Lavender deodorant. Damp towels. The locker room air was thick. To Ella, it smelled like doom.
She huddled in the corner stall. Fingers fumbled with her bra clasp. Pulse thumping. Too loud.
*Just get dressed. Get out. Don't let them see.*
She knew Sarah and her sycophants were out there.
Thin, sharp giggles. Cruel. Like shattered glass.
"Come on out, Ella! We know you're in there," Sarah's voice had a jagged edge. "Let's see it. The rumor. Are you really that bald? Like a dog with the mange?"
Laughter erupted.
Echoing off the tiled walls.
Ella looked away, peeling her shirt over her head.
The fabric stuck to her damp skin.
*Please, just leave.*
The lock on the stall door clicked. Not the sound of it opening, but the sound of a hairpin being twisted.
Ella froze. She reached for the handle. The door hit the wall. A crack like a whip.
Sarah stood there.
Flanked by Jessica and Chloe.
Sarah held her phone up. The camera lens was a flat, glass void.
It stared straight at Ella's exposed back.
"Get a good look, skin-thing," Sarah spat.
Ella turned. She held the shirt over her front. Then the light hit. The flash left a white burn in her vision.
" momentous occasion," Jessica giggled. "The first documentation of the Wolf-less Wonder."
"Turn around," Sarah commanded. "Let's see that ugly back of yours. I want a close-up of the scars."
"No!" Ella's voice cracked. She backed away, hitting the cold tiles. "Get out! Leave me alone!"
Sarah walked up behind her. Ella felt a cold finger trace her spine.
The scars. Jagged. Ugly.
The mark of her shame. The reason she couldn't shift. A pariah.
"Disgusting," Sarah whispered.
Her breath was hot on Ella's neck.
"Look at this map of failure. No fur. No wolf. Just broken skin."
*Click. Click. Click.*
The shutter slapped, a sharp, mechanical bite.
"Please," Ella's voice broke. Her vision blurred. "Don't. Sarah, please."
"Keep making that noise. It fits you." Sarah stepped back, staring at the screen. "Listen up, Wolf-less."
She shoved the phone screen inches from Ella's face.
The image was distinct.
Ella's bare back. Twisted scar tissue stark against pale skin.
It looked vulnerable. It looked pathetic.
"You think Ethan wants you?" Sarah hissed. Her smile went dead.
"Top tier. Future Alpha. You think he's looking for leftovers?"
"He's... we're just talking," Ella's voice was a ghost.
"Talking? I smell the hunger on you, freak. It's on your skin. Grease."
Sarah spat on the tiles.
"Don't touch him. Don't look at him."
"One look. One word. And the whole school watches you bleed."
"I'll make sure Ethan sees the scars first."
"Imagine his face."
She leaned in. "He'd look at you like roadkill."
Chloe and Jessica released her.
Ella hit the floor. Her legs were dead weight. Her head hit the locker. Metal. Hard. She felt the jar in her jaw. The clicking of their heels faded. Every sharp strike thudded in her inner ear.