Bullied by Fate

I woke up to my alarm clock screeching at me. I was dreading another day at school. I went to Silver Moon High School, other wise known as, my own personal hell. I was small for a shifter, both in human form and wolf form, which has earned me unwanted attention. Especially from the Alpha’s son, Jackson. I groaned as I got up to get in the shower. When I got out, I looked at myself in the mirror. I was pretty, I had dirty blond hair that went down to my waist. My eyes were a moss green. I looked exactly like my mom. I blow dried and straightened my hair. When I went back to get dressed, I decided to wear a white tee shirt with a black leather jacket and black shorts. I put my converse shoes on and went downstairs. “Good morning,how did you sleep?” My mom asked, making breakfast for us. It was just my mom and I since my dad died. “Fine. Waking up was the hard part, knowing I have to go to hell today.” I said when she handed me a plate of pancakes. “Only six months left. Plus, you’re turning eighteen tomorrow. You’ll be able to find your mate.” My mom gave me a small smile. “I already know, Eric will be my mate.” I smiled at the thought. Eric and I have been dating since freshman year and we were now seniors. We’ve never been more in love. It would be a sick joke for the moon goddess NOT to pair us together. “I wouldn’t be too sure about that. The Moon Goddess isn’t that predictable.” I rolled my eyes. “Okay, well your pancakes were delicious but it’s time for me to go.” I turned to walk out of the door. “Have a good day.” She said, despite both of us knowing that won’t happen. I smiled back at her and walked out of the door. It was a short drive to school. I could only imagine what people were going to do today. I pulled into the parking lot and walked towards the door. People were already staring and laughing at me. I was the runt of the pack and they made sure I didn’t forget. I groaned. When I walked through the door, I smiled at the sight of Eric standing by my locker. “Good morning, beautiful.” He kissed me. When he kissed me, I forgot about all of my problems just for a moment. Everything was okay. “Eric, I don’t know why you’re settling for the runt. Didn’t know your standards were so low.” A random student interrupted our moment. Eric rolled his eyes “Ignore them.” Eric turned his attention back to me. “Am I really worth all of the trouble dating me has caused you?” I looked into his eyes. “Every second of it.” He kissed my forehead. “Aww it’s the pathetic little runt and her bitch.” Jackson came up to us and closed my locker. Eric and I just ignored his comment and walked away when he snatched my phone out of my hands and held it above my head. “Give me my phone!” I yelled at him. “Jump for it.” Jackson commanded. For some reason, I did what he said. That’s when I noticed that he was staring at my chest. “You’re disgusting.” I stopped jumping and zipped up my jacket. “Come on, don’t ruin the view.” Jackson smirked. Just recently, the comments about my body have started. Eventually, Eric snatched my phone from Jackson, who was now staring me down. For once, I wasn’t intimidated, I was fascinated. “Come on, let’s get to class.” Eric gently tugged my hand. I felt Jackson grab my other hand when he pulled me back. He pulled me into his arms. Something about his touch was different than all of the other times he pushed or grabbed me. Jackson smirked, “See you later, losers.” He pushed me away and for some reason, I was hurt. What the hell was wrong with me? “What the hell was that about?” Eric asked, I could hear the jealousy dripping from his voice. “He’s just trying to get under our skin. Don’t let it bother you.” I comforted him. “Don’t let it bother me? He pulled you into his arms and you didn’t even resist.” He sounded hurt. “I wasn’t expecting that to happen. It took me by surprise, there’s no reason to be jealous.” I said softly. “He lays a hand on you again, he’s dead.” After that, we got to our class. Of course Jackson was in our class as well. He insisted on sitting behind us. He could tell there was tension between Eric and I. “Aw, trouble in paradise?” He mocked us. “Shut up, Jackson. None of your business.” I hissed. “Oh the puppy’s got teeth. I’m so scared.” He laughed. I couldn’t take it anymore. I grabbed my book bag and I stormed out of the class room. I heard Jackson come after me. Why would he chase after me but not Eric? “Where are you going?” He asked. I just walked faster towards the door. “Home.” I said. “Oh, so that’s the comment that’s going to send you running?” His next question was sarcastic. I turned around and stormed to him’ “Why the hell do you care?!” He stayed silent for a few seconds, “I don’t. It’s just pathetic that you’re letting that comment get to you when I’ve said worse.” There was something behind his voice. He didn’t sound so confident. “I guess I’ve just had enough.” He didn’t try to stop me after that. Once I was out of the building, the tears flowed from my eyes. I just sat in my car and cried until I was able to calm down enough to drive home. I slammed the door closed when I got home. I was so upset that I couldn’t even make it to the couch before I started bawling again. “Sky?! What are you doing home?” My mom wrapped her arms around me. “Jackson..” That’s all I had to say. She held me in her arms as I cried. “Why don’t you change and we’ll binge watch true crime shows and eat junk food for the rest of the night?” This is why I loved my mom, she knew exactly what to do. I nodded and walked up to my room. I put on an over sized tee shirt and sweatpants on. I went back downstairs. For the rest of the night, we just talked and laughed and cried together. We went to bed around midnight. I was able to wake up without my alarm clock. Today was my eighteenth birthday and I finally get to find out if Eric is my mate or not. I decided to look extra nice for the occasion. I put on a red dress that fell to my mid thigh. It flared out at the waist while the top was form fitting. I put my hair up and put some eyeliner and mascara on. I didn’t bother eating breakfast, I just bolted out of the door. I got out of the car and was almost running to the door. I opened the door and immediately walked to my locker where Eric was standing. My smile faltered. I didn’t experience any connection, no amazing scent, no tingling sensation when I touched his arm, nothing. “Oh my God.” Eric and I both whispered. “You’re not my mate.” I couldn’t speak any louder and my eyes started filling with tears. He shook his head and I could see the disappointment in his eyes. I hugged him. “I am so sorry.” I whispered. “It’s not your fault. You can’t control it.” He kissed my forehead. I heard a growl from behind me. Before I had a chance to look behind me, I felt large hands grab my hips and pulled me back. “Mine.” An all too familiar voice growled at Eric. I stepped forward and slowly turned around. It was Jackson. I looked into his eyes and that only confirmed what I knew. Jackson was my mate. He smirked. “No, this can’t be right.” I whined. “Well it is, fate doesn’t lie. I’m yours and you. Are. Mine.” He emphasized the last three words. I looked at Eric, who was emotionless. I turned my head back to Jackson, who was smirking and reaching for me. I turned and bolted to the ladies room. Once I got to the stall, it didn’t take long for the heaving to start. Any and all contents of my stomach ended up in the toilet. I sat on the floor and cried. I didn’t care when other people came in. I just kept crying. I gathered myself, washed my hands and opened the door. I looked both ways to make sure it was safe for me to leave. I didn’t see anyone so I walked out and headed towards my classroom. “Are you okay?” Jackson asked, suddenly appearing in front of me. I was barely able to stop myself from running into him. I didn’t look at him, I just walked around him. He pulled me to the side and put me up against the lockers. He put his arms up so I couldn’t walk away. “No. I’m pissed. Leave me alone.” I couldn’t look at him, but I knew he wasn’t happy with my reaction. He lifted my chin to look me in the eyes. His sapphire blue eyes were piercing. It felt like he was staring in my soul. I could see that they were starting to darken. He was fighting his wolf for control. “No. You’re mine. I’m not leaving you alone.” He leaned down so his lips were touching my neck. My heart started racing. He wouldn’t mark me here? Would he? Right now? He could sense my heart racing. I heard him chuckle. I put my hands on his hard chest and pushed. “Don’t worry. I won’t mark you. Not right now, anyways.” He kissed my neck before raising his head up to look at me. I was seeing red. This was so unfair. Such a cruel fate. “Reject me.” I demanded. Female shifters can’t reject their mates, so I was going to make sure he would reject me. “No. Why would I do that?” Jackson raised his eyebrow. “Because. I don’t want to be your mate.” I said through clenched teeth. “That sounds like your problem, because I’m happy with having you as my mate so I’m not going to reject you.” Jackson wrapped one of his arms around my waist and pulled me to him. I groaned. “But you hated me until now, so why are you happy?” I tried wiggling away from him. His grip on me only tightened. He laughed, “Because you’re beautiful and your size just means you need extra protection.” He caressed my cheek. I turned away. “So the reason you and everyone else have used to torment me is the reason you won’t reject me?” It made no sense. “Yes. Since I found out, I had a change of heart. Which is why I spent more time making fun of your relationship.” He said, proud of himself. “You knew?” I asked. “Yes. When I turned eighteen, I felt more drawn to you but not an actual bond. I felt the actual bond when you walked into school today because you’re eighteen now.” He just kept smiling. “Well, I don’t want to be your mate.” I crossed my arms. “Well that’s too f*****g bad. Now come on, we’re late.” He smacked my butt and I flipped him off. He laughed and we walked into the classroom together. I walked in to see Eric glaring at me. Next to him was a tall bimbo that’s flirted with him in front of me whenever she could. I knew he was just upset and jealous so I just smiled and waved at them. Because she was in my seat, I had no choice but to sit next to Jackson. He smiled at me. I just rolled my eyes and crossed my arms. “Come on, don’t be bitter. It’s not my fault.” Jackson looked at me, feigning innocence. “It became your fault when you refused to reject me.” I spat. “I find the whole concept of rejecting ones mate to be ridiculous. Why would you want to? Obviously you were paired together for a reason.” Jackson replied. “The only reason I would have been paired with you would be as a sick joke to punish me.” The more worked up, the louder I got. I also stopped filtering myself so much. I became a b***h. I felt kind of bad when I could feel the sting that I inflicted on him with my words. “I don’t believe that’s true. Now stop arguing, just accept it. There’s nothing else to discuss. I’m not rejecting you.” He scolded. I sank back into my chair. I was a little scared when he spoke to me like that, but I deserved it. I turned to look at the teacher who was starting the lecture. I wanted to cry. Jackson noticed I was starting to tear up so he pulled my chair closer to his and put his arm around my shoulders. I tensed up. This wasn’t helping, but I decided to let it happen anyways. I couldn’t focus on what the teacher was talking about so I zoned out and tried thinking positive thoughts. That was hard to do given the circumstances. My mate was someone I despised and I couldn’t change it. I decided to think about my mom. What she would do, what she would say to make me feel better. She would agree that this was unfair, but she would remind me of how strong I am. The bell finally rang, signaling the end of class. I removed Jackson’s arm from my shoulders and I got up. I walked out before he could process my reaction. I made it to my locker to put my stuff away and grab my books for my next class. Thankfully, Jackson isn’t in that one. I closed my door and Jackson was standing right there, looking pissed. “What the f**k was that?” He asked. “What? All I did was leave and come to my locker to get my s**t for my next class.” I was acting stunned, but I knew what he was talking about. Why did I leave in such a hurry? Why didn’t I wait for him? I needed space that’s why. “Why were you in such a hurry to get away from me?! Why are you so against me being your mate?!” His voice started raising, so I flinched and looked down. I was trying not to cry. “I needed space that you weren’t giving me. I’m against you being my mate because I’m in love with someone else and you bullied me for years! You just magically expect me to forgive you for that?” I asked, now fully sobbing. I didn’t care if he saw me crying anymore. His face lightened up. “I’m not giving you space because I know you won’t come back to me. I have to watch you to make sure I don’t lose you. I know that’s upsetting, but it isn’t going to change. And I am truly sorry for the way I treated you. If I had known earlier that you were my mate, I would not have treated you like I did. It still wasn’t right and you have every right to be upset but you have to accept and respect my decision to accept you as my mate.” He kissed my forehead head and wiped the tears from my cheek. Jackson hugged me. I didn’t pull away but I tensed up. He grabbed my hand. He walked me to my class and I didn’t argue or object. I didn’t want him to yell at me again. We got to the door. He looked me in the eyes. He leaned down and pressed his lips to mine. I tried pulling back but he put his hands on the back of my neck,preventing me from pulling away. He was gentle when he grabbed my hair and pulled my head to the side, making my neck visible to him. He found my sensitive spot where he will eventually mark me. Jackson kissed that area and I whimpered involuntarily. It sent shivers up my spine and gave me goosebumps, but in a good way. He started sucking and licking it. He slowly got more aggressive about it. I tried containing my moans so they were little more than whining. Eventually, he pulled away, smiling at the site of the hickey he just left. “There. Now everyone will know you’re mine.” He brushed my hair out of my face. “I was convinced you were gonna mark me considering how long you were sucking on me for.” I rolled my eyes. He laughed. “Not yet. I’ll wait till we’re alone for that.” He winked and then walked away. I tried covering it when I walked in the room. “Oh, so you’re a slut now, too?” Sydney, the head cheerleader commented when she saw my hickey. “Sydney, shut up. You have no room to talk since you’ve been ran through by almost all of the sports teams.” Everyone turned to Sasha, the school’s only other outcast. “Excuse me?” Sydney put her hands on her hips. “You heard me. And if you have a problem, I’ll wait for you outside.” Sasha sneered. Sasha was the typical goth girl. Black clothing with the black hair, dark make up, and combat boots. This was the first time I have ever interacted with her though. She motioned to me to sit with her. “Thank you.” I said. I was more appreciative than anyone could understand. “No problem, I’ve heard how people treat you but that was the first time I have actually seen it and honestly, I’m tired of it already. You don’t deserve it. I know the pain that it can cause.” She smiled. “Yeah it really sucks. If you ever need anything, I definitely owe you.” The teacher gave us time to work on whatever assignments we had. I was pretty much caught up on everything so I just sat and talked to Sasha while everyone gossiped about us. I didn’t care, I finally had a friend. “So, if you don’t mind me asking, who gave you that hickey? Or is it a bruise?” Sasha raised her eyebrow. “It’s a hickey. Jackson Wilson gave it to me…he’s my mate.” My voice was filled with dread. “I’m sorry to hear that. I understand why that would be difficult. He’s a little…challenging, to say the least. Finally, someone understood. “Yeah, we found out today and it’s already caused me to break down…several times. I just think it’s ironic that my biggest bully turns out to be my mate.” I looked at Sasha. She was actually very pretty. The makeup compliments her eyes and she has nice full lips that her lipstick looks beautiful on. I was tempted to kiss her. Which was confusing for a couple of reasons. I’m straight, or I thought I was. Plus I already found my mate. Maybe it was just because I was that appreciative of her help today. “Very ironic.” We both laugh. We kept talking and found out more about each other. I found out that both of her parents died and she lived alone. She worked almost every night. I told her if she ever got lonely, she could come visit my mom and I. Before we knew it, the class ended. We walked out together to see Jackson waiting for me. His eyes lit up when he saw me. His smile faltered when he saw that I was talking to Sasha. “Well, I’ll text you later. I’m gonna give you two some privacy.” Sasha waved as she walked away. “Okay…what was that look for?” I looked at him. “Nothing, I just didn’t expect you to become friends with the goth girl.” He moved my hair so he could look at the hickey he left. He was very proud. “Yeah, well, she stood up for me when I was being called a slut because of the hickey YOU gave me.” I emphasized the word “you” so he understood that it was his fault. “Who the f**k called you a slut?!” He shouted. “Sydney.” I replied. He rolled his eyes. “Don’t worry about her. I’ll take care of her.” He leaned down and kissed me. I refused to kiss him back so he pulled me against him. “Kiss me.” He commanded me. He used his alpha voice, so I couldn’t disobey him. I kissed him back and he groaned appreciatively. When he pulled away, I glared at him. “You really just used that tone with me?” I put my hands on my hips. “Kiss me and I wouldn’t have to.” He was smug in his response. “I should go.” I walked past him. “Where are you going?” He was hurt that I was walking away again but I needed to clear my head. “Home.” I didn’t look at him. “Let me drive you.” He was hopeful that I would let him, “Then how would my car get back? Plus I need space. It’s been a rough day.” I was emotionally drained. “So have I and I just need to be with my mate.” He whined. “How was your day rough?” I stopped and looked at him. “Breaking up a relationship, being blamed for it as if I chose who my mate is, my mate not even wanting to be my mate.” I heard the pain and stress in his voice. “But you have a choice! I don’t! You can reject me and get rid of the pain and the stress, I can’t! How am I supposed to deal with that?!” I threw my books in my locker and Jackson closed it. “Don’t talk to me that way. You’re supposed to be happy that you found your mate. It’s not my fault that you got your hopes up and fell for someone else. Who now hates you, by the way. And you’re right, I could reject you but I’m not going to. I’m not giving up! I’m not a quitter so you’re stuck with me whether you like it or not. So unless you want me to mark you, right here, right now, I suggest you get that idea out of your head.” He lifted my chin whenever I looked away. “Don’t you f*****g dare.” I whispered. He kissed me. “Stop resisting our bond then and start accepting it. Let me take you home. I will drive your car. I came with Alex anyways.” He smiled as he looked down at me. I sighed and rolled my eyes. “You’re really f*****g stubborn.” Was my only response. He chuckled. “So are you. I just happen to be more stubborn.” “..Fine. I will let you drive me home.” I was reluctant about letting him drive. He looked excited when I handed him the car keys. “Good.” He got in the driver’s seat. I took a deep breath before I got in. The entire car ride, I just let him talk. I was preoccupied. I couldn’t stop thinking about how amazing I felt the when I was talking to Sasha. I got a text from a new number: Hey, it’s Sasha. Hey, how’s it going? Not bad. I’m happy I got to meet you. I’m sorry you got stuck with such a jerk for a mate. I will get used to it. I don’t really have a choice. Yeah it still sucks though. Yes, yes it does. What about you? Have you found your mate? No and I don’t think I have one. Why, what makes you say that? I’m a lesbian and I’m not sure if lesbian shifters have mates. Well then I hope you at least find someone who will make you happy. Thank you. I do too. “Who are you texting? Have you been listening?” Jackson raised an eyebrow. “Sorry, I wad just texting Sasha. What were you say?” I asked, only somewhat interested in what he had to say. “I was saying that we should tell your mom right away and find a time to move your stuff over to my house. Well, now our house.” He smiled. “Whoa, whoa, whoa… We only found out today that we’re mates. Why are you talking about me moving in?” He had officially lost his mind. “Baby, calm down. Yes we found out today, but I had called my dad and he wants you moved in right away.” We pulled into my driveway. “Both you and your dad have lost it. I’m not moving in with you.” I got out. “Maybe not tonight, but you will soon.” Jackson walked over to me and put his hands on my waist. “And if I refuse?” “You would really defy your Alpha and your mate?” Okay, maybe refusing them wouldn’t be a good idea. I stayed silent. “That’s what I thought.” He took my hand and pulled me towards the front door. He knocked. “Hey, Sky- oh, Jackson..,what are you doing here? Skyla, are you okay?” My mom looked at me with a worried expression on her face. “Hi, Mrs. Anderson, Skyla’s my mate. My dad knows and he is requesting that she be moved in by the end of the week.” He looked her dead in the eyes. “Okay, first of all, I was asking my daughter how she was, not you. Don’t speak for or over my daughter. Skyla, you doing okay?” I shook my head and ran into her arms. “Oh sweetie I’m so sorry things between you and Eric didn’t work out the way you wanted to.,” She turned back to Jackson, “Second of all, you two just found out today. If your dad wants her to move in with you, I want him to tell me himself, and third of all, how are you getting home?” She put one arm on her hip. I took the opportunity to run to my room and close the door. Thankfully it had a lock on it. I locked it,and cried on my bed. I heard my mom’s car start. I assumed she was taking Jackson home.