THE ALPHA WHO HATED ME - Chapter 24: Chapter 24

EVANGELINE POINT OF VIEW
Monday morning brings a storm.
Not outside... the sky is clear and blue. The storm comes in the form of Celeste Hartwell walking down the main hallway with murder in her eyes.
I see her coming from my position at my locker. She moves like a hurricane in designer clothes, her blonde hair streaming behind her. Madison and Sarah flank her on either side, their faces set with cold determination.
Students sense the danger and step back. Conversations die mid-sentence. Everyone knows what's about to happen.
The queen is coming for her revenge.
My hands shake as I close my locker door. The scratched-off graffiti still shows beneath the fresh paint the janitor applied over the weekend. Faint scars that will never fully disappear.
"Evangeline," Celeste's voice cuts through the hallway like a blade.
I turn slowly to face her. She stops three feet away, close enough that I can see the fury burning in her blue eyes.
"We need to talk," she says.
"Do we?"
The question seems to catch her off guard. Like she expected me to cower or run away.
"Yes. We do." Her voice gets sharper. "About what happened Friday."
Students gather around us in a loose circle. Phones come out. Everyone wants to record whatever's about to unfold.
"What about Friday?" I ask.
"You know exactly what." Celeste takes a step closer. "Your little friend with her lies and fake evidence."
"Maeve told the truth."
"Maeve," Celeste spits the name like poison, "is a troublemaker who doesn't understand how things work here."
"She understands plenty. Like how security cameras work. And time stamps. And the truth."
Sarah snorts from behind Celeste. "The truth? You want to talk about truth?"
"Yes," I say simply. "Let's talk about truth."
Celeste's perfect mask slips for just a moment. I see the rage underneath. The frustration of someone who's used to getting her way through intimidation and power.
"The truth," she says slowly, "is that you're a nobody who thinks she can challenge her betters. You think one little victory makes you special?"
"I think I deserve to be treated like a human being."
"Human beings earn respect," Madison chimes in. "They don't demand it."
"They don't steal things either," Sarah adds with a nasty smile. "Even if they can't prove it."
The crowd murmurs. Some students nod along. They want to believe the worst about me, even after Friday's revelations.
"We all know you're guilty," Celeste continues. "Your friend might have created reasonable doubt, but we know the truth."
"Do you?"
"Of course we do." Celeste's smile turns vicious. "Because we put..."
She stops herself just in time. But the words hang in the air like an admission.
"Because you put what?" I ask.
"Nothing," she says quickly. "Because we put up with your behavior long enough."
But it's too late. The damage is done. Students exchange glances. Whisper to each other. Some piece together what Celeste almost said.
"You planted those things in my bag," I say loud enough for everyone to hear.
"That's a serious accusation," Celeste says, but her voice wavers.
"It's the truth. You and your friends framed me because you wanted revenge."
"Prove it."
"I don't have to. You just proved it yourself."
The crowd is fully engaged now. Filming everything. This is better than any reality show drama.
Celeste realizes her mistake. Sees the way people are looking at her. The doubt in their eyes.
"You think you're so smart," she snarls. "You think you've won something."
"I think I survived something."
"Survived?" Celeste laughs, but there's no humor in it. "Honey, you haven't seen anything yet."
She steps closer. Close enough that only I can hear her next words.
"I'm going to destroy you," she whispers. "Piece by piece. Day by day. Until there's nothing left of you but a memory."
"You already tried that."
"That was me being nice." Her smile is all sharp edges. "Now I'm going to show you what happens when someone really makes me angry."
She raises her hand. Not to slap, something worse. Her fingers curve into claws. Real claws. Her wolf pushing through just enough to draw blood.
I see death in her eyes. Real, honest murder.
The crowd gasps. Some scream. This has gone beyond bullying into something dangerous.
"Oh my god," someone whispers.
"She's going to..."
I brace myself for pain. For the feeling of claws tearing through skin.
But it doesn't come.
A strong hand catches Celeste's wrist before she can strike. Stops her mid-attack with a grip that makes her wince.
"That's enough."
The voice comes from behind me. Deep. Familiar. Impossible.
I turn around and see Ronan Nightbane standing there. His hand wrapped around his fiancé's wrist. His gray eyes burning with something I've never seen before.
Rage. Not at me. At her.
"Ronan?" Celeste's voice comes out small. Confused. "What are you doing?"
"Stopping you from doing something you'll regret."
"She deserves..."
"She deserves to be left alone."
The words hit the hallway like a bomb. Students stare with their mouths open. Phones record everything.
The future Alpha just defended an omega. Against his own fiancé.
A freshman near the lockers looks away, uncomfortable. Someone mutters under their breath, "This is messed up." Another voice whispers, "She didn't do anything to deserve this."
"You don't understand," Celeste says desperately. "She's trying to tear us apart."
"No," Ronan says quietly. "You're doing that all by yourself."
He releases her wrist and steps between us. Putting his body between me and Celeste like a human shield.
"This stops now," he says.
"You can't be serious." Celeste's voice rises to a screech. "You're choosing her over me?"
"I'm choosing what's right over what's easy."
The admission hangs in the air like a revelation. Like something he's been fighting to say for weeks.
"But I'm your fiancé," Celeste whispers.
"You're my problem."
The words are quiet, but in the dead silence of the hallway, everyone hears them.
Celeste staggers backward like she's been slapped. Her perfect composure finally cracks completely.
"How dare you," she breathes. "How dare you humiliate me like this."
"You humiliated yourself," Ronan replies. "I just stopped you from making it worse."
"This isn't over," she snarls.
"Yes, it is."
His voice carries the authority of someone born to lead. The kind of command that makes people obey without thinking.
Celeste looks around at the crowd. At the phones recording her breakdown. At the students watching her fall from grace in real time. Some won't meet her eyes anymore.
"You'll regret this," she says finally. "Both of you."
She spins on her heel and storms away. Madison and Sarah hurry after her, their heads down in shame.
The hallway stays silent for a long moment. Then the whispers explode.
"Did that really just happen?"
"Ronan defended her?"
"Against Celeste?"
"This changes everything."
But I barely hear them. I'm staring at Ronan's back as he stands between me and the exit where Celeste disappeared.
He turns around slowly. Our eyes meet for the first time in weeks.
"Are you hurt?" he asks.
I shake my head. I can't trust my voice.
"Good." He starts to walk away.
"Ronan, wait."
He stops but doesn't turn around.
"Thank you," I whisper. "For protecting me."
He goes completely still. Then slowly, he turns to face me again. His expression transforms from concern to something cold. Empty.
"Don't," he says.
"Don't what?"
"Don't read anything into what just happened."
The words hit like ice water. "I don't understand."
"You think I defended you because I care about you?" His voice is quiet but cutting. "You think this means something?"
"I... I thought..."
"You thought wrong." He steps closer, his gray eyes hard as stone. "I didn't save you, Evangeline. I stopped a fight between someone weak and pathetic and someone who should know better."
Each word is designed to cut. To hurt. To remind me exactly what I am in his world.
"You felt sorry for me," I whisper.
"I felt disgusted." His voice drops lower. "Watching Celeste waste her time on someone so beneath her notice. It was embarrassing."
A girl near the water fountain turns away, shaking her head. I hear someone mutter, "That's too harsh, man."
My chest feels like it's caving in. "Then why...."
"Because leaders don't let their people pick on defenseless animals. It reflects badly on the pack."
Defenseless animals. That's what I am to him. Not a person. Not his mate. Just some pathetic creature that needs protection from those stronger than her.
"I see," I manage.
"Do you? Because I need you to understand something." He leans closer, his voice barely audible. "This changes nothing between us. I still reject everything you think we could be. I still wish you'd never set foot in this school."
The bond in my chest writhes in agony. What little hope had flickered to life dies a brutal death.
"The only reason I stepped in," he continues, "is because watching you get mauled would have been like watching someone kick a sick dog. Unpleasant for everyone involved."
Tears burn behind my eyes, but I refuse to let them fall. Not here. Not in front of him.
"Thank you for clarifying," I say quietly.
"Good. Now stay away from Celeste. Stay away from me. And maybe try to remember what you are so the rest of us don't have to keep reminding you."
He walks away without looking back.
The crowd disperses slowly. Students head to their classes with plenty to talk about. But now they'll have even more to discuss. How the future Alpha compared an omega to a sick dog. How he made it clear that his protection was motivated by disgust, not care.
I stand alone by my locker, trying to process what just happened.
For a moment, just one shining moment, I thought Ronan had chosen me. Had seen something in me worth defending.
But he was just preventing an embarrassing spectacle. Protecting his pack's image by stopping his fiancé from publicly mauling something too weak to fight back.
My wolf curls up in the corner of my mind and whimpers. Not with hope this time. With the deep, soul-crushing pain of understanding exactly how little we matter.
But as I walk to my first class, something shifts inside me. Something cold and sharp and determined.
I will never be pathetic enough to thank him for his pity again.
I will never be weak enough to hope for scraps from someone who sees me as less than human.
And most importantly, I will never give anyone the power to make me feel this small again.
He called me a sick dog. Let's see how he handles it when I bite back.
Some lessons can only be learned once. This one nearly destroyed me.
But destruction, I'm learning, can also be the beginning of something much more dangerous.