Chapter One
Rolling over onto the right side of my body makes me grimace.
I should invest in new super soft pillows to lay under my body for comfort.
But it's probably an unnecessary purchase.
I lie in bed for a minute longer, wanting this bed to consume me.
However, I don't want to stay in this house any longer than needed.
After finding the strength to push the covers off me, I get changed into my school uniform.
I like covering up, especially my bruises, so I wear the sports uniform every day, a T-shirt and track pants.
Even though you're only allowed to wear that when you have PE, I still wear it.
What are a few detentions for breaking the rules to be somewhat comfortable!
I grab a piece of fruit out of the fruit bowl on my desk.
Yes, I buy my own fruit. I need something healthy and safe.
I keep my room cool so I can just stock up with food in here.
I grab my bag then go to the kitchen, seeing my father finishing off his coffee.
Thankfully, Bitch and Loser, also known as Stepmother and Half-brother have already left.
“Elora, off to school?” Dad asks, making me roll my eyes at his stupid question. My father is oblivious. I actually wonder if he has any intelligence at all. As a part-time patroller for the pack, it makes sense of his idiocy. Most patrollers are just enforced brutes.
“Just like every morning,” I grumble.
“I would like to talk to you when you have the time.” He turns to me.
He's looking at me and I'm looking at him.
Yet he can't see me. What I mean is he can't see the truth.
I know none of my bruises are showing but can't he tell by my expression, my hollowness, physically and emotionally, that I'm in pain?
“About what?” I question. Most of our conversations are basic chitchat.
“Your birthday is coming up. I want to talk but you're always at work.”
“I need to work,” I mutter, turning to the pantry and grabbing out a muesli bar. I'm not going to eat anything in this house that isn't sealed.
“No you don't. If you desperately need something, you can come to me.” His words sound nice. But it bothers me. If I could really come to him, things would be different. But they're not. He has never abused me. I just don't get how he can't see that others have. Denial must be great.
“I like working,” I correct myself so he leaves the subject alone. There’s no way I’d ever give up work or let him take that bit of sanity away from me.
“Okay. I’ve got to go to work now but when you have the time, we'll talk.” Dad wishes me goodbye and walks away.
I grab some bread, put it in a ziplock bag and choose a packet of chips so I can make a chip sandwich at school.
I get in my car and start it, the engine making the loud clatter noise it always does when I turn it on.
As I drive, I wonder what my dad could possibly have to say about my birthday.
Maybe Stepmother has convinced him to kick me out.
Is it bad news? I don't want to think about it but maybe I should start making arrangements.
But then he said I don't need to work so he couldn't possibly be kicking me out.
Getting to school, I stop by my locker so I don't need to strain my body anymore by carrying heavy books.
“You know, every day I come to school hoping I won't see the crossbred but every day I'm disappointed,” I hear the bitchy voice of Ember say.
After my stepmother and Kieryn, Ember is my biggest bully.
Her mouth is always open, spewing hateful words.
She picks on other kids too but apparently I'm her favourite pushover.
Standing beside her are her sheep, Hannah and Mitchell.
These are the three that regularly beat me up.
Other pack members verbally abuse me but it's these three and Kieryn that get violent.
Apparently the reason for this abuse is because technically I am what she said, a crossbred.
But come on, why do they hate rogues so much?
They need to get off their pretend hierarchy and get their heads out of their asses.
I close my locker and try to take a page out of Amelia's book and ignore them. But it's harder than said. Ember grabs my shoulder hard to get my attention.
“I was talking to you,” she sneers.
She can't get too violent at school, given humans go here. We can't show our werewolf strength and too much violence at school will get the teachers involved. The three assholes stick to private areas to do their dirty work mostly.
“What?” I glare at her.
“Hey Elora.” Amelia appears beside me then turns her attention to the scoundrels. “What do you want?”
“This doesn't include you, dropkick,” Hannah snarls. Of course they can't hurt Amelia because she's human. The werewolf community is a secret.
“Just because you have miserable lives, doesn't mean you can make our lives miserable. Two wrongs don't make a right,” Amelia speaks wisely. But of course what she says goes through one ear and out the other of these dim-witted monstrosities.
“Ha,” Ember cackles. “Two wrongs don't make a right. Your parents are proof of that, Elora.” She gives me an evil look as she walks away while her friends smirk.
The way she says my name is filled with disgust. I know she really wants to call me crossbred, but she can't say that in hearing shot of human ears.
“Bullies really are something else.” Amelia rolls her eyes and loops her arm through mine as we walk to our homeroom. Even though she gets teased, she uses her wit, which ends up making the bullies walk away. That is, when ignoring them doesn't work. “Don't let them get to you.”
Amelia doesn't know about the bruises. I know she's got a hard family life.
I don't know what it consists of but I'm not going to burden her with more bad news.
When I have a black eye or busted lip, clearly I can't cover that.
Even with makeup it's noticeable. Amelia just thinks I get into fights outside of school when my face is bruised up.
That's what I tell her so she doesn't get involved.
The other humans at this school think the same thing when I'm roughed up, that I'm troublesome. However, the werewolves know the truth.
After homeroom I walk the school grounds to my class. On the way, some people stare at me but I'm used to it. The moment I make eye contact with them, they look away. It's not as many stares as I got when I was younger.
As I pass by the science building, I see Joel Lewis and his girlfriend Jenna May heavily lip locked as usual.
They are members of the pack. It befuddles me how they both made it to senior year given I only ever see them sneaking around school and never going to classes.
Ah, to be as carefree as those absentminded fools. There's always that one couple, right.
I get to class and walk in, the teacher's head staring deeply at his desk, looking drowned in paperwork.
Mr Du; not sure what that's short for, always sits there for the first five minutes not looking like he even wants to teach.
Which means everyone screws around in mischief at the start of the lesson despite Mr Du sitting at the head of the class.
I feel his pain. He's most likely stressed being a teacher.
He has the option to quit but he needs the money.
A situation where you have to endure stress to get somewhere better in life is probably the wrong choice in the long run.
I go take my seat at the side of the class.
I sit up straight to keep my ribs from aching.
I can't remember the last time my ribs didn't hurt.
If I were a human, I probably wouldn't be able to walk with the amount of injuries to my ribs.
But thankfully, my wolf helps heal me and gives me the strength to push through.
Trying to tune out the class is difficult.
I hate being around the people I go to school with.
Out of the corner of my eye, I see Ember leaning over one guy’s desk seductively, her body curved in a way that pushes her breasts and ass out.
Even though she's only flirting with one guy, she has the attention of several others sitting around.
I can't help but roll my eyes. She is a harlot.
Except she doesn't get paid. Actually, she sleeps with them and gets paid with popularity.
That's why no one cares that she's a bully.
Because she's easy. I don't know anything about relationships but I doubt any man would want a mate who's been subjected to fifty dicks.
Maybe her karma will be her mate rejecting her harlot self.
Karma. Hm, not sure if I entirely believe in karma. But if it's real, I'm in need of some good karma. I believe I'm in favour of it.