Hunter’s POV
Whispers. Everywhere I turned, that’s all I heard.
“She’s just an omega…”
“Did you see the way he stood up for her?”
“The Alpha and that girl?”
“I heard she rejected him first—”
I clenched my fists so hard my knuckles cracked. The hallways of Crescent High felt tighter than usual, as if the air itself was gossiping. Since the bonfire, since I shoved those bastards off Jade, everything had spiraled.
I thought I could control it.
I thought stepping in—protecting her—would silence the pack’s cruelty.
Instead, I’d lit a match and dropped it into a pile of dry leaves. The wildfire had spread overnight.
At my locker, Caleb leaned against the wall, arms crossed, eyes scanning every passing face. “They’re not gonna stop talking, you know,” he muttered.
“I know.”
“You sure
