Chapter 15

"But I was sure I smelled his scent that day. I felt he was close to me. Why didn't he save me?" I asked no one in particular. Hot tears were burning in my eyes and streaming freely down my cheeks as I stood in front of the mirror.

It was morning, and my eyes were still heavy and drooping from lack of sleep. My brown hair was packed in a messy bun over the tattered, badly sewn old school uniform I was wearing. My eyes were all red and swollen from crying all the time.

If tears could take away my pain, I would have been the happiest girl on earth. Last night, under my pillow, I cried till my eyes were worn out.

I don't know what to expect, but I knew it would be really miserable, especially with the visible slave mark at the side of my neck. The worst was that the school wasn't just an ordinary one; it was a school for the rich and a magnificent building that gathered every royal member from every part of the werewolf world together.

When I was still a kid, I overheard a conversation about a school like this that would be built to develop a collective relationship and strength among all packs around the world.

Students who came from far packs could board and live on campus. When my mother explained this project for me back then, I was very happy to be so fortunate.

As the alpha's daughter, nothing would stop me from being one of the students at such a great school. If anyone had ever told me that I would end up attending the school as a personal slave to the Beta's daughter, I would never have believed it.

It appeared like a nightmare to see how my life sucks. It all seemed like it got worse and worse every day.

"What are you still doing there? Staring at your wretched self?" The scornful voice of Scarlett rang in my head, and I sighed sadly, drying my eyes as I turned to her.

My heart felt a sharp pang of sadness as I saw how elegant and graceful she appeared in her perfectly sewn school uniform. Her tan skin was glowing and matched with her permed blonde hair, which was shiny and flowed down to her back.

Her face was primped with makeup, which really defined her more as an Alpha daughter than me. I couldn't help the jealousy that ached within me as I swallowed hard, wishing my life hadn't gone sour.

I would have been the one dressed this exquisitely and adorned as the princess of this great pack if all this hadn't happened to me. It hurts terribly, and I just couldn't talk because I knew I would burst into tears.

"Are you done admiring and drooling over my alluring and charming beauty, slave?" She snickered, walking close to me with graceful steps as her lips curled into a smirk.

I looked away and swallowed the bitter bile in my throat, tears welling up again in my eyes at the sound of her voice when she called me a slave.

"Let's go, dear. You shouldn't be so nervous and frightened. Someone in the class might like you as you are." Her voice was brimming with sarcasm and mockery, which forced out all the tears I was pushing back.

"Now, let's go!" She ordered, and I nodded, following her from behind.

Everything went fast.

And just in a flash of light, we were both in front of the giant black gate that was tall enough to prevent anyone from seeing inside the school building.

The car honked twice, and the gate opened by itself after scanning our car. It seemed we were late, but it was still the beginning of the school year, so it was normal.

Everything else that went on about the registration was brief, and when it was time to give us our chair number tag, Scarlett introduced me to the proprietor, showing my slave mark. Because of that, they gave Scarlett my number, and she would be the one to determine if I would sit or not.

As we walked through the hallways, I could see the students all peering at me with grimaces, and even some had to cover their noses. I don't blame any of them. I really looked bad and stood out among the others.

I was like a black sheep among snow white ones. Everyone could tell I was that student who doesn't deserve to be in the school from how poor and pathetic I appeared. I ignored them and kept following Scarlett like a dog accompanying its owner, my head lowered to the ground.

"She must be smelling!" I picked out a comment from a group of students standing just outside a classroom door and gave them a quick glance, which I immediately regretted when I saw the rich and sophisticatedly dressed girls my age laughing and pointing at me.

After what seemed like a day's journey, we got to the classroom, and I could hear the voice of the teacher who was standing in front of the room.

She stopped talking when she sighted us at the door and immediately recognized Scarlett, so she ushered us in.

Just as we entered the classroom, murmurs and giggles arose from every corner, and I just couldn't lift my head out of shame.

I knew I was the reason for their scornful laugh.

"Here are the last set of students to be joining us!" The teacher told the class as I stood beside Scarlett, my legs trembling and my heart pounding.

"Even the other one that looked like a mad woman?!" A student hollered, and everyone snickered.

"She is my slave. She's lucky to be here because I'd need her to run errands for me at school!" Scarlett spoke, and I gritted my teeth, praying that the ground would open and swallow me. Her words hurt me in the most unbearable way; I felt my throat choke me from breathing.

"Wow, that's nice. I just hope she stays away from us. Nobody would want to puke from how disgusting and ugly she is."

"Yes, we don't accept pigs, but we won't mind having her as our servant!"

"The air has been polluted just a few minutes after she entered here! She is a pig indeed!"

Those were derisive insults bashing into my ears in the most painful way, but instead of breaking me down as usual, I was getting so angry. Rage was building up inside me as my wolf kept reminding me of who I was.

Apart from the fact that I was the Alpha's daughter, there was also a beast in me that the demons were afraid of. I knew one day I would become more powerful than everyone else, and the only way to see that day was to stay strong and survive all these tortures.

If they all think I would fight for them against the demons, I swear they are all wrong. It would be fun to sit back and watch them all gnash their teeth in pain and regret while the demons torture them day and night.

I looked up at them, and they were all still laughing and hurling insults; a student even went so far as to fling a raw egg at me, and that shit cracked on my head, smearing my face and cloth. Instead of the teacher cautioning her, she snickered, and the students all kept laughing at me.

It was as if they had heard about me and were already ready to help my pack push me toward killing myself.

"You both had to introduce yourselves properly to your classmates now!" Scarlett, let's start with you." The teacher, who was a middle aged woman with red hair and a black suit and skirt, finally spoke out, stopping the students from going any further in battering my head with their insults and bullying.

I wiped the disgusting liquid of the egg splattered over my face with my palm and took a deep breath as I stared at the space, shame mixed with anger bubbling inside me as I realized how bad I would smell with the raw egg on my body.

"My name is Scarlett, the substitute daughter of the Alpha, as you can clearly see. After the real daughter killed her mother, she was made the slave of the pack and a worthless piece of shit to her father. Her name is Ella, and she is my slave now. A demon like her should never be treated well. I hope you all will help me make her life more miserable, because that's what she deserves for working for the demons and killing our powerful Luna! Don't be afraid; her demon powers have been washed away." Scarlett narrated with a smirk, and the class jeered at me.

My lips trembled and my eyes burned in tears as I raised my head and cast a quick glance at everyone in the class. There was so much disgust, irritation, and hatred on their faces. I could recognize some of my pack members there. None of them had a single trace of sympathy in their eyes.

It was always like that.

We were both asked to go to our seats without me introducing myself; I guess Scarlett has done that for me already.

I followed Scarlett when she went to get her desk using her number tag, and when I asked to see what number I was given, she rolled her eyes at me and shoved the paper into her bag, ignoring me as if I didn't say anything.

She comfortably sat on her desk while I stood there in confusion and frustration.

"Let me see...."

"Shut up and don't disturb the class! If there is no chair for you, sit on the ground!" The teacher yelled at me, and I crouched down there, fuming to myself.

"Stand behind me, you Slave!" Scarlett scoffed, and I really felt like disobeying her, but I was just tired of receiving her beating. And now that I was marked as her slave, there was no way I was going to fight back.

My wolf and I had been weakened and subjected to her authority—that was how much my life had been made useless by the same man I called a father.

Everything taught by the teacher didn't even enter my ears. She left, and another came in and gave her lecture, all of which sounded bubbling to my ears.

It was left the third teacher, who was to come and teach before the break time, but instead of a teacher walking in, we saw the school proprietor walk into the school.

There was confusion at first, until we heard that he came to introduce a new teacher to us. A special one to be our history subject teacher.

"This class is very fortunate to have him as its teacher, even when we wanted him to teach the final grade and not the one before the final. No one has the right to stress him or cause trouble when he is teaching. Obey every one of his instructions because everyone here can be expelled and punished severely if he reports you!" The male proprietor, dressed in a black suit and trousers with his glasses perched on his nose, explained with a stern face and determined voice.

I was so surprised, wondering who this man was. I mean, all the students here are of royal blood and the children of billionaire families. They are free to do whatever they want at school. How could a single teacher be so exceptional that no one was allowed to disobey him?

"Here he comes!" The man announced, and everyone's faces were fixed to the door, all eyes sparkling in sheer anticipation, while I also wondered why this teacher preferred to teach us. Was there anything special about his class? Because I can only see a bunch of spoiled and wicked kids here.

I saw him walk in majestically, just like a dream, just like a mere illusion.

My mate, the Lycan prince, stepped into the classroom as the new teacher.