1: A Nightmare Come True

BROOKS

“Fuck. You're so perfect, Brooks. And so fucking tight. You were made for me.”

“I love you so much, Brooks.” He groaned, and he proved it with his tongue and hands. His mouth worshipped my body: my folds and curves, all the curves I've always hated. He loved everything. He held me reverently like I was made of feathers, and his eyes never left mine as he made the sweetest love to me.

The sweetest love that made my back arch and moans spill out of my mouth relentlessly. When we finally finished, we lay side by side, breaths heavy and chests heaving. He grabbed my hand before pressing a lingering kiss to my temple.

“Thank you for giving this to me, Brooks. Can't wait till I'm crowned so you'll become my Luna.”

I smiled as I turned to him, and my heart skipped a beat at the way he was looking at me. It was so consuming and so full of love. I never thought the alpha prince could be sincere about me. When we realized we were mates during a social night a little over a month ago, I expected him to be disgusted that the moon goddess had given him a fat outcast, lowly omega as a mate. But instead, he befriended me and started courting me properly as his mate and future Luna.

We never explicitly announced that we were mates, but the school picked up on it because we became close overnight. And slowly, the student body that once scorned me began to respect me. The girls who once bullied me started wanting to become my friends.

And me? Being the object of Levi's fascination was the best thing that has ever happened to me. It filled me with so much glee, happiness, and fulfillment. It washed away the years of getting moved between orphanages and foster homes.

With Levi Hawthorne, I found a home and a sanctuary. One that left a permanent smile on my face.

That permanent smile was still on my face as I walked through the gates of Ironcliff Academy. Juniors and classmates alike greeted me and waved. I waved back, feeling the lightness in my steps alongside the thousands of students in blue, when an announcement suddenly came over the speakers.

“Dear Ironcliff students,” came the student president's voice on the speakers, “welcome to a new academic week. Please be informed that there'll be an impromptu assembly in the main auditorium in less than 10 minutes, and all students are hereby required to attend the assembly immediately. Failure to comply with this will lead to punishment.”

I frowned, wondering what the impromptu announcement was all about, and I headed to the auditorium, just like the rest of the students. I looked around for Levi because I hadn't seen him all morning, and we hadn't spoken all weekend, which was unusual since our relationship started. The last message I sent to him was still unreplied to in his dm. He had told me he'd have a busy weekend dealing with the pack, but this wasn't the first time he'd be busy, and he had always managed to find ways to reach out to me and to tell me how much he was missing me.

I ran into Theo, who was Levi’s beta and closest friend, at the auditorium entrance.

“Hi, Theo. Have you seen Levi? Didn't hear from him all weekend.”

“Uhmmm, hi Brooks. Levi? Really?” he wasn't meeting my eyes, and his words came out in a rush, “I'm not sure. I haven't seen him. I'm sure he's somewhere in there. I have to go now.”

And then, he was gone before I could reply. I stared at his retreating back until he disappeared into the hundreds of students entering the auditorium and taking their seats. I followed suit, certain I'd see Levi when the announcement was over.

I saw him before the announcement started, because once the students were all seated, a student I recognized as Levi climbed up to the podium and stood behind the lectern.

My heart did that familiar flip whenever he was in the room, but a shadow of concern soon fell over me when I saw his expression. He looked so tightly wounded, like he hadn't slept in ages, and his hair was rough like he had run his hand through it countless times.

“Good morning to the entire student body of Ironcliff Academy. I'm sure everybody knows who I am, but for the sake of those who don't, I'm Levi Hawthorne, alpha prince to the **** pack.”

He paused, and there were screams of ‘of course, we know who you are,’ which would have made him smile on a normal day, but his expression remained closed off. That made me concerned as I worried about what could be going on.

“I'm here to address something really important,” he continued after the noise died down, “there has been some unfortunate news about having a mate and courting her as my Luna and I'll like to clear the air on that and to reassure everyone that I haven't found my mate yet and whoever I've been involved with during the last weeks is nothing more than a fling.”

The air in the room dissipated completely as I felt my heart drop and my throat tighten. His words replayed endlessly in my head, but they sounded alien and foreign, as if spoken in a language I didn't understand. The auditorium became smaller as everybody in it turned to look at me. Their whispers filled my ears.

“Thought as much. There's no way someone like her would be mated to the alpha prince.”

“Of course, she was nothing more than a fling. Bet Levi just wanted his share of those fat ass and big boobs.”

“God! I can't believe I've had to kiss up to her over the last month just because I thought she was something important.”

Their whispers grew uglier and uglier while my body numbed out, and I remained frozen on the seat. This couldn't be happening. This was a lie. Levi wouldn't throw me away like this. He loves me. He said he'd make me his Luna.

“That's all for this announcement. You all can now disperse to your classes.”

“Not so quick, son,” came an authoritative voice that drowned the whispers and carried enough power for us to know that he was an alpha. I looked toward the voice to see an older-looking version of Levi climb up to the podium.

This was the first time I'd seen him in person, but his gait, posture, and authoritative aura proved he was the alpha king. The whole auditorium rose in greeting, and I followed dumbly too. He waved us back to our seats when he got to the lectern. Levi froze completely beside him.

“My son is quite the gentleman who's worried about tarnishing the image of someone he considered dear to him,” he started, “That's why he gave you an incomplete version of the story. He actually found his mate a couple of weeks ago.”

The auditorium erupted into a round of whispers and murmurs. More students turned to look at me, while I remained frozen in my seat. I could hardly feel a thing. It felt like I had been dropped into a simulation where I could only watch things happen to me.

“And he was happy that he had found someone to make his Luna, but after deep investigations and consultations with the royal Council, we've come to realize that the mate bond is nothing but a sham, and this mate of his, Brooks Beauregard, is nothing but a spy working for an enemy group plotting to overthrow the royal family.”