Fated mates? Before any connection between us? How is that even possible?

These were my thoughts after the day I made the mistake of risking my life to save the campus loner. To think that searching for him on my own brought me in that street inhabited by no one. Whatever had gotten to me that day? Not to mention kiss him, bite him, scent him...

I kissed him!

A knock on my head brought me back from my thoughts. Seems my being distracted was making me a burden to the team. Thankfully, this was just practice. 

"Stan! Get your head together!" The coach shouted and Elric, who'd beed the one that had knocked on my head planted a gentle slap on my shoulder, his face frowned and I could clearly tell what he was thinking.

I too wondered what the hell was wrong with me. Why would I ponder over this issue continuously for the past one week. I'd already been cleared by the police and it hadn't been my fault that that guy imprinted on me. Drat! He'd imprinted on three other guys too! ...And now because of that we were suddenly fated mates?

No way!

I'd always envisioned my fated mate to be a woman, very feminine, jovial with a warm personality but instead, it had to be the campus loner, a man, not the slightest bit of masculinity in him nor femininity, grumpy and had a coarse personality that he happily wore religiously.

There had to be a mistake....though thinking about it now, his scent did send me weak in the knees, turning me up with the need to protect, save and comfort him... 

People constantly released harmless scents but they were a maximum of two. They wore them more like body odor which could help in telling which mood they had. I too was aware of my own whenever I was extremely happy and the other whenever I felt sad. Never once did I use my scent to calm someone else down, nor felt the need to protect someone that much, to the point of kissing them roughly, hungrily enough to sink my teeth into them among other things.

I'd never felt infuriated like that before.

"Stan! You keep this up, you get towel duty and I'll bench your ass gladly during inning! What has been wrong with you these last couple of days?"

"I'm sorry coach..."

"Sorry doesn't cut it! You may be heroes to this institution at the moment but to me, you're all the same when it comes to the game and that goes to all of you!"

"Cut him some slack coach, he actually came face to face with those kidnappers!" Elric tried to defend me and so did the others.

"Yes coach. He saved the campus loner, and we all know what happened to him..." another teammate added. 

"Yea, you should see his eyes coach. They are mesmerizing..." Elric added enthusiastically before the practice hall door flew open, startling everyone.

"You! Out! Now!"

It was him! The campus loner Yeon! What was he doing back on campus so soon? I'd thought held at least need more time to recover.

"You're not allowed here during practice sessions so come back later and mind your manners while on your way out!" The coach yelled at him then turned to look back at me. "How many times has it been this week that people have interrupted..."

"It's because of what happened at the party last week. Don't you know a number of students were drugged?" Jasper who was our captain responded.

"Never in my forty year career have I ever witnessed such an atrocity! What kind of rotten, perverted and lazy generation have you brought upon the human race to have done such an abomination?"

"Coach, we didn't do anything otherwise we would have been suspended already!" Elric added defensively.

"It's your rotten generation regardless! I'm ashamed of being a teacher in this school!" Turning to look back at Yeon, the coach shouted. "Unless you want to join the basketball team, I suggest you get out...and cover your eyes while at it show off! No one cares whether you're freshly marked or not!" 

The entire time as the others exchanged words with the coach, my attention was on him...Yeon...my presumed fated mate. We had no connection between us yet we were fated mates? Even if he wasn't my fated mate, I'd never consider him to be a potential pair.

What surprised me the most was the need to respond to his scent and if it hadn't been for the coach's warning him to mind his manners, I'd have found myself running towards him instinctively.

"He has a lovely scent, can you smell it?" Elric whispered in my ear and I wondered why Yeon would come to campus without giving a thought to the amount of scent he was releasing. He was a walking embarrassment and with eyes like that, he was proudly announcing his incomplete marking to the world, not to mention how much they radiated.

He seemed unsettled by the coach's remark to which he bowed down to apologize before leaving.

"Stan, keep your head together okay! I'm aware what you went through is hard however that can't compare to what that youngster has to deal with from now on so stop sulking, acting like a victim and be the player you've always been. Otherwise, no one is leaving this practice hall until I'm satisfied with all your performance!"

Coach had been ruthless afterwards and I did my best to keep my mind in the game. Once done, we cleaned up, Elric and I choosing to head home since others had afternoon classes.

Just then, I caught the sight of the campus loner and I called out to get his attention. For some reason, I felt angry when I saw him but why was I so mad at him?

"You must think I'm a clueless idiot for you to storm in the practice hall... Did you expect coach to favor you just because you had it worse at the party? Need I remind you there have been other victims besides youself and everyone of them came to thank the basketball team. You're the only one that felt entitled, demanding to see me like a fool. What? Did you think I'd actually come outside just because you said so?"

"You son of a bitch! You're way out of line to talk to me like that when you know nothing about me. I was right to have hated your guts from the first time I saw you."

"How impolite of you. Should I cry and beg you to like me?" I walked closer to him and whispered. I wanted him to despise me just as much as I did him for imprinting on me. "You were throwing yourself at me just like your dear sister has thrown herself to every other guy on this campus."

"Listen, I don't know who the heck you think you are or what you think you know but you have no right to talk about my sister. I was expecting you to meet up to the hero title you'd been so graciously labelled but here you are, calling me impudent and throwing a fit. Secondly, I'd never throw myself to the likes of you even if you were the last maggot in this world. Stay out of my way."

Good I got him angry. There was no way he was my fated mate therefore, I wanted him to continue hating me for as long as he could so this bond can be somewhat broken. I wasn't even sure if my theory made sense. All I knew was there was no way I'd have a guy for a fated mate. Any guy but him! 

He suddenly seemed uneasy, scanning around where we stood as if he was scared of something or someone. Indeed, a crowd had started forming. They were probably following the sweet scent coming out of him not to mention, his easy to spot on eyes. How careless for him to continue to scent out in public.

"If you are going to leave like that, you might as well ask every other sexual predator to come after you. Didn't you hear what the coach said? You're freshly marked. Soon, you'll be begging for release from the person that marked you..."

"You're the one that marked me!" He shouted at me and for a moment, I regretted pushing him to the wall. This wasn't how I'd normally handle confrontations and neither was I the one that had marked him....even though I'd bitten over the markings. I couldn't have possibly initiated his marking when his eyes had already changed colour and secondly, only the hospital knew of me biting his shoulder upon requesting them to be discreet about our presumed fateship ideology. 

"You need to calm down. If you continue to let your emotions control you, the mark will take over and you'll go into heat in the presence of everyone...at least that was how I found you."

My body unconsciously advance towards him but he retreated back. He looked like he wanted the ground to swallow him up as I watched a sweat trail down his face. His heat must have been provoked by his heightened emotions after which, he began to scent more differently, similar to when I found him sprawled in that wretched neighborhood.

"Stan, you need to get him out of here, he's starting to scent out! You do that while we do crowd control." Jasper, who was our team captain yelled at me and boy was I glad to see that they hadn't left us that far since we split up from the practice hall.

"Nothing to see here so go home!" Jasper turned his attention back to the crowd that had already built up.

"Why does it have to be me, any of you can take him!" I retorted, angry that this campus loner had yet again put me in an uncomfortable entanglement with him. 

"Stan, you live close by so take him quickly! This guy won't last much longer!" Jasper shouted back, his eyes facing the crowd. "Unless you want Elric to take him! The rest of us have afternoon classes except for you two..."

Everyone on campus knew Elric. He was a proud playboy and he held that title of his gracefully. This guy may be among the few people Elric hadn't managed to get his dirty hands on and if they were to go together, it'd be like sending a prey straight to the lion's den, and the thought of Elric devouring this guy somewhat infuriated me.

"Fine damn it!"