ONE: BULLIES IN THE CORRIDOR

Darkness veiled my senses as I closed my eyes, inhaled deeply, and braced my feet against the cold tiles of my college corridor. If two years back, one had told me that my life would turn this miserable, I would have laughed at them and caught it as a joke, but—

 

 

“You are quite early today, you disgusting slut.” A shrill, grating voice hissed at me and I opened my eyes to find the two people who had turned my life into a recurring nightmare.

 

 

Samuel, my ex-boyfriend, and his mate, Natalie stood in front of me.

 

 

“Maybe she thought that she won’t be caught,” Sam said, venom laced in his voice, cocking his head to the side.

 

 

Samuel Smith, the well-known warrior of the strongest pack Blood Moon used to be my boyfriend for two years. When I was a freshman in college, he was the same and he had asked me out at the first-year party. I was on cloud nine.

 

 

He was tall, broad-shouldered, and had blonde hair that fell on his shining blue eyes. How could someone like me have rejected a guy who was so gorgeous and was dreamed of by every girl in college?

 

 

After all, he was a warrior wolf and I was a mere human.

 

 

Only if I had known that it was the worst decision of my life. Samuel Smith made my life miserable when we were in a relationship.

 

 

When I finally got the courage to break up with him, it somehow hurt his ego and now he resorted to bullying me. The after-effects of the relationship were enough to traumatize me and grow within the fear of getting attached romantically.

 

 

“You have some audacity to stare at me, hmm? You shameless bitch!” Sam growled, his face turning red with anger and he choked me, my back forced against the wall.

 

 

“S-am!” Small ragged gags escaped my throat while I tried to resist, holding his wrist. His palm pressed against my throat and I felt a shortness of breath.

 

 

Was I going to die? That wouldn’t be a bad option. Just as I thought that my life would end today for good, Sam let go of me and I fell on the cold floor with a thud.

 

 

I coughed while holding my throat which felt like it would close any second.

 

 

Before I could collect myself, Natalie’s hand connected with my right cheek in a slap, and my face fell on the hard tile, “Looks like you are born with no shame. You know Sam is my mate and you still touch him?” she spat.

 

 

She liked to find ways to put the blame on me, even when it was clear that I did not lay a finger on Sam.

 

 

I did not get time to respond as Samantha, one of Natalie’s minions stepped forward and sat on her heels, cupping my mouth. Natalie stamped the sharp heel of her stiletto on my hand which was laid flat on the ground.

 

 

Muffled screams escaped my mouth. Everything looked blurry with hot tears rolling down my eyes. I knew no one was going to come for my help.

 

 

This day would pass, Avery. Just hold on a little longer. Don’t let them get the satisfaction of seeing you in pain.

 

 

“What is happening here?!” The voice of Professor Jade came to my ears. Both Samantha and Natalie backed away on hearing her voice. I felt relieved that a teacher was there.

 

 

“Nothing ma’am. We were just talking.” Samuel said in confidence as if he owned this place.

 

 

This was my chance to get away!

 

 

I immediately got on my feet and slung my bag to my front to scurry away from the corridor when the teacher saw me. She noticed me and scowled, “What are you doing here, Miss Williams? Don’t you know that it is against the rules to roam in the corridors when the classes are going on?”

 

 

“Ma’am, I—”

 

 

“Miss Williams, to the detention room right now!” Professor Jade yelled and I clutched my bag tighter. I looked past my shoulder to see the smirk on Sam’s face and walked to the detention room.

 

 

Once I sat down on one of the empty benches, I looked at Professor Jade, who sat on the chair with her head resting on her joined arms at the back. There was no one except us two in the room.

 

 

Detention was not common in colleges, but Winterville worked differently. The biggest irony of this college was that they claimed detention and strict rules would make everyone disciplined, yet the ones who were at fault always got away.

 

 

“Prof?” I called her,

 

 

“Hm?”

 

 

“You knew what was happening, didn’t you?”

 

 

She looked at me and her eyes slid to the angry red mark that was on my neck.

 

 

“I will give you some medicine for that. Wait here.” She said and moved from her seat. I couldn’t control it anymore and burst into tears.

 

 

She sighed, “I am sorry, Miss Williams. But there is nothing I can do. I am just following my orders.” Saying that she stepped out of the room, leaving me alone with my thoughts.

 

 

I wiped my tears and looked outside the window. This was how Winterville was. Better to say, this was how the town was. The Warriors got away with anything since they held a rank among the humans and werewolves.

 

 

Also, Sam and Nat were from reputed wolf families that paid donations to this college. This college pretty much ran on the whims of the wealthy and powerful. The complaints of common people like us were either never heard or pushed away.

 

 

Sam used to be sweet when we began our relationship and things were great. Until that one day.

 

 

He called me to his house and told me that he heard I was sleeping with one of his friends. It was, of course, a lie.

 

 

I tried my best to explain and prove myself. But his temper just got worse and he hit me. I was sent to the hospital, terribly injured. Sam would sit right outside my chamber and visit me daily, telling me how sorry he was.

 

 

I believed that he was sorry at that time. But things only got worse from there.

 

 

Professor Jade stepped back into the room with a first aid kit and applied antiseptic on the back of my hand, where the heel had dug into my skin. I hissed in pain and asked, “Is it going to affect my grades?”

 

 

“I am afraid it would. Detention carries a negative mark on your grades.” She said, her face stoic. She was used to students getting bullied and injured like this. And I was slowly turning into a frequent visitor. If this continued, then my scores would degrade and I won’t be able to secure a good job outside Wilfair.

 

 

“You can leave once the bell rings.” Professor Jade informed me as she was done with treating my bruises and stalked out of the class. Sometimes I wondered how these people were so heartless.

 

 

This was my final year, with two semesters left and I had plans to move out of this dreadful town. When I started to face the bullying regularly, I fought back with what I could, but the consequences fired back on me, burning me down to ashes.

 

 

My parents became the talk of the town because everyone thought I was the problem, not Sam. The typical toxic mindset of the townsfolk. And it left behind a rift between my parents and me. 

 

 

I wanted to be free of all this.

 

 

And for that, I needed to secure good grades. But with my frequent visit to the detention room, it was getting harder.

 

 

I heard the bell ring and slung my bag on my shoulder, planning the ways I could stretch more hours at night to compensate for the marks that I would be losing for detention. I stepped out of the class and my face went pale when I noticed Sam standing with his boy gang, an evil smile on their faces.

 

 

I did not understand why they were smiling until I took one step ahead when ice-cold water splashed on my body from above.

 

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