The Wolfless Beta's daughter

Chapter2

Eliana's pov

I was halfway across the cafeteria with my lunch tray balanced carefully in both hands when someone knocked a cup of juice straight into my uniform, the cold liquid splashed across my shirt, soaking through the fabric and dripping down the front of my skirt.

I stopped so abruptly that the food on my tray nearly slid onto the floor, and for a few seconds, I could only stare at the spreading stain while the heat of embarrassment crept up my neck.

Then the laughter started. I slowly looked up and found Mira Badmus standing in front of me, her empty cup dangling loosely from her fingers as though she had not just ruined my uniform in front of half the cafeteria.

Mira was Sarah’s closest friend, and she had always carried herself like she was better than everyone else. Her long dark hair fell perfectly down her back, her sharp features made her naturally intimidating, and she had a particular talent for saying or doing just enough to make someone feel small.

She looked at the stain on my uniform, then back at me. “Finally,” she said, folding her arms. “You’re listening.”

My brows drew together as I tightened my grip on the tray. “What do you want?”

A small smile tugged at the corner of her lips. “Henry is officially announcing Sarah as his future Luna tomorrow.”

My fingers tightened around my tray as I lowered my eyes for a moment, trying to keep my embarrassment and irritation from showing on my face. “I know,” I said quietly, my voice steadier than I felt.

Mira smiled, the kind of smile that made my stomach twist because it carried no warmth, only quiet satisfaction. “Good,” she said softly, almost as though she had been waiting all morning to hear those words.

Then she turned and walked away with an exaggerated confidence, her long dark hair swaying behind her as she disappeared into the crowd.

I remained where I was, my fingers still curled tightly around my tray as I fought the sting behind my eyes. I hated that she had embarrassed me in front of everyone, but what hurt even more was the way nobody seemed to care.

The laughter continued, conversations resumed, and students went back to their meals as though I had not just been made to feel like the smallest person in the room. I dropped the tray on the table, the sound of plates and cutlery clattering against the surface drawing a few more curious glances, but I no longer had the strength to care.

I hurried to the restroom and stood in front of the mirror, using handfuls of cold water to clean the juice from my arms and neck before carefully wiping the stains from my uniform with wet tissue. The more I tried to make myself presentable, the more humiliated I felt. I kept telling myself that it was only juice, that it was only a uniform, and that I should not let Mira’s cruelty get to me, but the words did little to quiet the ache in my chest.

I did not return to the cafeteria. Instead, I went straight back to the classroom to sit quietly at my desk, hoping to rest my head at least before everyone else returned, but that was me just hoping.

I couldn’t find my chair when I got to my desk. I stood beside it, staring at the empty space where my chair was supposed to be. At first, I thought someone had simply moved it as a joke, but the longer I stood there, the clearer it became that nobody intended to give it back.

A boy sitting near the window leaned toward his friend and whispered. “The Moon Goddess must have hated her.” And although he said it quietly, the words reached me with painful clarity, but I pretended not to hear him.

I had become very good at pretending, even when some teachers seemed uncomfortable whenever my name appeared on the attendance list. There would be a brief pause, an awkward glance in my direction, and then my name would be called in a voice that sounded almost irritated.

“Eliana?”

“Present,” I would answer, and every time I said it, I wondered what was so wrong with my name that even adults seemed forced to say it.

I had come to the academy believing that the worst thing I would have to survive was being different. I had not yet realized that, to everyone, my very existence was the problem.

Everyone except Professor Darius, he was the oldest instructor in the academy, a stern-looking man with silver beginning to show at his temples and a quiet presence that seemed to command respect without demanding it.

During combat theory, I caught him watching me several times. I ignored him, keeping my eyes fixed on the notes in front of me. When the bell finally rang and the other students began gathering their books, Professor Darius closed the folder on his desk.

“Eliana, stay behind.”

My stomach tightened immediately. What had I done?. The classroom emptied slowly, the scrape of chairs and murmurs of conversation fading until the heavy wooden door closed behind the last student. I remained beside my desk for a moment, nervously holding my books against my chest before forcing myself to walk toward his desk. With every step, my mind raced through everything I might have done wrong.

When I reached his desk, I stopped a few feet away. “Did I do something wrong?” I asked, trying to keep my voice steady.

Professor Darius leaned back in his chair and studied me for several seconds before answering.

“No, Eliana. You have not done anything wrong.”

His calm response should have reassured me, but somehow it made me even more nervous. “Then why did you ask me to stay?”

He folded his hands on top of the desk, his expression becoming more serious. “Because I have been watching you.”

My heart skipped. “Watching me?”

“I have watched the way you enter this classroom with your shoulders lowered, the way you avoid looking at your classmates, and the way you apologize even when you have done nothing that requires an apology.”

I lowered my eyes, suddenly uncomfortable with how easily he had noticed things I had tried so hard to hide. “I just don’t want trouble.”

“I know,” he replied gently. “But there is a difference between avoiding trouble and being afraid of your own existence.”

His words struck somewhere deep inside me. I swallowed hard and looked away. “You don’t understand.”

“Then help me understand.”

I hesitated, unsure how to explain things to him.

Professor Darius waited patiently until I finally whispered, “Everyone thinks there is something wrong with me.”

He remained silent for a moment before asking, “Has anyone ever told you that being wolfless does not necessarily mean being powerless?”

I stared at him, almost certain I had heard him incorrectly. “What?”

“Being wolfless,” he repeated, his voice firm but calm, “does not automatically make you weak, Eliana.”

A bitter laugh escaped me before I could stop it.

“Everyone tells me the opposite, sir.”

Professor Darius’s expression softened, and there was a certainty in his eyes that I could not explain.

“Then everyone is usually wrong.”

I stared at him, unable to find a reply and before I could ask Professor Darius what he meant, the classroom door opened, and Alpha Henry walked in.