Chapter 4 Putting The Spoiled Beta In Her Place

• Seren’s POV
• I barely make it ten steps away from Kael when I feel the sharp impact of someone slamming into my shoulder.
• I stumble back hard, almost losing my footing and falling to the ground on my ass in front of everyone. A crowd is forming already and now attention that I did not want is on me, Kael and the stupid blonde girl who just deliberately bumped into me. I know immediately that she is a wolf from the sheer force of her attack.
• “What the hell?” I hiss, whipping around. I have had it with this stupid new school already and I haven’t even stepped foot in first class yet.
• My mother told me it would be a private school with all of the students being wolves from Alpha Thorne’s pack. The crimson moon pack. The school is owned by the pack. No humans are admitted and the entire staff is made up of werewolves to ensure that we keep the existence of our kind on a low profile.
• I’m starting to find that I like wolves less and less every day because apparently all of them have a freaking god complex. In my old school, all of my friends were humans. I’ve basically never met another werewolf since my mom and I got kicked out of our pack, so for most of my life, I’ve been used to being around humans.
• I have no idea how I’m going to survive in this wolf infested school.
• The girl stands in front of me, a full head of blonde waves, perfectly arched brows raised in offense. She’s beautiful.
• She looks me up and down and analyzes me with a condescending and nasty glare like I’m something sticky on the bottom of her Louboutin shoes.
• “Did you just slap Kael?” She asks and I cock my head at her amusedly. Kael is still standing where I left him, as if he were still shocked at the feeling of my palm connecting with his face. s
• I smile bitterly. “What? Are you his girlfriend or something?”
• “No,” she says, stepping in closer, too close. “I’m his mate. You just fucking slapped my mate.”
• That word stops me for a minute. To a wolf, that word is sacred. It's not just a label. It’s a bond etched in bone and soul, something ancient and instinctual. A mate is chosen not by logic or preference, but by fate. It's the one being in the universe whose scent can soothe your rage, whose pain you feel as your own. A heartbeat you recognize before they speak a word. When a wolf finds their mate, it is final. Permanent until one of them decides to break the bond which rarely happens. Untouchable. It’s like gravity loses its meaning and it is now that person holding you down to earth.
• I’ve never liked the concept. My parents were mates—soul bound by the moon goddess herself—and look how that turned out. My father chose chaos over her. Over us.
• Finding your mate is supposed to be the greatest thing that can happen to a werewolf. But losing them? It’s devastating. Sometimes even fatal.
• I know this because I watched it happen. I was there the day my father walked out, tearing the bond apart like it meant nothing. My mother was never the same after that. It broke her in ways I still can’t explain. It took a lot of strength for her to overcome it.
• I swore then I’d never let that be me. That’s why I think the whole idea of the mate bond is foolish. If I’m going to spend my life with someone, it should be because I choose them—not because fate, or some goddess I’ve never met, decided it for me. I don’t want a mate. I hope I never find mine. It leaves you vulnerable and weak.
• “Oh,” I say, voice flat and sarcastic. “That must be nice for you.”
• Her jaw clenches. “You’re going to get on your knees right now and apologize or so help me I will make your life miserable.”
• I forget all my rage and burst out laughing in her face. “Excuse me? Get on my knees? Under whose orders?”
• She moves closer to me. She’s taller so she basically towers over me but she doesn’t intimidate me. Not even slightly.
• “You have no idea who I am do you, new girl? My father is the beta of the crimson moon pack. He is second to the alpha. I will be beta after him. When the beta asks a lowlife like you to do something, you bow and do it quickly and…”
• I wave my hands in the air cutting her off. “Okay, please shut up. You literally just said your father is the beta, not you. So really you don’t have any power over me. But I can see you and your mate have one thing in common. Hiding behind the names of your daddies. Pathetic really.”
• I mock her with a bitter smile that makes her face twist with fury. Her posture stiffens, lips curled in contempt. Without warning, she raises her hand to slap me.
• I brace myself—feet grounded, body ready. Let her try.
• My mom made sure I understood exactly what I was capable of once I got my wolf. Even without a pack, she taught me the fundamentals of werewolf speed, strength, sight, hearing and healing—how to stay sharp, stay standing, and above all, defend myself. I might not be a perfect fighter, but I know enough to shut someone down when I need to.
• I prepare to block her, my muscles coiled and buzzing with adrenaline, but she never gets the chance.
• In a flash—a blur of motion and heat—Kael is between us.
• One second I’m eyeing her hand midair, and the next, I’m stumbling back, caught off guard by the sheer speed with which he’s moved me behind him. His hand wraps around Ayla’s wrist, stopping her cold.
• Gasps ripple through the crowd gathered around us. I catch a few shocked murmurs. Whispers like “Did Kael just—” and “He stopped her?” echo like static.
• “That’s enough, Ayla,” Kael says, his voice low but absolute, smooth with authority. There’s something terrifyingly calm about it, like a blade sheathed just under silk.
• He gently, but firmly, pushes her a few steps away from me.
• Ayla looks stunned. “Kael, what are you doing?” Her voice softens instantly, her anger replaced with wounded disbelief. “She slapped you. In front of everyone. Are you really just going to let her get away with that?”
• The shift in her tone is jarring. One moment she’s a predator, and the next, she’s a lovesick girl desperate for her mate’s approval. I watch them, and for a second, it’s like witnessing a strange dance—every breath, every flicker of emotion mirrored. The mate bond. It’s unsettling.
• “I can fight my own battles,” Kael replies coolly. “We’ve already attracted enough attention, and class starts in five minutes. Let it go.”
• The last three words carry weight—his voice taking on that unmistakable Alpha edge. A command.
• Ayla falters. Her face contorts, torn between obedience and fury, but in the end, she lowers her hand, shooting daggers at me with her eyes.
• Kael turns to face me. His stare is unreadable. “We’re even now.”
• And just like that, he walks away, dragging Ayla with him. She doesn’t resist. But as she glances back, she smirks at me—a vicious, venomous smile like a promise that this isn’t over.
• The crowd disperses, disinterested now that the drama has ended. Everyone drifts toward the school, murmuring, some still watching me from the corners of their eyes. I stand there, heart pounding—not from fear, but from the confusion burning in my chest.
• Why did Kael stop her? One second he has his hand around my neck, a dagger to my side and the next he defends me from his mate of all people.
• I exhale slowly, trying to shake the weight of the morning off my shoulders. I barely have time to think when I hear a squeal behind me, loud and unexpected.
• “Oh my god, Kevin, did you see that?”
• I turn around and nearly flinch at the sight of a tall brunette barreling toward me. She’s slim, glasses perched on her nose, radiating chaotic energy like a shot of espresso. A boy follows behind her—handsome, more reserved, with windswept hair and striking grey eyes.
• “I’m Karlee,” she says breathlessly. “And this is my twin brother Kevin. We just saw what happened. That was so badass. Ayla's had it coming for months. And oh my goddess, no one’s talking about the fact that you got out of the same car with Kael freaking Thorne.”
• I blink at her rapid-fire commentary.
• Karlee grins. “You’re new, right? I know you’re new. I know every student in this school. So. Who. Are. You?”
• I blink again, laughing despite myself.
• Kevin rolls his eyes. “Give her a minute to breathe, Kar.”
• “I’m sorry,” she says, not sorry at all. “I just kinda became your biggest fan. That was epic.”
• “I’m Seren,” I say. “Yeah, I’m new. My mom’s dating Alpha Thorne, so I guess… Kael’s sort of my stepbrother now.”
• Karlee gasps. “So, the rumors are true! Kevin, I told you! The Alpha has fallen in love again!”
• The bell rings, loud and shrill, cutting through her excitement.
• Karlee grabs my hand. “You’re sitting with me. I’ll show you around during break.”
• Kevin follows behind us with a smirk.
• And despite the whirlwind of drama I just walked through, something about this moment—these two—feels like the beginning of something good.
• Maybe, just maybe… today won’t be a total disaster after all. Maybe I just made new friends.