Amanda and Tabitha slowly walked toward the dorms. Amanda still hadn’t heard anything from Ruby, which seemed kind of odd to her; Ruby was usually good about responding to back to r texts.
Amanda wasn’t paying attention when Tabitha stopped and pulled back on her arm, making her stop in her steps. She looked over at Tabitha who was staring at something ahead of them. She turned to look in the direction Tabitha was staring and saw Hudson. Amanda sucked in a breath as her heart quickened and she felt a flutter in her stomach. As she looked at him she could see he was wearing a hoodie and had his head covered while he leaned against the wall.
“You want me to stay?” Tabitha asked.
Amanda scratched the top of her nose and shook her head. “No, I think I got it.”
Tabitha gave her a gentle squeeze before making her way to the front door of their dorm hall. Hudson pulled away from the wall as Tabitha got closer to him.
She pointed her finger in his face. “You may be my Alpha and best friend, but if you hurt Amanda, I will hurt you.”
Hudson wasn’t surprised that his friend would say that to him. He got it— he’d screwed up. He simply nodded before she walked through the door.
He looked back over to where Amanda was still standing; she hadn’t moved. He started to make his way to her as she started to walk toward him.
Amanda felt conflicted. She didn’t know whether to be mad at him for not including her or hurt because she felt like he was pushing her away.
“Hey,” he said when he got closer.
“Hey,” she said quietly. “Are you feeling better?”
He nodded. “Still pretty banged up, but on the mend.”
She mouthed the word “Oh.”
She rubbed her arms, as she was getting cold. It was taking everything she had not to wrap her arms around him.
Hudson smirked. “Hey, come here,” he told her as he grabbed her hand and pulled her into his arms.
They both let out a sigh.
Amanda’s wolf Willow purred as she enjoyed feeling the warmth of their mate.
Artemis was also sucking up all that he could before it would end.
“Well, isn’t this just the cutest thing?”
Hudson groaned as Amanda froze in his arms. They both knew exactly who it was.
“What do you want, Ophelia?” Hudson growled.
“Hudson, I believe you do recall that I go to school here, this just so happens to be the dorm hall that I live in, where we ran into each other the other night,” she squeaked out.
“Is that? Oh my goodness, it’s little Mandi Stevens. I didn’t think that I would be seeing you again,” Ophelia said to her in a condescending tone.
Hudson tightened his hold on Amanda as he could feel her anger rise. “Ophelia, why don’t you just keep going on your way and leave us alone?”
“You can’t tell me what to do, Hudson Harlow. You’re not the boss of me or my Alpha. I can go anywhere I want to!” she yelled.
Amanda had about enough of Ophelia. She pulled away from Hudson’s arms and stared her down, feeling Willow shifting to the surface. “Ophelia, you think you can mess with me like you did when I was in high school, but I have changed. And just so we are clear, Hudson is my mate. MY MATE. So, you can forget trying to dig your claws into my man. Do you understand?”
“Well, I never—” Ophelia started.
“Been talked to that way? Well, there’s a first for everything,” Amanda finished.
Ophelia narrowed her eyes at Amanda, “This is not over, little Mandi Stevens.”
“Oh, I believe it is, and it’s Amanda,” she corrected.
Ophelia stomped her foot as she threw a tantrum before storming off.
Amanda smiled. That. Felt. Good.
Hudson looked at Amanda with admiration. He was so proud of how she handled herself against Ophelia; he never thought he’d see the day that Amanda stood up to her.
He pulled her back into his arms. “That was incredible,” he told her as he leaned in and kissed her on the forehead.
But Amanda was still in a slow burn. She pushed back from Hudson. “I believe we have a few things to clear up between us as well,” she told him.
Hudson dropped his arms and let out a sigh. “Okay.”
You shouldn’t do this, Willow warned.
“Why didn’t you tell me about the fight?” she asked.
Hudson groaned as he ran his fingers through his hair. “I didn’t want to get you involved,” he confessed. “I was worried that they would use you to get to me.”
Amanda pressed her lips together in a thin line. That was a good reason. “But I could have helped you.”
“How?”
“I don’t know,” she said with a shrug. “I could have supported you.”
“I had the pack there to support me,” he told her.
Amanda’s heart ached when she heard that. “And so what am I? Am I not a part of the pack?”
“I didn’t mean it like that.” Hudson could feel his annoyance building inside him. “You think this has been easy for me? Everyone thinks I’m weak because my mate had to save me from the Lycan King. if I didn’t fight that Alpha today, it would be someone else tomorrow. And if you had been there, they would have assumed I needed you there to fight my fights for me. I can defend myself and this pack by myself without assistance from anyone.”
He turned and started to walk, putting distance between himself and Amanda; he knew he was getting out of control again.
“I just don’t understand this one-eighty attitude you have for me. One moment you are leaving me a note with a rose telling me how much you love me, then the next moment you’re pushing me away and not letting me feel like I’m a part of the pack or someone important in your life,” she confessed.
He walked back over to her and rested his hands on the sides of her face, forcing her to look him in the eyes. “You are so important to me. I just haven’t learned how to juggle being Alpha to the pack and you’re mate at the same time. It just takes time.” He leaned over and rested his forehead against hers. “Please don’t give up on me?”
Amanda’s heart ached as her gut got twisted when she heard that. “Of course, I’m not giving up on you. But you have to let me in,” she said to him softly.
Hudson nodded his head in understanding. “I know, I know.”
“And at some point, someone is going to have to talk to me about all this wolf stuff. Just because my wolf has finally told me her name doesn’t mean she and I are besties now.”
Hudson pulled back to look at her. “Well?”
Amanda smiled as she leaned up and whispered her wolf’s name into his ear.
Fighting for my Mate
Mated to my Bully (Book 1)