**Cynthia Dion:**
It's been two days since I discovered that they are my mates, and so far, they haven't even glanced in my direction. I did hear from sources that Rosalie was quite upset about not being mated to them. I've always seen the three of them together, so I wasn't entirely sure which one she wanted to be with.
‘Or maybe she was expecting to be with both of them, like us?’ Thia chimed in, making me grunt in response.
‘Don't even bring that up. They don't care,’ I muttered, my attention half on the teacher delivering a monotonous lecture while my mind wandered, engaged in a conversation with my wolf. Thia was unfortunately a very weak wolf. She could only communicate with me. This was also a cause for concern, as I was the youngest to transition into any werewolf pack.
My father kept the news from spreading, but he also fretted about my early transition at the age of 9, which was too premature. He then grew desperate and sought various remedies for assistance. One of them, a rogue, provided him with a medication, and after that, I never fully recovered. The intention was to prevent my wolf from awakening again until I turned 15, but that didn't quite go as planned. Thia was awake, but she had lost all the strength to transform.
Thankfully, she didn’t accuse me of indulging in this nonsense, recognizing that I was merely a child who had to heed Daddy Dearest's instructions, no matter what.
"And Miss Cynthia is once again engrossed in gossiping with her wolf," the teacher's strident voice and the impact of a marker hitting the whiteboard jolted me back to reality.
"I apologize," I mumbled awkwardly, averting eyes and retrieving the marker for her.
"No need to apologize. Would you care to enlighten us about what you were discussing with Thia? That is her name, right? The one who cannot transition is now consuming your time as well. Your situation is already precarious, with a limited array of job prospects awaiting you in the future, and you're squandering those opportunities too," she continued to scold, while the students laughed and jeered at me.
"It's alright; I can have her as my surrogate in the future. I'm not about to sacrifice my figure for anyone," a beta's daughter declared haughtily, nonchalantly shrugging her shoulders. Her father had lost by just one point in the contest to become the Royal Beta of The Eclipse Warriors, while Rosalie's father emerged victorious. Consequently, Rosalie had assumed the mantle of Royal Beta and become Atticus's right-hand.
The two girls didn't exactly share a fondness for each other, but due to their shared circumstances, they didn't actively despise each other either.
Both were wealthy brats with Beta wolves.
"Ew! I would keep her as my maid," Rosalie's comment garnered agreement from the others.
"Alright, that's enough," the teacher finally intervened after they had subjected me to their remarks. The rest of the school day was a living nightmare for me. Every time I zoned out, someone would hit me with a marker to interrupt my conversation with Thia. Even during recess, I had to seclude myself in the bathroom.
Once school ended, I hurried out as if my life depended on it, only to encounter another jerk.
Jack Rhode.
An 18-year-old gamma and my neighbor.
I despised him due to his persistent attempts to manipulate me into choosing him as my mate after I rejected my actual mate.
"So, did you find your mate?" Just like on my 18th birthday, he inquired.
"No, Jack! I didn't," I retorted, attempting to bypass the blond-haired nuisance.
"I'm telling you, you don’t have a fated mate because of your weak wolf. Just get over it and accept me as your chosen mate," he insisted, his forehead furrowed in annoyance.
"Jack! Why don't you concentrate on finding your fated mate instead? I want absolutely nothing to do with you." At this point, I swear I'm starting to sound like a broken record.
Jack attended the same school as me, and it was an open secret that he was one of the most troublesome individuals around. I had heard about him tormenting innocent girls and even stealing from numerous omegas. Even if those despicable qualities didn't exist, I still wouldn't accept him.
"Huff! Cynthia, I'm giving you just a few days because after that--- I'll make you accept me in front of everyone, one way or another."
"Hey, I hope you don't mind me stealing my friend away from you." Mara materialized out of nowhere, seizing my hand to pull me away from him. Fortunately, the crowd thickened, and Jack got left behind.
I didn't want to engage in that conversation with him once more. I had barely managed to escape the school premises with Mara's intervention.
"Somebody spat on me today," Mara disclosed, taking a seat beside me on the bench. It was our routine to gather at the bus stop, sharing the details of the day's bullying.
"Do you see that bump on my forehead?" I brushed aside my bangs to reveal the raised area.
"Oh my goodness! What happened?" She touched it gently, and when I winced, she withdrew her hand, apologizing silently.
"Everyone was hitting me with markers to prevent me from conversing with Thia," I sighed, recollecting the incident that had unfolded during history class. It was the only period when Mara and I weren't together.
"I don’t understand. Why can't you just go talk to your mates? Explain how others are treating you." She grasped my hand and shook it, attempting to snap me out of my thoughts.
"I can't. You heard them tell everyone they didn't find a mate. They're probably too ashamed that they were mated to me. There's nothing I can do about it." I had grown so frustrated with her bringing it up every other minute that I slung my bag over my shoulder and resolved to walk home instead of waiting for the bus.
"Now where are you headed?" she shouted, realizing that I needed some time alone.
"We'll meet at school tomorrow, Mara!" I called back, quickening my pace to put more distance between us.
After crossing the road and nearly turning a corner to vanish from her sight, I had an epiphany. She was right; I couldn't keep this information to myself. Eventually, I'd have to make my mates accept me. If they weren't willing, perhaps I could find a chosen mate, but even for that to work, I would need a rejection from them.
‘No! We must not get rejected,' Thia vehemently dismissed the notion.
I was about to provide a more nuanced explanation when my steps came to a sudden halt near a desolate road, where I spotted a familiar car parked in the middle. There was no mistaking it--it was Atticus's car. I recognized the golden crown sticker on the windshield's corner. However, it wasn't merely his presence that startled me; it was what I witnessed them doing inside the car that left me frozen in place. It was a torment to a mate's eyes.
Atticus was exhaling a puff of cigarette smoke, appearing completely out of it, while Rosalie was seated in Enzo’s lap, locked in a passionate make-out session with him. Her almost naked body was reclining onto Atticus, and his hands were entwined in her hair, tenderly stroking them.
However, Atticus seemed more absorbed in his cigarette than in her. The scene was unsettling, and suddenly, an explanation for their lack of interest in me became apparent.
Standing there, tears welling up in my eyes, I felt like my heart was being torn apart. That’s when Atticus noticed me gazing at them, his eyes locking onto mine.