Odessa's Pov
"Let me go!" I shrieked, my voice cracking as I fought to get out of Nickolai's tight grip on my hair. I tried to twist and turn, but his fingers were tangled in my wild mess of a ponytail.
I fought back the tears stinging my eyes as my foot landed on a now-squashed bottle of hand sanitizer. The contents of my bag had been emptied all over the floor of the locker room. My makeup products were scattered everywhere, my coffee was a dark puddle on the tiles, my hair was a tangled mess, and now, my laptop was in his hands. I already knew exactly how this was going to go down.
He'd make me grovel and beg him for it before I could get it back, or even worse, he'd take it into his own possession and return it whenever he felt like it. I knew I shouldn't have been stupid enough to come to the locker room. I should have known better than to believe that dumb text asking me to show up, even though I had assumed it was from Damien.
It's my last year of college, and I still feel like a piece of garbage getting bullied every single day. I couldn't bear to tell my parents what was happening; they'd just make me take classes from home and I'd miss out on the entire college experience, which wasn't even entirely pleasing to begin with. I was the perfect prey for the De Luca triplets, especially Hades and Nickolai.
The third, Rowan, had never once spoken to me. As a matter of fact, he barely ever showed up to school, only on days when they had practice or a championship game in the sport they were all stars at, hockey or "morphleton" as human fans called it.
The entire world adored them. Humans and shifters alike all loved them. Countless blogs and magazines had already predicted their immense success even before they had finished high school. But I was the one exception in this world.
He chuckled, tightening his grip on my hair even further as Hade's grabbed my laptop from him. "I heard you got a boyfriend, didn't you?" He laughed with a teasing smirk.
"Yes, that f*cker Damien or whatever," Nickolai said, chuckling, before letting go of me completely. I stumbled, trying to catch my breath as I rubbed my scalp.
My boyfriend, Damien, was a pretty great guy, and a pretty good choice for a boyfriend. We had just started dating three months ago, and I adored him. He had absolutely no idea about what they did to me. I hated being modest, but I didn't want it to seem like I was only dating him for protection, especially since I was here undercover as a middle-class student while my family owned the top hockey management agency, the very agency the Star Triplets were under.
"So what if I'm dating him?" I snapped, my voice laced with defiance.
"Hey, you better watch that tone, tesoro," Nikolai warned, pointing a finger at me.
"Nothing really, just thought you could do better," Hades smirked, his eyes glinting mischievously.
"What is going on here?" A deep, velvet voice suddenly echoed through the hockey room. We all turned to see Rowan standing in the doorway. He was wearing a sweatsuit, and a towel was draped around his neck. He had just finished training. He was handsome.
The word "handsome" felt too basic to describe him. He was awfully attractive, just like his horrible brothers, but with a more manly appeal. He had long black curly hair, dark blue eyes, a bulkier frame, and a presence that made my stomach flip. I couldn't discern if the feeling was fear or pure attraction, but I knew for sure that I shouldn't find another man attractive, especially since I had a boyfriend.
"It's nothing, Ro. We're just playing around," Hades chuckled, looking at me as if he wanted me to play along.
Rowan approached us slowly, scanning me briefly before his gaze settled on his brothers. "Give the girl her laptop. You're bigger than this," he muttered under his breath, his voice low and firm.
"Yeah, we were going to give it back," Nikolai said, rolling his eyes dramatically.
"Gamma Reggie's looking for you two. See him on your way out," Rowan informed them, his tone still even.
"This isn't over yet," Hades grunted in a whisper as he shoved the laptop into my hands.
I couldn't believe this. They actually listened to him?
Reluctantly, they brushed past Rowan and left the scene, leaving me stunned in their wake.
I blinked out of my daze as Rowan squatted on the floor and started picking up my scattered belongings with his silver-ringed, tattooed fingers. I didn't understand what was happening. This could also be another trap. Why would he take my side and not theirs?
"It's okay, I've got it," I muttered, dragging the bag away from him as I started picking up my stuff swiftly. He stood up with me as I finished packing it all up and slung my bag onto my shoulder.
"I apologize for what happened. They're not—"
"It's okay. I don't know what this is about, but I seriously don't have the time for another new plot or whatever this is. We're graduating in two weeks. If you guys think that's more than enough time to continue with this, then bring it on."
This was probably just another attempt. Get one of them to win my trust and find out what they'd planned for me. They had to be up to something.
"Odessa, what are you even talking about?"
"You know my name?" I asked, my voice laced with suspicion.
"Of course I do. It's—"
"Exactly. I've never told you my name before. Nice try, Rowan," I scoffed, cutting him off.
"Yeah, knowing my name is allowed, but I can't know yours?"
"Everyone knows your name. You're literally the face of the school; it's on the billboard at the entrance. But me? That's an entirely different story. Whatever you and your brothers have planned for me, this method is totally weak." I scoffed once more, walking away from him.
****
The memory of that humiliating incident replayed in my head on a loop. Tears rolled down my cheeks as I watched Nikolai present my entire thesis, word for word. Six months. I had worked on that for six long months.
"Youth Hockey and Child Protection Laws: Safeguarding Young Athletes by Nikolai De Luca," the title was on the screen. He had edited the whole PowerPoint slideshow, taking sole credit for what was essentially my life's work. I thought I was so smart. I had uploaded it to the cloud and a flash drive.
A flash drive. That's how they did it. I turned to Rowan, who was sitting in the back, watching with a look of pure disinterest on his face. The flash drive was in my bag that previous day. He must have picked it up and given it to them.
My lips trembled as I got up from my seat, rushing down the staircase, a chilling certainty settling in my gut. It was over for me. I wouldn't graduate this year. My grandfather would be so ashamed of me, and I wouldn't get to work at Montgomery Athlete Management after four years of chasing my law degree. They've ruined me. They've absolutely f*cking ruined me.
"A round of applause for Mr. De Luca, an insightful presentation if I must say," I heard one of the professors say as I slammed the door shut behind me.
"Odessa!" I heard someone call out. It was Damien. I turned to look at him with bloodshot eyes, running into his arms the next minute as he hugged me tightly. "Baby, are you okay?"
"They stole my thesis," I sobbed into his chest.
"Who did?" he asked, his voice laced with concern.
"The De Luca brothers."
He pulled away from me gently, and his face twisted into an expression of pure rage. "What? I knew that fool wasn't that smart. They'll surely pay for this," he growled.
I held him back, my voice pleading. "Don't do it here. I don't want you to get into trouble."
His face softened as he gently wiped the tears from my cheeks. "Don't cry, we'll figure something out, I promise. Maybe you can apply for an extension."
I could only nod as he hugged me again. I didn't know what I'd do without him. But then, a terrifying thought clicked into place.
"The mating ceremony is tonight. I can't go if I don't present my thesis. My parents are going to kill me."
Mating ceremonies in Westminster were held for all college students after their thesis presentation. This was to help them find ideal partners before they went out into the real world. Only those who finished their presentations could attend, or risk staying mateless. I was practically doomed. They had sabotaged my entire life.
"Then you don't have to go. I'll stay with you," Damien said, trying to reassure me.
"You should go, Damien. You have to know who your mate is so you can graduate," I whined, my voice full of anguish.
Our plan was simple. We both would reject our mates after the ceremony, that is if the goddess decided to fate us with different people. I was a hybrid, so my rejection didn't require the consent of my partner to be valid. But for Damien, I hoped she would be gracious enough.
I stayed with Damien for the rest of the day in his dorm room, watching Casablanca on my tablet while he slept, holding me tightly on the bed. While the movie played, I sent an extension request via email and started looking through the topic prompt list to think of something new.
I had learned that in life, nothing could ever come easy. I had always expected a challenge. I had backup plans for everything, and my grandfather's words echoed in my mind. "Tears don't change a thing. Your brain does. Don't let your emotions make decisions for you; always choose logic."
One may argue that you should always follow your heart, but I knew better than to just sob and do nothing. I only had two days, two days until graduation.
When Damien woke up, it was already 6 p.m. I had already started working on my abstract, editing it with a few AI tools.
He kissed me goodbye before heading to the ceremony, and an hour later, my phone buzzed wildly with streams of notifications. I swiftly rushed to grab the device, hoping that it was the response to my email.
My hopes were cut short when I saw a notification of a new live video on the school blog's Instagram profile.
[GRACIAS CRASHES MATING BALL! ATTACKS ROWAN DE LUCA]
[DAMIEN GRACIAS ATTACKS THE DE LUCA TRIPLETS: ABOUT TO GET TRIPLE PUCKED!!]
"Triple puck" was the triplets' dumb, iconic move. My body began to shake as I watched the video. Damien was in shreds. They were all attacking him, hitting him with steel-toed boots as he could barely rise to his feet.
I quickly picked up my car keys and locked the dorm room, running as fast as I could. When I got to my car, the sight was even more annoying. Someone had spray-painted it with the words, "Little Miss Smarty Odessa Couldn't Even Defend Her Thesis." With a side note on the doors that read, "Who still drives a Cabriolet?"
The De Lucas! I started the car anyway, driving speedily to the school's hall. I was watching the live video the whole time. They had picked him up and pushed him against the wall. No one was even trying to save him. From what I had seen, the mating ceremony was over. The professors and staff members had already left, so it was just students enjoying the after-party and bonding with their mates.
I got to the venue and shut my car door loudly before running inside. I saw Nikolai holding Damien in place, ready to deliver another punch.
"Stop!" I screamed, my voice raw and desperate.
They all paused, their heads turning to look at me, but I didn't care. My breathing was ragged. I could hardly even breathe as I rushed toward the scene. Rowan's eyes softened for a moment, but I paid no attention to him. His lip was chapped, and his hands were soaked with blood.
"Glad of you to join us," Hades grinned gruesomely.
"Let him go," I grunted, my voice a low snarl.
"Okay, tesoro," Nikolai grinned, releasing Damien's severely bruised form and kicking him in the groin. He fell to the ground, helpless, as they all turned their attention to me.
Rowan grabbed my wrist in an attempt to pull me away. As our eyes linked, I felt a surge go through my entire body, a strange warmth, as all four of our eyes glowed simultaneously. No. Oh, goodness, no. Everyone could see it. Damien's swollen eyes slowly parted in shock, and I tried to force myself to believe that it was all a lie, but not until I heard it. "Mate." A chorus of four voices. A knife in my chest. A death sentence to my existence.
"I wish I was her. She's so lucky," some girls gushed.
"No wonder they didn't get mates. Their souls were waiting for her."
"W-what?" I muttered, my mind reeling.
People were already whispering and gasping all around us. Rowan was completely perplexed, and so was I as I shoved his hand away from mine.
A smirk crawled onto Nikolai's lips, and Hades let out a sharp laugh.
"Would you look at that," Hades started, his voice dripping with cruel satisfaction.
"You're ours now, tesoro," Nikolai added, his gaze fixed on me.
Rowan wasn't saying anything. He was just as shocked as I was. Tears welled up in my eyes. After everything I had gone through—the pain, the endless humiliation, the disgrace, and now this. My mother had always said the moon goddess was a bitch, and my grandfather had hushed her for blasphemy, but she was right. The moon goddess was a horrible, self-loathing, evil, and horrible bitch.
A dry scoff left my lips as I stared at them starkly. "You're really that delusional, huh?" I began, my voice cold and hard. "I, Odessa Esme Montgomery, reject you, Rowan, Nikolai, and Hades De Luca as my mates. I hope you all rot in f*cking hell."
Everyone gasped as I pushed past them and reached for Damien, helping him up.
Their faces burned with a sudden rage, but when they made a move to come after me, Rowan held them back. I knew it was all just an act. He wasn't any different from them. I took Damien outside without looking back, not now and not ever. I was done.