The Alpha Prince’s Bullied Mate

The red letter(Slave Game 1)

Astoria didn't sleep a wink in her new place. Her mind was consumed by the bullying she had endured in just one day at Luminaria. It made her realize that her sister hadn't had any option but to take her own life to escape. And everything was caused by her mate, Crown Prince Lyriq.

How could the moon goddess have paired her with a bully? Someone who took joy in hurting others and, worse still, ignored her as if she didn't exist? It favored Astoria because it would be easy to reject him without feeling too much pain, since neither of them had acknowledged the bond. But Astoria wondered what would happen after that. Would she have a chance at a second mate? Someone like Rowan, who was the complete opposite of his brother?

That night, Astoria tossed and turned, thinking about rejecting Lyriq and getting Rowan as her second chance mate.

When she got to school the next morning, she made sure to avoid everyone's gaze as she headed to the locker room. It was crowded, and she had to push past some students to get to her locker.

"What the hell..." she groaned as she struggled to get through the crowd. When they noticed her, they paved the way for her to pass but someone pushed her forward, and she fell to the ground, almost hitting her head against a locker.

Nobody cared about her as they laughed, pointed fingers, and recorded her with their phones. "What's wrong with all of you? It's just morning, and you're already acting like this!" she yelled.

One of the students in front of her pointed up to the lockers. "I think you have bigger problems to deal with," he said.

Astoria frowned as she stood up and looked up to where her locker was, and she saw it - a big red poster pasted on her locker with the words "Red Letter."

"What is this?" she questioned, yanking the poster off and throwing it to the ground. "So this is what the fuss is about? It's why you've all gathered here because of some stupid poster!" She yelled at them.

The students murmured amongst themselves, some laughing, others shaking their heads in pity, while others continued recording her with their phones. Astoria ignored them, knowing that talking to them would only waste her time. She opened her locker and saw something that didn't belong to her.

A red letter.

Astoria looked down at the poster she had thrown to the ground. She visibly gulped and shakily picked up the red letter, opening it up. Some students rushed to her side, and one of them grabbed the letter, reading it aloud.

"You have been served the red letter and will participate in the slave games until you win." The students cheered as they finished reading the letter.

Astoria watched them, feeling a sense of dread. She had no clue what was happening until they all turned towards her, pointing fingers.

“The scholarship girl has no idea what the red letter is about!”

“After what she did to Prince Lyriq yesterday, she deserves the letter. “

“It always takes months before a red letter is served. This red girl has gotten on the prince’s nerves.”

“What do you think we should do to her first?”

“She is clueless and is…”

Astoria suddenly yelled out at them, "Stop talking about me as if I'm not here!" She pointed towards them. "Don't you have classes to go to? And what the hell is the red letter?" She was curious, knowing it meant something by the way they all rejoiced.

"Oh, you have no clue, red girl?" a girl sneered, grabbing Astoria's hand and slamming her against the locker. "You'll find out soon enough, but no one ever survives the Slave game unless they beg for mercy." She grabbed Astoria's chin.

Astoria slapped her hand away and pushed her backwards. "I don't care about your stupid rules, because you're all sick in the head."

"You should," a low, timid voice spoke up amongst the students. Astoria turned to see a girl wearing the same tie as her.

"I don't understand what..." Astoria tried to speak to the girl, but she was grabbed by a blue-tie student and pulled away.

"Hey..." Astoria yelled, taking a step to follow her, but the girl who slammed her against the locker stood in front of her.

"Get the hell out of my..." Astoria groaned as she was hit in the stomach and pushed against the locker. Her back slammed against the locker, and she fell to the ground. She felt a bone in her back crack, summoning her Wolf Blue.

"Are you alright?" Blue asked.

Astoria knew she was far from alright; it hurt like hell. "I'll be fine, Blue," she responded.

The girl who pushed her kicked her legs and laughed. The other students joined in.

"Let's show her what the red letter is about, shall we?" the girl shouted, grabbing Astoria and pulling her up from the ground. She slammed Astoria against the locker again, raising her hand to slap her across the face, but the bell rang.

"Saved by the bell," the girl laughed, pushing Astoria's head against the locker before letting go. "I'll see you around, Red girl." She chuckled, kicking Astoria's legs before walking away.

Everyone else left the locker room, leaving Astoria alone. She groaned, rubbing her wobbly legs. The girl had hit her hard, and it would take time for them to heal, just like her back.

"If I were you, I'd leave this school now and never come back," a voice sounded from across the locker room.

Astoria gasped as she recognized the girl - it was the red girl who had been dragged away by the blue student. "What do you mean? I tried to talk to you, but someone pulled you away, and..."

The girl slammed her locker door angrily. "Listen to me, since you're still new. You can leave now and be freed from all of this! There's still time for you."

Astoria had no idea what she meant, and there was no way she was going to leave the school without finding out why her sister had died. "Is there something about the red letter that I should know about?"

The girl looked around cautiously, making Astoria wonder what she had to suffer. "The red letter is a death sentence."

"Rebecca!" someone yelled from outside the locker room. The red girl in front of Astoria jumped in fright.

"Coming, master," the girl said, falling to her knees and placing her hands down like a dog. She started crawling, making a barking sound.

Astoria's eyes widened in shock as she stared at the girl's transformation. She decided to follow her, only to see Rebecca being dragged by a leash by a blue student. Astoria covered her mouth, horrified.

The girl's voice echoed in her mind: "The red letter is a death sentence."

The bell rang again, causing Astoria to jump in fright. She placed her hand on her beating chest and heaved a deep sigh. What she had just witnessed was far worse than the attack on her.

Astoria wondered how they all found pleasure in watching others suffer in misery. She couldn't help but ponder if her sister, Delavine, had also been put through such humiliation.

Astoria closed her eyes, trying to calm her nerves. She whispered encouraging words to herself, then went back to her locker and picked up the book for her first lesson. She noticed the red letter on the ground and picked it up.

"The red letter," she muttered, putting the letter between her books. She headed out of the locker room and ran down the hallways, heading to her classroom.

As Astoria sprinted down the hallway, she was relieved to see a handful of students scattered about, including some fellow red students who seemed oblivious to her presence. But her brief respite was short-lived, as she failed to notice the danger lurking ahead.

Suddenly, a rope sprang out from the middle of the hallway, ensnaring her neck and lifting her off the ground. She was left dangling, helpless, as another rope shot out from the window and wrapped around her neck like a rope.

Astoria's airway constricted, and she felt herself choking. The book slipped from her grasp, falling to the ground with a hollow thud. She tried to cry out for help, but each attempt only caused the rope to tighten its grip, silencing her.

"Astoria, what's happening? I'm losing consciousness. Did you..." Blue's voice trailed off as their communication went off.

Panic set in as Astoria frantically scratched at her neck, desperate to loosen the rope that constricted her airway. Tears streamed down her face as she felt her life force ebbing away, her breaths growing shallow and labored. Despite her struggles, the rope remained stubbornly tight, and she began to lose hope, wondering if anyone would come to her rescue before it was too late.

Just when all seemed lost, the rope suddenly slackened, and Astoria collapsed to the ground, gasping for air. She lay there, her chest heaving, as she struggled to catch her breath. As she looked around, she expected to see someone who had witnessed her ordeal, but at first, she thought she was alone.

Then, a student with a blue tie approached her, a hint of a smile on his face. "Congratulations on playing the first game and surviving," he said, his tone dripping with sarcasm. Astoria's eyes narrowed as she tried to place him, but he turned and walked away before she could ask any questions.

Rebecca's words echoed in her mind once more: "The red letter is a death sentence." Astoria realized that she had almost become a casualty of that very sentence, and the person responsible saw it as nothing more than a twisted game.

As she struggled to her feet, Astoria heard the familiar voice of Mr. Eric, her home room teacher. "What's going on here? Why are you on the ground, scholarship girl?" he asked.

Astoria hesitated, unsure of how much to reveal. She knew she couldn't trust anyone in the school, not even the teachers. "I...I just fell, sir," she stammered.

Mr. Eric raised an eyebrow. "Well, get up and get to class. I expect to see youinthe class seated before I enter." He turned and walked away, leaving Astoria to make her way to class.

As she entered the classroom, all eyes turned towards her. Astoria's gaze swept the room, her eyes locking onto Lyriq, who sat by the window staring outside. She felt a surge of anger and resentment towards him, knowing that he was responsible for the red letter and the game that had almost cost her her life.

Astoria took a deep breath and made her way to her seat beside Rowan. As she sat down, Rowan turned to her and asked, "Hey, where have you been?"

Astoria sighed. "It's a long story," she said finally, her eyes drifting back to Lyriq, who was now looking at her.