There's an assembly at the gym this morning. I try to slip in and blend in with the crowd, but Penny grabs my arm from behind and drags me to sit next to her on the bleachers. Reese and River join us soon after.

My eyes zero in on the lycans standing near the door by the end of the bleachers. Constantine is standing there with the rest of them, looking extremely bored. He is so gorgeous, though. Those eyes, the sculptured cheekbones, and nose, and chin...and those lips...hot messy hair. I'm seriously hopeless.

Milan is standing right next to him. She looks at me with a small smile playing on her lips and a triumphant look in her eyes. She wraps her arms around one of his, and rests her head on his broad shoulder. I grit my teeth and look away.

I wish I could stop loving him. I wish I could hate him. I wish I wasn't this pathetic.

My eyes fall on Hunter who is looking at me with a sympathetic look. I like Hunter. I think he's very nice, but I don't want any sympathy from anybody. I take a deep breath and give him a big smile. He smiles back, looking somehow sort of relief.

I feel the heat of his stare burning through my skull, as if commanding me to look, and my eyes are drawn back towards where the lycans are standing. Constantine is staring fiercely back. His eyes move to Hunter then back to me. I can feel his anger from here. He turns to look away first. His jaw tight. Milan leans in close to his ear and whispers something. I have to admit, they are both stunningly beautiful. They look good together. That thought is like a dagger to my heart. I turn to look away.

"Genesis!" Evan is smiling up at me, as he makes his way over. "Can I sit here?"

"Uh, yeah...sure," what else can I say?

Evan lowers himself right next to me. He's too close for my liking. His thigh is pressed up against mine. Ezra's seriously not liking this. There's not much I can do, though. There's not much room for me to wiggle away. His arm goes around my back.

I look up to people staring at me again. My eyes automatically flash to Constantine who's staring at me with steely cold eyes. He's not even hiding his jealousy. His jaw is clenched tight and his nostrils are flaring. I can feel the heat of his fury. Well, he has Milan hanging onto his arm, so...whatever. I stare defiantly back even when I feel like cowering from his intense anger.

Mr Bennet, our principal, takes the mike and starts talking about the upcoming sport events. I'm so tense, I'm not paying attention to a single word he says.

It feels like more eyes are staring at me than at our principal. I feel like everybody's waiting in anticipation for something to happen. They're hungry for blood. My blood. Or maybe that's just my food deprived stomach and sleep deprived brain thinking.

All the lycans are definitely looking at me. Caspian is staring at me broodingly as well. What is his problem?

I tear my eyes away from Constantine and all the other lycans to have my eyes fall on Hunter who's also scowling. Then on pissed off Logan and his friends and other people around. None of them are looking too happy. What is everybody's problem???? If looks could kill, I'd be minced meat.

I feel Penny's hand tightens around mine.

"Uh, why is everybody staring at us?" whispers Evan close to my ear.

"I have no idea," I whisper back.

"They're not all your boyfriends, are they?" he jokes, chuckling a little.

"No, not all of them. No," at least that one is not a lie.

I gulp nervously and my gaze is drawn back towards the lycans. Caspian is saying something heatedly to Constantine who is looking livid. A few seconds later Constantine takes off. Milan runs off after him immediately.

I feel sick. I feel sick and furious.

"They're all beautiful, huh?" utters Evan.

"Huh? What?" I blink back tears.

"Those kids. They're hard to miss...I mean this school is full of hot looking people. I wonder what's going on when I first got here," explains Evan. "But those five. They definitely stand out even among these good looking people."

Then he pauses for a little while and turn to look at me. "And then there's you...you're still the most beautiful girl I've ever seen. You seem to belong to that group more than anywhere else," he sounds thoughtful, like he's trying to solve a puzzle.

I suddenly feel like bawling my eyes out. I can't take anymore of this. I feel my heart breaking into tiny pieces. I find the stares suffocating. I feel the crowd closing in on me. I feel my world tearing apart.

"I have to go...excuse me," I mumble, getting up.

"Where are you going? Are you okay?" Asks Penny sounding worried.

"I just need to use the washroom," I reply, as I try to find my way down the bleachers through the crowd. My progress down is agonizingly slow. I feel eyes following me. They're following me everywhere. I hate attentions!

I lock the door of the washroom and really bawl my eyes out. Gosh, I feel so pathetic.

After a while, I wash my face and stare at my red rimmed eyes. I'm such a wreck. Just thinking about Constantine makes my heart twist in pain. Why is it that with him I feel either euphorically happy or intensely in pain? Why does it have to be one extreme to another? I splash cold water on my face again, then pat it dry and straighten myself before I finally walk out of the washroom.

Hunter is waiting for me outside the door. Oh great, a witness to my pathetic miserable tear fest. But then again, I guess that's why nobody was knocking on the door of the washroom while I was in there. Hunter was guarding the door. I should be thankful for that, I suppose.

The hallway is deserted. Everybody seems to have gone back to their classrooms.

"Are you okay?" there's concern in his voice and eyes.

I just nod my head. I try to smile, but I think I fail miserably when he pulls me into his arms and walks me out of there.

"Where are we going?" I ask him.

"Out of here. Away from prying eyes," he answers.

We end up sitting at the end of the bleachers next to each other by the football field. The second time I'm on the bleachers today.

"I'm not going to ask if you're okay again. Clearly you're not okay," he says, glancing sideways at me.

"I don't know how life can get so complicated, Hunter. All I wanted before was a mate, finish high school together, maybe go to college...or not. Have babies, clean poopy diapers, pay bills together, then have teenage kids who mouth off to you...you know, all that fun stuff," I explain, my voice comes out sounding wobbly and pathetic.

"All that fun stuff," he repeats after me, smiling a little. "See? that's what I love about you. You manage to stay upbeat and funny...no matter what life throws at you."

"Upbeat? Did you not notice how awful I'm looking right now, Hunter?"

He turns to look at me. His eyes roaming my face before staring into my eyes. "You're not looking awful, Genesis," he mumbles. "You never look awful."

Why do I suddenly feel awkward? "I'm sorry you have to rescue me every time, Hunter. You've been great. Thank you." I turn to look away.

"I don't mind. I want you to come to me if you need rescuing," he utters. "I wish..."

I turn to look at him, quizzically. "You wish?"

He sighs heavily. "I wish I was your mate, Genesis. I told you that already. I would've make you so happy."

Oh gosh! I stare up at him in silence for a few seconds. His chocolate brown eyes are staring at me earnestly. His feelings are clearly on display as clear as daylight. Why didn't I see it before?

He's really an attractive guy. He's a wonderful person. I know any girl would be so lucky to have him as her mate...but he's not for me. He's not the one who makes my heart race with his presence. He's not the one who haunts my mind day and night. His touch isn't the one that I crave for. He's not the one causing my skin to tingle with a simple touch. He's not the one who makes me feel whole and complete. The heart wants what it wants.

"I'm so sorry, Hunter."

"Yeah," he whispers regretfully. "I just needed to tell you...I'll never hurt you if..." he's staring down at his shoes.

"Yeah," I whisper back, but deep down I know I can't do that. Even if Constantine decided to mark Milan as his mate, I'm not going to take someone else's mate away just because I don't want to be alone. His mate is out there somewhere. I can't take that away from him.

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I'm going home sometime next week. I'd probably be able to update on my regular days again as soon as I get over my jet lag. So, please don't climb up my window to get me to write and update 😝😜😅. Some of your comments are really hilarious!😂🤣Please vote and comment, my cuddly bunnies!!! Thank you!

XOXOXO
❤Nicole