CHAPTER 3 - Emery

I tried to stand. A hand shoved me back down. My palms scraped against the stone again, fresh pain blooming across my already raw skin.

"Where do you think you're going, reject?"

“Don’t call me that,” I replied.

The female snickered. "Ohhh I’m so scared. And what will you do? Even your fated mate didn't want you. What does that say about you?"

The other male laughed. "She's too big. I wouldn't want her either. Look at her. Disgusting."

The female spoke again. "Did you really think someone like Kael Moore would want someone like you? You're delusional."

The words hit deeper than they normally would. I was already bleeding from the rejection, and these bullies were pouring salt into the wound.

‘Don't listen to them,’ Zayna said, stirring inside me, trying to comfort me. ‘He wasn't worth you anyway. You're stronger than this. He's a blind jerk. A coward. You deserve better.’

But it didn't help. Their words settled into my bones, confirming everything I'd always believed about myself. Everything Lily had told me. Everything my pack had whispered. Everything I saw in the mirror I refused to look at.

Maybe they were right. Maybe everyone was right. Maybe I was too big. Too ugly. Too pathetic. Maybe the universe had made a mistake with me.

No.

Something snapped inside me. Something I'd been holding back for years. Years of being a doormat. Years of taking the hits and walking away. Years of letting people destroy me because I believed I deserved it.

Not anymore.

"Fuck off," I spat.

The words came out sharp, surprising even me. The three students blinked, clearly not expecting me to fight back.

"What did you just say?" the male who'd tripped me demanded.

I pushed myself to my feet, ignoring the sting in my palms, the ache in my knees. "I said fuck off. Are you deaf or just stupid?"

The female's eyes narrowed. "You think you can talk to us like that, reject? You're nothing. You've always been nothing. And your mate—"

"I said. Fuck. Off."

My voice cracked on the last word. I was shaking. Furious and embarrassed. But I was also tired. So fucking tired of being everyone's punching bag.

The male stepped closer, his wolf surging beneath his skin. His eyes flashed red. "You're going to regret that."

I braced myself. I knew what was coming. I'd been hit before. This would be no different.

But then-

"Enough."

The voice cut through the courtyard like a blade. Cold. Commanding. Absolute.

The three students froze. Their wolves cowered instinctively, submitting to whatever presence had just arrived.

I turned my head.

A man stood a few feet away, his silver eyes fixed on the bullies with an expression that could have frozen fire. He was tall, lean, with sharp cheekbones and dark hair that fell across his forehead in careless waves. 

He wore the black and silver robes of a professor, but there was something about him that seemed... more. More powerful. More dangerous. More everything.

Professor Felix.

I'd seen him on the dais during orientation. He'd been one of the faculty members watching the Mate Ceremony. But up close, he was devastatingly handsome. The kind of handsome that made your breath catch and your brain short-circuit.

I dismissed it immediately. I was too broken to care about something like that.

"Professor Felix," the female bully stammered. "We were just—"

"You were just leaving," he said. His voice was calm, quiet, and somehow more terrifying than if he'd shouted. "Were you not?"

The students scrambled. They muttered apologies, bowed their heads, and scattered like leaves in a storm.

And then it was just me and him.

Professor Felix turned his silver eyes on me. They studied me. He offered me his hand. I hesitated. Kindness always came with strings. I'd learned that lesson the hard way.

But my palms were scraped and bleeding, and I didn't think I could stand on my own. So I took his hand.

His grip was warm. Steady. He pulled me to my feet with surprising gentleness.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"I'm fine." The lie came automatically. I'd been saying it for years. "I'm fine."

His lips curved into something that wasn't quite a smile. "Fine? After being rejected by your mate?"

My cheeks burned. Of course he knew. Everyone knew. The gossip had already spread like wildfire.

"Right," I muttered, looking away. "Everyone knows how pathetic I am."

‘You're not pathetic,’ my wolf growled internally. ‘He's the pathetic one. He's the one who walked away. He's the one who didn't have the courage to-’

I pushed her voice down. I couldn't deal with her anger right now. I could barely deal with my own.

"I'm fine," I said again. Firmer this time. As though maybe if I said it enough, it would become true.

Professor Felix studied me for a long moment. His silver eyes seemed to see right through me, past the mask I'd spent years perfecting, straight to the crushed girl underneath.

"You are not," he said quietly. "You've just gotten used to telling everyone that."

I stilled.

No one had ever said that to me before. No one had ever seen through the mask. People only saw what I wanted them to see. I’d made sure of that.

My throat tightened. I didn't know what to say.

"Follow me," Professor Felix said.

And then he turned and walked away, clearly expecting me to obey.