3

MAYA

The rumor about me going into heat prematurely didn't die in the classroom like Miss Apple thought it would.

It got into the supernatural gossip mill, and it spreads all through social media.

I have been avoiding going on the internet for the past few days because I know that what I was going to see would plunge me into deep depression again.

I hate this, because it's going to cause more problems for mum, David, and especially for me.

Rumours will start to spread around Storm ridge, and that is going to make me drop even deeper in the pack hierarchy.

The thought of this makes me lose sleep throughout the night. I keep turning this side and that, until I look at the clock and see that it's already the early hours of morning.

Today is a school free day, so Ethan is still sleeping on his bed.

I sit up and stare at his peaceful face. Why do bad things keep happening to me?

This is Ethan's fault. If he didn't try to prank me the other day, I wouldn't have gone to class late, and Carl wouldn't have made that insensitive joke.

I know that he was the one who went and spread the stupid story around.

It's not my fault that my hair is high maintenance and that it gets messed up in the shortest of times.

I wish mum would just allow me to cut my hair into a pixie cut, then I don't have to deal with the rumour of me being a wild girl that has gone into heat so prematurely.

I must make Ethan pay for this. I won't be the only one who will be a source of gossip in the pack this week, and I have the perfect plan in my head.

I may have a weak stomach and wild hair, but Ethan also has his own flaws.

He is terribly allergic to cinnamon, and that's why my mother told me that she couldn't make me my favourite cinnamon biscuits since we moved here.

Whenever Ethan has even the smallest bit of cinnamon, his nose gets as huge as a tennis ball, and it gets so red too.

I can find some cinnamon to put into his food tonight, and he will wake up with the biggest nose in the world tomorrow!

My wolf stirs with happiness inside of me.

“Don't worry, it's just a little lesson that we are going to teach him. Next time, he will learn not to prank us.”

I sneak out of our shared bedroom and grab my shoes and hoodie as I walk out of the house.

There isn't any cinnamon in the house, but there is a store twenty minutes walk away from here.

I could get it, buy Ethan those donuts that he loves so much, and spike them with cinnamon.

He will be devastated when he wakes up tomorrow, and I will snap his huge nose and send the pictures to the school group!

I skip happily till I get to the store, then I turn down the last aisle to see if there is any cinnamon left in the spice corner.

I notice some girls laughing as they push their trolley around. I know them, I have seen them at pack meetings, and they have not been very friendly with me.

It's no news that many people are not happy that my mum and I left Silver moon to come here, since we have always been enemies with Storm ridge.

It doesn't help that they are some of the many girls that are openly obsessed with Ethan. They dot him, but glare whenever they see me close to him. Even in school….

So, that's why I hide as they pass the other aisle. I just need one cinnamon, and I'm out of here…

“Did you even read the latest gossip? I heard that the beta’s step daughter has gone into immature heat!” Pearl Jests.

Her friends stop as they laugh together.

“Poor Ethan! What offence has he committed for his father to marry that prostitute Luna from Silver moon?”

My throat constricts. They just called my mother a prostitute. Why? She doesn't bother anyone. She has been so kind to the people of Storm ridge…

“She is a promiscuous woman, that's why she left her husband to come and be with Beta David. Her daughter has started to display this same behavior too.” Another girl hiss.

“I wish the Alpha will just throw both of them out of the pack already! They are going to bring a bad name to our pack!”

“Imagine her going into heat when she hasn't even found a mate or become matured yet!”

Tears blind my eyes as I rush out of the store. To hell with the cinnamon, I just want to be away from those mean girls.

It's true that my bloodline is known to produce females that mature/go into heat at a young age, but why are they calling me names for a characteristic that the goddess gave to my bloodline?

The tears blind me, and the pain of their words tear up my heart, but I won't stop running.

I keep running till I see my house in the distance.

I barge into the house, I manage to get past mum and David without them noticing my tears, but I rush into the bathroom and shut the door after me.

I stare into the mirror, at my pink face. My hair is acting wild again, I wish I could just yank it away.

I turn on the tap, and splash water all over my face again and again.

A heavy knock sounds on the door, and I immediately know that it's Ethan.

“Hey, go away!” I yell.

“How long have you been in there, monkey?!”

“None of your business, asshole!”

“Come out, I need to speak to you about something.”

“Not interested, just leave me alone!”

Does he listen? He never listens, so he forces the door open, and shuts the door after him.

He is pressing his bare back into the door, and staring me down.

“Are you crying?” He frowns at me.

“What? No!” I lie. “I just washed my face, what do you want?”

My eyes keep falling to his fit torso. Ethan doesn't have any decency, and he walks around without a shirt all the time.

He hangs his trousers so low, that I could count his abs, and see the ‘V’ run down into his pants.

“Hey, he snaps his fingers in my face. Quit staring, I'm serious here.”

Gosh, did he just catch me staring at him? What's wrong with me? I'm supposed to hate this guy!

“What's this rumor that has been running around in the school? They claim that you went into heat!”

“That's not true.” I shake my head. “It's just a rumor, I'm not in heat. I haven't even shifted yet…”

“What?” Ethan's eyes bulge.

It's a shameful thing for me to admit. Most people shift for the first time by the age of thirteen, but it hasn't happened for me.

My mother is very hopeful that it will happen soon, but it hasn't….

I find myself staring at Ethan's body again, and I shake my head and look away.

Something is wrong with me, maybe I'm going crazy.

Am I perceiving the mate scent from my own stepbrother?....