The Whole School Turned Against Me
1619 Words
Lyra POV
I barely remembered how I got back to my room after the ceremony.
One minute, I was standing beneath the moonstone arch while Kael Ravenwood tore me apart in front of the entire academy, and the next, I was curled up on my bathroom floor trying to breathe through the pain clawing at my chest.
Rejected.
The word echoed through my head so many times it stopped sounding real.
My wolf had gone quiet after the ceremony, retreating somewhere deep inside me like she was wounded too badly to move. I didn’t even know a bond rejection could hurt this much physically. Every breath burned. My ribs felt tight. My hands wouldn’t stop shaking.
At some point during the night, my phone started exploding with notifications.
I ignored it.
Then it kept vibrating.
Again.
Again.
Again.
Finally, around three in the morning, I grabbed it from the sink.
Forty-seven unread messages.
Twelve missed calls.
A hundred and sixteen notifications from the academy forum.
My stomach twisted. I opened the forum anyway. Which was a big mistake. The first thing I saw was a video.
The title alone made heat rush into my face.
THE MOMENT KAEL RAVENWOOD REJECTED HIS OMEGA.
Over eighteen thousand views. Comments flooded beneath it faster than I could read.
“She actually thought he wanted her?”
“This is why Omegas need to learn their place.”
“That rejection was brutal.”
“I almost felt bad for her.”
“Kael kissing Selena afterward was insane.”
Someone had zoomed in on my face right after Kael rejected me. My expression looked completely shattered.
I threw my phone across the bathroom before I could keep reading.
It hit the wall hard enough to c***k the screen. Then I cried harder because now I needed a new phone too.
Pathetic.
Absolutely pathetic.
The worst part was that a small piece of me still replayed the look on Kael’s face afterward.
Not during the rejection, but after. Right before I walked away. For one second, he’d looked affected.Not guilty exactly, but unsettled.
Like hurting me hadn’t felt the way he thought it would. I hated myself for noticing.
*****
The next morning, Blackthorne Academy felt different, it wasn't physically.
The buildings were still the same towering stone structures wrapped in ivy. The enormous courtyard still buzzed with students rushing toward classes beneath silver banners carrying pack insignias.
But the atmosphere around me had changed completely.
I walked through campus feeling every stare.
Every whisper, the laugh that cut off the second I looked in its direction.
People moved aside for me, not out of respect, but because humiliation made others uncomfortable.
Someone near the fountain snorted loudly.
“That’s her.”
I kept walking.
“She actually came to class?”
Another laugh followed.
“I would’ve dropped out.”
My throat tightened painfully.
Usually, I was good at ignoring people. Years of being the poor Omega girl from a ruined bloodline had trained me to survive mockery quietly.
But this felt different, thiswasn’t ordinary bullying. It was public destruction.
I reached my locker and immediately froze.
A printed screenshot from the rejection video had been taped across it.
Right beneath it, someone had written:
NO ALPHA WANTS YOU.
My chest hurt so suddenly I had to grip the locker door to steady myself.
“Wow,” a familiar voice said behind me. “That’s embarrassing.”
I closed my eyes briefly.
Selena.
Of course.
I turned slowly.
She stood there in her Blackthorne cheer uniform looking polished and beautiful while three girls hovered around her like loyal little pets.
Selena’s gaze flickered toward the picture taped to my locker before her lips curved slightly.
“You know,” she said casually, “I almost feel sorry for you.”
“Move.”
Her brows lifted. “Excuse me?”
“I said move.”
The girls behind her gasped softly like I’d committed some terrible crime by speaking back.
Selena laughed.
“Oh, I get it now. You’re angry because Kael finally made it clear you were never good enough.”
Something sharp twisted inside my chest, but. I refused to react. That only seemed to annoy her more.
“You really thought he’d choose you over me?” she continued quietly. “That’s honestly adorable.”
I reached for my locker. She slammed it shut before I could open it. The noise echoed through the hallway.
“Do you know what Kael said after you ran away crying?” she asked.
I didn’t answer. Selena leaned closer anyway.
“He said rejecting you felt like taking pity on a dying animal.”
My breath caught.
A lie.
Probably.
But it still hurt enough to make my eyes sting.
“That’s enough, Selena.”
The hallway fell silent instantly. I didn’t need to turn around to know who it was.
Kael.
Even Selena’s entire expression softened the second he approached.
“There you are,” she said sweetly.
Kael barely looked at her. His attention landed on me immediately. Or more specifically…
The picture taped to my locker.
His jaw tightened. For a second, nobody spoke..Then his eyes lifted toward mine. I waited for cruelty, or probably another humiliation.
Instead, his gaze lingered on my face strangely.
Like he was checking something.
“You look terrible,” he muttered finally.
I laughed softly before I could stop myself. Not because anything was funny. Because I genuinely couldn’t believe him.
“You rejected me in front of the entire academy,” I said quietly. “What exactly did you expect?”
Something reflected across his expression.
Again.
That same strange tension from last night. It wasn't a full regret, but definitely discomfort.
Good.
I wanted him uncomfortable.
Selena immediately wrapped herself around his arm possessively. “Baby, don’t waste your time.”
Kael’s eyes never left mine. And for some reason, that made everything worse.
Because if he could still look at me like this after humiliating me publicly, then maybe none of this had hurt him at all.
Maybe I was the only i***t suffering.
“People are talking,” he said finally.
I stared at him.
“You think?”
His jaw clenched.
“I didn’t tell them to post the video.”
“But you gave them something worth posting.”
There was a heavy silence. And then Kael looked away first. That tiny movement shouldn’t have mattered. But somehow it did.
Selena noticed too. Her eyes narrowed immediately.
“Come on,” she snapped at him. “Coach is waiting.”
Kael still hesitated. And for one pathetic second, hope tried creeping back into my chest again.
Maybe he wanted to apologize. Maybe….
“You should stay out of people’s way today, Lyra.”
The coldness in his voice crushed the thought instantly. Then he walked away with Selena. I stood there staring after him until someone nearby laughed under their breath.
Humiliation flooded me all over again.
I grabbed my books and headed toward combat training before I completely lost control of myself.
Unfortunately, combat class turned out even worse. The second I entered the training arena, conversations stopped.mEvery head turned toward me.
One guy actually started replaying the rejection video at full volume.
“You’re weak,” Kael’s voice echoed through the arena. “Pathetic. Completely unworthy of standing beside me.”
Laughter exploded around the room. I turned around immediately.
“Turn it off.”
The guy smirked. “Or what?”
Before I could answer, another familiar scent drifted through the room, and last night memory crawled back. He was the one that took me away last night.
Darius Nightcrest.
The entire atmosphere shifted the second he walked inside.
He was tall, had a broad shoulder, and tattoos curling beneath the sleeves of his black training shirt.
Most people at Blackthorne avoided Darius unless they had a death wish.
Today, he looked particularly dangerous. Most especially when his eyes landed on me.
Or rather—
On the rejection video still playing.
A muscle in his jaw ticked.
“What the hell is this?” he asked quietly.
Nobody answered.
The guy holding the phone laughed nervously. “Just entertainment.”
Darius walked toward him slowly like a predatory.
“Turn it off.”
Something in his voice made the guy obey immediately and the room fell silent again.
Then Darius looked at me, and once again, that strange expression crossed his face. Like he was sensing something he didn’t understand.
He stepped closer.
My pulse jumped.
“What?” I asked quietly.
His nostrils flared slightly. Then his brows pulled together.
“You smell strange today.”
I blinked.
“What?”
Darius kept staring at me like he was trying to solve a puzzle.
“It’s not Omega scent,” he muttered almost to himself.
The hairs along my arms rose instantly. Before I could respond, someone grabbed my wrist hard from behind.
“Maybe Kael rejected you because you’re defective–”
Pain shot through my arm. Then suddenly…. A wild heat exploded beneath my skin.
My body reacted before my brain could catch up..I shoved the guy away from me..A loud crash ripped through the arena.
Everyone froze.
The student who grabbed me flew across the room so hard his body slammed directly into the metal lockers before collapsing onto the floor.
Silence swallowed the arena whole. My breathing stopped..That shouldn’t have happened..I barely touched him.
An Omega could not throw a full-grown Beta across an entire room.
Fear crawled slowly into my stomach..Around me, nobody moved..Nobody even breathed.
Then Darius spoke.
Very quietly.
“What the f**k are you?”
- Writer
