Sloane Vane

POV: ELARA

Back at Lunaris Academy, my hidden survival routine was laid bare to the entire student body. I collided with a solid wall of designer perfume just outside the bustling cafeteria doors. The heavy impact jarred my shoulders. The hoarded, foil-wrapped leftovers I depended on to survive slipped from my arms. They scattered across the freshly waxed floor in a humiliating display.

I looked up. Sloane Vane stared down at me. Her signature smug smirk twisted her painted lips.

"Look who we have here." Sloane projected her voice to the crowded room. She used that same fake, posh accent the Sterling Princes naturally possessed. "Miss Vanguard Protocol herself."

The cafeteria chatter died in an instant. Hundreds of curious, judgmental eyes locked onto me.

I crouched down to gather my scattered lifelines. Before my fingers could graze the closest foil packet, a heavy boot kicked it out of reach. One of Sloane’s minions snatched the wrapped food from the floor. The girl held it aloft like a hunting trophy, peeling back the foil to reveal the half-eaten cafeteria roast inside. Her face lit up with glee as she handed it over.

"Oh wow! Oh my gods!" Sloane giggled. Her shrill voice broadcasted my shame to the hushed room. "You mean the first female Vanguard eats the school’s leftovers for lunch?"

Hot anger rose in my bones. The humiliation burned through my veins like acid. For two grueling years, I survived by scavenging. I dug through dumpsters until the sympathetic kitchen staff caught me and arranged a secret handoff for the daily scraps. I thought this degrading routine would remain a secret. Now, Sloane was parading my extreme poverty for everyone to mock.

I squared my shoulders and faced her.

"Give it back!" I demanded. I kept my voice tight and my posture rigid.

Sloane closed the distance between us. Malice danced in her hazel eyes.

"Or what? You will hospitalize me like you did my boyfriend?" Sloane sneered, ensuring every single student heard her threat. "You think you are some kind of hero? Breaking barriers and playing soldier? We women were perfectly happy being wives and cooks and mothers! Now because of you, we will be forced to go to war!"

"No one is forcing you! Your type would not survive anyway!" I yelled back. I pinned my clenched fists to my sides, fighting the surge of adrenaline. "Now, give me back my food!"

In response, Sloane snatched the unwrapped sandwich and shoved the greasy, crumbling mess right into my face.

"Take that!" Sloane mocked.

The physical insult stunned me. Gravy and breadcrumbs clung to my cheeks and dropped onto my worn shirt. She had destroyed my one and only meal for the entire day. Deep exhaustion and agonizing torment warred with the primal urge to shift. My inner wolf clawed at my chest, demanding blood. The urge to advance on her and beat her to a bloody pulp surged through my veins. I wanted to break her jaw just like I did Brock's.

Reality anchored me in place. She was the principal's beloved daughter. I was a destitute outcast on a scholarship. One single wrong move meant losing my hard-earned funding. It meant facing immediate expulsion. Worst of all, it meant ruining my fragile standing with the Sterling Princes.

I swallowed my immense pride. The bitter taste resembled shattered glass cutting down my throat. I dropped to my knees and began to silently gather the remaining scattered debris. My eyes locked onto one last intact sandwich wrapped in wax paper near the wall. My empty stomach gave a painful groan. I reached for it.

Sloane stepped forward. Her designer heel came down hard. She stomped the sandwich into a disgusting, flattened mush of meat and bread. She scraped the ruin off her sole, picked up the mess, and shoved it toward my chest.

"You should eat this!" Sloane announced.

Hot tears stung the corners of my eyes. I bit my tongue hard enough to taste copper, refusing to let them fall. I turned my back and walked away. The cruel, echoing sound of her laughter chased me down the hall, amplified by the snickers of the surrounding students.

I retreated to a secluded alcove near the library, needing a moment to clean my face and mourn the loss of my dinner.

"Elara!"

I turned at the soft call. A shy, ginger-haired girl stood awkward at the edge of the corridor. She looked younger than me. She tucked a vibrant strand of hair behind her ear and refused to meet my gaze, nervous hands fiddling with the straps of her canvas tote bag.

"Hi." She offered a sweet, tentative wave.

"Hi." I kept my guard up. I wiped a lingering smear of mayonnaise from my jaw, wondering what fresh torment awaited me.

"I have something for you." She reached into her bag and pulled out two freshly wrapped sandwiches. She held them out toward me. "Take it. It is for you."

I stared at the pristine wax paper. My mind categorized it as another sick, twisted prank orchestrated by Sloane. There could be dirt inside, or poison, or a cruel note.

"No, thank you." I stepped back, preparing to flee the scene.

"I signed up to be a Vanguard next year."

Her gentle declaration stopped me dead in my tracks. I turned back to face her. I stared into her soft, innocent features. She looked so delicate and fragile. The unforgiving physical training of the program would shatter her bones. The daily combat drills had nearly broken my own spirit a hundred times over.

"Why?" I asked.

"Because you inspired me." Her sweet, genuine smile faltered as she looked down at her worn sneakers. "I want to be strong like you and… I do not want to be bullied anymore."

Her quiet courage disarmed me. The heavy armor around my heart cracked just a fraction. This girl saw past the leftover food and the humiliation. She saw the fight in me.

"This is my way of saying thank you for not letting those bullies get to you and stop you from achieving your dream." She extended the food a second time.

Touched by her sincerity, I reached out and accepted the offering. The weight of the sandwiches felt like a true lifeline.

"Thank you. What is your name?" I asked.

"Maisie. Maisie Halloway."

"Alright, Maisie. I will see you around."

For the first time today, a genuine smile touched my lips. Profound relief washed over me. I held the food tight against my chest, knowing I would not have to starve tonight. I turned to head back to my quarters, finally feeling a shred of peace.

My fleeting relief shattered. A piercing, terrified scream ripped through the hallway.

I whipped my head back toward the cafeteria entrance. My stomach dropped into a bottomless pit.

Sloane Vane stood over Maisie. She had shoved the younger girl to the hard tile floor. One of Sloane’s minions drew back a heavy boot and kicked Maisie right in the stomach. The ginger-haired girl let out a breathless yelp of agony, curling into a tight ball to protect her ribs.

"Who asked you to give her food?!" Sloane yelled like a maniac. She leaned down and slapped the crying girl across the face. "Who said you could help that skank?!"

The loud crack of flesh on flesh echoed down the corridor. Maisie raised her trembling arms, sobbing.

"Please stop!" Maisie whimpered.

"No, I will not!" Sloane snarled.

Sloane gripped a fistful of Maisie’s ginger hair. She yanked upward, forcing the whimpering girl to her knees. Sloane lifted her head and scanned the hallway. Her hazel eyes locked onto mine across the distance. They shone with sheer malice, daring me to intervene.

"Any friend of Elara is an enemy of mine!" Sloane announced.

My academy graduation was just a few short weeks away. My lifelong dream of true freedom and a permanent escape from this hellhole was finally within my grasp. I just had to keep my head down and survive the remaining days. But hearing Maisie whimper squeezed my heart. The dangerous wolf locked deep within me stirred with lethal intent. My fangs ached to elongate against my gums.

Was walking away and protecting my own future truly the right thing to do? Could I secure my spot with the Sterling Princes, or should I step in to defend Maisie and risk losing everything I had fought for? I watched Maisie choke on a sob as Sloane tightened her grip on her hair.

I breathed a heavy, dark curse into the tense air. I closed my eyes for a fraction of a second, letting the decision settle into my bones. I curled my hands into tight, white-knuckled fists and headed straight for Sloane.

It is high time this bitch gets what is coming for her.