THE ALPHA WHO HATED ME - Chapter 36: Chapter 36

**Celeste's POV**
The silence stretches for three heartbeats after Evangeline disappears through the French doors. Three perfect heartbeats where I can still taste victory on my tongue like expensive champagne.
Then the crowd explodes.
"Did you see her face?"
"Oh my God, Celeste, that was incredible!"
"I can't believe she actually fell for it!"
The laughter hits me like a wave, washing over my skin and soaking into my bones. This is what I live for. This moment when everyone realizes just how brilliant I am. How perfectly I can orchestrate someone's destruction.
I stand on my platform, still wearing my crown, and let their admiration flow through me. My white dress is spotless, not a drop of pig's blood on it. My makeup is perfect, my hair still styled in flawless waves. I am untouchable.
I am queen.
"Ladies and gentlemen," I announce, raising my arms to quiet the crowd. "Did you enjoy tonight's entertainment?"
Another roar of approval. Someone whistles. Madison claps so hard her hands must hurt.
"Because that," I continue, my voice carrying easily across the patio, "was just the opening act."
The cheering gets louder. Students push closer to the platform, their faces turned up to me like flowers following the sun. They want to be near me. Want to bask in my glory. Want to be part of whatever magic I create next.
"Did you see how she looked at me?" I laugh, and the sound sparkles in the night air. "Like a lost puppy begging for scraps. Like she actually thought I meant any of it."
"She was so pathetic," Sarah shouts from somewhere in the crowd. "Standing there with those big sad eyes, waiting for you to throw her a bone."
"And the way she dressed!" Emma adds, her voice sharp with delight. "That ugly black thing that probably came from a thrift store."
The crowd laughs again, and I feel their energy feeding mine. This is what power feels like. Not the kind that comes from being born into the right family or having money. The kind that comes from understanding people so completely that you can play them like instruments.
"She actually hugged me back," I say, shaking my head in mock disbelief. "When I hugged her at the beginning of the night, she just stood there like a statue. But I could feel her melting. Feel her hoping."
"Hope is such a dangerous thing," Madison calls out, grinning up at me. "Especially for people like her."
"People like her," I repeat, savoring the words. "Omegas who forget their place. Who think they can climb higher than they were born to reach."
I step down from the platform and walk through the crowd. Students part for me like I'm royalty, which I am. The queen of Blackclaw Academy, officially crowned tonight.
"The funniest part," I say as I move between the groups, "was watching her try to fit in. Trying so hard to laugh at the right moments. Trying to make conversation with people who wouldn't normally give her the time of day."
"She probably practiced in her mirror," Tyler calls out, but his voice sounds forced. Uncomfortable.
"Probably googled how to talk to popular kids," adds another voice.
The laughter follows me as I walk, but I notice Tyler isn't laughing anymore. He's just standing there, phone in his hand, staring at the screen with a weird expression.
"But you know what the best part was?" I ask, stopping near the pool where the bloody platform still stands. The stain on the patio stones looks almost black in the moonlight.
"Tell us!" several voices shout.
"The best part was that moment when she realized. When her face changed and she understood that this was all a game. That every smile, every kind word, every second of acceptance was just me playing with my food before I ate it."
The crowd goes quiet for a moment, hanging on my every word. But in the silence, I notice Jessica backing away toward the house. She's not laughing. She's not smiling. She just looks... sick.
"Did you see that look in her eyes?" I continue, my voice dropping to something almost intimate. "That moment when hope died? When she realized that she was never going to be one of us, no matter how hard she tried?"
"It was beautiful," Madison breathes.
And it was. That split second when Evangeline's face crumpled, when all the light went out of her expression and left something hollow behind. That's the moment I've been working toward for months.
"She thought she was so clever," I say, walking back toward the platform. "Standing up to me at school. Acting like she had some kind of power. Like telling me off in the hallway made her my equal."
"The nerve of some people," Emma says, shaking her head.
"Right? Like, who does she think she is?" I climb back onto the platform, my heels clicking against the wood. "An Omega trying to challenge a future Alpha's mate. It's almost funny."
"Almost," agrees Sarah.
"But disrespect can't go unpunished," I continue, looking out over the sea of faces. "When someone steps out of line, when they forget where they belong in the hierarchy, it's our job to remind them."
Nods and murmurs of agreement ripple through the crowd.
"And tonight, we reminded her perfectly."
The applause starts slow, then builds until it's thunderous. They're not just clapping for the entertainment I provided. They're clapping for the lesson I taught. The order I restored.
"She'll never forget this," I say when the noise dies down. "Every time she looks in a mirror, she'll remember standing here covered in pig's blood while all of you laughed. Every time she tries to speak up in class, she'll hear the sound of your voices mocking her. Every time she thinks about reaching above her station, she'll remember what happens to girls who don't know their place."
"Good," someone shouts. "She needed to learn."
"Oh, she learned," I agree. "She learned that I am not someone you cross. That I don't forgive and I don't forget. That when you challenge me, you lose."
I adjust my crown, feeling the weight of it on my head. It's not just decorative anymore. It's a symbol. A reminder to everyone here that I am in charge.
"But here's the thing," I say, my voice carrying a new edge. "Tonight was just the beginning."
The crowd leans forward, eager to hear what comes next.
"Because humiliating her once isn't enough. Breaking her spirit one time won't teach her the lesson she needs to learn." I smile, and I can feel the coldness in it. "She needs to understand that challenging me was the biggest mistake of her pathetic little life."
"What are you planning?" Madison asks, her eyes bright with excitement.
"Oh, I have so many ideas," I say, running my finger along the edge of my crown. "So many ways to make sure she never forgets her place again. Ways to make sure everyone at school knows exactly what happens when you try to rise above your station."
The anticipation in the air is electric. I can feel their hunger for more cruelty, more entertainment, more chances to feel superior to someone else.
"I'm thinking we start small," I continue. "Little things. Daily reminders. Making sure she can never go anywhere at school without being reminded of tonight."
"Like what?" Emma asks.
"Well, I'm sure pictures of tonight will find their way onto social media," I say innocently. "Tagged photos on everyone's accounts. Maybe some creative captions about knowing your place."
Phones are already out, uploading the videos and photos they took of Evangeline covered in blood. By tomorrow morning, the entire school will have seen her humiliation.
"And then there are the more... personal touches," I add. "Little gifts in her locker. Reminders in her classes. Making sure she knows that no matter where she goes, we're watching. We're remembering. We're planning."
The crowd is eating this up. I can see the excitement in their faces, the eagerness to be part of whatever I do next.
"Because you see," I say, stepping to the edge of the platform, "tonight wasn't about punishment. Tonight was about establishing dominance. About making it clear who rules this school and who gets ruled."
"And you rule," Madison says firmly.
"I rule," I agree. "And she obeys. Whether she likes it or not."
The laughter that follows is different now. Darker. More vicious. These aren't just teenagers having fun anymore. They're predators who've tasted blood and want more.
"So when you see her at school on Monday," I announce, "remember what you witnessed tonight. Remember that she is not your equal. She is not your friend. She is entertainment. She is a lesson. She is whatever I decide she is."
The applause is immediate and sustained. They understand their roles now. They know what's expected of them.
"And if anyone feels sorry for her," I add, my voice cutting through the noise, "if anyone thinks what we did tonight was too cruel, remember this: she brought this on herself. She chose to challenge me. She chose to step out of line. She chose to forget her place."
"Her choice," Madison agrees.
"Her consequences," Emma adds, but there's something strange in her voice. A hesitation that wasn't there before.
I smile at them, my subjects, my audience, my instruments of destruction.
"Exactly. So let this be a lesson to all of you. I am Celeste Hartwell. I am your queen. And I do not tolerate disrespect."
The crown catches the light as I turn my head, sending sparkles across the crowd like falling stars.
"Now," I say, clapping my hands together, "who wants to help me plan what comes next?"
The response is immediate and enthusiastic. Dozens of voices calling out suggestions, offering to help, begging to be part of whatever cruelty I devise next.
But not everyone is cheering. I notice a few people checking their phones, whispering to each other. Some look excited. Others look... worried?
My phone buzzes in my small purse. A text from an unknown number.
*You've made a mistake tonight, Celeste. Some lines shouldn't be crossed.*
I stare at the message, my perfect smile faltering for just a moment. Who would dare? Who would have the nerve to threaten me on my coronation night?
Another text appears.
*She's not what you think she is. And neither are you.*
My hands shake slightly as I delete the messages. Someone is watching. Someone who wasn't at the party. Someone who knows something I don't.
But when I look up at my crowd, I paste my smile back on. They can't see weakness. Not now. Not ever.
"Actually," I say, my voice still steady despite the chill running down my spine, "I think we've done enough for tonight. But Monday..." I let my voice trail off meaningfully. "Monday will be very interesting."
I stand on my platform, surveying my kingdom, but the messages have left a cold feeling in my stomach. This is what I was born for. This is what I'm good at.
Destroying people who dare to think they're my equal.
But as the crowd begins to thin out and people start heading home, I can't shake the feeling that someone out there is planning to destroy me right back.
And Evangeline has no idea how much worse it's going to get.
Because tonight was just the beginning. The first move in a game that won't end until she's completely broken.
Until she knows, without a doubt, exactly where she belongs in my world.
At the bottom. In the dirt. Where she can never threaten me again.
But first, I need to find out who sent those messages. And make sure they understand that threatening the queen of Blackclaw Academy is a very dangerous mistake.