IRIA

I stared at the person who had started all of this, and a wave of frustration washed over me. What was Grey’s problem?

He was the one who had told me he didn’t want me as his mate. He was the one who had acted like my presence made him sick. So why was he standing here now, blocking my way as if I belonged to him?

I turned to leave, but his hand shot out and gripped my wrist, pulling me back.

“Where do you think you’re going?” His voice was low, sharp.

“Anywhere away from you,” I snapped. My patience with him had worn thin. But Grey didn’t loosen his hold.

I glared at him. “What are you doing? You said Kent was wrong for forcing me to dance against my will, and now here you are, doing the same thing. Holding me like you own me. What do you want from me, Grey?”

I couldn’t make sense of him. He acted disgusted by me one moment and then protective the next. It was like dealing with two different people, and it left me confused and angry.

At last, Grey released me, though his expression was conflicted, almost torn.

“I’m worried about you,” he said quietly. “This place isn’t for you. This school isn’t for you. You should leave before it’s too late.”

His words caught me off guard. He wasn’t mocking me this time. He sounded almost… sincere. But there was something in his tone, something heavy he wasn’t telling me.

“Why should I leave?” I asked, crossing my arms. “Because my presence makes you uncomfortable? If that’s the case, then too bad. You’ll have to live with it.”

I was tired of his games. Tired of him pushing me away, only to pull me back again.

“You think I’m saying this because I don’t want to see you?” His eyebrow arched, the challenge in his eyes almost daring me to answer.

“Then why? Why do you want me gone?”

“Because this place will eat you alive.” His voice rose with sudden intensity. “These people will crush you before you even realize what’s happening. You think you fit in here, but you don’t. Sooner or later, they’ll show you exactly where you stand, and you’ll see that you’ll never be one of them.”

His words hung in the air, sharp and unforgiving. A few students nearby glanced our way, and heat rushed to my face. Wonderful. Now people were staring, and they’d add this to the rumors already swirling about me.

“And how would you know that?” I shot back. “Do you know everyone here? Sure, there are people like Kent, but not everyone is cruel. Clara has been nothing but kind to me, even though she barely knows me.”

Grey’s lips curved into a mocking smile, and it made my blood boil. He always looked at me like that, with an air of superiority that made me feel small.

“You really think Clara is your friend? That she’s nice to you out of pure kindness?” His voice dripped with disbelief. “Do you honestly think she doesn’t have her own reasons?”

My stomach tightened. His words cut deeper than I wanted them to, but anger rose to shield me.

“Clara isn’t like you,” I said firmly. “She’s not manipulative or cruel. Just because you see the world through your bitter lens doesn’t mean everyone else is rotten. You don’t get to tear her down.”

I forced myself to hold his gaze, but the weight of his dark, piercing eyes made me falter. My confidence slipped, and I looked away, unable to bear the intensity of him.

“Like me?” His smile softened into something that almost looked genuine. “What kind of person do you think I am, Iria?”

The question stunned me. For a moment, it wasn’t the cold Grey speaking, but someone else. Someone who wanted to be understood.

“I…” My throat tightened. Clara’s words about him echoed in my mind, and my chest ached.

No matter how harsh he acted, I couldn’t fully believe that this was the same boy who had supposedly tried to kill his own brother. There had to be more to his story.

“Clara is a good person,” I finally said, my voice quieter. “You can’t change my mind about that. And I’m sure there are others here who aren’t as bad as you think.”

Grey’s expression hardened again, his eyes narrowing. “I’m speaking from experience, Iria. No one here is good. Not really. People like us… we’ll never belong. They look down on us. They’ll always look down on us.”

The way he said it, people like us made my heart skip. For the first time, I saw it, the pain hidden behind his anger, the loneliness he tried to cover with arrogance.

I swallowed, my mouth dry. I didn’t know what to say, but my thoughts spun rapidly. People like us. I wasn’t stupid. Everyone here had a place, a destiny alphas, betas, Lunas, Lycans. And Grey…

Clara’s voice echoed in my memory again. Grey’s brother would inherit the alpha title. Not Grey. And maybe, deep down, that was the wound he carried.

“I understand you’re frustrated,” I said gently, searching his eyes. “But that doesn’t mean you should hurt your family. No matter what, they’re still yours. I’m sure your father had his reasons for choosing Brian. And maybe, if you tried, you could work harder to prove yourself ”

Grey’s sharp laugh cut me off, his voice suddenly hard. “What are you even talking about?”

I froze. His tone was icy, but there was fire in his eyes, a fire that made me instantly regret my words.

“I just meant… I heard about what happened between you and Brian,” I stammered. “I know people misunderstand you. I know what it feels like not to be the favored one. But Brian is still your brother, and that’s not a reason ”

“What the hell do you know?” Grey’s shout cracked through the air, raw and furious.

My heart lurched. His anger wasn’t just anger it was something deeper, wounded, broken. His eyes burned with intensity that scared me. But instead of backing away, I reached out, gently placing my hand on his arm.

“Grey…”

“I didn’t hurt anyone!” His chest heaved with each breath. “They lied. All of them lied about me.”

The anguish in his voice made my throat tighten. He wasn’t acting. He truly believed what he said. For the first time, I saw him not as the cold boy who mocked me, but as someone desperate to be heard.

“Grey,” I whispered again, softer this time.

But just as quickly as his vulnerability had appeared, it vanished. His features hardened, walls slamming back into place.

“I don’t need your pity,” he said flatly. “And I don’t have a problem.”

He shook off my hand and turned his back on me, walking away with the same arrogance he always wore like armor. But I couldn’t unsee what I had glimpsed in his eyes. The pain. The fear. The truth he didn’t want anyone to know.

And somehow, despite everything, my heart ached for him.