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Charlotte’s POV

She stole my necklace.

It was the only thing I had left of my late father, and she just took it.

I ran my hands through my hair; tears clouded my eyes, and my teeth gritted from anger as Mia uttered those words.

“Get on your knees and bark; maybe I'll give it to you,” she smirked, her grey eyes beaming with excitement.

The students all burst into loud laughter.

I clenched my fists so tight my knuckles turned white; my eyesight was blurry with tears as I looked up to see the students. They were all seated on their seats, enjoying the show with big smiles on their faces.

“Mia… please… the necklace is my dad's; I can't lose it…” My throat tightened.

Mia has been bullying me since fifth grade. I had never done anything to her, but it didn't matter. In this school all that mattered was wealth.

If you weren't wealthy or born into an influential family of werewolves, you would get bullied, seen as less.

And the worse part… I didn't have a wolf.

I wasn't as strong as the others, fast. My sense of smell was weak. I was everything a mere human was, less in fact.

“If I give it to you, what's in it for me?” Mia asked, a big smile on her face.

I gulped. “What?”

“Well, it's no fun if you get the necklace and I get nothing, don't you think?” she raised an eyebrow.

My breath slowed down, my breathing grew heavy. I sucked in a deep breath to relax myself. “What do you want?”

“Hmmm,” she thought for a second, “kiss a boy.”

The whole class erupted with loud laughter.

“Who would want to kiss that?” a boy shouted.

“Specifically a member of the boys swim team,” Mia added.

The school jocks?

They all thought they were better than everyone. They would never let me kiss them. Mia was giving me an impossible task.

Worse, I knew she would really let me lose that necklace forever if I didn't do what she asked.

I couldn't let it go.

Should I tell her that it was my dad's?

No, this would only motivate her to torture me with it.

“So what are you going to do? You have eight seconds to decide if I'm tossing this necklace into a bush of wolvesbane or give it to you if you can find the courage to kiss a boy.”

“Mia, nobody is going to kiss me, you know that,” I cried.

“Awwwnnn, at least have some faith, don't you think?” Eva, Mia's best friend, mocked.

“You know what?” Mia tossed the necklace into her pocket. “I'll help you.” Before I could understand what she was saying, she grabbed my ear and began to drag me out of the class.

My eyes watered with tears as she pulled me out of the class. The students excitedly followed closely behind us, rushing to catch a glimpse of what was happening.

Soon we arrived at the swimming arena.

The boys were dressed in their swimming tights. Some were in the pool while others stood by the pool side, wet and dripping water.

My eyes instantly caught Isaac McCall. He was the team's captain and from a powerful line of werewolves.

All the girls were in love with him.

Those brown locks that always seemed to fall perfectly on his face, his pointed nose, green eyes, muscular—you couldn't blame them.

Mia was the boldest of them all. She would declare that she and Isaac were meant to be together. She claimed that they were destined to be mates. Even though the girls secretly wanted him, they all backed off.

But still he wouldn't give her any attention. Isaac was a cold, nonchalant wolf. He had only a few friends and didn't let anybody into his private circle.

I shouted a loud cry as Mia tugged at my ear. “Hello boys, who wants a kiss?” The boys all cheered in excitement.

“You know I would give anything to get a kiss from you,” Lane said. He was a member of the boys swim team.

“Ugh, not me, you dummy—her. The boy girl is looking for a boy to kiss. Who will step in for her?”

“Desperate much?” a boy mocked, and more laughter erupted.

My whole body curled in embarrassment.

I still cried. My eyes were dry, unable to produce anymore tears.

“What? So nobody is willing to kiss her?” Eva asked amid laughter.

“I would choke on wolvesbane,” another boy said.

I didn't want to kiss him. I really didn't. I just wanted Dad's necklace back. As their laughter echoed throughout the place, I couldn't take it anymore. It rang in my head like a never-ending bell.

I turned around and ran out of the place.

Wiping the tears from my eyes with the back of my hand, I ran upstairs to class. It was empty. Thank God.

I moved up to my seat beside the window and placed my head against it as I cried. What crime did I ever commit?

It wasn't my fault that I was born different.

My chest heaved repeatedly as my eyes grew red from tears. I sobbed and sniffed, cleaning my eyes repeatedly until I heard a sudden sound against the glass beside me.

I slowly lifted my head. My body jerked as another pebble hit the window. The glass cracked this time.

I quickly stood up and walked to the window to see where it was coming from. My mouth parted in shock as I saw Mia standing in front of a bush of wolvesbane. My necklace was in her hand, and with a smug smile on her face, she dangled it over the bush.

Without thinking, I dashed out of the class. Soon I was outside. Under the scorching sun, I ran towards the bush of wolvesbane.

“Mia! Please!” I shouted. “I can't lose that necklace! I'm begging you!” I yelled at the top of my voice.

She pursed her lips and rolled her eyes. “I asked you to do something in return for the necklace but you just ran off? Well then, I'm assuming you don't want it then.”

Before I could react, she tossed it into the bush.

My head spiraled.

Why did the school even have a bush of wolvesbane when it was toxic to our kind?

I looked into the bush and saw the necklace dangling on a leaf. It was too far to grab with a stick. I had to go in.

I sucked in a deep breath, sobbing as I walked closer to it.

Their smiles fell. “This idiot is really going in?” somebody said.

A loud cry escaped my lips as I stepped into the bush. The leaves brushed against my bare skin. I didn't stop.

I continued to go in deeper, each step burning even worse.

My eyes had begun to hurt from crying.

But Father's necklace meant too much to lose.

“Oh my God! Ms. Williams!” A teacher ran towards our direction. “What are you doing? Get out of there!” she shouted, wide-eyed.

I ignored her, walking in deeper to get it. But as the wolvesbane burned me, it also took all my energy. I blinked, struggling to keep my eyes open. It would be dangerous if I passed out in it.

I was only a few steps away from the necklace.

But I couldn't take it anymore. Being weaker than other werewolves meant I had less tolerance. Three steps away from it… my body gave up.

I heard loud gasps as I fell.

But a hand suddenly caught me, breaking my fall. The person lifted me up in his arms.

Just then I realized the students weren't shouting because of me. They were shouting because of him… I blinked, trying to see who was holding me, but the sun blocked his face.

I squinted. As he tilted his head to one side, I suddenly saw him as clear as day.

Isaac.

He had run int

o the poisonous bush to save me.

I looked up at him, blinking as the harsh sun burned my eyes.

“Are you okay?” he panted.

He.... came here to save me?