Mr. Davis dropped the exam paper onto my desk. A bright red 'A+' stared back at me.
"Highest score in the senior class again, Stella," he said, his voice carrying easily over the low chatter of the room.
The classroom went dead silent.
"Of course she got a perfect score," Chloe muttered from two rows up. "What else does a pathetic Omega have to do but study?"
"Careful, Chloe," Jax sneered, leaning far back in his chair. "Don't get too close. Her weakness might be contagious."
I didn't flinch. I folded the test neatly in half and shoved it into my binder.
"Is there a problem, Jax?" Mr. Davis asked. He didn't sound like he actually cared.
"No problem, sir," Jax said, flashing a cruel smirk. "Just stating facts. She’s taking up good space."
I kept my eyes fixed on the chalkboard. The four desks forming a circle around mine were completely empty. An island of isolation in a crowded senior biology class. Nobody wanted to sit next to the school's most notorious Omega.
"Keep your comments to yourself," the teacher muttered, moving down the aisle to hand out the next paper.
"Hey, Stella," Chloe whispered loudly, twisting around in her seat. "Did you spend an hour doing your makeup today just to sit by yourself? What a waste of a pretty face."
"At least I have one," I replied evenly.
A few kids in the back snickered. Chloe’s face flushed a deep, angry red.
"You little bitch," she hissed. "You think you're better than us? You're nothing but a weak breeder."
"I think I'm going to an Ivy League school," I said, zipping my backpack shut. "And you're barely passing Biology."
The bell rang, cutting off her furious retort. I stood up, slung the heavy strap over my shoulder, and walked out before anyone else could block the aisle.
The hallway was a chaotic mess of shouting teenagers and slamming locker doors. I kept my head down, weaving through the crowd. My good looks were a curse here. The Alphas looked at me like a piece of meat they were too proud to claim, and the Betas hated me because the Alphas looked at me at all.
I reached my locker and spun the dial.
"Hey, freak."
I sighed, pulling the metal door open. "What do you want, Riley?"
Riley, a Beta with a severe superiority complex, slammed her hand against the locker next to mine. "I saw you looking at Liam in first period."
"I was looking at the clock above Liam's head," I corrected her, swapping my biology book for my calculus text. "I don't care about your boyfriend."
"You better not," she snapped. "No one in this school wants you, Stella. You're a joke. You think because you have a nice body, you can just trap someone?"
"I don't want anyone in this school," I said, shutting my locker. "You can keep him."
"You're lying," she mocked. "Every Omega is desperate for a mate. You're probably crying yourself to sleep every night because you know your fated mate would reject you the second they smelled you."
I gripped the spine of my textbook. Her words were meant to hurt, but they just bounced off the armor I had built over the last three years.
"I don't believe in fated mates," I told her, my voice completely flat. "And even if I did, I wouldn't want one. Excuse me."
I pushed past her, ignoring the string of insults she threw at my back.
The cafeteria smelled like stale pizza and too many aggressive, teenage pheromones.
I claimed my usual spot at the small circular table in the far corner. Totally alone.
I pulled out an apple and a stack of glossy college brochures.
"Look at her," a Beta girl whispered loudly, passing by my table with her lunch tray. "Acting like she's royalty just because she has nice eyes."
"She's an Omega," her friend scoffed. "She's basically defective."
"Hey, Stella!" a tall Alpha boy named Marcus shouted from the center tables. "Waiting for your fated mate to come rescue you?"
The surrounding tables erupted in harsh laughter.
I took a bite of my apple. The crunch was loud in my own ears.
"Not waiting for anyone," I said, flipping a page in the Stanford brochure.
"Good," Marcus mocked. He tossed a crumpled napkin, and it landed right on my open pamphlet. "Because no Alpha in their right mind would claim a freak like you. You don't even smell right. You smell like nothing."
I flicked the napkin off the glossy pages. He was right about one thing. I was a senior in high school, and I was absolutely certain my fated mate wasn't in this building. No one here would ever be attracted to me. They were too busy hating me.
"Leave her alone, Marcus," a soft voice said.
I glanced up. It was Toby, a scrawny Beta who usually kept his head down.
"Shut up, Toby," Marcus snapped. "Unless you want to sit with the Omega."
Toby quickly looked away and hurried past my table.
I didn't feel sorry for myself. Pity was useless.
"You guys are hilarious," I said, not bothering to raise my head again. "Truly comedic geniuses."
Marcus slammed his hand onto his table. "Watch your mouth, Omega."
"Or what?" I asked, finally meeting his angry gaze. "You'll beat up a girl who weighs a hundred pounds less than you? Real Alpha behavior."
He took a step toward me, his jaw tight.
"Back off, Marcus," a teacher barked from the lunch line.
Marcus glared at me, then retreated to his seat.
I went back to my brochures. This was my final year. Just a few more months of this hell, and my grades would buy my ticket out of here. Top university. A new city. A life where my secondary gender didn't dictate my worth.
The final bell of the day rang, but my schedule required me to stay for a mandatory senior assembly in the auditorium.
I walked in and took a seat in the very back row.
Within seconds, the seats to my left and right emptied out. Students actually stood up and moved rows just to avoid sitting near me.
"Unbelievable," I muttered under my breath.
"They treat you like a disease," a voice said.
I looked up. A girl named Harper stood in the aisle. She was an Omega too, but she hid it well, constantly masking her scent and acting like a Beta.
"They treat me exactly how I expect them to," I said. "Why are you talking to me? You'll ruin your cover."
"I just wanted to ask if you had the notes from History," she whispered, glancing around nervously.
"I'll email them to you," I said.
"Thanks," she mumbled, quickly walking away to sit with a group of Betas.
I leaned back in my chair, staring at the empty seats surrounding me. It was fine. I preferred the quiet. I preferred the space.
Principal Croft tapped the microphone on the stage.
"Settle down, seniors," he announced. The screech of the mic echoed through the large room. "We have a few announcements regarding the upcoming exams and graduation requirements."
I tuned him out. I opened my planner and started outlining my study schedule for the weekend.
"Before we get into that," Principal Croft continued, his voice cutting through my thoughts. "We have a new student joining our senior class today. He just transferred in this morning."
A murmur spread through the auditorium. Transfers in senior year were rare.
"Please make him feel welcome," the principal said.
I didn't look up. I didn't care.
Then, the double doors at the back of the auditorium swung open.
A scent hit the air.
It was sharp. Heavy. Rain and crushed pine needles.
The chatter in the room died instantly. Every Alpha in the room stiffened.
I dropped my pen. My heart gave a strange, violent thump against my ribs.
"Go ahead and find a seat," Principal Croft said over the microphone.
Footsteps echoed on the wooden floorboards, walking up the back aisle.
I kept my eyes glued to my planner, forcing myself to breathe normally.
The footsteps stopped.
A tall shadow fell over my desk.
"Is this seat taken?" a deep, rough voice asked.
I slowly turned my head.
He was staring directly at me, and the empty chair next to mine was suddenly the most dangerous place in the room.
