Ember's eyes widened in shock.
That's why I noticed some students whispering while I was passing the hallway. It's because of this! She thinks while her eyes are on the photos on the announcement board.
In the photo, she and Jayden are kissing. That was taken yesterday in her secret hangout. Someone must have spied on them. Ember figured it out. She felt like she was shrinking in humiliation.
'How could you be ambitious? Seriously, Jayden Luca? Huh?'
'You're just a plaything to him!'
'Don't get high hopes! Ugly, lowly wolf!'
Ember stepped back. A group of mean girls was coming to her. Taunting her. She expects they will punish her for this!
One of the female wolves grabs her hair. 'Listen, Omega, if you want these pictures to go away, meet us later in the stable!' the leader of the bully she-wolves whispered to her face.
Then they ruined her uniform and her stuff, and they slammed her on the wall after. Ember was waiting for Jayden. She was hoping to hear his voice to speak out of the crowd and interrupt her pain, but there was none. This is the first time that he hasn't come to her rescue. Amidst the humiliation, she was wondering where Jayden could be.
What they said may not be true. I hope so. She thinks.
When it was break time, Ember searched for Jayden on the school campus. But she learned that he was absent today, which made her wonder even more.
'Today is Jayden's acceptance to the Alpha Club, right?'
'Yeah, let's watch; maybe there's some enticing scene.'
Ember overheard two giggling students in the corridor. She wondered for she just heard about that Alpha Club thing. Jayden had not said anything to her about that.
I thought we were friends, but why didn't Jayden tell me about it? She thought to himself.
Later, she learned that they were right; Jayden was with the Alpha Club right now. They were in their secret hideaway near the school. She knows that place. And so she decided to sneak in there, not knowing it was her who'd get a surprise in the end.
'Why are you already in love with that ugly Omega?'
Ember heard one of the Alphas asking Jayden. From afar, she's sure it was Jayden whom they were talking to.
'What? Jayden Luca? Do you pity her?'
Then she heard all of them laughing.
'Remember, that girl was just a bet! A bet you need to win for initiation here!' someone said.
Hearing all those, Ember's eyes widened in shock.
She felt like her knees were weakening as tears welled up in her eyes. She now realizes why Jayden didn't come to her rescue today because today is the day he'll get accepted to the club. He's already done with her! She couldn't control her pain so she sobbed loudly, catching the attention of the Alphas, and of Jayden. Now they know that she's here and that she heard all that they said.
'Ember!' Jayden called her. His face was shocked.
He wanted to explain, but before he could get near Ember, she had already run away. He wanted to go after her, but then one of his fellow Alphas grabbed his arm, stopping him.
'She's just a lowly wolf. C'mon! Where's the normal Jayden Luca?' said one of the alphas.
Meanwhile, Ember continued running, tears streaming down her face. This was perhaps her most devastating moment. She trusted him. She had hoped only to be betrayed in the end. This is really breaking her. All she could feel right now was pity for herself, and yet she couldn't help but blame this ugly scar of hers.
If I am beautiful, then perhaps things would not be this way. Ember thinks.
'Hey...Omega,'
That was Livy.
Ember paused.
Livy and her group were the mean she-wolves she encountered a while ago. They were now blocking her way while Livy was waving the printed photo of her and Jayden kissing.
'Do you want this to go away?' she asked Ember with a menacing smile.
Ember didn't say a thing. It's not just those photos that she wanted to go away. She would like to disappear too, for good at this moment. She clenched her fists and glared at them. She's decided to fight back against these mean wolves. She's too tired of a life like this, and she doesn't care if she'll die fighting them. She's no longer scared. Besides, she's too fed up with these mean girls. This girl group is making her school life miserable every day. They were like those other wolves in her pack who were making her life hard.
Ember didn't say a word to them; instead, she just snarled at them as if she were ready for trouble.The mean she-wolves scoffed as if they were challenged, even more thrilled by Ember's display of defiance. One of the wolves throws its claws at her. Ember fought. She grabbed her arms and shoveled them away.
'Oh, you're fighting now, huh?' one commented, smirking.
And the leader of the mean girls signaled. So, the other mean wolves pinned her in both arms. Ember tried to flee but was caught. She growled. She wrestled. They drag her to a muddy puddle that's nearby and harshly immerse her face in it. The girls laughed wildly at her muddy face. But they didn't just want to embarrass her. They intend to kill her.
'Livy..nooo!!' Ember screamed when she noticed that Livy, the mean she-wolf leader, pulled out a small dagger from her pocket.
But her pleading was useless because Livy was too deaf to hear.
'I'm fu*** pissed off with your ugly face! How could Jayden fall for this, huh?' Livy gruntled as she stabbed Ember.
Ember kicked her. She tried to escape, but she was bleeding and too weak to run. Livy swings her dagger again. Ember catches it. She stops its blade from touching her neck. She growled. She closed her eyes. Tears fell from it.
This time, Jayden is not going to come to save me. She thinks.
'Please, Livy, stop this,' Ember begged.
But Livy mercilessly slashed her neck. And they leave hurriedly when Ember falls to the ground.
'No one will look for you even if you vanish, for you are just a lowly orphan Omega,' Livy whispered to her before they ran away.
Those words were the last thing that lingered in her mind before her sight blacked out completely. The last thing she's asking now is for the night to devour her. She's too enraged. She's in such deep pain that nothing will mend it. And before she breathed her last, Ember saw a reflection of a blackbird staring at her face with mercy in its eyes.
'I'm back now, witch princess. You'll never be the same when you wake up,' the raven whispered.