I was dreaming.
No. I was in a fairytale.
The kind everyone claimed didn't exist. I was a princess and I had four knights and–
Prince Soren dropped me.
I crashed into the ground outside the infirmary, wincing. It wasn't a free period, so the hallways were clear of students and I was grateful there was no one else present to witness what happened to be my third reality check of the day.
I stumbled to my feet, sweat breaking across my forehead as I stared at the four of them.
It felt like being caught under the weight of an avalanche.
I couldn't move. Or breathe. They were taking me apart with their gazes and piecing me back together, like they were searching for something.
The first one who spoke was the red haired male. "I don't like this one bit, Soren. We should've gotten rid of her instead."
I blinked. Excuse me? Gotten rid of who?
Prince Soren was staring at my beat up face. "I imagine my aunt will not like that idea very much."
Another spoke from the back. He was blond and had the most solemn expression and ice blue eyes. There was an accent tangling around his words. It might have been French. "She will not like this, either. Tessa will like it even less."
The last was silver haired. He had a small scar above the curve of his upper lip. His amber eyes had a dark wildness to them that made me want to bolt. "It's not too late to take Mercer's suggestion," he murmured. His voice was rough, as if unused. And though he spoke gently, there was an edge of danger in his tone. "It would be quick and painless."
My skin crawled. "I would appreciate it if you all stopped plotting to kill me like I wasn't standing right here."
They all stared with unblinking intensity.
It was the blonde who spoke next. "You reek of the Hayes boy. You are his female?"
My cheeks flushed red. "I am no one's female," I snarled. "Do you always ask the students you instruct on their personal life or relationship status?"
He tilted his head. "You are the first of your kind we have chosen to mentor. Consider this a getting-to-know-you."
"Consider me uninterested," I retorted, fuming as I pushed off the door. "I didn't sign up to be interrogated–"
The words hadn't left my lips before an arm slammed me back against the door. Feral black eyes pinned me in place. The redhead inched forward, the stunning, sharp contours of his chiseled face and that noble aquiline nose, as well as his sensual lips brushing dangerously close, I could smell the aftershave on him.
My stomach cramped strangely as I fought the weakness in my knees by being utterly mesmerized by him.
"You would think a wretched thing like you would at least be grateful," he said, all the while staring intently at my mouth. "I never did like your kind. Prideful lot with nothing to show for it. Entitled weaklings. You all smell the same. Like dirt. And you–" his nostrils flared with disgust. "You reek worse than any Omega I've ever had the displeasure of standing near."
My eyes stung. I was so used to hearing derogatory comments from my peers that I didn't know how to handle it when it came from a man. My teeth gritted as I forced the tears back. "So why choose me?"
He smiled. Even his teeth are perfect, his canines a little pointy. "Choosing you gives your sorry excuse of an existence meaning. Consider it charity. The Goddess's work, really. Considering you were everyone else's reject."
The words landed like a slap across my face. And when he pulled away, my knees didn't hold me in place. My chest felt tight and I needed to get out.
Out of my skin.
Out of this hall.
Out of this school.
Prince Soren leaned down, cinching all six foot seven inches of himself into a crouch that tore into my personal space like he belonged there.
I jerked away, but he caught my chin with his thumb and tsked, tilting my head back and forth. "You should take a look at that before we meet again for our training."
I turn away from his grasp sharply. "I don't need your charity. I'll have Instructor Warren reassign me to someone else. I won't train with you."
The blonde snorted behind Prince Soren. "Good luck with that, kitten."