Marked By The Bully: Read Chapters 1-5

The rogue attack

August 11, 2017,

A rogue attack occurred on the outskirts of the Red Shine Pack's territory located in Seattle. Several of the trees had been uprooted, and the fences surrounding the Alpha's territory had been broken, clearly indicating the rogues' Aggressive trespassing.

There were small pools of blood on the ground on every second step, as well as wolf fur and human hair. Certainly, the one who was attacked would have fought back. Metallic scent of blood lingered in the air .

"Nothing exists in the south. " In order to gain clear and smooth access to the area the warrior who accompanied Alpha Hercules climbed up on the trees.

"I can't see anything for miles." He added as he peered down at his alpha who was standing with a sword in hand, examining the region with his vigilant gaze.

At forty-three, he was tall, had a well- built torso, bronze skin that glowed in the sun rays filtering through the leaves of trees and lesser wrinkles around his eyes as compared to the other wolves of his age. His cinnamon brown eyes cautiously assessed the area as the rogue wolves he just killed were lying at his feet.

"Look more closely, I did hear someone shout for help. I feel that person is nearby." As he talked, he knelt down and rubbed the blade of his sword across the body of a dead rogue to clean off the blood.

Then he continued to move forward in the west direction, "Ryley! Ryley!"As he called out a name repeatedly.

"This guy," With a slight groan, he vaulted over the fallen tree and stepped on the other side as he searched for Ryley, his son. His front fall of charcoal black hair enhanced his good looks.

"Yes, dad!" He received a reply before a young guy with identical stunning cinnamon eyes and similar features sprang out of the bushes to his front, carrying a sword in one hand and some wolfsbane in another hand that was protected with a glove.

Just the difference between him and the alpha was that he was the younger version of his father, otherwise a perfect replica.

Alpha Hercules gave him a stern look as he said, "We are here on a rescue mission, aren't we? But looks like you have forgotten the purpose and got yourself occupied with other and rather mischievous activities." He eyed the wolfsbane in his hands.

Ryley gave his father a sheepish grin. Hiding the wolfbane behind his back, he lied, "I am sorry dad, I mean Alpha Hercules, but I was collecting some wolfsbane for a project. I swear."

The looks on his father's face indicated his disapproval, "I don't remember your Principal informing me about any project involving wolfsbane."

Ryley nibbled his lips as he stressed his brain to come up with a good excuse. "That's because our teacher from botany class has yet to inform the principal.We only discussed it on the last day."

“In that case, why don't you give me the wolfsbane, Ryley Shine? I'll return it to you once your Principal has informed me about the project and explained to me as to how exactly the students are going to use a deathly plant like wolfsbane in a botany project when it should be kept away from the students in the first place." his father snatched it from him and hurled it behind his head on the ground.

'Dang it!" Ryley muttered annoyingly while father slipped past him with a cool look on his countenance as if he did a greater job.

Come to think of it, it was indeed a great job because his son, seventeen year old, was a bully.

When Ryley learnt that his father was taking him on a rescue expedition, he promised his friends to get some wolfsbane so that they could use them on their next target the next day he arrived at school. Seeing the plant on the muddy ground he pouted before composing himself and following his father ahead in the woods.

'So what if he didn't let me have it from here, I can steal some from the science lab where it is growing alongside other harmful plants for research purpose.' he thought with a malicious beam.

He rushed over to his father while handling his sword. Stopping next to him. "By the way, I discovered this." he handed his father a necklace he had plucked out of his jeans pocket.

It was a pendant made of diamond that read "Valentine" within.

While his father intensely scrutinized the neckpiece, Ryley beamed boastfully. Observing how his father was examining the pendant, he became certain that he made a useful discovery.

"Jason, it's a girl named Valentine. We have to find her." Alpha Hercules communicated over his psychic link to the pack's senior doctor and his BFF, Jason Pereira.

Hercules smiled with an arched brow as he disconnected the mind link and turned to face his son, "Come on, Ryley, let's go look for her."

"Well dad, you know we can split up and speed up the process. So why don't you go ahead and look for her while I search here."

"Come with me." Alpha held Ryley's collars and dragged him with himself.

"But I want to do some exploring, dad. Why don't you look for this girl yourself? You will do well without me. I am not helping you anyway." Something was stopping him from going with his father.

Although he was curious to come here and save whoever was attacked by the rogues and brought here, now he was not ready to see the person. He was silently walking next to his father when he heard, "I comprehend that you are nervous and don 't want to discover a wounded girl, I am afraid you can't back out now, Ryley."

"It's not like that," He bit his mouth hesitantly. "I just don't want to find a beautiful girl dead!"

His father cracked up much to his dismay before he answered, "Pray that she's not dead. Who knows if she is your soul mate?"

Glow of mischief returned in his eyes. Ryley scoffed and confidently joined his father as he mouthed, "If she is .... then it is going to be a bad Valentine's day, Alpha Hercules."

No words were exchanged as they headed further . Alpha Hercules was informed that a group of rogues had been observed through security breaching through their territory with a human held in one of their mouths.

The air was misty and the winds carried dust and leaves. It made the footage come out blurry. By the time the spectators arrived at the spot, the rogues were gone.

All that was left behind was blood and hair. Assuming it could be deathly to deal with them alone, the alpha was summoned along with his doctor friend on a rescue operation for the abducted human.

Within a span of twenty minutes the Alpha and his team killed the cluster of rogues, except the girl was missing. The last rogue talked about the human dying really soon for the wounds and bites she received were lethal, thus the alpha and team inferred the person was alive. From then on they'd been looking for her frantically.

"Oh what a wonderful, wonderful day... Day I will never forget. After I'd wandered in darkness away... Jesus my Saviour, I met ." Alpha Hercules' peepers set agape realizing that his son was singing.

His mouth stretched up joyfully. This was amusing to have Ryley sing a hymn at this moment. Not when he had been the least religious type. He was startled to know Ryley even knew a hymn.

Warriors who accompanied the Alpha looked below them from the trees in pure amazement. Then they resumed their leaps from one tree to another as they inspected the area for any hint of the missing girl.

"O what a tender, compassionate friend, He met the need of my heart; Shadows dispelling, With joy I am telling, He made all the darkness depart. Heaven came down and glory filled my soul, When at the cross the Saviour made me whole;" With Ryley continuing singing, they made their way further and further.

The air was tranquil and gentle until they climbed a hilly region and saltated on the other side. Foul stench of blood hit their nostrils. Ryley blocked his nose and tried not to puke at the smell. His father simply held his breaths while the warriors pulled out their respective masks and put them on.

"Here under the old banyan tree, Hercules." They heard doctor Jason and rushed towards the source of his voice.

When they arrived at the location, blood syphoned from their faces. Their hands became frigid, and a gnawing sensation spread over them.

"She is a young girl," Alpha Hercules knelt down near her feet.

She was lying lifelessly on her stomach. Her tangled hair extended over her shoulders and back. The worst sight was her bleeding waist as a small portion of her flesh was ripped out of the left side of her waist. Her right arm laid in a painful angle, indicating that it was broken. Her right foot was badly twisted.

They were staring at her senselessly when out of nowhere a loud gasp expelled from her turned down mouth, "H-hel-help... Help m-me." making them stare in a catatonic stupor as she was still alive while the strings of Ryley's heart oscillated frenziedly.

Tbc….

Valentine, the girl saved from a fatal rogue attack

14th August 2017,

"So how is that girl, what's her name... Mmmm... Yeah, Valentine!" Clarke asked looking at Ryley as he munched onto his hamburger.

Just after lectures ended, the wild wolves gang was eating lunch by themselves in an empty canteen. This is because after the exhausting lectures, they didn't want to look at the faces of any idiots. They attracted and lured them to come and bully their as*es.

At least, this was the justification they offered everyone for leaving the canteen for them fifteen minutes earlier.

Ryley placed down his cup of cold coffee on the table and shrugged his shoulders "How am I supposed to know that?"

"Oh yeah, we forgot she's neither your girlfriend nor your mate. Why on earth would you keep any information about her." Yeoman, another one from his gang, winked at him.

The rules of Ryley's life were simple— Don't stress your brain for somebody who does not have any place or importance in your life.

"She can die for all I care." He said and his friends chuckled.

Hazel, his girlfriend, gave him a wet kiss on the jaw as if she was proud of his answer. This was the first time Ryley was seeing her smiling face since Valentine, the rescued human girl entered their lives — especially his.

Hazel didn't seem very happy with her rescue. The sight of Valen's blood on his t-shirt and how his father had been asking him to help take the girl to hospital annoyed her. She was angry because last night they were supposed to spend it together but Alpha Hercules required Ryley beside him all the time to help another girl.

"But bro, didn't you say that your father was teasing you with her name and that she could be your mate and blah blah blah?" Zander, Ryley's best friend slapped him on the back and remarked.

He enjoyed seeing Ryley handle an exasperated jealous girlfriend. He continued along, "He is an alpha and I believe he knows things better than anyone else in this pack! There could be shit like prophecy or stuff or else he wouldn't crack such a joke on you."

His eyes shone with mischief that was playing inside his head. But one glare from Hazel and he knew it wasn't funny at all.

Her cinnamon eyes darkened to the color of dark chocolate as she seethed in disappointment. Ever since they found Valen everyone in the pack had been talking about her. From her friends to parents,almost every person in the pack.

"You better keep your mouth shut, asshole." Ryley pulled his girlfriend in his lap as he saw her eyes changing color. "My father loves to piss me off. He is aware of my love for Hazel and I think he knows she's going to be my mate. There's nothing new with his teasing. He does that everytime he wants to annoy me."

Hazel curled her hands around Ryley's neck with a boastful grin on her face. She stuck her tongue out at Zander and showed him a middle finger. There was no need to use words to mock him for her finger and her closeness with Ryley was enough.

This made Zander smirk like a devil, "Babe, we both know he's trying to baby you."

"Go to hell, Zander Brown," She flared her straight hair on his face as she pulled Ryley closer to kiss his lips.

"Don't come crying to me if he dumps you for the hoe he rescued." the corners of his lips stretched up and his friends coughed in shock.

"You manwh*re!" Ryley's eyes blazed amber fire, he put his arms protectively around Hazel and hushed sweet things in her ears as she made a crying face.

Zander eyed him playfully as he mouthed on Hazel's back, 'As long as I am alive I won't let you two stay peacefully.'

Cute face with deadly looks, a muscled body with height same as Ryley's, Zander ran a hand through his thick hair. His blue mesmerizing eyes turned softer as he began to admire the only couple in their gang.

Taking a sip of his black coffee Zander adjusted in his chair as another idea to annoy Ryley struck his head. He said, "I think you also told me she was hot as fuck and her figure made your mouth water."

Hazel peeled her hands away from around Ryley's neck. She pulled his head up to glare straight at his soul as she howled on his face.

"Hot as fuck? So you think she's hotter than me, Ryley Shine?" Her voice was cold and lashing.

Caught between Hazel's burning glare and Zander's mischievous act, Ryley scratched his head. His eyebrows shrunk together and he seemed to think for an answer.

It was good they could not talk using their mind links yet as they were not eighteen now, but Ryley's smoldering stare said that he would have communicated a thousand things adequate to kill Zander mentally over the link.

"Ryley Shine!"

"Y-yes , baby," he replied meekly. "I did say that. But…" Suddenly his eyes seared with confidence as he continued further.

"That's true I told Zander that she was beautiful but as I described her state earlier, she's weak and I really don't think she is going to survive. In fact, she is a wincing little human girl who was crying for help. I can't tell you how annoying it was!" His voice rose defiantly as he reminisced that day again.

Flashback...

"He-l-lp"It was lower than a purr but it was audible to their heightened hearing.

Both the alpha and the doctor stared at each other in shock. The team of soldiers around them froze at the sight of her waist. A chunk of her meat was hanging out of her skin. The blood flowed so rapidly that their boots dug half an inch into it.

"She's bleeding profusely. We must hurry her to the hospital, Hercules." Doctor Jason chose to slice the still air with his shaky and surprised tone.

Ryley was shaken badly to the core as he looked at her body. She was surrounded by her own blood while the piece of her meat laid half separated beside her on the ground in mud.

He could clearly see her intestines through, yet she was alive... Fucking alive!

He blinked his eyes, sucking in a deep breath as he escalated his gaze up to her face. He observed her eyes weakly flickering. Her lips quivered as one last word spilled from them, "He-help" Before darkness engulfed her and she fell on the ground.

"Did she… Did she pass away?" Ryley asked, intense astonishment flushed his face, as he sat near her shoulder next to doctor Jason, looking over her figure.

He was about to touch her cheek when the doctor exclaimed , "Passed out. She passed out, Ryley. But she would pass away soon if we don't operate on her in time. Hercules, we have to take her to the pack hospital now."

Keeping the sword back inside its sheath, Alpha Hercules ran a hand through his hair that fell on his forehead. He cast a gaze towards his amused son and called out, "Ryley, come on, pick her up and head to the pack hospital immediately ."

A look of utter amazement can be seen clouded on Ryley's face. He stared back at the unconcious girl drenched in blood from head to toe, then at his white shirt and then back at her with a scoff. The smell of blood was nauseating to him .

"Come on, Ryley, stop worrying about your shirt. Her life is more important than that cheap shirt." His father pushed him further while a part of him wanted to snap back at him and say that the shirt was rather special as his girlfriend bought it for him.

But still, something stopped Ryley as he bent down to pick Valentine up in his arms. He unwillingly slid his arms under her knees and behind her back. As he began to pick her up with a twisted face, his disappointment visible in the shade of red on his cheeks, her head fell back like a corpse's head, making him hold his eyes on her face.

She seemed so fragile, so innocent that he could not help but bite his tongue in regret. Her eyelids were closed and he could already imagine her batting her lashes at him.

That innocence, that peacefulness on her face made him mouth an inaudible apology for being so reckless with her.

"Stare at her when she is okay and awake, not now, Ryley Shine!" Alpha Hercules' deep voice brought him back to the present.

And then quickly before more blood spilled from her body, Ryley carefully gathered her and took a run towards the pack hospital with the soldiers following him for protection.

Flashback ends…

Ryley composed himself when Zander scoffed. He could see another mischievous comment coming his way .

But before he even parted his mouth, Hazel kicked up a fuss,

"Why the fuck are we even discussing her? She is just somebody Ryley and Uncle Hercules saved. It was their responsibility. And that really does not mean we will give her such attention. Come on guys, let's not forget who we are." Her voice amplified dramatically. "We are the 'Wild Wolves' and nobody holds such an importance in our lives that WE will talk about them. I don't want to hear another word about her,is that clear?"

Her message was for all even then her eyes remained glued on her boyfriend's face with a gaze exerting strict warning.

Ryley's lips curled up into a smile as he snuggled her neck and stole a kiss of her collarbone before taking her lips.

"I love this look on you, babe." He sucked her mouth.

He thought: This is what I like about this girl— the way she stakes her claim on me. Her authoritative voice keeps me hooked on her. She behaves as though she owns me. Her look is something I love to see. Not only does she have a perfect heart melting and eyes warming figure with big hot boobs and slim waist but also a cunning fair face that I like.

He hugged her tightly as the guys looked here and there while blowing air. Hazel resembled the vamps from the movies and Ryley didn't mind comparing her to one of them provided that she acts like one when it is about him.

Her dove-like brown eyes are always fixated on him. He loved to see her getting jealous and surely loved being showered with attention.

He had decided that if he didn't find his mate after turning eighteen (who he was literally dying to see) then Hazel would become his woman and his Luna.

She was hot and cunning— just like the girl he wanted for himself. Ryley often called Hazel a blue-blooded beauty. She was an immigrant who shifted to his pack years back from Armenia when she was young with her father, a rich and very well-known wolf among their kind.

A powerful personality with money and power after Alpha Hercules. All the Alphas take his help in the time of need and Ryley was not stupid to let such a man, his wealth or his sexy-ass daughter slip out of his grip.

She was a fine fit for being his Luna. He smiled down at her as she hushed something in his ear and got up from his lap.

Ryley saw her going out of the canteen before he turned to his friends, "Try something else next time, Brown. " He playfully slapped Zander.

His best friend chuckled in return, "She's mad about you. I must try harder and better next time."

After about a minute Clarke remarked something that made everyone turn their faces towards Ryley for an answer, "So, I know I must not talk about this but I am curious… What happens to that girl after she wakes up? Like what is your father planning to do with her?"

Ryley took a breath as he replied, "Erm, from what I heard from my father, they will be interrogating her for her family background and past life and then she'll be sent back to them if they are found. If not, then she'd either be sent to a human orphanage or be killed if that incident was an attempt to trespass in the pack. You never know it was an act and she's a spy! Everything is possible."

Everyone bowed their heads in amusement whereas Ryley clenched his fist as he recalled his own words where he talked about her being killed. That did not give him a good feeling and his heart throbbed.

"Jason is taking extraordinary care of her," His voice cut the silence in the air. "He may not let her be killed."

He lifted his legs and put them on the table. The guys were in deep thought as Valentine, the girl Alpha and his son saved from a fatal rogue attack, had become the biggest talk of the town.

"Baby," Ryley's eyes travelled towards the entrance where Hazel was standing with a big cheesecake.

"Happy Birthday, sweetheart!" She sauntered towards their table with a big smile on her face.

"Hell, I nearly forgot it's your birthday today, Ryley!" Zander said. "Happy birthday, homie."

They rose to their feet as Hazel sat the cake on the table and presented a plastic knife to Ryley. They sang happy birthday to Ryley as he cut the cake. Taking a small piece, he put it in his girlfriend's mouth.

He was expecting her to feed him the cake but instead Hazel drew him by the collars and pasted her cream coated lips on his, feeding him the cake in process while their friends cheered for them.

"HAPPY SEVENTEENTH BIRTHDAY, RYLEY"

They wished him in unison with whistles and hoots. When they parted, they covered Ryley's face with cake cream.

'Ohh fuck, I also forgot it is my birthday. .. I turned Seventeen today. Happy seventeenth birthday,Ryley.' he thought.

***

If Ryley was enjoying his seventeenth birthday, the new girl in the hospital squirmed and tossed. The machine beside her beeped continuously as she breathed laboriously like she couldn't breathe.

A layer of sweat spread on her forehead. She shook invariably . Her hospital gown was soaking red at the waist and her lips quivered. She was uncomfortably trembling while a glimpse of a guy holding her in his hands prevailed on the dark screen of her closed eyes.

She watched herself getting carried away by someone.

" You are a warrior, Valentine. You're half dead yet surviving. I'd love to know a little more about you once you wake up. There there stay put for a while now, girl. I'll take you to the hospital really soon. Just don't quit now."

She heard the guy say nonetheless his face was a bright throbbing blur. She couldn't see who it was but his voice whispered softly, vibrating her ear drums.

Her fingers bit into the sheets behind her waist on the bed as she lifted her back from the mattress. She struggled to breath but fortunately, "Oh my god!" A nurse observed Valen through the glass window on the door.

She immediately rushed to Doctor Jason's cabin and barged in without knocking on the door, "Doctor Jason, the girl… The girl's condition is deteriorating. Please come and check her."

Tbc…

3. Day made memorable with a suicide, oops murder.

Violent/suicide scenes ahead. Please skip this chapter if you're sensitive.

PS. The author does not appreciate bullying or suicide.

Thanks.

____________

After taking their share of cake, they played a romantic song and encouraged the birthday boy to dance with his girlfriend. Their eyes bore into each other's as they moved rhythmically on the beat together. Ryley whispered something into Hazel's left ear and she blushed, before throwing her head back to laugh.

" Aww, they look so lovely!" Wendy admired the couple, sitting beside Zander on the table.

She filled her paper plate with another piece of cake and returned to her spot. Watching them dance, she ate every bite seductively causing Yeoman to look at her and make a restless face.

"You don't look at ease, anything wrong?" Clark asked him.

"She's fucking heating my balls up." He pointed at Wendy and hissed while Clark cracked up.

Wendy and Yeoman had been dating for two years. They were not as sweet as Hazel and Ryley, but their love story was another sort of craze. They realized they had a thing for each other two years back at a beach party where the guys were warming their eyes with the view of hot girls in bikinis.

Wendy didn't like how Yeoman was into those girls, and to enrage him and the other boys, she and Hazel appeared in front of them in a punishing swimsuit. Although Ryley and Hazel were already dating each other back then, he was no less than a jerk and thus Hazel agreed to join her in the plan.

One thing led to another, and two days later, Wendy and Yeoman came hand in hand, and shared the good news with their friends.

"Why is your fucking face so dull , Zander?" To distract himself from Wendy and her seductive way of eating the cake, Yeoman thought to invest some fun time in a conversation with Zander.

"Almost everything seems a bitch to you, doesn't it?" Zander gritted his teeth angrily.

"What's wrong with you?" Wendy turned to him. "You don't look?"

She offered Zander a bite of her cake that he silently accepted. Then after a moment of making faces, he said, "That fucking Allison is leaving for Cape Town at midnight."

No sooner did he say that than Yeoman and Clark approached him with their smiles falling. Allison was Zander's long time crush. It was recently she showed that she was interested. Zander was hoping to propose to her soon. This news was a shocker. Hence, their hearts went for the (not so) poor guy.

"And… Does that hurt you? Bro, you'll find better girls than her." Yeoman said, meanwhile Hazel and Ryley also joined them.

"Yes homie, I'll find you a hot temptress with huge boobs and a Virgin p *ssy." Ryley winked, but from the back Hazel elbowed him as she glared at him sternly, and Wendy cringed.

While Ryley busied himself with babying Hazel, Clark patted Zander's back, "It's okay bro, she was not that beautiful if you ask me. You gonna get girls hotter and lovelier than her."

Zander whined. His eyes narrowed and then he let out a deep heave of defeat, "That's not why I am angry."

"Why then?" The firm set of Ryley's eyes fixated on his face.

"Well… I wouldn't get to fuck her one last time before she leaves." Deep lines of disgust appeared on the girls' faces while the guys burst into fits of laughter.

"What the hell!" Clark collapsed on his knees, holding his stomach.

Zander's eyes sharpened, he restored the ruthless look on his face, "Don't tell me you guys really thought I loved that slut! I was only interested in her pussy. She's also good with her mouth. It clenches perfectly around my di— "

"Okay, stop it now, Zander!" Wendy pushed him away and stepped out of the circle.

Zander devilishly smirked. He opened his mouth to continue it when their eyes fell on the door. A girl dared to enter the canteen.

" What the hell? Looks like she doesn't love her life." Yeoman hissed deep from his chest, his eyes darkened as he watched the girl intrude within the canteen with no line of worry on her forehead.

She was immersed in music. Her eyes looked nowhere in particular as the big fat speakers covering her ears kept her occupied. She grooved on her way inside the canteen.

"She got a nice booty though?" Zander eyed her from top to bottom with his hungry predatory gaze.

"I didn't see her before. Maybe she's new." Wendy joined the boys as they all watched her groove smoothly.

Clarke chuckled, clapping his hands excitedly. "Her smell is so refreshing." She was new and that's why she was here or else no one dared to walk upon the Wild Wolves like that.

They remained silent in their spots, keeping their predatory desires aside. They wanted her to spot them, which she did after she bumped into a chair and the phone slipped out of her hand and onto the floor.

"Oh hell," She bent down to pick up her phone.

She started moving again while plugging in the speakers back with the phone when her eyes met with the bully gang.

Her eyes sparkled excitedly seeing what was going on, "Ohh wow, Cake! Is it someone's birthday?"

"Yes, it's his birthday." Zander's eyebrows downturned, and an evil grin formed on his mouth as he pointed at Ryley.

"Happy birthday. Would you mind if I join you?" She hopped desperately as she worked on detaching the speakers from around her neck.

"Please please, let me join you." She pleaded whilst joining her hands near her chest.

The bully gang pretended to think about it. They looked at each other, "Why not, sweetheart? We would love to have you join us… our new prey." Wendy smiled as she inaudibly murmured the last word.

"Yay, thanks so much." The girl jumped delightfully and rushed to join them.

Rolling his eyes, Ryley snuggled Hazel's neck. He trailed his finger down her cleavage leaving soft kisses on her chin. He bit her jawline thus imprinting a big red hickey down there.

" Is it your first day today, baby?" Yeoman put a hand around her shoulder, showing as if they heartily welcomed her, but in reality he was cornering their target as the others discussed various ways they would torture her.

"Yes, it is my first day in school today." She smiled.

"Wow, welcome to Red Shine's high school, Miss?"

"Lucy, I am Lucy Hale."

"Yeah, Lucy, welcome to our school." Yeoman hugged her tight.

"My grandma and I moved here in this pack five days back. But despite my anxiety and fear that the day would be boring and monotonous, you guys welcomed me into your company. I am overjoyed. Thanks so much." She thanked them, her big round eyes blinking every time she addressed them.

Poor Lucy had no idea that she was being captured in a web by this group of spiders.

"Have some cake, baby." Lucy happily accepted some cheesecake served to her on a paper plate.

"You guys are the best but I don't know why everyone outside was like 'Don't go inside, the wild wolves will kill you!' and blah blah blah. They are crazy I reckon." She mouthed innocently, raising a spoonful of cake to her lips.

"They surely are. They don't like us, but you do." She was flattered by their sweet words.

"You guys are amazing."

Innocent she fell in their trap. They surrounded her from all four sides as she hungrily feasted onto the cake. Since it was his birthday, Ryley chose to be a spectator with his girlfriend sitting on his lap.

"You like the cake, honey?" Clarke questioned, looking over at poor Lucy's face.

She was short in height and a little healthy with a bulging out tummy. Her hair was messed up curly black, and her lips thin. But whenever she smiled her face gleamed.

"I never ate anything as tasty as this before." She said while on her back Wendy and Zander pulled their first move.

They poured a container full of red hot Schezwan sauce on her, "Aahhh!" Lucy wailed her heart out, the plate of cake came dropping at her feet, as the red liquid came in contact with her pupils.

Her wailing attracted eager viewers. Standing over the doorstep, they stuck together and saw a horrible scene unfolding before their eyes. The bully gang was laughing at Lucy as she cried loud on her lungs.

"You've come to the right place on your first day in school, baby,"Wendy poured some more sauce on her.

"We'll make sure this is a memorable day for you." Yeoman launched a bottle of soy sauce in her face, intensifying the burns on her skin. She could not even unlatch her eyes as the sauce had gone inside them.

The crowd witnessed the display, but no one dared to approach Lucy and offer her some help. They writhed in agony and begged God to send a saviour to save her, but they did not dare step up and act as that saviour. None of them even tried to utter a word to intervene and stop the bullies from abusing the poor new student. They just stood there like mannequins facing a street and watched everything unfolding with stone cold eyes.

"My eyes are burning. My eyes… pl-please give me some water. Please help me wash this away." Poor Lucy cried for help, and begged for their mercy.

Zander, Wendy, Clarke and Yeoman, one by one, threw some new stuff on her. From hot sauces, to boiled noodles, melted cheese to trash from the trash bin, they put new things on her.

The limit was crossed when Wendy stuffed some rotten vegetables in her mouth that she procured from garbage bags.

"Eat it!" She demanded, the poor girl's throat was choked up. She refused to gulp it down her throat. She couldn't since the smell was nauseating. "Eat it, bitch! Or you'll be screwed."

She had already suffered enough from them. Yet, they had the audacity to threaten her more.

"I said eat it!" Lucy pushed Wendy's hand away, getting a hard smack in the face.

To make matters worse, Zander took his phone out to record her on camera. Lucy bent forward and threw out the stale veggies from her mouth, unfortunately— on Hazel's feet.

"You whore!" She kicked Lucy in the waist. Her aggression was on cloud nine, the way she breathed and the way her chest went up and down, one could see how mad she was.

"I'll kill you today," She fumed and went to the canteen's food counter to get a knife.

" Easy, easy, babe, why so angry?" Ryley grabbed her waist and pulled her back.

She instantly calmed down and Ryley moved to eye Lucy. She was a crying mess. Her wailing annoyed him. A look of pity crossed his face as he sighed.

"Stop it now, guys. Can't you see how scared she is. Let her go now. That's enough for today. Babe, let her go. She didn't do it personally." Said Ryley.

"But,"

" For me… please."

Hazel hissed, "Fine!"

A smile of hope curved on poor Lucy's lips amidst her tears. She thankfully gazed at them. "Th-thank you. Thank you."

"Babe you have an extra dress, right? Lend it to Lucy." Hazel observed the glint of evil in her boyfriend's gaze and promptly removed the dress from her bag and passed it to her.

Everyone was shocked including his friends. They stared at Ryley helping her reach the girls wash room . The crowd followed them, keeping five metres distance from the bully gang.

"Go inside and change." He said, caressing her shoulder with a twisted look.

"T-thank yo-ou. Thank you so much." Unaware of the coming dread, Lucy dashed inside the washroom.

Her body shivered as she unzipped her top and jeans. She washed away the waste from her body. As it slipped down with water, the burning subsided and she felt a bit good. Her eyes tore up, glancing at the rashes and small blisters that have now appeared on her hands and cleavage. Though it was very bad, she managed to wear the dress and come out of the bathroom.

Just as she was about to undo the door and step out she heard someone laugh.

"Bloody hell, she is freaking hot. Just look at her body? She's got extra pounds here and there, but Perfect. And her skin is flawless white."

"Fuck yeah, I would love to take her to my bed. Like who would not want to fuck such a beauty! I will circulate this video in school. It will get millions of views." Another voice spilled.

"Nah, billion. " Another voice said before she heard a fit of laughter flare in the air on the other side of the door.

'They shot my video a-and going to circulate in school w-with others?' Lucy gasped. She held her mouth and slid on the floor with hot tears coursing down her cheeks. She clutched her backpack near her breasts and cried her heart out.

On the other side of the door,

"She's crying, she's crying!" Zander chuckled, listening to her sobs.

Ryley and others waited for her to come out. "But why is she taking so long?" Hazel wondered.It has been a long time that she went inside.

Yeoman impatiently knocked on the door. "What's taking you so long, sweetheart?"

"Come on, come out now or we will break in!" Wendy groaned.

"I will count to five and if you don't come out by then , you will regret this day in your life." That was Clark.

"Five... Four... Three... Two..." Clark began as the others incredulously stared at the door, appreciating her guts.

But then a foul metallic smell of fresh blood tickled their nostrils. They peered at each other with impassive faces, then rolled their eyes, shoving the thought away.

Since Ryley's phone buzzed in his pocket, he went away to check the notification. He was petrified to find twenty-five missed calls from his dad and eight text messages,all addressing the new girl they rescued (Valentine).

"And one…" Clark finished the count and they all broke the door open and stormed in.

"Oh my god!" Nevertheless, they froze in their spots.

Lucy was lying lifeless on the ground with both her wrists slit open, her liquid eyes gazing at the ceiling with her body turning cold.

Tbc..

4. Being a bully to the rescued girl

Blood drained out of their bodies. Ryley and his friends stood there all shocked and numb, like statues, staring at Lucy.

"Gosh, why are these girls so dumb? She literally slit her wrists overhearing us. It was just a prank, God damn it. We never shot her video, we just acted like that to teach her a lesson.'

He thought, clutching his hair in distress. Behind them, a cacophony of gasps exploded and their heads spun around to see a huge group of students witnessing Lucy's dead body and her pooling blood on the ground.

"Ohh god! She is dead!"

"Shit! She committed suicide!"

"The wild wolves gang picked on another student!"

A layer of sweat glistened on their faces. This made them remember the warnings Lucy got from the students outside the canteen when she was going to crash their party.

“Oh moon goddess, they killed her. They killed the poor girl.” A girl cried. “I warned her not to go inside, that the wild wolves would beat her to death, but she didn’t listen to me.”

Distant chattering broke out behind them. Though they felt like shutting their mouths forever, they could not. They were already in a mess. A girl committed suicide!

"Hell, guys, we need to do something. The crowd is increasing too. Shit! Why does she have to kill herself? " Hazel stuck close to Ryley who was as dumbfounded as she was.

It was his idea to do all this, and now it's taken somebody's life and pushed them into an ocean of problems, "Okay focus guys, we need to get this cleared up.” Ryley ran a hand through his hair.

“I will go and call the janitor." Zander said.

Some students gawked at Zander and his guts. He didn't seem bothered at all that his recklessness took someone’s life. Someone who just joined the school. Lucy was hoping to make the day memorable for herself. But alas, they turned this day into one that would be remembered by all in memory of her.

It was supposed to be the first day of school for Lucy. They turned it into the last day of her life. She would never have thought the beginning of something new would become the end of her entire world. The shameless gang watched her corpse turn blue. No one attempted to bend down and check her pulse. The blood from her body kept continuously flowing away.

Though Zander had gone to summon the janitor, he returned with the Principal of their school, Dr. Anthony Saldanha. Ryley held back a growl, seeing the principal beside him. Zander gave an apologetic look which showed that he didn't call the principal on purpose.

"Oh my my! What did you do, Ryley? You killed a girl." A hand came up to his mouth in apprehension.

The principal could not believe his eyes at all. A girl was lying in a pool of blood with her wrist gashed open.

"We didn't do anything, sir. She killed herself as you can see." Ryley said in their defense.

"And who made her do this?" Seething out in pure anger, the Principal took Ryley by the elbow and dragged him. "Explain this to the Alpha in his office, Ryley Shine. You went over all the lines this time.

Others followed behind with no trace of guilt or distress on their faces for killing a girl. Instead, they scoffed or rolled their eyes as the principal guided them towards the car park.

"Sorry guys, I ran into him on my way to call the janitor. I guess somebody informed him about this mess beforehand." Clarke clenched his teeth on Zander's explanation.

He whirled around to eye the group of students murderously as though the snitch was someone from them. He showed them his forefinger of threat and they gulped their saliva.

“Come on, sit inside the bus." Ordered the Principal.

"You gonna take us on a bus? At least get us a car." Ryley whined, only to receive a death glare from the principal.

Much to everyone's stupor, Ryley looked down at the ground and hopped onto the bus. Others followed their leader without a word. Dr. Saldanha commanded the driver to start the bus as he looked up at Ryley and his gang.

They weren't bothered about Lucy. All they cared about was themselves.

______________

Ryley's house,

In Alpha's cabin,

Ryley stood in a semicircle with his friends in his father, Alpha Hercules' cabin with his hands obediently folded like a kid. Their eyes rolled from time to time, hearing the principal give a gist of everything that happened in the school.

Alpha Hercules was flabbergasted to hear about the girl's untimely death. Well, she could have survived if they rushed her into the medical room (if not the hospital) right in time after spotting her.

When he looked at each of them, Alpha's eyes glowed like two balls of fire. His shoulders trembled as he glanced at Ryley's face. He appeared bored and shrugged his shoulders when he caught his father's eye as if saying, 'We did not do anything wrong. The stupid girl killed herself; we are not to blame!' on his face that drove him insane in front of them all.

He snarled and rose to his feet, and at the same time slammed his palms on the desk, breaking the glass on the desk into a million small pieces. The intriguing part was that they did not scatter around. The pieces remained on the desk, appearing as though the glass had innumerable cracks on it.

Then his blood filled the cracks in the glass. It flowed like blood in the veins circulating within the body. Ryley's shoulders shrunk in fear. He sucked a deep breath and stepped backwards. His friends stuck closer together as they witnessed fury burning in his father's eyes.

Alpha growled as if he would eat them alive. Words were not needed, his eyes said so many things. "Wasn't it enough what you did last time that you guys again started carrying on with your mischievous activities! No wait, not mischievous… What you did today is worse than the last time. You killed somebody, you killed that poor girl. She did not commit suicide but it was you who forced her to take such a step." His every word left a great impact on them.

They quivered like a leaf in a storm. Their lips pursed together trying to hold their teeth from clamoring. "She's the only one her grandmother had and I brought them to our pack with a promise to remove their poverty." Hearing the voice that sounded like sin, Ryley’s head snapped up, his heart skipping a beat.

"But you brats," Alpha's exasperation made them move farther away. His eyes stopped on Ryley as he seethed, "I am ashamed to call you my son. You don't deserve to be an alpha, Ryley Shine. You are a pathetic heartless cunt and I feel like," he took a step forward to catch him but stopped and snarled at the window.

Whipping his ass would yield no good fruit. It will only make him stone-solid stubborn and encourage him to hurt others more.

"If not principal sir, I am definitely going to take strict steps against you. Now get the fuck out of my cabin." His bleeding hand fisted to his side.

"No one is going to leave this house without my permission. Y'all will stay in the guest room, and you dumbfuck," He pointed a finger at his son. "You're grounded in your room until my next order. No food, no drink, no fresh air… nothing."

Feeling offended for being called dumbfuck in front of his friends, Ryley slapped his hand on the nearby flower vase. It collapsed on the floor and broke down. There was a pale blue lightning of indignation between his lashes as he held back a growl while dashing out of his cabin.

The principal adjusted his spectacles on his nose seeing his guts in front of the alpha with an open mouth. Soon his friends bailed out, making the alpha and the principal let out a sigh.

"I am still in shock, Alpha." Dr. Anthony removed his specs and placed them on the broken powdered glass over the desk carefully while taking a seat.

"I know, sir," Alpha Hercules palmed his face. "I feel so ashamed right now. My own son killed the girl I promised to save and look after. They are not getting away easily this time. I will teach them a good lesson."

"I'd suggest you refrain yourself from acting strictly towards them, Alpha. They are children and punishment won't make any sense. It will just make their behavior worse and cause them to harbor resentment toward us. We must take positive action." He said, sounding apprehensive.

He was correct. The more you punish the children with the thoughts that it will teach them a lesson and prevent them from carrying out any mischief, the more vulgar they become and do worse. Same was with Ryley and his gang— the Wild Wolves gang... Just as they called themselves.

Alpha hummed in agreement. "Right, sir. I agree with you but honestly speaking the reason behind all the mishaps happening in the school is my son- Ryley." The principal stared at him for antagonizing his own son whereas the other parents would defend them.

Hercules gave a small smile. He gaped out of the window, "I mean it, sir. Because one of their gang members is Alpha's son and the next alpha in line, they enjoy a dominant freedom. If Ryley can be brought under control, the rest will follow suit. Ryley's background manipulates them." He sighed resting his head on the back of his chair.

Closing his eyes, Alpha sat in silence for a minute or two until he spoke again, "I'm so tired of everything right now. This boy is making me question my parenting. I'm hoping for a ray of hope that can transform him into a good person." He was busy breathing deeply when his door flung open.

The Beta of the pack and Zander's father, Mr. Kaiden Brown, crashed in having the air of bewilderment around him.

"Hercules, the girl we rescued, has gained her senses. "

No sooner did he hear the mention of Valentine than an undercurrent of shock sizzled up the Alpha's spine. His eyes popped out to the size of a round balloon and he shivered in his chair, "Hope we can get some information out of her."

___________

In Ryley's room,

After getting inside his room, Ryley slammed the door so badly that it made the walls tremble at the force. He growled on top of his voice until his throat became dry. His eyes were red as lava, Ryley smashed and broke and dislocated every article in his room. He turned his once lovely bedroom into a mess.

"How dare he call me a dumbfuck in front of my friends. He called me a cunt too. How?" He threw the sheets somewhere between the trash on the floor. "Was it my fault she committed suicide? My father blames me for her death as if I put the blade on her wrist and let her bleed to death." He hissed like a monster, and smashed everything that reached his hands.

His face was red with hair covering his forehead. Since he was wearing a black shirt, it turned wet with his sweat sticking to his maintained torso. Ryley pulled his hair behaving like a maniac, if anyone has been here with him would unquestionably have gone insane after experiencing his fury. Squatting down on the floor across the bed, he cupped his face while a few drops of tear appeared in his eyes.

"I highly doubt I'm his offspring." He mumbled. "A father would never humiliate his son before his friends like this."

Sitting silently in that position by covering his face, he breathed deeply. Ryley was in no mood to listen to any kind of noise. He growled twice whilst hearing the sound of footsteps walking from outside of his room. He ignored it in the beginning but when it increased, he crazily shouted striding near the door as he lost his last strand of temper.

He gripped the neck of the servant who was rushing around and pinned him to the wall next to his door. He growled at the poor soul for disturbing him. He was on the edge of hitting him in the face until, "That girl gained her consciousness, s-sir!" What he said widened Ryley's eyes.

That girl means— Valentine.

Overwhelmed at the disclosure, Ryley cannot contain his curiosity and quickly rushed to the room she was taken in. He pushed everyone aside and stopped in the middle of the doorstep, watching Valen's partially opened eyes. She was mumbling something.

With Jason by her side and Alpha Hercules on the other, Ryley slowly slipped inside the bedroom. When he was sure he could take a proper glance at her face, he heard Jason mentioning his name, "Well this is Ryley, Valen… He carried you all the way from the place of the accident till the hospital."

"Ryley?" Something churned inside Ryley's stomach when his name slipped from her mouth.

He was still clueless at the silent and thrilled atmosphere spreading in the room. But when he realized her soft yet weak gaze was lingering on his facade, he couldn't look away. She looked so serene and pure, her eyes held a glow that was calling out for him. She was quite beautiful too.

"Ryley is otherwise a cunning jerk, but yeah, it's him who saved you." His teeth gritted annoyingly when his father threw a mocking remark.

Ryley opened his mouth to say something to his father but Valen interrupted, "I think I saw you before." He instantly cut his gaze from his father's profile and brought it back to Valen's.

"You did? Where?" He stared at her dry link lips, looking like wilting flower petals.

She was smiling sweetly at him which directly hit his heart, making it throb at a strange feeling.

"It's impossible for you to see me before, Valentine." Ryley tried to sound stern but he knew he had not managed it.

"You won't believe it but I did." She softly said, looking at Doctor Jason. "I saw him in my dream, dadda. He was carrying me in his arms and—"

"Bullshit!" Ryley intervened.

Rolling his eyes angrily, Ryley twirled around and left the room at once while Valen innocently stared at his retreating frame. "I swear I'm not lying, dadda. I saw him. Trust me."

She did see him… it was in her dream. But who was to tell that to this freaking bully!

Tbc…

5. Get well soon, Valen

Ryley returned to his room with more anger than his face reflected before. All thanks to Valen and her lies. She just woke up and already started hitting on him.

'I saw him in my dreams, bullshit!' he scoffed at that statement. It could be a nice pickup line if they were in school. He would have also fallen for it. Her timing was not correct regardless.

Ryley hopped into his bed and occupied himself with his phone. He was trying to drift his mind away from her thoughts but he couldn't. To worsen his condition, the thudding steps of people moving outside his room irritated him to another level.

When it became unbearably annoying, he went to the door and unfastened it aggressively. "You???" Ryley fisted his fingers as it was the same servant he caught earlier.

"Uhh, I'm sorry s-sir… Bu-but that girl … Um, she had a panic attack and her wounds are bleeding. Alpha Hercules has commanded me to…." Ryley could not listen to the further statement as his heart beat skipped sometimes.

There was a forlorn wind hitting him constantly. Ryley let the servant go. He fled away within a blink of time far away from his eyesight while he himself stood with mixed feelings on his spot— amused. He came inside the room and closed the door, standing against it.

There was no expression on his face! No excitement, no surprise, no sadness, no anger, simply nothing. He just blinked his eyes looking at the wall across from him.

He had no idea what was wrong with him. He just changed his emotion suddenly from aggression to neutral hearing about her. Uhh, maybe because he was the one who carried her lifeless body while she was dragging the last breaths of her life. Or because her spirit of perseverance had impressed him.

Despite being injured badly, she could still speak. She could breathe and above all, she could stay strong and fight death. He was impressed by her perseverance. One thing was clear, she had something strong that was keeping her alive without losing hope. Maybe she could still survive because she was bound to someone!

That could be the only possible reason as to why she was still breathing, otherwise, nobody would ever want to live after being held as a portion of food or say a prey, in an animal's mouth. But she did. He could relate it to his world. Like it happens in their werewolf arena. A wolf does his best to stay alive for his mate because their fates are interconnected or simply say, intertwined.

He could not understand the fact why she was fighting so much. She could die, no? Who on earth would want to stay alive after being pained so much?

"Stupid girl? She should rather accept her death than live a painful life." He turned to look at the door of his room and stared in the corridor across the servant ran through.

She was a human, and from whatever investigation they did in order to look for her family or relatives, it was clarified that there was nobody beside her. She was alone.

If anyone has been there, they would definitely have come to look for her . Two days to that attack, two days to her missing, two fucking days to her painful hours of survival yet there was no single news. Even the soldiers did not find anyone in the town looking for a missing girl named Valentine. No fucking human.

Then why was she struggling too much to live?

Ryley scoffed, rolling his eyes. The more he thought about her the more it frustrated him. He got back in his room and shut the door with a thud such that the painting on the adjacent wall fell down. He sat down on the bed with a paper sheet in his hand and made an airplane with it.

He was trying to pass the time. His phone was taken away, the connection to the television in his room removed, and all other mediums of recreation confiscated. No matter how intense the noise outside his door grew, he sat inside his room unaffected.

Although he took a peek at the door from time to time, he still behaved as if he was not interested in her. His face failed to express the emotions that his body posture otherwise reflected. He was really curious to see her but he held himself back.

Ryley laid on his stomach like a frustrated kid who had been scolded for a small mistake. His eyes grew red and his face seemed like a red tomato. "He called me a dumb fuck in front of her too. I will not go out and see his freaking face!" He murmured as his father's voice rang in the corridor outside his room.

The location of the rooms goes like this— A huge three story mansion with around four rooms on each floor. Ryley stayed on the first floor in the first room that happened to be located near the staircase that goes up to the second and third floor respectively in the line while all the other rooms on the same floor were reserved by him as his audio visual room, gym room and a big fat study room containing hundreds of trophies, shields, medals and other achievements he made so far. One can say that floor belonged to him. Only and Only him.

It was decided to keep Valentine in Alpha's house rather than the pack house until she woke up. And for that matter, she was kept in one of the rooms on the second floor as Ryley clearly refused to keep her in one of his rooms on his floor. Though he felt guilty afterward, he decided to stay away from her.

He tried to maintain a safe distance from her but couldn't, and that was why he checked upon her that night where she lay surrounded by machines in the room with two guards outside of her room. He could not (again) see her face in the dark, but he knew she was someone whom he would never have a good relationship with. She was also giving him weird vibes, that being the case Ryley quickly left her room and never visited her again.

It does not end here. The new girl also enjoyed his father and mother's full attention! Ryley felt neglected in his own house. It was different that he felt a kind of pull towards her that dreaded him but it had nothing to do with his parents' love.

"Huh, drama queen. Why doesn't she die or get up either? She has messed up with my peace." Ryley hissed.

As it happens in every fucking bad boy's life since he is the rudest, idiotic but breathtakingly handsome guy on the planet, he hates to have people around him and so, nobody was allowed to come to his floor. He does not like to be disturbed. But Alpha's cabin and his room was on the ground floor, they were constantly rushing up and down on the stairs. Hence, the commotion because the servants continued to rush from the guest room where Valen was put to the Alpha's cabin.

Ryley tried his best to not pay attention to the growing footsteps, but eventually he succumbed to his curiosity. After being reluctant for some time he stood up on his feet and adjusted his clothes.

When he progressed further near the stairs, he saw a number of people standing there as well as his friends. The number has doubled from his last visit.

He waited there near the wall such that he was concealed behind it while he scanned the chaotic scenario, gazing at the faces of people. Besides his friends, there was the beta, Gamma, commander in Chief, his mother— the Luna, and Dr. Jason who seemed sighing in defeat.

"What is the matter?" At one moment he was murmuring that to himself, later in a swift, he was standing with his friends contributing to the crowd around.

"What's this commotion all about?" He inquired, gawking at Zander whose father was busy talking to his father, Alpha Hercules.

"Valentine, I mean that girl woke up for a while and then fainted again with a bleeding waist. I think she will die soon."

The reply made him feel bad for her. He just talked to her some moments ago. How could it be possible? He was unable to trust Zander's words and sprinted inside her room once again. Ryley was petrified since his friend's words were genuine.

Valen was laying in her bed— with blood surrounding her waist as numerous nurses tried to aid her.

A muscle at his jaw ticked thinking that she had to go through so much pain. But then something struck him, and yet again he maintained his tough face and wondered, 'Let her die, who cares huh!'

He stormed out of the room not before sparing her face one last glance as his heart murmured, 'Get well soon, Valen.'

Tbc…