The Ones Who Watched
1300 Words
Chapter Three:
Dillion's POV
The final bell rang like the toll of a funeral. And just like that, the halls emptied, laughter and footsteps fading behind me while I walked alone.
Always alone.
Three days back. That’s all it took for the rumors to turn into stares, for the stares to become whispers, and for the whispers to grow teeth.
I kept my head down as I crossed the courtyard, the sky above sagging with gray clouds, the kind that clung to your skin and mood alike. Everything was wet—mud and stone and the sharp chill of mountain air. I just wanted to make it through the gates without—
A shoulder slammed into me.
Then another.
And before I could turn, a hand shoved me hard from behind.
My feet skidded. I caught myself, barely, and turned slowly.
Lana.
Skyra.
Brielle.
Of course.
Lori’s shadows, dressed in regulation blazers with claws just beginning to peek out.
“We were wondering when you’d show your face again,” Lana said, a smirk curling on her lips.
I stayed still, heart thudding. "Where is Lori?" I thought as I looked around.
“Maybe she thought if she walked fast enough, no one would notice the killer in our school again,” Skyra added, voice syrupy sweet.
“I didn’t kill anyone,” I said, not flinching.
Brielle tilted her head like a predator admiring a cornered rabbit. “You think just because your Beta daddy cried to the council, we’re all supposed to forget? You don’t belong here.”
“No,” I said, eyes steady. “But neither do cowards who gang up on people like this.”
I knew the second the words left my mouth that I’d regret them.
Lana’s fist flew first.
I blocked it.
Skyra came next, from behind. Her elbow caught my side. Brielle grabbed my arm and shoved me backward, slamming me into a stone pillar. The breath left my lungs.
Pain bloomed across my ribs as I hit the ground, and I tasted dirt.
My wolf snarled beneath my skin, ready to rise—but I shoved her down.
Not here. Not like this. Not when they’d love to see me lose control.
I pushed up, but Lana’s boot struck hard and I hit the ground again, cheek against cold stone, ribs screaming.
Still, I didn't scream.
Not for them.
I’d fought bigger monsters than this.
I was getting to my knees when the crowd started to form. Students laughing. Whispering. Watching.
Like I was some sideshow act.
And then I felt it.
Him.
Lucien.
His presence hit me like a storm. I didn’t even need to look. I could feel the weight of his stare, the sharp edge of his disappointment—or maybe worse, his indifference.
I turned anyway.
Our eyes locked.
For a second, everything stopped.
The noise, the pain, the shame.
I wanted to look away. I wanted to vanish. But I couldn’t—not when part of me, the traitorous part that still ached for him, was hoping… maybe he'd step in.
Skyra yanked me by the collar and slapped me so hard my vision blurred.
I tasted blood.
Lucien didn’t move.
He watched.
Like I was nothing.
Like the girl he used to tell secrets to never existed.
My throat burned.
Then I heard him speak.
“Enough.”
It wasn’t loud, but it cracked like thunder.
No one moved.
“I said—get off her!”
The sound of his voice cut through the courtyard. I blinked through the haze of pain and rain as he crossed the stones, fury in every step. He grabbed Lana by the arm and yanked her back like she weighed nothing.
“Touch her again, and I’ll make sure you don’t walk for a week.”
His voice was low. Brutal.
The girls shrank back.
I struggled to my feet, heart hammering.
Rain dripped from my chin. My hands were streaked with blood and dirt. My chest rose and fell too fast, my body aching.
And there he was. Lucien Blackwell. My once-best friend.
Now my judge. My executioner.
He looked at me like he didn’t know what to say.
But I already knew what I needed to.
“I don’t need your help,” I said, my voice quiet but jagged.
He opened his mouth, but I kept going.
“I needed it back then. And you did nothing.”
His jaw clenched.
“You knew me, Lucien,” I whispered. “You knew me. I would’ve died for your mother. She was the only person who ever made me feel like I mattered in this pack. She taught me how to shift. She... she braided my hair for the Harvest Ceremony. She hugged me when my mom didn’t come. I loved her.”
My throat closed up.
“And I couldn’t do a damn thing to save her.”
He just stood there.
And all I saw was betrayal.
“You believed Lori. You believed her.”
And then the moment shattered.
Footsteps.
Voices.
The adults.
The principal arrived. Two warriors. And then came Alpha Blackwell. Lucien’s father.
My stomach dropped.
He looked at me with that cold, unreadable expression he always wore now—like I was just a name in a problem he wanted to erase.
They dragged us both inside. I didn’t even argue.
The office felt like ice.
Lucien stood beside me. His face was stone.
“Explain,” the Alpha said.
“She was attacked,” Lucien said.
Marcus—my father—spoke up, turning toward me with a hard stare. “What did you do?”
My voice was small. “Nothing.”
“She started it,” Lana said from the corner, dramatic bruise and all. “She was being aggressive—”
“I saw it,” Lucien snapped. “That’s not what happened.”
Everyone froze.
My heart stuttered. "I couldn't believe Lucien was standing up for me, I thought he hated me or did he have a change or heart?"
“You what?” Marcus asked.
“They ambushed her. I stepped in when I had to.”
Skyra’s voice broke in, fake-shocked. “She provoked them—!”
“I don’t believe that,” Lucien said without looking at me.
Something in my chest cracked. "Why now? After all this why help me out, he's playing with me?"
Alpha Blackwell studied him with narrowed eyes. “Because deep down, my son knows the truth.”
Lucien didn’t move.
I didn’t know how to breathe.
The principal shuffled papers. “Regardless, this behavior is unacceptable. Blackwell Academy is neutral ground.”
Neutral. Ha. Not for me.
Then came the words I dreaded.
“You will train together,” the principal announced.
“Twice a week. Physical combat and theory. Effective immediately. You’ll report your progress to staff and the council.”
“What?” I breathed.
Lucien turned sharply. “You can’t be serious.”
“She is the Beta heir. You are the Alpha heir. Like it or not, your futures are tied,” the Alpha said flatly.
“I don’t want her as my Beta,” Lucien snapped.
Alpha Blackwell’s power surged in the room.
Mind your tone. We’ll speak later. Privately.
The command came through the mind link—so sharp I saw Lucien flinch, and somehow I heard..that wasn't meant for me...was it?" I asked my wolf, but no answer.
And Lucien didn’t say another word.
I just stood there, staring at the floor, my nails digging into my palms.
I wasn’t afraid of training with him.
I was afraid of remembering who he used to be.
And that he chose not to believe me anyway.
- Writer
