Chapter 5: Another Round Of Bullying
Fay took a deep, calming breath as she pushed herself up. She was tired of being treated like nothing. She had hoped to be treated differently by her new pack, but things were the same as they used to be.
“Are you okay?” Sabel asked as the two of them took a seat on the sandy ground.
Before Fay could answer, she heard her mother’s voice piercing the air around them. “Fay Walker! Get over here this instant!”
With a sigh, Fay got up and walked over to her mother. Melanie was visibly fuming, and Fay wondered just how much worse this day would get.
“Cassidy told me that you got into a fight with her,” Melanie said, tapping her foot. “Why did it happen?”
“I didn’t do anything. She got physical with me. I tried to avoid her,” Fay protested.
“It doesn’t matter! You know I don’t tolerate such behavior.” Melanie gave her a stern look, but Fay could see that she didn’t like what she was forced to do. “As punishment, you have to do thirty laps.”
“But, Mom,” Fay drawled.
Melanie was in the midst of walking away, but she stopped at Fay’s words. When her mother turned to face her, Fay could see that she found no pleasure in this. She was doing it because she had to.
If Melanie faltered now, Cassidy would complain to Elias, and it would be brought across as favoritism because they were related. It was a game that Fay knew all too well and she didn’t want her mother to get in trouble because some stupid girl had a problem with Fay.
“Please, just do the laps,” Melanie pleaded through the mind link.
Fay nodded solemnly and turned to the racetrack.
Thirty laps was not a joke and Fay was in no mood for it either, but once again she put her head down and did what she was told to do.
“Why didn’t you stand up for yourself?” Sabel asked, as the two girls started running.
“I’m not the kind of person who would stoop to that level,” Fay said matter-of-factly.
“If you just let it slide, they’ll keep bullying you.” Sabel turned and ran backward so she could look at Fay. “Once you fight back, they’ll get the point and back off.”
“All I want is to be left alone. Fighting back isn’t going to help me achieve that.”
Only a part of that sentence was a lie. Fay didn’t want to be alone. She enjoyed friendship, but being friends with everyone wasn’t going to help her attempts to keep a low profile.
She also knew that having Cassidy on her back wouldn’t help either. If there was one thing Fay learned while she was with the Bloodclaw Pack, it was that having no attention was better than attracting the wrong kind of attention.
“You know you weren’t punished with me, right?” Fay asked as they crossed the starting line for the fifth time.
“Yeah, I know, but you were unfairly chastised, and I thought I’d keep you company until my other duties called,” Sabel said, and offered Fay a warm smile. “And besides, a little exercise doesn’t hurt.”
By the time they finished their tenth lap, Fay could see that Sabel was exhausted. They were slowing down with each lap they made and quickly slowed to a jog, but it was clear that Sabel couldn’t handle much more.
Eventually she stopped in her tracks, resting her hands on her knees as she desperately tried to drag in some much needed air. Fay stopped as well and ran her hand over her friend’s back, hoping to offer her some comfort.
“You really don’t have to suffer through any more of this,” Fay assured. “There are only twenty laps left. I can do those by myself.”
“Are you sure?” Sabel asked, a flicker of relief passing over her eyes.
“Yeah, go get some rest and put those feet up for a little while. I’m sure they’re begging for some relief.”
Fay was used to that kind of strenuous exercise. She had been doing it her entire life. Since she was wolfless, she had to learn how to defend herself as a human, and that meant working harder than everyone else.
With her training, Fay realized that the others couldn’t keep up with her because they relied on their wolves in a fight. Since she couldn’t, she had to find a way to balance the scales.
“Okay, I’ll leave for now, but you have to promise you’ll catch up with me when you’re done,” Sabel said as she straightened herself out.
Fay gave her friend a tight hug and said, “I promise.”
She watched Sabel saunter off and returned to the task at hand. Without the company, Fay started running faster and her mind started to wander. There was just so much that she had been trying to suppress lately, and in the silence those thoughts rose to the surface.
Fay still hadn’t come to terms with what happened during their final night at Bloodclaw. Cassidy’s behavior was a strong reminder of everything her family had been through over the years.
The countless cuts and bruises Fay endured at the hands of the Whitmans. The suppression the entire family received from the Alpha. But the worst parts were always the gut wrenchingly painful punishments.
“Hey, Fay, what are you doing out here by yourself?” Tybalt asked as he caught up with her.
Fay was startled by the sudden intrusion and picked up her pace in an attempt to get away from him. She only had ten laps left, and she didn’t want to draw any more attention to herself.
But Tybalt wasn’t alone.
“Your Beta asked you a question.”
Elias’ voice rang over the track like a bell at the top of a mountain, and Fay knew there was no way she could ignore the Alpha. She stopped in her tracks and turned to face them.
“I’m just trying to get some exercise, but I don’t want to intrude, so I’ll get going,” Fay said, hoping they would let her leave.
“What’s wrong with all of us exercising together?” Elias asked with a cocky smile.
Damn, Fay thought to herself. She couldn’t tell them the truth and she could say that she didn’t want to hang out with them, either. So she was stuck with them, whether she liked it or not.
“There’s nothing wrong with it,” Fay said as she started running once more.
Fay pushed herself to the extent to put some distance between them, but the faster she ran, the quicker they caught up. They kept up with her lap after lap, and by the third round she realized her attempts were futile.
“How are you enjoying the training?” Elias asked as he moved closer to her.
“It’s fine,” Fay said. Even she could hear the hint of irritation in her own voice.
“It doesn’t sound like you’re enjoying it…” He turned toward her and pulled his shirt off. “I thought it would be easier for you since your mother is the trainer.”
“My mother knows how to separate her work from her private life,” Fay said.
She was trying her best not to look at him, but it was nearly impossible since he was so close to her. One lap left, she reminded herself, but it felt like the longest lap she ever had to run.
“I have to go,” she said as she finally crossed the finish line.
Fay sprinted toward the locker room so she could get away from them. She quickly closed the door behind her and leaned against it as she let out a sigh of relief.
Since she was already there, Fay decided to have a shower before she went home. She turned on the water so it could get hot while she undressed and stepped in.
Fay’s fingers started roaming over her body as she recalled how Elias looked while he ran. The muscles of his arms and legs strained with his attempts to keep up with her and when he took off his shirt…
“My God,” she whispered to herself as her fingers feathered over her lips.
The light sheen of sweat that covered his muscular chest glistened as the sun reflected off his tanned skin. His rock hard abs looked so delicious that it took all her strength to stop herself from reaching out to feel them.
And those biceps… They had her wondering what it would feel like to be wrapped up in his arms.
Moisture pooled between her legs, and Fay quickly shook her head. She had to stop having those kinds of thoughts because she feared that she would do something incredibly stupid if she didn’t.
“Shit!” Fay gasped as she reached for her towel and found that there were none there.
She forgot to bring her backpack from the training grounds, so she had no towel and no change of clothes. Fay stepped out of the shower to change into the clothes she was wearing, but they had mysteriously disappeared.
***
Elias had no idea why Fay ran away from them like that, but he found her even more intriguing because of it. She had such a sense of mystery surrounding her, and every time she acted like that, he wanted to explore that mystique.
So he decided to follow her and see how she would react to his presence.
“Where are we going?” Tybalt asked, keeping pace with Elias.
“I want to know why she ran,” Elias said as he tried to figure out which direction to take.
“Yeah, that was kind of weird.”
When the two men approached the locker room, Elias saw Cassidy and her lackeys gathered outside. Cassidy was wearing her usual smug look, and she was holding Fay’s clothes. Elias instantly knew that something had happened, so he pulled Tybalt around the corner so they could listen in on the conversation.
“Can you believe the nerve of that girl?” Cassidy asked her groupies. “I mean, wasn’t it enough that I pushed her around and forced her mother to punish her because of my actions?”
“The arrogance,” Melody, one of her lackeys, said. “I can’t believe she’s trying to steal your man.”
“I know, right?” Cassidy scoffed. “I even saw her flirting with him while she was doing her punishment rounds. So I decided to teach her a little lesson by taking her clothes.”
Elias’ vision turned red with his rage. He couldn’t believe that Cassidy had the audacity to treat his mate like that, so he decided to act on it.
“Just calm down,” Tybalt said as he positioned himself between Elias and the girls. “Think before you act.”
“I’m not going to allow them to bully Fay,” Elias said through gritted teeth.
He pushed past Tybalt and walked up to the group of girls.
“Give me that!” Elias snapped and grabbed onto Cassidy’s wrist. “How dare you disrespect a pack member like this? I should banish you for your actions!”
His wolf flashed before his eyes, and Elias tightened his grip on Cassidy. All he could think of was tearing her to shreds and leaving the pieces for the rogues. It was such an intriguing idea that he started to seriously consider it.
