MIRABEL’S POV.
Sitting in class felt like a slow, torturous death. Not only was Damian sitting directly behind me, but he had also abandoned his usual spot in the back with his brother and fiancée, Vivian. Yeah, the Vivian who was currently glaring holes into my skull every time I so much as shifted in my seat. It was like I could feel her hatred crawling across the back of my neck.
Can you blame me for feeling anxious? Vivian and I were polar opposites. She was the rich, popular supermodel everyone envied, while I was… just me. No designer clothes, no sparkling social life. Just your average loser trying to survive high school.
Not that I envied her life. Honestly, keeping up with her image seemed exhausting. Rumor had it her dad was a total control freak who made her wake up before the sun to run miles and barely let her eat anything that wasn’t green and leafy. But hey, who really knows? This is the same school that started a rumor I had herpes after showing up with a swollen face from a food allergy. So yeah, credibility isn’t exactly this place’s strong suit.
Still, it was impossible not to feel like I was sitting on a ticking time bomb. Knowing Damian, this was all some sort of setup. Maybe he and Vivian had a fight last night, and he was using me as bait to rile her up.
“Why me?” you might ask. I wish I knew. Maybe I have “easy target” tattooed on my forehead.
Finally, I couldn’t take it anymore, so I excused myself and rushed to the bathroom. Standing in front of the mirror, I tried to calm my nerves, taking deep breaths. My hands were shaking as I fished out my pills from my bag, ready to take one and pull myself together.
But then the bathroom door burst open, slamming against the wall with enough force to make me jump. My heart practically stopped as I shoved the pill bottle behind my back.
And there she was. Vivian.
If looks could kill, the glare she was shooting me would’ve incinerated me on the spot. I swear I could see imaginary smoke curling out of her perfectly sculpted nose.
What do you think you are doing?” Vivian hissed, her glare piercing through me like a blade.
I swallowed hard, shaking my head. “Nothing.”
“Oh, don’t play innocent with me, you i***t,” she snapped, stepping closer. Her two sidekicks flanked her like obedient shadows, as useless and unoriginal as ever. They weren’t people—they were props in Vivian’s show.
“I know you have been flirting with my man, you desperate, pathetic whore.”
The only one pathetic here was her, but I wasn’t dumb enough to say that out loud. I liked breathing, thanks.
“What are you hiding?” Before I could react, her hand darted out, snatching my pill bottle. She shook it, the sound of the pills rattling making her eyes light up with something even nastier than anger: amusement.
“That explains a lot,” she said, a smirk replacing her scowl.
“What do you mean?” I asked, confused but already dreading the answer.
Vivian tilted her head, giving me a once over that made me feel like dirt under her designer heels. “Are you a psychopath? I knew you needed to be locked up somewhere. You probably escaped, didn’t you?”
I rolled my eyes, trying to stay calm. “If you are done with your little show, can I have my pills back?”
“Why should I?” she sneered, clutching the bottle tighter. “After you humiliated me by flirting with my man in front of the entire school.”
“I didn’t!”
“Are you calling me a liar?” She stepped closer, she was quite intimidating.
My heart pounded, but I refused to step back.
Vivian’s smirk returned, crueler than before. “It’s bad enough you are mated to Damian. Total accident, by the way. But thinking you actually have a chance with him? Laughable. The triplets haven’t rejected you yet because they enjoy making you suffer. So don’t, even for a second, forget your place in this pack. You are nothing. Understand?”
I clenched my teeth and nodded, my hands curling into fists at my sides.
“Now,” she continued, her tone dripping with mockery, “kneel and show your submission to me as your Luna and future Luna of this pack.”
“I’m not doing that,” I frowned.
Her eyebrows shot up. “Excuse me?”
“I’m. Not. Doing. That,” I repeated, glaring at her.
Who the hell did she think she was? She wasn’t even Luna yet, and she already acted like she owned the world.
Vivian tilted her head, the smirk back in full force. “Well then, let’s see how you feel about this.” She dangled the pill bottle over the toilet.
“One.”
I hate her now more than ever.
“Two,” her smirk growing wider as she looked at me expectantly, the pills already tinted halfway towards the toilet.
My knees hit the floor before she could even say “three.”
The moment they touched the cold tile, I felt a wave of humiliation crash over me. My pride crumbled as her smirk widened, her eyes gleaming with triumph. She was drinking in my submission, savoring it like it was her birthright.
“Good girl,” she purred. “I always knew you were a coward. A spineless little loser.”
I stared at the floor, swallowing down the burning rage in my chest.
“This is to remind you of your place,” she continued, circling me like a predator toying with its prey. “You don’t belong here, Mirabel. You don’t belong anywhere. Weak, pathetic, worthless. You will never be anything more than a useless, good for nothing omega.”
Her words cut deeper than I cared to admit, but I refused to cry. Not in front of her.
“Can I have my pills back?” I asked through gritted teeth.
Vivian’s lips twisted into a sickeningly sweet smile, her tone dripping with fake kindness. “Of course. I will put them right back where they belong.”
Before I could react, she turned and tossed the pills into the trash with a flick of her wrist.
“Right there,” she said. “In the garbage. With the rest of your family”
For a moment, the world blurred. I didn’t think. I didn’t plan. The next thing I knew, I was on my feet, and my fist collided with her nose with enough force to send her stumbling back.
The sickening crunch was satisfying, but it didn’t last.
Vivian straightened quickly, blood streaming from her nose, her face twisting in rage. “You b***h!” she screamed.
Her minions moved faster than I could react, their hands grabbing my arms and forcing me to the floor.
“You dare to touch me?” Vivian’s voice was a low growl, her fury barely contained. She kicked me hard in the stomach, knocking the wind out of me.
I gasped for air, but the kicks kept coming. My ribs, my arms, my legs—every part of me felt the sharp sting of her boots.
“You filthy little Piggy,” she scorned. “I’ve been too easy on you. You seem to forget your place, thinking you can challenge me.” She leaned down, her bloodied face inches from mine. “Next time, I won’t let you live. Your life doesn’t matter. You don’t matter.”
She straightened, disgusted, and spat on my face. “Stay down where you belong, Mirabel. At the bottom. In the dirt.”