Chapter 11

MILA

A shout broke my thoughts as I saw Amber snatching milk out of Jenna’s hand. “Do I look like someone who would enjoy milk? I’m not a cow.”

Jenna looked absolutely horrified. I wanted to say something, but my butt was glued to this chair. Just like everyone else, I watched from afar.

“I…I’m sorry,” Jenna whispered, looking down at her feet. “I thought you said–”

“That’s the problem, Jenna. You’re thinking,” Amber said. “Go get me something else. Lunch is almost over, and I’m still thirsty.” Jenna turned to leave, only for Amber to grab her wrist. “Don’t forget to take this back.”

Amber proceeded to pour the milk over Jenna’s head as the other girls laughed. Even her precious, stupid Leo laughed with the others. I honestly think that was the worst. This time, I looked away. I wasn’t the type of girl to say ‘I told you so,’ but I did tell her this would happen when they invited her to their table last year. Jenna ran from the cafeteria, drenched in milk.

“Ari, why do we still keep her around?” Amber complained. “Don’t tell me you’re feeling charitable.”

“I’m sorry, do you want to run all of our errands?” Ari’s question shut Amber’s mouth quickly. "Maybe I need to remind you of your place too, Amber."

Amber's eyes widened before she shook her head and sat down, turning away from Ari. I walked around the long way to avoid their table and made a beeline for the bathroom, knowing I would be able to catch Jenna there. 

I entered to see her cleaning her blouse, cursing to herself. I grabbed a few napkins to hand them to her. She looked at me in the mirror with mascara running down her face before turning away.

“I don’t need your help, Mila," she snapped. "Go to class or something.”

Of course, I ignored it and I decided to try again. Why? I don’t know. Maybe I was the idiot who liked to be nice regardless of how others treated me. Let’s hope it was a growing pain, and I’ll eventually evolve better from it. 

“I have an extra shirt in my locker if you need it, Jenna. Just let me know,” I said, turning to leave the room. She didn’t speak until I was almost out the door.

“I’ll…take the shirt.”

I smiled and rushed to my locker. When I returned, I opened the door to yelling. It was a boy’s voice and after a second, I realized it was Leo. I peeked around the corner of the wall to see Leo crowding over Jenna. He had her backed against the wall, yelling at her while her head was down.

“I can’t fucking believe this shit, Jenna,” Leo yelled. “We have something, and you screwed it up.”

“Leo, I...” 

“Don’t fucking say it!” Leo screamed at her. “Just keep your mouth shut.” Before I could move, Leo barreled around the corner right into me. “What the fuck? Were you listening?”

He grabbed me by the collar and dragged me into the hall. He threw me against the lockers. The impact knocked me to the ground. 

“Leo, stop!”

Jenna came to stand in front of me, but Leo pushed her out of the way. He picked me up and threw me against the lockers. Tears pricked at the corners of my eyes as I hugged the shirt in my hands close to my chest. 

“What the fuck did you hear?”

“No-nothing,” I said back. “I swear!”

“Liar,” Leo screamed back, hitting the lockers near my head. I shrank away, wishing I could disappear. Leo grabbed my face and pulled out a knife.

“Leo, don’t,” Jenna begged, grabbing his arm. “Even if she heard anything, she won’t tell. Right, Mila?”

I nodded gently so as not to cut myself on the knife that was no more than an inch from my throat. Leo turned to Jenna. “Keep interfering, and it’ll be worse for you.” 

I closed my eyes, hoping that if I blocked him out, he might not see me as a threat, but it didn’t help. Leo pulled me forward and then slammed me against the lockers. 

“Open your damn eyes and tell me what you heard, or I will–”

“Stop!” A command, deep and dark, rang through the hall, leaving no room for argument. “Leave her alone.”

For a moment, I thought it was Gabe, but when I looked up, my mouth went completely dry. This wasn’t better. Walking towards us was none other than Tyler freaking Aliz, and he looked so…different. Like way hotter than he was before. He was no longer the tall and lanky junior. 

Instead, he was still tall, but with more defined muscles now. His hair was braided back with the side shaven down. He had a light stubble that made him look even older, and his dark eyes stared into my soul. Just looking at him made me feel a little dizzy. 

He walked over to me before lifting my head up by my chin. Though the touch was gentle his eyes held nothing but contempt. Not sure what I did to deserve his anger, but I wasn't the one to question him. He was going to be the next Alpha of our pack, and I didn't want to get on his bad side. 

Leo dropped the knife and backed away while submitting to Tyler’s authority. Where was the school bell when you needed it? Even though Tyler wouldn’t care. He could do anything in this school, and no one would bat an eye at his behavior. Tyler picked up the knife and played with it in front of me. Then he turned to Leo.

“Hold out your arm.”

Leo looked between us before laughing nervously. “You can’t be–”

“Are you disobeying me?” Tyler growled. 

It was low and deep, and for some reason, it made my heart race. Leo, on the other hand, looked as if he was going to pass out and exchanged looks with us before holding out his arm. Tyler grabbed his arm and slowly dragged the blade across his skin. Leo grimaced as the blade burned through his skin. It must have been pure silver.

“No one gets to touch her unless I say so. Got it?” Leo swallowed hard before bowing his head in acknowledgment. “Good and I’ll keep this.”

Tyler turned to me, the knife hovering over my skin. “Been a while, chipmunk. You missed me?”

I held my breath, though I felt my heart hammering in my chest. He looked down at my shirt and smiled as if he could hear it too. 

“How about we catch up later?” 

His smile, though dazzling and charming, had some hidden darkness to it, and I knew catching up with him wouldn’t be fun for me. Luckily, the bell rang, and I felt Jenna grab my hand before running away. For the life of me, I looked back and saw Tyler staring after me. What the hell was this feeling?