My lips twitched into forming a smile when I checked my phone that day and saw Eros's reply.

'Wait until I get back to town. I will kick their arses for you!'

After I sent him a quick reply telling him to come back sooner, I slid my phone inside the pocket of my jacket and walked to my locker. After what had happened earlier with Ryker, I went home and pretended that I had not just seen a naked man turned into a large, hairy wolf. My phone chimed again, and I pulled it out. It was a text from Davina. She texted me saying that she felt much better now that she had had enough rest and chicken soup. I texted her back, telling her how boring my day was without her, and hit the send button just as I arrived at the convenience store across the street.

Out of the corner of my eyes, I could feel people starting to crowd around me and I instantly knew trouble was coming when I heard Cindy, who used to be the head of the cheerleaders' voice, calling my name. "Xyrra, so tell us, how does it feel to be a home wrecker? Do you feel accomplished, slut?"

I did my best to ignore her, walking down the aisle to where I could find the things I needed. The sooner I got them and checked out at the cashier, the better.

Like the bully she was, Cindy kept following me around. "Are you deaf? I am talking to you!"

Right before her hand aimed for my face, I took a quick step back, causing her to lose her balance and stumble forward.

"You bitch!" she yelled, straightening up.

"What the hell is your problem?" I carefully took a step back, away from her and her crazy eyes.

"You and your slutty friend are my problems!" Cindy yelled, her nose was flaring.

I frowned. What did my friend have anything to do with what had happened yesterday? "Davina?"

"That's right! You two can't keep your hands from other people's boyfriends! First, she took my boyfriend and got herself pregnant, and then you," her manicured nail pointed directly at me as she spat her next words, "You broke my cousin's heart by snatching his friend's fiancé, and yet you still dare to show your face around here. Have you no shame?!"

Only when Cindy said it out loud that it finally registered to my brain who that blonde guy from the club last week had been. I had vaguely remembered seeing his face back at the club and now I knew where I had seen him. He had come to Cindy's birthday party two months ago. Since Brett was Cindy's cousin, he automatically was invited and he had brought me along with him.

"Look, I have told Brett, Alana, and everyone at the wedding that I have no relationship with the groom," I tried explaining, even though deep down I knew it was pointless.

"Yeah right! I saw with my own two eyes what you and he did today. You both entered that abandoned building near the parking lot. You've done him in there, haven't you?" Cindy shook her head and spat on the floor. "So disgusting! It makes me sick. You make me sick, whore!"

I quickly recalled that Cindy had been at the cafe earlier. She must've seen naked Ryker and me coming out of that building and followed me here. Naturally, she brought her followers, a bunch of cheerleaders and jocks who forgot that school was over. Cindy grabbed a styrofoam cup from another student nearby and then threw its content on me and I jumped back, trying to avoid it, however, the person who was standing behind me must have pushed me because the next thing I knew, my body was being thrown forward and my face was nearly flat on the wetted floor. "Slut!"

Everyone around me started calling me slut. The girls were even throwing things at me while the guys laughed at how pathetic I must have looked.

"The next thing either one of you thinks about stealing someone else's boyfriend, think again!" Cindy looked down at me and spat. Her spit came so close to contact with my face.

But I was raised by my dad to be tough, not to show any sign of weakness, so I grabbed my groceries and pushed myself up. I walked to the cashier and paid. I was not running. Despite the things they threw at me or the filthy words they called me, I did not want them to think that I was scared of them. I might be outnumbered and because of Ryker's stupid stunt today, no one would believe me, but I refused to give in. I kept my head held high as I walked toward the bathroom. I washed my face in the sink and stared at my reflection. With the lack of shampoo, I washed my hair using only water. I twisted my hair, making sure there would be a minimum droplets left before walking out of the bathroom.

If I thought that that was all that my bullies would do to me, I was sadly mistaken when I walked towards my bike and saw white paint being splashed all around the black leather seat and dripping down the front light. Everything was white, with the exception of some parts of the tires. Then on the seat, there was the word 'slut' written in red spray paint. I fought the urge to cry as I watched the small ornament that I had hooked on the arm of the rearview mirror drenched in white paint. It was the only thing I had left from my mom. Without caring about the white paint, I took it off and rushed back inside. I tried to wash it in the bathroom with little luck.

Cindy and her cronies were walking past me when I got out of the bathroom. Her gaze fell on the ornament I had on my hand. "Would that be enough to cleanse you, Slut?"

I did not bother saying anything in return. I simply swung my arm back. She didn't see it coming when my fist met her nose, but she sure as well felt the pain. Blood dripped from her nose and she stared at me in disbelief. "You are going to pay for this, whore! Just watch! You are gonna pay for this!" she threatened me before letting her friends take her away to get medical attention.

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes for several heartbeats. My hand hurt, but I have never felt so relieved. Opening my eyes, I rushed back to my motorbike when I heard his deep voice and my steps came to a halt.

"Good." I heard Ryker's deep voice and realized that he had been around this whole time. "Now she would not want to stay for sure. You've done a good job scaring her off like that."

Slowly, I moved to the source of his voice and hid behind a wall, watching him talking to someone on the phone.

There was a full minute pause as Ryker was listening to the other person talking before he replied, "No, I still have no luck persuading Xyrra to come with me, but I'm sure she'll get around."

My body felt tense. He had clearly mentioned my name. They were talking about me, but all I could think was what he had said earlier.

'Now she would not want to stay for sure. You've done a good job scaring her off like that.'

Right at that moment, I knew he was the one who made Cindy go overboard and humiliated me in public. All of that was to make me feel unwelcome here, to scare me away so that I would go with him. All of a sudden, I felt disgusted. Disgusted at my own stupidity for nearly handing him my VCard at the club. Disgusted at how low he had stooped to make me come with him. And most of all, I was disgusted that for a moment there, I almost believed him. I almost believed what he had said about the soulmates and about my dad. I almost believed that he was actually worried about my safety and I almost believed his lies that my dad killed my mom.

Gosh, I was darn stupid! My arms wrapped around my body tightly as I tried not to shiver against the cold. You had messed with the wrong person, Ryker Cromwell. I did not care whether he was a werewolf, an Alpha, or even Gandalf himself. Bottom line, he had ruined my life with what he had done yesterday and again today. He had done nothing but bring pain and unnecessary problems. I was not a huge believer in an eye for an eye, but I believed revenge should be at least twice worse. He had humiliated me like this. I would damn sure humiliate him more than what he had done today.

I clenched my hand into a fist. All I needed to do was find his weakness, something I could use to get my revenge. And to get that, I might need to play a little pretense and get closer to him. So close that I would know to hit where it would hurt the most. Just like what they said, keep your friends close and your enemies closer!

* * * 

Nothing welcomed me home better than my dad saying, "Wow, sweetie, you reek."

After spending the rest of my day trying to get the paint off my motorcycle at Patrick's repair shop, I had to use olive oil to get the paint off the seat. I could not get it all off, but there was progress. At least now there would not be the word 'Slut' on my ass whenever I rode it. Luckily, Patrick did not ask anything when I walked into his garage. He simply asked me what I needed and helped me with the paint on the headlight and the body of my motorcycle. He had used the paint remover and told me that I needed to leave my bike there for a couple of days for him to polish it and then paint it black again. So in the end, I had to walk my way home and possibly catch a bus to school tomorrow.

"Yeah, well, it has been a long day," I replied with a sigh as I placed my helmet by the side of the stairs and walked my way upstairs. There was nothing I wanted more than to take a shower.

As I was combing my hair in front of the sink, I looked at my reflection and noticed that the wound on my arms was already healed. There was still a small scratch mark, but nothing more than that. Staring at it, I remembered what Ryker had told me this afternoon and shook my head, refusing to believe that Dad was a werewolf and had killed Mom.

At dinner, Dad was acting like usual. He had cooked dinner, and we sat there at our round IKEA dining table, eating gnocchi Sorrento. My dad was Italian while my mum was African (at least that was how I got my beautiful olive skin), so we often had Italian dishes around the house. I was grateful for today's dinner. After the long day I had, it was nice to have a comfort food dish simply made with soft potato gnocchi, baked in a creamy tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese.

"How was your day today?" my dad asked in between his bites.

"It was alright," I answered, deciding that I should keep what had happened today to myself. My dad could be overprotective sometimes and I knew he would not take it lightly despite the fact that I had been bullied over something I had not done.

Dad grabbed his mug and took a drink. He sighed before placing the mug back on the table and picking up his fork. "Then why did you smell so bad? Did you make a wrong turn again?" he teased me.

Back when he had first taught me how to ride a motorcycle, I had not been careful and ended up hitting the dumpster.

"Something like that," I answered vaguely, then continued stuffing my mouth with food so he would not ask anything further.

He frowned as he kept his gaze on me. "Did you get yourself injured?"

"No, I am fine." I put down my cutleries on the plate, then picked them up and brought them to the sink. "I think I have excelled my way on that."

Dad chuckled, then he turned his gaze to the window. His laughter died, and I felt my back tense. "Where is your bike?"

Shite! "I left it at Patrick's," I replied, keeping my tone light.

"You must have hit the dumpster pretty hard if it needs fixing." I watched him shaking his head. "Please be careful next time, sweetie, I know you did not get hurt this time, but still, it is dangerous to ride your bike recklessly like that."

I turned off the water tap and dried my hands. "I know. I will."

He seemed to have finished his food as he stood, carrying his plate in one hand and mug in the other, and walked towards me. He placed them on the sink and then leaned forward, pressing his lips on the side of my head. "I don't care if your bike is trashed as long as you are alright."

"I know." I tiptoed and planted a kiss on his cheek before taking a step back and walking back to my room upstairs.

As I laid my back on the mattress, I let my mind reel over what had happened today. From Ryker turning into a giant wolf to Cindy bullying and, finally, what I had overheard. If I thought that yesterday was a nightmare, it was nothing compared to today, and I knew that tomorrow would be even worse. I closed my eyelids and let the darkness engulf me as I fell into a deep slumber.

* * *

It was around two in the morning when I heard arguments from downstairs. I grabbed the baseball bat from the side of my bed and tiptoed my way down the stairs, avoiding the fourth step that always creaked whenever the plank of wood was being stepped on. My heart was racing, and I tried my best to keep my breathing even so that whoever was causing a ruckus downstairs would not hear me coming.

"You should know better, Rob! We are talking about Xyrra here!"

I knew that voice so well. Slowly, I pressed my back against the wall by the stairs and took a peek at the kitchen, where two figures were standing in the middle of it. One of them was Eros while the other one was my dad. The one who just yelled was Eros.

This time, my dad replied to Eros with the same ferocity and frustration. "And do you think I didn't know that?! She is my daughter! The last thing I wanted was for her to get hurt! All I did was to protect her. You damn well know that!"

"Yeah, and you have been doing a great job, huh?!" Eros said in a mocking tone. He gave out a harsh laugh, then ran his fingers frustratingly through his wavy platinum-blonde hair. "How the fuck did Ryker Cromwell get his hands on her then?! You were supposed to get her away from all of these! If not, why the fuck did I even help you for?!"

With my free hand, I covered my mouth. This was the first time I have ever heard Eros cuss out loud at my dad. He had always been so polite and respectful to the elderly, especially my dad.

"Well, where the fuck were you, huh?" my dad spat back.

Eros narrowed his eyes. "I was away taking care of your mess. I am not the one at fault here. You should be the one keeping a close eye on her while I was away. That's what you are for! I can't be with her twenty-four seven and you fucking know that, Rob!"

Then, to surprise me further, my dad growled at him and the voice he was making was inhumane.

"That is not how you are supposed to talk to your Beta, Eros!" he slammed his fist on the dining table, causing a few bottles of beer that they must have been having to wobble before falling and crashing on the floor. "No matter what this is about, you must always show respect. You must know your place."

I watched Eros's jaw clench and his hands curled into a ball of fists.

"You are not my Beta, Rob!" His tone was harsh but I could see that his face had slightly paled. "You have been banned, remember? You have been kicked from the pack. Your glory days were over a decade ago when you slaughtered your mate."

For a second I thought my dad would blow up and punch Eros, but instead, he let out a heavy sigh and sat down. "You are right. I owe you."

"No, you owe it to him. And let me tell you, Rob, he will collect it one day so if you don't behave and somehow she got away, you have nothing to bargain. You will have no use for him. Keep that in mind and do a better job of keeping her safe."