Page 34 of The Wolf's Bullied Mate
She blushed a deep shade of red and bit her lip. Oh, how I had wanted to kiss her back then. I almost leaned in and did it that day. Suddenly, though, her eyes got this faraway look. She stared at me, not seeing me, her mouth gaping open like she was frozen in time.
I understood what was happening because my parents had once told me that rare wolf shifters exhibited psychic traits. They could see visions of the future. Still, knowing that Pauline was a psychic and witnessing her in a trance during a vision scared me more than I could admit.
When she came back to herself, she was out of breath as if she had run a marathon. She leaned more against the tree.
“Wow, you really are a freak,” I said. “You-”
I was interrupted by a girl’s voice. “There you are, Oliver,” the girl in question, Candice, leaned herself on my arm. Despite the number of times I had told her to stop, she still kept touching me like this, even in front of Pauline. I didn’t want Pauline to get the wrong impression by seeing me with ‘another woman’ just because Candice couldn’t take a hint.
“With her again?” Candice prolonged the ‘her,’ huffing at Pauline.
Pauline’s shoulders slumped. She looked defeated, as if something painful had struck her heart.
“Mr. Smith is looking for you, Oliver,” Candice said, pulling at my arm. “He said to come to talk to him right now.”
“Alright,” I said. “We’ll talk later,” I waved at Pauline.
From then on, I noticed a shift in my friends’ behavior toward Pauline. Nobody said anything odd to her when I was around, but I felt they were avoiding or ignoring her more. I had few chances to help Pauline socialize though because Mr. Smith entrusted me with an interesting project—helping him repair some old electronics. He was the one who had first taught me how to tinker with old radios.
I became so engrossed in the exciting hobby that I ended up with little time for Pauline. When I did have time to see her, it became harder to find her. She was never at her usual spot during breaks, and she ignored my messages.
Finally, the day came when she moved to another pack. I ended up being the last to find out. By the time I knew, she was already gone.
Not talking more to Pauline before she left had always been my biggest regret. She was my wife now, though—she wouldn’t suddenly disappear from my life ever again.
Could it be that Candice had told others I had called Pauline a ‘freak’ and the name had spread by accident? I hadn’t meant anything malicious by using that term. I had just wanted to tease her, though I had to admit my choice of words hadn’t exactly been… subtle. Then again, ‘subtle’ wasn’t a word usually associated with high school boys.
I wasn’t looking to excuse my behavior, though.
I needed to find out the truth—from Pauline, not these guys.
“There is a strict no-bullying policy in the pack,” I repeated to the three enforcers in my commanding tone. “If I ever witness you calling anybody names again, there will be hell to pay.”
The three nodded, accepting my order.
“Now, if you’ll excuse us,” I said, gesturing for Pauline and Ray to head in the direction of our home.
Pauline was completely pale. Ray gave her a worried glance but said nothing.
I didn’t talk to them until we arrived home.
“Ray, please go upstairs. I need to talk to your mom,” I smiled at the boy.
“Is Momma in trouble?” He looked at me, wide-eyed.
I frowned. “No, she’s not. Why would you say that?”
“Because Grandma and Grandpa-” he started, but Pauline interrupted him.
“Ray, go upstairs,” she said in an emotionless tone.
Ray nodded and ran up the stairs.
I gave Pauline a worried look when he was out of hearing range. “Do you want to sit down?”
“That may be a good idea.” She sounded tired.
Pauline sat on the couch, and I sat down next to her.
