Her Last Hope

LAKE

The school is buzzing with rumors and speculations about what happened on Friday.

Some are saying Delilah just walked in, and I lost it, while others are saying I dragged her into the bathroom and threatened her. I find the stories amusing.

“Over here, Ms. Mavris.” Mrs. Otis, the in-school suspension instructor, ushers me to a small, torn-up desk in the corner of her classroom.

I can tell she doesn’t like me because she has me skip over the other, much better-looking desks across the room.

Mrs. Otis has a pear-shaped figure. She has many wrinkles lining her face and neck. Her expression is always twisted with her painted-on eyebrows and cheap, bright-blue eyeshadow.

The teacher always wears clothing a size too small, giving her a muffin-top effect. My eyes fix on her clumped-together eyelashes with heaps of mascara.

I take a seat in the cramped seat and place my things on the floor next to me. I can barely fit in this thing they call a desk. I’m sure it’s meant for an elementary schooler.

“Now,” Mrs. Otis begins, “no talking, looking behind you, or conversing with the others. You are to finish your school work by the end of the day’s bell so I’m not stuck here after classes.

“If you’re done early, you can do extra credit assigned to you in the guidelines. Any questions? No? Good.”

With that, the pear-shaped teacher waddles back over to her chair and starts to play on her phone. I roll my eyes and begin my calculus.

A few hours later, it’s lunchtime. My appetite hasn’t been much of anything lately, so I have a simple water and crackers.

“What did I say about talking?” Mrs. Otis says between chews of her lunch.

I look over at her looking at me. “I didn’t say anything. I’m just breathing, eating, and drinking…”

“Do all of those things quieter, or I’ll report you to the principal.”

I take in a deep breath and apologize as sincerely as I can before putting my lunch away.

This is going to be a long month.

I’ve finished all my work and extra credit, and there’s still an hour before the bell rings.

“Here.” Mrs. Otis slams a stack of papers on my tiny desk, and I glance up at her. “Run these to the teachers written on the sticky notes. Take your stuff with you too. It’ll keep you busy until the bell.”

The students dotted across the school hallways who are working or just skipping class all have their eyes fixed on me, some out of fear and others with hatred.

Either way, I ignore all of them for the most part.

I’m almost done dropping off papers when a large crowd of girls catches my attention. They’re all giddy, giggling toward the office. My eyes follow theirs.

A figure wearing a leather jacket, jeans, and biker boots is turned away from me.

His light-brown hair is swept back, from what I can make out, and his dark-gray backpack is draped over his right shoulder.

His tall, broad figure reminds me of someone, but I can’t put my finger on it. Paying no mind to it, I shrug and make my way upstairs to my last stop before the bell rings for my freedom.

***

“Hi, Mom.” I slump down on a stool in front of my mother, who is making dinner.

Landon and Riley follow in behind me, their hands intertwined as they enter the room. Riley sits between us.

“Hi, guys.” My mom holds up the freshly killed turkey to show off my dad’s hunting skills. He always goes hunting on the morning of a special occasion.

This time, it’s my brother and now sister-in-law completing the mating bond.

Riley giggles, and my twin just rolls his eyes but smirks in the process. My brother’s hand is resting on his mate’s thigh, and her fingers are lazily laced through his.

“What? It’s a special occasion!” my mom says excitedly. She uses her forearm to brush flyaways from her face.

I’ve always marveled at my mother’s natural beauty. Her eyes always seem to pierce everyone she looks at.

Even when she does the simplest things such as cooking, her flawless skin seems to glow with the sunlight coming in through the window.

“Lake, did you hear about the new transfer student?” Riley snaps me out of my thoughts. Her eyes are fixed on me, while Landon and my mother talk about his day.

“No, I’ve been stuck with Mrs. Otis all day, remember?” I remark, taking an apple from the bowl of fruit on the island in front of me.

“Oh, well, he’s supposedly from an unknown pack to the east. All the unmated girls were talking about him today.”

I shrug and take a bite out of my apple. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but boys are the last thing on my mind these days.” Lies, lies, lies. Riley sees through me easily.

“Lake, it’s rumored that he’s looking for his mate.” Riley pulls me upstairs to my bedroom, while Landon goes out with Dad, and Mom is still cooking.

“Why is this of interest to me?” I ask as my best friend slumps down on my bed beside me. “I told you, boys are the last thing on my mind.”

“Maybe he’s the thing that had you and Lynne uncomfortable all weekend!” Riley practically squeals her words, her red hair bouncing around in its natural curls. “Maybe he’s your—”

I hold my hand up to stop my best friend’s words in their tracks. I can’t hold my eyes with hers; I can only look at the floor.

“Don’t, Riley,” I mutter. “Please…just…don’t…”

***

Later that night, Lynne is particularly restless. Maybe it’s about what Riley said earlier, maybe it’s something completely different.

Either way, she’s really annoying and not letting me get any sleep. So I go outside and phase, handing the reins to her.

After all of the stress of this last week, it’s actually quite nice to let her take control of us and choose where we go.

She pads us deep into the woods until we come to a familiar tree. She climbs nimbly up it and curls up in the nest she made us as kids.

I feel just as safe as Lynne does here. It feels like home, reminding me of simpler times.

Now, as my mind finally relaxes from the events of the last few days, I think about what Riley said.

The exchange student is looking for his mate.

I don’t dare get my hopes up. But somewhere in the back of my mind, a train of thought starts up.

The pack doctor said you need to find a mate. And soon.

The new student looked hot from a distance. But who knows if he’d even have me. Anyways…

Something Delilah said has been gnawing at me and now comes rushing to the front of my mind all at once.

You’d be better off as a rogue

I’d dismissed it immediately as a cruel joke but now…

Jake lives on his own. He is a rogue in all but name.

And while this new exchange student could possibly provide me with a pack and a family and acceptance, Jake’s kind of life doesn’t seem so bad either.

Especially if I get to live it with him.