You hit the wrong girl

Rory's POV

I didn’t expect the bang to shake me but it did.

The sound cracked through the air, loud like thunder. I turned around fast, my heart beating too hard. Something deep inside me screamed to run.

Students moved like water parting left and right. No one said anything as they just got out of the way.

Then I saw her. Briar. The same girl with the black hair and scary eyes. She was walking straight toward me. Her two girls, the blonde and the redhead, were right behind her. The way people moved for them, it was like they owned the place.

Like they were danger in pretty faces. I swallowed hard. My mouth was dry, my palms suddenly sweaty but I didn’t look away.

She stopped a few feet in front of me. as everyone watched and no one dared to speak.

Her eyes were sharp like glass then she said, “So, you’re the thing that dared sit on my seat today.”

Her voice was low but clear. Like every word had teeth.

“Guess you’re gonna be another ignorant scapegoat.”

I froze. My chest got tight but then something inside me snapped.

I was already tired. Tired of people thinking I was weak. Tired of them assuming I wasn't anything and walking over me.

So I looked straight at her and said, “Like I said before, I don’t remember seeing anyone’s name on that seat. Neither did anyone tell me it belonged to you. Besides… why are you fussing over a seat?”

I tilted my head and shrugged. “That’s kinda pathetic, don’t you think?”

Her eyes narrowed. I didn’t even finish the last word when her hand flew up fast and slapped me hard across the face.

Smack.

My head turned from the hit. Gasps spread across the crowd.

My cheek stung. The pain came sharp and hot. I blinked fast. My breath caught in my chest.

Did that really just happen? Did she really just hit me?

No one had ever touched me like that. Not my dad when he was alive. Not even my mom. And trust me, she’s done a lot of messed up things but never ever hit me.

I turned my head slowly to face Briar. My jaw clenched.

“You just hit me?” I asked, my voice, tight.

She smiled. That smile… it wasn’t fake. It was proud.

“This is little of what I’ll do the next time you speak to me like that,” she said.

Then she turned to leave but inside me cracked wide open with fury.

I laughed out loud and honestly, a little crazy.

She stopped walking.

“You really hit me,” I said, laughing more. “And you think you can just walk away after that?”

People started whispering again.

Maybe Briar had done this before. Slapped other girls. Pushed people around. Maybe they were too scared to do anything.

But I wasn’t them. She messed with the wrong girl.

Before she even turned fully back around, I moved.

My hand flew up fast and slapped her across the face.

She gasped and before she could breathe again, I slapped her a second time.

Smack.

Then a third.

Smack.

Her hand flew to her cheek. Her eyes wide. Shocked.

Everyone around us was frozen, no one breathed or moved.

I stepped closer and looked her straight in the eye.

“This is a warning,” I said slowly. “Next time you hit me, it won’t be three slaps.”

I leaned in just a bit more.“It’ll be your whole body.”

Then I turned to walk away. I didn’t care what came next. I didn’t care if the whole school hated me. I wasn’t going to back down.

But then a sound rumbled behind me. It was deep, no, a growl.

It made my spine go cold and I stopped walking.

The sound came again. It wasn’t just a noise. It was a threat.

I turned slowly. My eyes went wide.

Briar was on all fours. Her body had started to shift. Bones twisted. Fingers became claws. Her lips pulled back, and sharp teeth poked out. Her face her whole body was changing.

Oh God.

Jaxon’s words echoed in my mind.

"Temptation gets hunted."

He wasn’t being dramatic. He meant it. They weren’t just weird. They were werewolves.

And I had just slapped one of them. Three times.

“Fuck,” I grimaced.

My legs didn’t want to move. My body felt frozen. Like if I breathed too loud, she’d pounce.

The students didn’t run. They didn’t even panic. They just bowed. Like this was normal. Like watching someone transform into a monster was just another Tuesday.

I looked back at Briar.

Her eyes weren’t human anymore. They were glowing. Golden and wild.

She snarled loud.

And I knew if she finished shifting, I was dead.

I stepped back once. Twice but my back hit the wall behind me.

No way out. My brain screamed at me to move, but my legs said no.

Was this it?

Had I really just gotten myself killed over a damn seat?

No. I wouldn’t die here. But I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t even know what I was dealing with. How fast could she move? Could I fight her? Did I have any powers at all?

Was I human? I didn’t even know anymore. I thought about Jaxon again.

Where was he? Why wasn’t he here?

The growl got louder. Briar took one step forward. Her claws scraped the floor.

My heart was beating too fast and hard.

Everything inside me said run but I couldn’t.

All I could do was stare at the monster she was becoming.

I’d faced pain before. Loss. Fear. Even hate.

But this? This was death.

I pressed my back harder against the wall, my breath shaking.

Briar’s body fully shifted. Her fur was black, thick, and her fangs gleamed under the school’s lights.

The other students didn’t stop her, no one tried to help me, no one moved.

And then…she leaped straight at me and everything went black