Chapter 81: A Dream That Bled Awake
{IRIS}
Three days had passed since my confrontation with Caroline, yet the jealousy coiled inside me like a living thing—tight, venomous, and unrelenting.
Time did nothing to dull it. Sleep offered no reprieve. Every waking hour only sharpened the ache.
I knew—goddess, I knew—that none of this was truly her fault.
Caroline was a victim too.
And yet... knowing that did nothing to soothe the storm raging in my chest.
The emotions were too intense, too unforgiving. They scraped against my ribs, demanding release, demanding an answer I did not yet possess.
Right now, logic was useless. Sympathy was hollow.
What I needed was closure.
I needed to understand why.
Why Lord Vladimir had chosen her.
Why he had saved her.
If I could not grasp the reason—if I could not place meaning to his choice—then I would never be able to face Caroline again.
Not without drowning in bitterness. Not without shame.
But closure, I learned, was a luxury denied to me.
Lord Val did not reply to my messages.
When I tried to call him, the line went dead.
Blocked.
The rejection settled deep, sinking into flesh already wounded. Each unanswered attempt felt like salt pressed into an open gash.
Morgana and her loyal hounds circled me freely now, while Caroline remained untouched—protected beneath the unspoken claim of Lord Vladimir himself.
As if that were not enough, whispers began to slither through the halls of the academy.
Unshifted.
Arcaneless.
Defective.
The rumors spread like rot, clinging to every corner of the school. I was cast out with alarming ease, transformed overnight into prey.
Vince and the other werewolves turned their backs on me. Some avoided my gaze entirely. Others were far crueler.
They bullied me.
And now—now I found myself sprawled in a narrow alleyway behind the academy, bruised and bleeding, the stench of damp stone and garbage thick in the air.
Good thing that I had taken the Bloodveil Vial to conceal the scent of my blood.
Jessy stood above me, her lips curled into a sneer. She was a werewolf, flanked by several others at her call, their eyes glowing faintly with predatory delight.
On the balcony of the school, Morgana lingered in the shadows with her vampires, observing like a queen watching hounds tear into their quarry.
I could smell them even from here.
"You’re lucky you’re in school grounds," Jessy hissed, her fangs flashing as she grabbed a fistful of my hair and slammed me back against the wall. The impact knocked the breath from my lungs. "Otherwise, we would’ve killed you right here."
My uniform was torn, dirt-stained, clinging to skin already aching from repeated blows. My vision blurred, but I refused to scream. I refused to beg.
I wasn’t to stranger with this kind of treatment.
Jessy leaned closer and spat directly onto my cheek.
Laughter followed—sharp, cruel, echoing off the brick walls as they finally turned away and left me crumpled on the cold ground.
This was nothing new.
It was as if I had been dragged back into my old life, back into the pack that never wanted me. The days I spent in Lord Vladimir’s castle felt unreal now—like a fleeting dream, sweet and dangerous and impossible.
But a dream, nonetheless.
Even so, I refused to cry.
I forced myself upright, every muscle protesting as I dusted off my uniform with shaking hands. My body hurt, but my pride hurt more.
With my chin held high, I walked back towards my classroom.
The murmurs began the moment I stepped inside.
Disgusted glances.
Stifled laughter.
Derogatory whispers that followed me like shadows.
Each word struck, sinking beneath skin, lodging deep where it would fester. I heard them all. I let none of them see the effect.
I took my seat at the very back of the classroom—alone.
I could not sit beside Caroline. Not while I was feeling this way. Not when I looked so utterly broken. I did not want her pity. I did not want her concern.
"OMG, Iris—what happened to you?"
Jay dropped into the chair beside me without invitation, eyes wide with poorly disguised curiosity. "Did you get bullied again? Let me guess—Morgana?"
I sighed and turned my gaze toward the window. "Is that important?"
He snorted. "Not really. That vampire is such a witch, honestly."
"It was Jessy," I said quietly. "And the other werewolves."
Jay stiffened. "Seriously?" His eyebrows shot up. "So it is true, then? Even your own race bullies you? Is it also true you can’t shift? That you’re a rogue? That’s why they’re picking on you?"
I turned sharply to him. "Did you come here to gossip?"
Jay laughed, unbothered. "Well, yes. But relax—I’m only interested in the truth. Bullying the weak isn’t really my thing."
We were not friends.
But neither were we enemies.
Jay existed in the gray—someone who thrived on amusement and rumors, always hovering at the edge of other people’s misfortunes.
"Oh," he said suddenly, nudging my arm. "Look who arrived."
I followed his gaze.
Caroline stood at the doorway.
Our eyes met.
"Iris..." she murmured.
I looked away.
I could not bear to see the hurt in her eyes—not when my own chest felt like it was being crushed from the inside. Betrayal, irritation, jealousy—ugly emotions twisted together, choking me whenever she was near.
"What happened between you two?" Jay whispered eagerly. "Is it true she sided with the vampires to save herself and left you?"
I pressed my lips together, refusing to answer.
When Jay realized he would get nothing from me, he drifted away to Caroline instead—but she, like me, refused to speak.
At lunch, I hurried toward the cafeteria before anyone could corner me.
I never made it.
Someone stuck out their foot.
I slipped on the stairs and fell hard, my palms scraping against stone as laughter erupted around me.
First-year vampires clustered nearby, their mocking gazes sharp and merciless. Sol stood at the center of them all. He glanced at me briefly—indifferent—before looking away in bored disinterest.
"She tripped over that? Seriously?"
"What a klutz."
"At this point, she’s weaker than a human."
"What is she even doing here?"
"She has no wolf. No pack. No arcane."
I swallowed the humiliation, pushed myself to my feet, and walked to the counter in silence.
"Iris, wait!"
