Marked by her rejected mate

Descending down the creaking stairs, Annabell picked up her back pack and threw it over her shoulders as she stepped out, letting the door slam shut behind her which made the house vibrate as though chills had ran through it.

Scowling at the house as though she had an issue with it, she turned and walked away with a huff.

She wasn't in support of her dad's choice of house because everything about the house was so old fashioned and worn-out. 

After the death of her mum, she was left with no choice than to live with her dad.

She had lived with her mum throughout her childhood due to the reason that her dad was a drug addict.

Well, he was still a drug addict, but him being a drug addict doesn't mean she is being mistreated by him.  

Though she couldn't say that he was a bad dad because he always apologises for hurting her in his drunken state. 

Their house was located close to the woods, immediately you step out of the entrance leading to the backyard, you are already in the woods.

And besides, the woods is no ordinary place, it is often shadowy, dark and chilly, always giving out strange vibes.

Usually, strange noises could be heard in the woods and when she got tired of hearing them and decided to let her dad know about it, she was welcomed by a bottle flying towards her direction which she was quick to evade by ducking it.

That was a normal thing for her because she had already been acquitted to it as her dad usually does that to her in his drunken state but frequently apologises when he goes back to his senses.

She could get acquitted to whatever her dad does to her but not those weird noises she hears in the woods, they always made her freak-out.

She has always had a bad feeling for the woods, no matter how good looking or comfortable it may look, it was a wolf in sheep's clothing, and besides, it doesn't look as a comfortable place either.

Whenever she sits on her balcony to take a breather from studying, she would always have the feeling of being watched by something dangerous, just like a time bomb waiting to explode.

*

Walking through the hallway with her head bent low as she glared at the floor due to the stares she was receiving from other students, she accidentally bumped into Mirabelle who hissed immediately their bodies collided.

"I'm sorry," she was quick to say as she walked past her. 

It was completely obvious to her that Mirabelle had been attempting to pick up a fight with her, and she had been making efforts to avoid it until now that she had bumped into her.

"You!" Mirabelle said in an offensive tone as she pulled Annabelle back with her hair.

"Are you a blind bitch!" she yelled at Annabelle who only stared back at her with no emotions visible in her eyes.

After some moments passed with no one saying a single word, Annabelle then asked, "Are you done talking? Honestly I didn't expect you to be someone with few words," Annabelle said with a huff.

"Don't talk to me in such a manner!" Mirabelle yelled aggressively as she stared disdainfully at her.

"What if I do?" Annabelle asked with raised eyebrows.

"Then I'll send your fucking father to jail," Mirabelle threatened with her hands placed on her hips.

"Seriously, what charges do you have against him?" Annabelle asked in a boring tone. 

Doesn't she have something else to use against her. 

"He is a notorious drug addict," Mirabelle replied with her hands still placed on her hips.

"Do whatever you want because that's not my fucking business," Annabelle said with a shrug before turning to walk away.

"You know what? your mum was a fucking bitch that was why she had died brutally and earlier than she was supposed to," Mirabella said which made the other students around gasp.

On hearing what Mirabelle had spoken with pride, she stood dead in her tracks like a manikin as she bawled her hands into tight fists.

"What did you say?" Annabelle asked while acting cool as she strode towards Mirabelle, but deep within her she was simmering with fury, she was already infuriated.

How dare her college mate talk about her late mom in such manners.

"You heard me," Mirabelle said and immediately she finished her statement, a blow landed on her snoot.

"How dare you speak of my late mum in such manners?" Annabelle yelled as she descended another blow on her while trying to hold in her tears as she began beating the crap out of her.

"Who is providing you with information concerning my family?" she inquired as she strangled Mirabelle, but all of a sudden she felt a piercing pain on her arms which made her quickly let go of her.

Mirabelle had stabbed her on her arms and blood began flowing through it. 

Standing up and picking up her back pack, she quickly ran to her class as she was already late for her lessons, leaving Mirabelle laying down on the floor with the dagger in her hand.

*

Opening the door, she walked into the classroom while covering her bleeding arm with her left hand.

"Are you alright, Miss Annabelle?" Her lecturer asked when she saw Annabelle's bleeding arm.

"I'm good ma'am," Annabelle replied before sitting down on her seat. 

"You'll need to go to the infirmary to be treated," the lecturer said as she continued staring at Annabelle's bleeding arms.

"I said I am good, I'm alright ma'am," Annabelle replied in a harsh manner due to the pains she was feeling from her injured arm. 

Mirabelle had really done an incredible job by not only stabbing her with the dagger but also drawing a line with the dagger on her skin.

Like seriously, do students still bring such things to college? 

Inhaling and exhaling severely, she waited patiently as the lecturer gave them a take home experiment to carry out on animals with four feet before leaving the classroom.

Heaving a sigh of satisfaction, she picked up her backpack and sneaked out of the academy premises in order not to be seen by the lectures, and mostly by Mirabelle because she was absolutely sure that if she sees her, she wouldn't hesitate to beat her to pulp knowing that she wouldn't be able to fight back because of her wounded arm.

*

Shoving the door to her house open, she stepped in and noticed that her dad wasn't around.

Tossing her backpack onto the couch, she quickly sprinted into the bathroom to wash her bloody hands and treat her injured arm. 

Coming out from the bathroom, she headed to her room to change her outfit before entering the kitchen to prepare what she would eat.

She decided to prepare milk since she couldn't cook with her injured arm.

After eating, she began preparing the equipment needed for her experiment with the hope that she had a rabbit kept in the cage for her experiment.

Heading towards the cage where she had captured the rabbit, she got disappointed when she found nothing in it.

"Dad!" She yelled angrily knowing he was not at home but was the one who had let the rabbit escape, because the entrance to the cage was wide open and the rabbit couldn't open it by itself.

Picking up her dad's arrow, she decided to go into the woods and get another animal. 

Though she doesn't know how to use the arrow, she could try because she had seen her dad on several occasions making use of it. 

If she had cash, she could have bought another animal with four feet but she didn't have anything so she was left with no option than to walk into the unknown. 

With the mind of using the arrow for protection, she walked out of the house and closed the door before going into the woods. 

**

She had spent up to an hour in the woods and hadn't seen any animal with four feet except for the birds which were producing weird noises that frightened her, and besides birds don't have four feet, if not she would have trapped one and gone home with it.

Fortunately for her, she saw a rabbit that was feasting on a lifeless Antelope.

"What!" she gasped softly in order not to chase away the rabbit. 

She was surprised at the sight of the dead Antelope because her dad had told her that the only creatures that could be found in the woods were birds and rabbits. 

She aimed her target at the rabbit and was about to shoot when she unexpectedly felt a strange presence which made her heart skip, making her miss her target and shooting the dead Antelope instead of the rabbit which had already ran away.