Alpha Bully (9 page)

Scarlett didn’t say a word. She learned if she didn’t
say anything then they tended to leave her alone. Sometimes it didn’t work.

“Do you really think you’re better than us?”

Shaking her head, she hiked her bag higher on her
shoulder. She started to walk toward the door, but Cheryl pushed her away from
the door. “Don’t fucking think of ignoring me, you fat bitch.”

Tucking some hair behind her ear, Scarlett waited for
Cheryl to finish saying whatever she was going to say so that she could go for
lunch.

“Marshall is playing you. Trey’s playing you, and so
is Jack. You’re a fucking idiot to think it’s anything but them playing with
you. They hate you, despise you. You’re fat and ugly.”

Tears filled her eyes as Cheryl’s words hit her hard.

“That’s right, cry,
snivel
.
You make me sick. Remember, when they’re looking at you, they only pity you.”

Cheryl walked into a toilet, laughing, and Scarlett
made her retreat. She didn’t wait around for anyone or go to her usual safety
tree. Scarlett walked to the bleachers where the football team was working out.
She pulled her lunch out of her bag along with her book. Sitting in the far
corner away from everyone she allowed the tears to finally fall. It wasn’t the
first time she’d been reduced to tears. The only time she allowed the tears to
fall was when she was alone.

She shouldn’t let Cheryl’s words affect her, but they
did. The words blurred on the page, and she shoved the book back into her bag.

“There you are,” Marshall said.

Staring down at her lap, she tried to wipe the tears
away. They were her tears and no one else’s.

“Shit, are you crying?” he asked.

“What do you want?” When she wiped the last of her
tears away, she looked up at him. He was already walking up to where she sat.
Marshall crouched down in front of her, taking hold of her chin. He turned her
face left and right.

“Who made you fucking cry?”

Shaking her head, she tried to pull out his hold, but
he wouldn’t let her go.

“Please,” she said.

“No. I’m not letting you go until you tell me who made
you cry. I’ll hurt them, Scarlett.”

“Don’t. It’s nothing. Please, just ignore me.” He
wouldn’t release her, and his thumb caressed over her cheek.

“This is not acceptable.”

A low growl released from his lips, and Scarlett
stared at him. His eyes flashed amber. It was such a fleeting flash that she
didn’t know if she saw it or not.

He moved to sit beside her, putting his arm around her
shoulder.

“It’s lunch. Shouldn’t you be in the lunchroom?” she
asked.

“I was. I sat waiting for you. Trey was there, and I
expected you to join us.”

“I never eat in the lunchroom.”

“And that’s why I
came
hunting for you.”

She noticed he said hunting rather than looking. Why
was he hunting for her? He said things that surprised her.

“You don’t need to worry about me. I’m fine.”

“You’re sitting on your own. You’re not even by your
tree, and you’re crying. You’re not fine, Scarlett. What made you cry?”

Biting her lip, she dropped her cheese sandwich back
into the lunch box. Her appetite was gone.

He let out an annoyed sigh. “You’re really not going
to tell me?”

“It doesn’t matter.”

Marshall wrapped an arm around her pulling her close.
His warmth surrounded her. He further surprised her by kissing her temple. “If
you’re not going to tell me then I’m going to hold you until you’re feeling
better.”

“You don’t need to do this.”

“I’m doing what makes me happy.”

She closed her eyes as she rested against his
shoulder. This was what she loved. It felt right to her to have him close. He
took her hand with his other and locked their fingers together. “You’re not
going to be alone anymore.”

“Why are you being nice to me?”

“I want to be, and I want you to be happy.”

Glancing up at him, she saw his lips were pressed into
a firm line. He wasn’t happy at all with her being sad.

Slowly, she relaxed against him, staring out at the
football field.

Marshall came to you, not Trey.

If she’d thought anyone would come looking for her,
she really thought it would be Trey, not the man who was now comforting her.

“Tell me who hurt you?”

His voice soothed her, and before she could stop, she
told him the truth. “Cheryl.”

“What did she say and do?”

“Just the truth.
I’m fat and ugly and there’s no way that you or Trey are ever going to
find me attractive. I’m too ugly, and you prefer girls who look like her. Don’t
worry,
I didn’t think you had a crush on me or something.
I’m not stupid.”

He held her just a little tighter, kissing her head.

“You’re not fat and ugly.”

“I don’t know why you’re being nice to me, but I like
it.”

The rest of the lunch break went by without a hitch as
Marshall held her. She didn’t want it to end, but like all good things, it had
to come to an end sometime.

Chapter Seven

“What are you going to do?” Jack asked. It was after
school, and Marshall leaned up against his car waiting for Scarlett to come out
of school. He was so pissed off at what Cheryl had done. There was no way he
could hurt her, not in the way he wanted to. She’d made his mate cry. When he
saw Scarlett sat on the bleachers, he’d been relieved, but then he saw she was
crying and he’d almost lost it. He’d been hunting for his mate because
Trey
couldn’t give a shit, only to find she’d been hurt by
that slut, Cheryl.

“I don’t know.” He wanted to hurt Cheryl, humiliate
her, make life so fucking hard for her that she knew what it was like to be in
Scarlett’s shoes.

He’d prove her wrong when it came to Scarlett. The
best way to get back at Cheryl was by showing her to be a liar.

“What did
Trey
say when I
left?” Marshall asked.

“Nothing.
I don’t even know why you were worried about him being a problem with
Scarlett. He didn’t give a shit about her when you were gone. I’m starting to
think he was just using Scarlett until he knew where he stood.” Jack flicked
his keys backwards and forwards in his hand.

“He can still be a problem. Scarlett’s not comfortable
around me.”

“Are you taking her home?”

“Yeah, I was going to.” Marshall was going to
introduce her to his parents.

“Cool. Let me know how that goes.”

Scarlett appeared out of the doors with Trey by her
side. Marshall really didn’t like this guy. The moment he was out of the picture,
the better he’d feel.

“See? He’s a problem.”

“Only now.
I can tell you he wasn’t interested in her at lunchtime.” Scarlett
looked up, and Marshall held his hand up in a wave. “You’ve really turned into
a lovesick sucker.”

“Shut up. Wait until you find your mate. You’ll be
changing your tune very soon.”

“I’m destined to be alone.”

Scarlett stopped in front of him. “Hey,” she said.

“You weren’t expecting me to be waiting?” He knew she
hadn’t.

Her cheeks went a lovely shade of red. Marshall
reached out and touched one cheek. The warmth coming from her made him chuckle.

“Hey, Marshall,” Trey said.

“Do you want a ride off Jack?” Marshall asked.

“Hey, I’m right here. I’ve not offered to take anyone
home in my car. It’s my love machine.”

Marshall chuckled, especially when he saw Scarlett was
smiling as well.

“I’ve got my own ride,” Trey said. “Do you want me to
drive you home?”

“I’ve got Scarlett covered.” Marshall stepped closer,
grabbing her arm and pulling her beside him. He didn’t want her going with
Trey.

“If you want to get home I don’t mind going with
Trey.”

“I want to give you a ride. I promised you, and it’s
up to me to prove to you that I’ll keep my word when it comes to you.” He led
her to his car, opening up the door. Marshall wondered if he was ever going to
have a time with her when he didn’t lead her from one place to another.

He closed the door giving Jack a pointed look. “I’ve
got to head out. See you losers tomorrow.”

Trey walked away after giving Scarlett a final wave.
It took all of Marshall’s control not to pounce on the bastard. Trey didn’t
care about Scarlett, not really.

Climbing behind the wheel, he started up his car.
Several of their peers were looking into his car, and he wanted to grab
Scarlett and kiss her so everyone saw who she belonged to. He doubted she would
like that kind of attention. There would be a time when he would prove to all
of these assholes that she was his.

Driving out of the parking lot, he headed in the
opposite direction of her home.

“Erm, Marshall, you’re going the wrong way.” She
glanced behind her as he drove.

“I’m not. There’s something I wanted to show you.” He
reached over, grabbing her hand to lock their fingers together. His wolf
calmed. The possessive need rushing through him, dimmed with her touch. So long
as he was close to her, he didn’t need to worry about his wolf wanting to make
a claim.

“What?”

“I’m taking you back to my place. Well, my parents’
place, but I live there.” He gave her a wink to which she laughed.

“You’re completely crazy, you know that right?”

“Yep.”

I made her laugh.

The small victories meant so much to him. She settled
back still holding his hand as he drove toward his house.

“You live near the forest?”

“Yes.”

“You know I was sure I could hear wolves there this
summer,” she said, surprising him.

“Real wolves?”

“I don’t know. A lot of strange stuff keeps happening
lately.”

She hummed something. He wished he knew what she was
thinking. She wasn’t giving off any fear. What was she thinking about wolves?
Did she believe in them? Crap, he didn’t know what to say. He’d grown up to
know that he had to keep his ancestry a secret.

Pulling into the driveway, he parked the car.

“Is someone here?”

“My parents.”

He inwardly groaned as he heard the sexual moans
coming from his home. His hearing had gotten better since his turning.

“Come on.” The moment they heard Scarlett, they’d
stop. He slammed his door closed, rounding the car, and grabbing her hand once
again.

“Your home looks beautiful,” she said.

“You’ve not even got inside yet.”

She chuckled. Scarlett hiked her back up onto her
shoulder as they made their way inside his home. Something crashed in his
father’s office, followed by smashing.

Shaking his head, Marshall waited for the door to
open. His mother appeared first looking ruffled. He was a wolf, and they were
used to their sexuality being on display.

“Marshall, I didn’t realize that was the time,” his
mother said.

“Mom, I’d like you to meet Scarlett. Scarlett, this is
my mother, Carla.”

“Hey,” Scarlett said.

“Oh, you brought a girl home. Luke, he brought a girl
home.” She shouted toward his father as she moved forward, cupping Scarlett’s
cheeks. “You’re so beautiful.”

“Mom, please,” Marshall said.

“What?”

He made sure he was a step back from Scarlett so she
wouldn’t see.
“Fear.”
He mouthed the words so his
mother would understand.

Carla instantly dropped her hands away from Scarlett’s
face.

“Hello,” Scarlett said.

His father came out of the office, completely dressed.
He stepped behind Carla, gripping her shoulder. “Hello, Scarlett,” his father
said. “Marshall has told us a lot about you. He didn’t mention you were
stopping by.”

“Yeah, I didn’t know I was coming here either until I
was in the car,” Scarlett said, glancing back at him.

“What happened to your face?”

Scarlett touched the bruise. “My face was introduced
to a dodgeball.”

“It looks painful.”

“It was. Not so much now.”

“I’m going to show Scarlett around.”

“Okay, stay clear of the forest, you never know what
you’re going to find,” Luke said, warning him. Wolves were out running in the
forest, and he didn’t want Scarlett finding out about their kind until after
Marshall made his intentions known.