I found my mother sitting on the short row of steps in the backyard. “What are you doing here? Was the pasta that bad?” She asked, immediately I sat down.I huffed, shaking my head in disbelief. “Of course not, mom. It’s just that I was lost in my thoughts. I was wondering why your face seemed so sullen. And I kept wondering what the Lycan king had said in the meeting about me. My mind conjured up the worst thoughts, and believing that, had caused me to drop the fork. Mom, I could never be unhappy with your food. Never think of that again.” I replied, placing my hand across her shoulder, whilst pressing myself to her. She hugged me then by the side, rocking me gently, more to console herself than to reassure me. Anything to make her feel okay. I thought, wrapping my arms around her too. Perhaps Lent was right. I had been the cause of the uproar tonight. If I hadn’t let go of the reins of my mind, if I hadn’t believed the stupid imaginations of my mind, then the fork in my hand wou
“Are you sure that you are okay with going to school today? You can tell Naomi about the recent developments when she comes to pick you in a few minutes' time. You don’t need to go to school.” My mother started, as her eyes made a trail, from my head to the chunky boots which adorned my feet. I had told her that Naomi would be picking me up this morning for school; there was no need for me joining a still furious Lilian in her car. However, I understood my mother’s worries. Tucking me into bed last night, she had asked me why I had kept the bullying from her all these while. I had told her that I hadn’t wanted to trouble her with my troubles. But she had been adamant with the theory of being better off knowing about the situation before it had been brought to the council. “Mom, I will be okay. No one will touch me, not after what the king had proposed. I will be fine. Naomi will be with me too.” I answered, putting my books into my backpack, despite the knowledge that I wouldn
“Maya!” Naomi shouted my name, extricating me from my wholesome thoughts. A smile bloomed on her lips when our gazes met. A smile that wavered the next second when she just realized something—the furrows on her forehead were enough giveaway. I am sure it was because of the news. Her parents must have told her.“Hey babes, good morning.” I greeted her, nudging her by the shoulder when she pouted and looked away. “Come on, you know it’s not my fault. Let’s get out of here though, before they bear holes in your head with their eyes.” I said, dragging her by the arm to her bike which was a few feet away from her. She turned then, chuckling softly when she saw the looks on the faces of my siblings and my father. “I bet they didn’t see the change coming. Their loss really.” She got on the bike, and handed me a helmet. “Yeah, thanks.”I will miss this bike too. I thought, as I hung my arms around her waist. Maybe, I could get mine when I got to the city of humans. Maybe, I could learn h
Why was the time damn slow? Shouldn’t it be time for lunch? I wondered, my eyes catching the square clock that has been hanging in our class, since forever. “You shouldn't have bothered coming to school today if you were going to be this distracted.” Naomi whispered as she brought her head and book close to me like she was showing me something. The professor was looking at us.I shrugged at her question, not knowing what to say. She was right. But what she didn't know was that I had come to school to catch a glimpse of Adam for the last time.It was stupid. It was a lame expectation. Nevertheless, I was yearning for an alone time with him again. “You could have waited for me at your house. You know, spend more time with your mother...” Naomi was saying, and I just nodded along, not having anything to contribute to the discussion. The bell rang for lunch then, and we all breathed out in relief. We, as in the whole class. It was obvious that I wasn’t the only one bored out of my head
Adam’s eyes remained fixed on me as he spoke on the details of the party that had been arranged in my honor. This caused flurry tingles to assail my belly continuously. “Does this suit your taste, Maya?” He asked suddenly, and my cough started all over again.Naomi snickered before handing the water can to me for the second time. She must be finding this very hilarious. Well, wasn't it? And why the hell was I coughing? Was it because he was addressing me in public or what? Jeez, Maya, get a grip on yourself.“Maya..” He called again, ignoring Claire’s rude snort. The girl must be gritting her teeth at this point. She must also be wishing that I was dead and buried, for having gotten the attention of the king. Well, too bad it was only for tonight. I would have loved to torture her the more with this facade that Adam was putting on. I was sure that he was trying to make amends because his father had instructed him to. Naomi pinched me then. “He is calling you, Maya. For god's sake,
The cafeteria was buzzing with hungry students as usual. But this time around, something was different. They were all giving me side glances. Hadn’t they had their full of sly looks this morning? I wondered, still beside Naomi. We were walking toward the queue to get our own food. “So…when are you going to meet him?” Naomi asked, bringing my attention to another topic that had taken residence in my head. Since Adam had mentioned and planted the motion that he wanted to see me during the lunch break, I’ve been spacing out a lot.It was obvious, well at least to me, by the look in his eyes, that the last thing he wanted to talk about was some damn party. He wanted to kiss me, maybe even fuck me. Would I let him? That was the question that had been brewing in my mind all this while. Would I let Adam fuck me?“You have spaced out again. It is good that you are actually leaving really. I don’t know where your mind would have been in if you were actually still staying here. Adam would
The terrace. That’s where I thought we were going to, but seeing Adam take a detour into the garden right after the terrace was a huge stop in the show. My movements slowed until it came to an abrupt halt. Why the garden? What is going on there? I looked around me. There was no student or teacher in plain sight. Everyone was busy eating their lunches and I was here following an ex bully, or still bully—who knows what he has in stock for me—into a garden I haven’t been in since ninth grade. “Coming or not?” Adam questioned with an emotionless face, as he suddenly turned around to face me. He must have noticed that I wasn’t following him anymore. “Where are we going?” I asked him, slipping my hands into the pockets of my jacket. I was nervous; like so nervous. “The garden obviously. Are you blind too?” He piqued an eyebrow. “Stop behaving like a scaredy cat and follow me. I am not going to eat you up, unless of course the eating has to do with the hotness down there.” He laughe
He brought me to the secret lair of he and his brothers? Was that a trick statement meant to make me swoon and drop down my pants or was he really telling the truth? “So, keep it a secret. Don’t tell Naomi even.” Adam said, stepping away from me finally. He turned aside to look at the waterfall. “Sure I will keep your secret. Although I don’t know if it’s because saying it out would spoil your getaways with other girls whom you might have said the same thing to, or if it is because…” I was still talking—still asking myself when I had gotten this brazen—when all of a sudden Adam's lips were on mine. A record time. I thought, before blinking my eyes closed and kissing him as softly as he was doing. It was like he was worshipping my lips. But how fast could he move? It wasn’t his birthday yet. One second I was talking, and the next second or less than that, he was right up here with me. I wish I was that fast. I would have left the pack a long time ago. “You still think I
I should be in the classroom reserved for detention but I was back at the bleak place again. That place thrummed with filth and despair, just like before.I sighed when a woman's despairing cry echoed in my soul, tearing at me, reprimanding me, drawing me back from the edge of a great precipice. Had I fallen asleep during detention?It was just as before.Every cell in my body craved food and something else, something I could lay my finger on, mostly because I had rehearsed the dream by now. Blood.The hunger raked at me with merciless claws until a red haze covered my sight and my pulse hammered with the need for immediate sustenance. Desperate, I scanned the area above my resting place for the presence of enemies and, finding none, burst through the rich layers of soil, into the air, my heart thundering in my ears, my mind screaming. I landed in a crouch in the midst of dense shrubbery and thick vegetation, and took a slow, careful look around me, not in the least concerned abo
It was the last class of the day, and I was counting down the minutes to the clinging of the dismissal bell. Five minutes to go. I thought giddily, throwing a glance at my watch. I was deathly hungry. After I had left the principal’s office, there had been no time to get to the cafeteria. I had returned to class hungry. It became crazier whenever I remembered the detention—a delay to having Laura’s food. “Well, it seems someone is in a hurry to go somewhere.” I withheld a visible flinch, somehow knowing that the lady lecturing us on magic and music was talking about me. I expected a frown on her face, but I saw a smile on her lips rather; a soft smile, as if I reminded her of someone interesting, someone that she cared about. I forced a smile on my lips too, and hers widened. She shook her head, and gathered her supplies on the table. “I will see you all on Thursday. Make sure to get your assignment ready by then. No excuses.” Assignment? She had given an assignment? I felt m
When we got to the principal’s office, he was in a meeting with someone, and so we had to wait by the door till he was done. We waited for about fifteen minutes before the door opened and Prof. Bulock stepped out of the office. When he saw I and Levina, a still milk-soaked Levina, he piqued his eyebrows, keeping his steely gaze on me. “What did you do to sweet Levina? What did you do this time around?” I snorted. “Does it look like I did anything to her? If your mind was free from prejudice as it should be, you would have noticed that. You would have noticed too, that I was her ally and not a foe. So much for the magic you claim to have for observation. Now, if you will excuse us, Prof Bulock, we have to see Mr Lethon.”Professor Bulock was standing right at the entrance, and his hand clutched the knob tight. Still, he was lucky I had held back from putting the emphasis on the right syllable in his name that would highlight a castrated cow. I wondered what he would do if I ever
“How long has this been happening?” I asked Sinclair immediately we left the cafeteria, enroute to the principal’s office. Levina has refused to say a word since we left, but that was okay. People reacted to situations differently. If I would take a bet, she was contemplating her father’s reaction when he finally heard the news. There was a minute silence, during which I inhaled the strength to shout at him if he chose not to talk about this troubling matter. But then, he started speaking. “For a while now. It’s not regular, but it happens occasionally, sometimes in the cafeteria, sometimes in the training field. Actually since her father had been elected the school’s principal.” I sharply turned to look at him. “And how many years is that?” “Five years.” My tongue tasted something bitter and bland. She has been bullied for five years? How had the father stayed unaware all this time? How had no one thought to slither the piece of information to Mr Lethon? Did they hate him an
There was laughter everywhere in the cafeteria. The matrons serving the food said and did nothing. Sinclair sighed in exasperation. I wasn’t sure of Raul’s reaction to his sister’s bullying. I didn’t look. No. I was already transported in time to the cafeteria back at the pack.I was transported to the past, to the particular time when Noah had poured milk on me; to the time when Daniel had joined them; to the time when the entire student populace, or most, had joined them in throwing food at me; to the time when the matrons had done nothing to help me; until Noami had run and called the principal. My fists clenched, while watching the girl sniff. She was about to cry.I didn’t know when I moved, didn’t care to know how I had gotten in front of Rachel in less than two seconds.I grabbed her by the neck and pulled her out of the chair. “Don’t dare use your magic on me, or you are gone, Rachel.” I said when I saw her hand twitching. It was a gamble. A very risky one, knowing th
At Sinclair’s question, I furrowed my eyebrows, wondering about the edge in his voice, an edge that was barely there.I didn’t think he was even aware of it. We had both agreed that personal questions were off the bet. That had been the reason I hadn’t asked him about the thriving issue between him and Raul. Yet, here he was talking about me and Raul like we had something going, like he was curious about knowing what exactly we had going on. I ignored him. “I want to go to college when I’m done here, or rather I want to use it as an avenue for exploring the world, before taking up my responsibility. But my parents want me to take up my responsibility after school.” I stopped my movement then and looked at Sinclair in shock. He had answered my question, the first I had asked him earlier, after my registration at the principal’s office. I had asked him what his plans were after school, and he had told me that he didn’t owe me an answer.My ignorance of his questions must have no
‘That I care about you.’ These words kept ringing in my head, but I knew it was because of the emotions that Raul had worn in his eyes when he spoke them. I didn’t think I would forget them any time soon. It was foremost, the emotion of sheer attachment, which kept bringing back those words. And it was not like I was remotely interested in Raul. No. He was handsome and all that, but he seemed to have caught Diana’s fancy. A few years would determine if it was a childhood crush, or something else. Somehow, a feeling or gut—call it whatever—chose the latter.I sighed at that. This development wasn't good. When had he developed the feelings? Was it when I had rejected Adam publicly in the eatery? Worse, after my conversation with Raul, Rachel hadn’t stopped staring at me. Sometimes she was glaring, some other times she was just staring at me, in amazement or surprise. But those few times I caught her looking at me in that manner, as if I was holding gold, she righted her face b
The desire to be helped floated in my horizon as I heard the question that was tinged with slight hostility.I turned toward the familiar voice, hope soaring in my chest when my eyes met Raul. His gaze met that of the professor’s headlong. Gone was his cheery smile.“Much? I don’t think so, Prince Raul. I actually think I’m being lenient, and I know you know that.” The professor answered, before his eyes finally landed on me.“Detention, Akwoods. If you flaunt it…”He chuckled drily now, before dealing the finishing blow. “I hope for your sake, that you don’t.”Flaunting it wasn’t even an option now, hearing that evil sound. I wouldn’t even dare it.But it seemed Raul wasn’t done pleading my case.Within the next minute, he spoke in that strange impenitent voice of his I didn’t get the chance to hear before.“She’s a new student, Professor Bulock. I think she deserves a stretch of mercy. She’s not yet aware of how things are done here yet. Surely, you understand that.” Professor Bu
My heart pounded in my chest as I awaited the Professor's reaction to my silly outburst. The class was still very quiet, very quiet for my liking. It made me almost berate myself for being so stupid, for being so sensitive. I could deduct from the silence that the old, worn out looking professor was a menace to his students. Yet I refused to cower under his heated gaze, not even with the amount of eyes zeroed on every inch of me.When the professor started walking toward me, when his feet sounded so sure and tacky on the floor as they moved in my direction, I clenched my fists tightly then splayed them on my laps. Then I clutched them again; this time around, they were clutching my trousers with them. I felt a shin of sweat on my eyebrows, despite the good ventilation in the class, and knew that my nerves were breaking out.“You know, I was at the party…”I cocked my head to the side, pretending to be aloof, to be a little interested in whatever he was saying—a good cover to the