Chapter Three
The conversation kept up the entire ride to school. That's if you can consider Lydia and Tameka going back and forth with each other since I'd long excluded myself from their exploration of the hundred and one possible reasons Jason might have had for rejecting me. They'd inadvertently given me something new to think about but I wasn't interested in speculations, as soon as I was able to, I'll find out his reasons myself.
"What did your mom say?" Tameka suddenly asked and while I'd have preferred a complete change of conversation I was grateful for the change in direction.
"That she'd, turn him into a snake." She refused to tell me when, where, or for how long she'd do so"
"Oh my god!" they both gasp and then dissolve into an explosion of laughter.
"You're going to let her." Lydia manages to get out.
"It's my Mom Lydia, you've met her, and what do you think?"
Tameka added something, but even though her laughter had died down to giggles it still came out incoherently. I was pretty sure I heard Jason's name and mention of his private parts.
"What did you just say?"
"I said she should disarticulate his penis so he can't be with anyone else." I glare at the back of her head trying not to laugh. A few minutes ago they were making excuses for him and now they want my mom to castrate him, like seriously, I must have missed something.
"That's a little harsh," Lydia chipped in. "Maybe she could make a potion that will make it turn green every time he goes to use it with someone that's not Payton."
"That's a good one!" Tameka piped in and this time I joined in the laughter, mine was more of a sarcastic variety. I couldn't decide if it was coincidence or irony that my mom was making a pigment potion yesterday and now Lydia was talking about turning Jason's third leg green.
"He's still your alpha you know."
"We know." They chorused and I let out an exasperated sigh, "why do I even bother?"
"Lydia for the love of all that is holy and my sanity, please don't let my mom hear you say something like that. "You know how she gets and while I appreciate you guys trying to make me feel better, I'm going to tell you the same thing I told my mom. "I'm not sad nor am I upset, so please believe me when I say I'm fine".
"You guys knew I'd never held out much hope of having a mate so it doesn't matter that he rejected me." Considering who my mate turned out to be, I was now, shockingly curious to know his reason for rejecting me. Jason and I grew up together, our fathers were best friends so naturally so were we, at one point anyways. He started avoiding me after my Dad died, then just stop talking to me over time. Had my mate been anyone else I would understand, I was a hybrid and hybrids were just as taboo in the supernatural world as rejecting one's mate.
The remaining thirty-minute of the drive was completed, in comfortable silence this time. The radio just above a whisper. When we finally pulled into the school parking lot, I was the first to get out of the car. The minute my feet touch the ground I could sense everyone's eyes on me, yet again. When my friend joined me we made our way to our usual spot where we hang out before school started. For me, that was to my tree to read and for them another group of friends with whom I have no affiliations. They were all going to go blue in the face waiting for me to break, that's just never going to happen especially over something ridiculously insignificant.
I had back-to-back AP Math this morning and was now running late for my AP Chemistry class. I was distracted by putting my books in my bag when I bumped into a solid surface, which was too warm to be the door. It made me stumble and almost fall but I caught myself, rather the solid surface reached out and grabbed my arm to stop me from falling.
It was like a domino effect, everything happened so fast. The minute their skin touched mine it started burning. It felt like blood vessels were erupting beneath my skin.
Instinct kicked in and I grabbed onto the arm holding me then dropped down into a split using the momentum to bring whoever it was down with me. I leaned my body into theirs on my way down and they went flying over my head, landing on their back. I quickly got to my feet rubbing my arm when I realized there was no pain. Instead, there was warmth and awareness. I looked down at my opponent and got the surprise of my life when I saw Jason spiral on his back, wide-eyed and pissed. It was an interesting look, to say the least.
"Alpha Reed! I'm so sorry. I didn't know it was you." Can it be considered playing dumb when you really didn't know right? I raised my hand on either side of my head giving him the universal sign for...I surrender... then back away. When I looked in the halls behind us, no one seems to have seen what happened. Thankful for their distracted minds I held out my hand to help him up but he just growled under his breath at me.
"I told you to stay the fuck away from me, and I don't need your fucking help," he growls again and stood to his feet. "I should rip your throat out for this!" he snarled in a chilling tone drawing a few people's attention. Lowering my head in submission I backed up once more, something that pissed me off. If he knew the things I could do to him with just a few wordplays he would be the one submitting. To make matters worse I was now more than a little late for my Chemistry class. Maybe my mom sending him the shadows wasn't such a bad idea after all.
"Sorry again Alpha Reed, I have to go."
I dived to the left as fire shot out of my mother's hands toward me. Today we're practicing elements, and I love it. I had wind and water control down and I've almost fully grasped the earth element. What has got me in a twist is fire. Fire takes a tremendous amount of concentration and control. Then there's the matter of which incantation to use for the level and intensity of fire you wanted.
I was pulled from my thoughts when red, and yellow flames roared in my direction missing me by inches as I rolled out of the way. A little slower and I'd have been a cooked goose.
"Concentrate, Payton!"
"It's hard to concentrate when you keep shooting fireballs at me and won't give me time to breathe mom," I whined,
"Oh, is that so? So when someone's trying to kill you, that's what you're going to say? You think they'll stop and give you time to catch your breath?" She shouted.
Fireballs kept barreling toward me even as she yelled at me. I was so surprised that my mother had actually, yelled at me that I wasn't reacting fast enough. Out of breath and trying to stay on my feet, I started to whisper a spell to conjure up a windstorm. My reaction time wasn't fast enough and one of the balls of fire caught the sleeves of my training shirt, I swatted at the fire but it just wouldn't go out. The only protection from the flames my skin had was quickly eaten away and the fire was now eating away at my skin.
I realize that my mother had altered the spell and it wasn't going to stop burning and swatting at it only made it worse. I don't know how I was able to push through the pain which was making it harder to concentrate to quickly and precisely as I possibly could recite an incantation. The earth at my feet raised and wrapped itself around my arms. I repeated the spell and again the earth tightened around my arms, effectively putting out the fire. I fell to my knees, breathing hard.
Once I release the spell the dirt fell away from my arms. The damage wasn't as bad as I'd expected it to be but it still hurt like a motherfu****. The annoyed look on my mom's face told me she was disappointed with me and frankly so was I.
"It took you long enough."
"Sorry, mom," I mumbled
"What's gotten into you, child? You need to focus, we only have a couple of weeks left before you turn eighteen and get your full powers, not knowing how to control them is not an option Payton," she scolded sternly. "I know you're hurt from your mate's rejection bu-
"Mom I couldn't care less about that idiot and wha-."
"Don't interrupt me child or I'll turn you into a pumpkin."
"Sorry."
"I'm your mother sweetheart; I know when my baby's hurting. The fact that your wolf is still asleep tells me that, she came over and hugged me, "it's okay to be sad love but you can't let that distract you from training, not now, okay?.
"Okay."
"Let's go get you healed up, and talk about waking your wolf, I think now is the perfect time to learn the balance between your two halves." She kissed my forehead before releasing me and walking away. I translate the statement to your going to do what I say before you mess up again and I get really mad.