Isla's POV
I woke up screaming.
Pain. Everywhere. Like my blood had turned to acid, burning me from the inside out. My chest felt crushed, like someone was standing on my ribs. I couldn't breathe. Couldn't think. Could only feel the agony of something precious being ripped away.
"Isla! Isla, look at me!"
Professor Nightshade's face swam into view above me. We were in the campus hospital—I recognized the white walls, the smell of antiseptic, the beeping machines. How did I get here?
Then I remembered.
I, Daemon Blackthorn, reject you as my mate.
A sob tore from my throat. The Professor grabbed my shoulders, holding me down as I tried to curl into a ball around the pain.
"I know it hurts," she said, voice urgent. "But you need to stay still. The rejection is trying to kill you, Isla. Your body is fighting it, but barely."
"Let it," I gasped. "Let it kill me. I can't—I can't feel this—"
"No." The Professor's grip tightened. "You listen to me. You are stronger than this. Stronger than him. Stronger than any pain the mate bond can throw at you. You survived things that would destroy normal wolves. You will survive this too."
Something in her voice cut through the agony. A reminder. A truth I'd almost forgotten.
I wasn't normal. I never had been.
Eight years ago, rogues chained me with silver and slaughtered my family. I should have died that night. Any normal Omega would have. But I didn't. I healed. I survived. Even now, with the corrupted mate bond poisoning my blood, my body was fighting back harder than it should.
"Why?" I whispered. "Why am I different?"
Professor Nightshade's expression flickered—guilt, sadness, and something that looked like fear. "That's a conversation for another day. Right now, I need you to drink this."
She held a cup to my lips. The liquid inside smelled like rot and tasted worse, but I forced it down. Almost immediately, the burning pain dulled to a horrible ache.
"That will keep the bond from killing you," the Professor said. "But Isla... the rejection is public now. Everyone saw. Everyone recorded it. By tomorrow, you'll be the most talked-about person on campus."
I closed my eyes. Of course. My humiliation had been broadcast to the entire university. The Omega who thought she deserved an Alpha prince. The joke everyone could laugh at.
"I want to go home," I said.
"You need to rest here tonight—"
"Please." I opened my eyes, meeting hers. "I need to be somewhere safe. Somewhere people aren't staring."
The Professor studied my face for a long moment, then nodded. "I'll drive you to your dorm. But Isla? This isn't over. The corrupted bond... it affects both parties. He's hurting too."
"Good," I said, and meant it. "I hope it destroys him."
Red was waiting outside my dorm building, pacing like a caged animal. The moment he saw me, he ran over and pulled me into a crushing hug.
"I'm going to kill him," Red said into my hair. "I'm going to actually murder Daemon Blackthorn. They'll find his body in the lake and—"
"Red. I can't breathe."
He loosened his grip but didn't let go. "I'm so sorry. I never should have convinced you to go. This is my fault—"
"It's not your fault." I pulled back, looking at my best friend's anguished face. "You didn't know. Nobody knew."
"The whole campus knows now." Red's expression turned dark. "It's everywhere. Every social media site. Someone made a compilation video of different angles. Vivienne Frost is doing interviews about how she 'feels so bad for that poor delusional Omega.'"
Of course she was. This was probably the best night of her life.
"I don't care," I lied. "I just want to sleep."
Red walked me to my basement room. The door was covered in notes—some sympathetic, most cruel. Someone had written "REJECTED" across my door in red marker. Red tore down every note and tried to scrub off the marker while I stood there, numb.
"I'll stay," Red offered. "Sleep on your floor. Make sure nobody bothers you."
"I'm okay. Really." Another lie, but Red looked exhausted. "Go home. Get some rest."
He left reluctantly, making me promise to call if I needed anything. The moment the door closed, I collapsed on my bed and let myself cry.
I cried for the mate I'd found and lost in the same breath. Cried for the humiliation. Cried for the pain still pulsing through my veins. Cried because part of me—the stupid, hopeful part—had believed for thirty seconds that someone finally wanted me.
But mostly, I cried because my wolf wouldn't stop howling.
She was furious. Raging. Stronger than I'd ever felt her before. Usually, I kept her buried deep, hiding the fact that I was way more powerful than a normal Omega should be. But the rejection had woken something inside her.
Something dangerous.
He rejected us, my wolf snarled. He chose status over his mate. He deserves to suffer.
"I know," I whispered into my pillow.
But we're not going to just survive this, are we?
I froze. My wolf had never spoken so clearly before. Never sounded so... cold. So calculated. So absolutely certain.
No, she continued. We're going to make him regret it. Every single day for the rest of his miserable life, he's going to remember the mate he threw away. We're going to become everything he'll never have.
I sat up slowly, wiping tears from my face. My reflection stared back at me from the cracked mirror across the room. I looked destroyed. Broken. Weak.
But I didn't feel weak anymore.
I felt angry.
For twenty years, I'd survived by being invisible. By letting people walk over me. By accepting that I was less than everyone else because I was Omega, because I had scars, because I was poor and alone and damaged.
But I wasn't just an Omega, was I? Professor Nightshade had practically admitted it tonight. Something about me was different. Powerful. Hidden.
"Who am I really?" I asked the empty room.
My wolf's answer came swift and certain:
Let's find out. And when we do, let's make sure Daemon Blackthorn sees exactly what he lost.
I stood up, walked to my desk, and opened my laptop. My rejection video was the first thing on every social media site, just like Red said. Millions of views. Thousands of comments.
Most were cruel. But some... some were different.
That Alpha is an idiot. She deserves better.
Why do we treat Omegas like they're worthless? This is disgusting.
I hope she makes him regret this.
I read every comment. Felt every opinion. Let the humiliation wash over me until it transformed into something else.
Fuel.
Tomorrow, everyone expected me to hide. To transfer schools. To disappear in shame.
Instead, I was going to walk into class with my head high. I was going to ace every test. I was going to train until I was strong enough that nobody could hurt me again. And I was going to find out what I really was—what Professor Nightshade was hiding.
My phone buzzed. Unknown number. I almost didn't answer, but something made me look.
One text message. Three words that changed everything:
I know what you are.
My blood went cold.
Someone knew. Someone had been watching. Someone understood that I wasn't a normal Omega.
Before I could respond, another message came through:
Meet me at the Old Library. Midnight. Come alone. Or everyone learns the truth about the Silvermoon heir.
The phone slipped from my fingers.
Silvermoon. That was my mother's pack name. The pack that was slaughtered eight years ago. The pack everyone thought died completely.
Someone knew I survived. Knew I was hiding. Knew exactly who—and what—I really was.
And in two hours, I'd find out what they wanted.
Or I'd walk into a trap that would destroy what little remained of my life.