Chapter 1 Eighteen and Alone

Tatiana's POV

"The photos are fake! I would never throw myself at any man for anything, Mistress!" My voice cracked through the tense air of the academy’s headmistress’ office, my chest heaving as I struggled to defend what little dignity I had left.

Her sharp eyes glinted with disdain as her shrill voice cut me down again.

"It doesn’t state that, Miss Veriland. The photos circulating , those very ones you saw yourself sitting on the lap of an unidentified man. You were not invited to that party. According to every report I received, you forced your way in. What more is there for you to say in your defense?"

Her words struck harder than a slap. My throat tightened and for a moment, I nearly caved under the weight of her judgment. But I forced my voice steady, bitter truth lacing every syllable.

"From the look of things, it seems you were prepared long before now to brand me as an immoral girl. What could I possibly say that would soften a heart already biased against me?"

"Miss Veriland—" she called, but I ignored the warning. If I stayed silent now, it would only repeat itself. I had to speak, even if she labeled my defense as insolence.

"Yes, ma’am, I am an omega," I pushed on, my voice ringing firmer than before. "And I’ve been here for more than six months already. I have seen how my fellow omegas were treated—pushed and humiliated, then expelled one by one until they were driven out. I know the pattern well."

"Miss Veriland—" she tried again, irritation seeping into her tone.

But I didn’t stop. "I am the last omega left in this academy, and I am painfully aware of how my very presence dents the image of this so-called prestigious school. That is the truth, isn’t it? That’s why you want me gone. So tell me, of what use is it for me to defend myself, when accusations will never be investigated, when my word will always be trampled, and I the victim will always be the one to take the fall?"

Her lips tightened. "Tatiana Veriland, you have less than a week to prove your innocence before the academy’s board. If you fail to provide witnesses who can vouch for you by then, I am sorry but you will be expelled."

Her tone was as cold and final as a gavel.

I rose slowly from my seat, fury burning in my chest like molten fire. She added, with that same cruel composure, "And while you are at it, learn to maintain decorum. Carry yourself with a shred of self-respect. Silver Claw Academy is not a training ground for mannerless women."

I swallowed hard, forcing the storm inside me back down and said nothing. Not a word because if I did, my anger would scorch everything in its path. I turned on my heel and left her office, the taste of rage thick on my tongue.

But I did not cry as I had learned long ago that my tears would change nothing.

This wasn’t the first time I’d been summoned here.

And I knew, deep in my bones, it wouldn’t be the last.

Only this time, it wasn’t just another suspension hanging over me.

This time, they wanted me gone for good.

***

“I only accused you of sleeping around with boys. It’s not like I reported you for something serious, Tatiana. Stop throwing your tantrums at me,” Liana sneered the second I opened the door to our dorm room.

I didn’t answer. The fury boiling inside me threatened to spill over.

“Step in or close the door if you’re not going to,” Amanda drawled from across the room, sprawled lazily on my bed. “I hate seeing it left open.”

My eyes snapped to her. Without thinking, I strode across the room and shoved her hard, sending her rolling off.

“Get off my bed! What happened to yours?!” I snapped, anger simmering higher with each breath.

“Calm down, Tatiana. She only sat there.” Liana rose from her own bed, her voice dipped in mockery. “It’s not as if she’s the redhead senior who sleeps with your boyfriend every other night. Or is that why you’re upset?”

Of course she’d bring that up, she always did. Ever since I caught Draven pressed against that senior in one of the academy’s classrooms, her lips locked to his and their naked bodies together, she never let me forget it. Even after I’d been foolish enough to forgive him.

Amanda, still lying on the floor, dared to climb right back onto my bed, scrolling her phone as if my words meant nothing. Mobile phones were banned in the dorms, but rules never mattered to them.

“I wasn’t talking to you!” I turned on Liana again, fists trembling at my sides.

“And if I wanted you to, what exactly would you do about it?” Her smirk made my stomach twist.

I clenched my teeth, silence choking me. For months, they had stolen my voice, twisting my dignity into ashes. But not tonight. Tonight, I couldn’t stay silent.

“You’re the ones sneaking boys into the room. You’re the ones keeping the hallways awake with your disgusting moans. So why report me? Why accuse me of what you do yourselves?” The words tore out of me sharply.

The air thickened. For once, they blinked, surprised at my defiance.

West Crest Academy, the so-called pride of the werewolf world was famous as the training ground of alphas and lunas. A dream for many. For me? It has become a nightmare.

When I took the scholarship exams, I never imagined my life would unravel this way. I never thought I’d end up the last surviving omega in a school that hated my kind.

Worse still, wolfless. Sixteen had come and gone, yet nothing stirred in me. No wolf nor an awakening. Nothing to protect me from their claws. Nothing to stop me from being prey.

Amanda lifted her head, her voice laced with venom. “So all this anger… don’t tell me it’s just because I agreed with Liana when she told the officer you were the culprit?”

I bit down on my tongue to keep my tears from spilling. My silence only fed their cruelty.

This wasn’t the dream I had when I arrived. I came here for a purpose, different from theirs. But instead of finding answers, I found torment.

First, they photoshopped me into scandalous pictures with some drunk at their party last week.

I hadn’t even been invited. I had only gone because it was my chance to sneak into a teacher’s home. Her daughter’s party was my cover to reach the old archives I needed.

But instead of helping me when that drunk cornered and harassed me, the girls turned the story, branding me the whore.

“Come on, Tatiana,” Liana said, her tone dripping with superiority. “You’re an omega. Did you forget that? Amanda and I are daughters of alphas. You should be grateful. You’re even here because of us. Because our fathers contributed to your scholarship. You’re still in this academy because we shielded you from the others kicking you out. Still in this dorm because we allowed it. And this is how you repay us? By raising your voice?”

Her words burned through me and I dug my nails into my palms until they stung. “I didn’t ask you to cover for me. I didn’t ask you to dump your crimes at my feet. Maybe if you two stopped breaking rules, bringing men and women to the room, I wouldn’t be forced to carry the punishment”

Amanda’s growl tore through the air. She shifted, her hand curling into sharp claws as she lunged, ready to slash across my face.

“Amanda, stop!” Liana caught her, pulling her back. “It’s not worth it. She’s wolfless and weak. Do you want her blood on your hands?”

“She’s so disrespectful!” Amanda spat, trembling with restrained rage.

But I didn’t listen anymore. My ears rang and the sting in my eyes threatened to betray me. Without another word, I turned to leave, desperate to keep the tears from falling in front of them.

“Happy eighteenth birthday, Tatiana,” Liana called just as I reached the door.

I froze. My heart stuttered. For one moment, I almost looked back. But I forced myself forward out the door without saying anything or acknowledging her words.

Why should I care? I’d spent the entire morning till this afternoon in detention because of their lies. My birthday had been nothing but humiliation.

And yet she remembered.

Once, when I first arrived six months ago, Liana had been kind. She’d called me her friend. But I had learned that meant nothing as our friendship only revolved around me doing all her academic work for her. She never bullied me.

But that was before the truth spread that I was wolfless, that I was omega, and that I didn’t belong.