UNMARKED: CONTRACTED TO MY ALPHA PROFESSOR

You’re missing a spot sister” I didn’t look up, I didn’t have to, the voice was all too familiar resounding in these walls, it was my sister, Belle Belmont. It was already bad enough that the smell of bleach and stale pine was strangling my lungs, I wouldn’t be able to shoulder an altercation with her. “Thank you..” I mumbled softly, scrubbing the floors harder when I felt my lips grow warm from a metallic tasting liquid, blood. It had been leaking from my mouth for ten minutes, worse than before and it had mixed with the mop water and bleach on the floors because I tried so hard to clean it up. “Don’t get your icky mucus on me…” she snapped, moving further away from me, the sharp, rhythmic sounds of her designer heels against the floorboards reminded me of who I was, their servant, not her sister. “Oh Isla..” Belle called again, this time, I looked up to see her light blue eyes reflecting the candles next to the pillar “You missed this” she threw a cup of strawberry ice cream onto the floor “Oops..” she giggled. “Could you please not do that?” I asked, my voice strangled and throaty. “Do I hear a resistance? Shall I call mother?” She questioned and I shook my head with disapproval, rushing to the floor covered with pink frost and cream. “Better” a sly smirk formed on her lips as she retreated down the hallway. “Then you shouldn’t have done that” I grumbled, scrubbing some more when she turned around. Oh I’ve attracted the devil again “What did you just say?” I rolled my eyes at her question and went on scrubbing, if I did this fast enough, I would leave for first day of school and be out of this misery for eight whole hours. “I’m sure she said nothing” mother emerged from the stairs, her silk white robe sweeping the floor “You need to get ready for school darling” she cooed, moving past me and placing her hands on her daughter’s shoulders. “But I’m already prepared for class” she protested, her flowy dress sweeping the ground like her mother’s. Mother traced her face with her fingers before turning to me “Finish that scrubbing and get ready to take the bus” she ordered. “Yes mother” I mumbled, cleaning the last spill of blood from the floor before taking the supplies back to the storage room and heading for a quick bath and change of clothes. “But I can’t go with her mother” Belle complained when I strapped on my pair of baggy jeans and top “I can’t be seen with someone who wears such a hideous outfit” she fumed, folding her arms as she watched me. “Don’t worry, she’ll only be watching you from afar, to make sure you’re alright, isn’t that what sisters do?” Mother asked, her voice low and superficial. “Yes mother” I answered grimly before Belle stood up to leave, her back pack already in the car as always. I would take the bus and she would have the car to school but I already knew how late I was, the bus had left at 7:30, it was almost eight, I guess it was walking for me again. Once Belle was strapped in, the driver took her whilst I had to walk on the side, long enough till I reached the shortcut, a secret passageway even mother didn’t know about. “How are you here before I am?” Belle asked with a snarky tone when she noticed my face in the corner smiling at the grandeur of the Lunaris Alpha Academy. “I..I ran” I stuttered, helping her out of the car when she shoved my hands aside. “We’re not buddy buddy, sister” she reminded me and I retreated my arm and made my way through the large inner gate. The place smelled cool and there were peonies rooted in the ground with a mix of roses and daffodils but just as I marveled at them, I walked into something sturdy. “Sorry..” I mumbled, staring up to see the tall figure in front of me, his eyes lowered in a scary way. “I’m really sorry.” I apologized once more, retracing my steps and making my way towards the pooling crowd. “Welcome back returning students” a lady in a long black suit said, her hair falling short below her shoulders “As a tradition, the blood test will begin so stay in an orderly fashion” she announced and almost immediately there was chattering and I could feel a knot in my stomach, anxiety or just my blood pooling up to throw up. I looked around, everyone had happy expressions etched on their faces, it was the perfect time to slip through and ditch the test when I felt someone tug at my arm. “Where do you think you’re going, little wolf?” He asked in a low baritone that made me shiver but I clamped my fists to hide the grim sense of fear. “None of your business” I shot back “And I’m not a little wolf” A smirk tugged at the side of his lips “Everyone, there’s a freshman who would like to go first!” He announced, pointing his finger towards me and the rest of them who seemed eager to start their tests just moved aside, making it obvious that he must be someone insane and influential. Wait, dark red hair, too influential for people to talk back. The Zane Byers “Th…there’s no need for that” I stuttered, pulling back when he stood firmly behind me, leaning towards my ear. “Too late little wolf” a strand of his dark reddish hair hanging above his forehead. “Come to the front” someone ordered and I could feel the crowd push me to the frontline like a sheep to the slaughterhouse. “No..no, no” I begged but they didn’t listen and my body and backpack stood at the front and I swallowed hard when they asked that I pulled out my palm. When I did, I swallowed hard. Almost immediately, I noticed a crimson liquid flow out of my palm onto a silver object and there it showed. “You are not of Alpha bloodline!” The lady announced and there were gasps that followed but it didn’t matter, that guy who forced me to the front was the cause of it all. “No I am not…” I responded in a low voice but she didn’t care. “You may go” I rushed through the door with pain in my chest, not from the humiliation but from blood pooling in there. After throwing up blood once more, I washed my hands under the running water. “Look, it’s her, the little wolf who isn’t an alpha” someone retorted, folding their arms, their insults were futile to me, I’ve heard far worse from Belle. “How did she even get here?” The other asked with a sly smirk. I didn’t wait around for more, I walked past them, hitting their shoulders as I moved past, subtly shoving them aside. The next school hours felt like hell. It was either I was being insulted or asked about who my real parents had been and once, I was stuck in my locker, cornered by the red haired bully from before until I couldn’t take it anymore. Once the last bell rang, I sprinted back home, following my route when the churning pain in my chest and stomach started once more, causing me to stop and take refuge in a weird worn out cottage. “Pl..please I need help” I begged, bending over and letting the blood in my stomach come out of me. I didn’t care who stood at the door, either way, I’d be dead in days, why not rest for a few hours. He didn’t say a word, he opened the door wide enough for me and when I fell on the steps, he helped me in, I didn’t notice it before but he had beautiful blonde hair that fell below his shoulders. “Pl..please, let me stay here a while” I begged, a metallic taste in my lips He tilted his head slightly before crouching down next to me “I can help you, save you even” he paused “I’ll be dead in days” I coughed “Why bother?” “What if I can save you, permanently, would you be willing to agree to my terms?” He raised a brow, pulling out a piece of paper. My heart hammered against my ribs, not from pain, but from the sudden, terrifying weight of his words. I didn't know who he was, or why he wanted me, but the darkness was closing in. I looked at the paper, then back at him. “Do we have a deal?” he asked, his arm stretched towards me.