Mated To My Bully: You Can't Have Me Back

Approximately seventy-eight pairs of eyes were on me as I walked down the hallway of Cleavewood High, clutching my books tightly to my chest. I swallowed. God, please don’t let Zade start again. “Walk faster, wolfless bastard!” Natty, Cad’s girlfriend, spat, leaning lazily against her locker. I adjusted my books and hurried to my locker, nearly tripping over my own feet. Just eight months left to graduate, Ariel. There would be no more Zade or Cade. No more Natty and— Bling bling! A loud alarm went off as I opened my locker. My body stilled. “Open it, open it!” Tears pooled in my eyes as I stared at the letter marked with the death stamp. In this school, every year under the Mating Moon, there’s this ritual called Truth or Death—courtesy of the Lycan lineage. One unfortunate person receives a letter: either reveal a truth or do something that may leave them wishing for death. My gaze slowly shifted to the twins walking toward me, everyone cheering them on. Last year it was Valerie, and to this day no one knows where she vanished to. “Well, well, it just had to be you, kitty,” Zade smirked, dimples flashing as he ran a hand through his damp blonde hair. “Wonder what’s in the letter, brother,” Cade added. “Open it! Open it!” the crowd chanted. Cade raised a brow. “You heard them. Open—” “Ari!” Pascal, my boyfriend, pushed through the crowd toward me. I hadn’t realized I was crying until I saw him. Zade rolled his eyes and sucked his teeth. As soon as Pascal’s eyes landed on the inside of my locker, he screeched to a halt behind the twins. He went pale. Silent. “Open the damn letter, kitty, or should I make you?” Zade snapped, making me flinch. “Oh—okay…” I stammered, picking up the letter with trembling hands. I had almost forgotten how to open one, my world tilting. When I saw the words inside, I nearly collapsed. Cade snatched the paper from me and smirked. “Spend ten minutes in the dark room.” Everyone gasped, eyes wide. People went there to make out all the time, but everyone knew how darkness drove me insane—ever since a teacher caught me injecting myself to sleep during the Halloween sleepover. My mind flipped. I could hear the voices clearly. Mother screaming for help. Everything was dark, and her screams grew louder, but I couldn’t see— “You can’t be serious,” Pascal gasped, his hands flying to his mouth. Cade shot him a deadly glare. “You want to join her inside?” Zade held his shoulder. “We don’t have to do this, Cade.” “Are you kidding me? Wolfless females like her are supposed to be killed. She’s lucky to still be alive.” The next three minutes were the most unbearable of my life. Cade and some of his friends dragged me toward the dark room. I cried, pleading, begging everyone watching to help me. I begged Zade, who had gone silent, but he only looked away. The teachers watched in pity. I didn’t blame them. No one could challenge the Lycan’s children. I eventually stopped struggling. The door slammed shut, swallowing the last ounce of sunlight. I remembered seeing my mother’s chopped body being taken away by the same man who killed her. I remembered shaking under the kitchen table. I remembered screaming and banging on the door before I passed out. “Ariel. Ariel, it’s me… yeah, Pascal. Open your eyes.” I looked around. I saw the stars first, then the parking lot. I looked up at Pascal. My head was on his lap, and he was crying, stroking my hair. “I was scared to death, Ari.” I broke into tears and hugged him. He held me tightly, and I felt like melting apart inside. “I hate myself so much, Pascal. I hate myself so much.” “Don’t say that.” “Why do I have to be born? Why didn’t… why didn’t that man kill me instead of my mother?” I stayed there holding him for minutes, crying my eyes out. A faint scent of cinnamon made my ears tingle. I felt a strange pull inside me, my throat suddenly dry. Slowly, I looked up and saw him. Zade. Standing by the exit, hands in his pockets, eyes trained on us. The scent was his. He was so distant—why could I smell him? Why was he here? Was he checking to see if I was already dead? I snuggled closer to Pascal, who was snoring softly. By the time I looked back, Zade was gone. “Pascal… can you drive me home?” I asked softly. He snored louder. I tapped his chest before he woke up. The trees blurred behind us as he drove me home. I stared down at my fingers. Five. Was it supposed to be five? I was five when Mother died. Pascal touched my thigh, and I fidgeted. I looked at him, and he smiled gently. “You’ll be fine.” I nodded. When we stood at my front door, he looked nervous for some reason. “You don’t have to worry about me,” I said, stroking his cheek and trying to smile. “It’s not that.” “Then what?” He stepped forward, too close, our lips almost touching. “I know this is sick, but I want to make love to you, Ari. Every time I see you, I can’t help thinking about it.” I dropped my hands to my sides and pulled back. “Even when they were dragging me to the dark room, you were thinking about s*x?” He tensed. “Ari—” I opened the door and stepped inside. “See you on Monday.” I went straight to my room, slammed the door hard, turned on the light, took an overdose of my medication, and crashed onto the bed. I couldn’t bring myself to cry anymore. My phone buzzed. I’m sorry, honey, but there are a lot of patients. I’ll be working the night shift. If it gets too scary, you can stay with Pascal… Dad. I went to our class chat, sniffing. What if Natty isn’t Cade or Zade’s mate? Like hell! They’re cute together. She’ll surely mate him tonight! The males learned who their mate was on the Mating Moon the year they turned twenty-one, while the females discovered theirs at eighteen. I clenched my fists as I scrolled through Cade and Natty’s pictures, then stopped at one. A picture of Cade, smiling, dark hair wet with rain. I remembered that day so well because next to him in the picture was me—his hand around my waist as we laughed. Happy. Three years ago, on this same night… I found out I was wolfless, and Cade—whom I loved so much—rejected me in front of everyone because of that. “I, Cade Blackwell, reject you, Ariel Smith, as my mate, and I promise to make your life hell for being wolfless.”