"sher's a werewolf?" I gasped in relief, "That's why he rejected me, he's waiting for his mate to show!"

I still had a chance!

Roan gave an exasperated sigh, "Lia, that's not what I meant."

"Oh? And what was that?" I challenged.

"He's dangerous."

I laughed out loud.

"What is everybody waiting for? Get changed!" Ms. Ham, our gym teacher, yelled at everyone.

And there goes my cue.

After I changed, I joined Roan and Grace; the girl from Mystic High. She seemed nice enough.

"Pick a partner." Ms. Ham said and I gravitated toward Roan, even though he looked less than happy to be my partner.

"Okay, one partner go to one side and the other partner go to the other side."

"Shit, I hate when they do that." Which meant Roan and I would be on different teams. I just hoped we weren't playing dodgeball.

"We're playing dodgeball today." Dammit. "Everybody on the line. When I blow the whistle, you can move. You get hit, you're out." Ms. Ham was putting all of the red balls on the half court line.

Everyone was ready to go when she added, "The last team standing gets to change early!" This was the last block of the day, everybody was already done with school.

"Oh, we are so winning." I said eagerly.

I looked back at my side and realized all the good players were on the other side. Mostly Asher, Roan, and Jesse.

My side had John, Laurel, and a bunch of other people who had no athletic skill.

"Ready, set, go!" The whistle sounded and everyone sprinted to get a ball.

John kicked some of the balls onto our side before running back and trying not to get hit.

A ball flew at me and hit my cheek.

"Ow." I rubbed my cheek and glared at Roan.

"Balls to the face don't count!" Ms. Ham added and I grinned, my next target Roan.

You're dead, I mouthed at him and he rolled his eyes.

I picked up two balls and threw both at Roan. He ducked and threw some at me. I hid behind Laurel, who was trying to hit Asher. Literally, everyone was aiming at Asher but he kept evading everyone.

Laurel got hit in the leg and I'd lost my shield. John and I were the only ones on the offensive, everyone else was trying not to get hit by Asher and Roan's balls. They were getting people out like nobody's business.

After about ten minutes of sudden death, there were only two people on each side.

John and I on one side, Roan and Asher on the other.

For a moment, we were at a stalemate. Roan faked a throw and I flinched. Nobody made a move.

Until John stupidly threw the ball at Asher, which he caught.

John swore under his breath and started to walk over to the bench of losers, head down in shame.

"John!" I face-palmed myself, "For someone so smart, you sure are stupid." I muttered under my breath and just barely dodged two balls from Asher and Roan.

Thanks, John, for leaving me here all alone to defend myself!

I let them keep throwing balls at me, dodging them by centimeters.

My heart pounded in my ear as I tried to stay alive. I wanted to beat them, but mostly, I just wanted to beat Asher.

I was exhausted with jumping and ducking, and by that point, I wanted to give up.

Until Roan threw a pretty bad throw right at my chest.

I caught it effortlessly and smirked. When he saw that he was out instead, he spiked the ball he was holding.

"Shit!" Roan yelled and Ms. Ham immediately reprimanded him,

"Language, Roan!"

"Sorry." I heard him mutter as I looked at my final opponent. Asher.

All of the balls were on my side. I had all of the power.

"Throw it, Lia!" Laurel cried out from the side line and my team chanted along with her.

I picked up one of the small balls, which were good for throwing quickly.

"Dodge this." I muttered under my breath and hurled the ball as hard as I could.

Asher tried to catch it but it hit his arm instead.

Yes!

"Lia's team can go change!" Ms. Ham announced and some people high-fived me as they ran to the locker rooms.

.•*•.

"So, how was school?" Mom asked as she dished out my pasta.

"Good. We played dodgeball in gym and I kicked ass." The highlight of my day was whipping the ball at Asher.

"That must've been fun." Mom smiled and we all began eating.

"Is your school talking about the werewolf video that's apparently gone viral?" Dad asked and I shook my head. Oddly enough, the school hasn't said anything about it.

"No one thinks it's real." I said as I shoveled a fork-full of penne in my mouth.

"Well, the government does."

I almost choked, "Seriously?" I asked after I swallowed.

"Yeah, they're reviewing it right now and if they think werewolves are real, they're going to declare them endangered." Dad explained.

"We're endangered. Us." I laughed out loud and my parents smiled. It's not like we were animals, we were more human.

"Hopefully, they'll think it's another prank video and leave us alone." My parents held hands at the dinner table and I was torn between barfing and smiling.

After thirty years, they're still in love. My parents found each other when they were ten. They were apart of the same pack but decided to leave in order to live a more normal life. They were two sides of a coin; they rarely argued and got along perfectly. Not many couples could say the same.

I wanted a love like theirs, I wanted a mate.

"Oh, by the way, Lia, have you told anyone?" Mom asked and I tensed.

"About me being a werewolf?" I hesitated. I was hiding a huge secret from them and I hated myself for it.

Before Roan, I hadn't told anybody. I still didn't know why I told him of all people. . .

"No." I lied and they nodded. I'd gotten so good at lying that I could slow down my heart rate, so my parents trusted me.

"Good. Because if anyone finds out about us, we're as good as dead."

"I won't tell anyone. . ."

. . . Starting now.

😑