Seven

Raven

The week dragged on and I tried as much as possible to avoid Vlad despite the countless times he tried to talk to me. My crush on him grew like a weed, taking over every rational thought in my brain.

 Guilt gnawed away at my heart and mind. A small, selfish part of myself wanted to play my fantasies out but I knew better. We were from two different worlds and my feelings for him were forbidden.

Ms. Alicia was my saving grace because she always kept a tight leash on him. 

"Hey Romeo, I see you've been working hard on calculating your chances with Raven," Ms. Alicia whispered to him when he bullied my seatmate and sent him to the back. But let me tell you, calculus is the only equation you need to focus on right now before trying to solve the equation of love."

Vlad laughed and winked at me. His laugh was the most beautiful sound I ever heard. It was light and musical and made all other sounds seem bland by comparison. 

"What can I say? She's cute."

My cheeks flushed and I looked away. I had to keep myself from thinking about him and these stupid, idiotic, dreamy fantasies no matter how badly I wanted to, else I'd be digging my own grave.

We were expecting him to get bored soon, but as the days went by, he never stopped attending the math club. On Friday, the school's soccer coach stomped into the classroom and lashed out at him.

"Vlad! What the hell do you think you're doing? Why are you in the math club?"

Ms. Alicia crossed her arms, keeping her temper in check. Vlad shrugged nonchalantly and had a smirk on his face.

"Coach, being in the math club is not affecting my extracurricular activities or my soccer, so I don't see any problem here."

The coach went beet red with rage, pacing the front of the room like a wounded tiger. He looked so fierce that cold crabbed up my legs. 

"What the hell is that supposed to mean? You don't have time for all of this. The math club is time-consuming, as well as the soccer team, and I don't know why Ms. Alicia even took you in the first place."

Ms. Alicia raised her hands in mock surrender. It seemed as though the coach and she had an unsettled beef going on.

"It would surprise you that Vlad here has a great talent for solving complex equations, and I can't just discriminate against him. As the guidance counselor, I encourage students to pursue their interests."

"He doesn't need this," the coach exploded with vengeance. "He's the quarterback, for crying out loud."

Vlad ran a hand through his hair. He seemed to do that often. "Coach, math club, and soccer team have different schedules. I can easily balance both."

"You're wasting your time on something that's not important for your future," the coach retorted.

Ms. Alicia had a tight-lipped smile. The poor woman looked like she was about to snap, and I didn't like that the coach was frustrating her.

"Every student has the right to choose their interests, and Vlad is no exception. I won't force him to leave the math club, and if he can balance his time, I don't see the problem," Ms. Alicia said firmly.

"Ms. Alicia, I'm not asking you to force him. I'm demanding you kick him out, or I will involve the principal in this. We need him to focus on the game," the coach snapped. 

"You can take this case to the principal. Now, please excuse me, I've got students to teach."

When Vlad held my gaze, he smiled while biting his lip. My breathing quickened, and the stupid longing I felt for him intensified like a thirst that couldn't be quenched. 

I couldn't wait to turn eighteen to find my mate, knowing that the moon goddess would never pair me with a vampire. 

He tilted his head to one side and relaxed into his seat, chuckling. I looked away, fidgeting with my pencil that had Clarissa's tech company logo on it.

That afternoon, the sun beat down on the clearing, making me sweat and glisten as I joined the compulsory Werewolf and Lycan training. 

 The sound of grunts and growls filled the air as we pushed ourselves to our limits, running through obstacle courses, and jumping over logs. 

The trainer assigned us to partners for the next drill. My heart sank when I saw who my partner was.

Nova.

She scowled at me, her eyes full of hate. For unknown reasons, she was mad at me. This was about to get rough. The trainer blew the whistle, and the drill began.

Nova and I circled each other, sizing each other up. When she lunged at me, I dodged her attack and kept my anger in check because, after all, she was my sister and I knew her health condition.

She was delicate and sickly, having a blood mix of seventy-five percent werewolf and twenty-five lycan. Her mum, Clarissa, was a pure werewolf. She and my dad were the first Lycan and Werewolf to mate after almost fifty years of rivalry.

 Because of this, Nova's immune system was weak and she was on drugs that helped with allergies.

While I dodged her, she scraped my neck with her nails. Pain shot through me as I felt a warm trickle of blood down my neck.

She sneered at me, with crystal blue eyes full of rage, taunting me to fight back. Breathing heavily, I warned her to stop, knowing she'd go crying to our dad that I beat her up. But when she did it again, I seized her hand. 

"Seriously, Nova, did you have to hurt me like that?" I snapped as a light breeze rustled through the trees, carrying the scent of pine and earth.

  "Oh please, stop overreacting. It's not my fault you're too weak to handle it."

 "What's your problem with me? Do you hate me so much?"

She rolled her eyes. "You're not worth my time. Besides, what other reputation do you have except for sucking cocks?"

I opened my mouth to lash at her but bit my tongue instead. 

"You're always so aggressive," I said with a carefully controlled tone. "I'm your sister. You should stop trying to hurt me on purpose."

"If you can't handle it, then stay out of my way and you better stay away from Vlad, else I'll tell Dad and you'll get kicked out a second time."

My jaw slacked with surprise, wondering what Vlad had to do with this, but my brain figured it out and I threw my head back in a bark of laughter, clutching my stomach while at it. 

She crossed her arms, glaring at me with spite.

"You like him don't you? "

"What! " She stiffened and growled "He's a bloodsucker. Why would I like him? I'm disgusted at you for having the hots for him"

"Yeah right," I scoffed. "Since when did you care about me? You're being very unreasonable not to notice that I'm staying away from him but he keeps coming after me. So while reporting to Dad, have the decency, to tell the truth."

"Stay the hell from him," she balled her fists and narrowed her gaze, her eyes wild like a simmering pot on the stove. "Whenever you see him, run as far away as possible." 

"Are you being dense right now or have you lost your hearing? How else do you expect me to stay away from him when he practically keeps invading my space? Am I supposed to disappear into thin air? "

Nova shrugged. "That would save us from seeing your ugly cuntface."

She turned around and headed to Ivy, her cousin. I sighed and wiped my face with a towel. I decided to not get bothered by her and headed back to the dorm to freshen up after training. I picked a clean hoodie and paired it with a petal skirt that stopped at my knees.

Then I headed for lunch, eagerly digging into my plate of chicken Alfredo pasta, enjoying the creamy sauce coating and tender chunks of chicken.

 Completely satisfied, I headed to class to read. On my way, the matron stopped me.

"Come with me. Your mum is in my office."

"My mum?" I raised my brow in questioning, wondering what she was doing in my school.

The matron rolled her eyes highlighting her ugly face. My heart hammered in my chest as my mum was the last person I wanted to see. 

What did she want from me?

I headed to the matron's house. Outside, I sighted my mum's grey Sienna. She was truly here.

I pushed open the heavy oak door, the sound of creaking echoing through the room. My eyes quickly scanned the room, searching for a familiar face. And there she was, standing with her back to me. I took in her petite frame and sighed.

She looked older and despite how she tried to upgrade her wardrobe, she looked shabby in a peplum jacket and long kilt skirt. 

The only thing we shared in common was our height. I was the spitting image of my dad. She turned to face me, a forced, unnatural smile plastered on her face.

Expecting nothing more than toxicity, I stepped forward. My dad nicknamed her mouth almighty, a name she earned because of her grumpy and bad temperament. 

Hesitantly, I extended my arms for a hug. The moment our bodies touched, I felt a jolt of discomfort. I pulled away quickly, feeling relieved to have the awkward embrace over.

"What are you doing here, Mother?"

"Here we go again with the mother tag," she snapped. "You just look for any way you can to annoy me. Call me Mum."

I rolled my eyes, thinking I was finally free from her constant negativity as she hadn't even bothered to care if I was dead or alive. All that mattered to her was her mate, Duncan, aka king shit which I guess filled his seven-month pregnant barrel belly.

Duncan hated me so much and he and my mum would always enter huge debts, expecting my dad to clear them.

"To what do I owe this visit?"

"What's that supposed to mean? Can't I check on my daughter? We haven't talked in months and you don't care?" she asked in a condescending tone. "How long has it been since I've seen you? Five months?"

I didn't want to argue with her and a lump formed in my throat, preventing me from speaking.

"See, this is why I don't call you anymore. You're so hostile."

I swallowed thickly, waiting for the bombshell to drop. 

"Hope you don't have plans to ruin the family's reputation again? It's bad enough that you constantly remind me of your dad who left me for that snotty-nosed hag."

Well, there you have it. I should have walked away, but the matron was watching us. Instead, I clenched my teeth, furious that she had no respect for me whatsoever. 

 "I haven't disgraced the family name. You're the one who's always talking down to me and treating me like I'm nothing."

"Oh, that's right. You are nothing, Raven. You're just a burden I have to carry because of my stupid mistake."

A tear threatened to spill down my cheeks but I sucked it in. "Mother, I was having a good day before you came here and now you're here to blame you for all the mistakes you made? Maybe Dad chose Clarissa because he couldn't stand your nastiness."

My mum flinched and her eyes burned with hate. "How dare you! I see you're now taking lessons from that proud stepmother of yours who's feeding you with a bunch of lies. Your dad loved me until she bought him over with her ill-gotten wealth."

"Stop it, mum. I'm tired of hearing your toxic words. When I turn eighteen, I swear that I'll run far away from you where you'll never see me anymore."

"That's not how to talk to your mum," the matron snapped."You're always getting into trouble and causing problems. You need to be brought down a peg or two and thank your mum for even sticking out with you. You seduced a teacher and turned the tables around."

"I didn't do it!" I yelled at the top of my lungs. "You're such a mean person, you and my mum. That man deceived me, pretending to be sick, and almost raped me yet you're blaming me? How low can you get?"

The matron scowled at me and I turned to face my mum. "Don't come looking for me anymore. If you ever do, I'll report you to Dad for harassing me."

She broke into a bitter laugh. "But Clarissa is allowed to visit? Do you think she's ever going to accept you as hers? Didn't you tell me some years back that you overheard her confessing to her best friend, wishing she didn't have a blended family? Do you know what that means? You're a damn burden."

Unable to bear my mum's nasal voice, I ran out of the office with tears blinding my eyes that I didn't notice when I fell into someone's arms and an unmistakable scent filled my nostrils.