Hello, Cutie

It was the second week of the semester, and Lucy was stuck at the Pack's booth. (Ostentatiously for an astronomy and mixed martial arts club that didn't actually exist, but the Dean was aware of the supernatural students on her campus, and had approved the fake club for reasons of finding out which freshmen were involved with the spooky stuff.) So far, the year was unexciting. There had been one emissary-in-training from South Dakota whose mentor had let the Pack know ahead of time, and Teddy had pointed out the three wolves, from Jacksonville, FL, somewhere in Wyoming, and the annoying, beta prick who thought he was alpha material and talked with a New Jersey accent.

Teddy was winning their game of Old Maid, too, while the third member assigned by their alpha to the booth, Amelia, was lying with her chin on her arms, bored stupid and not even attempting to catch the attention of anyone in the passing crowd.

That was when Lucy noticed the guy a few booths down and lowly whistled, eyes tracking him with interest. Teddy dropped his hand and turned in his chair, following her sightline, until he landed on the same guy and also made an appreciative noise. "Hello, cutie."

Tall and slim, despite strong shoulders, from the back they noticed his nice ass and lanky legs in a fitted pair of jeans. When he shifted so they could see his profile, both wolves found themselves locking on to the pale skin of his throat, and the lengthy forearms revealed by the rolled up shirtsleeves. Moles were dotted here and there, wide mouth, stubborn chin, good nose, and eyes that they couldn't catch the color of, hiding behind absurdly dark lashes. His brown hair was a mess, styled up, and the geeky t-shirt under a red-and-blue plaid overshirt was worn soft and clung to his chest. And on his (big, Lucy noted with a grin) feet were a ludicrously broken in pair of Chucks.

She and Teddy exchanged a look and their constant competition chimed in. "Bet I can get his number first." "Bet I can get his ass first."

Which was when Amelia finally scoffed. "Neither of you is gonna get a handshake from him."

"What?" Teddy demanded. "You can't say he's out of my league, because he's not." That was true. Teddy was 5 feet 11 inches of gorgeous Italian descent, equal opportunity, and went through bed partners like their alpha's mate went through shoes.

Rolling her eyes, Amelia snorted. "He's already got a pack, and I'm betting they're overprotective."

Now it was Lucy frowning at the younger girl. "Explain."

Stretching her arms out in front of her, Amelia said, "Ran into him in the library a few days ago. He stinks of pack. It was pretty obvious a whole bunch of wolves, and a few other things that I didn't recognize the smell of, had taken the time to rub themselves all over his clothes before he came to college."

Unfortunately, Lucy knew Amelia had the best nose in the pack, so the guy was likely off limits.

Teddy's curiosity got the better of him. "Other things?"

"Yeah. Something lizard-y, something that had a weird hint of rain on the ocean and lilies, two things that smelled like not-quite-wolves, so probably other lupine shifters, and his base scent was mostly human, but with notes of fire and electricity."

"So some sort of witch?" Lucy suggested.

Amelia dropped her head back down, clearly done with the conversation. "How the hell should I know? Witches smell like ash, not a currently burning flame. I dunno what all he is."

That was when a throat was cleared, and all three looked up to find the subject of their conversation standing in front of their booth. His mouth was curling in the promise of a laugh. "He is a spark, which is like a witch or a druid, but with less need for rituals to get shit done. And he can see pretty easily through your weird little fake club, what with the calendar that says you meet up two days each month that he knows are the full moon and half moon. He's also taken, although the interest is appreciated."

And that was when they got a whiff of the one thing Amelia had failed to mention (on purpose, going by the way she was smirking): the overpowering smell of mate, something dark and strong and alpha.

Lucy bit her tongue. You didn't flirt with an alpha's mate, not unless you wanted to loose something. Teddy, on the other hand, was simply more fascinated now. "Where are you from?"

The guy, who looked maybe 19 but his amber eyes were definitely older, started laughing. "Holy shit, why didn't your alpha tell anyone?"

"Huh?"

Shifting on his feet, he chuckled. "I've seen you before," he nodded to Amelia. "But you two-" he waved a hand at Lucy and Teddy. "-are numbers 8 and 9 of the local pack who I've met and who don't have a clue who I am, despite the fact I contacted your alpha months ago to get the lay of the land. My name's Stiles Stilinski, and I'm the emissary and alpha-mate from Beacon Hills, California."

That made even Amelia's jaw drop.

"Didn't you guys have a kanima?"

"You ran off the alpha pack!"

"There's an active nemeton there!"

The man's shrug was disturbingly casual. "We keep busy."

…

…

…

Notes: In this version of the future, EVERYONE LIVES, and no one moved away to London or "South America". The non-wolf smells are, respectively, Jackson, Lydia, and Malia and Kira.