Evaline:
Though I was barely able to focus on anything, I still pull myself together for Professor Kieran’s class. Not because he was going to be there, but because I had the responsibility of helping my class prepare for the Monday quiz.
"Are you alright?" Kyros asked as we settled down around our usual table for lunch.
"Just worried about Herbs and Potions Class. It’s our first time performing our new rules." I replied, speaking half-truth. After all, I couldn’t confide in him about my dinner date with one of the Rogue Alphas.
Kyros gave my head a pat, something he used to do whenever one of us were feeling down or unmotivated. "You can do it, Eva. And you will have me right next to you."
I nodded my head, giving him a sincere smile. I was really happy to have him as a friend.
With all the required materials ready, we headed to the lecture hall. Inside, the classmates were scattered in groups across the room - some buried in notes, others busy talking. It was the usual mix of determined and indifferent.
I placed the folder Kieran gave me on the front desk and began distributing the handouts and diagrams he had allowed me to copy. Several students perked up at the sight of official Academy material, quickly gathering around as I set up the board.
"Alright," I began, "as you all know, we have got the quiz on Monday. Professor Kieran said it will cover Chapters six to nine, and he has emphasized the application sections, so I would suggest you all focus there."
The class murmured in acknowledgment, and a few began flipping through the pages I handed out.
Everything was going smoothly...until I heard them.
The whispers.
They were low, laced with poison and polished smiles.
Nadine, Violet, and Bianca.
The Terrible Trio, as my friends had privately labeled them.
They were sitting in their usual corner seats, their manicured fingers flipping idly through the notebooks as they leaned in, talking in voices just loud enough to be heard.
"She probably begged Professor Kieran for extra help, how else would she get this stuff?"
"Or maybe she’s hoping helping the class makes her look useful... for once."
"I mean, come on, she’s not only a rogue but also wolfless? If I were her, I wouldn’t even show my face here."
The words hit me like invisible needles - sharp, well-aimed, and deeply familiar. Because I had heard them all before. Not just here.
Back in my pack.
There... even as the Alpha’s daughter, I was always the other. The failure. The disappointment. The wolf-less heir.
They even said it outright, insulted me to my face.
I remembered the stares. The muttered words when I walked past. The pitied glances. The way even the people who were supposed to love me looked at me like I didn’t belong.
And here they were again, this time dressed in expensive uniforms and pretty hairstyles, doing the exact same thing.
After the full moon night, it was a common knowledge now that I was wolfless. And some people were determined to use this to try to degrade me even more.
I felt the burn rise in my chest.
It wasn’t anger. Not shame. But resolve.
I turned around and faced the trio fully as the entire class watched. I folded my arms and let silence settle in the room.
"Did you say something, Nadine?"
She blinked, momentarily caught off guard. "Just chatting. Didn’t think you would be so sensitive."
I smiled. Sweetly. Calmly. But my words were anything but soft.
"Oh no, I just thought if you had something to say, you could say it to my face, since you have already decided to be brave enough to whisper it in public."
That earned a few quiet gasps and some exchanged glances.
Bianca scoffed. "We didn’t say anything worth your dramatics."
I stepped away from the front desk and let my voice carry through the room.
"You know, I used to think the worst thing about not shifting was the silence. The absence of something everyone else had. But I was wrong."
I met each of their eyes, one by one.
"The worst part? Was people like you. People who thought they had the right to define my worth because of what I lacked. People who forgot that strength isn’t just about power. It’s about resilience."
The air tightened.
"And here’s something else you might want to remember - I don’t need claws or teeth to protect what’s mine. Including my place in this class."
There were murmurs now, quiet and stunned. But I wasn’t finished. "I offered this material and study help because I care about our performance during Monday quiz."
I turned back toward the board and wrote the quiz breakdown Kieran had detailed in his notes.
"But let me make something very clear."
I faced the room again, speaking in an unwavering voice.
"You can choose to listen and prepare, or you can roll your eyes and keep whispering. That’s entirely up to you."
A pause.
"But when the grades will come out and some of you will be left wondering why you are scraping the bottom of the rankings, don’t look at me for answers."
Then I walked back to the front desk and continued passing out the notes like nothing had happened.
For a few seconds, no one moved. Then a few classmates began to quietly gather closer, forming small groups to go through the handouts. I saw Ben and Lana whispering, clearly stunned, but their glances toward me weren’t mocking. They were respectful.
A couple of the quieter students even gave me nods of approval, including my friends who were looking at me with pride filled eyes and big smiles.
I didn’t look back at Nadine, Violet, or Bianca. I didn’t need to.
Their silence was speaking volumes.
Maybe this didn’t make me the most popular girl in class.
But it reminded them, and me, that I wasn’t weak. That I wouldn’t shrink just because people thought I should.
My wolf may not have come yet. But my spine was intact.
And that was more than enough.