Chapter 097
HANNAH
The whole class was buzzing with excitement and gossip, but I could barely focus. I stared at the blank, white board, lost in thought.
I still had not come to grips with the fact that I was going to withdraw from the competition after I had come this far. I sighed again, the tenth or twelfth time in just a couple of minutes.
I was happy Willa was not here to see me feeling so miserable.
Ironic though that the very thing making me so sad was supposed to be good. All these years, I hadn't been able to shift. I would have done anything, given anything to shift, to not be called wolfless and a freak. Now that I could shift, I had to hide.
For how long? Even the triplets had not been able to answer that.
Forever, the voice at the back of the mind said.
The prospect of hiding forever brought me out in a cold sweat. I tried to imagine the days, months, and years ahead, the-
"He's here!" someone shrieked.
I jumped about half a foot into the air. I wasn't the only one startled. Books and bags thudded to the floor. Their owners, muttering angrily, picked them up all at the same time, shooting glares at Lydia, who had burst into the classroom.
"He's here!" Lydia said again in her annoying, high-pitched voice.
The girl was practically vibrating with excitement. Only two things could get Lydia so worked up.
News and gossip. She looked ready to explode with all the information she had gathered. On most days, I would have been interested to hear what she had to say, but not today. Today, I was mourning my life.
Today, I wanted to be sad, to be left alone to feel the anger and disappointment. That way, it wouldn’t hurt me when Julia or anyone attempted to mock me for withdrawing. It was clear they would assume it was because of my ‘wolfless nature’.
"Who's here?" someone asked from the back of the class. "Asher?"
Many sniggers greeted this. There were murmurs of'syphillis' and then more laughter. Since the rumor, Asher had become sort of a joke in school. Julia could not stop them from mocking him and finally resigned to her fate.
Lydia shook her head, sending her short, dark hair flying. "No! It's the Lycan Prince! He's here. I saw him!"
For a moment, there was silence. Even though I didn’t wish to listen initially, Lydia had indeed captured my attention.
Several girls jumped to their feet. Everybody started talking all at once.
"The Lycan Prince?"
"How do you know he's the one?"
"What's he doing in school?"
"Where is he?"
This last question was on the lips of almost everybody. Most of the class crowded around Lydia. She was grinning from ear to ear and didn't answer immediately.
She took a deep breath, took a moment to savor the attention she was getting, and then she said, "I saw him going into the principal's office."
"Did you get a good look at him? What's he like?" Heather asked, sounding breathless.
Lydia held her thumb and forefinger apart. "Duh! Of course I had a good look. We were this close." Her eyes took on a dreamy expression. "His hair was like spun gold and his eyes-"
The principal's voice, coming through the public address system, cut short Lydia's description of the prince. "Attention students! This announcement is for everyone who qualified for the next round of the pageant. You are all expected to be at my office in five minutes."
"I told you. He's there!" Lydia squealed as soon as the principal's voice clicked off.
There was a mad dash for the door.
The Lycan Prince, like every Lycan, would be dreamy. Lycans were not like us, regular wolves. They were taller and more gorgeous with defined features. Some even believe the moon goddess birthed the first Lycan, spreading her gifts and beauty in them. To us, Lycans were like demi-gods, and the Lycan Prince was…..every girl’s dream.
As everyone rushed to the door, Julia stood up slowly. She had been listening to Lydia like everybody else but had pretended she wasn't. She pulled her skirt up so it was shorter and barely covered her thighs.
What else did she want? I wondered.
She already had Asher. How desperate could one person be for attention?
I watched her adjust her blouse, straighten her hair, and then march to the door.
Her locker was right before mine, so she could easily have taken the shorter route to the door. Instead, she cut through the desks closest to me.
When she was near enough, she tossed her hair over her shoulder as she passed and said in a carrying voice, "Some of you shouldn't even bother coming to see the prince. The skill contest has no place for weak Omegas."
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