CHAPTER 19: _ JUST GO

~Heidi’s Point Of View~

Heidi freezes in the doorway.

"Oh... oh, my goddess," she breathes.

Lucan lies in bed, half-shielded by rumpled white sheets with another guy curled beside him. The other’s dark hair falls messily over his forehead, and his hand lazily brushes Lucan’s bare arm.

Neither of them expected an audience. Heidi’s mouth goes dry. Her heart pounds so loud she’s sure they can hear it. A half-finished bowl of popcorn sits on the nightstand beside them, and some ridiculous rom-com is playing on Lucan’s laptop.

Lucan jerks upright, his expression pure horror. "What the hell, Heidi!"

"I—I knocked! I swear, I did! The door..." She steps back like the room might explode. "I didn’t mean to break it! I didn’t know my own strength. I..."

"You broke the door?" Lucan scoffs unbelievably.

There’s an awkward silence. Heidi doesn’t know where to look. At the lamp? The popcorn? The very obvious love bites on Lucan’s collarbone?

As if reading her mind, Lucan sighs heavily. "Well, you’ve seen us, so there’s that."

Heidi gulps. Not in a million lifetimes could she imagine Lucan talking so much. Or... being gay.

"Heidi, this is Eli. He’s my boyfriend."

Eli waves weakly. "Hi."

Heidi nods numbly. "Oh. Um. Cool. Hi."

Lucan runs a hand through his hair. "No one knows. Okay? Especially not my mom. Or dad. Or anyone, really."

"Okay." She blinks rapidly. "Okay. I won’t say a word."

Lucan eyes her like he’s measuring something. Then he nods. "Thanks. He’s from a low-ranking family. If word got out, my mom would probably put him on a leash or worse."

Heidi almost chuckles at her own fate. "She might do the same to me, honestly."

Lucan actually smiles. "True."

She exhales and dares a tiny grin in return. "Should I still clean?"

"Yeah, yeah. We’ll... just give you space." Lucan nods.

He grabs the hem of his shirt and yanks it down with a muttered curse. "Come on," he tells Eli, sliding off the bed. "Let’s head to the balcony."

Eli chuckles softly and gives Heidi a sheepish smile as he passes her. "Nice to meet you, Heidi."

She gives him a stiff nod, cheeks still burning, mortified she caught them in the middle of cuddling like some terrible YA trope. She waits until the glass door clicks shut behind them before releasing the breath she’s been holding. Lucan’s laptop continues playing the movie while the popcorn smells faintly burnt.

"Okay," she mutters to herself, snatching the laundry basket off the floor. "Cool, cool. Casual trauma. Totally fine. Not my business. Not judging."

She works quickly, tossing clothes into the basket, folding the ones that look clean-ish. Lucan’s socks are the real villains of this scene; crusty, rebellious, and possibly sentient, but she powers through, avoids the bed, the cologne-heavy air, and any lingering thoughts about how Lucan actually looked happy. Genuinely, sincerely happy.

Weird.

She finishes up, gives the floor a hasty sweep, then peeks out the balcony door.

"All clean," she says.

Lucan nods. Eli waves again. Heidi escapes like her heels are on fire.

.....

The next morning, the school hallway is loud with the chatter of a hundred conversations, but Heidi’s world narrows to the lockers and the weight of the books in her arms. She keeps her head down, trying not to draw attention, but even that feels like a performance.

Her locker groans as she swings it open, the metal whining like it resents her. She’s about to reach for a textbook when a shiver creeps down her spine. She doesn’t have to turn to know who it is.

They’ve arrived.

Their energy presses into the hallway like an oncoming earthquake. Doors creak open. Girls giggle. Someone gasps and whispers, "They’re here." A chorus of excitement floods the hallway like perfume.

She sucks in her breath, wishing she weren’t in the hallway when they arrived. One thing she knows about egocentric bastards like the Alpha sons is that they never let a humiliation slide.

What she did yesterday; losing it and raising her voice at them—in their study at that, she knows she’ll pay for it.

She shuts her eyes and mutters a silent prayer inwardly; "Please, just go. Please, please, leave me alone."

Heidi can’t move. Her spine locks in place. It’s one thing to survive in this pack, and another to provoke a war. She can feel them, especially him. Amias... he’s so close. He’s behind her. She can feel it... him. She has no idea if this is a werewolf thing – to be aware of one’s mate’s gaze.

His gaze burns like a searchlight sweeping over her. She doesn’t have to look to know he’s staring. Doesn’t have to listen to hear the whispers crawling all around her.

"Why’s Amias looking at her like that?"

"She’s just an omega. What could he possibly want with that?"

"Bet she’s cheap. Throw a bone, she’ll follow."

"Ugh. Slut."

Heidi’s pulse skitters wildly. Her skin prickles with sweat, and her throat tightens with a panic she can’t swallow. She clutches her books tighter, praying: Just walk away. Please just walk away.

One. Two. Three. Don’t. Look.

Then, the heat behind her fades as Amias walks past. A wave of cold washes over her, and she nearly gasps in relief. Goddess, she can breathe again. But then...

Three more shadows fall behind her. No one needs to tell her before she knows it’s the rest of the Bellamy boys. Okay, so Amias probably deems her unfit of his rage despite her previous defiance.

However, would the rest share the same sentiment? Guess it’s time to find out...

"Move, Omega," The first much-expected act of vengeance comes in the form of Morgan.

Grayson sneers. "Are you deaf now? Out of our way."

She doesn’t move fast enough or maybe they are just being cruel on purpose as a shove hits her shoulder, and she stumbles hard, her books scattering. Her inkwell tumbles from her bag and crashes to the floor, shattering and splattering deep black ink across the linoleum like blood from a crime scene.

"Oops," Morgan groans, eyes burning with vengeance.

He steps into the black puddle deliberately, then drags his designer shoe across the mess like a toddler fingerpainting. The dark liquid clings to the leather, oozing up the sides.

"No! No! No!" Heidi cries at the sight.

How... how could he? He ruined his own shoes. The ink hadn’t touched even a single spot.

Grayson lets out a low whistle. "Oh, no. Look what you did. Now, Omega, you can’t escape this one."