The chocolate drink was still hot when it hit me. I felt the brown liquid run down, from the crown of my head, thick and sticky as it rolled down my face onto my shoulders.
My eyes were squeezed shut as the liquid soaked every nook and cranny. It dripped from my chin onto my worn-out hoodie.
For one impossible moment, there was absolute silence in the Cafeteria.
My eyes remained shut, my breath shaky, and my chest tightened, a familiar ache that I was quite used to.
Not again, please
Then, suddenly, an outburst of laughter, followed by giggles and loud snorts.
It started with Eleora, it always did. Her laughter was high-pitched, and within seconds, the whole cafeteria had joined in. The entire place was filled with hoots and howls and the scrape of chairs as people stood for a better view.
A fist banged on the table in delight
Another person whistled
"Oh my God,"
Celeste's voice cut through all of the chaos "Did you see her face?"
"Just like a melted chocolate bar!" Zane added, his loud guffaws making my shoulders hunch.
My eyes remained shut as I willed my hands to stop shaking. The hot chocolate continued to drip onto my shoulders and down my chest, pooling in the hollow of my collarbone before sliding further down. My clothes were completely soaked, the fabric clinging tightly to my skin.
I wanted to melt into my chair and disappear.
Breathe. Just breathe.
But everything hurt. Each inhale felt like shards of glass down my throat.
"Aww, is the sad little omega going to cry?" Eleora's voice echoed, saccharine sweet and dripping with false concern.
I finally forced my eyes open.
She stood directly in front of me, the devil herself, with her empty thermos dangling from her perfectly manicured fingers.
Platinum blonde hair fell in flawless waves over her shoulders, and those baby blue eyes sparkled with malicious glee. Her lips curved into a sinister grin.
She was dressed in the Moonstone High cheer uniform, navy blue and silver, as pristine as always.
Everything about her screamed perfect, expensive, and powerful.
She was everything I wasn't, everything I could never be.
"Well?" Eleora pressed, leaning closer. Her perfume wafted up my nostrils, something floral, mixed with the chocolate scent, and it made me sick.
"Cat got your tongue, mutt?"
Tears filled my eyes. Don't cry. Don't give her the satisfaction.
"I...I..." My voice was hoarse and barely above a whisper. I steeled myself and tried again, tilting my chin up even as the chocolate dripped from my jaw. "What did I ever do to you, Eleora?"
I shouldn't have said that.
Her eyes flashed, and that pretty face twisted into an ugly sneer.
"What did you do?" She laughed hysterically, but it held no amusement.
"You exist. And for some reason, you're allowed to breathe the same air as us. You contaminate this school with your weakness."
"She's absolutely right," Celeste chimed in, appearing like a red-haired shadow. "This is the renowned Moonstone Pack territory. Omegas do not belong here. We shouldn't have to be forced to look at one."
"My dad says omegas are genetic defects," Zane chimed in from behind me. I didn't turn around. "Says you should've been killed at birth."
The words struck me like physical blows. I'd heard them before, countless times over the years, but they never stopped hurting, not once, like knives twisting through my heart.
Each insult added to the weight I carried, pressing down on my chest until my breath was labored.
"Maybe we could give her a hand," another voice suggested. Tyler Morrison, a junior and one of Zane's cronies. "Completely put her out of her misery."
The laughter grew, more obnoxious and more excited. I could feel the energy shift, darker. This was how it always began, jokes that got cruel, cruelty that transitioned to violence.
My hands, cold and sweaty, gripped the edge of the lunch table, knuckles white.
The door is fifteen feet away. Count the steps. One, two...
"Just look at her," Eleora's voice cut through my mental escape route. "She's planning to run, as usual. How utterly pathetic."
"Like a scared little rabbit," Celeste cooed.
"More like a sewer rat," Zane corrected. "They scurry with panic when you corner them."
"Let's see if she lets out squeaks when we catch her," Tyler suggested, and the group laughed again.
I can't stay here any longer. Every instinct screamed at me to move, to get somewhere safe. But is there any safe place for me here? The bathroom? They'd follow me. Outside? They'd definitely catch me. My room in the pack house? Everyone knew where I slept. I had no privacy as an omega.
Nowhere was safe. There was nowhere I could call home, not even my shabby little room.
"Nothing to say, rat?" Eleora crouched down, bringing her face level with mine. This close, I could see her makeup, the perfectly applied mascara, the lip gloss that made her lips glisten. "No more clever comebacks? No begging today?"
My eyes met hers. Big mistake.
Something flickered in those blue orbs, satisfaction or maybe hunger. Her lips slowly curled upwards, and my blood ran cold at the sight of it.
"You know what I think?" Eleora whispered to me, quietly enough that only I could hear. "I think you enjoy it. I think some sick, miserable part of you enjoys being our little punching bag, our little rag. Otherwise, why else would you still be here?"
Because I have nowhere else to go. Nowhere to run, no one to protect me or defend me. I'm all alone, I have no one.
The thought left a bitter taste on my tongue. I was an orphan with no pack, no family, no friends, and no money. Alpha Magnus had permitted me to stay in the pack house out of "mercy", his words, not mine. In exchange and to show gratitude, I worked. I cleaned, I cooked, I served. I did everything to make myself useful enough to keep around and invisible enough not to be noticed.
Except I was never truly invisible. Not to them.
"I asked you a question, Omega" Eleora's voice rose, sharp and demanding. Her hand shot out, fingers tangling painfully in my wet soiled hair. She roughly yanked my head back, forcing my head up. A sharp pain read across my scalp. "Why the fuck are you here?"
"Let go," I muttered through gritted teeth.
"Or what?" Her grip was painful. "You'll tell on me? To who? Who would believe a wretched little omega over me? My father is the Beta. Your word means nothing to anyone in this pack."
She was right, always right, unfortunately and that was the worst part, knowing that no matter what they did to me, there would be no punishment. No rescue for a nobody like me.
"Eleora." A voice cut through the cafeteria noise, deep and commanding.
The laughter died instantly and you could hear a pin drop.
Eleora abruptly released my hair, and I nearly sobbed with relief. I didn't need to turn around to recognize his voice. Everyone knew that voice.
Damien Magnus. The future alpha. The one and only person in this school who could make Eleora hesitate.
"Damien!" Eleora's tone transformed, going from cruel to sweet in a heartbeat. "We were just..."
"Making a scene," he said, his voice flat. "Right in the middle of the cafeteria, where all eyes can see."
Heavy footsteps approached. Expensive sneakers, probably from a designer brand appeared in my limited field of vision. I kept my eyes down and head lowered, watching the chocolate drip from my hair onto the floor forming tiny brown puddles.
"She started it," Eleora said, and I could hear the pout in her voice. "The filthy omega was seated at our table...."
There was a long pause. I could feel Damien's gaze on me, heavy and assessing. My skin prickled with awareness, and I could feel something deep in my chest pull tight. It was a feeling that I'd been experiencing more and more lately whenever I was around him, like an invisible string connected us, tagging at my chest whenever he was near.
I loathed it.
"Go clean yourself up," Damien said, and it took a moment for it to register in my mind that he was talking to me. He never acknowledges me. "You're dripping all over the floor."
Not "are you okay." Not "that was wrong." Just a comment about the mess.
Something inside me cracked.
"Yes, Alpha," I used his title even though he hadn't inherited it yet. It was always safer to show respect, to remember my place.
I stood with shaky legs, with my head still down. The chocolate slid down my back, now cold. The cafeteria remained quiet, all eyes observing, waiting.
"And Eleora," Damien carried on, his tone dry. "Try to stay out of drama. Your father has been after mine's neck about presenting a "united, dignified pack" at the summit next month. "This" he gestured vaguely at me, "doesn't look dignified."
Not a reprimand. Just a suggestion about optics. I was disappointed. What else did I expect from him?
"Of course, Damien" Eleora agreed. "I'll make sure it never happens again. At least not where people can see."
Her quiet threat hung in the air and Damien said absolutely nothing to contradict it.
I took a timid step toward the exit. Then another. My worn-out sneakers squeaked quite loudly against the linoleum, interrupting the silence.
"Oh, and omega?" Eleora loudly called out.
I stilled.
"You owe me a new thermos, remember. Thirty dollars."
Thirty dollars. Far more than I made in a week of working in the pack kitchens. Money I'd been saving for.....I didn't even know what. Maybe just the security of having something that was mine, that belonged to only me.
"I'll pay you back," I said quietly.
"Damn right you will," Zane muttered.
I continued walking, faster now. The double doors loomed ahead of me....freedom, somewhere I could completely break down without an audience.
"Walk faster, omega!" someone shouted.
"Run, omega, run!" Another voice, followed by loud snorts.
I refused to run. Running would worsen everything. It would mark me as their prey, and these wolves loved a chase.
The doors swung shut behind me with a soft whoosh as I exited the cafeteria cutting off the laughter and jeers directed towards me. The hallway was blessedly empty due to most students still being at lunch. Fluorescent lights buzzed and the smell of cleaning supplies mixed with the chocolate coating my skin filled my nose.
I made it three steps before I let my knees buckle.
I caught myself against the wall, my palms flat against the cool concrete. My breathing came in short gasps and the tears I'd been holding back for long burned beneath my eyelids, demanding I release them.
Not here. I need to make it to the bathroom.
The ladies bathroom was at the far end of the hall. It felt like miles. I pushed myself off the wall and forced my legs to move, one step at a time. The chocolate leaving a trail behind me with droplets on the floor.
Someone rounded the corner. I froze.
Kade Sterling. The Gamma's son, senior, and a part of the inner circle that included Damien, Eleora, and Zane. He was tall, quite lean, with light brown hair and hazel eyes that I noticed always looked uncomfortable when the bullying got violent.
He stopped when he saw me.
There was a long silence as we stared at each other. I anxiously waited for the insult, the laugh, any cruel remark.
But instead, his eyes dropped to my chocolate covered body. His jaw visibly tightened.
"Eleora?" he asked.
I nodded, not trusting my voice.
Kade's expression flickered, was that...guilt? Or Sympathy? But it disappeared in a flash replaced by a face of neutrality. He reached into his backpack and pulled out a hoodie.
"Here." He held it out, not meeting my eyes. "You can't keep walking around like that."
I stared at the hoodie in his hands, navy blue with the Moonstone High wolf logo on the chest. A kind gesture. The first one in... I couldn't remember how long, probably years.
"Why?" It slipped out before I could stop it.
He flinched. "Just take it."
"If they spot me wearing your hoodie... "
"I'll say I lost it," he interrupted. Just..." He thrust the hoodie into my arms frustrated. "Please. Take it."
My fingers closed around the soft fabric. It was warm from being in his backpack, and it smelled like laundry detergent and something woodsy. It was a comforting smell
"Thank you," I whispered grateful
Kade then looked at me, really looked at me for the first time. His hazel orbs held something I couldn't quite read, pity? Or probably shame.
"I'm sorry, Sera" he said quietly. My eyes widened at his used of my name. I rarely got called by my name. Not many people knew it. Then, before I could respond, he turned and walked away.
I stood there, clutching his hoodie, trying to process what had just occurred. Kade Sterling, who stood by while his friends tormented me, who had never once stopped or stood up for me had just given me his hoodie. Had just apologized.
It made no sense at all. I couldn't wrap my head around it.
But I didn't have time to over analyze it. My hands were still trembling , my vision blurred with unshed tears. I needed to get to the bathroom before someone else found me like this.
The bathroom door was unlocked as I slipped inside and locked it behind me. Finally....finally I could let it all out, let myself break.