Graduation had been as exciting as I expected, Mum and Dad sat their proudly. I achieved high grades, amazingly considering the last few months…I think I was lucky this had happened now and not earlier in my school time or else I think my grades would have suffered….., I had thought my graduation pictures would have been Logan and I smiling happily next to each other, like out first school photos were… instead he was there with Anya…, So Mum and Dad took plenty of pictures of me, pictures with them, and took some pictures with Deyton, Stu, Leon and Rob, seeing as Indie, my only other real friend in pack was in work, and now seeing as in recent months nobody really spoke with me., This was not how I had imagined Graduation…, Our parents left and the party began, I had bought myself a midnight blue mini dress, with a halter neck neckline, and some matching coloured wedged heels. My long hair was loose in its natural waves as that was the way I preferred to wear it., My mum and Dad had bought me a beautiful necklace with a Blue stone the same colour as my eyes sat at the tip of a crescent moon as a gift to wear today. And matching earrings which were stones of the same beautiful blue., True to their words Dey, Stu, Rob and Leon did not invite a date, which I still felt bad for them, but they said they were happy to get to spend time with me tonight instead…sure they’re lying but I appreciate them all the same…., The official photographer that had been hired was here so I stood with each of my friends individually to get Prom style pictures with them, the photographer admittedly seemed puzzled, why I was having pictures with each of them. Then we chose to have one with the group of us. I think he figured then we were all friends., I would look forward to seeing the photographs and the guys all said they would too. They were doing amazingly as being pretend dates for me tonight., WHORING YOURSELF OUT TO FOUR UPCOMING WARRIORS TONIGHT ARE YOU LILAH?! Anya suddenly links me out of nowhere., Great… is this what I am going to have all night?! My eyes are darting around the party trying to locate her but I cant see her, she has to be around…, “hey Li, you ok?” Dey said offering me a drink of beer., “hmmm yeah yeah..” I nod., The party is picking up, the music is getting louder and I can see my fellow students enjoying themselves, dancing, laughing and drinking…, Logan walks across the grass looking directly at me, I look away to my friends “help me please, I think I want to go home” I say., I see them look to where I had been looking., “he isn’t getting near you tonight Lilah, not a chance..” Leon reassured me, YOU LOOK BEAUTIFUL BABY… WISH IT WAS ME YOU WERE WITH…Logan links., I think he has been drinking.. a fair amount too…. As werewolves we have the ability to be able to drink in larger quantities than your average human and it have less of an effect on us, so for him to be slurring words during mind link he had to have had a fair amount already…, “Lilah…” Logan spoke, trying to push away the guys to get to me…he was definitely tipsy… probably more than that…, “dude go away, you have a mate.. this isn’t fair on Lilah..” Deyton spoke, standing in front of Logan., “Lilah wanted me to be her date to graduation, we always planned it. I am here for her despite everything that has been said, all the stuff she does. It doesn’t bother me…she is still my Lilah” he slurred., Wait… all the stuff I do? All the stuff that’s been said?! What does that mean?!, “go away Logan” Stuart was now moving him away “go find your mate. Lilah doesn’t want you”, “Lilah will always want me….” Logan slurs, just as Anya marches across., f*****g perfect timing…., “Logan, have you been drinking again?” she demands giving the guys then me a dirty look, before grabbing Logan’s hand and dragging him away., Again? Is he drinking regularly now? He never used to…., YOU’LL PAY FOR THIS BITCH.. HIM SHOWING ME UP BECAUSE OF YOU… AGAIN… Anya mind links me, I see her look back toward me with a snarl on her face. Wonderful….., “come on hun lets get some drinks” Rob suggests to me., “what did they mean?” I demand, all four of them look down., they know something… they must do…. They have heard something…, “what stuff that has been said? What stuff that I do?” I look to them, desperately., “Lilah…. Its probably better you don’t know..” Stuart looks at me awkwardly., “no, that’s not fair, if things are said about me I should know, right?” I ask “you said you’re my friends… friends would tell me…”, “right come over here, where its quieter at least….” Deyton said with a sigh, leading me to the picnic area to the side of the field where the party is taking place. The same field Logan’s birthday party had taken place a few months earlier., I follow him, and sit myself down, dreading what I am about to hear, and I have a feeling that I know who will be behind this already….., “look Lilah, I’m sorry ok…” Leon says avoiding eye contact with me as he sits down too. This isn’t looking good…, “just say what you need to, I just want to know at this point” I tell them., “theres been some rumours I guess you’d call them going round school….” Deyton starts, “or pack… as my ma had heard some too” Rob adds., Oh f*****g great, not just s**t going round school, its around pack…that’s on a whole worse level…could explain why people avoid me I suppose….., I nod….waiting…, “stuff like you are trying to make Logan take you as a chosen mate and reject Anya…. That you keep pursuing him trying to get him to take you back… that you tried to kill Anya so he would pick you….” Stuart started……, what the hell?! I haven’t done any of them!! Who would even believe any of that?!, “you see me around them, I avoid them, I have done none of those things!” I say, tears building in my eyes., “we know that hun…” Deyton says, putting his arm around me., “it gets worse though hun” Rob starts “I’d heard you had been stalking Logan… stalking Anya…. Heard you parents are getting you tested because they are concerned you’re going crazy because of him not being your mate…” my mouth dropped open in shock…, this was disgusting…. Why would she do this!? This had to be her…, “that isn’t true!” I sob. Deyton hugs me harder., “we know. Just other people seem to believe rumours… I’d heard you’d seduced Logan into sleeping with you….in hopes you’d get pregnant so he’d have to take you as a chosen mate over Anya…” Leon spoke “plus there has been lots of rumours you are sleeping with us to make him jealous”, I cant hold back the tears any longer. This is disgusting.. they have said some of the nastiest things about me… accused me of being crazy… and questioned my honour too….., no wonder people avoid me… wait.. that’s why they did it.. this is how she plans to get people to hate me.. how she plans to get people to stay away from me… and I doubt she was anywhere near stopping…what if this stuff got back to my Mum and Dad??!…., The disappointment… the upset they’d feel….. the shame…. If Alpha Greyson found out….. I could be kicked out…., “I haven’t done any of those things… why would they say that!” I sob., “We know that. I’d like to think deep down others in the pack know that too. It’s just gossip. We didn’t want to tell you and hurt you even more Lilah” Deyton squeezed me tighter. “I was in the woods running the day you found out Logan was not your mate… when he found you at the waterfall… I was coming to help but he got there… I saw how broken you were… that’s why I want to make sure you are ok Lilah…it scared me…” he admitted., So that’s why he had chosen to be a friend for me…, “Thank you” I whisper between sobs “I think I want to go home now.”, “I’ll take you.” He looks to me ” You guys stay and have a drink. I’ll come back in a bit” Deyton tells his friends., We walk away from the party, I feel empty… this isn’t how I imagined graduating would be…. How I would feel…., “I’m sorry Del” Deyton smiles sadly to me, as we cross the field., “Me too. Seems to be the way my life seems to be going though Dey. Thanks for being there though, don’t know why you have to be fair…” I admit., as considering everything I had heard and the fact Logan was the upcoming Alpha it would have been easier for them to have done what everyone else had done and shown their loyalty to him and avoided me., “I see the way he still looks at you Del, the way he gets jealous if another guy is near, comments he makes about you, he acts like you’re still his girl, it bothers me… when he met his mate that should have been it… I know it had to be hell for you both because it wasn’t what you expected but when you meet your mate they are meant to be your everything so it makes me sick he keeps you hanging…I hear him making jokes he could have you both and I want to hurt him… Stu said the same.. that’s not right when you got a mate… we’re not brought up to think like that of our mate bonds…we were always close growing up Lilah, I hated seeing you struggle, and then seeing him act the way he did there was no choice to make whose side I was on, the guys said the same thing. I don’t know who is sick enough to be spreading that s**t about you but we know it’s not true” Deyton explains to me as we stroll onto the streets of the pack, walking further away from the party., I realise just how lucky I am to have the guys as my friends… they maybe see what Logan has been like…, “I wish more people knew it wasn’t true… you’d think they knew me better than that!” I sigh. He throws his arm around me as we walk., “Ah well here’s to a **ty gradation. Let’s hope the future holds bigger and better things for you Lilah, you sure deserve them!” He smiles at me. I smile back., Here’s hoping, but I had a feeling things were likely to get a whole lot worse……, Search the website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.