Marked By Hatred

The silence wasn’t helping. It gave my mind too much space to think, too much time to spiral. I stared at the cracks in the ceiling, trying to keep my breaths steady, but every inhale felt heavier than the last.

“Three mates.” The words rattled around in my head, taunting me.

Three mates. Three chances. Three rejections.

“No, not rejections,” my wolf interrupted, her voice brimming with excitement. “Three bonds. Three blessings! Do you know how rare this is, Elowen? We’re chosen three times over!”

Blessings. She actually called them blessings. My stomach churned, and I buried my face in my hands. “They don’t feel like blessings,” I whispered. “They feel like curses.”

“Don’t say that!” my wolf snapped, her voice sharp. “Ranon and Theron—they weren’t worthy of us. The Moon didn’t make a mistake; it gave us stronger bonds to replace the weak ones. And now we have Alaric! He’s the strongest of all. Do you feel it? His power? His presence? He’s perfect for us.”

“Perfect?” I let out a bitter laugh. “He hates me.”

“He doesn’t know us yet. When he does—”

“He’ll hate me more,” I cut her off, my voice trembling. “He despises Omegas, remember? Or did you forget the way he looks at us? Like we’re nothing?”

My wolf huffed, annoyed. “That’s because he hasn’t seen us as his yet. Everything will change now. The bond will change him.”

“No, it won’t.” My voice cracked, and I clenched the blanket tighter around me. “It didn’t change Ranon. It didn’t change Theron. Why would Alaric be any different?”

“Because he’s not them,” she insisted. Her voice softened, filled with a kind of unshakable hope that made my chest ache. “Alaric is stronger. He’s our equal. He’s meant for us.”

I shook my head, the tears I’d been holding back finally spilling over. “No, he’s not,” I whispered. “He’s going to reject us, just like the others did. Or worse… he’ll keep us, and it’ll break me all over again.”

“You’re stronger than you think,” my wolf said gently.

“No, I’m not,” I shot back, my voice rising. “I’m tired. I can’t keep doing this. I can’t survive another mate who doesn’t want me. I can’t survive him.”

The bond tugged at my chest, faint but unrelenting, and I could feel my wolf’s yearning through it. She wanted him. She needed him in a way I couldn’t understand, couldn’t stop.

You’re afraid, she said softly, and it wasn’t a question.

“Of course I’m afraid,” I admitted, my voice cracking. “I’m terrified. He’s going to look at me and see nothing but weakness. And when he realizes I’m his mate…” I swallowed hard. “It’ll destroy me.”

“It won’t,” my wolf said firmly. “You’ll see. This is different. He’s different.”

I wanted to believe her. I wanted to cling to that fragile hope she carried, but all I could see were the faces of the mates who had come before. Ranon, who had turned cold when I couldn’t be what he needed. Theron, who had walked away angrily . And now Alaric…

My stomach twisted, and I shook my head. “I can’t do this again.”

“You can,” my wolf said, her voice full of conviction. “You’re not alone, Elowen. You have me. You have the bond. And soon, you’ll have him.”

Her certainty was almost painful. I wanted to scream at her, to tell her she was wrong, that the Moon had made a mistake. But the words wouldn’t come. All I could do was sit there, trembling, as the night stretched on and the weight of the bond pressed heavier on my heart.

Alaric was coming. And whether my wolf was right or not, I wasn’t ready.

Not for him. Not for any of it.

----

The day had barely started, and already the air felt heavy with whispers, judgment, and scorn. Lisa walked beside me, her warm presence the only comfort I had in this suffocating pack. She was the only one who didn’t treat me like I was nothing. The only one who didn’t look at me with hatred in her eyes.

“They hate me,” I muttered, gripping my books tighter to my chest as if that could shield me from their stares. “Just because I’m… what I am. A weak Omega.”

Lisa’s expression softened as she glanced at me. “It’s not fair, Elowen. They’re just cruel. None of this is your fault.”

“Tell that to the Triplets,” I said bitterly. “If they despise me so much, why am I their mate? Why couldn’t the Moon Goddess pick someone else?”

Lisa sighed, shaking her head. “You can’t control the mate bond, Elowen. But… how did you feel? When you found out about them?”

I hesitated. The truth was, I didn’t know how to answer that. Fear. Anxiety. Hopelessness. They all swirled inside me, refusing to settle. “How do you think I felt?” I whispered. “I’m bonded to the three most dangerous Alphas in the pack. And they hate me. Just like everyone else.”

Lisa placed a gentle hand on my shoulder. “I’m sorry. You don’t deserve this.”

Her words were kind, but they didn’t stop the ache in my chest. As we entered the classroom, I felt the weight of a hundred eyes on me. Their whispers started almost immediately, like vultures circling their prey.

Then it happened.