Untamed (Rejected Mate Academy #1) - E. M. Moore Page 0,10

in the winter.

A knock sounds on my door that I don’t recognize at first because I’m in shock. It gets louder, and I march toward it, tugging the door open, prepared to tell Ms. Ebon exactly what I think about school uniforms. A petite, brown-haired girl has her hand up, preparing to knock again. When she sees me, her eyes round.

Instantly, my fury drains away and is replaced with apprehension. “Oh, sorry.”

She chuckles. “Let me guess. You found the uniforms.”

I track my gaze down her torso to find she’s wearing the same sweats I am but with a Hello Kitty shirt. Prior experiences with shifters my own age have made me standoffish, so I narrow my eyes, waiting for her to talk first.

This new girl is undeterred. “I’m Mia,” she tells me. “Daybreak Pack.” She hikes her thumb over her shoulder, indicating the far end of the hall. “I’ve been waiting for you to get here.” Pulling out a basket from behind her, she shoves it between us. A box of tissues, an inordinate amount of chocolate, and a glittery unicorn journal are all packed prettily inside.

“What’s this?”

“I made you a welcome basket. Though….” She appraises me. “Looks like you don’t need the tissues. Most people are a hot mess when they first get here.”

I lean against the doorframe. “Too pissed to be a hot mess.”

She shoves the basket into my chest, forcing me to take it as she walks inside my new domain. She sits down on the foot of my bed like we’ve been friends for years. The hair on the back of my neck raises, and I wonder if this is what it’s like to socialize with people. I’ve seen it from the outside, but I know nothing about friendly meetings.

Hanging out? Is that what this is?

“So, what’s your story?” she asks, peering around my room. When I don’t respond, she peeks at me. “You might as well tell me now. This place leaks like a sieve. We’re all the castoffs, so we have to find consolation in each other.”

“My mate rejected me,” I answer stupidly.

She rolls her eyes. “Duh.” Sighing, she says, “I’ll go first. My mate is a piece of shit who’s been dating the same girl for years. When we all shifted for the first time and he didn’t get matched with her, he rejected me. Oh, and she rejected the mate she’d been fated to also. We’re both here.”

My mouth drops. “No shit.” I had no idea people could be rejected for the dumbest fucking thing. Actually, I should have realized that. My rejection is fucking ridiculous, too.

“Your turn.” She leans forward eagerly, brown hair falling over her shoulders.

“My mate,” I snarl. Yep, still having problems saying that out loud, “rejected me because he thinks, and I quote, ‘Kinsey Walker has never tried to become part of Lunar Pack.’”

She grimaces. “Harsh.”

“Yeah. He’s security for our alpha, so apparently he wants a mate who will just do whatever he says.” I smile at the new girl. “That’s never been my thing.”

She smirks. “I like you, Kinsey. We should be friends.”

My wolf lifts her head. Just when I think she’ll most likely be avoiding others for the rest of our mutual life, she suddenly gains interest. Her ears flatten, attuned to what's going on. It’s weird because I can feel the move rather than see it. Evidently, she loves the idea of being friends with another wolf, even if we’re not in the same pack. “I’m not going to lie, Mia. I’ve never been friends with anyone before, so I’ll probably be a lot more trouble than it’s worth.”

She laughs, the sound ricocheting around the bare room. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but you’re the weirdest wolf I’ve ever met.”

If it weren’t for the light in her eyes, I might have taken offense, but really, I’m fine with that assessment.

I hold up the basket. “So, chocolate?”

“Girl, I thought you’d never ask.”

I break open all the bags and have a seat on the bed next to her. “Best part about being a wolf,” I proclaim, shoving a piece of chocolate into my mouth, “you never get fat.”

“I went on an eating spree once, just to make sure. I swear, I ate so many freaking calories I almost didn’t touch food for a month. It was around the time when that human swimmer Michael Phelps was all over the news for eating an insane number of calories a day. I was sure there was a threshold