Chapter 6

(Selim's POV)

It was gym class, probably one of my favorite classes, as it was one I excelled in, and this time I was looking forward to it.

The gym instructor wasn’t around yet, and I had decided to occupy my time throwing balls through the hoop. It was the best way to stay busy before he came, and my station was already getting crowded with members of my grade as they decided to do the same.

Yet, despite the distraction that it provided, my mind was still unsettled. My ears kept on buzzing, like a thousand whispers were echoing in my mind.

My face tightened in a frown, but I continued shooting the ball through the hoops until I got tired, and I switched to martial arts, just the basics though.

I was paired with Alex, the one that would be my beta, and the guy was my best friend. His skills were almost on par with mine, as we have been training since we were babies, and I knew he could hold his own in a fight.

Nonetheless, we continued sparring, but my head was barely in the fight, and when Alex saw an opening, he took it, and I was on the floor before I could process anything.

My wolf growled restlessly, pacing around in anger, and I was annoyed that I had been knocked down by him.

“Dude, are you okay?” Alex asked, coming into my line of sight. “You have been out of it lately.”

“It is fine; I am just out of my head.” He held up his hands to help me up, and I was already stretching my hand to hoist myself up when my nose flared up.

That scent…

The world around me became a blur, and the noise of the gym faded until it was replaced by that pull. I shot up from the ground almost immediately, my eyes scanning around the area, but then my skin prickled, and I knew where to look.

At the corner, I saw the girl from last week—Callista—I had managed to find out her name by accident. Okay, maybe it wasn’t by accident, and I may have gone to the homeroom teacher that I wanted to find a student.

The teacher had given me the list of the names, and when I saw the name Callista Wren, I just knew she was the one.

The girl was wrapped up in a ball, her head bowed down, hiding in a corner like she usually does, and I shook my head. She was surely a strange character, but she was amusing nonetheless.

I turned to a guy nearby, one whose name I couldn’t remember, but he had been invested in the drama, and I asked. “What is going on with her?”

Honestly, Callista kept getting weirder anytime I saw her, but before he could form an answer, a sharp voice cut through the air. “Hey, fatty, what are you doing here?”

Natalie.

I growled the name only inside my mind, her voice irritating enough for it to turn my mood sour. As if by instinct, I turned my head, and just as I had predicted, Natalie and her gang had surrounded her.

I watched the scene with disinterest. I was known to not involve myself with any dispute with the students, as I have an image to protect, but that doesn’t mean I couldn’t watch, and I was eager to see how Callista would defend herself.

I continued watching as Natalie continued her torment, each word making her sink even more into herself. “ “Poor thing, are you sure you didn’t misread the sign as the ‘fattening class? Or a pigsty?”

The girl was truly nasty, and I was getting tired of it. And if Callista couldn’t even defend herself from Natalie, there was nothing I could do. I turned back, returning to my earlier activity when her words caught me.

“She is so ugly and so fat that I doubt she even has a mate.” Natalie continued, her nose high up in the sky in disgust. “And even if she has, I doubt her mate would recognize her in all that layer of fat.” Her words were horrible enough, but they shouldn’t make me feel like this.

My stomach turned, the air suddenly became too hot for me, and everything was now uncomfortable. I stared at the girl again—Callista—wishing I could see her eyes, not out of curiosity anymore but something I couldn’t name yet.

I had thoughts of marching up there to help her, yet my non-involvement in things stopped me. However, before I could make up my mind, her angry voice broke out from the hall. “Shut up!”

Her words stunned me and everyone as they all looked at her with wide eyes. It was the first time I was hearing her scream.

My legs had already taken the first step, ready to diffuse the situation if need be, but Callista took another cursory look around before grabbing her bag, and she raced out of the room.

She had looked at us all before she left, but the whole class was quiet after her outburst, and this time I couldn’t hold back anymore.

I stepped forward until I was standing in front of the people that had gathered around Natalie.

“I don’t have a mate either.” I said in a voice that was calm, but it was deadly enough to pass my message.

It was noticeable how the girls froze, shock passing through their faces, as most of them were hearing my voice for the first time, and many wondered why I had broken my non-involvement rules and interrupted.

But if I was going to be a great alpha, it was time to start setting things right, so I continued. “Whether or not a person has a mate is not a reason to be ridiculed. I mean, I don’t have a mate, and no one is batting an eyelid because I am from a royal bloodline, so why should it matter if it was another person?” I asked them, but no answer was forthcoming.

“Is it because she is plus-sized?” I looked around at the faces that had mocked her, but they had the decency to look away, their faces almost apologetic. “Then that is prejudice, and it is not tolerated in this pack.”

I waited for my words to sink in before I turned around, walking away from the scene. But I caught sight of Natalie’s ball that had fallen to the ground, and with a powerful kick, I hurled it forward, wishing it was her face.