I walked out of the school, with Mara following me in silence. She hadn't uttered a word since the hallway incident, so I was hopeful she would finally respond once we were alone. "Okay, start explaining!" I demanded, dropping my bag on the ground without caring that it might need cleaning when I got home. "I don't know what to say when you're giving me that judgmental look," she pouted, crossing her arms over her chest. "Mara, it's not that simple. This isn't just some funny, silly mistake, and now you're acting all cute about it. First of all, why my mate? Why were you flirting with him?" I asked, mustering the courage to bring up the painful topic of my mate and her involvement. Each time I talked about my mate and her, it hurt. "Seriously, that's the story he came up with? No wonder you look so angry with me," she smiled and shook her head, seemingly acting as though she felt sorry for me for believing Enzo's lies. "I saw the text conversation between you two, Mara!" I declared, folding my arms and tapping my foot, making sure she felt the weight of my gaze. "Oh! He promised he deleted everything," she grumbled to herself, not because she felt guilty for continuously lying to me, but because Enzo had also lied to her. "When they say they'll delete, they never do. But is that all you're worried about? You don't think you owe me an explanation or an apology?" I was taken aback by the way she seemed to be avoiding taking responsibility for any of her actions. "It's not like you two are in love with each other. I told you to accept him, and you repeatedly said you'd never do that. So why are you so upset? Didn't you dislike Enzo?" She defended herself, questioning my moral standards and my loyalty to our friendship. "It doesn't matter. He's my mate, and you're my friend. Even if I set aside your relationship with him, I can't ignore the other issues. You could have told me at least once, or better yet, you know what you shouldn't have done? You shouldn't have lied to me about him blackmailing and harassing you," I muttered, my heart aching due to the deception she had caused. She remained silent, taking in everything and understanding why my anger was escalating. "That's the problem. I was actually going to tell you, but then he blackmailed me with the video I foolishly made with him in the bathroom. I may have lied about other things, but believe me, he was using that video to blackmail me. He threatened to show it to everyone and then ridicule me for making out with my friend'smate. That's when it hit me hard that you would never forgive me," she admitted, her voice faltering. Her posture slumped, and she hugged herself tightly. I didn't know what to think or how to make sense of it all. Her skillful lies in that classroom had made it hard to trust her now. "What's on your mind? You don't seem very worried about me anymore," she said, her voice filled with sadness, burying her head in her hands. "I have to go," I excused myself, leaving her in shock. "Cynthia!" She called out for me, but I quickened my pace, determined to distance myself from her. I didn't want to get caught up in any more of her deceptions. It pained me to think that she had used me for some mysterious motive. What did she gain from getting Enzo and Atticus into detention? Enzo must have provoked her considerably, but that still didn't justify her lies. I kept my head low as I approached the bus station. When I noticed Jack heading toward the same bus station with his friends, I quickly changed my route. I had been walking home to save bus fare all these days, so it wasn't a big deal for me. I managed to push the school incident out of my mind and kept walking, not paying attention until I saw a car speeding directly in my direction like a bullet. I sensed something was amiss because I recognized the car--it was Enzo's vehicle. I knew that if he saw me now, he'd get me into serious trouble. So, I started sprinting up the hills, hoping to reach home before he spotted me. What I didn't realize was that he wasn't just driving around; he was actively looking for me. And once he did spot me, I was chased down by his car, which screeched to a halt in front of me. Enzo emerged from the car, his face twisted in annoyance and rage. "What have you done?" he yelled when he reached me. I stepped back, but I wasn't fast enough, and he caught me instantly. He grabbed my arms and pulled me closer to his chest. "You've ruined his chances of winning this competition," he shouted, referring to Atticus. "Why were you blackmailing her?" I mustered the courage to raise my voice, even though I was extremely frightened of him. "I wasn't," he yelled back, not willing to listen to my side of the story. "Now, you're coming with me to the principal, and you'll tell him that you and your deceitful friend planned this together to get us in trouble." He didn't give me a chance to respond and forcibly dragged me toward his car. The more I struggled to free myself from his grip, the tighter his hold on my arm became. He pushed me into the car, but I quickly leaped out from the other side. "I'm not going to do that! It's a lie!" I yelled, sprinting toward the main road, hoping that someone would witness an alpha harassing a she-wolf. "You think you can outrun me?" He caught up to me incredibly fast and grabbed me again. "You accused us of recording and blackmailing you girls, right? How about I actually do it now?" His hurried words sent a chill down my spine. "I guess you're right," he remarked, noticing my fear. He saw it as a way to resolve the situation. "I'll damn well blackmail you with whatever I record now and give a new statement to the principal," he said with a smug look on his face, seemingly content with this plan.