THE ALPHA WHO HATED ME - Chapter 20: Chapter 20

CELESTE POINT OF VIEW
My face burns.
Not from the slap.... though I can still feel the sting on my cheek where her hand connected. No, this burning comes from somewhere deeper. From the humiliation that sits in my chest like acid.
I lock myself in the private bathroom near the senior lounge, the one only girls like me are allowed to use. The mirror shows what I expected. Red marks across my perfect skin. Hair disheveled from when she grabbed me. Makeup smeared from the fight.
From the fight I lost.
The memory crashes over me in waves, each one worse than the last.
Standing over her with the water bottle, watching her face crumple as the cold liquid soaked through her hair. The satisfaction I felt in that moment. The rush of power.
Then everything went wrong.
Her hand connecting with my face so hard my ears rang. The way she moved, faster than any omega should be able to move. How she grabbed my wrists like they were twigs. How she threw me backward like I weighed nothing.
The gasps from the classroom. The phones recording. The way students looked at me like I was just another girl instead of their queen.
I splash cold water on my face, trying to wash away the shame. But it clings to me like oil.
"Celeste?" Madison's voice comes through the door. "Are you okay in there?"
I take a deep breath and unlock the door. My three closest friends crowd into the small space, their faces full of concern and excitement.
"Oh my god," Sarah breathes, staring at my face. "She really hit you."
"Look what she did," Emma adds, reaching toward my cheek.
I jerk away from her touch. "Don't."
The sympathy in their eyes makes everything worse. They're looking at me like I'm a victim. Like I'm weak.
Like I'm the kind of person who gets overpowered by pathetic omegas.
"This is insane," Madison says, her voice cold and calculated. "Who does she think she is? Nobody lays a hand on you. Nobody."
"She's clearly lost her mind," Sarah agrees, her voice rising dramatically. "Attacking you like that in front of everyone. It's like she wanted people to see."
"Someone should have stopped her sooner," Emma adds sweetly, but there's venom underneath. "The whole class just sat there watching like it was entertainment."
Their words should make me feel better. Should remind me that I'm the victim here. But all I hear is what they're not saying.
That I couldn't defend myself. That an omega made me look helpless. That for the first time in my life, I wasn't in control.
"What did Principal Morrison say?" Madison asks.
The question makes my stomach clench. Another humiliation to add to the list.
"She wanted me to apologize," I say through clenched teeth.
"Apologize?" Sarah's voice rises to a screech. "To her? Are you kidding me?"
"That's exactly what I said." I check my reflection again, touching up my makeup with shaking hands. "I had to remind her who she was dealing with."
"Good," Madison says firmly. "Your father should hear about this. Principal Morrison needs to remember where her paycheck comes from."
"She backed down pretty quick once I mentioned the school board," I admit.
Emma nods approvingly. "As she should. You're Celeste Hartwell. Future Alpha's mate. Future Luna of Crescent Moon Pack. That omega is nothing compared to you."
Future Alpha's mate.
The words that usually fill me with pride now taste bitter. Because I saw the way Ronan looked at her today. The way he stared like she was something fascinating instead of disgusting.
The way he chose to talk to her instead of comforting me.
"You always choose her," I'd said, and the truth of those words cuts deeper than any physical wound.
"Did you see Ronan after?" Sarah asks, like she's reading my mind.
"He was... concerned." The lie comes easily. I can't tell them that my fiancé cared more about talking to my attacker than making sure I was okay.
"He should be furious," Emma says. "Someone attacked his future mate. That's basically declaring war on the pack."
But he wasn't furious. Not at her. If anything, he seemed impressed.
The thought makes my blood boil.
"We need to do something," Madison says. "This can't go unanswered."
"What do you mean?" I ask.
"I mean that omega needs to learn what happens when you mess with the wrong person." Madison's eyes gleam with the kind of malice I usually admire. "She needs to understand that actions have consequences."
"The assembly is tomorrow," Sarah adds. "Perfect opportunity to remind everyone of their place."
Tomorrow. The assembly where I'm supposed to give a speech about kindness and respect. The irony would be funny if I weren't so angry.
"That's not enough," I say, my voice getting sharper. "A speech won't erase what happened today. Won't make people forget that she... that she..."
I can't even say it. Can't admit out loud that an omega overpowered me.
"That she what?" Emma prompts gently.
"That she made me look weak."
The words hang in the air like a confession. My friends exchange glances.
"You're not weak," Madison says firmly. "She caught you off guard. That's all."
"She shouldn't have been able to catch me off guard. I'm a Beta. She's an omega. This shouldn't have been possible."
"Maybe she's been training," Sarah suggests. "Taking self-defense classes or something."
"Or maybe she's on drugs," Emma adds. "Steroids to make her stronger."
Their explanations sound desperate. Like they're trying as hard as I am to make sense of something that defies everything we know about pack hierarchy.
"It doesn't matter how she did it," I say, straightening my shoulders. "What matters is making sure it never happens again."
"So what do you want to do?" Madison asks.
I think about Evangeline's face after she hit me. The way she looked surprised by her own strength. The way she stood over me like she'd discovered something new about herself.
But there was something else. Something in her eyes that I didn't recognize. Something old. Something that scared me more than the slap ever could.
Something dangerous.
"I want her gone," I say simply.
"Gone how?" Sarah asks.
"I want her life here to become so miserable that she begs to transfer. I want her to wake up every morning dreading school. I want her to eat lunch alone and walk to class in fear."
My voice gets steadier with each word. This feels right. This feels like taking back control.
"I want everyone to see what happens when someone forgets their place," I continue. "When someone thinks they can rise above their station."
"We can make that happen," Emma says eagerly, her sweet tone not hiding the cruelty in her eyes. "Social isolation. Rumors. Little accidents that add up."
"She won't have a single friend left by the time we're done with her," Madison adds with cold precision, already planning each move.
"And if she tries to fight back again?" Sarah asks dramatically, as if the very idea is shocking.
The question makes me pause. Because I remember the way Evangeline moved today. The strength in her small hands. The way she looked at me like I was the one who should be afraid.
"She won't," I say, but the words lack conviction.
"You sure about that?" Madison asks. "Because she seemed pretty comfortable hitting you today."
The reminder makes my cheek throb. Makes the humiliation burn fresh and hot.
"Let her try," I snarl. "Next time I'll be ready. Next time I won't underestimate her."
"Next time we'll all be there," Emma promises. "She won't catch any of us off guard again."
Their loyalty should comfort me. Should make me feel strong and supported.
Instead, it reminds me that I need backup to handle one omega girl.
The thought is unbearable.
"I want her destroyed," I say, my voice dropping to a whisper. "Completely and utterly destroyed. I want her to regret the day she was born."
"Consider it done," Madison says with a cruel smile.
"She messed with the wrong girl," Sarah adds.
"She has no idea what's coming," Emma finishes.
We spend the next hour planning. Mapping out ways to make Evangeline's life a living nightmare. Social warfare tactics that will break her spirit without leaving evidence.
By the time we're finished, I feel better. More in control. More like myself.
But as we leave the bathroom and walk through the halls, I catch glimpses of students whispering. See them looking at me with something that might be pity.
They saw me get hit. Saw me struggle. Saw the untouchable Celeste Hartwell get overpowered by nobody.
What if they never look at me the same again? What if this is how it starts, how a queen begins to fall?
For one terrifying second, I wish I could disappear. Just vanish before anyone else sees me like this.
The thought makes me sick. I am Celeste Hartwell. I don't run. I don't hide.
I fight back.
Tomorrow's assembly can't come soon enough. Tomorrow I remind everyone exactly who rules this school. Who has the real power.
And tomorrow, Evangeline Cross learns what happens when you try to tear down a queen.
She thinks hitting me was brave. She thinks standing up for herself makes her strong.
She has no idea that crossing me was the biggest mistake of her pathetic life.
By the time I'm done with her, she'll wish she'd never been born.
She'll wish she'd never heard the name Celeste Hartwell.
And most of all, she'll wish she'd known her place and stayed there.
The war between us has officially begun.
And I never lose.