Bonds at War: The Untouched is Mine novel Chapter 143

Chapter 143 An Actual Angel

Chapter 143 An Actual Angel

TESSA

“She’s the one, right? The Fen’s daughter.”

“She’s finally here.”

Zaria isn’t with her, though?”

“So, she really is alive, huh?”

The whispers carried just enough for me to hear as I walked past. A girl in a green sweater was leaning toward her friend, both of them pretending they weren’t looking at me when it was painfully obvious they

were.

I pursed my lips. Goodness… they weren’t over it yet?

I was the one, yes. The one who’d survived when others didn’t. The one who apparently carried a neon sign over my head that screamed “Ask me about the car crash.” Did they want me to plaster it across my forehead just to make it easier for everyone?

I kept walking, ignoring the way their eyes followed me.

A sigh slipped past my lips as I adjusted the strap of my bag and made my way to the far back of the cafeteria. I had known that transferring to our faction’s private school after being homeschooled for so long was a bad idea. Every instinct had told me so. But still… some stubborn part of me wanted to try. To at least pretend I could live like a normal sixteen–year–old.

And besides, staying at home has become unbearable.

We lived with Aunt Myrna and Uncle David now–David, the current Beta. They weren’t cruel, exactly. Still, they had a way of making me feel as if I were nothing more than a burden they’d been saddled with.

They had one child, my cousin Cameron Morgan. Same age as me, same grade, but that was where the similarities ended. Cameron was… well, let’s just say he didn’t like me. Which was an understatement of the size of the moon.

Truthfully, none of them liked me.

Aunt Myrna was my mom’s sister, and even now, I could see the shadows in her eyes whenever she looked at me–shadows that said she remembered exactly whose child I was. Whose survival had come at the cost of others. She never said it outright, but she didn’t have to. I knew I always looked like my mom, and she didn’t like that.

Zaria, on the other hand, lived a different tale. She was favored by our relatives ever since, but I didn’t think too much about it now.

Even at family reunions, the feeling lingered. People smiled sometimes, but they never looked too long. It was like they feared the misfortune might be contagious if they stayed near me.

I slid into an empty seat at the far end of the cafeteria, grateful for the distance from the louder, brighter tables. Pulling my lunch tray toward me, I set out the small sandwich I’d packed. Myrna never made my

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Chapter 143 An Actual Angel

lunch-“You’re old enough to do it yourself, Tessa” but truthfully, I preferred it that way. Her cooking came with a side of passive–aggressive commentary I didn’t have the energy for.

I was halfway through unwrapping the sandwich when a shadow fell over the table.

“Aw, look at the little charity case,” Cameron’s voice drawled.

I didn’t bother looking up. “What do you want?”

“Nothing.” His tone was falsely innocent. “I just came to say hi to my favorite cousin.”

I finally glanced up, meeting his smirk. He was flanked by two of his friends–both wearing the same brand of smugness.

Cameron’s eyes flicked to my sandwich, and before I could react, he reached across the table, grabbed the carton of juice from his tray, and tipped it.

Bright red liquid cascaded over the bread, soaking through in an instant. It pooled onto my table, dripping onto my lap.

“Oops,” Cameron said, his grin widening. “Clumsy me.”

His friends laughed, loud and ugly.

I stared at the ruined sandwich, my fingers tightening around the edges of it. My first instinct was to grab napkins, to clean it before it spread, but there was no saving it. The bread was already collapsing into mush.

“Wow,” one of his friends said between chuckles, “guess lunch is ruined. Oh well, maybe the Beta’s daughter can afford another one. Oh, wait-” He broke off, grinning at Cameron.

The laughter started again.

“Hey, careful,” one of Cameron’s friends said mockingly, leaning toward me. “Don’t make her angry. She might crash into another car.”

Chapter 143 An Actual Angel

A sudden tug on my scalp made me gasp. One of the girls–short brown hair, heavy eyeliner had stepped behind me and yanked a fistful of my hair.

The girl didn’t. She twisted my hair tighter, leaning down so her breath was hot against my car. “How’s it feel, huh?”

But I’d wanted more. I’d wanted to experience new things, per se, as I’d told myself when I’d begged to enroll here.

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