고등학교 열병

The Scars She Hid From The World

REGINA MCBRIDE

The heavy iron gates of the Wilderness Correction Camp groaned as they released me after three years of state-sponsored hell. I stood on the dirt road, clutching a plastic bag that held my entire life, waiting for the family that claimed they sent me there for "rehab." My brother, Brady, picked me up in a luxury SUV only to throw me out onto a deserted highway in the middle of a brewing storm. He told me I was a "public relations nightmare" and that the rain might finally wash the "stink" of the camp off me. He drove away, leaving me to limp miles through the mud on a snapped ankle. When I finally dragged myself to our family estate, my mother didn't offer a hug; she gasped in horror because my muddy clothes were ruining her Italian marble. They didn't give me my old room back. Instead, they banished me to a moldy gardener’s shack and hired a "babysitter" to make sure I didn't embarrass them further. My sister, Kaleigh, stood there in white cashmere, pretending to cry while clinging to her fiancé, Ambrose—the man who had once been mine. They all treated me like a volatile junkie, refusing to acknowledge that Kaleigh was the one who planted the drugs in my bag three years ago. They wanted to believe I was broken so they wouldn't have to feel guilty about the "wellness retreat" that was actually a torture chamber. I sat in the dark of that shed, feeling the cooling gel on the cigarette burns that covered my arms, and realized they had made a fatal mistake. They thought they had erased me, but I had returned with a roadmap of scars and a hidden satellite phone. At dinner, I didn't beg for their love. I simply rolled up my sleeves and showed them the price of their silence. As the wine spilled and the lies crumbled, I sent a single text to the only person I trusted: "I'm in. Let them simmer." The hunt was finally on.

Modern Revenge Scheming

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Alethea

I take a deep breath, but it's useless as my head plunges beneath the river, and the icy water rips the air from my lungs. My body shakes hard as I breathe fast. My heart beats fast.

I'm sweating and feeling out of control. Everything around me is blurry and I thrash, trying to break free from the hand that shoves me down.

"You deserve to die, bitch," a furious voice growls above the surface.

My heart stutters. I know that voice-Maya.

She yanks my head up, and I choke on the cold air, coughing, and I try to wipe the water from my face. Before I can steady myself, her palm hits my cheek. A ringing sound echoes in my ear as I stumble.

My hand raises to my cheek as I can't understand why she is doing this to me, why she hates me so much.

"This is only the beginning, Alethea," Maya hisses, as her eyes blaze with fury. "If you refuse to be Xavier's breeder, I promise you'll regret it."

Xavier-Beta Xavier's son. The Alpha wants me to carry his child. But Maya, his furious girlfriend, won't let that happen without blood.

I remember the rumor. Maya's mother-replaced by another woman. A breeder her father loved instead. Maybe she harbors the fear that I'll take her place, just like that woman did.

Maya yanks me back to the present with her voice sharp and cruel. "I'll do more than drown you," she sneers. "I'll kill you, and no one will ever know, since you are not worth living."

She reaches into her coat and pulls out a silver knife. My breath catches. My heart pounds like it's going to burst from my chest. I search the riverbank, hoping someone-anyone-will come. But no one's here. No one ever is.

This is my life. I am a wolf-less omega in the Blood Moon Pack. The youngest daughter of a once-proud warrior. But I never shifted. And that makes me a disgrace. A curse. A burden too heavy for even my family to carry. Even my parents look at me like they're waiting for me to disappear.

I dream of my wolf. I dream of my mate. I pray they'll come to save me from this nightmare. In this life, I never asked for it.

But today, Maya crushes that dream with every word.

"I'll give you one last chance," she growls in a loud voice. "Leave this pack and never show your sorry face again, or I-"

"Or else wha-?" I barely get the words out before her hand slams into my face again. My head snaps to the side, and I taste blood. My lip splits open. My face burns, but it's nothing compared to the fire in her eyes.

I touch my lip, my hand trembling, as I stare at her.

"Or else you die," she whispers. Her voice is soft but deadly. A twisted smile curves her lips. Then she turns, and just like that, she's gone-leaving me broken and soaked, gasping beside the river.

I stand still, shivering in the cold. My hair clings to my face, and my skin burns from the slap. I ache to live like my sisters-carefree, loved. But this world gives me nothing but pain.

I step back into the river, kneel, and splash water on my face, trying to rinse away my tears.

What's worse-this moment or what waits at home? My mother's silence? Her punishments? Maybe another night without food, locked away for being weak.

I stare into the water. My reflection stares back-empty eyes, trembling lips, a girl fading more every day. I wish for escape. For a miracle.

Then, the bushes rustle.

My heart leaps into my throat. I freeze.

Two wolves burst from the brush. They race toward me, snarling, eyes locked on their prey-me.

I throw my arms up in fear, knowing it won't help. One wolf lunges at me. The other circles, cutting off my escape. My breath quickens. I can't move. I can't scream.

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