Gaia's POV

I drag the mop across the third-floor hallway, watching soapy water spread across worn tiles. Sunday. The one day this godforsaken school sits empty and silent.

The one day I can breathe.

My name is Gaia. I'm an Omega. And on most days, that means I'm a target.

But not today. Today there are no girls waiting to trip me, no fists slamming into my ribs when the teachers look away. No voices hissing "worthless Omega trash" as they shove my face against the lockers. Sienna and her pack of she-wolves usually make it their mission to remind me exactly where I stand in the hierarchy. They've perfected the art of cruelty—kicks to my shins that leave me limping, yanking my hair until tears spring to my eyes, dumping their lunch trays on my head while the cafeteria erupts in laughter.

Last week, Sienna cornered me in the bathroom with three of her friends. They held me down while she carved the word "NOTHING" into my locker door, then dragged me in front of it. "See that?" she'd said, her breath hot on my face. "That's what you are."

I'd kept my head down. Said nothing. Let them have their fun.

Because fighting back only makes it worse.

But today—today I'm alone. The building echoes with emptiness, and my chest feels lighter than it has in months.

Tomorrow, I'll see Lucien again.

The thought makes my heart flutter. Lucien. The Gamma's son. The only noble-born wolf in this entire pack who treats me like I'm human. Who smiles when he sees me. Who stands between me and Sienna's fists when things get bad.

Yesterday, he told me he loves me.

"Gaia," he'd said, taking my hand in the empty library. "I've been thinking about this for months. I... I want you. I want to be with you. All of you."

His meaning had been clear. He'd leaned closer, his voice dropping. "Let me make you mine."

I'd pulled away gently. "I'm waiting for my mate, Lucien. I'm sorry."

He'd been so understanding. So sweet. "I get it," he'd said, squeezing my hand. "The mate bond is sacred. But Gaia... even if we can't be that, I'll still protect you. I'll still be here for you."

He'd asked me on a date for next week. Just dinner. Nothing more.

I'd said yes.

I scrub harder at a stubborn stain, trying to contain the smile threatening to break across my face. For the first time in my life, someone wants me. Someone sees me as more than just an Omega. More than just—

A sound cuts through the silence.

Moaning.

I freeze, my mop clattering against the bucket. The sound is coming from one of the classrooms down the hall. A rhythmic, breathless sound that makes my face heat.

Someone's having sex.

I should leave. Should turn around and finish cleaning somewhere else.

But something about that voice—

I creep closer, my heart hammering. The door is cracked open just enough to see inside.

And my entire world shatters.

Lucien.

He's bent over a desk, his pants around his ankles. And beneath him, gripping the desk with white knuckles, is Sienna.

Her head is thrown back, her mouth open in ecstasy. "Harder, Lucien. I'm almost there."

No.

No, no, no.

My feet are rooted to the floor. I can't move. Can't breathe. Can't think.

I've stood before the Moon Goddess's altar countless times, whispering prayers into the darkness. Begging her to make Lucien my mate. Pleading for this one good thing in my miserable life.

And here he is. With her.

With the girl who beat me until I vomited blood. Who burned cigarettes into my arms. Who told the entire school I was a diseased whore who spread her legs for anyone with a rank above hers.

Lucien groans, his movements becoming frantic. "You're so beautiful, Sienna. God, I love you."

The words are knives. Each one carving out pieces of my chest.

He loves her.

Sienna's voice rises higher, becoming desperate. "Yes! Yes, right there—"

She screams. Her whole body convulses.

And Lucien follows seconds later, his roar echoing through the empty classroom.

I should run. Should grab my things and disappear before they notice me standing here like a fool.

But my legs won't cooperate. My body has turned to stone.

"That pathetic Omega bitch," Sienna says, her breathing still ragged. "Have you fucked her yet?"

The question punches the air from my lungs.

"Not yet," Lucien says. There's satisfaction in his voice. Pride. "But Gaia agreed to the date. Next Friday. It's all set up."

My stomach drops.

Set up.

"Good." Sienna's laugh is cruel. Vicious. "I've been waiting for this. Beating her senseless was fun for a while, but it's getting boring. I need something more... permanent."

"I know what you mean." Lucien's voice is casual. Like they're discussing the weather. "Physical pain heals. But humiliation? That lasts forever."

No.

Oh Goddess, no.

"Exactly." Sienna's voice drips with malice. "I don't just want to hurt her body anymore. I want to destroy her. I want her to walk through these halls knowing everyone has seen her at her lowest. I want her to feel worthless every single day for the rest of her pathetic life."

My vision blurs. Tears stream down my face, hot and unstoppable.

This was never about love. Never about caring.

It was always about destroying me.

"So what's the plan?" Sienna asks. There's eagerness in her tone. Anticipation.

"Dinner at that little restaurant on the edge of town," Lucien says. "The one with the private rooms. I'll order wine—tell her it's just sparkling cider since she's nervous about drinking. She'll believe me. She believes everything I tell her."

His contempt is a blade between my ribs.

"Once she's drunk enough, I'll get her back to my place." He pauses. "I've got a few brothers who owe me favors. Marcus, Jason, Dev. They're more than happy to help me with this little... project."

My knees buckle. I grab the wall to keep from collapsing.

They're planning to—

"You're going to let them run a train on her?" Sienna's voice is gleeful. "Oh, this is even better than I thought."

"Pictures from every angle," Lucien says. "Video too, if we can manage it. We'll strip her completely—make sure everyone can see exactly what a desperate little Omega whore looks like when she's begging for it."

"She won't be begging," Sienna says. "She'll be too drunk to know what's happening."

"Even better." Lucien laughs. "We can position her however we want. Get all the best shots. By the time she wakes up, the evidence will be all over the school. On every phone, every computer. Her face next to her naked body, legs spread wide—"

"Stop." My voice is barely a whisper. But I can't keep the word inside anymore.

They don't hear me. They keep talking.

"I want them big," Sienna says. "Poster-sized prints. We'll hang them in every hallway, every bathroom. I want her to see herself like that everywhere she goes."

"The teachers will take them down eventually—"

"But by then, it won't matter. Everyone will have seen them. Everyone will know what she is." Sienna's satisfaction is palpable. "She'll never recover from this. She'll leave the pack in disgrace. And if she doesn't leave? I'll make her life so miserable she'll wish she had."

The cruelty in her voice—the absolute pleasure she takes in planning my destruction—

Something inside me breaks.

Not the small, fragile crack that comes from a single blow. But a complete shattering. Like glass dropping from a great height.

Everything I thought I knew—every moment of kindness I believed Lucien showed me—it was all fake. A performance designed to set up this moment.

He never cared about me.

He was never my protector.

He was just another predator wearing a friendly smile.

"When do I get to see them?" Sienna asks. "The pictures?"

"Right after," Lucien promises. "You'll be the first. I'll send them to you before anyone else."

"You're so good to me." Her voice turns sultry. "Maybe if this goes well, I'll consider making you my mate. Would you like that?"

"More than anything." The desperation in Lucien's voice would be pathetic if I wasn't currently drowning in horror.

"Then don't screw this up," Sienna says. "I want that little bitch completely ruined."

"She will be," Lucien promises. "By next Saturday, Gaia Kent will wish she'd never been born."

The words settle over me like a suffocating blanket.

Rage ignites in my chest. White-hot and all-consuming.

How dare they.

How dare they plot to violate me like this. To strip me of every shred of dignity. To turn me into a spectacle for their entertainment.

I've endured Sienna's fists. Her cruelty. Her endless torment.

But this?

This is evil.

And suddenly, I don't care about staying quiet anymore. Don't care about keeping my head down and surviving.

I want to scream. Want to storm into that room and claw Sienna's eyes out. Want to make Lucien hurt the way he's planning to hurt me.

But I can't.

Because I'm an Omega. And they're nobility.

No one would believe me. No one would help me.

If I reported this, Sienna would just deny it. Lucien would call me a liar. They'd probably punish me for making false accusations.

I'm trapped.

Completely, utterly trapped.

"Why do you hate her so much anyway?" Lucien asks. His tone is curious, almost admiring.

There's a pause. Then Sienna's voice, cold and venomous:

"Because she refuses to break. She's an Omega with blonde hair and blue eyes—like she deserves those features. And no matter what I do to her, she never begs. Never cries in front of me. She just... takes it." Fury laces every word. "That's not submission. That's defiance. And I won't tolerate it."

My hands shake. My entire body trembles.

"Plus," Sienna continues, "She is close to Lysander."

Lysander. The Alpha's heir.

"I've seen the way he looks at her," Sienna hisses. "Like she's something precious. It's disgusting. That Omega doesn't get to steal his attention from me."

She thinks I'm trying to seduce Lysander?

The accusation is so absurd it would be laughable if I wasn't currently drowning in grief and terror.

Lysander left the pack to study abroad two years ago. Before he left, I was assigned to clean his room—just another Omega servant doing her job. He was kind. Treated me like a person. We talked sometimes while I worked.

We became... friends. Nothing more.

An Alpha heir could never love an Omega. And I would never be foolish enough to reach for something so far above me.

But Sienna's jealousy doesn't care about reality.

"After this," Sienna says, her voice dark with promise, "Lysander won't even look at her. No one will. She'll be ruined."

I can't breathe.

Can't think.

Can't exist in a world where this level of cruelty is possible.

I need to leave. Need to get out of this pack, this school, this life before Friday comes and they execute their plan.

I'll request a transfer tonight. Disappear somewhere they'll never find me.

I turn, moving as quietly as possible, reaching for my mop and bucket—

And my foot catches the stupid nameplate sitting by the door.

CRASH.

The sound echoes through the empty hallway like a gunshot.

"What the hell was that?" Sienna's voice is sharp with rage.

Footsteps. Fast. Getting closer.

I scramble to right the bucket, water sloshing everywhere. My hands are shaking so badly I can barely grip the handle.

The doorknob turns.

No. No, please—

The door swings open.