Lady and the Wolf [Book One, Lady and the Wolf Series] -Published-

Chapter Fourteen: A Promise Kept

"One... two... three..." she counted, as she always did when she was upset. Normally, by the time she reached one hundred and a sixty, she had calmed down. However, this time was different. This time, it had been Emma who had hurt her.

Aira knew deep down in her heart that she wasn't a normal child. Normal kids didn't wake up screaming in sheer terror from a dream, only to forget what she had been scared of, to begin with. Normal kids didn't see a therapist twice a week or have a speech impediment so severe sometimes you would have a stuttering attack. Most kids weren't adopted, either...

She paced back and forth, just thinking. She continued this for quite some time before finally falling to the floor with her knees to her chest and her head in her hands. She tried not to cry, but the tears slipped down her cheeks as if they had a mind of their own.

It wasn't Emma who had set her off. It was something completely different. She was different, and that was the problem. Aira wanted to be normal... so normal that it killed her.

It didn't help that something was eating her up inside, something she could never tell Emma or Drake. Something that scared her so much, she would rather cover it up than be looked at as anything other than normal. It wasn't her fault! Something had just snapped, and before she could bring herself back, it was too late.

*******

"I'm busy. Can't you think of anything else besides calling me ugly?"

Mackenzie laughed haughtily. "Have you looked in a mirror? Your eyebrows are like caterpillars crawling along your forehead!"

Aira chewed at her bottom lip nervously, contemplating how she would react to the older girl's harsh words. "I-I like the-them."

"She forgot how to talk again," laughed Nathan, a boy who was always at Mackenzie's beck and call, as of late. It was no secret boys liked the pretty Mackenzie Reed, but it hurt that they continuously harassed Aira simply because Mackenzie didn't like her. It was like she was being lynched because of the way she looked and spoke.

However, Aira held her head high and continued to pull her books from her locker. Her only friend, Miranda, stood off on the sidelines pretending like she didn't even register to what was going on. Aira was used to that. She didn't want Miranda to get involved, but she sometimes wished someone would stick up for her. It was sad how sometimes Aira would dream that Van and Aiden would miraculously return and put these kids in their place.

But that's all they were; dreams. She could keep dreaming until the cows came home, but it would still be the same.

"Ugly."

"Weird."

"Loser."

The names still hurt even after two months of continuously hearing them spat at her. She suddenly didn't like middle school anymore. She learned the rules pretty quickly, and after two weeks of sitting by herself and talking to teachers on lunch break to pass the time, Miranda had said hello to her in English class. It wasn't a very verbal friendship, but it was a friendship all the same. Miranda was the first friend Aira ever had. Aira was awkward, and Mackenzie took advantage of it.

She didn't deny it when Mackenzie took a stab at her self-worth. Aira continued to smile because she knew out of all those hurtful comments, no one could tell her she was worthless. That was something she would never believe.

Before Aira knew it, a couple of more students had crowded around. Some were Mackenzie's friends, and some were just people walking by. The onslaught of hurtful comments continued, but she ignored it.