CHAPTER 16: SLAPPED

"Slap! "The sound cracked through the place like lightning. Everyone froze. Conversations died mid-sentence. Cutlery stilled. Even the guards at the border of the grounds looked up. The sharp, echoing sound of skin hitting skin rang louder than it should have.

Lyra stood there, her palm still raised, her chest rising and falling with fury. Emira, who had just been slapped, fell back from the force of it. Her body twisted slightly as she hit the ground, her hair tumbling around her face. One hand rose to her cheek, already red and starting to swell. She didn’t scream. Just whimpered—low and soft—and looked up.

Their eyes locked. For a second, Lyra saw something in her eyes. Not fear. Not pain. Something else. Something like hatred and defiance, that made her clench her hands tighter. But then it was gone. Emira dropped her gaze, letting her hair fall across her face again. She lowered her head.

Lyra’s anger spiked. How dare she look at her like that!

"You filthy little bitch," she snapped, her voice cutting through the stunned silence. "Crawling up here like you belong. Sitting in front of everyone, pretending you’re one of us."

She stepped closer, standing over her. "You make everyone suffer with your presence. And now this? This pathetic display of attention-seeking? In front of Royalty, no less?"

Emira didn’t move. Didn’t respond. She had no words to say. "You reek," Lyra hissed. "You know that, don’t you? You fucking reek. You think no one notices that your heat is coming on? You think it’s cute to kneel here and pant like some needy little mutt, begging for scraps off the Prince’s table?"

She grabbed Emira by the hair and yanked her up, their faces inches apart. "You’re disgusting. You don’t deserve to breathe the same air as them. You don’t deserve to be seen."

Emira shivered at the words. Every part of her wanted to run. To leave. To vanish.

She wasn’t supposed to be here. Omegas weren’t allowed to eat with the rest. She had tried to stay away. She had begged the Prince to let her remain outside. He hadn’t listened. Emira turned her head to look at the man. He’d seen what happened and despite everything, he sat there with indifference. As if... he agreed with the words.

She felt a sting of betrayal as several thoughts crossed in her mind, "He made me come here. Made me sit there. And now he won’t even look at me. Why did I ever think he was different?"

Last night, he had defended her and today, despite her begging he had insisted that he wanted to make sure she was well fed so she should sit near him... She thought maybe, just maybe, he wasn’t like the rest of them. But now she saw it clearly.

He was worse.

They insulted her to her face. Nothing new there. But they were never the cause of those insults. She wiped her face with the back of her hand, pushing the tears away before they could fall. Then she turned and ran. She didn’t care how loud her steps were. Or that everyone was watching.Or that punishment would follow for daring to run away without the order of an Alpha.

Her feet slammed against the ground. Her breath came out ragged. Her heart pounded in her chest. Her vision blurred. But she didn’t stop.

Just before she reached the edge of the courtyard, she turned back once. She didn’t know why. But then wished she hadn’t. Because, she saw it. Lyra had stepped closer to Prince Zen. Smiling now, proud, as if she’d done something worth praise. And Prince Zen-he tilted his head slightly. Looking at her. Like he was pleased.

Emira looked away quickly. Her chest tightened and she didn’t even know why. Was she really so foolish that she had thought that he would come after her? At this thought, she only ran faster.

She ran until she couldn’t hear anything behind her. Past the guards. Through the trees. Down the narrow path that led to the far end of the grounds. Her legs burned. Her throat felt raw. But she didn’t stop until she reached the small wooden cabin.

She pushed the door open and slammed it shut behind her. Finally. There was silence. This was her space. She leaned against the door, breathing hard. Then slid down to the floor. The tears hit the moment she stopped moving.

She cried over everything. Over the slap. Over the humiliation. Over his silence. Over the part of her that had still hoped for something else. Still sobbing, she crawled to the corner of the room. Tucked herself there, knees pulled up, arms wrapped tightly around them.

She dropped her head, trying to muffle the sounds. Her whole body shook as time slowly passed. She sat there until her own body was numb and cold. Eventually, she lifted her head.

Her face was wet. Her breathing uneven. But her eyes were much more calmer.

She wiped her cheeks with her sleeve. Took a deep breath. Then, slowly, a small smile formed on her lips. Let them laugh. Let them slap her. Let them think she was weak. They had no idea.

Soon... her goal would be accomplished. And with that simple thought, gone was the weak looking omega, instead showing an iron like resolve.