Bound To My Tormentor

RHEA I paused at the classroom door. My chair had been moved, and all eyes followed me. “Is she still here?” someone whispered. “She lasted a week,” another said, smirking. “Bet it gets interesting now.” "I can't imagine how hard it must be for her to continue showing up every day. She must really not care or simply has a thick skin." "We will see how thick her skin is in the days to come. I assure you that she'll leave in a weak time." "Poor girl," the lady murmured as they both glanced at me. Heat crept up my neck. I gripped my notebook, hands trembling. The professor didn’t flinch. His gaze slid past me as if I were invisible. “Settle down,” he said lazily, eyes turning back to the board. “We continue where we left off.” The professor’s voice was almost bored as he began. I listened with rapt attention even though I knew what he was teaching. When he asked a question, I knew the answer and raised my hand without hesitation. His eyes roamed around, landing on me briefly but ignored it and called on another person. I blushed in embarrassment and lowered my hand. It wasn’t the first, second, or third time it would happen, but I couldn't seem to adapt to it. I heard snickers and mocking laughter. The air in the room shifted suddenly. The professor paused mid-sentence and resumed with more care. My classmates straightened their seats. I didn’t need to look to know who had arrived. Kyros Greywood. As the heir to one of the most powerful packs, his presence was a heavy, suffocating force. My skin tingled, the way it did when something predatory was close. When I finally glanced up, his grey eyes locked on mine. It wasn’t curiosity or anger—it felt like an assessment. The student beside me leaned over. “Hey, do you want to....” He froze as a sudden shift swept through the room. He leaned back without finishing his sentence. Kyros didn’t move, spoke, or look away. He just deliberately kept watching me and soon the memories came slowly. I remembered the isolation, the way people retreated from me like I was carrying a contagious disease. It was all because of him. I swallowed hard and stared at him and what I saw made my breath hitch. Hate. Kyros hated me. I wondered why he would hate me. Ever since I resumed, I haven't gone out of line and do what I wasn't supposed to. I was either attending classes or in my tiny dorm room. Yet, he watched me with an intensity that felt like a claim. The thought was absurd; I almost laughed at how he could watch someone he didn’t know as if they belonged to him. That morning had started the same way it always did. I woke up before the bell, my body biologically accustomed to it. The room was still dark, mist clung to the window, blurring the world outside. I brushed my hair off my face and sat up slowly, careful not to knock my legs against the wall. My dorm room was barely larger than the bed inside. One desk, a tiny wobbly chair, and a small wardrobe with a door that doesn’t stay shut unless I pushed hard. I lingered on the mattress longer than I should, breathing through the familiar tightness in my chest. The ache worsened as I swung my feet on the cold floor, which reminded me of what was missing. My wolf. Other wolves had bounded by now. Mine hadn’t. Maybe because I was an omega. I moved to the window and looked at the forest. A group of young wolves ran in pairs, their coats glinting in the early morning sun. A wolf howled, and the others responded in chorus. They disappeared further into the forest, their howls fading into the distance. I felt a sharp pang of longing in my chest. I wanted to join them and bask in the early morning sun and dew, my paws thumping the dead leaves and wet earth. I tugged absently at the silver locket around my throat and looked away from the window. I caught myself in the mirror, studying the flaw that made the world decide I shouldn't exist. The world as in Greywood Academy. My eyes were too big, my expression watchful, like someone always guarding against something. I wasn't always like this, but staying at Greywood academy made me this way. I was a shell of myself. Before I gained the scholarship to Greywood Academy, I never deemed myself to be ugly, but the students here didn’t think so. Because I was wolf-less and an omega, it made me an error to them. I jolted out of my thoughts as the sky began to get clear and bright. I hurried into the bathroom, took a quick shower, and got dressed, layering my clothes due to the cold. I had no wolf to protect me from the harsh winter. I glanced at the mirror and my reflection looked unfinished. My long white hair was pulled back, covering almost my entire face. I walked out of my room before the thought would linger. ~ By the time I walked to the main hall, head down, I had seven minutes to be scrutinized. Students passed with effortless confidence, their whispers following me. The academy tower rose out of the fog. The building was intimidating yet beautifully constructed. It looked old yet modernized. The stone walls were decorated with pictures of pack crests and the Moon Goddess. Expensive cars of different shapes, sizes, and colors were parked, and the courtyard was already alive with students moving about without a care and easy confidence. “See you at training later,” someone called. “Yeah. Don’t be late,” another replied with a grin. "I've got something to tell you, but it will be after training." The other person groaned in annoyance. Envy coiled in my stomach. I wanted to walk like them, unafraid, unwatchful.