To my surprise, Raymond removed his mask, and his face was nothing like I'd imagined—it was flawless.
Raymond was the kind of man whose looks could stop anyone in their tracks—his jawline was strong, his nose perfectly straight, and his lips well-defined in a way that made you want to linger. But it was his eyes, those deep green eyes, that held you—captivating and intense as if they could see right through you.
"You… your face isn't damaged?!" I blurted out, still in shock.
Raymond nodded slightly. "No, I'm not. Did I ever say I was?"
I paused, thinking carefully. He hadn't. The assumption had come entirely from what Beth had told me.
"Then why do you always wear a mask?" I asked.
"The people who destroyed my pack think I'm dead. I have to keep it that way," he said, his voice calm but carrying an unmistakable heaviness.
"Sorry…" I mumbled, realizing I'd touched on something sensitive.
"It's fine. I'm used to it," Raymond said with a faint smile, then changed the topic. "By the way, Caitlyn, you haven't graduated yet, have you?"
"Yeah," I answered. "I wanted to talk to you about that. I need to go back to school and finish my coursework. It's important if I want to have better job opportunities."
"What kind of job are you thinking about?" he asked curiously.
I hesitated. Honestly, I hadn't given it much thought. Werewolves typically relied on their packs for survival. Some packs ran businesses, traded with humans, and used the profits to buy weapons for protection against hunters and vampires.
But for a rogue like Raymond, those options weren't on the table.
"Maybe I'll work for a human company," I said.
"You could join my company," Raymond suggested. "Even a rogue needs to learn how to survive in the human world, right?"
"That would be great," I replied, smiling, relieved by his offer.
After breakfast, Raymond offered to drive me to school. The distance wasn't far, but it wasn't close either.
As I got out of the car, Raymond said, "Call me if you need anything."
He still seemed worried, probably because of how emotional I'd been after visiting my grandmother.
"Caitlyn!" Eileen called out, waving at me. She got my message about returning to school and was waiting for me at the gate.
"Eileen!" I pulled her into a hug.
"Are you okay?" she asked, her face full of concern as she looked at me. Clearly, my expression wasn't doing a great job of hiding how I felt.
"I'm fine," I said with a smile. "I visited my grandmother this weekend. She gave me some of my parents' things."
Eileen hugged me again, tighter this time. "It's all over now."
I forced a smile. "Yeah, it's all over."
But deep down, I knew it wasn't over—not for me. I've made up my mind to uncover the truth about my parents' deaths.
As I entered the classroom, all eyes turned to me. Some were curious, others judgmental, and some even carried a trace of sympathy.
Most of the school already knew what had happened to my family. That was no surprise; In the werewolf world, strength was everything, and an alpha's death wasn't unusual—it was just the harsh reality of survival.
But my absence from school wasn't because of my family's downfall. The real reason went back six months.
My first transformation was painful, and being mocked for my weak wolf made it even worse. After my family's downfall, Beth's bullying only got worse. She and her friends would lock me in the bathroom and drench me with dirty mop water.
I couldn't fight back—I was an omega, the lowest rank in the pack.
This went on for months, until one day, six months ago, a group of boys locked me in the sports equipment room.
They made me inhale a strong-smelling liquid.
The leader, a boy named John, sneered. "You betrayed Jason. You're a slut. I heard you've been with a lot of guys. Let me try."
I knew what they were planning, and fear overwhelmed me. I resisted with everything I had, but then a metal rod struck my head.
I don't remember much after that, but a major incident happened at school. They were all badly injured, with bite marks all over their bodies.
No one knew what had happened—not even me. My body tested positive for a high amount of hallucinogens.
It was something illegal.
After that, I took a leave.
The stare from everyone made me uncomfortable, so I kept my head down, hiding under my hat. Luckily, they just kept staring and didn't come any close.
But Bella was different. She must have heard something from one of her followers because she showed up at lunchtime to cause trouble.
In the cafeteria, she and her group sat across from me and Eileen.
One of them sneered, "Well, well, look who it is. Isn't this Caitlyn? The one who betrayed her mate for another guy? Now she ended up marrying a disabled rogue?"
"That's enough!" Eileen cut in.
"It's just a joke, calm down," one of them said mockingly.
I grabbed Eileen's hand, ready to leave, but Beth blocked our way and knocked my tray to the ground.
With a loud crash, all eyes turned toward us like they were waiting for a show.
I looked back at Beth, unafraid. I wasn't the omega of the Fang pack anymore. "You only have the guts to act in the dark, right? Bullying, hurting people, just like you did to me a year ago."