Third Person’s POV
+8 Pearls
Carmen stood at the gates of <b>Ashmoor </b>Academy, her fingers clenching the handle of her <b>umbre</b>. Mist curled around her feet like wary shadows, and though the clouds <b>above </b>hadn’t broken, there was a trace of light in her <b>gaze</b>–hopeful, <b>tentative </b>
The sharp purr of an engine cut through the morning silence.
A sleek, ck Maybach tore through the rain–slicked <b>road</b>, <b>spraying </b>water <b>into </b>the air. The vehicle was unmistakably elite- one only seen among high–ranking <b>Alphas</b>. Its tinted windows reflected the dull gray sky, its presence <bmanding </b>
Carmen’s breath caught.
That car–she recognized it.
Her heart leapt and a smile bloomed across her lips, the kind so rare it made her <b>look </b>almost too young, too untouched by the cruel world of pack politics. She raised her umbre and <b>waved with </b>enthusiasm, fully believing he had returned for her.
Duke had said he would.
“I’ll retrieve the umbre myself tomorrow morning,” he had told her with quiet <b>precision</b>, his voice smooth and unreadable.
But the car didn’t stop.
<b>Like </b>a streak of shadow, the Maybach passed by without pause. The gust from its speed blew her hair across her face, and her umbre twisted under the force of it. She stood stunned, her smile falling away as quickly <b>as </b>it <b>had </b>formed.
She turned slowly, her gaze locked onto the departing car. Her eyes narrowed at the license te.
There was no mistake.
It was his
So much for his word.
So much for being different from the rest of the arrogant wolves in the Ebonw Pack. Just another promise from <b>a </b>man too <b>important </b>to remember a girl like her.
The light in her eyes extinguished, reced by something colder–more calcting
Carmen’s lips curled into <b>a </b>smile again, but this time it was <b>sharp</b>, almost predatory. A smile honed by betrayal and long nights of silence. She had <b>seen </b>what people like Duke were capable of. She’d seen <b>what </b>the Ebonw Pack did to Riley–a betrayal so deep, it poisoned Carmen’s blood.
She had learned then: <b>no </b><b>one </b>wasing to save her. And she didn’t need them to.
Arrogance made people predictable. And predictable people were easy to manipte.
She’d learned <b>how </b>to survive long before setting foot in Ashmoor Academy. Her mother <b>Mia </b>had scrubbed <b>packhouses </b>to the bone Riley had been discarded like trash by those <b>who </b>imed nobility and honor. Carmen had watched it all—and remembered every name, every slight.
Til be strong enough to tear free from this city, she whispered to herself, her <b>voice </b>quiet and lethal. I’ll <b>take </b>Riley and Mom away from Mooncrest, to a ce where no one can find us Where we don’t have to bow to <b>Alphas </b>or bloodlines
The words were a vow etched into her bones.
onest <b>nce </b>at the gate where the Maybach disappeared, Carmen turned and headed <b>back </b>to the dormitory Her steps were firm now, each one echoing with silent resolve.
She would <b>not </b>wait for kindness. <b>She </b>would not wait for men like Duke to remember her
Inade the dormitory,ughter rang out–sharp, grating and unmistakably cruel.
350 PM p p.
“She’s <b>out</b>. She won’t be back any time soon. Hurry up before Carmen the psycho catches us.”
“Seriously, who does she think she is? Just a little servant–born rat trying to <b>act </b>all <b>Luna</b><b>–</b>like”
“She’s from the gutter. And you know what they say–<b>trash </b>always stinks.”
“That’s whyisfying. Let’s scrub the toilet with her toothbrush.”
it’s so
“I’ll use her towel to wipe my paws.”
“<b>I </b><b>already </b>poured toilet water into <b>her </b><b>shampoo</b>. <b>Wanna </b>add more?”
Carmen froze in the hallway, just before the door. She’d heard every <b>word</b>.
They didn’t <b>know </b>she was <b>there</b>.
+8 Pearls
They never believed someone like her <b>could </b>hold power. That someone with no name, no title, and no pureblood pedigree could rise above their cruelty.
Her fingers found the charm around <b>her </b>neck–a tarnished <b>pendant </b>that <b>had </b>once belonged to her father.
Carmen still remembered his final words before he disappeared: “Wolves with broken chains bite the hardest.”
She hadn’t understood them then.
Now, she did.
Carmen’s eyes turned razor–sharp in an instant, gleaming with a coldness <b>that </b>belonged more to a predator than a teenage girl. Her lips, however, curled upward into an eager grin. She looked electrified, like a she–wolf seconds away from sinking her fangs into prey. Her presence exuded <b>a </b>dangerous, almost feral energy–something primal and uncontainable.
Ever since those malicious rumors started spreading–whispers that she was some wealthy Alpha’s mistress–her reputation at Ashmoor University had rotted beyond repair. Students sneered. Professors stopped looking her in the eye. The air changed when she entered a room.
If it hadn’t been for Kael Vale, she would <b>have </b>been expelled.
But she <b>wasn’t </b>like her mother. She didn’t feel gratitude for that intervention.
Because she wasn’t stupid.
She knew exactly who started those rumors.
Kael had orchestrated <b>it </b>all. That fake act ofing to her rescue had nothing to do with her–it was all to manipte Riley. her sister. Carmen had seen through his schemes from the start.
Ebonw <b>Pack </b><b>wolves</b>, she thought with venom. Arrogant cowards who crushed others just to make themselves feel powerful
After the rumors took root, the girls in her dorm–<b>those </b><b>who </b>used to share friendly conversations andte–night <b>snacks- </b>suddenly showed their fangs. They <b>came </b>from privileged packs, born into Beta bloodlines or future council houses, and the moment they sensed weakness, they pounced
They thought Carmen was soft. Quiet Easy.
They had no idea <b>what </b>she’d be