I never thought a dance could bring me disaster

Tonight, at the annual Moon Goddess Festival, my brother, the heir of the Silver Moon pack, Aiden, and I performed a dance together.

We won a lot of applause. Aiden made me the star of the festival.

Unexpectedly, after the dance, Aiden's mate came with a group of sorority members to bully me.

"How dare you flirt with Aiden? Omega!

"Break her legs!"

“No!No!No! I am Aiden’s sister!”

I tried to explain, but they gagged me.

I struggled desperately, but it only provoked an even more brutal beating.

"If she's so horny, strip her naked and throw her into the boys' restroom," Bella said, standing nearby with her arms crossed.

Tears of despair streamed down my face. Just then, Aiden arrived.

"I'll make every one of you pay for this!" he roared.

“Umm… Is this really what I have to wear?” I asked nervously, picking at my dress.

“Yeah, is there a problem?” Aiden smiled at me. “It’s perfect for the dance that we will be performing later.”

I’ve never worn anything quite this form-fitting… I feel so exposed.

I couldn’t bring myself to tell Aiden what the problem was. “No… No problem at all.”

Aiden looked me over from head to toe. “I think you look great. You’re going to outshine all the other girls at the Moon Goddess Festival!.” He winked at me.

Oh god, did he just wink at me? I’m sure he’s just trying to be friendly… He is my step brother after all.

“Hey, why the frown?” Aiden reached up and smoothed out my furrowed brow with a gentle touch.

I couldn’t help but to blush. I’m not used to being touched by anyone other than my mom..

“I… I’m just nervous for our dance performance later,” I said, turning away and trying to hide my blush.

“You’ll be fine. You practiced harder than anyone I’ve ever known. And our performance starts in…” Aiden paused to check his watch, “...two minutes. We gotta go!”

Aiden placed his hands on my arms and ushered me out of the room. All I could think about was how warm his hands were. It feels like there’s electricity shooting through his hands and into me…

We arrived on stage, just in time for the performance.

The spotlight turned on, nearly blinding me, and the music started playing. Aiden gave a small nod of reassurance, and my feet, having practiced for months now, started moving of their own accord.

Aiden held my waist tightly, his cedarwood scent utterly captivating. I was completely lost in our dance.

All I could hear was the music, until…

Thundering applause filled the hall, jolting me out of my reverie.

“You’re finally back on Earth,” Aiden teased me.

I let out a small laugh. “I’m sorry… I was just lost in the moment.” Dancing was one thing I really enjoyed. And with Aiden, somehow it just felt special.

“You did an amazing job today,” Aiden whispered before pulling me in for a hug and planting a kiss on my forehead, surprising me.

We rushed off the stage, and I turned to Aiden, wanting to thank him for reassuring me.

“Woah, look where you’re going! You don’t want to knock into anyone…” Aiden wrapped his arm around my shoulder and swiftly pulled me to his chest. “Or anything.”

My eyes widened as I saw the pole that I had been about to walk right into, and Aiden laughed. “Don’t worry, I got you.”

I laughed nervously. He’s holding me so tightly… Why is my heart racing so fast? I need to go somewhere else and cool down… I blurted, “I… have to use the restroom!” I rushed off before Aiden could notice my racing heartbeat.

I ran to the restroom and splashed some cold water on my face. Out of nowhere, a group of girls showed up and surrounded me.

“Umm… Is there something that I can help you with?” I asked confusedly, looking around at them.

"It's her! The girl who danced with Aiden," one of the girls said.

"Grab her! Break her leg!" the other girl said.

“Wait...wait” I was confused.

“Yeah… You can stay the f*ck away from Aiden, you homewrecking b*tch.”

I was about to respond when one girl stepped closer to me, and I recognized her.

“You’re… Bella?” Bella… Is this the girl Aiden said was his mate? Yes, it’s her! I recognize her from the photo he showed us.

“You’re Bella,” I reiterated, “the daughter of the Alpha from our ally pack, right? You’re the one who is Aiden’s mate.”

“Oh, so you do know who I am…” Bella glared daggers at me. “Then why are you still trying to seduce Aiden?”

“Seduce him?? He’s my brother!” My voice rose, incredulous at the accusations.

“You’re lying!”

“Aiden doesn’t have a sister…”

“Ah, the excuses!”

The girls chimed in one after another.

“But… I can prove it!” I frantically whipped out my phone, thinking that I could call Aiden and have him prove it.

“Uh-uh, no, you’re not calling for help.” One of Bella’s lackeys snatched my phone out of my hands and threw it into the toilet before I could respond.

I heard it land with a splash, and the girls snickered, proud of themselves.

Now what do I do???

I stared at my phone, sinking in the toilet. I felt the heat of anger rising within me, but I forced myself to be calm.

If this b… Bella… really is Aiden’s mate, I can’t screw things up for him.

I plastered on my best civil smile, and took a deep breath.

“I am glad to finally be meeting you, Bella. Aiden has spoken about you to our parents. I really am his sister. I believe there’s been some misunderstanding here, and I’m sorry I didn’t introduce myself to you first.”

One of them hesitated and said, “I have heard rumors that Aiden has a sister…. Could we somehow have made a mistake?”

Bella snapped, “Aiden is an Alpha! This b*tch is an Omega. How could someone like HER possibly be related to him?”

The intensity of her rage caused the girl to recoil.

“I can exp-” Before the words could fully leave my mouth, Bella slapped me, the sound echoing across the empty restroom.

“Oww…” I held my face tenderly, hunched over the sink.

Bella pulled me up by my hair and grabbed my face roughly. “Don’t even try lying to me. I know when someone is trying to get in my way.”

As she looked me up and down, her eyes landed on the star-shaped pendant necklace around my neck.

“That necklace…” She whispered, momentarily stunned by the sight of the large diamond.

“Wait… isn’t that the limited edition piece by Nalu, where there’s only five made worldwide?? Bella, isn’t that your favorite designer??” A girl with a high pitched voice and an even higher ponytail blurted out.

Bella’s expression hardened. She pinched the pendant between her fingers and scrutinized it.

“Hey, be careful with it!” I yelled panickedly.

“Why, is it because you stole it? Worried that its owner will miss it if you don’t return it?” Bella sneered. Suddenly, her tone turned serious. “Why do you have this necklace? How could an Omega like you afford such an expensive necklace?”

I hesitated, unsure if I should tell them the truth. They’re not going to believe me.

Incensed by my silence, Bella grabbed my face again. “Tell me! Did you make Aiden buy this for you?”

“Aiden did give it to me, but it was for my birthday, and it’s because he’s my BROTHER.” I snapped, the sting of the slap from earlier still lingering.

Bella became even angrier. “Aiden hasn’t even given ME jewelry this expensive!” she yelled at me.

She reached out quickly and in a flash, she had ripped the necklace off my neck.

“Oww… That hurt!” I nursed the raw spot on my neck where the chain had been pulled against.

Bella smiled wickedly at me before turning her attention to the necklace in her hand. “Something this valuable shouldn’t be worn by trash.”

I lunged at her, trying to get my necklace back, but the girls pinned my arms behind me.

Restrained and helpless, I resorted to begging.

“Bella, please… Aiden got me that necklace for my birthday. It’s a really important gift… Please, return it to me.”

It’s the first time anyone’s ever gotten me something this beautiful… Me, the lowly Omega…

“Important gift… As if.” Bella spat. “There’s no way that Aiden would have gotten an unworthy Omega like you a gift like this.” She tucked the necklace away into her pocket.

Tears started to form in my eyes, but this only seemed to enrage her further. She slapped me again, this time with the back of her hand, and my head whipped to the left so fast I felt dizzy.

“Don’t cry those crocodile tears and try to put on a pity show. You want to be pitied? I’ll give you something to be pitied for!”

Bella threw the first punch, and on her cue, her friends rushed me, scratching and hitting and biting and kicking.

All I could do was curl up in a fetal position on the floor and try to protect myself.

“You aren’t deserving of this. You aren’t deserving of love. Whatever you think you have with Aiden, it’s all fake. The one that he truly loves is me. You are nothing more than a plaything at best, and you will NEVER get him.” Her voice burned with acid, and she loomed over me menacingly.

Just then, the door to the restroom squeaked open, and another girl entered.

She stopped short when she realized that the restroom was packed. She made eye contact with me and looked at the girls holding me captive, her brow furrowing.

I saw my chance here and pleaded with her.

“Please… Help me!”

The girl who had just walked in stopped short in her tracks, her eyes moving quickly across the room, trying to gauge the situation.

I pleaded with her again, desperation coloring my every word. “Help me… Please! They’re going to kill me!”

She looked at us warily, her hand reaching for her phone. “What’s going on here? What are you doing to this poor girl?”

I felt my spirits start to lift. I… I might actually be saved!

Bella immediately stepped forward. “Oh, there’s nothing for you to worry about. She’s just getting what she deserves. This wh*re tried to seduce my mate.”

“She what? That’s pathetic!” The girl’s look quickly turned from one of pity to one of disgust.

“Wait, please, I can explain! I wasn’t trying to seduce anyone’s mate!” I cried.

“There’s no explanation required. Going after another person’s mate is NEVER excusable, and people like you are the worst!!!” The girl glared at me, her previously sympathetic tone now completely replaced by one of disdain.

The girl stormed out of the restroom, and I watched in despair, unable to do anything as my chance of getting saved diminished.

Bella turned around and faced me with a sinister smile, and I felt my blood curdle.

If I don’t do something now, I may not leave this room alive…

I decided that I had to do something.

“HELPPPP!!! HE-” I tried to scream for help, but Bella sucker punched me, knocking all the air out of my lungs.

As I lay on the floor heaving, I felt her roughly lift my dress and yank my underwear down.

“Wha- What are you doing?” I managed to utter in between gasps.

“Well, if you won’t be quiet, I will make you quiet.” Bella grabbed my jaw and stuffed my underwear into my mouth roughly, gagging me and muffling my cries.

“Now, isn’t that much better…” She smiled wickedly. “Girls, I think it’s time we show her what happens to home-wrecking wh*res…”

The girls all stepped towards me in unison, and I closed my eyes in fear.

“Take that, you b*tch!”

“Let me at her!”

“We’ll show you what the consequences are!”

I felt them assault me from all directions, kicking and punching and scratching wherever they could reach, but all I could do was curl up and try to protect myself.

Why… Why do I have to be an Omega? I can’t even defend myself against them…

I heard the sound of fabric ripping, and opened my eyes to see them tearing my dress to shreds.

“Mmmhhh!” The makeshift gag in my mouth stopped me from screaming at them.

I ripped out the gag and grasped at some of the fabric shreds, trying to cover myself up. My attackers just stood there, cackling.

“You’d think that someone who isn’t ashamed to use her body would be fine with showing it!” The girl with the high ponytail snickered.

Bella stood above me menacingly.

“If you are sl*tty enough to mess with someone’s mate, I’m sure you won’t mind me showing your body to everyone. That’s what sl*ts like you do anyway!”

She whipped her phone out, and the girls cheered and whooped.

“That’s right, get a video of her! Let everyone know just how much of a sl*t she is!”

“Post it online! Make her regret her actions!”

“Everyone needs to see the consequence of messing with another person’s mate!”

“Post it online…?”

Bella stared at me, deep in thought.

“No, please!” I resorted to begging yet again. “Please, don’t post any pictures of me online. I can’t let anyone see me like this…” Not my mom… She would be so heartbroken.

I stared at Bella, mentally imploring her not to listen to her minions.

“Maybe if you beg me. Get down on your knees. Put your head on the floor. Beg me, and mean it.” Bella ordered.

Trembling, I slowly got onto my knees, and let my forehead drop to the filthy ground amidst the jeers from Bella’s lackeys.

“Bella… Please. You can do anything to me. Just don’t post that video online. I’m begging you, please…” My voice was shaking as I pleaded with her.

“Oh sure, fine. I won’t post it.” Bella sighed.

My head shot up in surprise.

“As if! Hahahaha!” Bella laughed maniacally. “I can’t believe you’re so stupid as to believe anything!”

A wave of desperation overcame me, and I lunged at Bella, trying to grab the phone. I can’t let her post that footage online!

As my hands reached for Bella’s phone, the few pieces of cloth that were still covering my body fell onto the ground, fully exposing me. The girls burst into laughter.

“Is that all she has under there?”

“What, she thought she could seduce Aiden with a body like THAT?”

“With a chest as flat as that, are we even sure she’s female?”

“Her figure can’t even compare to Bella’s!”

Bella took a step back just as I came closer, and I fell onto the ground, landing heavily on my elbows.

“Don’t even think about getting close to me, you stupid Omega.” Bella looked at me scornfully.

I felt the tears fall freely as I was humiliated and put on display.

One of the girls piped up, “I have an even better idea… Since she just loooves being with men so much, why don’t we just hand her over to the guys?”

“That’s a fantastic idea.” Bella’s eyes gleamed.

Feeling weak and hopeless, I couldn’t fight back as they proceed to gag me, tie me up, and carry me out of the women’s restroom to the men’s next door.

My only thought was: I hope no one’s in the men’s restroom.