800
SCARLETT
“It’s almost time,” Lily whispered, rocking on the bed, knees pulled so tight to her chest she looked half her size. Her eyes kept flicking to the door like something was already scratching on the other side.
I swallowed. My heart was beating so hard it felt like it might crack my ribs open.
The clock on the wall read 7:55.
Five minutes.
Emma sat beside Lily, trying to look calm, but her hands were shaking as she rubbed Lily’s back. “It’s going to be okay,” she said again, voice thin. “We’ve got the barricade. We’ve got weapons. We’ve got each other.”
Lily didn’t answer. She just kept rocking.
“Did you take the pills?” Emma asked quietly.
Lily nodded once. “Yeah. Earlier. It’s already starting to hurt.”
I looked away, stomach twisting. The abortion pills. The black-market ones from Doc. Lily had swallowed them dry, eyes glassy, like she’d done it so many times the motions were automatic.
I gripped the machete tighter. It was heavy, awkward. My hand shook so badly I had to rest it on my knee. I didn’t know if I could swing it at anyone. I didn’t know if I could even lift it when the moment came.
We’d spent the afternoon gathering what we could.
Doc had sold us two axes, Emma and Lily took those, a machete for me, and a few kitchen knives Milo had smuggled from the cafeteria.
We’d pushed every piece of furniture against the door, desks, chairs, even the small dresser.
Barricaded the window with a mattress. It looked ridiculous. It felt ridiculous.
But it was all we had.
“Remember the plan,” Milo said from his spot by the window, voice steady even though his hands were clenched. “If they break in, we fight. We don’t run. Running makes it worse. They like the chase.”
Lily let out a broken sob. “I can’t do this again.”
Emma hugged her tighter. “You won’t be alone this time. We’re here.”
I looked at them, really looked.
Lily, small and shaking, already hurting from the pills she’d taken to end a pregnancy she couldn’t keep.
Emma, trying to be strong, eyes red from crying earlier.
Milo, standing guard at the window, jaw clenched, pretending he wasn’t terrified.
We were just four scared Omegas with kitchen weapons and a flimsy barricade.
Against the entire school.
7:58.
Two minutes.
Lily started to cry harder. “I can smell them already. Outside. Waiting.”
I crawled over to her, wrapped my arms around her shaking shoulders. “We’re going to be okay,” I lied. “We’re going to….”
A loud chime rang through the campus.
Deep. Resonant. Final.
8:00.
Lily screamed, a raw, terrified sound and curled into a ball.
“It’s time,” she sobbed. “They’re out. They’re out.”
For a long moment… nothing happened.
The room was silent except for Lily’s crying and our ragged breathing.
I looked out the window. The quad was empty. No movement. No shadows. Just moonlight and stillness.
I turned to Emma, confused. “Is… is it starting?”
She opened her mouth to answer…
A scream tore through the night.
High. Desperate. Cut off abruptly.
Then another.
And another.
Doors slammed open somewhere down the hall.
Running footsteps.
Shouts.
Glass shattering.
The sound of cloth ripping.
Flesh hitting flesh.
Laughter, low, cruel, excited.
It was happening.
Everywhere.
All at once.
Emma grabbed the axe, hands shaking. “Stay back from the door.”
Milo picked up one of the knives, positioning himself in front of us.
I gripped the machete tighter, palms slick with sweat.
Then a knock.
Soft at first.
Then harder.
A voice from the other side, muffled but amused.
“Help… please… help… our door is broken. Let me in. Please.”
An Omega voice. Female. Terrified.
My heart lurched.
I stepped forward. “We have to…”
Emma yanked me back. “No. It’s a trap.”
The voice again, louder, pleading. “Please! They’re coming! Let me in!”
I hesitated.
Then the scream came, real this time. Raw. Pain-filled.
Flesh hitting flesh.
Cloth tearing.
A low, satisfied growl.
The Omega outside was dragged away.
The knocking stopped.
Silence.
Then laughter from farther down the hall.
Emma’s face was pale. “Told you.”
I felt sick.
We waited.
Minutes passed.
More screams.
More running.
More doors breaking.
Then closer.
Another knock on our door.
Three sharp raps.
A voice, male, amused, Alpha. “We can smell you, little Omegas. Come out. We’ll be gentle.”
Another voice laughed. “Speak for yourself.”
They started pounding.
Hard.
The barricade shuddered.
Emma raised the axe. “Stay back.”
Milo gripped the knife tighter.
I lifted the machete, arms shaking.
The pounding grew louder.
Wood cracked.
The door buckled and slammed open, the force pushing the barricade away.
Lily screamed.
Emma rushed forward, swinging the axe.
She caught one Alpha in the shoulder, he roared, blood spraying but another grabbed her hair and yanked her back. The axe clattered to the floor.
I swung the machete wildly and missed.
A massive hand clamped around my wrist, twisting until the weapon dropped.
I was thrown against the wall.
Lily was dragged off the bed by her hair, screaming. She stabbed at one of the Alpha with a kitchen knife, it caught his arm but he just laughed, deeper, darker, and dragged her toward the broken door.
Emma fought, clawing, kicking, but they were too strong.
Milo lunged, knife flashing but was tackled to the ground.
And me..
A huge Alpha loomed over me, eyes glowing, claws out.
He grinned.
“Look at you,” he purred. “All dressed up and nowhere to run.”
He reached for my shirt and ripped it apart then his claws hooked into my bra strap and yanked.
The fabric tore with a sickening rip. Cold air hit my chest.
His breath was hot against my neck, reeking of beer and bloodlust.
I thrashed, elbow slamming into his ribs, but he just laughed, deep, cruel, like my panic was foreplay.
Across the room, everything was happening too fast. My friends had been dragged out to God knows where.
I couldn’t breathe.
I couldn't think.
My fingers scrabbled across the floor, desperate, blind until they closed around the machete handle.
The Alpha above me grabbed my throat, squeezing just enough to make stars burst behind my eyes.
“Pretty little human,” he purred. “Gonna make you scream real nice.”
I swung.
The blade caught him just above the temple, hard, deep, wet crunch.
Blood sprayed across my face, hot and coppery.
His eyes widened for half a second.
Then he flopped forward, dead weight crashing onto me, pinning me to the floor.
I screamed, raw, animal, pure terror.
He was heavy. So heavy.
Blood poured from the split in his skull, soaking my chest, my hair, my mouth.
I shoved, panicked, hysterical, until his body rolled off me with a wet thud.
I scrambled backward on my hands and heels, chest heaving, staring at the corpse.
He wasn’t moving.
But… he was a werewolf.
We healed
He would heal from that right?
My stomach lurched.
I had just killed someone.
But I had no time to dwell on that.
I ran out the broken door and into the hallway.
And into hell.
The corridor was a nightmare.
Bodies, some moving, some not.
Screams.
Growls.
The wet sound of flesh tearing.
Clothes ripped and scattered like confetti.
Blood on the walls.
An Omega girl I recognized from class was pinned against the lockers, skirt shoved up, two Alphas taking turns while she sobbed.
Another Omega was being dragged by her ankle toward the stairwell, nails scraping grooves in the floor.
I ran past it all.
Down the stairs.
Through the lobby.
Out into the courtyard.
Moonlight turned everything silver and black.
The quad was worse.
Groups of Alphas circled lone Omegas like wolves around wounded deer.
Some were already knotted, Omegas crying out in pain and forced pleasure.
Others were fighting, clawing, biting, losing.
I stumbled, bare feet slipping on wet grass, blood, slick, who knew.
Then arms clamped around me from behind.
I screamed, thrashing, machete swinging wildly.
A fist connected with my wrist, pain exploded up my arm.
The blade clattered to the ground.
Another hand yanked my hair back.
“Look what we found,” a voice growled against my ear. “Fresh meat.”
I kicked. Bit. Clawed.
They laughed.
One slammed me face-down into the grass, knee in my back, hand ripping at my skirt. Another pinned my wrists above my head.
I bucked, screamed, my tears mixing with dirt.