I shoved my headphones deeper into my ears, letting the heavy bass of a rock anthem drown out the morning chatter.
Senior year. Just a handful of months left. I closed my eyes and leaned back in my plastic chair, silently celebrating my impending escape from this hellhole.
A sharp tap on my desk broke my rhythm.
I pulled out my left earbud. Mr. Gallagher, the first-period English teacher, stood at the front of the room, clapping his hands for attention.
"Settle down, everyone," Mr. Gallagher ordered, his voice echoing off the cinderblock walls. "We have a new student joining us today."
A tall figure stepped through the doorway.
It was him. The guy from yesterday's assembly. The one who had dropped into the seat next to mine and sent the entire auditorium into a silent panic.
"This is Jude," the teacher announced.
Jude stood perfectly still by the whiteboard. He possessed a rugged, undeniably handsome face, framed by dark hair that sat messily across his forehead. A tight gray t-shirt stretched across a broad, muscular chest. He didn't fidget. He didn't smile. He just surveyed the room with a calm, unnerving quietness.
"Care to share a little about yourself, Jude?" Mr. Gallagher asked.
"No," Jude replied. His voice was a low, gravelly rumble.
A few girls in the front row giggled. The Alphas in the back sat up straighter, their postures turning rigid and defensive.
Mr. Gallagher cleared his throat, clearly thrown off. "Well, where did you transfer from? Pack affiliations? We usually need to log secondary genders for the school registry."
"I moved here with my parents," Jude said, completely ignoring the questions about his bloodline. "That's all."
Whispers instantly erupted across the classroom.
"Is he a rogue?" a Beta girl murmured.
"He doesn't smell like an Alpha," someone else muttered.
"He doesn't smell like anything," Jax added from the back row.
Jude remained entirely unbothered by the rising tension. He didn't offer a single extra detail. His mysterious refusal to claim a rank was a direct violation of the school's unwritten social hierarchy.
"Alright," Mr. Gallagher sighed, giving up. "Find an empty seat. Let's open our books to page forty-two."
There were two empty desks near the front. A perfectly safe spot next to a group of friendly Betas.
Jude didn't even glance at them.
He walked straight down the middle aisle, his heavy boots falling silently against the linoleum. The scent of rain and crushed pine needles washed over me just a second before he dropped his bag onto the floor.
He slid into the empty chair directly to my right.
Again.
I gripped my pen, my knuckles turning white. Was he doing this on purpose?
I turned my head slightly. "Hi," I whispered, forcing my tone to sound casual. "I'm Stella."
Jude slowly turned his face toward me. His eyes were a striking, stormy gray.
I offered a small, polite smile.
He didn't return it. He didn't nod. He didn't speak. He just stared at me, his gaze entirely blank.
My smile dropped. I shifted uncomfortably in my seat.
"Right," I muttered, turning back to my textbook. "Nice talk."
I jammed my earbud back in. What a total weirdo.
For the next forty-five minutes, I focused entirely on the poetry assignment. I pretended the massive, silent guy next to me didn't exist. He didn't take out a notebook. He didn't hold a pen. He just sat there, looking straight ahead at the chalkboard.
The shrill ring of the bell finally shattered the quiet.
I immediately zipped my backpack, eager to escape to the library.
Before I could stand, a wall of bodies blocked my row.
Chloe slapped her hands down on the desk directly in front of Jude. Jax and a bulky Alpha named Wyatt flanked her, effectively trapping us in the corner of the room.
"Hey, new guy," Chloe purred, batting her eyelashes. "You must not know how things work around here."
Jude didn't look at her. He calmly slung his bag over his shoulder.
"She's talking to you," Wyatt growled, stepping closer.
I sighed, grabbing my bag. "Excuse me. I need to leave."
Jax shoved my shoulder hard, forcing me to stumble back into my chair. "Sit down, Omega. Nobody asked you to speak."
I clenched my jaw, swallowing the angry retort burning on my tongue. Fighting back only made them worse.
"Listen to us, Jude," Chloe continued, her voice turning sharp. "We're trying to do you a massive favor. You don't want to sit next to Stella."
Jude finally shifted his gaze. He looked at Chloe, his expression devoid of any emotion.
"She's a weak, pathetic Omega," Chloe sneered, pointing a manicured finger at me. "She acts like she's better than everyone else, but she's just a dirty breeder. She doesn't even have a proper scent."
"She's defective," Jax added, laughing cruelly. "If you hang around her, you're going to catch her loser disease. Nobody in this school wants anything to do with her."
I studied the floor. The insults were old, recycled garbage, but having them broadcasted to the new student still stung.
"Stay away from her," Wyatt warned, flexing his arms. "Or you'll end up completely isolated. Just like her. We don't tolerate freaks in our pack territory."
I waited for Jude to apologize. I expected him to scramble out of the desk, thank them for the warning, and join their ranks. That was how it always went.
Instead, Jude simply stood up.
He towered over Wyatt by several inches. The sheer size of him forced the three bullies to take a collective step back.
"Are you finished?" Jude asked. His voice didn't rise in volume, but the low timbre rattled the windows.
Chloe blinked, clearly taken aback. "We're just telling you the truth. She's—"
"Move," Jude interrupted.
Wyatt bristled, his Alpha pride flaring. He planted his feet, blocking the aisle completely. "Watch your tone, new kid. I'm an Alpha. When I tell you to stay away from the school trash, you listen."
Jude didn't flinch. "I don't take orders."
"You will from me," Wyatt barked.
Jude tilted his head. A dangerous, icy calm settled over his features. "Try it."
The classroom grew suffocatingly tense. Wyatt’s fists curled, but he hesitated. Something in Jude’s deadpan stare made the Alpha second-guess his own strength.
Jude didn't wait for a punch. He stepped forward.
His shoulder clipped Wyatt's chest with enough force to send the bulky Alpha stumbling into a nearby desk. Jude didn't look back. He strode out of the classroom, leaving a stunned silence in his wake.
He had ignored them. Exactly like he had ignored me.
"What a freak," Chloe hissed, her face flushing a dark crimson.
"Did you see that?" Jax demanded, rubbing his arm where Wyatt had bumped into him. "He didn't even release any pheromones to challenge me. He just walked away."
"He's a coward," Wyatt spat, glaring at the empty doorway. "He refused to state his rank because he doesn't have one worth mentioning."
Chloe flipped her blonde hair over her shoulder, her eyes narrowing with disgust. "He's probably just a lowly Omega too. That’s why he sat next to her. Trash attracts trash."
"Let him be a loser," Jax sneered. "We'll make sure he regrets it."
They shot me one last look of pure hatred before storming out into the hallway.
I sat alone in the empty classroom. My heart hammered against my ribs.
I didn't know what Jude was. I didn't know why he refused to speak, or why he provoked the worst bullies in school without batting an eye.
But as I walked out into the corridor, catching a faint, lingering trace of rain and pine, I noticed a piece of folded paper resting on the floor. It sat exactly where Jude’s heavy boots had been.
I bent down and picked it up.
