The slap came out of nowhere. One second. I was on the floor,my cheek burning from the sharp sting. The entire room seemed to freeze.
I could feel everyone staring, the silence around me intensified the thud of my body hitting the ground. Mackenzie stood above me, her mocking laughter piercing through the cafeteria. Her friends, standing behind her also joined in, making the scene even more humiliating.
"How dare you, Omega," Mackenzie sneered, looking down at me with a cruel smirk. "Next time you're in front of the future Alpha, you better keep your eyes on the floor."
I could barely process what had just happened. My face throbbed, and my vision blurred from the tears I was desperately trying to hold back.
The humiliation was unbearable. I wanted to disappear, to sink into the floor and never be seen again. But all I could do was curl up, hoping they'd lose interest and leave me alone.
They didn't. Mackenzie and her friends circled around me, taunting me with their words.
They threw insults and jabs at me, each one hitting as hard as the slap. The students in the cafeteria were still watching, but no one dared to step in. No one ever did. I was the pack's Omega, the lowest of the low. No one cared enough to help me.
Finally, after what felt like hours, the torment stopped. I could hear Mackenzie and her friends walk away, their voices filled with satisfaction as if they'd just accomplished something significant.
My body ached all over and I struggled to sit up.
The cafeteria around me slowly returned to normal. Students went back to their conversations, to their lunches, acting as though nothing had happened.
With shaky hands, I hurriedly gathered my scattered books I had brought in and tried to hold my head up, ignoring the whispers that still echoed around me. I had to get out of there. I needed to find a place to nurse my bruises in peace.
★★★
Logan's POV
Mackenzie clung to my arm as we left the cafeteria, practically beaming with pride.
Her grip was firm, almost possessive, as though she needed everyone to see that I was with her. I could tell she loved the attention.
Being on the arm of the future Alpha came with a lot of perks. But sometimes, it just felt... suffocating.
As we walked through the hallway, girls stared at me, their eyes trailing after us like they always did. Mackenzie noticed too, and her grin widened. She loved the power that came with being with me, even though we weren't officially together yet. She acted like she was already Luna, walking around like she owned the place.
When we got to the basketball court, I gently pulled my arm free from her grip. "I need to get ready for the game," I told her, offering a smile. "I'll see you afterward."
"Good luck, Logan!" she called after me, eyes shining with excitement. She loved watching me play, and I could feel her gaze following me as I joined my team.
I sighed In relief. The Alpha had been forcing me to get closer to Mackenzie.
My eighteenth birthday was around the corner and I was yet to find a mate.
The pressure from my father, the Alpha, was too much and I wasn't sure I was ready to become an Alpha.
Basketball was my escape. The weight of the ball in my hands and the adrenaline coursing through me helped me drown out all the noise.
During the game, none of that mattered. It was just me, the court, and my teammates.
We won, like we usually did, and the crowd roared with cheers as the final whistle blew. Mackenzie was the first to rush over, handing me a bottle of water.
"You were incredible out there!" she gushed, her voice full of admiration.
I smiled at her, but my mind wasn't on the game. I couldn't stop thinking about what had happened in the cafeteria earlier.
The Omega. I saw her lying there on the floor and I hadn't done anything.
"You should have helped her, you dummy!" Sebastian, my wolf scolded me.
I ignored him. He had forced me to look at her in the cafeteria. I cared less about omegas but Sebastian wouldn't stop whispering her name in my ears.
"Just shut up" I snapped at him in my head and tried removing thoughts about the Omega from my mind.
There was a rumor spreading around that she was the stepdaughter of our Beta but I never paid attention to it.
As Mackenzie kept talking about the game and our weekend plans, I found my eyes drifting toward the edge of the court.
The Omega was there.
I watched her as she cleaned up quietly.
She moved carefully like every step hurt.
My chest tightened at the sight and I cursed myself for feeling pity.
Our eyes met for a split second before she quickly looked away, focusing on her task.
I turned back to Mackenzie, who was still going on about something.
Unable to listen to whatever Mackenzie had to say, I stormed out of the hall shortly after.
Emma's POV
★★★
Later that day, I made sure to clean the sports hall to fulfill my obligatory duties before making my way to the library.
It was the one place where I could breathe. It was quiet, peaceful. No one bothered me here, and I could lose myself in books, forgetting for a little while what my life was like outside these walls.
I found a chair in the corner and sat down, my whole body protesting the movement. Every inch of me hurt, but I tried to push the pain away.
In the library, surrounded by the smell of old books and the soft rustle of pages, I could pretend things were different. Here, I wasn't an Omega. I wasn't the girl everyone could beat down and ignore. Here, I was just... Emma.
I closed my eyes, letting out a shaky breath. I couldn't keep living like this, always looking over my shoulder, always waiting for the next attack.
The loud bell rang and I sighed in frustration. I wasn't allowed to take the books with me and I could only arrange them nicely on the shelves before leaving the library.
As I walked with my head down, I suddenly stopped, realizing that I had runned into something.
Or perhaps someone. My gaze fell on the hard expensive pair of boots and It didn't take me long to realize who it was.
"Y…yo..young M..M..mast..ter"