FATED TO THE LYCAN PRINCE

4: An Ambush

XENIA

Hailsmith academy was synonymous with hell, or a worser version in fact.

It had only been a couple of days since my resumption and every experience threw me deeper down the endless black hole of bullying. I’d never experienced it before and now it seemed like an everyday routine, like arrows were being shot at me from every angle and I was permanently in enemy’s territory each time I walked into the school’s building.

Matteo was yet to launch another of his unbearably egoistic attacks on me, but his first act had opened the doors for other students to keep at it in his stead.

I just needed a f*****g break, from all of it.

“s**t!” I jumped back, almost tearing out of my skin which was now crawling with irritation at the sight that stared back at me as I opened my locker.

Dead squirrels. Decayed skunks. Dissected frogs.

Students passing by laughed heartily at my misfortune as I stood staring at my locker full of dead animals and nausea clogged my throat. As if that wasn't horrible enough, the side of my locker was also filled with stabbed pictures of me, most of the stabs were holes in my eyes or the centre of my head, almost like they were promising me a vengeful and horrid death.

Refusing to be driven by fear, I held my breath and somehow dug my textbook out from under the pile of dead creatures.

For the rest of the school day, I remained in my shell as I took note of everything u folding horribly by the minute. The insane and crazed writings on my desk seemed to increase each lesson period, but I refused to act like their threats and insults bothered me in the slightest, I’d rather die than satisfy the overprivileged assholes I have as schoolmates.

My seat partner went yet another day without saying a word to me, and I was starting to believe that he was selectively mute or hopped off on pills that made him emotionless.

The only human reaction I got off him was a few mornings ago when I spotted him from a distance glaring angrily at the distasteful comments on my desk, but the moment I walked into the class, the emotion disappeared and I still wonder if I’d imagined it.

I still don’t know if he's harmless or not, but since I've spotted him walking in the halls and sharing meals with Matteo and some other guy, I get the feeling that he could be bad news but I didn't want to decide on that until I had an encounter with him to prove or disprove it.

In the meantime, I picked Claudia’s brain for some answers.

She easily revealed that Matteo, Hades, and Tobias have been friends forever and they're the most formidable trio in Hailsmith because their fathers are high ranking members of the werewolf council.

I didn't ask for in-depth details because I didn't want to be unknowingly brainwashed by the hierarchy they all seemed to be obsessed with, but I had the feeling that my curiosity would push me to sooner than I expected.

***

An entire day of school was almost gone and I hadn't been subjected to any vile act, it almost felt unreal.

It was the last class of the day and the chemistry teacher was pissing most of the class off because he chose to randomly quiz us on a topic we weren't supposed to be introduced to until a month later, just because he wanted to know which students had been reading ahead.

Of course, I was a geek that buried her head in a textbook until I’d gone from cover to cover, but I acted like I was distraught like the others.

Matteo, on the other hand was in over his head about the entire situation and saw it as an opportunity to show off his knowledge and make others feel inferior. He’d answered every single question the teacher asked and was now answering yet another in an egoistic tone.

“Isotopes are atoms with the same atomic number and different mass numbers,” he beamed when the teacher nodded in approval.

“Great try, Matteo,” I nearly toppled over with laughter when his face fell as the teacher said that.

“But I need a more accurate explanation, and since you’ve been giving me all the answers today, I’d like our newest student to have the honor of answering, especially because I was blown away by her impeccable results from her former school,” she was already pointing at me before I could refuse.

I knew answering would land me in a heap of trouble, it was telling from the weary and hateful gazes everyone was shooting my way.

However, the last thing I was going to be was a failure just to massage Matteo’s fragile ego, so I sprung to my feet and boldly rattled out a better answer, daring to correct him in the process to show how much I detested everything he stood for.

“Isotopes are not just atoms like he said, they have to be atoms belonging to the same element,” I watched his eyes glaze over with fury upon my correction, but continued anyways, “their difference is also better described as having the same number of protons and varying number of neutrons.”

“Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant!” Our chemistry teacher praised while the class’s atmosphere noticeably grew more hostile towards me.

Class ended shortly after and I was gathering my books when a shadow blocked my view and I sensed a presence hovering behind me.

Knowing his cologne from the several times he’d ruined my day, I slowly turned to face a fuming Matteo Moore with a smile boldly plastered across my face to prove that I wasn’t one to be frightened by his mere presence.

“Here to pay your respects? Or would you like a tutoring session so you stop embarrassing yourself in class with half assed answers?” I asked in a mocking tone, oddly pleased by his angered gaze.

“Shut your f*****g trap or I’ll chop that smart tongue off,” he warned, wrapping a hand around my neck and tightening it until I was barely breathing.

Seconds later, he let go and I started to cough furiously to regain my breath. I didn’t regret running my mouth at him despite it, because he’d bully me anyways, and I felt better when I didn’t just take it like a dumb sitting duck.

“It seems like I’ve been far too soft on you and that’s why you haven’t learnt a bloody thing about respecting your superiors,” he slapped my bag out of my hands and my books scattered all over the floor.

If the way he’d bullied me was considered as soft, then what could possibly be harder? Torture until the death? He sounded like a f*****g psychopath.

“Oh please,” I started daringly, “You’re just a sore loser in the body of an alpha Prince because it makes no sense that an Alpha Prince who knows his worth would be threatened by an ordinary human.”

Gasps from onlooking students scattered around the class and Matteo visibly got red with fury upon my retort.

He seemed frozen to the spot with rage rushing through him as a nerve in his forehead throbbed like it was about to explode. When he didn’t respond, I gathered my books in a hurry and hissed before walking out of the class.

I was just turning towards the main hall with student lockers when strong arms grabbed me from behind and harshly pulled into into a dark room, slamming the door shut and bolting it immediately after.

Knowing that nothing good could come of this ambush, sweat started to trickle down my spine.