Chapter 7 : Battered And Feeling Broken

*** Ariana's POV***

I wanted to make sure I wore a long-sleeved shirt to school today. But, the only long sleeve shirt I had was an old, baggy flannel shirt. I sighed but decided to put it on. I didn't want anyone to notice the cuts on my arm. It would heal, and everyone could put this whole thing behind them. So, I stood up to leave the breakfast table.

I wanted to walk to school today. Sometimes my mom would drive me to school, but I decided to leave home early this morning to enjoy the brisk autumn air. It would help clear my head.

Halfway to school, I ran into Carol, who walked the rest of the way with me. She was pretty quiet today, and I thought she could tell how I was feeling. I wondered if she knew what had happened yesterday. But, she did not say anything. She kept the topics pretty lighthearted, and I felt like I could forget things for a while.

When we got to school, I was able to avoid most people until after lunch. After yesterday, I didn't want anyone who might have heard to come to ask me about it or anything. Not that they would necessarily. But I didn't know. I was successful until after lunch.

I had gym class, and I changed my flannel for a short-sleeved shirt. Some of the kids remarked on my bandages, but none of them seemed to know anything about the fight. I felt relieved until I was in the hall getting something from my locker.

"Ariana, what happened?" I heard a familiar voice from behind me. I jumped in alarm.

"Alex!" I gasped as I clutched my flannel to my chest, realizing it was too late to try to cover my wound.

"What happened to your arm, Ariana?" he insisted, moving his hand to touch my arm. He seemed genuinely sincere and like he wanted to know if I was okay. But I still pulled my arm away. Even if I didn't want to keep it a secret from him, I would not want him to touch my arm.

"Nothing, Alex," I answered quickly as I turned back to my locker.

He persisted, though. He tried to get to see my face. He kept making grabs for my arm. And I kept shoving him away. He could not touch me anymore. He hurt me too much. I wanted his touch so badly. I missed it. But, it did not mean anything anymore. Seeing him seemed to be hurting me more than the cuts on my arm.

"Alex!" I heard another familiar voice call from across the hall. As I thought it might happen, I saw Patty coming closer to us. She was virtually shoving people out of the way as she made a b-line towards Alex and me. I took a deep breath and let it out quickly. I did not want to deal with her again.

"I gotta go," I said to Alex as I shoved my locker closer and tried to make a run for it before Patty got there. But, it was too late.

I saw Patty standing there dressed in her black jeans with cuts in all the right places. Her brown hair was braided today and looked perfect. I knew once again that I could not compete with a girl like her.

"What is going on here?" she asked with her hands on her hips. She had a fake smile on her face, and she was putting on an air of "I'm not suspicious." But, beneath her tone, I could sense her concern.

"Nothing, Patty. I was just leaving." I said back to her as I turned to leave again. But, Alex shocked me by grabbing my arm.

"No, Ariana!" He declared with my arm firmly in his grasp. "You are going to tell me who did this to you."

I had tears in my eyes. Maybe I should tell him. Maybe I should tell him what a terrible werewolf his soulmate is. But I knew I shouldn't. It would disrupt the peace between our packs. I shook his grip.

Patty apparently lost her cool and suddenly shoved me up against my locker. I was so shocked I had no idea how I should respond. My arm hit the locker and a sharp pain shot through my arm. Alex seemed surprised, and I heard him yell at Patty, but she silenced him. It was just she and I in the hallway staring each other down. Or, at least that's how it felt.

"You need to learn to let him go, Ariana!" Patty yelled at me as she clenched her fist firmly. I gripped mine as well.

"I don't want him anymore!" I yelled back, surprising even myself a little. She let out a laugh and did not believe me.

She flung her fist at me, and I prepared to block the best I could when something knocked her fist away. I was shocked at who stood there protecting me. Triton. His dark hair glistened, and his eyes burned angrily.

"I told you to stand down, Patty!" Triton shouted, his voice quivering angrily. Patty looked back at him with rage filling her face.

"You don't have the authority to order me what to do," Patty spat at him. "Alpha boy. Get out of my way."

"Stand down!" He shouted again. He blocked the space between myself and Patty. I was just staring at his back in surprise. For the second time in two days, he came to my rescue. I felt my heart flutter a little.

Finally, Patty seemed to relent, but not before saying her peace.

"I'll make sure people know you threatened a neutral pack member to save your enemy!" She shouted in his face. And she turned on her heels and marched away. Alex followed after her like a helpless puppy following their master.

"Thank" I started to thank him, but he left so quickly I could not finish. Triton dashed down the hall away from me. I wanted to try and follow him, but Carol came up beside me.

"Girl, what happened?" she asked in a concerned voice. I saw in her eyes that she was worried about me.

"Oh, yeah," I told her dismissively with a grin. "Just Patty being Patty. But, Triton came and stopped her."

"Hmmm." She grunted with a thoughtful look on her face. "I guess he felt his authority was being threatened or something. But, don't get close to him, Ariana. It might seem so tragically romantic in your mind. But, he is the enemy pack. He is probably after trouble."

I nodded and said, "I guess you're right. But, it still surprised me."

"Why don't you come over to my house today?" she offered me. "You need to forget about Alex and everything. You just need to relax."

"Okay, thanks, Carol," I said to her. I excused myself from Carol for a moment and pretended I needed to go to the bathroom. But, really, I wanted to message Triton and thank him. I pulled out my phone and clicked on Triton's name in my messages. I texted him and thanked him, and asked if maybe I could meet with him and talk.

I held my breath as I saw the typing bubble and waited for his response.

"Hey, no problem. But, I don't think we should speak. The feud between our packs is too intense." I read his message.

My heart sunk. I turned off my phone. I rubbed my eyes and exited the bathroom. I bumped into Carol again, and we left school. I needed to take a break.

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