The Alpha’s Forbidden Mate

TWENTY

The morning air was crisp, the kind that nipped gently at my skin as I stepped out of the house. I turned back, giving my grandmother a small smile.

“Goodbye, Grandma. I’ll be back after school,” I said softly before heading down the familiar path.

Walking alone was nothing new, but today my thoughts weighed heavier than usual. My hand instinctively brushed against my chest, only to feel the emptiness there. The pendant… gone.

A tight ache bloomed inside me. It was the only remembrance I had of my parents—the parents I had never even known. They died in a car accident when I was just a baby. That pendant was all I had left, and now it was lost.

I exhaled a long, shaky sigh, trying to accept what felt inevitable. Maybe it is truly gone forever… And yet, deep down, I still hoped. If I could just go back to that cabin… maybe I could find it.

But the memory of that place sent a chill crawling down my spine.

Those eyes.

Those beastly eyes staring at me through the small hole in the cabin wall.

The image flashed vividly in my mind, and my stomach turned. Whatever it was, it was not human—and I never wanted to see it again.

My pace quickened the closer I came to the forest. The trees loomed in the corner of my vision, and then—

A noise. A rustle. Something moving inside.

My heart slammed against my ribs. It’s the beast again.

I half-walked, half-ran, every step a frantic mix of fear and urgency until the sight of the school gates finally came into view. Relief crashed over me, and I bent slightly, catching my breath.

“You’re just being paranoid,” I muttered under my breath, shaking my head as if I could shake away the fear itself.

But as soon as I stepped inside the school grounds, my relief crumbled.

Rhian.

And her friends.

They stood there, waiting.

A heavy dread sank into me. Here we go again.

I already knew what was coming.

I kept my head down, forcing myself to walk straight, refusing to give them even a glance. Maybe if I ignored them, they would get bored.

But of course, that was wishful thinking.

A sharp grip landed on my shoulder, yanking me back. One of Rhian’s friends leaned in, her voice dripping with mockery.

“You really want me to touch you, huh?” she sneered, her tone laced with disgust, as if even brushing against me made her dirty.

My throat tightened. I bit down hard on my tongue, choosing silence. If I spoke, it would only get worse.

Rhian’s smirk cut into me as she looked me up and down, slow and deliberate.

“You know,” she drawled, her voice thick with venom, “seeing you first thing in the morning always ruins my day.”

I swallowed, forcing myself not to react, not to give her the satisfaction. I didn’t plan to say anything—until a new voice sliced through the air, sharp as glass.

“Then close your eyes.”

The words were cold. Unflinching.

Rhian stiffened. All of them did. Even I blinked in shock, staring at the girl who had suddenly stepped up beside me.

Zelira.

One of the transferees.

Rhian’s smirk faltered. Her chin lifted, trying to mask the shift in her confidence. “Excuse me? What did you just say?”

Zelira’s gaze was like ice, her lips curling into the faintest hint of a smirk that didn’t reach her eyes. “You heard me. If looking at her ruins your day, then shut your eyes and keep them shut. Simple, isn’t it?”

She tilted her head slightly, the sharp edge of her stare never leaving Rhian. “She hasn’t been looking for you. You’re the one stepping in her way. So tell me—who’s really desperate here?”

The silence that followed was heavier than anything I had ever felt in these halls. Even Rhian, for the first time, had no quick reply.

Rhian’s lips twisted, and she let out a sharp, brittle laugh that didn’t reach her eyes.

“Well, isn’t this cute?” she sneered, flipping her hair back with exaggerated confidence. “A transferee acting like she knows something. Newsflash—” her gaze cut toward me, dripping venom, “—you don’t know anything about her. Or me. So maybe keep that pretty little mouth shut before you embarrass yourself.”

Her words had bite, but I caught the flicker in her expression, the crack in her composure. She wasn’t used to being challenged—especially not in front of her friends.

Zelira didn’t flinch. Her voice came out steady, even colder than before.

“Maybe I don’t know your history,” she said, her tone almost bored. “But I know enough to see you corner someone who isn’t even fighting back. That’s not strength—it’s pathetic.”

The air around us tightened, heavy with the stares of passing students who had slowed to watch. Rhian’s smirk wavered again, the color rising faintly in her cheeks.

Beside me, my heart pounded so hard I thought it might give me away. No one had ever spoken up for me like that—not like this.

The hallway had begun to slow, the shuffle of footsteps tapering as curious eyes turned our way. Whispers fluttered like moths against the walls.

One of Rhian’s friends stepped forward, her chin lifted high in practiced arrogance.

“You really don’t get it, do you?” she said, her voice pitched loud enough for the audience gathering around. “This school has rules. And the first one—” her eyes darted to me with cruel delight “—is you don’t go against Rhian if you don’t want to end up like… that trash.” She jabbed her chin at me like I was proof enough.

Heat crawled up my neck, shame tightening my chest as more eyes flicked toward me, measuring me against her words. My fists curled at my sides, but I stayed silent, the old instinct to endure rooting me to the spot.

Zelira didn’t even blink. She turned her head slowly toward the girl, her lips curving into the faintest of smiles—sharp, deliberate.

“So the great rule of this school,” she said, her tone laced with mockery, “is to bow down to someone who needs a gang to feel important?”

Gasps rippled through the students, a current of shock weaving between them. Rhian’s friend faltered, her smugness slipping for the first time.

And Zelira didn’t stop.

“Funny,” she continued coolly. “Where I come from, a ‘queen’ who hides behind others isn’t called a queen at all. Just a coward with a crown made of paper.”

The words landed like stones, and the whispers surged louder. I caught the way Rhian’s face stiffened, the way her hand clenched into a trembling fist.