Humiliation in the Crowd

NYSSA'S POV

The atmosphere inside the Eclipse Caves was electric, aggressively pulsing with the rhythmic thud of loud techno music that reverberated deep within my chest. The massive stone caverns were suffocatingly thick with the sharp, overwhelming scent of crushed pine needles mixed with the musky pheromones of hundreds of excited werewolves. String lights and paper lanterns hung from the jagged stalactites, casting a warm but chaotic glow over the dancing bodies. Wolves of every rank were letting loose, laughing over carved wooden mugs filled with liquor. Some pack members play-wrestled near a massive roaring bonfire, while others huddled around the edges to roast marshmallows over the open flames.

My stomach twisted into tight, agonizing knots of pure nervousness. I was an omega. A servant. Being surrounded by a sea of elite pack members made my skin crawl with anxiety. I gripped Piper and Bessie's hands so hard my knuckles turned white.

I gulped, trying to pull back toward the cave entrance. "I change my mind. Let us leave right now."

Bessie slipped her hand out of my tight grip and stepped directly into my line of sight. She grabbed a large plastic cup brimming with strong rum from a passing tray and shoved it into my trembling hand. "Will you stop. Just chill. Let us get drunk tonight."

I stared at the dark amber liquid for a second before tipping my head back. I downed the harsh rum in one single, burning gulp.

Bessie whistled loudly over the booming bass, immediately handing me a second overflowing cup. She grabbed one for herself, taking a massive swing. "That is it, girl. We are getting drunk tonight."

We started swaying awkwardly to the pounding beat. Piper suddenly bumped her shoulder hard against mine.

Piper pointed across the crowded cavern. "Look over there. He is right there."

My eyes followed her finger, and my body flushed with blistering heat. Cormac stood near the DJ booth, holding court among a group of high-ranking elites. He wore a tight black shirt that clung to his muscular chest and ripped jeans that sat low on his hips. He had the smuggest, most devastatingly handsome smirk on his face. He was laughing at something one of his friends said, but then his sweeping gaze scrolled across the smoky cave. His amber eyes locked directly onto mine.

My heart stopped beating in my chest. For a fleeting, agonizing second, the loud music seemed to fade. He offered me a very small, unreadable nod of acknowledgment. His gaze was guarded, like he was carefully trying not to show too much interest in front of his elite friends.

I smiled shyly, lifting my hand to give him a tentative wave.

He tilted his head slightly, studying me through the crowd. A beat later, he lifted his hand and waved back.

Oh, Goddess. My cheeks burned so hot I thought they might melt off my skull. My mind spiraled with wild hope and anxiety. Maybe Piper was right. Maybe I actually had a chance tonight to secure a better future for myself.

Garrison bounded over out of nowhere. He grabbed Piper around the waist, spinning her around before kissing her with overwhelming enthusiasm. He was incredibly handsy, filling his palms with her breasts right in the middle of the dance floor.

Bessie cleared her throat loudly, crossing her arms over her chest.

Garrison finally pulled back, grinning warmly at our small group. He was handsome, with striking ebony skin and bright chocolate-colored eyes.

Piper leaned against Garrison, trying to catch her breath. "Garry, you remember my friends, do you not?"

Garrison smoothed down his shirt, his energy infectious. "Of course I do. How are you doing, Bessie? Are you still baking up a storm in the kitchens?"

Bessie beamed, standing a little taller. "Yes. I am the best baker in the entire pack."

Garrison smiled warmly at her confidence. "I believe you. My parents have an anniversary coming up soon, and I want to throw them a massive brunch party. I would love to officially hire you to cater the desserts. What do you say?"

Bessie stood there completely dumbfounded, her mouth hanging slightly open.

Piper quickly answered for her. "She would be delighted to do it."

Bessie finally found her voice, her eyes shining with excitement. "Yes! I would be honored to be your caterer."

Garrison shifted his attention to me, his warm smile widening. "Perfect. I will get all your contact information from Piper later. Nyssa, how are you doing tonight? You look great. My friends over by the bar cannot seem to keep their eyes off you."

I bit my lower lip, blushing under the sudden praise. "I am doing good, thank you."

Garrison nodded approvingly. "It is great that you came out to the party tonight. You need to step out of your shell more."

Piper chimed in, making sure to highlight the milestone. "Plus, tonight is officially Nyssa's eighteenth Moonday."

Garrison announced to the group, clearly impressed by the date. "Really? That is huge! The future Alpha is also celebrating his Moonday today."

Bessie scanned the surrounding crowd. "Where is the Alpha's son anyway? Was he not supposed to be here by now?"

Garrison shrugged off the absence. "He sent word to the pack leaders that he is running late. But hey, I just got a brilliant idea."

Garrison kissed Piper hard on the cheek and immediately marched straight through the dense crowd, making a beeline directly for Cormac's group. I watched in mild panic as Garrison spoke to Cormac in hushed tones. Cormac's eyes flicked over to me, his expression visibly stiffening.

I turned to Piper, my stomach knotting up again. "What is your man up to?"

Piper grinned wickedly. "I have no idea."

Garrison came jogging back to us. He grabbed my arm with a firm grip. "Come on, Nyssa. Since the birthday boy is nowhere to be found, we will just have to settle for the birthday girl being the star."

I tried to plant my feet and pull away. "I do not know about this. I do not want to go over there."

Bessie pried the rum cup out of my hand and gave me a firm shove forward. "Go. This is your big moment."

Garrison ignored my weak protests and dragged me straight through the suffocatingly thick crowd. He led me directly to Cormac's exclusive circle. As soon as we arrived, my heart plummeted. Sloane was there. She was aggressively clinging to Cormac's side, pressing her body against him like a second layer of skin. She glared at me, her eyes dripping with toxic venom.

Garrison completely ignored the hostile dynamic. He reached over the DJ booth, snatched the microphone, and signaled for the music to be cut. The heavy techno beat died instantly, replaced by the murmurs of confused werewolves.

Garrison shouted into the mic, his voice echoing off the stone walls. "Can I get everyone's attention? Tonight is my friend Nyssa's eighteenth Moonday! Let us make her feel welcome!"

The drunken crowd cheered and clapped loudly. Several people raised their carved mugs toward me, shouting birthday wishes. I flushed deeply, shrinking slightly under the massive weight of hundreds of eyes. It felt nice to be acknowledged, but then Garrison ruined it. In a misguided attempt at matchmaking, he shoved the live microphone directly into Cormac's chest.

Garrison prompted eagerly. "Come on, Cormac. Say something nice to the birthday girl!"

Cormac took the mic, looking deeply uncomfortable. Beside him, Sloane's face contorted with rage. Cormac awkwardly cleared his throat, the grating sound blasting through the massive speakers.

Cormac stared at the crowd, his voice flat over the speakers. "This is a little awkward."

'Why would he say that out loud?' My inner wolf, Vesper, whimpered in my mind.

Cormac kept his gaze fixed on the back wall, avoiding my eyes entirely. "Nyssa, I know we do not know each other that well, but I want to wish you a great Moonday." He took a long, excruciating pause before deliberately delivering the final blow. "I hope we get to know each other better... but as friends. Just friends."

The words sliced right through my chest like a jagged knife. The public rejection rang in my ears, shattering my long-held romantic fantasies. He friend-zoned me in front of the entire pack.

Before the devastating humiliation could fully sink in, Sloane snatched the microphone directly out of Cormac's hand.

Sloane purred into the mic, her voice laced with malicious cruelty. "But wouldn't you prefer to get to know Cormac on a more... primal level? Isn't your desperate wish to have him as your true mate so you can kiss under the full moon?"

My breath caught in my throat. A wave of absolute horror washed over me, freezing the blood in my veins. Those were the exact words I had written in my pink diary earlier that day.

I stammered weakly, taking a step back. "I do not know what you are talking about."

Sloane reached into a designer bag sitting on the speaker and pulled out a thick stack of white, photocopied pages. She held the exact replicas of my private diary up for the entire crowd to see. "Do not even try to deny it. Let us see what little Nyssa wrote in her diary, shall we?"

My heart stopped.

Sloane smirked, reading the pages aloud into the microphone. "Dear Scribble. I saw Cormac's butt today. I was scrubbing his toilet and he came in from a run to grab his clothes. He didn't even notice me. I wish I could shift so we could go on runs together and our wolves could cuddle in the dirt afterwards."

Sloane paused to let out a high-pitched, mocking giggle that made my stomach heave.

Sloane continued reading my pathetic secrets with exaggerated pity. "But who am I kidding? I am just the dirty, lowly servant girl who cleans his toilet and cannot even manage to undergo her first shift yet. Aww! How incredibly sad."

Cruel, booming laughter erupted from the massive crowd. The mocking sound echoed off the stone walls, suffocating me in pure shame. Pack members pointed at me, their faces twisted in amusement.

In sheer desperation, I looked directly at Cormac, silently begging him to intervene. But Cormac dropped his head, staring at the floor. He refused to meet my eyes. He looked embarrassed by the entire spectacle, and a horrifying realization clicked in my brain. He already knew. Sloane had shown him these photocopied pages earlier in the day. He stood there and let this happen.

I lunged forward, hot tears welling in my eyes. "You copied my diary? How could you do that? That is private!"

Sloane sneered loudly over the mic, side-stepping my clumsy grab. "Pathetic. You actually think someone with high-ranking Beta blood would ever want a worthless omega like you? You are eighteen today and you still cannot even shift."

Garrison stepped right in front of me to block Sloane's view, his voice furious. "That is enough! Nyssa, I am so sorry. I had no idea she was going to do this."

Bessie rushed to my side, grabbing my arm. "Nyssa, let us go. This party is terrible."

Sloane barked a cruel laugh. "Oh look, the servant girl has a fat pig as a friend too. The only thing that blows around here is you, Miss Tubby."

Piper snarled aggressively, trying to lunge at Sloane before Garrison firmly held her back. "You little bitch."

Sloane mocked Piper with a dismissive wave. "And what exactly are you going to do? You are an omega too. You have zero power or rank over me."

Garrison dropped his voice into a dangerous warning, directly using his heavy future Gamma authority. "She will soon be the wife of the future Gamma. You better watch how you speak to her, Sloane."

Sloane blinked, visibly caught off guard by Garrison throwing his future rank around.

Bessie pulled at my hand, her voice frantic. "Come on, Nyssa. Let us get out of here right now."

I wiped a stray tear from my cheek, glaring at Sloane with newfound stubbornness. "I am not leaving until she gives me back what she stole from me."

Sloane flashed the stack of papers tauntingly in front of my face. "What, this?"

Bessie squared up directly to Sloane's face, ignoring the rank difference entirely. "Give her the damn papers!"

Sloane reacted with sudden violence. She raised her hands and shoved Bessie hard squarely in the chest.

Bessie went flying backward from the sheer force of the blow. She hit the hard stone ground with a sharp yelp. Her leg twisted awkwardly under her weight, and a sickening pop echoed over the music.

I dropped to my knees beside her, my hands hovering over her leg in a panic. "Bessie!"

Bessie winced in pain, her fingers lightly grazing her swollen joint. "I am okay. But I think my ankle is twisted."

Seeing the violence escalate in front of the pack, Cormac's composure finally snapped.

Cormac roared furiously, his deep voice booming over the ambient noise of the crowd. "Sloane, just give her back the damn papers!"

Sloane huffed petulantly, rolling her eyes with deep disdain. "Fine. But if she wants them so badly, she will have to go fetch them herself."

With a vicious, sweeping motion of her arm, Sloane hurled the thick bundle of photocopied pages. She threw them as high and as far as she possibly could, sending the white sheets scattering through the air and out into the dark, windy woods beyond the cave entrance.

I cried out in horror, watching my deepest secrets blow away into the freezing night. "No!"

Piper dropped down beside me, desperately grabbing my arm. "Nyssa, just leave it. Walk away with your dignity. Do not chase after them."

I whispered through a broken sob, my chest heaving. "I cannot just leave them. Just stay here and take care of Bessie. I will be fine."

The DJ slowly faded the techno music back in. The crowd immediately turned away from the drama, returning to their drinking games and fake smiles as if my entire world had not just been destroyed.

I stood up on shaky legs and looked back over my shoulder one last, agonizing time. I looked right at Cormac, silently praying for him to step up. I needed him to offer me some semblance of sympathy, or maybe even apologize for what his girlfriend just did.

Instead, he felt my gaze and turned toward me. His eyes grew incredibly dark. His inner beast surfaced, and he actually bared his teeth, letting out a low, warning growl directly at me. It was a clear message to back off. Without another glance in my direction, Cormac turned away, forcefully pulled Sloane against his broad chest, and kissed her passionately right in front of everyone.

I was utterly heartbroken. Hot tears streamed rapidly down my cheeks. I turned my back on the cruel pack and ran blindly out of the cave. I sprinted into the dark, unforgiving woods, desperately chasing after the scattered pieces of my own soul that Sloane had so viciously cast into the wind.