Chapter 7
1114 Words
Ivy’s POV
School was worse than home. At home, I was invisible.At school, I was entertainment.
The old bus rattled down the snow-covered road as I sat alone in the very last seat, my forehead resting against the cold window. Conversations buzzed around me, but none of them included me. They never did.
Every now and then, someone would glance over their shoulder.
Then the whispering would start.
“I heard she doesn’t even have a wolf.”
“She’s almost twenty. She’s probably wolfless.”
I stared out the window and pretended I couldn’t hear them.
People always assumed words didn’t hurt.
They were wrong.
My legs came to a stop outside Blackthorn Academy, the private school attended by every ranked wolf in Jace’s territory. Students poured through the entrance laughing with their friends while I waited until nearly everyone had gone inside.
The fewer people around me, the better.
I slipped through the front doors and headed toward my locker.
“Omega.”
I ignored it.
“Hey, slave.”
I kept walking.
“Did you lose your owner?”
A few students laughed.
My fingers tightened around the strap of my worn backpack, but I didn’t look back.
Looking back only encouraged them.
I reached my locker without anyone blocking my path.
A small victory.
As I traded out my books, a shadow fell over me.
I didn’t have to turn around.
“I was talking to you.”
I closed my locker slowly before facing Darren.
Jace’s younger brother leaned casually against the lockers, his hands tucked into his pockets as if this was the most normal conversation in the world.
“What?” I asked quietly.
His grin widened.
“There you are.”
“I have class.”
“So do I.”
He reached past me and slammed my locker shut again.
The sound echoed down the hallway.
“I wasn’t finished.”
I met his eyes for only a second before lowering my gaze.
“Sorry.”
His smile faded.
“I don’t want your apology.”
He stepped closer until I could smell the expensive cologne he always wore.
“I just like reminding you where you belong.”
The warning bell rang through the hallway.
Darren clicked his tongue.“Guess I’ll see you later.”
He walked away laughing with two of his friends, leaving me standing alone.
I let out the breath I’d been holding and hurried toward class.
English was the easiest part of my day.
Mrs. Carter passed out an essay assignment before writing the prompt across the board.
Everyone around me groaned.
I picked up my pencil.
Writing had always been easier than talking.
Within twenty minutes, my paper was finished.
I read over it twice before quietly placing it on Mrs. Carter’s desk as the bell rang.
She glanced down at it before looking up at me.
“So soon?”
I simply nodded.
“I’ll read it tonight.”
“Okay,” I whispered before leaving the room.
I never stayed long enough for more questions.
By the time lunch arrived, the knot in my stomach had already returned.
I stood outside the cafeteria like always.
Not allowed in.
Not allowed to belong.
A woman from the kitchen handed me a tray without looking at me.
Two small pieces of bread.
A slice of cheese.
A cup of water.
I took it silently.
“Thank you,” I said anyway.
No response.
I walked outside and sat beneath the old oak tree I always chose.
It was the only place on campus where I could almost pretend I was somewhere else.
For a few precious minutes, all I could hear was the wind moving through the branches above me.
Then—
Splash.
Ice-cold water crashed over my head.
I gasped as freezing droplets soaked through my clothes and dripped onto the snow beneath me.
I didn’t need to look up.
Darren.
He stood a few feet away holding the empty bucket while Bethany clung to his arm, laughing so hard she nearly doubled over.
“Seriously?” I asked quietly, wiping water from my face.
Darren shrugged.
“You looked hot.”
My jaw tightened.
“Is that supposed to be funny?”
“It is to me.”
I stood, clutching my tray.
Without warning, he shoved me backward.
The tray slipped from my hands as I hit the frozen ground.
Bread landed in the snow.
The cup rolled across the sidewalk.
“Stay down, mutt,” Darren sneered.
My back ached when it struck the ground.
I looked around.
Dozens of students watched.
Some laughed.
Most simply stared.
Not one of them moved.
The lunch bell rang.
Saved by time.
Not by people.
I gathered what was left of my lunch and threw it away before heading to my next class.
The rest of the afternoon passed in silence.
History.
Math.
Science.
I answered no questions.
No one asked me to.
Teachers looked past me the same way the students did.
I preferred it that way.
Invisible people survived longer.
By the time P.E. arrived, my damp clothes had finally begun to dry.
Movement was the only part of school I didn’t completely hate.
Running gave me something I’d almost forgotten.
Freedom.
Even if it only lasted an hour.
Class ended quickly.
I grabbed my clothes and slipped into the girls’ locker room, hoping to change before anyone noticed I was there.
Hope didn’t last long.
The room emptied until only silence remained.
Then I felt it.
Someone watching me.
I slowly turned.
Darren stood at the end of the lockers.
Alone.
Smiling.
My stomach dropped.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I muttered as I took a cautious step backward.
He started walking toward me.
“Relax,” he said with a smirk. “I just want to talk.”
“That’s not what you do.”
His smile disappeared.
In two quick strides, he closed the distance between us and slammed me against the lockers.
Metal rattled behind me as pain exploded through my shoulder.
“Watch your mouth,” he hissed.
I stayed quiet.
That only made him angrier.
His fist drove into my stomach, forcing the air from my lungs.
I doubled over, gasping, but another punch landed before I could recover.
Then another.
My knees gave out.
I slid down the lockers, barely able to keep myself upright.
Darren crouched in front of me, gripping my chin hard enough to hurt.
“Pathetic,” he muttered.
My ears rang.
Everything around me blurred.
The last thing I heard—
The locker room door opening.
Then everything went black.
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