To say I had one hellish kind of a day was an understatement. First, Lexi left me, which she had to do at some point so she could make it to her class. Then the stares and whispers spiked up, and some weren't even discreet about it anymore. They only stopped talking when a human was within earshot, or if I sent a glare their way. I also noticed that most of them couldn't look me in the eye and acted somewhat scared of me. Then I remember what Lana had said yesterday about how my aura was different. So maybe that was why none of them had the guts to walk up to me and ask or say shit to my face.
Then a hand had come out of nowhere to pull me to a secluded part of campus near the forest. I almost screamed bloody murder and attacked my kidnapper, but quickly recognized the irritating scent of Stacy's perfume. I can't even get a whiff of her original scent. It's almost as if she took a bath in it.
"You look well." She snarls at me after sizing me up.
"Wish I can say the same about you." I retort, eyeing her disheveled form. Her light blond hair seems frizzy and no longer straight like they once were. It's almost like she has neglected to maintain it. And her pale skin seems droopy with bags hanging under her eyes, which are red and puffy. She has makeup on to cover it all, but my sharp eyes can see past all the foundation, blush, and concealer. She's even dressed to kill in a blue lace-up bustier dress that stops mid-thigh. She's probably trying to keep up a front, even though every werewolf in town knows what's going on. I hadn't even seen Brad all day at school. It seems he's burying his head in shame of being deprived of the Alpha's position.
"You must feel smug now, don't you?" She moves back to cross her arms over her chest, giving a nice view of her cleavage. "I'm on the verge of losing my mate, and you, you were claimed by a Lycan Prince. It's like everything's going good for you while I'm in hell right now."
I smirk confidently at her, liking the feel of finally being on top. She had made my life miserable in high school, especially during my senior year. She had bullied me and stole my mate from me. Call me a sadist, but I'm happy she's in misery.
"Don't look so confident yet, Archer." She sneers, taking a step closer and towering over me in her five inches pumps. "He still hasn't marked you, so it's either you're just his toy that he would discard soon enough, or you're just as much a disgrace as you were to Brad. Brad never wanted you, so why would a Prince have you? He's never to going to give you the title of his mate because you're a disgusting, weak..."
I didn't let her finish before the palm of my hand connects with her cheek.
Her neck snaps to the side with such force you would think she'd broken it. And the print of my hand is evident in the pink of cheeks. She blinks in shock before her eyes snap back to mine with so much hatred burning in them.
My blood is boiling with so much anger. And my wolf is at an alert, ready to attack with fierceness. How dare she disrespect me like that. Luna or not, she has no right.
"Bitch!" Her eyes glow a bright green, and her lips pull up in a snarl as she lungs for my throat.
My wolf pumps her strength into my bones, and I counter Stacy's attack by grabbing her wrist and gripping her neck instead. I'm surprised at my fast reflexes, and so is Stacy because she's supposed to be stronger than me. Since she's the next Luna in line and mated to an Alpha, she should have been able to put me into submission in one move. But it seems not as I'm the one gripping her neck and depriving her of air.
Her green eyes dull of their glow and widen a fraction as she claws at my wrist. Gritting my teeth in irritation, I throw her across the air, and her back hits a tree not too far from us, and a sickening crack is heard. I'm once more shocked at my show of strength as Stacy takes in huge gulps of air. She looks pathetic there on the ground, coughing with tears pooled in her eyes.
She slowly gets up, regaining her composure as she stares at me in disbelief. She hadn't been expecting that when she thought about confronting me. She probably thought I would be the weak docile she-wolf she once pushed around in high school with her posse howling words of encouragement behind her. There was something about the way she looked at me right now, something new sparkling in her eyes even though it's just little. Fear. She was scared of me, and I suddenly felt so powerful.
She blinks, and the look is gone, replaced with a spark of vengeance for being humiliated. She's out for blood, my blood. She balls her fist and is about to take a step towards me when someone barks behind me.
"Back off, bitch!" I turn then to see Lana glowering at a stunned Stacy, who's has stopped dead in her tracks.
Even I am shocked that she is standing up to Stacy, her future Luna. What is she doing?
Stacy sizes both of us up and realizes she can't take both of us at once as she backs away. Her eyes are still filled with contempt as she snarls,
"You're dead, Ellie." Then she diverts her eyes to Lana also, "Both of you." She promises before stomping back towards the campus building. I stare at her till she's out of sight before turning towards Lana, who had moved to stand beside me.
"Thanks," I tell her as she smiles at me. "How did you find me?"
She shrugs, "I was looking for you when I saw Stacy drag you over here. And I saw quite a lot." She grins mischievously. "Damn girl, where did you get that kind of strength overnight? Even I wouldn't have been able to throw her as you did. She had seemed like a rag doll you were getting rid of."
I giggle as we slowly began to walk back to campus. "Even I was surprised. But you shouldn't have helped me as you did." I sigh.
"She's our future Luna and can stir a lot of trouble for you, especially if she tells Brad."
She scoffs, dramatically flipping her hair. "Well, she's not our Luna yet. And what kind of Luna attacks her pack members that she's supposed to protect just out of spite?" She huffs with a scowl on her face. I decide to keep quiet, not wanting to bring up an argument. I get where Stacy's coming from a bit; I'm a threat to Stacy's mate bond with Brad, and her wolf is probably going crazy at that thought. No wolf can handle that.
"What about Gina? You two made up yet?" I gingerly ask, knowing how close they had been and how fragile the topic of their big fight was. I've never seen them argue like they had yesterday.
She looks away, but I see the hurt in her eyes before she does. She might have acted tough yesterday, but she still likes Gina as her friend a lot. Those two have been together since middle school. At least that's what she had told me.
She sighs in frustration as she runs her hand through her hair. "She came over last night and said she was sorry." She pauses before shaking her head. "No, scratch that. She only said we should put it behind us and act like it never happened. But that just got me all the more pissed. I mean I've always known her to be a snobbish, self-absorbed and impudent bitch, and I have learned to accept her for who she is and only focus on her good qualities, which are little. But she crossed a line yesterday, and I can't keep letting her off the hook every damn time. She needs to understand she can't always get her way."
Her chest is heaving by the time she's through, and her jaw clenched in determination. Yeah, I knew it was a fragile topic. And it seems there's more to it than just what Gina had done to me.
I place my hand on her shoulder, and she relaxes her tense form. "Listen, Lana. You don't have to fight with your best friend over me. I really don't care what she thinks of me as long as she doesn't say it to my face or do anything stupid."
She chuckles, but there's little to no humor in it. "It's not just about you, Ellie. There's more to it, and I'm tired of keeping quiet." She announces, leaving me curious. I want to know what else she had done to make sweet Lana so mad, but I knew she wasn't in the mood to talk about it.
"On a lighter note, how's sex with a Lycan?" She teases with a smirk on her plump lips. I swat her shoulder with my hand and hide my face away to hide my blush. She laughs at my flustered expression as we make it to where students are bustling.
"Oh, stop acting like a prude. Tell me, how's living with a Prince." She wiggles her eyebrows suggestively, but I only roll my eyes at her. Sitting on the glass, I flex my neck before sitting my book on my lap.
I had my next class in about an hour, and I intend to spend it away from all the burning stares. Lana sits opposite me with her legs crossed in front, Indian style.
"I hate it." I suddenly say, making her arch an eyebrow at me. "I hate living with Reagan. I'm not allowed to go anywhere except for school. It's like I'm grounded or held prisoner. I'm a werewolf, Lana. I'm not used to being cooped up inside!" I burst out before falling on my back to the grass.
I feel her come to lie beside me on the itchy grass, but I keep staring up at the clear blue sky.
"That sucks. I don't know how Lycan mating works, but I don't think you should be treated like some Rapunzel," I say nothing as I feel her turn to her side towards me.
"What are you going to do?" She asks, probably already seeing the wheel turning in my head. I smirk, still looking up before taking a glance at her.
"Do you still have that spray that masks your scent?"
She furrows her eyebrows, already understanding where I'm going with this. "Yes, I do." My smirk widens as I roll into my stomach, facing her as she still lies on her side.
"Would you like to accompany me to visit my aunt at Red Moon Pack?" I grin devilishly at her. Her eyes widen, and I'm not sure if it's because of the name, Red Moon, or because I'm planning on running away.
She abruptly stands up before blinking at me. "Red Moon? Your aunt's from Red Moon?! But that pack is known to be very dangerous. No one in their right mind goes there. They're not even addressed as Red Moon but Blood Moon now."
I roll my eyes as she keeps on rambling while she sits up.
"I hear they bathe themselves in the blood of their enemies."
"Would you shut up?" I snap while also sitting up. "Most of those things you hear about Red Moon pack isn't true."
Red Moon Pack is a secluded pack located in Oakland. It's deep in the forest and cut out from civilization. Rogues who venture into there never come out alive, and their warriors are known to be ruthless. I've also heard a lot of gruesome gossips about them. But when my aunt got mated to a pack member of theirs, I realized most of the gossips was made up. Yes, they don't let rogues off easily and sometimes kill them on sight, but this is for the protection of their pack members. Most rogues are dangerous and kill other werewolves pack members for pleasure.
"They're not that bad," I explain to her so she would calm down. "I've been there lots of times, and they're very inviting. They just don't like associating with non-pack members. And since my aunt is part of them, I'm welcomed too."
"Yeah, but I'm not a pack member." She interjects while crossing her arm over her chest.
"As long as you're with me, they're going to accept you. Trust me, Lana." I assure her, placing my hand on her shoulder. Her eyes dart about as she's lost deep in thought, contemplating the whole thing. She bites her lip before turning back to me.
"How long are we staying?" She asks, making my smile widen in triumph.
"Just a few days for Reagan to learn his lesson and for me to breath." Red Moon Pack was the perfect pack for that. No one would be able to trace me there as it's secluded, and I'll have Lana's spray to help make sure of that. I just need to find a way to transport out of this town without getting caught.