HAZEL

Finally, senior year!

Last term had been in a summary: hell. But the bullying had not started then. For as long as I could remember, I had always the short girl in front of the assembly line and it was easy to push me around. I was no good at sports and I wouldn’t dare refer to myself as pretty.

Like ants to sugar, all my shortcomings helped to draw the school bullies to me. No matter how I tried to act invisible to avoid making myself known, they would find me. I had gotten very acquainted with the girls’ bathroom, trying to hide from the bullies but that did not stop them.

Last term had only seemed worse because puberty took a different turn and my boobs decided that they wanted to grow wild. My hips swelled lavishly and curves popped up from nowhere. Knowing what the consequences would be, I resorted to wearing baggy sweatpants and cardigans.

When I had come home crying with bruises all over me for the umpteenth time, Mom had driven me to see the doctor.

“You are very healthy, Hazel,” the doctor had said, straightening out his glasses to read my medical report. “The only issue is that your body is undergoing some changes because you are approaching eighteen. Your Omega is maturing and soon, you will have a very. . .compelling scent. This is your body’s way of preparing you.”

The conversation made me very uncomfortable and I left all the talking to Mom.

“What can we do to suppress the scent, Doc? She is still a student and will be in her final year next term. She is already dealing with a lot.”

“There are some measures, ma’am but the safest for young Hazel is taking special medication. I will prescribe some for you to get downstairs on your way out at the pharmacy.”

That was how I became a regular pill-popper. I took my medication everywhere I went just in case and in the summer, I turned eighteen. I didn’t throw a party like everyone did on their most important birthday because I had no friends to invite. Instead, I spent it alone with my mom just like every other birthday since my father died, eating cupcakes and drinking ginger ale.

But it was time for a change. My new age would be a turning point in my life. At eighteen, every wolf shifted for the first time and then found their mate. I had succeeded in shifting into an adorable snow-white wolf–Mom had taken pictures–which meant I had passed the first stage.

Now it was time to find my mate, that one person who would love me, not because they gave birth to me but because they thought I was wonderful and funny and cute. Once I found my mate, I would have nothing else to worry about.

Just before school was over, I was proven very wrong.

***

“Hey, Hazel. Nice skirt. Why did you get it, dudsforanuglyduckling.com?” Isla commented as I picked up the books I needed for assignments from my locker. She was leaning against some lockers, surrounded by her clique.

I clutched my bag straps tighter and attempted shutting out her high-pitched voice. Isla Cansel was at the top of the school food chain, the president of almost every school club and the most popular girl at school. She was also friends with Ethan Brown, my worst nightmare. He was the Alpha of a small pack nearby and made it his hobby to slam me against lockers.

Speaking of which. . .

“Don’t you know how to take a fucking compliment, Blake?” Ethan confronted me, holding me back by my school bag and pressing me against a locker. “Isla just complimented your skirt. What do you say?”

Fuck, I didn’t see him quick enough to make a run for it. He pushed a knee between my legs, parting them forcefully and twisting my hands behind me. The pain seized my shoulders and I bit down on my tongue to stop myself from screaming.

It would be of no use because no one would come to my rescue.

“Thank you, Isla,” I said, muffled by the locker. I could not remember when I got so sweaty and the more Ethan stood close to me, the more I broke out in sweat.

Ethan was a douchebag, a handsome one but a douchebag all the same. Yet I could never tell why he had such an effect on me. It used to be fear once upon a time but now, it didn’t feel like fear. It was a combination of anxiety and sadistic pleasure.

My nipples pebbled in my bra cups and I squeezed my hips together to kill the ache there. What was this strange feeling I got around a boy who hated the sight of me?

Unless. . .No, not him!

My mate couldn’t be Ethan Brown!

But my body was not cooperating with my brain and I kept my legs open as he instructed. He hummed his satisfaction and my confused body got aroused. My panties were soaked with cum and I panted heavily, overwhelmed by the hot rush of emotions.

Mate, my Omega cried and my world crashed into pieces.

Ethan Brown, the bane of my existence and the reason I attempted suicide last term was my mate? There must be mistake somewhere. The universe was playing a very bad joke on me.

“Please let me go,” I begged, squirming under him. “I’ll be late and my mom would be worried.”

“Awwn, her poor mom would be worried that her uglyass daughter isn’t home yet,” Ethan mocked me, freeing one of his hands and slipped it under my skirt. I held my breath, begging my wolf to behave itself and not expose us.

The moment Ethan’s hand paused over my ass, I heard him inhale sharply and I knew that I was fucked. He withdrew his hand and sniffed it deeply and I could not hold back a moan.

“You slut,” he accused, wrapping a hand around my ponytail. “So, it’s you.”

“I’m sorry,” I cried, not sure what I was apologizing for. “I didn’t know that. . .I just —”

“Shut up, bitch!” He yanked me off the lockers and slammed me forward again, my eyes spinning in their sockets. “This cannot be fucking true.”

“It’s her, then?” Isla confirmed. “The girl with the scent that has been driving you nuts.” She sounded amused and Ethan glared at her, wiping her smirk off her face.

Meanwhile, I scratched my nails on the rough edges of my locker. If I got hurt, my wolf would get hurt and the annoying scent would die down. But although I was bleeding, nothing was working judging from how pissed Ethan still was.

He spun me around roughly and held me at a place with his hand around my neck.

“Kiss me,” he demanded, shoving my chin up.

What? Was this some trick?

I shook my head vigorously in refusal and he frowned, searching for something on my blouse. When he found it, he squeezed my nipples hard and I opened my mouth to scream but only a shameful moan made its way out.

“Pathetic. You want me. We are mates, aren’t we? Now, stop being scared and kiss me.”

He was right. I hated Ethan Brown but my wolf saw only the fact that he was my mate. She quickly forgave him for the times he had humiliated me or assaulted me physically.

I had no idea that I was crying until I felt the drops go under my jaw. Isla and her friends were watching and I could not exactly refuse my mate. Closing my eyes tight, I puckered my lips and led them to where I last saw his lips.

This was it, the day my whole life would change and Ethan would no longer see me as dirt under his nails and actually love me as his mate.

The next minute, a heavy hand smacked me stupid and I crashed to the ground, supporting my jaw from falling off. The slap shocked the fuck out of me and I actually saw stars spinning behind my eyes.

“Disgusting bitch! You actually thought I wanted your stink on me? Take a look at yourself and look at me. We can never—and read my lips—never be mates. I reject you, Hazel Blake as my mate. Go find some other loser to claim your sorry ass.”

He spat on me and as the drops fell on my head, the realization that I would be alone forever dawned me like a cold hand on my spine. I heard him walk away and I coiled into a human ball, slapping my bloody fingers on the ground. It hurt but the only thing I could feel was my broken heart.