CHAPTER ONE — "Invisible"
Rylan stared at the holographic notes floating above his desk, but none of the words made sense. Not even one. His mind kept circling the same questions over and over again.
Why hasn't he called?
Why hasn't he texted?
Did I do something wrong?
For the last three days, the Alpha who once held him so tightly suddenly vanished from his life. No explanations. No replies. Just silence. Heavy, suffocating silence.
The lecture hall buzzed with chatter, chairs scraping as students packed up for the next period. Rylan didn't move. He kept staring at the glowing screen even after it flickered off.
Maybe his schedule changed.
Maybe he lost his phone.
Maybe he's just busy—
He sighed. Even he didn't believe that.
He grabbed his bag and stepped into the hallway, still lost in thought. Which was exactly why he didn't see the shoulder slamming toward him.
"Move, idiot."
A hard shove sent him stumbling forward. His knees hit the ground with a painful crack, and his palms scraped the tiled floor.
Gasps.
Snickers.
A round of low laughter rippled through the hallway.
Rylan blinked, dazed, and looked up—
—and froze.
Standing over him was his own brother, Seth Hale. A Beta. A bully. And their parents' favorite child by a long, impossible stretch.
Rylan swallowed hard.
"S-Sorry… I didn't see—"
Before he could finish, SLAP!
His head jerked to the side from the blow.
A bright sting spread across his cheek, but he didn't move. He didn't fight back. He never did. He couldn't. If he so much as defended himself, his parents would make sure he regretted it.
Being an Omega in the Hale family meant only one thing:
be quiet, be small, exist without being seen.
"Watch where you're going," Seth sneered, lifting his shoe. "Look what you did. You stained them."
Rylan looked at the tiny speck of dirt. It wasn't even noticeable.
His wolf growled inside him, furious.
We can take him.
One shove and he'll be crying on the floor.
We are not weak.
But Rylan whispered back internally, We can't. You know we can't. Unless you want us both dead.
He lowered his head.
"Clean it."
The embarrassment sank deep into his bones. But he still kneeled and wiped the shoe with his sleeve while the hallway erupted in laughter.
To them, it was entertainment.
To him, it was routine.
When he finally stood up, face burning, vision blurry, he caught a glimpse of something—a tall shadow at the far end of the corridor. Broad shoulders. Familiar posture.
His heart skipped.
The Alpha?
He blinked, looked again—
—but the shadow was gone.
Maybe it was just his imagination. Maybe he wanted so badly to see him that his mind was playing tricks.
Rylan forced a small, shaky breath.
He adjusted his bag.
And like always, he pretended nothing happened.
Because humiliation was normal.
Being ignored was normal.
Being unloved was normal.
He simply continued walking down the hallway as if the world hadn't just laughed at him… as if his heart wasn't already breaking.