5

MAYA

I hold my breath as I walk into the hallway, I know that a lot has happened in the past few days, but I don't know how bad it is.

They aren't staring at me though, so that means it can't be that bad.

I doubted Ethan when he said he was going to handle it, but it seems like he did.

I walk into class for my supernatural studies, but to my surprise, no one is whispering to their friends.

It's like they have forgotten to pick on me today.

Carl walks into the class, his head is hung low and he has a baseball cap on. I pretend to scribble in my book, because the moment he walks past me, he is going to crack another mean joke.

“Hey, Carl, what's up with you, man?” Carl's friend and fellow troublemaker, Jason, teases him by pushing his shoulder.

“Stop it, man, I don't feel like fooling around today.” He warns.

“Stop being a sissy, Carl. Did you wake up on the wrong side of the bed?” Jason pushes him again.

Carl's cap falls off and everyone gasps. His left eye is painfully purple, and his lip is busted.

Carl picks up his cap with the speed of light, and gives his friend a nasty push.

“I told you to leave me alone!”

He matches to his seat, and drops his head against the table. For the first time since I moved here, Carl is not bullying me.

I turn to look at him, but he is now staring outside of the window.

“Carl, are you okay? Did you get into an accident?” I point at his eye.

“Please, Maya, leave me alone.” He sighs. “I don't want any more trouble from Ethan.”

“Excuse me?”

“I'm sorry, okay?” He raises his voice in annoyance. “I didn't know that you would take my jokes so terribly. Tell Ethan that I apologized already, and he should leave me alone!”

Everyone is staring at us, but trying their hardest not to make it obvious.

I swallow a gulp and pretend to be intrigued with reading the book in front of me. Ethan did that to him.

My face turns red because I never thought that Ethan would give a shit about me to this extent.

Throughout the two hour class, Carl didn't even dare to breathe too loudly. Not one person dared to make a slight joke at me.

As soon as I hear the bell that indicates the end of the class, I rush out as quickly as I can.

I have to make it to the basketball court, because Ethan asked me to wait for him.

I would ask him what he did to my classmates to make them stop making mean jokes to me.

When I open the door, he is not here yet. That's okay, maybe he went to see his coach before coming here.

I sit in one of the benches and just shut my eyes, wishing for the day to go by quickly. Then I hear the doors open.

“Where have you been, asshole? You told me to be here as soon as I can.” I bemoan, raising my head, but Ethan is not here.

A tingling sense of trouble pricks me and I stand up to my feet.

Victoria, Natalie, and Grace walk into the court, closing the door behind them.

This is trouble, I have to leave immediately, but they are standing in my way.

“Why are you leaving so soon, Maya?”

I move my tongue to the roof of my mouth. “Please, get out of my way. I don't want to be late for my pack dynamic class.”

The girls look at each other with evil smiles on their faces.

“You think we don't know what you are doing here?” Grace asks.

“Aren't you here to fuck one of the boys for a mere ten dollars?”

My heart jumps to my mouth. “What? That's not true! I'm not a whore!”

“We saw you run out of the class, Maya, don't lie to us.” Natalie scoffs. “Your heat has come too early and you can't control yourself. You are now selling your body to the school athletes.”

Tears blinds and stings my eyes.

“That's not true!”

“Come on, silly. You think that Ethan can beat up Carl and bully everyone else to be quiet about it, but we all know the truth.” Victoria mocks me. "Tell us, is he your pimp?"

They know exactly what they are doing. They are daughters of Alphas and Betas of neighboring packs.

Ethan won't be able to beat them up because they are girls, and also because their fathers belong to high ranking positions, and Ethan's confrontation might cause tension between Strom ridge and the other packs.

Since Ethan is not here to save me, I decide to fight my way out of here. I know better than to allow them to get to me.

I make it to the door again, but Grace gives me a nasty push that leaves my left elbow bruised and throbbing with pain.

“Hey, what was that for?!” I cry out.

The girls laugh and hi five each other. “Look at her, she is such a slut. My father warned me to stay away from her because her bloodline is known for their slutty behaviors.”

“Her mother is just like her. Have we forgotten that she left her husband and became Beta David's prostitute until they got married? Why are we surprise her daughter is fucking boys secretly in the basketball court?”

I stop in my tracks and slowly turn around. My eyes have gone dark with anger.

“What did you just say about my mother?” I growl.

The girls chuckle with defiance.

Victoria steps forward, “I called your mother a whore. What are you going to do about it?”

I smile, tilting my head to the side. “Just what I thought I heard.”

I walk towards the rack that holds the balls. I pick the firmest I can find, and I turn back to the girls.

Without thinking, I throw my hands over my head, making sure to gather enough momentum, before hurdling the ball at the girls.

Grace and Natalia scream as they move out of the way, but Victoria is not fast enough and the ball smacks her right in the face.

She falls to the ground and her friends rushes to her side.

As soon as she sits up, blood starts to rush down her nostrils and she spits into her mouth. I broke one of her teeth too.

I smirk inwardly, very proud of myself, but the girls are horrified.

Natalie lets out a bloodcurdling scream, and I press my hands over my ear. Grace and Natalie bare their fangs and charged at me, even though it's prohibited to shift in school…

In a few seconds, the students burst through the door and start running in like it's a crime scene. The principal joins them with an angry frown.

“What's happening?!”

A gasp leaves my mouth because I can't defend myself against Grace and Natalie in their wolf forms, but just before they get to me, a strong force sweeps me from their path.

It's Ethan. He came out of nowhere.

He quickly cups my face and examines me. “What did you do, Maya?”

“Why are you blaming me when they started it?!” I yell.

“And you had to hit Victoria out of all of them! Her father will have your head for this!”

Oh no, I'm in trouble.