My Arrogant Mate

1

"Have you read what happened at the superiors?"

Devin sat across from me at the kitchen table,

looking intently at his phone while I got busy

pouring us both a cup of coffee to perk up.

"No, what is it?" I asked, yawning and briefly

closed my eyes to take in the wonderful smell of

the coffee before I took a strong sip and turned my

gaze back to my brother.

Looking thoughtful, he put his phone down, ran a

hand through his brown, curly hair, and then took

a deep breath. That worried look in his sea blue

eyes was once again typical of him. Ever since our

parents abandoned us 2 years ago, he had taken on

the role of minder and often drove me insane with

it.

“Their school burned down," he then explained,

looking at me intently. "We might have problems if

they come to your school"If..." I said with a certain emphasis and tried to

take some of his worry away, which of course

didn't work.

"Jady, you stay away from them!"

He got up to put on his blue sports jacket while I

just rolled my eyes in annoyance at his stern tone.

His eyes met me immediately.

"Stop it! You know how much I hate that."

"Then don't treat me like a kid. After all, I'm 17 and

you're only 2 years older, so don't let the nanny

hang around here."

I stuck my tongue out at him and then gave him a

provocative wink, which made him grin stupidly

and throw my denim jacket at me.

"Get dressed, we're going."

He grabbed his cup of coffee, drank it all down inone gulp, then grabbed his phone to turn his mind

back to the fire.

Still slightly tired, I also got up from the round

wooden table and put on my jacket to grab my

light-colored backpack afterwards.

How I would like to look at my cell phone now, just

like him, but I had lost it on my trip in the forest,

which my brother wasn't allowed to find out.

I told him that it had been stolen from me because

it was forbidden for us lower classes to stay in the

forest. If he knew all the laws I was breaking

behind his back, he would almost certainly lock me

up in this little cottage.

"Ground to Jady," he snapped me out of my

thoughts and then put his arm around my

shoulders to leave the house with me.

Arriving at his old, silver VW, he obligingly held

the passenger door open for me and, smiling, Icollapsed onto the seat to buckle up and take a

look in the mirror.

I was immediately happy about my long eyelashes,

which saved me from having to spend hours in the

bathroom in the morning like the others my age.

My green irises flitted over my long, straight

brown hair, which I wore loose as always and

which I arranged well for the time being.

"Who are you making up for? You know not to

attract attention.”

Devin looked over at me worried and I immediately

dodged my reflection to turn on the radio in

annoyance.

"Just for me," I snapped at him while listening to

the soft RnB music. I knew it was dangerous to be

noticed as a woman, especially an untagged one,

but that didn't mean I had to act like a scarecrow.

He turned back to the front, drove down the streetand when we got to the parking lot in front of my

school, where it was already busy, he got out with

me, which made me roll my eyes again in

annoyance.

"Does it always have to be?" I whined and stood

next to the car while he ran over to me.

"Do you think I like doing that? I just don't want to

take any risks! Especially not when these idiots are

coming to your school now."

In front of the stairs to the entrance I saw my

friend Aleya, who had a close look at me and

Devin.

She and my brother would have made a great

couple, but no one here knew he was my brother

because that was our little but important secret...

"I'll pick you up later." He pulled me close and

closed his eyes to plant a quick kiss on the lips that

just felt completely wrong.

He looked really good and his lips were soft and

just tasted delicious like coffee, but the thought

that he was my brother sent an unpleasant shiver

down my spine, which forced me to break away

from him immediately.

"See you later," I sniffed, wanting to wipe my-

mouth, but Devin was right. Our cover couldn't be

blown, or I'd probably be in constant danger.

So, smiling, I watched him get back in the car and

screech out of the school parking lot, feeling the

other students’ eyes on my back.

Yes, it was unusual to have a partner before the

age of 18, but at least that way I was protected

from....

Shaking my head, I banished the gloomy thoughts

and turned to face Aleya, then walked towards her.

Barely standing in front of her, she pulled me into

a friendly hug.

"You're so lucky with your boyfriend," she

murmured somewhat brokenly, and I took a deep

breath.

If she knew...

"Oh yeah, I'm lucky," I said with exaggerated ironyand then quickly broke away from her while her

scent of cinnamon enveloped me.

She tossed her black hair over her shoulder, smiled

confused at my sarcasm, and then walked into the

school building with me.

"Have you heard about the heads up?" she asked

excitedly when we arrived in front of our

classroom and our mutual friend Sawyer joined us.

"Yes, I heard it," the blonde politely answered

Aleya's question and before I could join in the

gossip, heard them both take a deep breath while

their curious eyes fell past me.

2

Curious, I turned around and immediately saw

several young people I didn't know running down

the wide aisle.

They were our age, and like us, they wore normal

clothes, but their charisma was different and

overshadowed everything else. The smell of the

forest that surrounded them also took over the

entire corridor.

"It must be the ones upstairs,” whispered Aleya,

who was standing between me and Sawyer, her

mouth no longer seeming to close in sheer

amazement.

My gaze fell from her to the girl with the curly

black hair, who looked shy and somehow helpless

between two well-built boys. She was the only one

who didn't quite fit into this picture and that's

exactly why she drew my full attention.

It wasn't until the big guy next to her noticed mystare and glared at me that I looked away

nervously at my friends, who seemed obsessed

with them.