Chapter 3. Melinda Was Pissed Off

I ran home, slammed the door behind me, and my heart pounded in my chest. I couldn’t believe how I got the nerve to hit Aiden, the tyrant nobody dared to disobey.

That didn’t feel like me. I was born a wolfless Omega and learnt my lesson to lay low.

Luckily, for some reason I didn’t know, neither the twins nor Melinda chased after me. But I know better than trusting the odds of them letting me go this easily.

Moon Goddess bless me!

The sound of the wood door slamming sharply interrupted my mom. She came out to greet me, with her her face lit up with a smile as she held a beautiful amethyst necklace in her hand. 

She seemed to be happier than I used to see her.

But when she saw my red, swollen eyes, her expression quickly turned to concern.

“Honey, what happened?” she asked, opening her arms for me.

I rushed into her embrace, wiping my tears on her shirt, trying to act tough. “It’s nothing, just those pack jerks. I gave them a hard time.”

My mom was the best, but she was also an omega like me, and we survived by working as maids for the alpha family in the pack. Melinda was the daughter of the alpha, which is why she always referred to me as her personal slave.

As the lowest-ranking members of the pack, the boys in the pack always loved picking on me, and my mom knew that.

Hearing my words, something seemed to click in her. A look of determination flashed in her eyes as she said, "Alice, do you remember Uncle Lucian?”

I nodded. Ofcourse I remembered. How could I forget? 

He was my mom’s second chance mate, someone she had met just a few days ago. 

Despite the short time, their relationship had progressed quickly—they clicked in ways I hadn't seen before.

That made me wonder if it was the same situation back when she met my dad, but I knew it’s not fair to bring him up at this time.

No matter what, I was happy for her. She deserved to find her mate again.

Watching my expression carefully, she continued, “He asked me to bring you to live with him, and I was hesitating…”

I didn’t expect things between her and Uncle Lucian to move this fast.

A bit of bitterness flicked in my heart. But I knew she always wanted to get us out of the pack.

“That sounds great Mom,” I said, trying to be enthusiastic. “When are we moving?”

Relieved by my response, she smiled more brightly. “We can move tomorrow. He has three kids—two twin brothers and a younger boy. I don’t know if you’ll get along with them, but no matter what, you are the most important person to me…”

As I rested in my mom’s embrace, my thoughts began to drift away.

For some reason, the word *twins* stuck in my head.

I just hope I can survive the Nelson twins tomorrow.

***

No, the Nelson twins don’t even need to torment me personally.

Their followers did.

I felt it the time I entered the academy.

People were whispering behind my back, not just those jerks who loved to pick up on me,.It was everyone.

People I used to sit near in class.  Girls I’d shared a bathroom mirror with.  Even a few teachers glanced my way with that subtle flinch.

But as I came close, they scattered immediately like I carried some unseen curse that would infect them.

It wasn't until I reached the notice board on campus and saw Melinda and her girls put up my love letter with a footprint on it at the top that I understood what had happened.

Alongside it were printed slogans, all humiliating words. Those sincere words I wrote now felt like some sort of evidence of disgrace.

My fist gripped tightly as Melinda marched toward me, full of rage.

She and her girls surrounded me, all with obvious malice on their faces.

“Look who it is,” Her voice dripped with sarcasm, “The wolfless Omega Alice Palmer! Why are you even here in the first place? This is a top academy for werewolf and lycans, not some sort of gold-digging place for you to seduce the Alphas!” 

That again, Melinda loved to mock me about not having a wolf. Normally I’d just shut up and wait until she’s bored of my silence.

But this time she’s aiming for something. “Keep your sorry ass away from the Nelson twins, they are mine! Or I let Daddy have a nice chat with the headmaster.”

My heart sank.

I’d put up with Melinda’s endless digs and little cruelties for as long as I could remember, because deep down I knew—I had nothing to fight back with. No power. No wolf. No leverage.

As a wolfless Omega, the only reason I got into Moonlight Academy—the elite werewolf school every pack dreamed of getting their heirs into—was because I was a complete nerd. While everyone else was out running drills or flirting at pack bonfires, I was buried in books, trading sleep for study hours.

But grades alone didn’t buy survival here.  Reputation was just as important.  And if Melinda’s father—Alpha Bobby of the Blue Moon Pack, my pack—decided to whisper something nasty about me to the right people, the Academy could toss me out without blinking.

No. I couldn’t let that happen. 

This was my one shot at changing my future. 

Graduating from Moonlight Academy was almost the only ladder out of the bottom rung for an Omega like me… apart from finding a fated mate of higher rank—which, for someone wolfless like me, was a door forever closed.

I couldn’t let Melinda destroy that.

Swallowing my pride, I lowered my head and forced my voice to sound obedient. “I won’t go near the Nelson twins. They don’t even like me. Arrogant Alphas like them only fall for Alpha girls like you—pretty, flashy, and impossible to ignore。”

Damn my mouth. I could barely hide the sarcasm at the end.

Fortunately, Melinda seemed to take it as flattery. Her lips curled into a smug little smile as she plucked a cup of iced coffee from one of her girls.  Without warning, she tipped it over my head.

Ice-cold liquid streamed down my head, wet my clothes, biting into my skin until I nearly shivered. But I didn’t flinch. I simply closed my eyes and endured.

“Where’s that attitude from yesterday?  Now you look better. MAID.” She gave me one last satisfied look before clapping her hands. “If I see you within three meters of the Nelson twins again, I’ll make sure my father punishes your mother. Understood?”

I nodded once, biting back the hundred things I wanted to say. Inside, a tiny flicker of relief warmed me.   Mom had already found her second-chance mate. Once we left the pack, Melinda’s threats would mean nothing.

That’s when a sickly sweet voice chimed in, cutting through the tension. “Melinda, don’t be so harsh. She probably just doesn’t understand her place yet.”