"MALAKAI LUCAS ROSS! Get your ass down these stairs right this instant or you're not getting dinner tonight!" My foster mom yelled at me from the bottom of the steps, "I do NOT want to get any calls from your school asking me why you are late to class, so you better hurry it up!"

"Almost done, Jessica! I'll be down in a minute!" I yelled to her from my bedroom.

"NO! Get down here RIGHT NOW!" She screamed at the top of her lungs.

I rolled my eyes and took one last look in the mirror above my dresser to check my unruly ginger, curly locks. Once I concluded that the mess on my head is hopeless, I reached down to grab my school bag and reluctantly walked down the stairs to face my nightmare of a foster mom.

Jessica and Rick Black have been my foster parents for all of one month and I already hate it with them. I know they're only foster parents for the money they get, I am repeatedly told how that money is the only thing I'm good for on a daily basis so of course I know that's all they need me for. Of course, I'd much rather be here than at the group home. Just thinking of that place makes me shudder. But even though they are much better than the people at the group home, they aren't exactly what I would call "good parents." But then again, what do I know?

"About time!" Jessica started once she saw me making my way down the stairs, "You have to walk to school, as you know by now, I'm sure, so there is no time for you to have breakfast. Not that you deserve it anyway." She told me with a scoff.

I just pushed past her and headed for the door before she could take her daily frustration out on me for the 100th time this month. I'm already so sick of her. At least when Rick is around it's just a few quick punches, slaps, or kicks, and then I can escape to my room. But with this woman it's a constant nagging! She never shuts up. She gets on my nerves more than anything. She's only scary when she's drunk, which she usually is around the time I get back from school. Uuuuuugh...

"Hey! You better not forget to do your homework! And I am NOT cooking for you tonight so you can figure dinner out on your own. Ugh, why did we get stuck with you? You better not for—"

I slammed the door shut and started jogging away from the house before she could finish that sentence. Stuck with me? Stuck with me? More like, I'm stuck with you! I thought to myself as I began the long and, fortunately for me, beautiful walk to school.

On my way to school, my thoughts drifted off to Trenton. He is my mate, according to all things werewolf. "Tsk..." I muttered to myself. I need to avoid him. I don't want to end up like my sister and the only werewolf I ever trusted, her mate. But something tells me avoiding him is going to be more difficult than I am hoping it to be, considering how every waking moment the only thought in my head is of how blue his eyes are. No, don't think about him like that! He is just like that monster that killed your sister and her fiancé. I told myself as I walk up to the back entrance of the school, the one most students avoid since it's further from all their classes. I don't mind walking longer distances if that means I can avoid Jake, that boy creeps me out beyond belief. He's just a teenager and I've only known him a month, but he has this look in his eyes that just rubs me the wrong way. I avoid him at all costs, along with his goons.

Walking the rest of the way to my class, I sigh in relief as I get to the door. Mission: Avoid Jake. SUCCESS! I think to myself with a little chuckle as I set my bag down on my desk and take a seat, getting ready for this boring Algebra class.

The school day goes by pretty quickly and before I know it, the bell for lunchbreak rings throughout the halls of the school. I hastily pack up my notebook and textbook from my History class and book it out of the classroom. I always try to escape to the library before Jake can find me. I don't want him to know about my safe haven at that little secluded table in the far hidden corner of the library on the second floor. That place has been my guaranteed safe hideout for the last four weeks now. They haven't found me, yet, and I intend to keep it that way.

I finally make it to the library unseen by everyone and make my way to my favorite table at the back, where only the people that walk back there can see. I set my bag by the chair I pulled out to sit in and begin shuffling through it to find my sketchbook. Once I am settled, I open my sketchbook to a clean page and look out the window, hoping to see a certain someone to mindlessly sketch.

Looking out the window, I'm, unfortunately, quite disappointed to see that Trenton isn't practicing lacrosse with his team like he usually does during lunchbreak. Upset, I decide to settle on sketching him from memory, hoping to do his handsome features justice on the white paper before me.

After about five minutes of sketching out his face and the start of his beautiful eyes, I feel a shadow looming over me from behind. My breath catches in my throat when I hear that sweet, deep voice fill the air.

"Is that... me?" I jolt at the sound of Trenton Wolfe speaking right behind me. I hurriedly slam my sketchbook shut and quickly turn around in my seat to get a good look of how close he is to me. Face hot from probably embarrassment, I feel myself begin to tremble as I realize how close he actually is. I look into his eyes for only a brief moment before sharply turning my head away and rushing to get out of the seat and as far from him as possible. My day was going so well, too. Well, as well as it can go with the life I have at least.

I stumble out of my chair, causing the chair to fall over with me, and rush to press my back against the wall by the window to try and escape his gaze. I allow myself to look at his face again and find it more difficult this time to pull my eyes away from his. There is a look of confusion and hurt in his eyes that I've never seen before.

"G-get away from me!" I stutter out, unsure of what to do with my current situation. He picks the fallen chair up and out of his way, taking a step toward me and causing me to shrink into myself and press my back further into the wall.

"Hey, it's okay! I'm not friends with that bully, Jake, if that's what you think. I'm not going to hurt you." He whispered with a sad smile. How does he know about Jake? How does he know about this library? I think to myself as I try to calm my nerves.

"Jake? No. I k-know w-what you are! S-stay away from me! I want nothing to do with you! I-I reject...?" I trail off with uncertainty as my eyes widen at the lone tear falling down Trenton's face.

"Wait, you know? But you're human. You shouldn't know about us. How do you know?" He asks while wiping away the tear from his cheek with the sleeve of his shirt.

I shiver in horror as the memories of Kelly and her precious fiancé's murder flash through my mind. I don't want to talk about that. I'm not ready. Especially not with him.

"That doesn't matter, j-just stay away from me!" I shout a bit too loud for my liking. Thankfully, no one notices, and the library just continues on with whatever it was doing prior to my outburst.

"Kai, I'm not going to hurt you. I could never hurt you. Just let me know why you're so afraid. Please?" He pleaded me with the look of utmost defeat and depression in those oceanic eyes of his.

The look on his face makes me think back to those times I spent with Kelly and her husband and how happy they were together. I've never seen two people so in love before. Maybe not all werewolves are bad. Maybe I can give him a chance? Something is clearly pulling me toward him, and the moon goddess did a wonderful job with my sister and her mate, so why shouldn't I trust her this time around? It's not like Miles, her fiancé, was the one that killed her. He was murdered right along with her. Maybe this werewolf is like him and only wants what's best for me? But then again, who would want me? No one cares about me, there must be something else he wants.

Every time I try telling myself to give Trenton a chance, I see the blood gushing out of Miles throat, onto the ground and hear Kelly's screams. I remember the look on her face when she watched Miles die, the tears streaming down her fear stricken face. I remember how that wolf snatched his gaze over to my sister and murdered her right in front me. I feel his claws digging into my back before he took off to hide from the cops that were alarmed of the commotion by someone around who heard the screams.

I begin to tremble more and can feel the sweat beads dripping down the back of my neck. I need to get out of here! I think to myself as I begin to look for an escape around the library. I will never be able to trust a werewolf again if the image of blood covering my sister's face continues to pop into my head whenever I think of werewolves. He may be my mate, but I'm too broken. He deserves someone that won't cower in fear from him. Someone who isn't traumatized like I am. I'm only a human boy. He could find a strong she-wolf to be his mate. I don't deserve him. He can do so much better than me.

I have to get away from him before he witnesses my panic attack in full. I can feel my eyes sting with unshed tears as I look into his beautiful blue eyes.

"I'm sorry. I... I can't." I whisper as I rush past him and grab my bag as quickly as possible. I need to go somewhere secluded to work through this panic attack alone. I don't want him to see me as any weaker than I'm sure he already thinks I am. Why do I care so much what he thinks of me? I wonder to myself as I run through the library to the door.

"KAI! Please wait!" I can hear him yelling for me to come back as I push the door open and sprint out of there. I hate what hearing him say my name does to me. The tears threatening to spill finally decide to show up and stream down my cheeks as I run through the halls of the school.

I'm running around a corner when I bump hard into someone and fall back. I groan from the impact and look up to see the person I bumped into didn't even budge. The person I bumped into is a strong, beautiful woman with very familiar ocean eyes and extremely long black, inky hair down to her waist.

"Kai, is that you?" The girl in front of me asks with concern etched into her features. How does she know my name? And why does she look like Trenton? I wonder as I jump up from the ground and continue my rush to get away from Trenton.

"I'm really sorry I bumped into you but I gottagosoBYE!" I yell over my shoulder as I rush past her and into the boys' bathroom at the other end of the school to hopefully avoid being found.

I shove the door to the bathroom open and rush into a stall, locking the stall door behind me. I lean back against the wall and slowly slide down until I'm sitting on the ground with my knees to my chest, hugging them to me. I rest my face on the tops of my knees and let it all out. I'm hyperventilating and tears are continuously streaming down my face and onto the fabric of my jeans. It's okay, the wolf that killed Kelly and Miles isn't anywhere to be found. He's not around me, I'm okay. Just breathe. I repeatedly tell myself in hopes of easing this panic attack so I can continue throughout the day.

Once I have finally calmed my breathing and reduced my crying to just sniffles, I grab my bag and shuffle through it to find the pack of tissues I keep in there for situations such as this. While looking for the tissues I can't help but notice my sketchbook is missing.

I begin to panic and frantically start looking through my whole bag to find it. That sketchbook means the world to me, it was the last thing Kelly and Miles bought be before they were killed.

Damnit! I must have left it in the library. I think to myself while closing up my bag and completely forgetting about my original quest to find a tissue. I stand up and brush myself off before walking out of the bathroom stall. There is no way I am going back to that library today, not if Trenton is still there. He needs to forget about me and find someone worthy of his love.

It's better this way. At least I don't have to worry about him getting sick of me and realizing how broken I am then deciding to leave me behind. I can't handle losing someone else I love. I can't bear another heartbreak. I'm already so alone and broken, I can't take anything else.

I just can't . . .