Chapter 3: Being Bullied
1051 Words
"Umm, Alpha of the biggest pack?" I prompt, wondering the reason for her over-dramatic reaction.
"Of course, everyone knows that! But don't you know why she's feared and respected so much?" she asked, her tone circuiting to a low whisper.
"I don't know why," I shrug for the sake of humoring her, not curious since she tends to believe in gossip and exaggerate things.
You never take Leona's words seriously if it concerns an actual person. It will likely be some twisted versions.
Leona turned right and left to check if someone had overheard our conversation. Now, that's something she never does. Leona usually rumbles on and on about whatever she hears, and this strange action piqued my curiosity slightly to hear what she was about to say.
Leona then leans close, cupping a hand around her mouth.
"Rumor has it that Alpha Gemini killed singlehandedly the twenty rogues that attacked her pack the day she took control. They thought she would be weak and defeated easily since she was a girl. It is said that she was in such fury that she just went on a rampage, killing everything in her path," Leona stopped for a moment and glanced around again. "Alpha Gemini kills without a second thought," she whispers, barely being picked up by my weakened sense. A shiver rolls down my spine when hearing the last part.
Once upon a time, only alpha males could lead a pack, and they were the strongest among every wolf, but then in rare circumstances, female alphas were born. Two or three female alphas were born in every one hundred packs in a continent. Councils and elders acknowledge it. Female alphas can sometimes be stronger than males.
One example of a blessed pack was my pack. Well, my previous Alpha didn't believe in Female alpha supremacy. That's why he kicked his daughter out of the pack, and now that Alpha Red is sick, the old Alpha has no choice but to bring his daughter back.
"Stay clear of her, Kaeya. You suffer enough already with one Alpha. Who knows what she'll do if she sets her sights on you? Predators like her prey on people like us," Leona lectured, earning a nod from me.
I should stop Leona from assuming and saying such things about a woman she has never met in her entire life. The submissive part of me was scared of the thought of being tormented. I have a lot of it from Jack. I don't want another one to treat me like a punching bag.
After a half day of class, I'm finally free. Leona is probably in her major subject, and her class schedule ends at seven in the evening. I, on the other hand, walk to my locker. I'll stop by the grocery store to buy some meat for Mother's dinner. Tonight is my schedule to cook and clean in the pack house, and I'll probably go home around dawn. No matter how toxic my mother was, she was still my mom.
My small smile vanished when I saw Jack Lazarus, the adopted son of my Alpha, standing beside my locker. He is my tormentor who loves breaking my bones and spitting on me.
I hesitate to contemplate my options before concluding that interrupting them and becoming subject to their beatings is not worth keeping my notes in the locker. I turned around to leave, but much to my dismay, one of them had spotted me.
"Hey, nerd!"
I froze, thinking whether I should make a run for it. But then again, Jack and his friends are jocks and warriors, and they'll catch me anyway.
So I stop and turn around slowly, my head hung low to avoid the acidic looks they're undoubtedly giving me.
"So what do you think of the new student Gemini?" he asked me. His voice sounded eerily calm and sent me into a panic. Jack Lazarus was never calm.
"I-I haven't seen h-her yet," I mumbled, making him laugh out loud.
"Well, she's a b***h," he declares, and out of nowhere, his fist swings out, crashing into my gut brutally.
The force knocks the wind out of my lungs, and the impact makes me lose equilibrium and crash to the ground. I moan in agony, clutching my stomach as the group of six moves from their position against the lockers to form a loose circle around me. I push myself up with my elbows and move to get up, but one shoe connects with my right thigh hard.
"Ah!" I screamed in pain as my whole leg felt like someone had set fire. I clutch my hand to it and shout out when another blow lands on my other leg, making tears of pain gather in the corner of my eyes.
"You worthless piece of a s**t!" Jack growls menacingly, his muddy brown eyes set in a hard glare aimed at me. When I saw him aiming for another blow pulling his fist backward, I raised my hands to defend my body against the impact. But to my utter surprise, the blow never comes.
Instead of the sound of bones cracking, a loud thud resonated through the hallway, surprising me and everyone else. I saw Jack flying away with just one punch from a woman who suddenly appeared before me.
"Classic bullying, huh?" said the woman who wears all black attire and who's back on me. Her long black hair, highlighted with white, was neatly tied into a ponytail.
"A-alpha?" I saw Jack's face pale and the few bullies with him.
"Is this how you act towards your pack mate? Is this how your adoptive father taught you to be, huh? A bully? No wonder your pack is dwindling from its former glory years ago because of someone like you. What do you gain from bullying, huh?" The woman walked to where Jack was and effortlessly grabbed him by his collar.
"Are you alright? Can you stand?" Beta Mica asked me, with Isaiah helping me to get up.
I nodded at her, and together, they pulled me up.
"W-who is that woman, Beta?" I asked the Beta.
I must know who that angel appeared to when I desperately needed help.
"That is Aeris, our soon-to-be alpha," she replied, making my jaw drop.
- Writer
