Mute And Marked: The Feared Alphas' Mate

19: In The Boys Lockerroom

Rina’s POV

The locker room felt suffocating. My towel was barely clinging to my body as I wiped the soap from my skin, but the burning sensation in my eyes wouldn’t go away. I tried to rub them, blinking through the pain. It wasn’t just the usual sting. Something was wrong.

You have to keep going, Syl urged. I could feel her pacing in my head, her irritation crackling through my body.

I grabbed my locker’s handle, pulling it open. The moment I did, something heavy and wet splashed onto me.

Balloons of paint.

It was everywhere; thick, colorful splashes soaking into my hair, dripping down my skin, sliding down my back. And this time, it wasn’t just the paint. It hit my eyes, burning like fire, blinding me completely.

No… I tried to gasp, but nothing came out. Panic seized me. I stumbled backward, reaching out for anything to hold onto, but there was nothing. I was blind, soaked, and humiliated.

The laughter rang in my ears. I could hear their voices, their whispers. I couldn’t see, but I knew Cassandra’s smug face was somewhere in the crowd, enjoying every second of my misery.

Water, I needed water. My heart pounded in my chest as I blindly fumbled for the exit, my hand gripping my towel tightly around me. The floor was slick beneath my feet, and I nearly slipped more than once as I pushed the door open, the cool air hitting my paint-covered skin.

I had to find somewhere, anywhere to wash this off. I could barely breathe through the shame and panic clogging my throat. My eyes stung fiercely, the paint burning with every blink.

Staggering forward, I spotted another locker room door. My vision was blurry, but the sign above it didn’t matter to me at that moment. I just needed to wash my face. I pushed the door open and rushed inside, heading straight for the sink.

I splashed water over my face, scrubbing the paint off as best as I could. The cool water eased the burning in my eyes, but my skin still felt sticky, my hair coated in thick layers of paint. I sighed, relieved, but just as I was about to reach for more water, I heard it…

Laughter. Deep voices, echoing off the walls.

I froze. The hair on the back of my neck stood on end as I slowly lifted my head, wiping the last of the water from my eyes.

And then I saw them.

Shirtless boys. Wolves. Some were standing in nothing but boxers or towels, their muscled bodies slick with sweat, clearly having just finished a game. They were laughing, talking, until they saw me.

My eyes widened in horror. I gasped, clutching my towel tighter around my body.

“Oh my God…” I breathed out, my heart racing. I was in the male locker room.

The laughter died instantly, replaced by stunned silence as the boys stared at me, their eyes wide. My cheeks burned hotter than they ever had in my life, and I wanted nothing more than to disappear into the ground.

“What the hell are you doing in here?” one of them barked, but I was too shocked to respond.

Before I could even think of bolting out of the locker room, someone grabbed me by the arm. I jerked, trying to pull away, but the grip was strong, unyielding.

“Are you out of your mind?” a familiar voice hissed in my ear. Axel.

I looked up, my vision finally clearing enough to see his face, his furious, scowling face. His jaw was clenched tight, his eyes flashing with anger. He cursed under his breath, his grip tightening on my arm as he dragged me toward the exit.

“What were you thinking?” he snapped, not bothering to lower his voice. “Do you have no shame?”

“I-I—” I wanted to explain, to tell him I couldn’t see, but nothing came out. I signed desperately, trying to explain, but he wasn’t looking at me. He was too busy glaring at the rest of the guys who were still staring at me in stunned silence.

Suddenly, Kade and Ryder appeared, their faces just as furious as Axel’s.

“For attention?” Ryder spat, his eyes dark with disgust as he looked over at me. “Really, Rina? This is how low you’ll go?”

Tears pricked at the corners of my eyes as I shook my head, signing rapidly. ‘No, no, it wasn’t like that. I was… I was blinded. They threw paint at me…’

Kade’s eyes softened slightly as he watched my hands, while Ryder and Axel continued to glare.

“She’s signing something,” Kade muttered, his brow furrowing as he stepped closer, trying to decipher my frantic gestures. I continued, desperately hoping they would understand.

‘I didn’t mean to come here. Paint. They threw paint at me… I couldn’t see… I just needed water…’

Kade’s eyes flickered with recognition as he seemed to piece it together, but Axel and Ryder still looked furious.

Axel’s jaw tightened, and he finally spoke, his voice low and rough. “You’re saying… they did this to you?” He motioned to the paint still clinging to my skin, dripping from my hair in streaks of color.

I nodded, biting my lip, the tears I had tried so hard to hold back finally threatening to spill over.

For a moment, the brothers exchanged looks. Kade seemed to be the only one who had a glimmer of understanding in his eyes, while Ryder crossed his arms, his expression darkening.

Axel huffed in frustration, but before he could say anything else, he shrugged off his jacket and wrapped it around my shoulders. His movements were rough, and I could still feel the tension radiating from him, but at least I wasn’t standing there in just my towel anymore.

“Come on,” Axel muttered under his breath, nodding toward the hallway. “We need to get you cleaned up.”

I swallowed the lump in my throat and followed as the three of them led me back into the locker room. Kade barked at the lower-ranking guys, “Clear a space for her. Now.”

The boys scrambled, quickly moving aside as Axel and Ryder pushed me forward. They led me to a corner, where there was a smaller, more secluded shower area. I stepped inside, grateful for the privacy, but my hands shook as I turned the water on and began scrubbing the paint from my skin.

It took forever.

The paint had dried in my hair, clinging to my scalp and tangling my locks. I worked at it for over two hours, the hot water doing little to wash away the humiliation I felt. Even though the three brothers had helped me, it was still the most embarrassing day of my life.

As I scrubbed and scrubbed, I couldn’t help but think of my past, how my stepmother and stepsisters had tormented me in much the same way. This wasn’t new to me. The bullying, the humiliation. The helplessness.

But I had never imagined it would happen again, here, in this place where I had hoped to finally be free.

By the time I finished, my skin felt raw, but the paint was finally gone. I stepped out of the shower, wrapping the towel around myself once more, and let out a shaky breath.

Outside, the brothers were waiting. Axel leaned against the wall, his arms crossed, his eyes sharp. Ryder stood nearby, glaring at anyone who so much as glanced in my direction. Kade, though, seemed… softer. His eyes were less harsh, and he almost looked concerned.

When Axel noticed me, he pushed off the wall and stood taller, his expression hardening again. “Let’s go,” he said, his voice gruff. “And remember—” he shot a glare at the other guys in the locker room, “if anyone breathes a word about this, you’ll answer to us.”

The threat hung in the air, and the guys nodded quickly, fear flashing in their eyes.

As we walked out, my heart fluttered in my chest. The three of them had been horrible to me since day one, but today… today they had helped me. Even if they were still angry, even if they still didn’t want me as their mate, they had protected me in their own way.

And for some reason, I couldn’t help but feel a small spark of hope amidst the chaos.

But even that hope was fragile, and I knew better than to expect kindness from them. Not yet.

As Axel led the way out, I held the towel tighter around myself, still trying to process the wide range of emotions I felt. This had been the worst, most humiliating day of my life. But the fact that they had been there, that they had helped… it made my heart ache in ways I wasn’t ready to confront.