7.The Room She Left Behind 2
1061 Words
RAE
The world tilted. I felt like I was falling, even though my feet were still planted on the carpet.
"Yes!" she continued, her voice getting louder. "You were a servant. I remember now. Sara told me you were her father's bastard."
The blonde gasped, one hand flying to her mouth. They were both staring at me now like I was some fascinating specimen they'd found under a microscope.
The dark-haired girl's eyes widened even further, and when she spoke again, her voice was barely a whisper. "Wait. Aren't you an Omega?"
The question hit me like a physical blow. I felt my wolf cower inside me, pressing low and small, trying to hide from the predators circling. My tongue felt thick and useless in my mouth.
"I... I..." The words wouldn't come. My throat had closed up, and all I could do was stand there, opening and closing my mouth like a fish drowning in air.
I tried to step back, to close the door, but the dark-haired girl was faster. She shoved her leg against the door frame, blocking it with her foot.
"What the f**k?" Her voice had gone from curious to outraged in the span of a heartbeat. "What is an Omega doing in our school?"
"I..." I tried again, but my voice came out as barely a whisper. The scent of their aggression was filling the hallway, making my wolf whimper and press even lower. Every instinct I had was screaming at me to submit, to roll over and show my throat, to make myself as small and unthreatening as possible.
But I couldn't do that. Not here. Not now.
"Please," I managed to get out. "I'm just trying to—"
"You're trying to what?" The blonde had found her voice again, and it was sharp with disgust. "Pretend to be something you're not? Goddess, this is so f****d up."
They were both talking now, their voices overlapping, but I couldn't make out the words over the roaring in my ears. All I could think about was my father's message. Keep your head down. Don't let anyone discover you're Omega.
Too late.
I looked down the hallway, desperate for help, for anyone who might intervene. But it was empty. Just me and these two girls who had already decided what I was worth.
The dark-haired girl was still talking, gesturing wildly with her hands. "...can't believe they'd let an Omega in here. This is supposed to be for the elite, not charity cases and bastards who—"
"Stop." The word came out louder than I'd intended, and they both turned to look at me in surprise. "Just... stop."
For a moment, the hallway was quiet except for the sound of our breathing. I could smell their shock, their indignation, their excitement at having discovered such juicy gossip. But underneath it all, I caught something else. Digust. They were disgusted by me, and what made it worse was that I was the one backed against a door with nowhere to run.
The silence didn’t last.
The blonde girl stepped forward, her smile tightening into something cruel. “You think you’re brave now? Cute.” She leaned in closer, her perfume thick and cloying. “Do you know what would happen to a girl like you in Nocturne?”
I didn’t answer. I didn’t trust my voice not to crack. My nails dug into the wood of the door behind me.
The dark-haired girl took that as permission to move in too. She reached up and touched my hair, running a strand between her fingers like it was something dirty. “They said Omegas were good for only three things. Obedience, heat, and staying out of sight.” Her lips curled into a sneer. “Looks like you’re failing at all three.”
I jerked my head away, and her smile widened.
The blonde circled me slowly, like she was inspecting merchandise. “You thought putting on a uniform and using the Vale name would make you one of us? Did your daddy finally acknowledge you or is this just his way of getting rid of you? Toss the problem child into the lion’s den and see what’s left of her in the morning?”
My chest rose and fell fast, too fast. My hands shook where they were pressed behind me.
Then one of them slapped the folder I was holding out of my hands. It hit the ground with a dull thud, papers spilling across the hallway floor.
“Ooops,” the dark-haired one said sweetly. “Clumsy.”
I bent down to pick it up, but the blonde planted her foot on the papers, grinding her heel into the top sheet.
“Beg for it,” she said, her tone soft, dangerous. “Come on. Say please.”
I looked up at her. My pride burned hotter than the embarrassment. “Move your foot.”
Wrong answer.
Her hand snapped out and hit me across the face. Not hard enough to leave a mark, but enough to sting. Enough to make me feel small again.
“You don’t get to talk to me like that, mutt,” she spat.
Laughter bubbled from her friend. “She’s lucky we don’t drag her down to the dungeons and let the seniors have a go at her. Isn’t that what your kind’s for?”
I froze.
They both saw it. The change in my posture. The fear I couldn’t hide.
The blonde leaned in again, her voice a whisper against my ear. “You should run back to your kennel, Rae. This place isn’t for you. And the more you try to pretend it is, the worse it’s going to get. And trust me, we’ll make this place hell for you.”
Her friend snorted. “Hope you’ve packed heat suppressants. Your little Omega scent will draw attention from the boys, and not the kind you’ll enjoy.”
I stood there, pressed between the door and their words, heart pounding, throat dry.
Then they turned and walked away like nothing had happened, laughing, their heels clicking against the polished floor.
I dropped to my knees and gathered my papers in silence. My cheek still burned. But it was nothing compared to the cold pit growing in my stomach.
Was this school going to eat me alive?
- Writer
