CHAPTER 148: 148-THE THREE OMEGAS

Clementine:

After my comment was made public and Yorick grabbed the attention for himself, we finished our meal and left the hall. This time I noticed the other crusaders trying to blend in with us, and our squad didn’t really mind. It was actually only the green squad, the three Omega boys, approaching us as we headed for the passage.

"Can we have a moment with you, please?" one of them asked. We all stopped in our tracks and turned to look at them. They walked straight up to Haiden.

"It’ll be quick," said the guy with the black curly hair. He was timid and probably five foot nine, which made my squadmates tower over him as they stood around him in a loose circle. He clutched a small notepad, scribbling on it almost frantically.

"Sure, what is it?" Haiden replied, confused as he glanced at us for help. I guess he hadn’t expected questions aimed only at him.

"When was your sister placed in the north, or how did she end up there?" one of the boys asked. The moment they spoke, I noticed Haiden’s muscles tense.

"Are you trying to be funny?" Haiden snapped, already offended just at the mention of his sister.

The boy shook his head quickly. "No, no, no. I would never offend anyone." He pointed at his chest with a sweet smile. He really did look gentle. "I’m Bodhi. Bodhi Hathaway. He’s Yale Locke."

Bodhi gestured toward the guy with short brown hair and glasses, about the same height as him. Yale gave us a quick smile, flashing his braces.

"And this one, he’s Eben Jerome," Bodhi added, nodding at the blonde with them. Eben was six feet tall but carried himself just as gently as the others.

I could smell the omega scent on them, like I mentioned before. They were extremely nice and kind, which explained a lot. Omegas were usually more well-educated, calm, gentle, and leaned toward good things rather than arrogance or being pricks.

"And what do you want me to do with you guys?" Haiden hissed, still hostile.

"We don’t have to argue. We can all sit down in our room and talk about whatever’s bothering you," I cut in, watching Haiden turn to me, clearly upset. "Just because they mentioned your sister doesn’t mean they’re being sarcastic."

I placed my hand on his chest without thinking. The moment I did, I felt his heartbeat skip. Quickly, I pulled my hand back. When I looked up, he was staring at me so deeply, shaking his head slightly before turning back to Bodhi.

"Sure, we can do that." His tone shifted almost instantly.

Bodhi smiled, and Yale did too, while Eben only kept a blank expression.

"What are you writing?" Ian asked as we started walking toward our room.

"Oh, I’ve been noticing a few things. Some crazy stuff. You wouldn’t believe what I’ve found out," Bodhi explained, tapping his brown leather diary. It had Harry Potter characters drawn on the cover, and I could already tell he was a fan. He even carried those little fancy things only true fans had.

"And you know what? There’s so much shadiness going on. Your sister ending up there, it all points to one thing. Whoever stays there for a certain period of time—"

A loud voice cut him off.

"You!"

It was the loudest scream I had ever heard. We froze near our room and turned to see Mr. Brian and Mr. Rick marching toward us, with a white squad member trailing behind them.

"Uh-oh," Bodhi muttered, quickly hiding the diary in the inner pocket of his long coat before facing his ringleader.

"What are you doing here?" Mr. Brian yelled at him.

"Sir, we were just talking," Bodhi replied, stepping forward.

"Did you forget the rules? You’re not supposed to be in someone else’s dorm room. This isn’t a college dorm. You’re not here to make friends or waste time." Mr. Brian had never sounded so angry. Mr. Rick, standing beside him with a smile, looked almost proud of Brian for finally putting his squadmates in line.

"Why? Why isn’t it allowed?" Ian stepped forward, gently pushing Bodhi aside so he could face Brian, who had to crane his neck up just to meet Ian’s eyes.

"Young man, this is the third time. One of these days we won’t be lenient," Mr. Rick warned, reminding Ian of how many chances he’d already been given.

"Really? And what would you do, huh? What can you do?" Ian shot back, sounding thrilled at the challenge.

"You’ll be sent to the North. Alone." Mr. Rick didn’t back down.

"Really? And you think that scares me?" Ian pressed a hand to his chest and bowed dramatically, almost at Mr. Rick’s level.

"You should be," Mr. Rick said, his smirk sending a bad feeling through me. He turned his gaze toward me. "You’re the wiser one, aren’t you? Why don’t you tell your squadmates to follow the rules before it becomes impossible to survive here—and in the North?"

It felt like a threat. A scary one.

"Mr. Ringleader, you can’t threaten us. We’re Crusaders. Why act like this is a game to you?" Yorick stepped in, blocking me from his sight.

"And you, singling out Clementine, trying to gaslight her so she’ll listen to you? Wrong move, dude," Troy added, folding my arms across my chest.

"Because you’re talking to the one and only woman who can’t be manipulated. She’s thick-skulled," Haiden said, complimenting me in his weird way.

"Oh, Haiden." Then Lenora cut in. She and Miss Rue had been trailing behind but finally approached. "I’ve heard some things about you and Clementine. You two felt a mate bond, didn’t you?"

They must have heard our announcement in my pack to my father on our first visit.

"You seem to have quite a history. You’re also the daughter of the men who used to mass-rape women and then throw their bodies in the North, including the one victim who wasn’t dead and turned into a vindictive monster."

The way Miss Lenora brought up my father gave me goosebumps. The white squad smirked as if my character was on display, tied to his actions.

"My father’s actions have nothing to do with me. I’m not like him," I said, even though I didn’t have to. They already knew I was nothing like him.

"Isn’t she the one who was seen kissing Crusader Troy outside her room one night?"

As soon as Mr. Rick said that and turned to his squadmates, who nodded while laughing and covering their mouths, I felt my body go numb. Even my squadmates tensed up. They already knew Troy had kissed me, but having it dragged up again like that felt like pure character assassination.