Despite my brave facade, I was desperately holding back tears.
I remembered Oscar's honeyed words that I never had to feel inferior because of my background.
But the truth was anything but simple. I was the lowest of the low in this academy's hierarchy.
I wasn't just an omega, the weakest link, I also hadn't awakened my wolf yet. That meant I lacked heightened sight, hearing, and scent.
Crucially, it meant I couldn't guarantee a strong Alpha heir.
When the last Lycan King died, an ancient oracle appeared. It spoke of the true power coming from "the strongest wolf and the weakest wolf."
Later, the Empire concluded that this meant the strongest Alphas could only be born from an Alpha and an Omega.
But of course, the omega had to have a wolf inside them.
Even being a defective omega wasn't the worst thing about me.
I didn't have a last name.
Only Alphas, Lunas, Betas, Gammas, and their direct children were granted that privilege. My parents weren't any of those.
I didn't even have parents. I was an orphan.
I was raised by everyone in the Brown Pack, and the Luna was especially kind. So, even when a few pups mocked me, it didn't wound me deeply.
What I didn't realize then was how unusual my pack was. It was rare to find a pack that maintained an orphan house.
That brutal reality only hit me when I entered the West Wolf Academy in the Black Pack territory.
The Black Pack was the strongest in the West Region, which is why the most prestigious academy was built here.
Every pup dreamt of enrolling. The Luna, recognizing my intelligence, registered me alongside her twin pups. Only I and one of her twins passed.
Since the age of seven, I'd lived in the academy dorms and faced that hierarchy head-on. At first, I cried every day.
But when I grew tired of crying, my mindset shifted. I wouldn't waste energy on them.
Instead, I would show them why I was accepted into this elite academy despite all my perceived shortcomings.
I steadily climbed the ranks and stayed in the second best class.
The true best class in the entire academy only accepted students with last names, the supposed future leaders of their packs. It didn't matter.
All my effort had paid off. Teachers and classmates treated me well. A few groups still whispered, but their voices were drowned out by the praise from the others.
Number one. That was my spot.
Until I started my relationship with Oscar. He got the first rank, the Class Monitor position, and joined the Student Council.
I was fine with it. He was my boyfriend. What was good for him was good for me, too.
"Don't think about him anymore, Clarissa!" I slapped my own cheek lightly.
I didn't have the luxury to waste time on that cheater. Like before, all I needed to do was get back my first place.
...
After the incident that shattered my heart, I didn't speak to Oscar. When we met in class, I avoided his gaze completely, and he mirrored my action.
"Clarissa, aren't you going with Oscar to take our assignment to Mr. Shell?" Nadia patted my shoulder gently.
After the rumor that I was the defective omega spread, only Oscar and Nadia spoke to me. Now, only Nadia remained.
"No. He can do it himself."
Usually, we performed the class monitor duties together. Sometimes I had to do it alone because of his Student Council duties.
But now, as Vice-Monitor, I only stepped in if he couldn't. Since he hadn't said anything, I assumed he could.
Though Nadia seemed unbothered, other classmates immediately started a new rumor mill.
"So, even Oscar left Clarissa. Doesn't that prove she really can't awaken her wolf?"
"Looks like it. Will she be expelled from the academy?"
I was certain they knew I was right there, listening. Perhaps they didn't care, or perhaps they deliberately wanted me to hear.
It was starting to bother me. I had always been optimistic, but when the First Heat hit me, I started to understand why omegas were considered weak, dumb, and unreliable.
Heat didn't just burn the body, it dulled the brain. I couldn't think straight at all. The longer the duration of my heat, the longer my brain stayed foggy.
The only way to ease the effects of Heat was to find a mate and receive a Mark. Without Oscar, and with my now-toxic reputation, no one wanted to get near me, let alone be my mate.
There was another way, finding a true mate, a fated mate. Fated mate only needs one touch, and the effects would be eased.
But nowadays, no one seriously pursued that path. It sounded old-fashioned. Wolves preferred to mate based on love, not some archaic concept of destiny.
I thought the same. Plus, I didn't even know who or where my fated mate was.
'If I truly couldn't awaken my inner wolf... would I be expelled from the academy and doomed to slavery?'
"CLARISSA!"
I jolted, the sudden, harsh voice banishing my thoughts.
Oscar slammed through the doorway. His face was flushed crimson, veins bulging in his temple, his eyes burning with fury.
He didn't scream as he had before. Instead, he grabbed my arm and dragged me out of the classroom.
"What are you doing?" I tried to yank my hand back, but my strength was no match for his power. "Let me go!"
I continued to struggle. Students in the hallway watched us like a street drama.
I hated this. The feeling of weakness that had started after my first heat. Since then, not just during Heat, but in stressful situations like this, my strength seemed to fail me.
All because I was an omega.
He finally stopped when we reached the deserted garden behind the class building.
He threw my arm away. Luckily, I was prepared and kept my balance.
"Why didn't you do it?" His voice was sharp with cold annoyance.
I looked at him, refusing to be intimidated. "Do what, exactly?"
"The assignment for Mr. Shell! I brought the class folder, but when he checked it, he didn't find my assignment."
"Why are you asking me about your assignment?" My eyes narrowed, accusingly.
"Last week, you told me that you would do my assignment with yours!"
"What?!"
...