"You gotta be kiddin me! Zachary Harrison is your mate?!" Keira exclaimed, hand slamming upon the table.
Anna flinched back a little and slightly nodded her head.
"So he's the one?" Victoria whispered the question, one eyebrow raising.
"I think so," she mumbled.
"You think so?!" Bea repeated. She threw her hands in the air. "I mean, God, Anna, he had taken over the Black Wolf Pack at eighteen years old! He rules over the football team! He's a Greek God sexy man! And you think so?!"
"Alpha?" Anna asked, confused. "Isn't it the name of the first letter of the Greek Alphabet?"
"It means the Alpha Male," Victoria stated. "An Alpha Male in a pack of werewolves is the most dominating, controlling, protecting, successful, and leading man in the group. He is known for his intelligence and strength in leading his pack which is mainly for the safety of his people. And that becomes his greatest responsiblity as an Alpha."
"Who are the Alphas in the School?" asked Anna, seeming interested.
"John."
"Zach."
"Andrew."
"Jake."
"Jake?"
"Yes."
"So that's why his wolf was terrifying," concluded Anna.
"Very terrifying," Bea corrected. "He used to be called the Big Bad Wolf in the School, that reckless man. He did things. Terrible things. But then, he changed."
Anna frowned. "The Big Bad Wolf?" she echoed. "But Jake seems too nice to be called such a thing."
Bea shook her head. "Did you know that he rejected his own mate?"
Anna gasped silently. "Why would he do that?"
"Sabrina Elener," Victoria stated. "Some say she cheated. Some say she left him. Jake is not a very polite man, you know. He likes innocence and purity. I think he saw that in you."
"I won't always be perfect," Anna said. "Nobody's perfect."
"That's what you think. Anna, you are, in fact, the only human in the School. Your scent is different and pure. Even I can smell it around you. And, well, guys find it intriguing."
"What do you mean?"
"Everyone has their own scent but yours is different. Maybe that explains why everyone has complete attention towards you."
Anna sighed. She had been having this heavy feeling weighing inside her chest. She had felt questioning stares shooting daggers at her back. She had heard their voices of whispers, murmurs, and gossips that had simply made their ways to her ears.
"Oh, Jake," Anna sighed. She had no idea that Jake, of all people, went through this. Rejecting his soul mate? That must had been very painful. Jake had nothing been but a nice guy to her. And although he had made a mistake by kissing her, she still knew he was a good friend to be with. Someone who would listen.
After eating lunch, she didn't see the guys. The girls told her that the guys were training. As they were about to go to the training grounds of the School, Anna excused herself from the group and walked to the bathroom.
After using the toilet, she washed her hands and looked at herself in the mirror. Noticing that her face was flushed a little, she lightly rubbed the skin under her eyes and blinked.
Just then, the door opened. A group of girls entered the bathroom. One was a brunette. The second was a blonde. And the third was a redhead. They were all beautiful and Anna could never compare herself to any of them. Because all of them have pretty faces, sexy bodies, tall figures, and confidence, while she only had her pure scent and nothing more.
Once the girls noticed her presence, a look of disgust that Anna could not comprehend took over their pretty faces. Then for once, they didn't seem pretty to her anymore. They looked like monsters. The kind of monsters that made her cry at night as a little girl.
Suddenly, she felt lightheaded at the weight ot their stares. She always felt uncomfortable being the center of attention. It was the feeling she hated the most.
Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and blocked their pretty faces from her sight. Opening her eyes, she sighed and ignored their silent murmurs as she walked out of the bathroom. Then she heard their silent giggles and unpleasant remarks that sounded so much like a witch's evil laugh to her ears.
Before she could stop herself, tears had pooled in her eyes and silently rolled down her cheeks. She couldn't stop it. She quickly brushed away her tears with her hands but still they continued to fall and she couldn't do anything about it.
Why was she so weak? Too fragile? Too innocent? She should be used to it by now. But every time that she tried to lock herself away from them, she always ended up losing herself.
"Hey."
Shocked, she looked up to see Jake staring down at her. He had a strange expression upon his face. She couldn't describe it. But it looked like worry or sympathy. She didn't want his pity. Didn't want to show him her weakness. She just wanted to be alone.
"What's wrong?" he asked, his voice so deep that she could have heard the anger in his tone.
She sniffed a little. "Nothing," she lied.
Looking down, her tears fell down her pink cheeks. She closed her eyes as he lifted her chin with his hand. Her cheeks were stinging with tears and peach. He cupped her face gently and brushed away her tears with his fingers.
"What happened?" he asked softly this time.
"I said it's nothing," she answered, gently removing his hands from her face.
Before she could pull away, Jake grabbed her and tightened his arm around her waist. He forced her head to look up at him and she could do nothing but look into his eyes.
"It doesn't look like it's nothing," he murmured. "Nobody cries for no particular reason. And if someone does, then they're crazy. And you're not crazy."
"I don't wanna talk about it," she muttered under her breath.
Could she tell him that she was starting to hate the fact she was human and not a werewolf? That she was different? Just when she thought she could accept things as they were, she was starting to realize that no one could really accept who she was unless she would accept herself first. And she would. She just needed time.
He pulled her to his chest as she began to cry silently. Closing her eyes, she leaned herself into him and laid her hands upon his chest. He hugged her. He embraced her around his arms as she fell apart. He didn't really know why he did such a thing. Perhaps because it looked like she was about to fall on the edge of the cliff. And he planned to catch her before she falls.
