Bloom’s POV

The sharp blade caught the light and gave a faint glint as it came down with full force.

SLASH!!

I jumped up from the bed with a yelp. Thankfully it wasn't loud enough to draw my mother's attention.

I sat on the bed and ran my hand through my hair, trying to relax myself. It was the same bad dream again. Or more like the same memory.

“Great! Another day waking up like the lead character in a horror movie.” I groaned, clearing my throat. I stretched my hand to my side table to pick up the cup of water, and that was when my eyes landed on my alarm clock.

7: 31 AM.

“Oh, perfect! Just perfect!” I cursed as I got out of bed. Rushing to get ready for school. I had less than thirty minutes.

I took a quick shower. Luckily, I wasn't one for makeup or elaborate dresses. I threw on my hoodie and cargo pants and grabbed my school bag. My blond hair was tied into one single ponytail and my round glasses balanced on the ridge of my nose, hiding my hazel eyes. When I was done, I headed outside.

The smell of freshly made pancakes filled the small bungalow house, and my beautiful mom, with her beautiful blond hair tied in a bun, stood behind the gas, flipping another batch of pancakes.

“Morning, Mom.” I gave her our mandatory cheek kiss and then rushed towards the door before she could have the chance to nag at me. But alas, it's every parent's superpower to just find a way to still nag at their kids.

“Look at the time; you're just getting ready for school. You're almost turning 18, when would you stop being so reckless?” My mom yelled even as I headed out the door.

As I ran down the road, I could still hear my mom's voice. “Bloom! Won't you have breakfast!?”

Yeah, so she could get the chance to tell me how I'm never put together and how I needed to be more composed. No, thank you. I'll pass.

I ran with full speed to the bus stop, praying that I'm still able to catch the last bus heading for school. Luckily, I was. I was the last one to enter just before it took off. I would have missed the bus, but the ignition didn't start for some reason until I entered.

I sat on the seat close to the window, and stared out. My hand hovered to my neck, and I clutched my most valuable possession—my heart-shaped necklace I was wearing and I mouthed, “Thank you, Dad. I know it was you that made me catch the bus.”

Staring out and seeing the world blur by as we drove, memories of when I was younger replayed in my mind. Memories of when I was once a daughter to an Alpha.

Until tragedy struck.

“Honey, go. Now! Take Bloom and escape using the secret passage before anyone comes in here.” My father, Alpha of Clawstorm, managed to say in a low voice. He was already losing so much blood from the stab wound on his abdomen.

My mother, who was carrying me in her arms, shook her head. “I won't leave you like this. Come with us; we'd find a doctor along the way.”

My father pressed his hand tighter on his abdomen and looked at my mother with a sad look. “I would only slow you down. Moreover, I'm the Alpha of our pack, and I owe it to our people to see this fight to the end.”

Outside I could hear fighting and growling with screams. A rival pack had launched a sneak attack on our pack in the dead of the night while we slept. So we weren’t prepared. Even six-year-old me knew that if my father went back out there to fight, he wouldn't survive it.

My father looked at me and pressed his palm against my cheeks. Tears dropped from my eyes. “Bloom, my beautiful girl, know that I'll always be with you.” He took off his heart-shaped necklace and put it around my neck. He gave me a soft kiss on my cheeks.

He then turned to my mother, “She's your duty now. Keep her safe.” He gave her a soft kiss too. “Now, go before you're discovered.”

My mother pressed me to her chest, she hesitated a bit but eventually turned around. She went out through the secret door we had planted in the house. Just as she was about to close the secret door, I saw two wolves push open the main front door; they found my father, and before he could defend himself, they killed him.

SLASH!

That was the last time I saw my dad. Our pack was wiped out, but my mother had managed to escape with me using the secret passage. Since then we've been drifting from one place to another. It wasn't until six months ago that we moved here and the Shadowmoon pack kindly took us in.

I tightened my hand around the necklace and muttered, “Dad, I miss you.”

Just then the bus came to a stop as it arrived at school grounds. We all got out, the wide buildings looming over us.

There was a huge signboard at the entrance that had the university name boldly written in green fonts—SHADOWMOON UNIVERSITY.

I made my way to my department. The university was big and wide. It was to be expected as it was the best university in our pack and the most expensive. I was only able to attend because I was on scholarship.

One reason Mom was glad we settled here was because my 18th birthday was coming up soon, and she was really eager for me to find a mate, one who is strong and reliable to take care of me. I was an omega.

But frankly, all of that wasn't my first priority. Not even my second or third. I was more eager to graduate, find a good job, earn a lot of money, and take my mom away from this small city to live in a bigger city.

So you can see the whole mating thing isn't even on the top four of my list.

Everyone here was always dressed in really expensive designers. It made my hoodie and faded pants stand out. Someone purposely hit me as they walked past and the others snickered.

I was used to it by now; what I do is just ignore them and keep my head low. Although I haven't told my mom about the bullying I experience here, it would break her heart.

I tried to just focus on reaching my department, and I got to my lecture hall. My friend Stacey was already seated in the front row, and as she saw me, she waved at me to come over.

I was on my way to join Stacey when someone shouted from the other row.

“Low-life ugly nerd!” A girl cursed, and three other girls laughed behind her. I recognize their voices. It was Chloe and her minions. The most popular girls in school. Chloe has always hated me for reasons unknown to me ever since I moved into this city.

One time, when I had the misfortune of running into her at the park pool, she had stolen my clothes while I showered and I legit had to stay in the washroom for almost four hours before someone helped me with new clothes.

Or was it the time she tried to frame me for stealing something at her last birthday party that mom had forced me to attend because according to her, ‘socializing was the rope of connection’. Well, that rope almost got me jailed.

Anytime I saw Chloe, it was automatically a bad day. But ultimately I always ignored her if I could. And today, I could.

I went to sit beside Stacey, she had kept a free seat for me. I only had just three friends, and Stacey was the one I was closest to.

“Hey, are you okay?” Stacey asked as I sat down.

I nodded, somewhat surprised. “I am. Honestly, I'm even a bit shocked because the Chloe I know would have come down to pick a fight with me for ignoring her.”

The bullying today was a bit…what's the word? A bit friendly.

Stacey leaned in, her dark curls swaying to the side. “It's probably because the ‘Untouchable Trio’ are returning today, so Chloe wouldn't dare go too far. After all, she's aiming to become the future Luna to the triplets and wouldn't want to ruin her image in their eyes.”

The "Untouchable Trio" were the Alpha triplet sons of Shadowmoon Pack, the future Alphas. Every girl dreamed of snagging one of them.

I haven't been here long and have never really seen them before. Word was they had been away at a special Alpha training camp, because once they turned 18 and found their mates, they would likely take over as the new Alphas.

“I wonder who their mates would be.” Stacey said gushing like she was talking about prince charming finding Cinderella.

Me? I couldn't care much for the topic. My only prayer was that whoever it was, it wouldn't be Chloe.

Soon, the professor entered the hall, and the class began. For the next hour and a half, I listened and took notes. It was psychology, one of my favorite subjects.

After class, the lecturer asked me to gather the assignments from the last class and bring it over to his office. I was used to doing tasks like this for lecturers all the time. In schools, higher grades are directly proportional to having your lecturers adore you.

I promised to meet Stacey at the field, where we can meet my other friends-- Zara and James.

I submitted the assignments and went to meet up with Stacey. When I got to the field, there were many boys there. It looked like they just finished practice. I scanned the area for signs of James or Stacey, but I couldn't spot either.

One of the boys whistled as he saw me. “Oh wow, looks like the unattractive nerd came to check us out,” he teased, and the other boys laughed.

I quickly threw my face to the ground and turned to leave with plans on calling James and Stacey outside when I bumped headfirst into something hard. A chest.

My eyes first saw the strong thighs with brown shorts, and as my gaze moved up, I saw the black compression shirt that clung to huge biceps and smooth abs. Finally, my gaze landed on the guy's face. My breath caught in my throat. Thick brows, green eyes, and a sharp jawline. It was like seeing a real-life Greek god. And he smelled like cedarwood mixed with danger.

As if that wasn't enough, two other equally handsome guys stepped forward from behind him. They were all more than six feet tall. They also all looked alike apart from their eye color; one had blue eyes and the other had brown.

It suddenly dawned on me who these guys were: Steel, Stone, and Slate, the Untouchable Trio. And I had not only touched them; I had stupidly bumped into one of their chests.

They looked down at me, who was just five foot four inches, with their fierce eyes. I stepped back in fear.

“I…I'm sorry.”