8

Scarlett closed her eyes and prayed, but it did no good.

His response was innevitable, she realised, seeing the cruel sneer materialise across his lips.

"I only went out with you because my stepsister begged and pleaded with me," he revealed.

Sienna's previously smug face dropped immediately.

She slowly turned to Scarlett, eyes smouldering like lasers. Anger radiated off her in waves, almost visible and hot.

"Seriously?" Damien asked with a mouthful of food, choking on his salad.

"Yeah," Adrian told him. "She fucking begged on her knees with tears in her eyes because she was so worried her so-called best friend would blame her if I said no."

As Sienna stared into the eyes of her best friend, she could see her rage and pain. Little tears formed before she threw her tray full of food at Scarlett's feet and ran from the cafeteria.

Everyone turned to stare at Scarlett. The entire student body. She'd never felt so exposed and open. Staying out of the limelight was important--her mother had explained. People like Scarlett couldn't afford to be in the public eye with such a big secret at stake.

"Sit down," Adrian said, his tone demanding. She tried--the problem was, her legs wouldn't move.

"Sit, now," he ordered, using his alpha voice.

His tone spurred her to action, breaking the paralysis. As she moved her feet away from the pile of lasagne and garlic bread it created a streak of red sauce across the lino flooring. Using the blue roll from the end of the table, she scooped the food back onto the tray, feeling the angry stare of the head dinner lady.

"She can hang out with us from now on," Adrian demanded in his alpha voice before turning to Damien, the unofficial leader of the group. "Is that okay?”

Damien, unaware he was under the effects of the persuasion, nodded.

"About time we had a brand-new plaything," Damien said in a cheerful sing-song voice.

“It’s just a quote from a Five Nights at Freddy’s song,” Erin told her when she frowned. “It’s his current fixation.”

She looked up at Erin who smiled warmly, probably happy to finally have another girl in the group. There had been another girl, but she'd moved to Australia last Summer, leaving her alone with Damien and the other lads.

It was that easy.

When her group had cast her out last year, she hadn't tried to make other friends and none of the friendship groups had offered her a place to call home. She could hardly blame them. She and her clique made a habit of putting down others at every given opportunity. They teased the alternative kids, the clever kids and the sporty types. They even teased their own if they were unfortunate to commit a social faux par.

'I don't deserve any friends,' she thought.

"You don't have to be my friends out of pity," she said, airing her thoughts.

“Me? Pity?” Damien laughed maniacally as if the idea were ludicrous. "If Adrian says you're cool we trust him."

Most people were scared of Damien. Even Sienna avoided him because of his sharp, unfiltered wit. He was one of the few people who could outsmart her and make her look foolish in an argument. That… and people said he was the antichrist. There was certainly something odd about him—something that had attracted her Alpha werewolf stepbrother to the guy.

‘It’s his scent,’ Scarlett realised, hoping the humans hadn’t noticed her just sniffing at the air like a common dog. His smell wasn’t like other humans, but it wasn’t like a werewolf either. ‘Maybe he really IS the antichrist.’

It would certainly make her new school life more interesting, she thought with a dreamy grin. He was most likely just a nice but quirky guy in black eyeliner.

"It seems like you are just as much a victim of Queen Sienna as everyone else," Erin commented between mouthfuls of her apple. A trail of juice dripped down her chin and she wiped it away with a shy smile.

Scarlett smiled. She was shocked to feel tears well up in her eyes. It had to be the relief of finally having someone understand what she'd been thought instead of seeing her as an enemy.

"Oh, don't cry!" Damien said, patting her on the back with his leather glove encased hand. "We aren't that bad, I promise."

Jay, a usually quiet kid, turned the attention away from her by asking for all the details of the date with Sienna. A move she was grateful for. It gave her the chance to gather her senses as the others laughed and joked, listening intently as Adrian told the story. They weren’t being cruel exactly, just laughing at the absurdity of the situation.

By the end of lunch, the group had plans to hang out after school and Scarlett felt like one of them. It wasn't hard. There were no mind games or codes. No eggshells jabbing at her feet.

These people had accepted her, and seemed happy to have her company.

'Is this what friendship is supposed to feel like?'