CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

I drove to school in a somber mood, it was a far cry from what I was feeling earlier before I got my parents' gift, it was sweet of them to prepare my gift even if they were not going to be here for my eighteenth. I was never removing the locket from my neck, I saw it as the piece of them they never left behind and it showed that they were always going to be here for me no matter what. My eyes welled up as I thought of them again, I quickly switched my thoughts to that of a happy one, I thought of my dream and that brought an instant smile to my face. The smile on my face remained there till I got to school, it would weird if I walked in with a weird smile on my face, it would creep people out and they would worry for me. I met up with Camilla by the lockers who immediately noticed something was wrong, 'Why do you have that creepy smile on your face?" she asked me 'I had this sweet dream" I said unable to contain the smile anymore. 'I am guessing from that growing smile on your face, it was good?" she asked 'Yes, of course. Why else would I be smiling?" I questioned her She rolled her eyes at me 'come on, let's get to class" We didn't have any class together but we had cafeteria together. I checked our class schedules again and it turns out we didn't have the same cafeteria time today, looks like I would be all alone at lunch today. 'Don't worry, we will hang out after school" she said ruffling my hair I swatted her hand muttering under my breath how unfair this school was. I got to my class and sat for the lesson. I attended the next and next after that. The rest of the classes went very well, some were boring and unproductive but art was the only subject I really looked forward to and I couldn't wait to get to it. I was in AP calculus class when I could suddenly smell something wonderful that I can't describe but whatever it was smelt so wonderful and enticing. My wolf was fighting to get out and take control. I stood up not bothering to excuse myself, I followed my nose to identify where the smell was coming from. I couldn't help myself. I walked around the school before I found the source of the smell, my legs came to a sudden halt when I discovered who had the delicious smell. He was standing with ben under the tree with some of what I presumed to be the jocks. They were all talking and laughing. He stood there neither contributing nor talking. Just standing there and listening to them josh around. Ben was the first to see me and greet 'Oh hey Avilla, what are you doing out here?" he said from across the room. Everybody stopped talking and just stared me but I was busy staring at Rohan who was yet to look at me. 'Go to mate, go to mate" my wolf yipped in my head. His beautiful eyes widened as he looks up at me, is eyes softened as they roam my face. I could see the lust and hunger in his eyes as they move up and down my body. But then he looked away so quickly my wolf whined, his breathing uneven. My wolf howled with joy and urged me to jump on him and stake my claim. He walked towards me and I had a thought that he was going to hold me and kiss me senseless. 'Follow me" he says with his deep voice and walked out of the place his friends were. I followed him across the lawn to another tree where we could have our conversation without the prying eyes. He stared at me for a long time like he was trying to figure out something about me. 'What are you?" he finally asks. His beautiful eyes not even looking at me anymore but I couldn't seem to tear my eyes away from his face. The sun bouncing off his hair, the shadow fall across the planes of his chiseled jaw. 'What do you mean?" I finally answer. He tutted looking disappointed with my answer, 'I have been trying to figure out what you are but I can't" he stated 'I don't get it, am I supposed to be something else?" I asked him, I knew what he was getting at but I didn't want him knowing I was one of them. He let out a breath and ran a hand through his hair, I had a feeling that whatever was going to happen won't be good. My wolf was beginning to get antsy, she was huffing and puffing in my head not able to stay in a place. 'I know you won't understand what I am about to say but just take it however it is" he said looking forlorn. 'What?" I asked 'What is your name?" he asked me This conversation was beginning to confuse me, what the hell is he talking about now? 'Um… Avilla Stevenson" I informed him 'Listen, this is harder for me than it would be on me but we can't be together for reasons that are way bigger than us. Do you understand?" he asked me Oh no! Suddenly I knew what he was going to say. My heart started to race, my breaths coming out in short and shallow pants. I didn't realize what was happening to me till it occurred to me that my heart was breaking. It was clear he didn't want to be with a human and I was not about to correct him if that was how vain he was over these things then he was not worthy to be my mate. 'I can't be with someone like you Avilla Stevenson" he said I felt like crying, my wolf cried and howled in pain. Why is he hurting us? 'Hey man, what's going on? Says ben who thumped Rohan on his back 'Nothing to worry about" he answers Ben looks over at me with pity, I assume he heard with his good hearing. I smiled at him signifying that all was alright but deep inside I felt like crying but I couldn't let them see any sign of weakness. I nodded at the both of them and walked out of there before I start crying like a baby. As I walked out on them, I overheard ben telling Rohan 'Rejecting her wasn't a good idea man" he told his friend Rohan sighed 'I know man, but you know they could never allow us be together. It's forbidden for a werewolf to mate a human" Oh so that was the reason, it wasn't his fault but it didn't mean the rejection was less painful for me. Strangely I felt fine and not at all like Camilla had described. My wolf was silent, sure. But it wasn't as painful as I thought it would be. I spoke too soon, I got to the bathroom when I fell to the ground clutching at my chest, and it hurts so much. It felt like he plunged a knife to my chest and twisted it. Then he kept pushing it up and down until there was nothing left of my heart but a bloody, twisted ugliness in my chest. Ambrosia curls up in pain then goes silent I don't know how I got home or how I was lying on my bed, the last thing I remember was crumpling on the floor of the girl's bathroom. I'm lying on my bed now, everything was a blur, and I could remember nothing at all. I was made aware of my aunt's presence in my room. She was standing in the position when I found out she was a wolf. 'Talk to me, honey. Tell me what happened?" says Aunt Beatrice gently brushing my hair away from my forehead. 'He rejected me, Aunt Beatrice. My mate rejected me." my eyes were tearing up again. I still find it hard to believe that this was happening to me, I was wishing it was all a terrible nightmare. Not long in the supernatural world and I was regretting it. A lot of different emotions crossed my aunt's face. Disbelief, anger, pain and sadness for me. All the pain came back in full force, it was twisting my heart. My aunt wrapped her hands around me. Even in the soft warmth of her embrace, I still didn't feel better neither did it chase the pain away. 'Make it stop, please. My heart hurts so much. Please make it go away" I sob clawing at my chest. It hurts so badly. 'it's going to be okay, you poor thing" my aunt cried with me, tears running down her face as she hugs me close, willing my pain to go away. After what feels like hours, I calmed down or maybe I was too exhausted to even shed another tear. My chest was heaving up and down, sleep didn't come easily in the middle of the night. Being all alone in the dark right in the middle of the night made a few tears leak out again, falling down my face silently. My wolf, ambrosia was completely silent but I could feel her crushing pain as well as my own. I may not have been a wolf for long but ever since I knew we get to have that one person that would mean a lot to us gave me hope knowing that I would able to overcome whatever life has in store for me. My mom talked about it in some of her bedtime stories but I always assumed they were fantasies and she was just making them up to make me happy. What now? Will my wolf ever be happy again? Is this what it feels like? I felt like an empty shell. Would I ever survive without a mate? I read up a lot on the supernatural and it turns out that, All werewolves get only one chance of having a mate, the chances of a second chance mate happening was once in every century. And most wolves would eventually die or go crazy after they lose their mates. Their wolves disappear when the pain gets unbearable. Now I understood how painful it was and I didn't even get a chance to know him. Will I die or go crazy too? I hope ambrosia is strong enough to handle this. What did I do to deserve this? After that day, I never cried out loud again. I always cried when I was showering. I make sure I muffle the sounds with my hand, I didn't want to worry my aunt any more than I did. I refused to pick Camilla's calls. And I never went to school either. It wasn't fair to her but I just didn't want to talk to anyone especially her seeing as her brother broke my heart. I didn't want to make her choose sides between because I was mostly afraid of the outcome, she might end up picking her brother because I was the new girl in her life and I was disposable. She was the best person to cheer me up right now but I just couldn't tell her. I was just thinking about her hen my door barged open and there she was, all 5'6ft of anger. I expected her to shout at me for ghosting her but she came to my bed to lie with me instead, she took my hands in hers and patted my head in a gentle manner. 'Rohan told me what happened and don't worry I kicked his ass" she said leaving me shell shocked with my jaw hanging open.