My Fiery Mate

𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝟻: 𝚂𝚒𝚕𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚂𝚞𝚏𝚏𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐

As Lireal stood under the hot water of the shower, she scrubbed at her skin with desperation, trying to wash away the memory of what had happened in the bathroom. The soapy water swirled around her, pooling at her feet, as if it too were trying to wash away the dirt and pain. She slumped down against the tiles, her shoulders shaking with silent sobs. She had never felt so alone, so helpless.

The memory of Willow’s cruel words echoed in her head, taunting her. “You know, Lireal, I really enjoy seeing you like this. So pathetic and desperate for help. It’s really quite amusing.” The words stung worse than any of the physical pain she had endured. She hated that Willow was right. She was pathetic. She was weak.

She continued to scrub herself, trying to erase the memory of Willow’s face from her mind. But no matter how hard she scrubbed, it seemed to only be making the image more vivid. Lireal let out a shuddering breath and turned off the water, stepping out of the shower. She wrapped herself in a towel and changed into a fresh set of clothes, avoiding the bruises and cuts that stained her skin.

With a heavy heart, Lireal trudged downstairs to the kitchen, the smell of her aunt’s Nova’s famous apple pie wafting through the air.

But as she approached the back door, a faint scent caught her attention, causing her to pause.

Curious, Lireal made her way into the garden, her heart pounding in her chest as she followed the trail of smoke that wafted through the air.

When she reached the shed, confusion spread across Lireal’s face as she saw smoke coming from beneath the door.

With hesitant steps, Lireal slowly pushed open the door, her breath hitching in her throat as she saw Willow and her friends huddled inside, smoking and laughing. They looked up, their eyes widening in surprise for a brief moment before regaining their composure and returning to their amusement. Lireal felt her heart sink. Before she could react, Celestia and Thalia grabbed her by the arms, their nails digging into her skin as they dragged her further into the shed.

“L-let me go, please,” Lireal begged, her voice trembling with fear as she struggled against their grip. But it was no use; they were stronger than her. As she stared up at their faces, she couldn’t help but feel a sense of horror as she realized that they were enjoying this. They were enjoying hurting her.

The girls pushed her to her knees on the dirt floor of the shed, the hard, rough surface scratching at her skin as she struggled to remain upright. Willow walked over to Lireal, and bent down to her level, blowing cigarette smoke into her face. “You really are pathetic, Lireal,” she sneered. “Do you know how much I hate you? How much everyone here hates you?”

Lireal coughed and choked on the acrid fumes, her eyes watering with pain and disgust.

Before she could recover, Lireal felt searing pain shoot through her arm, and she looked up to see Willow pressing a burning cigarette against her skin. The smell of burning flesh filled the air, and Lireal screamed, her voice raw and hoarse. The girls just laughed, their cruel amusement only adding to her agony. “That’s better,” Willow said with a smirk. “Now you can remember this moment every time you see a cigarette, won’t you?”

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Willow sighed, “I’m so bored with this.” Her friends nodded in agreement. With a click of her tongue, she turned to Lireal, who was curled up on the floor, whimpering from the pain. With one last kick to Lireal’s side, they turned and walked out of the shed, leaving her there to writhe in agony.

The next week passed in a blur for Lireal. She spent every lunch period sitting alone at a table in the far corner of the cafeteria, her back to the wall. She avoided eye contact with anyone, preferring to focus on her food, trying to ignore the whispers and glances she could feel at the back of her neck. The bruises had started to fade, but the memories of what had happened were still fresh in her mind. She knew that she could never truly forget.

As Lireal sat alone in the corner of the cafeteria, picking at her food, a sudden commotion caught her attention. A group of girls surrounded someone, and Lireal recognized the familiar figure of Calix, the most handsome and popular boy in school, and the future alpha of the pack. His back was to her, but she could tell from the tension in the air that he was angry.

Calix, followed by his group of admirers, walked past Lireal's table, his eyes meeting hers. The embarrassment and shame she felt was palpable, and she bowed her head, hoping to avoid any unwanted attention. But Calix, seemingly unperturbed by her presence, stopped in front of her.

"Hey, Laura, right?" he mocked, his tone dripping with condescension.

"I... it's Lireal." she said as she looked up at him, her face flushed with embarrassment.

"Right," he dismissed, completely unbothered. "Do you know why I'm here?" he asked, his voice cold. Lireal shook her head, her heart racing in fear.

"It's because you looked at me!" he announced, "People like you shouldn't be able to lay eyes on such perfection like me." He said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. Lireal's face flushed even more as she looked down, feeling more embarrassed than she ever had. She wanted to disappear, to crawl into a hole and never come out.

"I... I'm sorry," Lireal stuttered quietly, her voice barely audible over the murmurs of the surrounding students. "I didn't mean anything by it. I didn't want to upset you or anyone else. I'm just... I'm sorry."

"Sorry isn't enough," he declared, snatching Lireal's milk carton from her lunch tray. The cafeteria fell silent as everyone watched the exchange, anticipating what would happen next. Calix opened the carton and poured its contents over Lireal's head.

Laughter and jeers filled the cafeteria as Calix casually tossed the empty milk carton aside. Lireal's face was burning from the cold shock of the milk as well as the humiliation. She wanted nothing more than to disappear, to melt away into the background and vanish. "Go pick it up, it isn't nice to litter, is it?" Calix sneered, kicking the milk carton across the floor. The other students around them seemed to take this as a signal, and soon they were all laughing and pointing, some even taking out their phones to record the spectacle.

Unable to move, Lireal sat frozen, Calix's words echoing in her mind. "Is it?" he shouted. Tears silently streaming down her face, she could feel the weight of the entire school's hatred bearing down on her. She wanted to scream, to fight back, but she was paralyzed by fear and shame. The laughter and jeers surrounding her seemed to grow louder, more intense with each passing second.

She slowly got up, picked up the milk carton, and carried her tray of food to the trash.

She ran out of the cafeteria, the laughter and jeers following her like a living thing, piercing her ears and searing her heart. She didn't know where to go, she just wanted to escape. She wandered the halls, tears streaming down her face, her shoulders hunched in a vain attempt to make herself smaller. The halls seemed to stretch on forever, each doorway a potential trap, each classroom a place where she might be seen and tormented further.

Lireal arrived in the bathroom, her face still burning from the cold milk and humiliation. She locked herself in a stall and collapsed onto the toilet, sobbing uncontrollably. The sound of her own tears and labored breathing filled the small space, echoing in her ears and reminding her of just how alone she truly was. She hugged herself tightly, wishing she could disappear, wishing she could somehow make all of this go away.

A month had crawled by since the cafeteria incident, but Lireal's life hadn't gotten any better. Every day, she walked the halls with her head down, avoiding eye contact with anyone. The laughter and jeers hadn't died down; if anything, they seemed to have grown louder. She never had any friends to begin with, and now she was more isolated than ever. The only glimmer of hope that kept her going was her 18th birthday, which was just around the corner. She clung to the idea that once she turned 18, she would hopefully be able to leave the pack, find her mate and get her wolf.