Chapter 21

Third Person POV

The other students’ laughter followed Cassidy as she ran from the classroom, hot tears stinging her eyes. Even worse was the look on the professor’s face when he automatically failed her on her assignment and gave her a permanent mark on her record right in front of the entire class.

From now on, Cassidy’s student profile would have a big, glaring red X marking her as a troublemaker. This incident would follow her everywhere.

Cassidy’s legs trembled as she hurried down the hall, clutching her books to her chest. She had to find Kael. He would know what to do—he always did.

It didn’t take her long to find him. He was in the Alpha student lounge, just as he usually was during his free periods, playing blackjack for bottle caps with his friends. Cassidy couldn’t enter since she wasn’t an Alpha, but when she knocked on the doorframe and stuck her head in, he looked up from his card game with his friends and furrowed his brow.

“What is it?” His voice was curt. Cold.

Cassidy sniffled. “Can we talk? In private?”

Kael always came when Cassidy needed him. He was her boyfriend, the one person she could truly trust. He would help her get out of this.

But he just shook his head and returned his attention to his game. “I’m busy.”

“But—”

“I heard about the footage, Cassidy. I’m not interested in talking to you right now.”

Kael’s words were like tiny daggers in Cassidy’s chest. So he saw already, which meant that the entire school knew about the incident by now. She opened her mouth to beg him for help, but quickly snapped her mouth shut again when he shot her one last withering look over his shoulder.

Goddess, this was so much worse than she initially thought. If Kael wouldn’t even help her, then who would?

As Cassidy turned and fled to her dorm—the one place where she could at least be free from the mocking stares and whispers of her peers—her mind raced. And above the turmoil was one, singular feeling: regret.

Cassidy wasn’t the best student, she knew that, but she also wasn’t stupid. Especially not when it came to the careful game of social status and manipulation.

Lyra had been the one to put that footage on the flash drive. Mia must have given it to her—they had become friends after the incident in the locker room.

A pang of anger shot through Cassidy, but the regret remained the most potent of all the emotions swirling around inside her chest. Cassidy stopped short just as she reached the bottom of the spiral staircase of Full Moon Tower and bit her lip.

She should apologize.

Cassidy still didn’t completely understand what she had done wrong, but she didn’t want to be expelled from school because of this… incident. Moreover, she didn’t want to lose Kael’s favor.

Yes, she needed to apologize. All of this would be smoothed over as soon as she—

“Where do you think you’re going?”

Cassidy was just turning around to head back to the classroom, find Lyra, and say she was sorry for everything when a familiar figure stepped into her path.

Bianca.

“I need to apologize,” Cassidy said, taking a step back. Her hands had begun to tremble slightly the moment she saw Bianca standing there, although she wasn’t entirely sure why. “I think I did something bad, and I don’t want to get expelled.”

Bianca tilted her head. First to one side, then the other. Her eyes flicked coldly over Cassidy, lingering briefly on her shaking hands, before she took a step closer and closed the distance between them. Cassidy shuddered.

“Apologize?” Bianca scoffed. “Since when do we do apologies?”

We?

Cassidy straightened, suddenly regaining her confidence. Who did this girl think she was, blocking her and acting as if she had any power over Cassidy? Cassidy was the daughter of a well-known Beta, and she was Kael’s girlfriend. She wouldn’t let some random freshman who she hardly even knew boss her around.

“Get out of my way,” Cassidy said coolly.

“No. I don’t think I will.”

Bianca suddenly surged forward, her fingers cold as they wrapped firmly around Cassidy’s wrist. Cassidy opened her mouth to shout, but the words died in her throat as Bianca’s frigid eyes met hers.

“You’re not going to apologize,” Bianca ordered in a low whisper. “In fact, you’re going to go up to your room and post those pictures you have. You know which ones.”

Cassidy’s body went rigid. Every ounce of self control inside of her suddenly slipped away like a shell being washed back into the ocean on the tide.

She nodded, vision blurring as Bianca’s command washed over her.

“Yes, Bianca.”

Bianca’s lips curved into a smile, and after a moment, she released Cassidy’s wrist and stepped back. “That’s a good girl. Run along now.”

Cassidy nodded and abruptly turned on her heel, making her way up the spiral stairs leading to her dorm on the fourth floor. By the time she reached her room, she’d forgotten the interaction entirely.

She didn’t know why she needed to post those pictures online, but she just knew she needed to.

Cassidy didn’t hesitate. She marched over to her desk and pulled out her laptop. Within minutes, she had posted the pictures online.

They went viral on the school social media forum within minutes. Poor, sad little Lyra, throwing up in the bushes—poor, pathetic little Lyra being dragged around the yard by her hair, vomit caking her face and shirt.

Cassidy watched the comments roll in with a malicious gleam in her eyes.

She still wasn’t entirely sure why she was doing this, but that didn’t matter, did it? All that mattered was humiliating the bitch who had humiliated her. It was the same reason why Cassidy had attacked her in the locker room. Why she had lured her into the restricted forest.

Yes… Lyra deserved this.

…

“Hey, Kael, check this out.”

Rian shoved his phone into Kael’s face with a wicked smirk. Huffing, Kael snatched the phone away, expecting to see another stupid video or a nude from one of the girls Rian was currently sleeping with.

But instead, he saw a photo that made his heart stop in his chest.

The camera flash highlighting the vomit caking her shirt. Her hair being gripped by multiple hands. A look of horror on her face as she was dragged across the grass, splayed out on her back like prey.

Lyra.

He wasn’t sure why, but Kael’s wolf howled at the sight. He recognized her outfit—these photos were taken the night of that party. It must have been after Kael had left early for the night, because he had no idea she was… attacked like this.

The pain and regret that washed over Kael was immediate and intense. The sound of his friends’ laughter faded away, leaving only the din of the blood rushing through his ears.

That night had been embarrassing for Lyra, yes, but Kael didn’t know it was this bad.

No wonder Lyra had been so… different lately.

Was this truly what she was going through, in secret, hiding her pain even from him until it festered and broke her completely?