Penelope's POV
Hurry up! Come on, Penelope!
My mind was screaming.
Adjacent to the bushes, a few lamps stood awkwardly. The weak light only lit up a few corners. I ran as fast as I could down this empty road, like an antelope being chased by a cheetah, using all my strength to avoid this fatal blow.
Shit! I wished I had found this earlier.
I could smell things a little better than a human could, but not nearly as well as a real werewolf. If I had a wolf, I would be able to avoid Scott because I would be able to pick up that smell much faster.
But I didn't have anything, so I could only run away like a lost dog.
There wasn't enough oxygen in my lungs, so they felt like they were going to burst. All I could do was open my mouth wide and take deep breaths to try to get more air.
So tired...
I didn't dare stop, though.
I could always hear rustling in the woods behind me, so I knew Scott was not more than 100 meters away. If I stopped, he would undoubtedly engulf me completely.
About 200 meters from home...
As I quickly turned the corner, I saw the warm glow of lights coming from the house at the end of my line of sight. This made my heart sink a little.
That was my house, and someone was there.
Even though they knew Scott and I were close, no one came to help me.
A sour taste rushed to the front of the nose.
No, Penelope, this wasn't the time to cry, so I bit my lower lip hard.
The sound behind me got closer and closer until it was almost like Scott's breath was right next to my ear. My scalp began to tingle, and I didn't think about what I was doing and just charged forward.
All of a sudden, a stone on the side of the road tripped me up, and my whole body was thrown forward strongly because of inertia.
I WAS DOOMED.
I shut my eyes before I fell, not even thinking about how to protect myself. All I could think about was whether I could just pass out from the fall. For me, losing consciousness would be preferable to Scott catching me.
"Ah!"
A sharp pain shot through my brain as I lay on the ground. I couldn't help but groan in pain. I slowly opened my eyes, but Scott wasn't there.
How could no one be there? Scott didn't show up.
When I smelled, I could smell both the metallic smell of my own blood and the faint smell of sweat.
Scott did show up, but it was not clear why he left.
I was safe, though.
I quickly propped myself up with my hands and crawled my way home in case Scott could go back.
I never used the front door of the house to avoid my family. Instead, I always went in through the back door and up to my room in the attic. But for some reason today, I changed my mind, and now I want to enter through the front door.
Laughter came from inside before I even opened the door. As soon as I took a big breath, I felt tingling at the tip of my nose again.
Love me at least once...
As I tried to swallow, I turned the doorknob and saw my mother, Sophia Woods, my stepbrother, Austin Woods, and my stepsister, Emma Woods, laughing and having dinner together.
Everyone stopped what they were doing and went quiet as soon as they saw me. Three seconds later, though, they all turned away at the same time and went back to talking as if I had never been there.
I stood still and looked straight at my mother. Tears came to my eyes right away.
Please do not cry, Penelope. No one here cared about the loser's tears. In spite of that, I couldn't stop crying.
I quickly ran back to my room, locking the door behind me as if I was fleeing from zombies in a post-apocalyptic world. This five-square-meter room was so small that not even a real closet could fit.
Compared to their stepbrother and stepsister, my mother was more like their mother.
No one knew that both my mom and I used to have brown hair. After she moved in with the Woods family, she changed her hair to blonde. No one has seen her with brown hair since.
Few people remember how, four years ago, my mom held me close and stroked my hair while calling me her "sweet heart." After I lost the wolf, though, everything changed.
The years that used to be bright but were now feeling dark and cold were even worse than the light that has never been seen.
As I wiped my tears away with the back of my hand, my palm hurt very badly. I then noticed that various sizes of gravel had scraped my hands and knees. Some of the gravel was even oozing blood.
It got scraped when I fell.
"Penelope."
The pain didn't bother me when I heard my name called. I quickly wiped my face and opened the door.
"Dad."
Charles Woods was my stepfather. He was tall and strong. His thick, golden hair was still as lush as ever, even though he was middle-aged. Those deep green eyes hid things I would never understand. He didn't seem surprised when he saw how dirty I looked; he had seen me like that before and never asked why.
"I heard your school is about to report the prom," he said, referring to the ending of high school. "When the time comes, just say you're not feeling well, and your mom will help you ask the teacher for leave."
"Yes, Dad." I bowed my head and toned down my voice to make it sound like I wasn't crying.
After I turned 14, my dad told me over and over, "Never go to any parties or gatherings, and never show up in front of other people." I was the only one in my alpha family who didn't have a wolf, which made my presence a shame.
Dad nodded in satisfaction and turned to leave. I looked up and saw Emma standing at the corner of the stairs, staring down at me with an arrogant smile. She changed her face right away when Charles saw her, though, and became the obedient daughter she usually was.
"Dad. The prom is coming," Emma said softly as she took her father's hand. "I like the new Chanel dress. Could you get it for me?"
"Of course, I'll give my baby anything she wants."
"Thank you!" Emma kissed Charles on the cheek and said, "You are the best dad in the world!"
I shut the door before the tears came back because my eyes were getting hot.
No need to worry, Penelope. You were used to it.
Ring, ring, ring.
I wiped my tears away before picking up the phone when it rang.
"Hey, Mia..."
"Penelope! Heard it?"
"No. Why?"
"It's just... What's wrong with your voice? Are You Tearing Up? Did they pick on you again?"
"No, just a bit of rhinitis."
"Well... okay." Mia answered with doubt, but she changed the topic: "Just now I heard from Ryan that Zayn is going to the prom before he leaves!"
What? Did I get it right? Would Zayn be going to prom?
"You mean..." I paused.
"Yes! Zayn, your crush, is going to prom! He's going to Europe after prom, so Penelope, come with me! That's the last time you can see him!"
When I was about to say yes, a sharp pain in my hand brought me back to the present. I thought about my dad and my family, who didn't want me to be in public.
"Sorry, Mia, I don't think I can make it."
"It's not just prom, Penelope," Mia said all of a sudden in the calm, low voice she always used when she meant business. "Would you like to be in your room by yourself? Penelope, you're 18 years old now. Now is the time to live. We can keep it quiet if you're afraid your family will find out, okay?"
I was speechless for a moment because I didn't know what to say. Mia was right. I needed to go live my life now. No one would have seen me coming if I had been quiet, mixed in with the crowd, and only caught a glimpse of Zayn from afar.
"All right, Mia. I'll do it, I promise. In secret."
No one would know.