Cynthia Dion:
"What is she saying?" Rosalie disregarded the murmuring crowd and directed her inquiry toward her friends with benefits.
"Is she your mate?" she turned to Atticus, tears already streaming down her face. Her intensity had escalated to a whole new level. She seemed oblivious to the many students recording her emotional outburst for two alphas who weren't even her designated mates.
"Why are you even giving her the time of day?" Enzo attempted to be sly, but I was certain she saw through his act. They must have turned 18 and found their mates by now.
"I'm not lying. They are both my mates. We felt the mate bond---," I halted mid-sentence as Enzo advanced toward me aggressively, causing fear to course through me.
"She's telling the truth!" Rosalie asserted, deducing from his reaction. "You two hid this from me," she cried out, her tears flowing freely.
"That's enough drama for tonight," Atticus finally intervened after a period of silence, signaling to the crowd outside to disperse.
"No! Nobody's leaving until a decision is reached," Rosalie sniffled, wiping her tears and giving herself a determined nod.
"What decision?" Enzo's forehead creased in confusion.
"You two are going to reject this omega b***h right now," she demanded with an air of confidence.
With everything now laid bare, I questioned whether my impulsive admission about our mate bond was a grievous mistake. She seemed relentless in her pursuit to have them reject me, a situation that could shatter my hopes of escaping from my abusive father.
"What are you saying, Rosalie? Let's not delve into this right now," Enzo tried to mask the situation, his smile forced as he attempted to make light of it.
"Why are you smiling?" Rosalie turned to him, her voice edged with frustration. "Can you see me smiling?" she questioned, her cheeks streaked with tears and her sobs growing audibly pronounced.
"You can't ask my mates to reject me," I interjected with a grumble of exasperation, unable to bear it any longer. First, she bullied me to the point of tears, driving me to hide in the bathroom, and now she was acting as though I was the one encroaching on her mates.
Her face flushed crimson upon hearing my retort, challenging her and referring to her cherished alphas as mine.
"Atticus!" she uttered his name in a hushed tone, her gaze never wavering from my face. "If you don't reject her right now, I'll never speak to you again."
Her ultimatum prompted Atticus to shift his posture, straightening his stance.
"The same goes for you, Enzo. If you want her to understand your significance to me, then you'll reject her here and now," she gestured to the spot she occupied, demanding my rejection. It felt like she was driving a knife through me, and my mates stood there, mere observers of her actions.
"Tell her you don't even care about her. Tell her to go screw herself," she persisted, causing my eyes to well up.
This evening would determine whether a mate bond was stronger than the words of a sidechick. I remained silent, allowing her tirade to continue, as it appeared that if he was willing to reject me for her, then perhaps our fates were never meant to intertwine.
Then, abruptly, Enzo stepped forward, his expression unyielding. The onlookers had been observing and recording our interaction for a while now. The decision my mates made this night would inevitably impact my school life in the aftermath.
"This omega rogue holds no significance for me. She's just a stranger who, by some twist of fate, ended up being fated to us," Enzo's words held little sway over her, and she made her disdain clear through vehement head-shaking.
"Reject her," she insisted, her demand locking my gaze with Enzo's.
Before Enzo could utter a word, Atticus abruptly tugged at his jacket, positioning himself directly in front of me, locking eyes with mine.
"I, Alpha Atticus, reject you as my mate," his voice carried no trace of remorse, only a seething blend of hatred and anger.
The audible sigh of relief that escaped from Rosalie's lips and the subdued cheers from the crowd were overshadowed by the agony that gripped my wolf.
"Arghh!" I cried out, my whimper echoing as I crumbled to my knees. I hadn't anticipated the intensity of the pain from rejection. In fact, the ordeal was so excruciating that I couldn't even muster the strength to stand after collapsing.
"See, there you go! Now, hurry up and accept his rejection so Enzo can reject you next," Rosalie taunted, her lips curved in a smug smile. I remained on my knees, my hand pressed against my chest, my gaze raised, and tears streaming down like a relentless river.
I had been a fool to believe he would resist the decision.
However, Enzo remained silent. While I had anticipated that Enzo would follow Atticus in rejecting me, I hadn't expected it to be Atticus who made the first move. In that moment, the realization hit me: I needed to escape from this place, or my heart might cease to beat.
"Come on---," Rosalie gestured toward Enzo, prompting me to regain my feet and race towards the exit.
"Hey! Stop that---," Rosalie's authoritative command was cut short by Enzo, who seemingly recognized his parents' arrival.
I spotted them in the hallway, witnessing the entire distressing scene with a blend of shock and likely disapproval. I hurried past them, tears blurring my vision as I navigated through the agony that threatened to tear me apart.
"Ahh!" I involuntarily cried out, collapsing to my knees and then crawling away from the scene of my rejection.
'Why?' Thia's anguished voice erupted in my mind, broken and desperate. 'WHY DIDN'T YOU f*****g STOP HIM?' Her cry was even louder this time, causing me to cover my ears and sit on the pavement, my surroundings becoming inconsequential.
'I couldn't. I won't beg him to accept me,' I shouted back at her, though her mournful wails were rendering me nearly deaf. Her pain was undeniable, understandable, but so was mine.
'You are the reason we will never escape this wretched life now,' her cries reverberated in an unsettling manner. It was almost as if she had no self-worth left, fixated solely on being accepted by Atticus.
'Shut up!' I whimpered, squeezing my eyes shut and keeping my ears covered in an attempt to block out her relentless lament.
"Now he will coerce me into even more deplorable acts," she continued her lament, but I offered no response.
"Shut up!" I repeated my plea in a hushed murmur, imploring her to leave me be. However, a warm hand on my shoulder shook me awake from my internal turmoil.
I opened my eyes to find the handsome face of Mr. Zeon Holt hovering over me, concern etched on his features as he leaned towards me.
"Cynthia! What's happening? Why are you crying?" His demeanor radiated compassion and care. Despite being a decade older than me, he seemed more decent than the alphas who were supposed to be my mates.
"I---- g---," I began to speak, but then I shut my eyes tightly, unable to confide in him about my mates. He was, after all, a friend of my father, and I couldn't wholly trust him.
"It's alright. Take my hand, and I'll escort you home," his lovely green eyes locked onto my face as he extended his sturdy hand toward me.
I gazed at his hand in silence, only to catch a glimpse from the corner of my eye that someone was observing us. Atticus and Enzo had appeared, their presence a manifestation of the shattering of my trust in mate bonds.
"Thank you!" With the knowledge that their eyes were on me, I placed my hand in Mr. Holt's. He assisted me in getting up and walked me to his car. After he helped me settle into the seat, I noticed my phone buzzing in my pocket.
It was a faint glimmer of contentment amid the turmoil, a small spark that kept me tethered to life that night. The contents of the text were perplexing, particularly coming from the person who had just rejected me.
Atticus: Who the hell is this guy to you? Why did you get in his car?
I snorted, wiping away my tears and swallowing my frustration before turning to read Enzo's message.
Enzo: So you're into older guys now? What is your connection with him?
I stared at the two messages, the anger within me simmering like molten lava. Finally, I replied with a falsehood that would irrevocably alter the course of my life.
Me: I won't stand for anyone badmouthing him. He's one of my many mates, and he's the one I'm fully committed to, even my virginity.