The fifth day of forced patience broke before noon.
It started with something small. A comment in the hallway. A shoulder deliberately bumped into mine hard enough to make me drop my books. Laughter that followed too quickly to be accidental. I had learned to absorb these things without reacting. Reacting made the target on my back larger. So I bent to gather my things, kept my face blank, and told myself it would pass.
It didn’t.
By the time lunch arrived, the air in the courtyard felt charged. Students watched me with open curiosity as I crossed toward the far tables. Some looked away when I met their eyes. Others didn’t. The story of the future Alpha and the outsider Beta had grown in the quiet days of our restraint. Silence, it turned out, did not kill rumors. It only gave them room
