CHAPTER 20: _ I REJECT THEM

The silence that follows Morgan’s "Oops" is more suffocating than the shove itself. He didn’t even have to do that. He could’ve stepped over it. Around it. The ink hadn’t even touched his stupid designer shoe. Not until he decided it should.

Grayson steps into the center of it all with a faint smile curving his lips which shows just how entertained he is by humiliating her... his mate. One of his eyebrows arches mockingly as he stares at the thick black ink oozing over Morgan’s once-clean designer shoe.

"Do you know how much this costs, Omega?" Morgan lifts his foot for dramatic flair, letting the ink trail off the sole.

"This..." Grayson continued for his brother, fanning his fingers like a salesman unveiling a luxury car, "...is imported, handmade Italian leather. Custom. Limited edition. You can’t even pronounce the brand."

The crowd gasps so loudly, it can convince anyone it’s a rehearsed cruelty, specifically reserved for when their favorites oppress a lesser student. They start to elbow each other to get a better view. Phones come out. Snickering starts.

"She ruined it!" someone hollers.

"Serves her right. Walking around like she’s not scum," another pipes up.

"I knew they hated her," a girl behind Heidi sneers. "They’re only doing this to make her life miserable. Honestly, I’d cry if they even looked at me."

Heidi’s cheeks flame. Her heart is accelerating, trying to break free from the concrete of her chest. She stares at the ink-stained shoe, breath hitching. This can’t be happening. This cannot be real.

Morgan clutches his stomach, laughing, and then gasps like he’s had a divine revelation. "Wait, wait... Grayson, I’ve got it. She should lick it off. Since she’s responsible."

The crowd explodes.

"YES!"

"Make her do it!"

"Bet a million of her tongue is not even worth Grayson and Morgan’s poop!"

Heidi recoils at the declaration. She can not believe he wants her to lick off the ink he intentionally stepped into. An ink that wouldn’t have spilled if he hadn’t pushed her.

"What? No—no! Are you out of your mind?!" She screams, losing it as her palms begin to sweat.

Grayson bends to meet her height, close enough for her to smell his woodsy cologne. His eyes glitter with mockery.

"Aw, you don’t want to help? But you ruined it, Omega. We were all here. We saw it."

"I’ll pay for it!" she blurts. "I swear! I’ll find a way—just... don’t..."

The laughter now is meaner and louder. The comments from the audience fly around, biting into her ears like a pointy needle is being stuffed into them.

"Oh goddess, she’ll replace it? With what? Her weekly laundry wages?"

"Maybe she’ll knit one," someone in the crowd howls.

"Or sell her kidneys," another voice offers.

"Those wouldn’t be worth anything," comes the reply.

Heidi wants to vanish and cease to exist. She wants to melt into the ink she spilled and be forgotten. Her fingers quiver as she gathers the broken pieces of the inkwell. Her palms sting, but she doesn’t stop. The blood mixes with the ink, just like the laughter mixes with her shame.

And then, like a magnet pulling her heart in the wrong direction, her gaze lifts without her permission... and lands on him.

Darien.

He’s standing behind his brothers, leaning casually against the lockers with his arms crossed. His face is bland, but there’s a smirk still tugging at the edge of his mouth. A smirk.

Heidi draws in a pained breath. He’s watching. He’s enjoying this.

Her chest tightens painfully. Of course he is. Of course, he’s not any different. Why had she imagined, even for a moment, that he might be something else? That the fire in his eyes yesterday mean something? That the way her stomach flipped near him was anything but pathetic?

He’s just like them. A vulture in designer boots. A jerk. A bastard.

Her stomach rolls. She’s equal parts furious and hurt. A deep ache unfurls inside her chest, twisting under her ribs like a knife. It burns, not just because they’re humiliating her, but because part of her, some buried, stupid, hopeful part, had believed maybe... maybe not all of them were monsters.

She swallows the lump in her throat, lifts her chin. "I said I’ll replace it."

"Replace it?" Grayson repeats like she just said she’d lasso the moon. "You can’t even afford lunch half the time. Are you going to sell your soul? Or your shoes? Oh wait... You wear the same pair every day."

Heidi’s throat closes. Her knuckles turn white around the books she still holds.

"Let’s be fair, Gray. Maybe she can work off the debt. Manual labor, of course." Morgan declares.

"Oh, perfect. She can be our school servant," Grayson says, snapping his fingers like he’s just discovered fire. "Fetch us coffee. Do our homework. Lick our boots. The usual."

Students howl with laughter.

"She’s been tagged!"

"The Alphas tagged a new Omega! She’s Doomed!"

"They’ll break her!"

"Oh, she has no idea what that means!"

Tears prick at Heidi’s eyes, but she refuses to let them fall. She’ll die before she gives them that. Before she lets them win. She’s going to become a servant for doing absolutely nothing wrong. It’s obvious the Alphas have their necks out for her.

"How long?" she croaks. "How long do I have to... serve you?"

"What?" Grayson blinks.

"If I’m going to be your servant," she starts, voice shaking with fury she can’t suppress, "how long will it take me to pay off the shoes?"

Morgan looks at Grayson, stunned for a minute like he expects her fight against the servant idea. Then, he grins. "Oh, she wants to earn it. She’s a responsible little peasant."

Grayson pretends to ponder. "Hmm. What do you think? A week?"

"Too short," Morgan replies. "A month?"

"Too kind."

"How about..." Grayson leans forward, dragging her chin up between his fingers until her face is tilted to his. His grip is rough, possessive, like he owns her just for standing there. "Until we say stop."

Morgan claps his hands like it’s a game show. "Ding ding ding! Right answer."

A roar erupts from the students.

Heidi tries to jerk her face away, but his grip tightens just enough to make her freeze. Her pride hangs by a thread. Her heart rams into her ribs. She can’t speak. Her lips tremble.

And then, he tosses her again.

She lands on the floor, knees scraping against the rough linoleum, papers flying everywhere, books skidding. The crowd parts like they’re watching gladiators, giving her a wide berth, as if her humiliation might be contagious.

"Better start saving up your energy, Omega," Morgan calls over his shoulder.

"Or get really good at groveling," Grayson adds, not looking back.

The boys walk away, triumphant, parting the sea of students with the force of their status. Girls fawn over them. Laughter follows them like a red carpet.

But Heidi doesn’t move. She stares at the ink on the floor, at her own shaking hands, at the shredded remains of her dignity, scattered in front of the entire school.

She breathes. Then again. And again, but every breath hurts.

This school is poison. Rotten at its core. They told her it was a place of opportunity, but all she sees are masks and cruelty. And Amias had just walked by. Darien watched the whole thing.

And Morgan and Grayson... two of her supposed fated mates humiliated her like this? She rejects them. Every single one of them. If the goddess tied her to these bastards, then the goddess is cruel. She would rather die than belong to them. Serve them. Love them.

No. Never.