Bella:
The day of the mating ball had arrived, and the school was abuzz with a mix of nerves and excitement. I lay sprawled on my bed, music blasting through my headphones to drown out the rest of the world—particularly Ryder and Fae’s incessant make-out sessions on his bed.
I wasn’t just battling the heartache of my mate being with someone else; I was also swamped with school work, having transferred mid-semester. To top it all off, the entire school despised me, so the ball was the last thing on my mind.
When my aching heart stopped, I knew they had finished, so I took off my earpiece and got to my feet.
I needed to get away to breathe, so I went to the fridge, grabbed a bottle of water, and Fae appeared, smug as ever.
“You might want to start looking for another place,” she sneered. “After tonight, Ryder will officially be mine, and as the future Luna, I cannot have you around.”
Her words stung, but I held back my response. “Thanks for not gracing the ball with your presence,” she added, her taunts relentless.
Before I could respond, a knock interrupted us.
A porter stood at the door, holding a large box. “Delivery for Ms. Bella Runestone,” she announced.
Inside was a dress from Alpha Fredrick, along with a note to meet him. Fae’s eyes narrowed with envy, but I didn’t waste time.
I didn’t waste a moment meeting the alpha.
There in the reception, Alpha Fredrick was waiting with a necklace in hand.
“This will help you blend in tonight,” he said, handing it over to me. “It will suppress your vampire side.” he added, and I forced a smile on my face.
“Thank you,” I muttered, returning to the room to unbox my dress.
The dress was a golden masterpiece, and for the first time, I felt a flicker of excitement about the ball. I texted Hazel, and she told me exactly where to find her, so I hurriedly dressed up and headed to the ballroom.
**
The ballroom was a whirlwind of colors and sounds. I spotted Fae, her dress shimmering obnoxiously.
She floated over, her words dripping with fake sweetness.
“I didn’t expect to see you here,” she said. “Your dress is… surprising. Almost better than mine,” she said, and I scoffed with an eye roll.
I ignored her, scanning the room for Hazel, and the moment I saw her, I bolted towards her. But I didn’t go too far when the spotlight hit me, and the room fell silent.
My dress, under the harsh lights, was revealing, and my hello kitty underwear was everywhere with phones flickering in my face. My heart raced as I wondered why Alph Fredrick would want to humiliate me in the presence of the entire school.
Then I looked up to see the triplets, standing with Fae and her minions, holding the missing lining of my dress, their grins wide and malicious.
“I think you dropped this,” she said, tossing it in my face.
Kai blocked Hazel’s concerned face, and I felt the rage building inside me.
My fangs threatened to show. In a swift motion, I clasped the necklace around my neck, and the laughter from the triplets ceased, replaced by a possessive growl.
“Mate!” They echoed, and I paused briefly to see the glow in their eyes.
I didn’t wait for Fae’s reaction. I pushed through the crowd, the necklace’s weight a reminder of who I was and what I had to hide. Outside, I ripped it off, my vampire fighting its way to the surface.
Alpha Fredrick arrived just in time, and I saw my mother get out of his car with him.
I glanced at them with a subtle glow in my eyes.
“Bella,” my mother called out.
But I was already gone, scaling the building with ease, leaving them—and their betrayal far behind
“Where is Bella?” Ryder’s voice was frantic.
“Will someone tell me what the hell is going on here?” Alpha Fredrick asked. “What did you do, Ryder?”
“This isn’t the time to push blame, because Bella is my mate and I need to find her!”
“Our mate!” the twins growled.
As the tension in the air thickened, I stood atop the building. The triplets below were a mix of confusion and concern, their scents mingling with the cool breeze.
My heart raced from the betrayal as my mind replayed the evening’s humiliations, the laughter of her peers, and the sting of the spotlight.
My wolf fought hard to regain control, creating turmoil in my mind. I was lost in thought that I didn’t notice Fae approaching from behind. Before I could tell, she pushed me, but my vampire reflexes were fast, causing me to grab the railing on the roof.
“That won’t save you, Bella. You think you can waltz into this school, and steal what is mine? I see the way Ryder has been over you since you arrived, and now, this.” She shook her head.
"Please, Fae, you do not want to do this. You can have Ryder, and I will reject him if you want, please.”
“Like that will happen under the alphas watch. It ends tonight, and right now,” she said, stepping on my fingers, causing me to slip off the railing.
In the twinkle of an eye, I was falling freely from the tip of the roof. Time seemed to have slowed but in reality, I was falling very fast.
I could save myself. I knew that, but that would be in exchange of everyone finding out my secret. Mother’s words rang in my ears, and as I thought of the fact, I would be staked to death, I bit myself quickly, storing part of my vamp blood in my mouth before switching to my wolf.
The triplet sensed something wrong, and they turned in my direction at once.
“Bella!” They echoed, rushing to my aid, but they were too late.
I allowed myself to fall to the hard, rocky ground in human form. I felt the air being knocked out of my lungs and a hundred bones in my body breaking. I shut my vampire side.
“Ouch!” The triplets exclaimed at once.
Panic surged in as I heard my mom calling for an ambulance while my vision began to blurred, and I slowly lost consciousness.
“Bella, please don’t die. We promise never to mistreat you again,” Ryder said, holding my hands, but my body paled out and I slowly lost consciousness.
Seeing the triplets plead didn’t make me feel better. It increased my drive for revenge, because it took almost dying for them to recognize my worth.
The moment I was wheeled into an ambulance, I swallowed my blood, which healed me while I feigned being passed out, thinking of the best way to make the triplets pay for their sins.
The first thing on my mind was rejection, and now that I had the power to make them suffer, I was determined not to hold back.
Third person pov:“I can not believe the moon goddess would do this to us,” Ryder said, breaking the silence between himself and the twins.It had been hours since Bella fell from the roof, and they still had not gotten over it, let alone the fact that she was their mate.“I do not know how to feel or how to control my emotions. What if she dies, and we have to go our entire lives without a mate?” Kai said, pacing around the room, as Ryder and Finn looked at him. “We are horrible people, and we will live without mates. How will we carry out our duties if...?”“Kai, you are overreacting!” Ryder stated, and Kai paused to stare at him.“Overreacting?” He inquired in a raised tone. “Says the person who signed us up for this. It was your idea to bully her, and Finn and I agreed because we were supposed to be best friends; however, if she dies, we will throw away everything we have worked for, and...”“No one is dying, Kai,” Finn, who had been sitting calmly on a couch in the Alphas’ living
Bella:“Why didn’t you say something all this time?” Ryder asked in a loud voice, and I shrugged with a frown.“Are you going to yell at me for remaining silent after falling off a tall building because of you?” I asked, raising my brow.He was about to speak when the twins placed a hand on his shoulder and told him to calm down.I did not care because all I could think about was rejecting them, regardless of how many good things they did for me.“Look, Bella, we apologize for what we did and hope you can forgive us. I know it almost cost your life for us to apologize, and I sincerely hope we can move on,” Finn said, and I stared at him silently.Their words sound inferior to me because the last time Ryder attempted to apologize, he spilled the food, and they all mocked me. The thought of it caused untold pain in my heart, but I was not ready to talk about it.“Thank you for the gifts,” I managed to say, and everyone fell silent for a few moments.Someone knocked on the door, then ope
Bella:Seeing the triplets in pain pricked my heart, but I braced myself because they had treated me like an animal earlier.“This is very cruel of you, Bella, and—”“You know my name is Bella?” I cut Ryder short before he could finish his sentence.All this time, he had only called me names or, at best, my surname, but for once, he realized I had a name.I watched the three of them, fuming on their knees, trying to mask their pain with anger. A part of me prayed they would reject me too, and the other part feared how much pain I would go through when they did.“What are you waiting for? Too chicken to reject me?” I questioned, trying to push them to their limit.Ryder was about to speak when Finn grabbed his hand and stood up.“We know better than to reject you back, Bella, and that is the only way the mate bond can be severed. Even though we are in pain,” he paused, grabbing his chest with a frown as he tried to maintain a firm tone, “We won’t reject you.”After he finished, there w
Bella:I took Hazel back to the room as fast as I could, then I dumped her on the couch, returning to get a couple more sachets. After that, I went back to my room, got into bed, and decided to finish my snack of chilled blood sachets for the night.My mind pricked me as I looked at Hazel peacefully asleep, and I hoped that one day, when she found out, she would forgive me and know that what I did was right.“I came about thirty minutes ago, and I searched for her, but I couldn’t find her…”My mother’s voice trailed off.I pulled the sachet out of my mouth, tossing it under my bed, just as she pulled the door open.“Oh, she is here,” she said, ending the call and rushing towards me with a worried face.“Where have you been, Bella?” she questioned, placing her hand on my head to check my temperature, which was fine now because I had fed.“I’m fine. I had to get some fresh air,” I said, frowning.No matter what she said or did, she was the same person who wanted me dead.“Please do not
THIRD PERSON POV:Fae and Ryder lay side by side, his thoughts drifting back to Bella’s rejection. He hated his life at that moment, especially the fact he had to stoop so low for Bella’s attention.“Who does she think she is?” he muttered aloud, sitting up abruptly.Fae, lost in her own thoughts about what she had done to Bella, barely registered his words. She knew that once Bella spoke up, there would be an investigation, and there would likely be witnesses. That fear gnawed at her, but she kept her focus on Ryder.“I wish I could make her disappear,” Ryder said, flopping back onto the bed in frustration, his arm brushing against Fae’s chest by accident.The touch startled Fae, pulling her out of her thoughts. Seeing the frustration etched on Ryder’s face, she climbed on top of him, hoping to distract herself and him. She pressed her lips to his neck, but he stopped her, grabbing her hands.“What are you doing? We only have about thirty minutes before breakfast, and I don’t want to
Bella:I hated them so much, but why did it hurt again seeing him with Fae? She was the person who had attempted to murder me, and yet he showered her with love.“Fuck you!” I groaned, slapping my chest for the pain it felt.I walked as fast as I could to Hazel’s room.When I grabbed the handle, Hazel caught my left hand.“Bella!” she called out. I turned to face her with tears shimmering in my eyes. “You do not have to keep doing this to yourself, please, Bella,” she pleaded. I swallowed hard, pulled the door open, and threw myself onto the bed.She shut the door and walked towards the bed.“I’m fine,” I muttered. She tried to hold my hand, but I withdrew, because I was ashamed that she had to see me this way.I wiped away my tears, then I took a deep breath, turning off my emotions. I was a fool for switching them back on, and I didn’t care if I was running from my problems. This seemed better, and I had better things to waste my emotions than some boys who didn’t give two shits abo
Bella:After Ryder was suspended in front of the entire school, I couldn’t pay attention to classes for the entire day. He had so much effect on me, and it bothered me a lot because I switched off my emotions, but he still found his way to bug my mind.“Turning off your emotions doesn’t affect me,” my wolf spoke, answering the question which had been bugging me the entire day.The last bell went off.Students rushed out of the class while I packed up my books after wasting an entire day for nothing. Maybe I should have stayed back, I reasoned, but then it was too late to cry over spilled milk.“Hey, do you know what extracurricular you want to take now?” Hazel asked, and I looked up to see her never-ending smile plastered on her face.I sighed, slapping my forehead because I had forgotten I needed to take an extracurricular to boost my credit units.“You cannot be sad all the time, and you know that.”“I’m not sad, I just feel guilty for what happened to him, and...”“Isn’t that what
Third person pov:When Ryder got home, his heart sank badly. He knew he had made a mistake, and he knew it would not be long before he would get a call from his father. The fact Bella moved out seemed like a good idea to him, but when he opened the door to his room and saw her space was bare, he felt a wave of sadness, which left him shaken for a moment.“You won’t even look at me after what you have done to disgrace me the entire day.”Fae’s voice cut through his thoughts, drawing him back to reality. She was supposed to be his peace, but right now she threatened it, and it made him wonder if this was worth it.“Look, Fae, I’m sorry for crossing the line, and I hope we can move past this,” he said, walking straight to his wardrobe to change.He pulled off his shirt and tossed it on the door of the wardrobe, taking out a casual shirt. He was about to pull off his pants when Fae got up from the bed.“That is all you’ve got to say?” She grabbed his shoulder and spun him around. “Is this