Chapter 2

Neaera-

I hadn’t been lucky as I had hoped for, because they admitted to waiting until after my brother left. Stryker has made it clear that if he saw them mess with me, he would step in. He thought they stopped picking on me, but that wasn’t the case.

I just became better at hiding it. It wasn’t that I wasn’t grateful that he was protecting me, I just didn’t want to feel like a burden. He had enough to deal with right now and he didn’t need to worry about me.

All morning the kids that openly picked on me made sure to make things harder for me. One of the girls that picked on me was named Chloe and she was the ringleader of the group. I knew it was because she was in love with Stryker but didn’t want me around.

If she thought that he would ever look twice at her with the way she treated me, she had another thing coming. My brother couldn’t stand her, not only because she picked on me, but because she continued to throw herself at him. The worst thing she has done was try to set me up in front of my brother.

She thought that if she could make it seem like I intentionally tried to hurt Stryker to the point he would have been punished by our father. Little did she know that while our father seemed harsh, he really wasn’t. Just like Stryker, he might seem cold and mean, but he was a kind man and had a large heart.

What is more, she also didn’t realize that her prank failed because my brother knew I didn’t do it. He had overheard her and her friends talking about what they were planning to do. He recorded their conversation and let them play their prank.  

When Chloe tried to make a big scene and pointed her fingers at me, Stryker played the recording he made of her. In the end, she was the one humiliated and since then my brother had openly made it clear that he couldn’t stand her.

So far today, it has been much worse than in the past. Mostly because I haven’t had a single moment of peace. Even during class, they picked on me and made it difficult for me to pay attention.

Since I knew that if I told anyone it would only get worse for me, I kept it to myself. When lunchtime finally rolled around, I thought maybe I would catch a break. After getting my lunch, I looked around the cafeteria but couldn’t see any of them.

Thinking they left school to have lunch, I relaxed a little. Finding an empty table, I sat down to eat. I wished Stryker could join me for lunch, but I was fairly sure he was busy. It was just nice to not eat alone, especially when I could feel others looking at me and making comments while I eat.

Just then a container of salad was thrown on the table, in front of my tray of food. Looking up, I found Chloe standing there with a smug look on her face. Just my luck, I should have known better than to think I would have been free during lunch.

“I brought you a salad, Fatty Re-re. Maybe if you start eating salads for every meal, you wouldn’t be as fat.” She sneered.

Deciding to ignore her, I continued to eat the chicken noodle soup that I had in front of me. I could feel her anger radiating from her without looking at her. Her hand grabbed my tray, but I was fast enough to grab the bowl of soup off it before she dumped the contents on my lap.

“Don’t fucking ignore me. You think you are high and mighty because your father is the Alpha, and your brother is next in line. Stryker will come to his senses soon enough and I will become the Luna of this pack, so I demand you show me respect!” Chloe yelled, then threw the salad at me.

I couldn’t help but snicker at her comment. She was delusional if she thought Stryker would accept her as his mate. She was already eighteen, which means she could now sense her fated mate. Obviously, it wasn’t Stryker, but even if it were, I still highly doubt he would accept her.

This time I did look up at her, only because I hated the thought of her thinking she was good enough for my brother. I normally didn’t talk back to her; I just did my best to ignore her. Now, I was filled with anger, and I could no longer hold back.

“When are you going to realize that Stryker doesn’t even like you? You can pick on me all you want but I will not sit back and let you try to drag my brother into this.” I stood up, placed my bowl of soup on the table, and glared at her with all the anger I have suppressed since I met her.

This was the first time I had stood up to her or her minions, but right now I felt as if there was untapped power flowing through me. I never realized that humans could feel as powerful as a werewolf when they are pushed to their limits. I couldn’t place the feeling I was having, other than there was a fire building inside of me to the point my throat burned.

“How dare you talk to her like that!” Chloe’s best friend and sidekick, Britney, yelled at me.

I didn’t look away from Chloe as she talked, because my anger had nothing to do with Britney. I could see in Chloe’s eyes that my outburst pissed her off. Not that I cared, because, for the first time in my life, I felt like I had power over them.

Feeling satisfied, I scooted my chair back and started walking away. I didn’t get very far as Chloe and Britney rushed to block my path. I had hoped that I had put an end to the situation, but from the looks of it, I just made it worse.

“If you think I am going to let you walk away from me after that, you are mistaken. Why don’t you just go back to whatever hole you climbed out of and disappear? Do you really think that your family cares about you? You are nothing but a pathetic fat ass human!” Chloe screamed before lifting her arm in the air and throwing her hand at me.

Knowing I couldn’t match her strength, I backed up to avoid her attack, but someone extended their leg out to trip me. I didn’t know which was worse, falling in front of everyone or getting hit by a werewolf. Closing my eyes, the feeling of power I had quickly vanished as I returned to my previous state.

Just when I thought I was done for, I felt someone wrap their arms around me and catch me. Opening my eyes, I was stunned to see that Stryker once again came to my rescue. He held me close, with his eyes looking at me with such an intensity that I felt my pulse quicken.

“Are you okay?” He asked, his voice low and tender.

No! I am not okay! I screamed inside of my head as I looked up at him. His presence was making me feel things that I shouldn’t be feeling. There was something seriously wrong with me if I was looking at my brother like someone that was having a crush.

Knowing I couldn’t say those words out loud, I nodded my head. Getting my feet back under me, I quickly stood up and pushed away from him. Ducking my head, I wanted to become invisible, just like Chloe had suggested.

“Stryker! I swear it isn’t what you think it was. She tripped and I was only reaching out to catch her.” Chloe blurted out, stepping next to Stryker, and clinging to him.

Stunned, I looked over and gaped at Chloe. It shouldn’t surprise me that she put on the act, but I had hoped that I had gotten through to her. Thankfully, Stryker didn’t seem to care as he pushed her away.

“I heard it all. If you think you won’t be punished after trying to strike my Nea, you are in for a rude awakening.”

For some reason, him calling me Nea right now felt a little different than before. Before it had been just a nickname, he gave me and now it felt a little endearing. Perhaps it was the tone he used that was different.

Feeling like I needed to seek professional help, I decided that after I turned eighteen the day after tomorrow, I was going to make an appointment with a therapist in the human territory. Hopefully, by talking to someone of my own kind I could understand why recently I have been having different feelings towards my brother. It could just be because I am much older now and have hero-worship feelings.

“You aren’t Alpha yet! There isn’t anything you can do!” Chloe yelled at Stryker, sounding both pitiful and annoying as she started crying.

I didn’t understand why everyone in school looked up to her. Yeah, she was beautiful, but her personality was the worst. Feeling brave with Stryker next to me, I was just about to defend him, but I was stopped abruptly when he grabbed my wrist and started pulling me away without another word.