MATED TO THE BULLY

chapter 2 :Birthday and Revelation

Sage woke that morning with a pit in her stomach.

Today wasn't just any day—it was her eighteenth birthday. The day she would finally participate in the mating ceremony, a rite of passage that would determine her fated mate.

She tried to calm herself, telling her reflection in the mirror that she had to be strong. Her heart pounded, but her face remained calm, almost cold.

She smoothed down her hair and tugged at her uniform, hoping no one could see the tremor in her hands.Her pack's hall was filled with tension that morning. Every wolf, young and old, gathered in anticipation. Sage tried to shrink into the crowd, but whispers followed her like shadows. She could feel eyes lingering on her, judging, waiting.

Jaxon was already there, standing with a circle of his usual admirers. His gaze swept the room until it landed on her.She felt it before she saw it—a heat in her chest, a familiar pull she had tried to ignore for years.

She looked away quickly, her stomach twisting. "It's nothing," she whispered to herself. "It's just nerves."The Alpha cleared his throat and called for silence.

"Today, we honor our eighteen-year-olds. You will stand and declare your fated mates, as the bond chooses for you."Sage swallowed hard. Her pulse was loud in her ears, her palms slick.

One by one, the names were called, and pairs walked forward, glowing slightly as the bond acknowledged them. Her friends, the ones who had teased her but never truly harmed her, walked proudly with their mates, their faces shining with happiness. Sage's chest tightened, a pang of loneliness cutting through her carefully built composure.And then it happened.

"Jaxon Cole and… Sage Winters," the Alpha announced.The world seemed to stop. Sage froze where she stood, her breath catching in her throat.

Jaxon's name—and hers—together.She couldn't breathe. Her legs felt weak, and her eyes widened as she realized exactly what it meant. The boy who had made her life a nightmare, the boy she had feared for four long years, was now declared her fated mate. Her stomach turned, and panic clawed at her chest.Jaxon's eyes went wide in shock. He stepped back, his jaw tightening.

"What?" he hissed under his breath. His usual smirk was gone, replaced by something darker—anger, disbelief, even fear.Sage wanted the ground to open beneath her. Her classmates were staring, some whispering, some openly laughing, some looking stunned. She felt the heat of embarrassment crawling over her skin.

She had hoped, somewhere deep down, that fate would spare her this. She had hoped she could stay invisible forever."Step forward," the Alpha commanded. "Accept your mate, or speak your refusal."Jaxon's eyes snapped to hers. His voice was sharp, cutting through the hushed crowd. "I… I can't," he said, his tone loud enough for everyone to hear.

"I will never accept this. Never. I would never choose someone like… someone pathetic.

"The word hit Sage like a physical blow. Pathetic. That's what she was. The label she had carried silently for years, now thrown in her face by the one person she never wanted to acknowledge. She felt tears burn behind her eyes, but she blinked them back.

She couldn't, she wouldn't, give him that satisfaction.The hall was silent except for the whispering of wolves around them. Sage's legs felt like jelly, but she forced herself to step back, to pull her shoulders straight. She didn't answer.

She didn't even look at him again."Walk away," Jaxon spat, his anger barely contained. "Disappear, if that's what pathetic omegas do.

"Sage's chest ached, but she obeyed. Slowly, silently, she turned and walked out of the hall. Every eye seemed to follow her, but she kept her head down. She didn't cry. She didn't plead. She just moved, one careful step at a time, until the doors closed behind her.In the empty hallway beyond, she let herself lean against the wall. Her body shook, not just from humiliation, but from the shock of fate itself.

The boy who had tormented her for years was now… somehow, destined to be hers. It made no sense. She hated him. She feared him. And now, somehow, she was bound to him.A soft sound behind her made her turn.

One of the younger wolves peeked from around the corner.

"Sage… I'm sorry," the girl whispered. Sage didn't answer. She just shook her head and walked away.The rest of the day passed in a blur. No one dared approach her, and she made sure to avoid any lingering looks from Jaxon. She ate in silence, moved in silence, breathed in silence.

Every step was heavy, every glance felt like a dagger.That night, alone in her small room, Sage curled up on her bed. Her hands still shook, her stomach still churned.

She could still hear the laughter, the whispers, Jaxon's cruel words echoing in her mind. Pathetic. Weak.She pressed her face into her pillow and let herself shiver, finally allowing a single tear to fall. She had survived years of torment, but this… this cut deeper than any shove or insult ever had.

She didn't know what the future held, but she knew one thing for certain: she could never, ever forgive him for this. Not now, not ever.And as she stared at the ceiling, the faint moonlight spilling across her room, Sage silently vowed that she would disappear from their lives completely.

She would leave. She would survive. She would grow stronger. And one day… one day, she would never have to look at Jaxon Cole again.But fate had other plans.