Chapter 10 Bullied, Drenched, and Almost Expelled

Third Person POV (Ongoing):

"Your withdrawal request landed on my desk. Are you seriously planning to quit school?" Leo shut the door behind him and pulled out a document, his tone flat and unreadable.

Eleanor stared at him, completely thrown off. "Professor Donovan, I never filed for withdrawal. I get that this situation has caused trouble for the academy, and I'm willing to accept whatever punishment comes with it, but I'm not planning to leave."

"And I was hoping to ask about the housing issue," she added quickly, fingers nervously twisting together. "I know you're disappointed in me, and I'm not here to justify myself-I probably don't even have the right to-but... I'm just asking for another shot."

Eleanor could swear on everything she didn't turn in any request. The moment he said that, she had a pretty good idea who might've done it-Vivian was the only one who'd benefit from her being pushed out. Good thing she had made the trip back to campus before the application was pushed through.

"Professor Donovan, please," Eleanor looked at him with a quiet desperation in her eyes.

"Eleanor, just look at you." Leo's brows creased as he watched her. He'd always known she was a top student, seriously dedicated and even supportive of fellow werewolves. Seeing her so earnest now, caught in this mess, made him hesitate. Maybe Eleanor really wasn't the type to cheat. Leo let out a long sigh.

"I'll give you another shot," he said, taking back the expulsion request. "But I can't make the punishment disappear."

"Whether you graduate or not is up to how you deal with the plagiarism issue. Don't mess up again if you want any chance of clearing your record.

"And that argument with Poppy? Don't ever let that happen again."

Leo's face was set, his eyes scanning Eleanor's tired, worried expression.

Something occurred to him just then-her beef with Katherine might've put her on Crystal Pack's blacklist. But even if she was being treated unfairly, with a plagiarism charge hanging over her head, there wasn't much he could do.

Leo had to protect his own position, too. The Crystal Pack had so much sway over the Academy that they basically had a seat on the board. If they wanted him out, he'd be gone in a second.

And the Stormfang Pack wasn't exactly low-profile either. Neither side seemed to like Eleanor right now. That gave him a major headache.

"Thank you," Eleanor said quietly, grateful.

Leo pressed his fingers to his temples and waved her off. She hurried out of the office.

Eleanor rinsed her face with cold water in the washroom, then went to apply for a dorm room and bought some basic necessities on the way.

Every werewolf she passed by threw mocking looks, made rude noises, or just flat-out sneered at her.

She acted like she didn't notice a thing, hugging her newly bought stuff tightly as she walked toward the dorms.

As she pushed open the door with her head down, a whole bucket of water crashed down on her. Soaked from head to toe, Eleanor froze with her mouth open, panic rising as she looked around.

Ugly laughter echoed through the hallway.

"Haha! Got her again! If I knew she was this clueless, I'd have filled it with boiling water. One splash and poof-no more slut trying to steal everyone's man!"

Poppy stood proudly with her hands on her hips, eyes gleaming as she looked over the drenched mess that was Eleanor. Several unfamiliar werewolves beside her were red-faced from laughing too hard.

Eleanor's hands were trembling. She glared at them, her eyes iced over. She'd never lived in the school dorms before; she had no idea this could even happen.

A few other girls stood not far away, clearly uncomfortable, but no one stepped in. They were too scared to tick off Poppy, so no one did anything to stop it.

Eleanor's chest heaved as she stood there, face darkening, before she completely lost it-she dropped what she was holding and lunged forward.

Phoebe's eyes lit up like it was Christmas. She scrambled to get her phone, fingers fumbling in excitement as she aimed to record the fight. Eleanor was already hanging by a thread at the academy. One video was all it'd take to kick her out for good.

"What do you think you're doing?" Eleanor suddenly pivoted, snatched the phone right out of Phoebe's hand like lightning.

She frowned, gave the screen a quick glance, then flung it to the floor without hesitation.

"You bitch!" Phoebe shrieked, totally furious, but didn't dare come any closer or shout back. The look in Eleanor's eyes? Cold enough to chill anyone to the bone. Phoebe actually took a step back.

Poppy, on the other hand, just sneered like nothing could touch her. "Figures the Stormfang Pack would toss you out. No wonder you're crawling back to live at the academy. Too bad you ended up stuck with us, huh?

"Get used to it-I'm gonna make your life hell every single day. Forget about having anything clean ever again.

"You're scared of being expelled, I'm not! Even if we both get punished, only one of us is gonna lose everything-and it won't be me!"

The more she spoke, the more smug she looked. And why wouldn't she be? She'd basically bought her way in. Expulsion? Not even on her worry list.

Poppy only cared about getting that degree from the design school-didn't matter how nasty she had to be. As long as she could kick Eleanor out for good, even if it meant getting expelled herself and switching schools, she was fine with that.

Poppy was feeling real smug, unlike Eleanor who was hanging by a thread.

Eleanor clenched her fists tight, forcing herself to stay calm. She took a deep breath and took two steps back, staring at Poppy with a cold, blank face. She hated being humiliated like this, but had no choice but to swallow it.

"I bet you won't dare lay a hand on me," Poppy sneered loudly, still giggling. "Relax, if you don't wanna get expelled, then just stay put and be my personal punching bag. I'll shred your clothes, dump garbage on your bed... No one's gonna help you. So enjoy the ride, you shameless bitch."

Her shrill voice echoed in the hallway. Eleanor just stood there, face unreadable.

Poppy tossed her hair, tone full of disdain. "Come on, Phoebe, let's grab something to eat."

She tugged Phoebe along and they disappeared down the corridor. Eleanor knelt down to pick up her things. A passing werewolf quietly handed her a few tissues.

"Thanks," Eleanor murmured, wiping off the spilled water. Then, she silently made her way to the dorm office.

She asked if she could switch dorms, but this was the only one with availability. Unless she wanted to hunt down an apartment off-campus.

Eleanor was getting seriously anxious. Her wallet was already stretched thin-she still had debts to pay off and needed to set aside some money for Zoe's living expenses. After that, there was barely anything left. Renting a place off-campus just wasn't realistic.

The design school was smack in the middle of the priciest area, and there was no such thing as cheap housing nearby. Even the trashiest place would set her back thousands of dollars a month.

With no other choice, Eleanor trudged back to her dorm. But when she opened the door, her heart sank. Everything was trashed. Her towels were filthy, like someone had used them to scrub the floor. Her shower gel and shampoo? Poured out completely. The bed was a disaster-covered in broken stuff and random garbage.

She didn't say a word. Just quietly tossed the junk aside, trying to put the room back in some order.

"Hey..." The girl from the room next door peeked in, looking nervous. "I... I heard Poppy and her crew are planning something for you tonight. Like, a whole prank just for you. They even dragged more people into it...

"If they start something and you fight back, and everyone blames you... it could get ugly."

Her voice was shaky. Eleanor felt a heavy weight sink in her chest. This was probably exactly what Poppy and Phoebe had in mind.

Eleanor forced out a tired smile, about to thank the girl, but she had already hurried off.

She knew she couldn't confront Poppy head-on now. Deep down, she had a pretty good idea who was really behind all this-Katherine.

The plagiarism scandal only got Eleanor scolded-it didn't get her expelled.

Katherine had been hoping she'd be completely kicked out, lose all dignity, and live the rest of her life in shame. That way, she'd be able to step right over her and show everyone just how messed up Carl's mate's reputation was.

Eleanor packed up her stuff and made up her mind-she was moving out to rent a place. Even after hunting for the most budget-friendly apartment she could find, the only thing available was a tiny room on the top floor.

Once she paid all the costs, half of her savings were gone just like that.

Dragging her suitcase in, Eleanor finally collapsed onto the bed she'd painstakingly cleaned and set up. But the more still she stayed, the more that heavy sense of anxiety crept in.

She pulled out her phone and scrolled through the latest news. The chatter about her had already died down, replaced by a breaking story.

[Ashclaw Pack's Alpha Ethan Lawrence was ambushed yesterday and has now been confirmed dead...]

Eleanor felt a sudden, sharp stab in her chest.