CHAPTER 2

RUBY

On Monday morning, I woke up with a pounding headache and a heavy heart. The memories of last night replayed in my head like a broken record—Graham’s voice, so loud and certain, announcing his fated bond with Lizzy. The look in his eyes when he saw me, like I no longer existed. The way everyone in that room pitied me, whispered behind my back.

But most of all, I remembered Sebastian. His kiss—unexpected and confusing. His words that filled with a bitterness I hadn’t expected.

I sighed and pushed myself out of bed, shuffling toward the bathroom. Splashing cold water on my face didn’t erase the tired lines beneath my eyes or the ache that had settled deep in my chest. Last night had been overwhelming, to say the least, and even though I wanted to forget about it all, I couldn’t. Not when everything in my life was already falling apart.

I thought of my mother, and the familiar pang of loss hit me like a punch to the gut. It had only been four months since she passed, but every day felt like a lifetime without her. She was the only family I had—the one person who had always been there for me. And now, I was alone, living off the little money I made from my part-time job at the café.

Kingston College had been hard enough before, but without my mom, it had become nearly unbearable. The only thing keeping me afloat was the scholarship she had worked so hard to get for me. She’d made so many sacrifices, things she never talked about but I’d pieced together over time. She had done things to secure that scholarship, things that made me sick to think about.

But now... I had to make it through this final year. For her. A few minutes later, I got dressed up, ate my breakfast and headed to school.

The rest of the week was pure torture. Everywhere I went, the whispers and snide remarks followed me like shadows. Graham acted like I didn’t exist, walking past me with Lizzy, who hurled words that cut me to the bone. Graham didn’t just forget about me—he erased me.

“She really thought Graham would rejected his mate for her,” one girl said loudly as I passed, her group laughing like I was the punchline to a cruel joke.

I bit down on my lip, ignoring them, but their words stung more than I’d ever admit. It was one thing for Graham to move on, but having the whole school remind me I wasn’t good enough was unbearable.

Thankfully, Cassie and Aiden stuck by me. They had been my only real friends here—two people who didn’t judge me for being an omega or for my lower status. They were both from high-ranking family, but they didn’t treat me like the others did.

Cassie, with her bold personality and endless energy, and Aiden, quieter and more serious, were my escape. Though sometimes, I wondered if they only hung out with me because I helped with their schoolwork.

“You need to stop thinking about Graham,” Cassie said one afternoon in the library. “He’s a jerk, Ruby. You’re better off.”

“That’s easier to said than done,” I muttered.

Cassie rolled her eyes. “You need a distraction and Hockey game this evening will be good for you. Sebastian’s playing.”

I tensed at the mention of Sebastian, his kiss still fresh in my mind. I wasn’t sure I was ready to face him again.

“I don’t think—”

“Come on, it’ll be fun,” Cassie insisted, grabbing my arm. “Besides, you need the break.”

Before I could argue, she dragged me to the hockey rink. The crowd was loud, and the energy buzzed. My eyes instantly found Sebastian on the ice. He looked intense, completely in his element. And then, his eyes locked on mine. My heart stuttered. Why was he looking at me like that? And why did he have to look so ridiculously good in his hockey uniform?

The moment stretched out before he looked away, focusing back on the game just as it started to heat up. The girls in the stands screamed his name, shouting with excitement as he led the team. I stood there, stunned and confused, wondering what the hell was happening between us.

The next day, I tried to shake the feeling, but it lingered as I went about my morning's routine. I was halfway through making breakfast when my phone buzzed on the counter. I picked it up, expecting a text from Cassie.

"URGENT: Ruby Hale, you’ve been removed from the scholarship board. Settle your balance or your enrollment will be terminated by month’s end.”

My heart stopped. Removed from the scholarship board? I read it again, hoping I was imagining things, but the words stayed the same.

Without the scholarship, I was finished. There was no way I could afford the tuition. Everything I had worked for, everything my mother had sacrificed for, was about to fall apart.

Panic flared in my chest, and before I knew it, I was racing out of the apartment, throwing on whatever clothes I could find and heading straight for the school.

I barely registered the cold morning air as I pushed through the doors of Kingston College and rushed to the administration office. The receptionist gave me a sympathetic look, but her words cut deeper than any pity she might have offered.

“Your scholarship was terminated due to an administrative error. We’ve already reassigned the funds, and there’s no way to reinstate it at this point,” she explained, her voice annoyingly calm.

“But... But that’s not fair,” I stammered. “This wasn’t my fault!”

“I understand, but the only option now is to settle your outstanding balance by the end of the month. Otherwise, I’m afraid you’ll have to withdraw.”

Five thousand dollars. That was the amount standing between me and the future my mother had sacrificed so much for. There was no way I could come up with that kind of money in time, not with what I made at the café.

I walked out of the office feeling numb, my mind spinning with thoughts of what I could possibly do. There was no one I could ask for help, no miracle waiting in the wings. I was trapped.

I drifted through the hallways of the school like a ghost, my mind too heavy with worry to pay attention to anything else. My final year at Kingston was slipping through my fingers, and I had no idea how to stop it.

So lost in my own thoughts, I barely noticed when Aiden and Cassie came up beside me.

“Ruby!” Cassie’s voice cut through the haze in my mind. I turned to see her and Aiden, both smiling, but their expressions faltered as they took in my face. “Hey, are you okay? You look... off.”

I managed a weak smile. “I’m fine,” I lied, but Aiden raised an eyebrow, clearly not convinced.

“You don’t look fine,” he said, glancing at Cassie before looking back at me. “What’s going on?”

For a moment, I considered brushing them off, but then I sighed.

“I lost my scholarship,” I confessed quietly, staring down at the ground. “They said it was a mistake, but there’s no way to fix it. I have to pay the tuition by the end of the month, or I’m out.”

Cassie’s face fell. “What? That’s insane! You’ve worked so hard. They can’t just take it away like that!”

Aiden frowned. “How much do you need?”

“Five thousand,” I said, the weight of the number making my stomach churn. “But there’s no way I can make that much in time. Not with my part-time job.”

Cassie bit her lip, looking helpless. “I wish we could help, but... you know how it is with our parents. They control all the money, and even if we asked, they wouldn’t give us that kind of cash.”

Aiden nodded in agreement, his expression frustrated. “We’ll figure something out, Ruby. We have to.”

I smiled, but it didn’t reach my eyes. “Thanks, guys. Really. I appreciate it.”

We walked in silence for a while, and as much as I wanted to believe there was a solution, the truth was staring me in the face: there wasn’t. My part-time work at the café barely covered rent and groceries. Even if I worked double shifts, there was no way I could raise five thousand dollars in a month.

~~

As the school ended, I found myself drifting toward the parking lot, my thoughts tangled in worry and frustration. I had to find a solution—and fast. But then I saw them. Sebastian and his usual crew: Robert and Annalisa, the self-proclaimed queen of the school and daughter of his father’s Beta. Robert was lounging on the car, buried in his phone, while Sebastian and Annalisa stood close, almost too close.

Annalisa was clinging to his arm, laughing at something he said, her hand resting possessively on his chest. The sight of them together made something twist painfully inside me, and I quickly looked away, trying to ignore the sudden pang of jealousy that flared up. Just then, I noticed a group of girls trying to catch his attention.

For a moment, I couldn’t help but remember who he really was. A playboy. The hottest hockey star. He was the type who always had girls trailing after him, falling at his feet without a second thought. It was effortless for him, like he never had to work for anything—not for attention, not for affection.

And I couldn’t be one of those girls. I wouldn’t let myself fall into that trap, no matter how much my heart fluttered when he was around. There was too much at stake—too much I needed to focus on. And whatever that night had been, it wasn’t something I could afford to repeat.

I forced myself to walk faster, heading toward my part-time job at the café. The pay wasn’t great, but it was something. I needed every penny if I had any hope of making tuition. But deep down, I knew it wasn’t enough. No matter how hard I worked, I couldn’t make five thousand dollars in a month.

So lost in thought, I didn’t notice the sleek black car pulling up beside me until the window rolled down.

"Ruby."

I froze, turning to see Sebastian leaning out of the driver’s seat, his dark eyes trained on me with an intensity that made my breath catch. His usual cold, unreadable expression was there, but something was different.

“Get in,” he said, his tone more of a command than a request.