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.