Bullied Mate Of The Lycan Kings
Chapter 39

Lily's

POV

The only thing I felt when my alarm rang and I headed to the bathroom in a daze was dread.

Today was Monday and I would be back at the Academy after such a wonderful weekend that I had.

It was almost comical that I had chosen to call that disaster of a weekend wonderful, considering that I officially became a blood w***e, was responsible for my friend's accident and now had a hunter that hated my guts. How fantastic.

Throughout the weekend, I had been unable to get a hold of Bia to know if she was alive and not just unconscious like I remembered because being fed on had felt like I had been under the influence of alcohol, making me feel drunk and hazy.

Thankfully, according to Theo, who I saw when I dropped by the flower shop yesterday, my best friend was alive but resting because she had a stressful week which made me pleased that he did not seem to know about anything that had happened on Saturday. It also made me feel like the worst friend in the world because if Bia was truly fine and resting, then it meant that she was not picking my calls on purpose and was intentionally avoiding me.

Not that I didn't deserve it. Even I would never speak to me again after what happened that night and I had no doubt that Angelo would not appreciate that I was still trying to reach out to Bia after everything that had happened.

I felt like the loneliest person in the world. I had blocked Ren after the incident in my bedroom and I didn't even have Rhea's phone number, not that I dared to send her a message on social media after how I treated her brother by now. There was no one to talk to and now, the only person that I thought I would always have in my corner no matter what was gone.

Things at home with my mother was also nothing to write home about and our conversations consisted of mostly one word answers that was further compounded by the fact that I refused to quit the academy and continue to be homeschooled like she wanted. As I walked into the school hallway, I forced myself to keep moving, ignoring the dread that felt like my throat was clogged and tried to behave like everything was normal. Nobody was looking at me, right?

I was proven wrong soon after as someone crashed into me and when I looked up to apologize, the girl sneered at me and slapped my hand away from her scattered books.

"Keep moving, Beauregard." She growled at me and as other girls rushed to help her pack her books, she smirked and that was when I realized that the crash was not as accidental as it seemed.

Worse, I finally looked around and realized that people were openly staring at me, their faces filled with scathing glances and their whispers not even bothering to be low anymore as they snickered.

The Mauve effect had obviously worn off and even though no one was approaching me, I knew that it was only a matter of them before the active bullying began.

Dragging the collar of my shirt up, I became even overly conscious of the bite marks that Zac had left behind, hating that those marks were glaring evidence that that night was not a figment of my imagination but as real as flesh and blood.

Zac was a vampire. How was that even possible when he was supposed to be a Lycan and not only that, but a prince.

Vampires were hated. Despised and even hunted by our kind. If anyone knew about who Zac was, there was no telling whether everyone would stand by his side or turn on him.

I bet he'd want to keep his identity a secret. I found comfort in that fact because it meant my newly discovered 'addiction' was safe too.

Did anyone else know about this?

My mind went to Ren immediately and I was about to reach for my phone when I remembered with sadness that I had blocked him.

Bia had told me that maybe I was overreacting and Ren was innocent but I didn't even know if I had my best friend anymore, so what was the guarantee that Ren would still want something to do with me if I reached out to him now.

Entering class, I quickly headed for the last available seat by the wall, which was three rows ahead of the last seat and as the professor walked in, a smile on his face, I wondered if the staff knew anything about how students were being bullied every day and if they even did anything about it or turned the other eye.

I was just about to bring out my book and start taking some notes when a piece of paper hit my head.

Looking up, I wondered what could have happened and when one of the girls pointed for me to reach for the paper, my entire body was filled with dread.

Nothing good could ever come out of opening that paper but when I ignored it, someone kicked the back of my chair and kept hitting it until I was forced to snatch the piece of paper from the ground.

Even though I had prepared my mind for what could possibly be written on it, I swallowed the tears that threatened to drop down my face when I saw a drawing of what was labeled as me with a d**k in my mouth, the entire diagram labeled as the "Princes' whore." I rolled my eyes, letting it fall off my shoulders as I heard giggles and in no time, snide remarks started flying to hit me.

"Bitch."

"Can't believe they allow scum into this place"

"She thinks she's all that because she was invited to sit at the popular table."

"Such a delusional weirdo."

"Blood whore."

I froze, all the air leaving my lungs when I heard that last comment and I couldn't help it, I turned to try to replace who had said it but all I got was people laughing covertly and making funny faces at me.

Zac could not have said anything, could he? It would be detrimental to his own image... unless I'm wrong. Unless I overestimated how much he wanted to hide the fact that he wasn't actually a lycan like the others.

I could not believe that the rumour was already spreading so fast. No, I didn't want to believe that it was possibly true because I knew the t*****e and embarrassment that awaited me if people actually knew.

My mind raced, trying to process the implications of what I had just heard. How could the secret I had guarded so carefully be exposed? And why would Zac, my closest friend, betray me like this?

The laughter continued to echo in my ears, growing louder with each passing second. I could feel the weight of their judgmental stares, their mocking glances piercing through me. Panic surged through my veins, my heart pounding in my chest. I needed to escape, to replace solace in the sanctuary of solitude.

Packing my bags quickly, I rushed out of class with a weak excuse about being sick, but anything was better than still sitting there.

Where could I go?

Where was the safest place for me right now to think and breathe? The bathroom.

Ignoring the jeering crowd, I hurriedly made my way through the labyrinthine corridors of the school. Each step felt heavier than the last, as if the burden of my secret had become physical, weighing me down. My thoughts swirled in a maelstrom of confusion, hurt, and anger.

Finally, I reached the sanctuary of an empty bathroom. Collapsing into a heap, I buried my face in my trembling hands. Tears welled up in my eyes, hot and uncontrollable. How did it come to this? The careful balance I had wanted to maintain when I got admitted into the academy, the delicate dance between popularity and obscurity, threatened to crumble beneath me.

The sound of footsteps approaching jolted me from my spiraling thoughts. I hastily wiped away the tears, forcing myself to regain composure. The door creaked open, and a unfamiliar voices chittered around me, three girls giggling amongst themselves. But the moment they saw me, their sunny smiles turning to venomous sneers.

Well, they could get in line since everyone was so interested in hurting me so badly right now.

At this point, I was so numb to the pain, I couldn't feel it anymore.

Ignoring them, I headed for an empty sink to wash my face in, my heart racing as I tried to calm my aching lungs and gaslight myself into believing that I had probably misheard that evil word back in the classroom.

I heard the door close as I bent my head lower into the sink, the sounds of the girls fading and I sighed in relief.

Finally, I could be here alone in peace.

I had just turned around to locate my bag when I realized that I was not alone in the bathroom and that the moment of peace that I had thought I had was over.

Because Zac was standing by the door, the same way he had been back at that club, but this time without the livid sneer. Instead, he had an indecipherable expression on his face, a tiny squeeze in his eyebrows. It felt like deja vu all over again.