Chapter 1: Emberbrook Academy.
AMEERAH.
"I still think this is a bad idea, Edmund. We shouldn't waste precious money sending that cursed girl to such a prestigious school!"
I heard my aunt's voice from the porch where I stood waiting with my luggage. Tears should be trickling down my face, but I was used to it already.
"Come on, Angie, think about it. If she leaves, we'll finally be free from the stigma of harbouring her. I'm trying to save our reputation." My uncle defended, but he wasn't any better. That old man had tried to take advantage of me once.
After losing my parents and being accused of killing them, I was tagged cursed and sentenced to an eternal life of abuse. Reduced to an Omega, things only got worse.
However, I was finally about to be free from all of it. I was going to my dream college Emberbrook academy, a place where no one knew me as the cursed omega from Emberbrook pack. A place where no one would throw stones and spit when I walked by.
The excitement that was rippling through me made my fingers tighten on the bag in my hand. I couldn't wait to be free, maybe the scars on my body from all the beatings would finally have time to heal.
"Sending her to the slums with the omegas would have been a better choice." Aunt Angie pressed on, and a deep frown formed on my face.
She had better not ruin this for me!
"We're her family, unfortunately. People will talk, and things might get worse for us. Besides, she's brilliant, and I'm sure she'll secure a scholarship before the end of the year." Uncle Edmund convinced her, and a smile spread across my lips when I heard my aunt's defeated sigh.
Then, her footsteps followed, and I ran towards the car where I should have been waiting in the first place. She would have me dismembered if she knew I was listening to their conversation.
"Get in the car." She scowled at me, walking around to get into the driver's seat. I hurried into the back, clutching my bags to my chest and keeping my eyes under the strands of my hair.
I could feel the burn of her glare through the mirror but I didn't dare look up. She had warned me never to look her in the eyes, and whenever I dared, I received a punishment that left me in pain for weeks.
"I hope you die in that school, really. I'm tired of being a guardian to a cursed girl." I heard her mutter under her breath, and bile rose to my throat. I tried to ignore it, to ignore her and focus on how wrong she was.
Emberbrook academy would be nothing like this pack. I would be just fine.
After several hours of sitting in the car and enduring my aunt's hateful glares, we finally made our way through the tall, steel gates of the academy.
A shiver ran down my spine at the imposing buildings ahead of me. The ivy coated walls, the huge banner with the school's name hanging from the pinnacle, and the stained glass windows that reflected the sun's rays.
It was even better than I had hoped. And then, I couldn't help but admire the students in their purple coats and plad skirts and pants. I imagined myself in it as I watched them chatter in groups.
These were Alphas, Betas, Deltas, Gammas and Omegas from different packs. I couldn't wait to be part of them. Maybe I would finally make a friend.
"What are you waiting for?!"
Aunt Angie's voice snapped me out of my thoughts and I jolted, immediately rushing out of the car and onto the smooth, stone floor of the school. I dragged my bags down too and shut the door.
"Sorry." I muttered with my eyes lowered.
"I'm sure you can find your way from here. I'm going home." She struggled to pull a piece of paper out of her small purse and then squeezed it into my palm.
"That contains your dorm room number. Your counselor will handle the rest." She rushed her words and immediately made her way back into the car. She drove off before I could ask her anything and I sighed in disappointment.
Well, at least I was free from her now.
Turning to look at the school and the crowd of students, I suddenly felt out of place. My stomach clenched, and I wanted to shrink when a few eyes turned to me. It felt like they could already smell how pathetic I was.
Oh goddess, I did not want any trouble. I may be cursed, I may deserve nothing else good, but at least I deserved to be left alone for once... Just once.
"Keep your head down, keep your head down." I chanted to myself, picking up my bags and making my way through the crowd with jelly knees. Every stare burned, every whisper made me shudder, but soon, I was in an empty hallway, away from all the eyes.
"Good gracious." I sighed.
"Now," I dropped my bags and unfolded the paper in my hand. "Dorm A, room 125."
How do I even find dorm A?
I could have asked questions, but I was not prepared to speak to anyone yet. I didn't know how to, because ever since I was ten, everyone avoided talking to me. It was even rumored that I would never find a mate because of the curse, and I believed it.
In the preparatory school, rumors spread that speaking to me would transfer the curse, so everyone typically avoided me.
"I'll just find it on my own."
I grabbed my bags and moved again, slowly, checking all the tags on all the doors. Then, I somehow made it outside again, but it was not crowded over here... What a relief.
"Where the butt is dorm A?" I bit my lip, frustration already clawing at my chest.
Ugh!
I stopped in front of a tall building with intimidating black walls that looked like it had been dipped inside darkness. Every inch of those walls screamed at me to turn around and walk away, but then something unfamiliar burned in my chest, urging me on.
An intoxicating scent of cinnamon and cedar filled my nostrils as soon as I took the first step through the door. I paused, my heart racing as the scent became increasingly difficult to ignore.
"What is that?" I whispered, taking a few steps further into the empty hallway. Then, the smell of smoke lingered, but not enough to block out that intoxicating scent. I continued to follow it, unable to even stop my legs from moving.
Dread coiled in my stomach when I came face to face with two men in the middle of what looked like a living room. They were both shirtless, sweat dripping down their tight muscles. They each had a cigar in-between his lips, and at the moment, I recognized their terrifying auras.
They were Alphas! Oh goddess, what had I walked into?
Everything about them screamed danger, like I had just walked into my own doom, and right there, I hoped the ground would swallow me.
Their eyes darted to me at the same time, my breath caught. I wanted to run but I couldn't, and that scent from earlier grew so strong that I felt I would suffocate.
"Who the fuck—" the one with shorter hair started but didn't finish his statement when something sparked between the three of us, forcing me to stagger back.
Then, I heard my broken, dormant wolf for the first time in months.
"Mate! Mate!"
Two of them?!
No shitting way!
