarily put on pause as we tuck in. I can see Noelle eyeing my chips and I nudge the bowl towards her.

'Are you sure' She asks with surprise.

'Yeah, of course.'

'Wow, you must care about me,' she says jokingly.

'I do. A lot,' I tell her seriously and she looks at me with an unreadable expression.

I hope she took that in a good way.

We're too full for dessert at the time, but when we get back in my car, I suggest that we go to Giovanni's Gelato. We get a tub of ice cream each and eat it in the car.

I drive us back to her house and park on the pavement. Remembering something, I pull my phone from my pocket.

'I had an idea,' I tell her. 'About something that might make you trust me more.'

Noelle looks at me with interest as I unlock my phone. I bring up settings and go to the fingerprint ID.

'I want you to add your fingerprint, that way you have access to my phone at any time,' I explain, and she looks shocked. 'You can go on anything; photos, phone history, messages, I don't mind. I want you to know that I'm not hiding anything and that you can trust me.'

'Xaden,' she says softly. 'I don't have to do that.'

'Please,' I almost beg her. 'It would make me feel better. I want to prove myself to you, Noelle.'

She gives me a warm smile and leans in closer, over the console.

'I know you do. And I wanted to tell you this tonight. I see how hard you're trying, okay You're doing good, I'll admit. I appreciate you making this effort for me, it doesn't go unnoticed.'

Her words reassure me that we're making progress.

'Yeah' I ask with a grin. 'Do you trust me yet'

Her lips twitch with a smile. 'Not completely, but we're getting there.'

'Great! Add your fingerprint though, just for reassurance.'

She loads her fingerprint into my phone and then I pocket it. I look up and notice that Noelle is looking at my lips again.

'Would it be too cheeky to ask for a kiss' I murmur.

Noelle meets my eyes and then slowly shakes her head, no. Encouraged, I close the distance between us. My eyes fall closed as my lips meet her full ones.

They're so soft against mine and I feel my heart start beating faster with excitement. She kisses me back, her fingers gripping onto my shirt. I gently cup the back of her head and move my lips against hers.

I pull back before I can get too excited and try to deepen the kiss. Noelle blushes and leans back in the seat.

'Thank you for tonight,' she says sweetly.

'The first of many good nights with me, sugar,' I reply with a wink.

She groans and rolls her eyes. 'Not the sugar nickname again,' she complains as she gets out of the car.

I laugh and walk her to her door. 'You love it really, sugar.'

She narrows her eyes at me. 'Sure, I do. Goodnight, Xaden.'

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