ON HIS WATCH

Aurelia breathed a sigh of relief. That was it. She was finished. Her college days are over. She had turned in her senior final paper to her last professor and walked out of the stuffy classroom into the bright sunshine.

“Ari! Ari, wait up” And just like that she tensed back up. Josh was the last person she really wanted to see. He was persistent, she would give him that. But Aurelia had never felt anything for him beyond mild annoyance and, for some reason, revulsion. His touch had always made her shudder, and not in a good way.

Turning to greet him, she pasted a smile on her face that she tried her best to make look genuine. “Yes, Josh. What can I do for you, today?”

“You finished you paper and turned it in, didn’t you?” The young man was handsome by anyone standards, but he still seemed to creep Aurelia out. The hair on the back of her neck rose as Josh touched her shoulder.

“Yes, Josh, I did? Why?” She knew she was being rude, but she was tired of his pursuit of her. For four years he had chased her and for four years, she had rebuffed him. It seemed that he just wasn’t getting the idea that she wasn’t interested.

“Well, because......You promised you would go out with me when you were done with school. So, how about it?” The smirk on his face made her want to scream.

“I never made you a promise, Josh. I said maybe. And truthfully, I would have thought that after four years of no’s you would have gotten the idea that I wasn’t interested in you. I’m tired of being nice. I’ve put you off and put you off. Now, I'm flat out telling. I’m not interested in going out with you. I don’t like you and I never have. Only good manners prevent me from saying anything else. Now, please leave me alone and do not bother me again, or I will report you to campus security as a stalker.” Aurelia turned to walk away when Josh grabbed her arm and yanked her around to face him.

“You stupid bitch! You could have had anything you wanted. I could have saved you from what’s coming after you. I could have protected you. But now, now you’re on your own. Don’t come crying to me when your life gets really difficult. The funny thing is that you aren’t even aware of your heritage. You don’t even know what you are!” Josh sneered at her as she backed away from him, truly frightened.

Josh turned and stalked off, leaving Aurelia to release the breath that she had been holding.

*************************************************************

Alexzander sat on a bench a little ways away and watched the interaction. He was about to jump up when the boy grabbed his ward. She was frightened, he could see that. However, it never really escalated too much. Mostly the boy shouted at Aurelia.

He could see she was scared, but she stood her ground. He was proud of her. Her grandfather would have been proud of her, too, had he been there. Of course, had the girl’s grandfather been there, the boy would likely have wound up dead for touching his granddaughter. Even at a distance, he protected her. That’s why the Order had been brought in. To protect where her family could not.

After all, how do you tell someone that has lived their entire lives in ignorance of the supernatural world that they were part of it. No, it was decided that Aurelia had been through enough in her young life and that she would be spared until she met her mate. A mate that would awaken her beast. However, it was beginning to be obvious that her mate was not making an appearance any time soon.