Penelope's POV

"Your blow job really sucked yesterday. Didn't you remember what I taught you? You stupid bitch, no wonder your family doesn't like you." Scott's tall and muscular frame blocked the only entrance to the bathroom. He squinted his small eyes at me, looking like the pale man in the movie Pan's Labyrinth who was going to devour me alive.

"Are you deaf?" Seeing that I remained silent, Scott moved his huge body and took two steps closer to me, forcing me to retreat. "If you didn't remember, we can learn it again now."

"This is the school... there will be people coming over." I stuttered, feeling like a lamb waiting to be slaughtered, trapped in this filthy boys' restroom, trembling uncontrollably.

Scott scoffed lightly, "So what? Haven't you gotten used to it by now? The little slut of the Woods family."

"No... I am neither a bitch nor a slut..."My voice of protest grew fainter and fainter as Scott pushed me up against the wall and put his wet and clammy hand over my head.

F*ck this world. Here it came again.

I felt goosebumps rise all over my body. My stomach was churning with disgust. There had been more than one time like this, but my parents and teachers couldn't help me no matter how hard I tried. My family had just wanted me to not exist ever since I was 14 and found out I didn't have a wolf... The teachers simply wanted Scott to complete his studies and leave the school without any issues so they wouldn't face this pain in the ass anymore.

"Move fast." Scott suddenly tightened his grip, yanking hard on my hair. "Do you need another lesson? Huh?"

The smell of smoke hit me in the face. I immediately turned my head to the side and tried to break free from Scott's grip.

"Let... let go of me! Please!"

But Scott's hands were as hard as stone, and no matter how hard I tried to escape, it didn't work.

During the chaos, I hit Scott in the face by mistake.

SMACK!

The loud sound reverberated through the restroom. Scott was momentarily stunned, and my heart pounded.

Dang it! I really screwed up this time!

"You bitch, how dare you hit me! You wolfless and worthless omega, how dare you!" Scott roared in fury. He raised his fist and brought it down hard on my abdomen. I cried out in pain, unable to stop myself from collapsing to the ground.

"Open your fucking mouth!"

SLAP!!

Scott delivered a forceful blow to the left side of my face, followed by a firm grip on my jaw. After opening my jaw, he removed his pants with one hand and revealed his unsightly, repulsive cock, which was as ugly as his face.

Damn!

Fears from the past came back to haunt me, and I closed my eyes in misery, ready for my tragedy.

Just one person was enough... Just one person to save me was enough...

I prayed in my heart.

"Scott! Teacher Christina is calling you to her office!" Suddenly, a somewhat weird male voice echoed from outside the bathroom door, as if someone was speaking with a strained throat.

Scott paused for a moment at the words. I slightly opened my eyes, only to see a hint of hesitation in his small eyes.

"Scott! Hurry up! The teacher said if she doesn't see you by 3:30, you gotta stay another year next year!"

As soon as the voice outside fell silent, Scott spat in annoyance and muttered, "Damn it! That old witch..."He let go of me and cursed under his breath, "Next time, you won't get away, bitch."

I was saved...

As the bathroom door swung open and then shut again, the sound of Scott's heavy footsteps faded away at the end of the corridor. I hurriedly scrambled to my feet and quickly fled from this cramped, foul-smelling prison.

"Penelope! Penelope!"

I heard someone calling me, and when I turned around, it was Mia. Mia was my human best friend, and she was also my only friend; she did not know about my werewolf identity.

"Hurry, Penelope, we need to run! Or Scott will find out that I just lied to him, and he will kill us!" Mia dashed in front of me, grabbed my hand, and quickly ran toward the school gate.

The "guy" who just called Scott was actually Mia. This hit me all of a sudden. Mia was only 5'1" tall, not 5'5" like me. But she had saved me many times over the years, just like today. If there was an award for the best friend in the world, I would give it to Mia right away.

We ran like lunatics until we stopped in front of a bus stop. Mia was on her knees, and her long, curly red hair fell over her face. She looked at me and gasped, "David said... David said..." Out of breath, Mia repeated it several times before continuing, "He said if we are late again today, he will dock our pay. Luckily... luckily we didn't take too long."

The man Mia talked about was my boss and the chef at the diner where I worked part-time. Mia and I had been working there for two years. Since I turned 14, my family had treated me like a burden, and they no longer cared about me. I felt like a parasite living in that house, waking up alone every day to go to school and using my part-time earnings to buy sandwiches or lunch. Even if my mother cooked dinner, she would not call me to eat, let alone my stepbrother and stepsister.

After arriving at the restaurant, I hurriedly ran into the kitchen while Mia changed into her waitress uniform. After four hours of busy work, we finally completed our part-time job for the day.

"Mia, here you go." I handed over the sandwich in my hand while Mia and I trudged along the road with our weary bodies.

Mia took the sandwich and took a big bite, her face clearly showing her disdain: "David's sandwiches are as terrible as ever! I can't believe someone who can cook a steak so well could make such shit!"

Mia's expression was simply too disdainful, and I couldn't help but chuckle, "Then how come it's our turn to eat?"

Mia shook her head while eating, pointing to a house by the roadside. She turned to look at me, her eyes sparkling: "Penelope, if we work a little harder to save some money, we can rent a place to live after this holiday ends."

"Mia..."

"Penelope, I'm serious. Move out and live with me. Your family has been bullying and mistreating you, haven't they?"

"Yes, but Mia, you don't have to do this for me..." Yes, Mia's family was actually very loving, completely different from mine. She had no need to leave home; she just knew how much I wanted to escape mine, which was why she did this.

Mia waved her hand, signaling me to stop talking. Suddenly, she dashed towards the bus station; it turned out her ride home was arriving.

"See you tomorrow! Penelope!"

"See you!"

After watching Mia get into the car, I began to walk home. The restaurant wasn't very far from my house; usually, it took me about 25 to 30 minutes to walk there. Of course—if I had a wolf with me, I might make it in just 10 minutes.

But unfortunately, I do not have anyone else. I only have Mia, so she would be the one I was willing to give my life for.

As I walked, I stuffed the last bite of the terrible sandwich into my mouth, my mind racing with thoughts of tomorrow and the future. The only hope of leaving the pack lay in finding my mate. ... If only my mate could take me to another pack ...

But could I find my mate? What if the new pack was just as bad as the current one? Was there still hope for my future?

I walked anxiously, accustomed to this dark little path—over the past two years, I had traversed it countless times; even with my eyes closed, I believed I could find my way back. As I moved forward in the darkness as usual, suddenly, a faint, almost imperceptible scent of sour sweat wafted past my nose.

No way!

I stopped and took a deep breath. My heart raced, and fear consumed me like darkness.

This familiar, disgusting smell...

Danger! It was Scott!