"Where do you think you're going, Iloen?"
The voice echoed off the concrete walls of the third-floor stairwell. I didn't stop walking.
"I asked you a question, freak," Chloe Jenkins snapped.
I gripped the cold metal railing and took another step down. "I'm going home, Chloe. Leave me alone."
Three girls blocked the landing below me. Chloe stood in the center, flanked by two of her loyal followers. They had me boxed in.
"You don't get to walk away from me," Chloe said. She marched up two steps, invading my space. "You looked at my boyfriend in the cafeteria today."
"I was looking at the clock behind him," I said.
"Liar." Chloe shoved my shoulder. "You're just a dirty little Omega looking for a handout."
"I said, move."
"You think anyone would care if you disappeared?" Chloe asked, a cruel smile stretching across her face.
"My mom would," I said.
"Your mom is just as pathetic as you are." Chloe signaled the girls behind her. "You're going down. Literally."
"I want to hear something snap," the girl on the left whispered.
Two hands slammed hard into my spine.
My fingers slipped off the railing. Gravity took over instantly.
The concrete stairs rushed up to meet me. I squeezed my eyes shut. I braced for the shatter of my bones, the tearing of skin, the inevitable agony of the fall.
A blur of motion intercepted my drop.
Strong arms wrapped tight around my waist. The sheer force of my fall slammed me forward against a solid, muscular chest.
My chin jerked up.
My lips crashed directly against someone else's.
A violent, electric shock ripped through my veins. It felt like a steel chain snapping locked around my ribcage, binding my pulse to the boy holding me.
Fated mate.
The realization exploded in my mind at the exact second I opened my eyes.
Cold, furious gray eyes stared back at me.
Kyle Mercer. The top Alpha of the academy.
His pupils dilated, swallowing the gray. The mate bond surged between us, undeniable and terrifying. I felt the tug in my gut, the absolute certainty that the universe had just tethered me to him.
He felt it too. I saw the recognition flash in his expression.
Then, utter revulsion washed over his face.
Kyle ripped his arms away. He shoved my shoulders with brutal force.
I flew backward, crashing hard onto the landing. My elbows scraped against the rough tiles, tearing the skin.
"Don't touch me!" Kyle yelled.
He stumbled back, wiping the back of his hand furiously across his mouth. His skin turned red from the friction.
"Kyle?" I whispered. My voice trembled from the impact and the bizarre, magical tether still humming in the air.
"Keep your filthy mouth shut," he spat. He shuddered visibly, his chest heaving. "You make me sick."
"I didn't ask you to catch me," I shot back, pushing myself up onto my knees.
"You threw yourself down the stairs just to get near me." He glared down at me, his jaw tight. "I know exactly what kind of Omega you are, Iloen. The whole school knows."
"You think I staged a fall to break my neck?"
"I think you're desperate," he sneered. "And disgusting. Do you have any idea what kind of bacteria you carry? I need to burn these clothes. I need a gallon of bleach to wash your stench off me."
Everyone knew Kyle Mercer was a notorious germaphobe. He refused to shake hands, refused to share space, and absolutely refused to associate with anyone below his status. Especially someone with my reputation.
But the mate bond was real. It hummed under my skin, begging me to step closer to him. I dug my fingernails into my palms to fight the urge.
*Click.*
A camera flash blinded me for a second.
I turned my head. A group of students stood on the stairs above us, phones out.
"Did you get that?" a guy asked.
"Yeah. She totally kissed him."
"Gross. She actually ambushed Kyle Mercer."
The whispers multiplied, echoing off the concrete walls.
"Did you see her lips? She practically sucked his face off."
"She's so desperate for an Alpha."
"I heard she tried the same thing with Beta Davis last week."
I scrambled to my feet. "That's a lie! Chloe pushed me!"
I pointed up the stairs, but the landing above was empty. Chloe and her friends had vanished, leaving me to face the firing squad alone.
"Save it, Iloen," Kyle said, his voice dropping into a lethal, icy register. "Your little stunt worked. You got your picture. Now stay the hell away from me."
"I don't want you!" I yelled, the injustice burning my throat. "I'd rather jump off the roof than be tied to an arrogant jerk like you!"
Kyle stepped forward, invading my space. The Alpha pheromones rolled off him, heavy and suffocating. "Tied to me? Don't even joke about that. You are nothing to me. You will never be anything to me."
"Then why did you catch me?"
"Reflex," he snapped. "A mistake I won't make twice."
He turned his back on me, adjusting his pristine uniform jacket.
Before I could walk away, the crowd parted violently.
"Kyle!"
Vivian Thorne stomped down the steps. Her eyes darted from Kyle's red mouth to my scraped elbows.
"What is going on here?" Vivian demanded.
"Nothing," Kyle said, his tone softening a fraction. "Just taking out the trash."
Vivian ignored him and marched straight up to me. Her face contorted with pure hatred.
"You touched him," she hissed.
"It was an accident," I said.
"You've been obsessing over him since freshman year," Vivian said.
"I don't even know his middle name," I replied.
"Shut up!" Vivian shrieked. "You don't get to speak to me. You think because you're an Omega, you can just flash your eyes and Alpha Kyle will fall for it?"
"I didn't do anything."
"You kissed him! We all saw the picture!" Vivian raised her hand. "You're a disease, Iloen. And I'm going to cure you."
"Try it, Vivian." I stood my ground, lifting my chin.
She didn't slap me. Instead, she grabbed my phone from my uniform pocket, threw it onto the concrete, and crushed it under her shoe.
"That's just a warning," she said, stepping closer until our noses almost touched. "Next time, it's your face."
"Are you done throwing a tantrum?" I asked.
Vivian scoffed, turning back to the crowd. "Listen up! Anyone who talks to this stray gets dealt with by me. Make sure the whole school knows. Iloen is dead meat."
The students murmured in agreement, their phones still recording my humiliation.
Kyle didn't look back. He just walked down the hallway, leaving me trapped in a circle of glaring eyes.
The fated mate bond pulsed in my chest, a cruel joke played by the universe. He was my mate. And he had just handed me over to the wolves.
"You're going to pay for this," Vivian whispered, her voice meant only for me.
"I already am," I muttered.
As I watched Kyle disappear around the corner, a sharp, searing pain erupted in my chest, dropping me straight back to my knees.
The bond was rejecting me. And it felt like my heart was tearing in two.
