The Alpha's Abused Mate

Chapter Seven

Slowly, I walked into the school, feeling sad. The day had barely begun yet I wished more than anything for the day to be over already—to be able to go home, crawl into my bed, pull the covers over my head, and shut out the world.

I was always filled with fear. I felt it at home, where I was supposed to feel safe. I felt it here at school, too and now, I felt it in the palace.

When would it end? Was I destined to live my life trapped in this endless cycle of misery and fear?

With my head down, I entered the school building, hoping, as always, to avoid any trouble. All I wanted was to make it through the day in one piece. I headed to my locker, trying to stay as invisible as possible. As I began to gather the books I needed for the day, a voice sounded nearby.

"Ohhh, Roseee," a high-pitched voice called out.

I didn’t need to look up to know who it was. I recognized that voice instantly. It belonged to Raquelle. The sound of her heels clinking against the floor echoed in my ears as she made her way over to me.

"Hi, Rosey," she said with a smile that didn’t reach her eyes.

"Hi," I murmured.

Raquelle folded her arms. "So, it's like that now? You deaf or something?"

"I answered you. Didn't you hear me?"

"Oh. I guess your voice is too low," she said with a wave of her hand.

I closed my locker and turned to face her "Yes, Raquelle? What do you want?"

She smiled again, but this time it was all teeth, the kind of smile that promised trouble. "Hello, sister. How are you?"

Her sudden sweetness made me suspicious. Raquelle never smiled at me like that unless she wanted something—or wanted to make fun of me. I would bet on the former this time.

"Just tell me what you want so I can get to class," I said.

"Well, since you put it that way… How's Alpha Kyle doing?"

I shrugged "He's okay, I guess."

"Great! I want to see how the palace is. I’ve heard it's big and fancy. Going inside would be perfect for boosting my page. I could go there to take pictures or even make a vlog for my YouTube channel. Can you tell Alpha Kyle that I’d like to visit you?"

The thought of asking Alpha Kyle for anything made my stomach twistwith anxiety. I could barely hold a conversation with him without feeling like I was walking on eggshells. There was no way I could grant Raquelle her request.

"I'm afraid that won't be possible," I said.

Her smile dropped instantly, replaced by a glare. "What?"

"We barely talk to each other. He doesn't like me at all,"

"How is that possible? You're mates!" she spat.

"I don’t understand it myself. He practically told me that he wants nothing to do with me."

"Liar!" she hissed "You’ll pay for this."

I sighed, already feeling drained. The day had only just started, and I had more than enough drama to last a lifetime. The last thing I needed was my sister making things even worse.

"Raquelle, please," I said.

"Because you're the mate of the strongest Alpha, you think you're better than me? You think you can say no to me? Think again. I always get what I want,".

She flipped her hair over her shoulder before strutting down the hallway.

I watched her go, shaking my head. I had a feeling she wouldn't let this go easily. I made my way to my first class, wishing I could disappear.

Once I got inside the classroom, I took my usual seat at the back, hoping to remain unnoticed. Nobody ever wanted to be paired with me, so I had gotten used to sitting alone. But today, something was different. The chair beside me scraped against the floor, signaling that someone was sitting next to me.

Surprised, I turned my head to see who it was. No one ever willingly sat beside me unless they had no other choice. The class wasn’t even full yet.

"Hey," a voice said softly.

I looked up to see a pair of unfamiliar brown eyes staring back at me. It was a boy—a boy I had never seen before. He must be new here.

He was tall, with deep brown eyes and a kind smile. He looked nice enough, like someone who wouldn’t hurt a fly. He was really cute.

"Hello?" I said confusedly.

He smiled warmly and stretched out his hand for me to shake. "My name’s Brandon. I’m new here."

I shook his hand, still trying to make sense of why he was talking to me. "I’m Rose,"

"Nice to meet you, Rose," he said, his smile widening.

I couldn’t help but smile back. He seemed genuine, "It’s nice to meet you too."

From the front of the classroom, I could see heads turning. People craned their necks to look at us. Some of them whispered to each other, probably wondering why the cute new boy was talking to me.

"I don’t think you should talk to me," I said quietly, looking at the table "I’m not really liked around here."

"Come on," he said in a teasing tone. "It’s not every day I get to talk to a pretty girl."

I blushed at the unexpected compliment. "Thank you,"

Just then, the Physics teacher, Ms. Jones, walked in

"Good morning, class," she greeted.

"Good morning," we choruses.

"Before class begins, I want everyone to turn in their assignments,"

She began moving from desk to desk, collecting our work.

Panic seized me. I had been so caught up in all the drama at home that I had completely forgotten about my homework. I hadn’t been able to do it last night because Raquelle had chased me out of the house. As Ms. Jones approached my desk, my heart raced.

"Miss Rose," she said firmly, "where’s your homework?"

I felt my body tremble with fear as I stammered, "I-I didn’t do it."

Her brow furrowed, and a frown spread across her face. "You didn’t what?"

"I’m sorry, ma’am. I’ll submit it tomorrow, I promise," I pleaded. .

"Get out," she ordered.

"Please, I’ll—" I began, but she cut me off.

"Get out!" she repeated, louder this time.

Once again, all eyes were on me. My cheeks burned with humiliation as I grabbed my bag and hurried out of the classroom.

*

The rest of the day passed in a blur. Thankfully, I managed to avoid any more trouble with the other teachers. But as I stood in the girls’ locker room after P.E., I realized my bad luck wasn’t over yet.

I had just finished showering and was getting ready to change back into my clothes. But when I opened my locker, my heart sank. My clothes were gone, along with my inner wear.

I wrapped my towel tightly around myself, trying to figure out what to do. I stepped out into the hallway, hoping that someone had simply misplaced them.

But there, in the middle of the hallway, I found my clothes thrown across the floor, as if someone had tossed them there for everyone to see. Sighing in defeat, I bent down to pick them up.

I didn’t need superpowers to know who was behind this.

It was obviously Raquelle.