They think I’m weak.
They think I’m invisible.
They think I’ll never fight back.

Let them think what they want.

Every day, I walk the halls of my high school with my head down and my heart guarded. The whispers. The laughs. The bruises—both the kind you see and the kind that cut deeper. Being the Beta’s daughter doesn’t protect me. If anything, it’s made me a bigger target.

But I have a secret—one so powerful it could ruin everything… or save me from the nightmare I’m living.

Then they both showed up. Cold eyes. Mysterious past. He sees me, really sees me. And just like that, the walls I built start to crack.

Now, the mates I never asked for want to claim me. The ones who used to ignore me suddenly can’t stay away. Secrets are rising. Fates are shifting. And the girl they used to bully?

She’s done hiding.

I may be broken, but I’m not finished. Not yet.


Two Bullies, Two Mates

TWENTY-SEVEN

**ARIA**
“Bonfire?” Selene shoots me a sharp look, like I’ve just dropped a secret I wasn’t supposed to.
I lift my shoulders in a half-hearted shrug. “I don’t really go to parties. Kind of hard when you don’t have any friends. So, social events just… slip under my radar.”
I stare down at my shoes...

**ARIA**

“Bonfire?” Selene shoots me a sharp look, like I’ve just dropped a secret I wasn’t supposed to.

I lift my shoulders in a half-hearted shrug. “I don’t really go to parties. Kind of hard when you don’t have any friends. So, social events just… slip under my radar.”

I stare down at my shoes...

ELEVEN