"t's called wolfsbane. Highly toxic to werewolves." Mystic High's nurse told me as I laid on the cot, still feeling the ghost of the pain on my fingertips. "It must've been on something you touched."

"I swear, I'm going to figure out who did this." Roan said even though I had a feeling about who did it.

Roan had skipped half of his fourth period class to stay with me. I texted him what happened and he rushed over. When it was almost the end of fourth period, I finally told him to leave.

"Don't you have class?"

"It's math," He shrugged and I sighed.

"You have too many absences. Go," I pointed to the door but he hesitated, "Roan, I'm fine. I'm not dead. Go." I repeated but he still didn't move.

"At least go to gym, Ham will kill you if you're late again. Besides, my parents are coming soon. And trust me, once they get here, it's going to be a mess." They freaked out about every little thing I did, I wondered how they'd take this.

"And I'm here to keep her company," Mystic High's nurse, whose name completely escaped me, added.

"Okay," He looked at me again before standing up, "If you're sure."

"See you later," I waved goodbye and he was almost out the door when he came back.

"Did you forget something?" I asked curiously. He walked over to me and bent down.

"Goodbye kiss." He gave me a quick kiss on my forehead and I smiled.

Which was exactly when my parents came rushing in.

"Lia, my baby!" Mom was full on sobbing, coming over and hugging me tightly, "Are you okay? What happened?"

"Ew, Mom, we're in public," I tried to shake her off of me.

Dad pried her off of me, "Lia probably wants to rest." Then he noticed Roan off to the side, "Oh, who are you?"

"I'm Roan-"

"He was just leaving," I interrupted quickly, "Now get to class, slacker."

"Bye, hope you feel better," He waved to me and my parents before grabbing his backpack.

Mom turned to Mystic High's nurse, "What happened? I heard she touched wolfsbane."

"Yes, she must've touched it in class."

"But why would someone do that?" Mom's voice rose in pitch.

"To be perfectly honest, ever since the reveal of us werewolves, there's been an increase in these types of situations."

Just great.

"So it wasn't an accident. Someone purposefully tried to kill her." Dad stated and I shivered. It was probably Jesse. I mean, I knew he hated werewolves and that he killed one or two but I knew him and he knew me. I couldn't believe he'd actually try to kill me.

"Lia, we were thinking. . . That you should transfer into Mystic High once the renovations are done." Mom suggested and I crossed my arms.

"No way."

Dad began his whole spiel, "The renovations are a month from being finished. And it would be an easy switch, the school's the same distance from our house as Rivier."

"Are you worried about not being with your friends? You can always see them on the weekend."

"And you'll make new friends." Dad added but that wasn't the point. Yes, I'd miss them like crazy but that wasn't my main concern.

"No."

Mom sat down on the cot next to mine.

"Think about it, Lia. You won't have to hide anymore and you won't have to worry about things like this happening. First the siren thing, now the wolfsbane-"

"I told you, I'm fine."

Dad shifted his weight from left to his right foot, "We're just trying to decide what's best for you. Don't you want to be with people who are like you?"

All I wanted was to be normal. All I wanted was to fit in.

But they just didn't get it.

"I already am."

.•*•.

"So they made you come to gym even after all that?" Roan asked me.

I'd returned ten minutes late to gym and Ms. Ham gave me a crap ton of shit about it.

"No, I wanted to get away from my parents." I admitted. They kept trying to force me to switch schools, giving me a bunch of reasons why it would be good and whatever, but I never caved.

"I feel you," Laurel added.

We were playing volleyball and Roan had paired up with Laurel. I kind of just tagged along and fortunately, Ms. Ham didn't call me out on it.

Roan told me to take it easy and to go to the bathroom to waste time. I probably went every ten minutes.

I was just finishing up in the bathroom when I heard Roan. I could tell it was him because 1.) his footsteps were pretty damn loud and 2.) his heart made a specific sound when it beated. Like a human fingerprint but for heartbeats.

Someone else was with him, Laurel's voice carrying easily.

I hid behind the corner, ready to scare them, but as I listened to their hushed conversation, my heart froze.

"So I'm free all next week. And Jace and Whitney have agreed that I oversee your training. The faster you complete basic training, the faster the process will be." Laurel was saying and I tried not to make a move. Even though a hunter's senses weren't comparable to a werewolf's, they were still sharp.

"Cool. I asked Tori but she wouldn't do it."

"Well she was already forced by her parents to guard someone she didn't want to."

"So Friday right after school? The base?" Was that really Roan? Would he really betray me?

"The base." The hunter base. That's all the proof I needed.

I couldn't take it anymore.

I made myself visible and glared at both of them, Roan especially.

Roan flinched and Laurel gasped in surprise.

"When were you going to tell me?" I demanded.

"Lia, I-" I didn't give him a chance to utter another lie.

"When were you going to tell me you became a hunter?"

"I swear-"

"I told Roan not to tell anyone." Laurel defended him but I snorted.

"No, it's too dangerous. Hunters die all the time and you have to be prepared for that, which I know you're not." I clenched my hands, struggling to control my anger.

"I am."

"And how is getting killed going to help me?" I asked.

"I'm doing this for you," Roan spoke up, "To protect you."

Hunters have killed millions of my kind ever since we existed. And he wanted to be apart of that?

"You smell that? Smells like bullshit."

And before I lost it all, I shoved passed him and felt half of my heart wither to dust.

.•*•.

I stayed on the other side of the door, eavesdropping on my parents.

"Sometimes I think we made a mistake." Dad sighed and I knew they were talking about me. God, why was everyone talking secrets behind my back?

"What mistake?" I heard Mom ask.

"Enrolling them in human schools."

"It wasn't a mistake. It still isn't. We wanted them to grow up as normal as possible. It was the best option we had."

"No, it's selfish. We cut them off from their lineage. They deserve to know the truth."

I'd heard enough.

I finally opened the door, putting on a fake smile, "Hey, guys,"

They instantly stopped talking about me and gave me happy smiles.

"Lia, how was the rest of school?" Good, I just found out that my boyfriend (for like two weeks) was a hunter. And that Laurel of all people was training him.

And don't even get me started on the whole wolfsbane poisoning thing.

"It was okay."

"I knew we should've taken her home." Mom paced around nervously.

"No, I'm happy I went. Besides, Ms. Ham hates me enough."

I cleared my throat and picked at some invisible lint of my jeans.

"So, about Mystic High,"

"Yes?" Both of them asked hopefully.

No turning back now.

"I'll do it, I'll transfer."